Love and feet day3

 Jesus washed the feet of a man He knew was going to betray Him. He didn’t just wash the feet of those who were most likely to understand or respond well. He wasn’t calculating the odds of a favourable response. He washed the feet of Judas because Judas was there, and his feet needed washing.

All too often nowadays, churches forget (or ignore) the people right in front of them. They’re frequently content to serve themselves. They attract a certain group of people and cater to their demands out of fear that those people might leave. They allow themselves to be held hostage by insiders and never venture outside the walls of their building to serve the people around them who are in desperate need.

Service in churches has become a means to an end. When they serve, what they’re really seeking is church growth — and if they can’t get that, they’ll settle for self-preservation. Service is a means to boost (or at least maintain) attendance figures. Service, in many churches, is a path to greatness. Maybe some day they’ll be a megachurch (or at least they won’t die as fast as that church down the road).

But in the kingdom of God, where Christ is the Head of the Church, service is not the path to greatness, it is greatness. Service is the only true greatness the kingdom of God has to offer.

Jesus says, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (Jn 13.14-15). Now, there are those who misguidedly wish to make a church ordinance of this, and they have mandatory foot-washing services. We shake our heads at them and say, “My, they sure have missed the point!”

It isn’t a church ceremony Jesus was hoping to institute here, it’s an attitude to learn and live. It’s not something for us to sit back and ponder, it’s something for us to figure out how to put into practice. Jesus’ ministry of the towel is to be the Church’s ministry of the towel.

This parable Jesus acted out Himself is about humility and an attitude of service. It’s a warning that we must constantly rethink why we do the things we do. Are we serving others to gain their approval and honour and applause? Are we washing their feet in the hope that they will repay us with their faithful attendance and regular financial contributions? If so, we’re missing the mark, sinning against the One who calls us to service.

We must be willing to identify with Jesus in the very act of humility and service. Otherwise, whatever it is we are involved with is not the kingdom of God. Jesus says, “What you’ve just seen Me do for you, go and do for others.”

 

Prayer

 

Lord God, just as Your beloved Son served us, I want to do the same for others. The more I grasp my new identity and dignity in Christ, the more free I become to serve others even when they do not reciprocate, and the less I am in the bondage of being defined by people’s opinions and expectations. As I let You (and not people) define me, I am liberated to serve them, because I know who I am in Christ and have nothing to prove. May I grow in my spiritual apprehension of my identity in Christ, and may I invite the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit to make it possible to be truly other-centred. Teach me to develop a vision for what You are doing in the lives of others, and give me joy in helping them mature and reach their potential.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Ananias

 Before Ananias met Saul, he heard shocking news about this man. Ananias had friends who lived more than 100 miles away in Jerusalem. Once in a while a messenger from there would bring a letter to him in Damascus. “Stephen was stoned to death,” one said. “A Pharisee named Saul is dragging Christians from their homes and throwing them into prison!”

When Ananias heard that Saul was on his way to Damascus, he became fearful, not only for himself but for all his Christian friends who lived in the city. He prayed, went out to warn his friends, and went to bed exhausted. 

“Ananias!”

Ananias awakened and sat up. He knew right away that it was Jesus who was talking to him in a vision. “Yes, Lord!”

“Go to a street called Straight and find the house of Judas. Ask for Saul from Tarsus.” (The man named Judas, of course, was not the disciple Judas, who had betrayed Jesus.)

“But, Lord!” Ananias said, a feeling of horror coming over him. “I have heard terrible things about Saul. He has caused great harm to many of your followers in Jerusalem. And he has been sent here with the authority of the Jewish leaders to arrest anyone who believes in you!”

“Go Ananias. Saul is my chosen servant. He will teach people about me. Besides the Jewish people of Israel, he will teach people who aren’t Jewish (Gentiles) and their kings. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

If Saul became a Christian, it would be a great miracle indeed! Ananias went quickly to Judas’s house and found Saul there. The man who had caused many believers to be hurt or killed was now blind, sitting in darkness and praying.

 “I did not see, Lord. I did not understand. Forgive me . . .”

Ananias felt no more fear of Saul. Instead, he felt sorry for him. He really cared about Saul and wanted to help him. Ananias spoke gently as he laid his hands on this man who had been sent to destroy Christians. “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who talked to you on the road to Damascus, has sent me to you. I have come so that you may receive your sight again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Ananias heard Saul take a quick breath and saw something like the scales of a fish fall from Saul’s eyes. In their place, his eyes filled with tears of thankfulness. “Jesus is the Lord!” Saul said. “He is the Son of God!”

Ananias smiled. “Yes, he is. Jesus is Lord of all!”

After Saul was baptised, Ananias asked Judas to bring food. Then Ananias, Judas, and Saul sat and ate together. 

Jesus had performed another great miracle. He had turned an enemy into a friend. 

 

 

 

Ananias knew that Saul had spent his life hunting people who believed in Jesus. Sometimes he had them put in prison. Other times he had them killed. How do you think Ananias felt when God asked him to go to Saul? Why do you think he went anyway? What helped Ananias understand that Saul was no longer an enemy?

Love and feet day 2

 It’s one thing to wash someone’s feet if you like them, if they’re nice to you, if you know you stand to gain something from it. Like if it was Donald Trump’s or Oprah Winfrey’s feet. (We don’t wash feet anymore in our society, but we do other things in the hope that the other person will reciprocate.) It’s practically unheard of to do something nice for someone you know is going to repay you in the cruelest manner imaginable. How did Jesus, knowing what Judas was determined to do, perform such an act of selfless love?

Just think about how odd the scene is here. Jesus — God in the flesh, Saviour of the world, the One for whom all things were created — kneeling on the floor, performing a task that was considered beneath all but the lowliest of servants. This was a task so menial that nobody in this group would think of performing it, it might forever stigmatise the foot-washer, branding him in people’s minds, creating an image of him with a towel around his waist like a slave.

It’s quite a risk He’s taking here. Their last mental picture of Him should be something more, well, powerful. Shouldn’t it? (Can you imagine the Prime Minister giving all the Members of Parliament a pedicure on his way out of office?)

How did Jesus do it?

The answer is embedded in the text. “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God” (Jn 13.3).

First, Jesus knew that whatever power He had came from His heavenly Father. He didn’t have to worry about losing status in the eyes of His friends. He didn’t have to look the part of a leader. God was in control, and because of that, Jesus could risk showing them His love.

Second, Jesus knew where He had come from. He was confident that He had come from God, and that confidence enabled Him to know that what He was doing on earth was part of an unstoppable plan. God gives us the roles we play and takes them away at His discretion. We don’t need to protect our power base. God will take care of that for us.

Finally, Jesus knew where He was going. He knew that His life wouldn’t end in death, He was returning to His home with the Father, where God would place all things under His feet and would appoint Him head over everything (Eph 1.22). Jesus knew that as long as He continued to follow the leading of His Father in heaven, He would accomplish the purposes for which He was sent. No one could take away His destiny, and that made Him a very dangerous man!

He was so dangerous that He could love without reservation, without the need for reciprocation.

Knowing our origin and our destiny, knowing our true identity, wipes out the insecurity that so often keeps us from following Jesus into positions of service and enables us to live life with confidence and freedom.

 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, because You knew who You were, why You had come and where You were going, You were secure enough to serve even the lowliest of men. You knew that the Father had given all things into Your hands, and that You had come forth from God and were going back to God. You knew Your dignity and power, because the Father gave all things to You. You knew Your significance and identity, because You came forth from the Father. And You knew your security and destiny, because You were going back to the Father. In like manner, teach me to become secure enough to serve. For in You, I have received every spiritual blessing; in You, I am now a child of God; and in You, nothing can separate me from the love of God whom I will see face to face. I pray that this understanding will become increasingly real in my life.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Jehoiada

 Jehoiada, a priest in the temple of the Lord, saw his wife running towards him with a baby in her arms. “What’s wrong, Jehosheba?”

Eyes wide, cheeks streaked with tears, she gasped. “King Ahaziah is dead, and his mother is murdering his sons so she can be the queen!” Jehosheba held the baby close. “I brought Joash here as quickly as I could.” She sobbed. “Oh, Jehoiada. The baby’s grandmother, Athaliah, is a crazy woman! Can you imagine someone killing all her grandsons to make herself queen? What are we going to do?”

Jehoiada thought quickly. “There is only one thing to do, keep Joash safe. He must be the next king.” Jehoiada took the baby inside the temple and kept him well hidden in a bedroom there. 

Joash’s wicked grandmother, Athaliah, did make herself queen and ruled over the people. She built temples and made altars where people could worship false gods. She put idols everywhere! She even paid false priests to lead the people away from the Lord!

Jehoiada kept Joash safe. The priest spent hours with the boy every day, caring for him and teaching him. He loved Joash as much as if the boy had been his own son. Jehoiada wanted to train the child to be a good king. “You must learn the Law of God, Joash. Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. God will direct your steps, and you will be able to rule our people wisely.”

When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada called the captains of the army to the temple. They came quickly because they had great respect for this man of God. Jehoiada told the captains it was time for Joash to become the king. 

The captains gathered many leaders. Then Jehoiada brought Joash out to them and said, “Surround Joash.” Jehoiada gave the men spears and shields that had belonged to King David. “Keep the true ruler of Judah safe!”

Jehoiada took Joash outside and stood him beside one of the large pillars of the temple. There he put a crown on Joash and made the seven year old boy the king of Judah. 

The people cheered and shouted,”Long live the king!”

Jehoiada sent soldiers after Athaliah. Now it was her turn to die for murdering her grandsons. The people tore down the temples to false gods, smashed the altars and idols and killed the priests the queen had hired to lead her people into sin. 

For as long as Jehoiada lived, he showed Joash how to be a good king. And as long as Jehoiada lived, King Joash followed the Lord and ruled wisely. 

 

 

 

I would love to leave the story there with its happy ending, but King Joash forgot the things he had learned about God from Jehoiada after the priest died. The king even had Jehoiada’s sons stoned for telling people that they were sinning against God. Why do you think the king stopped following God after Jehoiada died? Do you think that Jehoiada’s time was wasted, since Joash didn’t always do what was right? Why or why not?

 

Many people teach and look after you. What are some of the things your parents or teachers have told you about God and what he wants for you, and for you to do? 

They want you to do what’s right, and they can’t always be with you. How do you behave when they aren’t around? Do you have habits you need to break? Who can help you with that?

Priscilla

 “Welcome!” Priscilla said to those who had come to learn about Jesus. “Come in and make yourselves at home!” She and her husband, Aquila, were tent makers who taught their guests about Jesus Christ. Anyone who wanted to hear the Good News was welcome in their home.

But times became difficult. Someone shouted, “Emperor Claudius has ordered all Jews to leave Rome!”

Aquila calmed their guests. “Obey the law. Be at peace.”

“All you’ve worked for, your beautiful home! What will you do?”

“We’re going to the city of Corinth.”

Priscilla was not worried. “The Lord will provide all we need.” She laughed. “Besides, the emperor is helping Jesus! We would have stayed here forever, but now we’ll have the opportunity to share the Good News with people in other places!”

And so they moved to Corinth. One day, a man came to their door. “I’ve heard you are Christians. I am Paul.”

“Paul!” Priscilla opened the door wide. “We’ve heard that the Lord appeared to you on the road to Damascus! Come in and tell us about it!”

“I’m looking for a place to live while I’m here in Corinth.”

“Live with us!” Priscilla and Aquila said. 

“The trouble that comes my way may fall upon you also,” Paul warned. 

“Let trouble come. We are your brother and sister in Christ. We'll help one another.” Paul was also a tent maker. When he was not preaching at one of the synagogues, he worked with his new friends in their business. And he helped teach the many people Priscilla and Aquila invited into their home. 

One day Paul told them, “The Lord has called me to the city of Ephesus.”

“We will go with you!” So they all settled there.

Priscilla and Aquila continued to have a church in their new home, and Paul continued to preach. When the Lord called Paul away to another city, Priscilla and Aquila knew it was time to stay behind. Many of their friends were new Christians who had much to learn. 

“Have you heard Apollos?” one asked. “He preaches about Jesus too, but he doesn’t teach as you and Aquila do.”

Priscilla and Aquila went hear Apollos. He was a wonderful speaker, and a huge crowd had gathered to hear him. “He knows only part of the truth about Jesus,” Aquila said. “He doesn’t know about Jesus’s life after John baptized him. He doesn’t know about the Holy Spirit!”

Priscilla knew that her husband was right. “Let’s invite this young preacher to live with us. Then we can teach him so that he can teach others.”

Apollos had heard of them and gladly agreed to be a guest in their home. While Priscilla and Aquila made tents, they taught Apollos everything they knew about Jesus. Apollos was eager to listen. 

“Jesus taught many people about God, his heavenly Father. He healed many people too. Then soldiers put him on a cross, and he died. But he came back to life! And he returned to heaven.” Priscilla told Apollos. 

Aquila explained, “The Holy Spirit is the helper Jesus spoke of. The Holy Spirit is the One God the Father sent to live inside us so that we can understand the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and counselor.”

Apollos went out and taught hundreds of people what Priscilla and Aquila had taught him. Then many more believed in Jesus and thanked God for the Holy Spirit he gave them. 

 

 

Priscilla and her husband were glad to let Paul stay with them. What do you think they talked about while they worked on their tents? What might they have prayed about? What might Paul have told them about Jesus? When they moved to Ephesus, how did they help Apollos? What could have happened if they had not taught Apollos about Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

 

Before you can tell others about Jesus, you need to learn about him yourself. How can you be sure you know everything you need to know about Jesus? How can you help someone else know all the important things about Jesus?

Love and feet day 1

 JOHN 13-16

 

He had one last night with His friends, one last chance to talk to them about what mattered most, what they could not afford to forget. How could He take the wisdom of the ages, filtered through all the teaching, all the conversation, all the activity, and distill it down to one final lesson?

They had given up everything to follow Him for three years, and now the end was rapidly approaching. It was only a matter of hours now.

And to top it all off, they had been arguing all day about which of them was the greatest.

Maybe none of this stuff was sinking in at all. Maybe it would have to wait until after He was gone. Maybe then they would look back and remember.

While the disciples are fighting over who gets to sit where, Jesus silently picks up a towel and a bowl of water. Before anyone is aware of what’s happening, the first sandals are off, and the hands that created the tree that would be turned into crossbeams, the hands that carved the mountain from which the iron was drawn to make the spikes, the hands that held everything together, were washing the grime off road-weary feet. The hands were calloused, but they were tender with the kind of care only He could feel.

It got their attention.

Peter, in typical Peter fashion, went overboard: “You’re not gonna do that to me!” he bellowed.

But Jesus was firm and resolute: “If you don’t let Me do this, you’re saying that you want nothing to do with Me.”

Peter’s pendulum swung to the other side: “Okay, if You’re gonna put it like that, go ahead and gimme a sponge bath!”

Maybe they all had a good laugh. There was a lot of tension in the room, and laughter sometimes helps.

He worked His way around the whole room. Andrew. James. John. Bartholomew. Thomas. Philip. Matthew. The other James—the short one. The other Simon—the angry one. Thaddeus.

Judas.

Yes, Judas. Jesus washed the feet of the man who betrayed Him. That’s what love does. That was the whole point.

 

Prayer

 

Lord, You know us better than we know ourselves, and yet You chose to serve us in the life and ministry of Your beloved Son. How can words express the magnitude of Your lovingkindness and mercy? You are in authority over all things, from the microcosm to the macrocosm. You order the stars, the galaxies and the clusters and superclusters of galaxies that are spread over distances so great that even to get a glimpse of the magnitude is terrifying. You sustain the sun, the planets and all that dwells on earth. You form life out of matter that has no life, and You shape our complex bodily systems, as well as our minds, personalities and moral capacities. You have made all things well, and even in this world that was subjected to futility, we see Your marvels and handiwork. I live in hope of the redemption of the body and of the whole of creation.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Dorcas

 One day, in the city of Joppa, a woman named Dorcas died. Many people came to cry because they felt so sad. “Why did Dorcas have to die?” a woman cried. “Dorcas was a wonderful friend! She made this robe for me.”

Another woman sat rocking back and forth, wishing that Dorcas had not died. “She made a tunic for my son when I had no clothes for him.”

“She made a coat to keep me warm,” a man said.

“And she made clothes for my baby,” another woman added.

Dorcas, who now lay dead, had at some time helped everyone who came. The room was filled with the sound of weeping.

“It does not seem right that someone as kind as Dorcas should get so sick and die so young.”

One man stood up. “Have any of you heard of a man named Peter?”

“No,” The others shook their heads. “Who is he?”

“He was a friend of Jesus of Nazareth, the man some people say rose from the dead. Right now Peter is nearby in the town of Lydda.”

“But what can Peter do?”

“I don’t know, but we can ask him and see.”

Two men left the house where Dorcas was lying on her bed. They hurried to find Peter, one of Jesus’s special friends. 

“I am not God,” Peter told them.  “I have no power over death.  Only Jesus does. But take me to your friend Dorcas, and we will see what the Lord will do.”

Peter went with the two men as they hurried back to Dorcas’s home and followed them into her room. When he saw all the people, he asked them to leave. 

Peter knew that Jesus had seen the many kind things Dorcas had done for the poor people, and he knew that Jesus understood how much these people loved and missed her. 

So Peter prayed over her dead body. 

Then Peter spoke, “Get up, Dorcas.”

She sat up. “Oh, my,” Dorcas blinked and looked up at Peter. “Why am I in bed?”

Peter held out his hand. “You were dead, but now you are alive again.”

Dorcas stood with Peter’s help. Then he called her friends to come back into the room. They cried and laughed with joy when they saw her. 

“She is alive! Dorcas is alive again!”

“Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God!”

Everyone hugged Dorcas and talked about how happy they were to know Jesus, who could bring the dead back to life. 

 

 

Dorcas was only one woman, but she was kind and helped many poor people. She did what she could do best when she made clothes for people who needed them. They loved her, so they went to someone they believed could help her, Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples. Peter showed them that only the power of Jesus can bring a person back to life. Why did people love Dorcas so much? How did they know that she loved them?

What are some of the things you do best? Have you ever made a gift for someone? Have you ever taken time to help someone? Have you ever given some of your things to someone who needed them? How did the people feel about you afterwards? How do you know? Was God pleased? How do you know?

 

Miriam

In all her life, Miriam had never been so angry with her younger brother, Moses. And she was an old woman now, deserving of respect! After all she had done for him, Moses was going to get married to a Cushite woman from Africa? How could he do this to her? She had been quietly upset when he had married Zipporah, who was a foreign woman from Midian. Now she was not going to keep silent. 

If it were not for Miriam, Moses would not even be alive! Hadn’t she been the one to watch over him as he floated down the Nile River in that basket their mother had made? And when Pharaoh’s daughter had found him, who had been the one to come out of hiding? Who had told the Egyptian princess that she would need a woman to nurse the baby? Who had said she knew a woman who could do that? She had! Because Miriam had been so brave, Pharaoh’s daughter had even paid their mother to take care of Moses!

When Moses had come back to Egypt after 40 years of hiding in Midian because he had murdered an Egyptian, who had welcomed him? Miriam had! Who had encouraged everyone to listen to everything her brother said? She had! And who had led the women in playing tambourines and singing songs of praise after Moses had led all the people across the Red Sea? She had!

Moses was an old man now. She was not going to watch her brother make a fool of himself and her. She was as much a leader among the people as Moses was!

Miriam went to her other brother, Aaron. She knew better than to talk about her feelings. He might think she was jealous and not listen to her. She knew how to make him do what she wanted. “Moses is in love with that young Cushite. We must think of the Law. We must think of the people. The woman is not one of our people, Aaron. It doesn’t matter if she believes in God! She’s a foreigner from Africa. A foreigner! It’s a sin for Moses to marry her, and we must speak out against it. Besides, you are his older brother. You are the one who should lead the people.”

Soon both Miriam and Aaron were saying bad things about their brother, things like, “Moses isn’t the only leader. We’re good leaders too. We can tell everyone what God has said just as Moses does.” People overheard them speaking. It did not take long before the entire camp buzzed with gossip. 

The Lord called for Moses, Miriam, and Aaron to appear before him. Miriam was certain the Lord would take her side. Hadn’t she been a good helper for God from the time she was a little girl? He would know she was a better leader than her younger brother. 

But the Lord was furious! “Who are you to say bad things about the man I have chosen to lead Israel?”

Miriam couldn’t believe God’s words. And now what was happening? Her body felt strange to her. When she looked at Aaron, she saw the fear on his face. “Your skin is covered with white spots,” he said. “You have leprosy!”

She looked at her hands and cried. She was going to die of a terrible disease!

Aaron fell to his knees and cried out to his brother, “Oh, my lord! Please don’t punish us for our sin. We should not have spoken against you, Moses. Please make our sister well!”

Moses prayed for Miriam. He begged God to heal her. Miriam covered her face with shame over the terrible things she had said about her brother. 

The Lord did heal her, but he told her she must live outside the camp for seven days. She did a lot of thinking during that time. Before the seven days were up, she knew how wrong she had been. 

When Miriam came back to the camp, she went straight to Moses and his wife. “I was wrong to say bad things about you. I am very sorry.” Moses and the Cushite woman forgave her, and both were happy to call her their sister again. 

Miriam never spoke another word against Moses. 

 

 

When God made Moses a leader, Miriam was not kind to her younger brother. She acted as if she thought God didn’t know what he was doing. She got her other brother, Aaron, and other people mad at Moses by saying bad things about him. What did God say and do that shows how angry he was with Miriam? Do you think God wanted her to die? How did he answer Moses prayer?

Gossiping is saying unkind things about someone when the person isn’t around. It always leads to trouble. Think of a time when someone gossiped about you and got you in trouble. How did it make you feel? If we gossip about our leaders and question what they are doing when they are following God, it is like saying we don’t believe God knows what he is doing. How does God feel when you don’t believe he has chosen good leaders?

 

Hagar

 “You belong to Abraham now.” Hagar heard those words as she stood in the hall of Pharaoh's palace in Egypt. She and some other Egyptian people were ‘gifts’ to Abraham, along with sheep, cattle and donkeys. The people would be his servants, so they would do his chores but would not be paid for their work. 

Hagar cried as she left her country. She wanted to stay, but as a servant she had no choice where she went. Abraham gave her to his wife, Sarah, to serve as her personal maid. 

When she arrived in Canaan, Hagar watched Abraham worship an unseen God. She found this very strange because statues of gods stood everywhere in her country. How could Abraham worship a god he could not see?

Abraham even said he could hear God speak!

Abraham’s wife, Sarah, cried sometimes, just as Hagar did. 

And Hagar knew why. Sarah could not have children. One day Sarah surprised Hagar by ordering her to go to Abraham and be like a wife to him. “But if you and my husband have a baby together, the child will be mine.”

Hagar obeyed Sarah and soon learned she was going to have a baby. Then she refused to behave like a servant anymore. After all, she was going to have the master’s child.

Sarah became furious. “We will see which of us Abraham loves more!” After Sarah talked to her husband, she began to beat Hagar. Any time Hagar didn’t do her work quickly enough, Sarah beat her again. Finally, Hagar, could not take it anymore and ran away.

The Lord found her drinking water from a desert spring along the road back to Egypt. “Hagar, where you going?”

Hagar had never heard God speak before. His voice was filled with great power but was also tender and kind. “I am running away from my mistress.” 

“Return to Sarah and do what she says. I will give you more people in your family someday than you can count. You will soon give birth to a son. Name him Ishmael (ISH-may-el), for I have heard how sad you are.” (The name means “God hears.”)

Hagar learned that Ishmael would be wild like a donkey and would quarrel with his family. But her son would never be a servant! 

Hagar went back, content with the way her son’s life was going to be. She never expected that God was going to perform a miracle and make it possible for Sarah to have a baby too. Abraham was 100, and Sarah was 90 years old! Sarah laughed, and they named the baby Isaac—which means “laughter.” 

Abraham threw a party when Isaac was ready for solid food. Ishmael watched the two old people with the toddler. 
He laughed at Isaac and said, “I am Abraham’s first son.”

Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, agreed with him. “You will always be Abraham’s first son. Everything that is his will someday belong to you, not Isaac. The master’s son will serve you!” Ishmael laughed again. 

But the next morning Abraham gave Hagar and Ishmael some food and water. “Go away,” he said with tears in his eyes. “And never come back.” Abraham knew that God would take care of his son Ishmael, but he also knew that God had special plans for his son Isaac.

Now all her hopes were gone, and Hagar cried harder than she had ever cried before. She and her son wandered in the wilderness until all the food and water were gone. Ishmael was so thirsty he cried until he fell asleep and couldn’t wake up. 

Hagar left her son under a bush and sat on a rock, sobbing out a prayer to God. “I don’t want to watch the boy die!” 

God spoke. “Hagar, do not be afraid. I have heard Ishmael’s cries. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make sure that he and his children and their families grow into a great nation.” 

When Hagar opened her eyes, she saw a well! She quickly removed the cover, filled her jar with water, and went to her son to give him a drink. 

God kept His promise. Ishmael grew up and became very good with a bow and arrows. He married an Egyptian girl and had 12 sons. Their families grew into 12 large tribes scattered throughout the land. And all of them were enemies of Abraham’s son Isaac.

 

 

Hagar was a servant who carried Abraham's baby inside her for nine months, knowing that Sarah would take the child when he was born. How do you think Hagar felt about that?

What were some of the bad things that happened to her?

What bad things happened to her son, Ishmael?

How did God take her bad situation and turn it into something good?

You may think you are in a situation that is not fair. It is up to you to trust God during this time and obey anyway. Can you think of a time when you were in a bad spot and God turned the situation into something good? What was it? How did you feel after it was over? 

One week to live day 4

 The whole week was full to overflowing, pregnant with meaning and import. It would get even heavier as it moved toward the grand finale, the brooding tune of Thursday evening’s meal, the somber sound of devastating loss that was that Friday afternoon, the silent and uncertain pause that was Saturday, the eternally resonating major chord of victory that was Sunday morning.

But before He got there, it appears that Jesus took a day off. Nothing is recorded about His whereabouts or activities on Wednesday. Perhaps He was making plans with a cryptic man who appeared to Peter and John carrying a water jug. Perhaps He was watching Judas wrestle with the demons that would prompt him to do his dastardly deed. Perhaps He spent the day praying and gathering His thoughts.

Regardless, it’s instructive that Jesus chose to do nothing with one of His last days that the biblical writers deemed noteworthy. Because here we see another pattern in Jesus’ life.  He observed a rhythm of work and rest. He plunged Himself headlong into ministry, working from sun up to sundown, healing, teaching, feeding and touching. And then He withdrew from the crowds, carving out time for rest and solitude. Then once more into the breach He charged, only to retreat again when He felt it was time for a little R&R.

You can’t really call the life He led “balanced.” It’s not like He had a Day-Timer or a Blackberry and scheduled every hour of His days. Let’s see, I spent an hour alone today, so that means I can spend an hour with people. He just seems to have felt it, like a rhythm.

There are some personality types who are particularly prone to working all the time. If there’s work to be done — one person who hasn’t heard the good news about Jesus, or someone in the hospital who hasn’t been visited — these people are on the go. They say things like, “I can rest when I’m with the Lord” or “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” Either way, you’re out, so we’re not sure why either is an acceptable option.

For those of us who are more likely to work, work, work, it’s important to see that Jesus, at this point, had only a few dozen hours left on this earth. And He chose to rest. He chose to do nothing of interest. He took a day off.

One of the reasons why taking a day off is so important is that it forces you to remember that everything isn’t dependent upon you. Like Jesus, you have a Father in heaven who is constantly at work. The assurance of this is what makes rest possible.

Jesus could have been uptight and fussy, gathering His disciples for late-night cram sessions all week long. But He knew that the Helper would come and do His work in His time. Jesus would do what He could and leave the rest up to His Father and the Holy Spirit.

Now if that’s the way Jesus lived, do you suppose you could try to get some rest this weekend?

 

Prayer

 

Jesus, I thank You that You never ask us to do what You have not already done for us. You taught us to love one another, and You first loved us. You taught us to forgive one another, and You first forgave us. You taught us to serve and sacrifice for others, and You first served and sacrificed Yourself for us. You taught us to obey the Father, and You obeyed Him perfectly. You taught us to pray, and You fully exemplified prayer in all that You did. You taught us to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, and You accomplished all things in His power. You taught us to notice the obscure and the unlovely, and You first did that for us. You taught us to have patience and forbearance for others, and You demonstrated that throughout Your earthly ministry. You taught us to be kind and merciful to others, and that characterised all of Your life. May I grow in Your grace and become more like You.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

 

Why does the Bible have so many rules?

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Matthew 22.37-39

 

The Bible might seem like it’s just full of rules. But the Bible is filled with many other things too. It’s packed with words of praise, wise sayings to live by, and loads of history. It tells the story of how God wants to be our friend, and how he sent Jesus to save us. And yes, large sections of the Bible have rules from God, telling us how he wants us to live. 

But all of the Bible’s rules fit under two main rules. Jesus said that the two most important commandments are these. First, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” And second, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you remember those two rules and obey them, you’ll be obeying all the rules of the Bible!

 

 

Put these two important commands of Jesus at the front of your mind. Memorise them together with your family! And for the next few days, encourage one another by pointing out times when you see someone obeying one of these commands. If you see someone being disobedient, encourage that person to think of a way to change, to show love for God or love for neighbour. (Yes, I am giving you the chance to encourage, not boss, your parents a bit)

One week to live day3

 Tuesday was a long day! It was one of those days when you blink and it’s lunchtime, then you blink again and it’s starting to get dark.

Jesus and His disciples found themselves in a series of meetings (some of us can relate to just how draining that can be!). But the day ended on a positive note. As they were leaving the Temple, Jesus sat down in the court of the women and watched people as they approached the 13 trumpet-shaped, bronze receptacles. Each was labeled, telling what the donated money would go toward. Jesus saw wealthy people casually tossing in money, their coins sliding down the bronze, clanking metallically, attracting attention.

And that’s when He saw her.  Unnoticed by anyone else, an unassuming widow dropped two tiny coins in the coffer. Jesus got so excited that He called His disciples over to tell them her story. It must have seemed strange to them, given the scale of everything else that had been happening this week, that Jesus would get that worked up over a mere shaving of metal. But to Jesus, apparently, it was a very big deal.

Think about that for a minute. Jesus only had a few days left with His disciples. In about 48 hours His ordeal would begin, and it wouldn’t end until He was dead and buried. We would understand if Jesus was a little preoccupied, wouldn’t we? If Jesus was a little withdrawn or reserved or introspective, that would be understandable, right? Or if He was a little testy, pessimistic or cynical. After all, He had spent the better part of three years trying to get His message across to these dullards. But after all this time, still all they ever want to know is when He’s going to set up the Kingdom, when He’s going to overthrow the Roman government and who will get to sit next to Him when He finally holds court!

We’d understand if He just wanted to be alone for a while to collect His thoughts. Yes, He would get to that, but first He was determined to wring every last minute out of life while He could.

Jesus was always on the lookout for people who were getting it right. How did He even notice that one quiet widow amidst the sprawling chaos of His life? Well, if you study Jesus much at all, you’ll notice a pattern. Do you know who the most important person for Jesus was at any given moment? The person right in front of Him.

One time when Jesus had just finished preaching, a guy with leprosy started calling His name. Jesus stopped everything to go over and spend time with him. One time when Jesus was on His way to heal a man’s dying child, a woman touched the hem of Jesus’ robe. Again, Jesus stopped everything to connect with that one sick woman.

It was His pattern. He was often busy — He had lots of things to do, places to go, people to see. But He was never too busy to notice people who were getting it right in small and quiet ways.

 

Prayer 

 

God of grace, Your enduring revelation in the written Word and the living Word displays a degree of concern and compassion that is too marvellous for me to fathom. I cannot see why You would take notice of us, let alone send Your Son into the world to redeem us with the blood of His cross. Your love surpasses comprehension, and Your Son reveals the lengths to which You would go to overcome the alienation of sin and welcome us as Your adopted children into Your heavenly household. Even while we were rebellious enemies, Christ died for the ungodly. Such love is too high; I cannot attain to it. It is too deep; I cannot plumb it. It is too wide; I cannot encompass it. Because You have loved us in this way, may we express that love in our love for others.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

Why does God let bad things happen to me sometimes?

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trails for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. 

 

Sometimes bad things happen to you because of your own poor choices, like gulping pool water because you jumped in over your head without knowing how to swim. Some hurtful things come because of other people’s bad choices, like getting hit by a driver talking on a phone. And other bad stuff, like sickness, storms, and earthquakes, just happens because we live in a world that’s not perfect. 

When you’re hurt or sad, remember this, Jesus made a wonderful promise to be with you through anything and everything.(Matt 28.20) And he will use the bad things that happen to help you trust him more. He wants you to know that you can count on him no matter what you go through!

 

 

The bad things, big or small, that happen to us daily cause feelings of sadness. Read Romans 12.15, “When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.” Then pray for someone who is feeling sad, pray that God would show you how to comfort that person. 

Remember that bad things will happen on this earth, but in heaven there will be no more sadness. 

One week to live day 2

 If you only had one week to live, what would you do? What if you knew you could postpone your death by altering your schedule?

All Jesus had to do was lay low, and the whole thing would likely have blown over. It’s not like the Jewish leaders were looking for someone to kill that week, they would have been happy to keep things quiet and avoid any kind of controversy. And the Romans were reasonable. Stay in your place, pay your taxes, don’t cause trouble, and no trouble will come after you.

But Jesus knew this was the thing He had come to do. Yes, the teaching was important. Yes, the miracles. Yes, the lifestyle. But none of it would make a difference without His sacrificial death.

The apostle Paul said that without the resurrection, we’re the biggest fools of all time — celebrating a man who was executed! And he was right (1 Cor 15.14-19). But there’s no resurrection without the crucifixion. They’re inseparable.

And so it was that Jesus, knowing full well that this week would end with Him dead and buried, having suffered the most humiliating and tortuous death imaginable, marched straight toward it, embracing His role in human history. Make no mistake about it. He chose this. No one did this to Him. He went willingly.

And here’s the crazy kicker (it won’t come as a surprise to any who have been following along). He didn’t choose this path in spite of the fact that He was God. He chose this path precisely because He was (and is) God. This is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect Him to do.

Granted, no other god in any other religious system in human history would ever choose to die on behalf of the people who have spurned and rejected His loving advances for millennia. But this isn’t any other god in any other religious system. This is our God, the God who humbled the Egyptians and parted the Red Sea, the God who drove the Canaanites from the Promised Land, the God who spared Isaac and redeemed Gomer, the God who loves relentlessly and refuses to give up on His dream of one day forming a community of people who are rightly related to Him and rightly relating to each other, a group of people whose very presence is a blessing to the whole, wide world.

He knew how the week would end. He knew how to avoid it. But He walked straight into the fiery furnace of hell for us. That’s the kind of God He is.

 

Prayer 

 

Dear Father, when I consider all the systems that men have developed since time immemorial to find ways of controlling the events of this life and of meriting a better destiny in the next life, I marvel at the uniqueness of Christianity. In other religions, people are the ones who offer sacrifices and good works to their god or gods. In Your Word, You reveal that You are the one who made the sacrifice of Your Son for us. In other religions, people are portrayed as good enough to earn their way to the ultimate. In the Bible, You reveal that all have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Jesus Christ is the only true Saviour the world has ever known; and as the sinless Passover Lamb, He alone can take away the sins of the world. I take refuge in Him and though I have not yet seen Him, I love Him

In Jesus’s name, Amen

Will God forgive really bad people?

We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. 

Romans 3.22

 

Jesus, God’s Son, was known for hanging out with a tough crowd. He made friends with people who drank too much alcohol.(Mt 11.19) He talked with a woman people didn’t like because she had been married to many husbands.(Jn 4.1-30) He spent time with a tax collector who had cheated a lot of people.(Lk 19.1-10)

So it’s no surprise that God welcomes all people who admit their sin and accept his forgiveness, no matter what they have done. Jesus said that his goal is to save people who know they need his help.(Mk 2.17) No matter who we are or what we have done, he wants us to remember one truth. All of us have messed up, so all of us need forgiveness. 

 

 

Whether we look ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to the people around us, all of our sins require the same solution. If you were God, what would say to us sinners. Would you say “You’re so terrible that I won’t let you near me.” “Your sins are too big to forgive.” Or some understandable natural human response. But there’s “I love you so much I planned a way for you to be near me.” “My love for you is bigger than anything had you have done.””My Son, Jesus, died for every one of your sins” where he could say of those nailing him there, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”

What will I look like in heaven?

Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die … They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies. 

1Corinthians 15.42,44

 

Guess what? You’ll still be you, only better. The Bible says your spirit will live forever. But it also promises you’ll get a new body to live in. 

Right now we all have “earthly bodies” that die.(1Cor 15.42) But in heaven we will get “spiritual bodies” that last forever.(1Cor 15.42,44) God will take the bodies we have now and “change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere.”(Phil. 3.21) Your new body will be filled with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It will be like the body Jesus got after he came back to life, not because it comes with a beard and long hair but because it won’t ever break or wear out, or die!

 

 

Look around your house for something that needs fixing. Getting a new body in heaven, is like completely remaking that broken object. If you could make all new parts, and fashion them so they would last forever, then you would have something like our new heavenly bodies. The broken object would be the same, but better than ever!

One week to live day 1

 MATTHEW 21-25 MARK 11-13 LUKE 19-21 JOHN 12

 

It had been a busy week, and it wasn’t over yet. Things had started off with a bang and a parade, with Jesus looking like some Bizarro World version of a conquering king — riding into town on the back of a donkey with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of peasants throwing down their coats before Him and waving palm branches. It looked like the Messiah was coming to claim Jerusalem.

But all was not well.

The Pharisees complained about the level of excitement (Pharisees frequently do). Can’t you get those kids to calm down and be quiet? Jesus went toe-to-toe with the religious establishment and refused to back down. And He won, for the moment. The Pharisees lacked both the popular appeal and the official power to enforce their demands and could do nothing but stand there red in the face.

Jesus, however, did not rejoice in His temporary victory. Instead, He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He knew this would be the last time He would see the city like this. In a few short decades, Jerusalem would be ripped to shreds by the Romans. On top of that, He knew what this passionate week was going to cost Him. So He wept with undignified, gut-wrenching sobs.

Bright and early Monday morning, Jesus and His disciples made their way to the Temple. On the way there, He cursed a fig tree. Once He got there, He turned over the tables and benches where business was being transacted. People and animals scrambled this way and that. He had done this once before (Jn 2.13-25), but apparently His initial cleansing of the Temple had little or no lasting impact. So as a sort of bookend to His public ministry, He did it again.

The Sadducees must have joined the Pharisees now in their anger and hatred of this man. But He had the people on His side. If they tried to stop Him, they might have a real fight on their hands. And the ever-present Romans weren’t too far away, hands on swords, watching and waiting for their cue to quell a potential rebellion. And so they waited.

Tuesday was a day of conversation. Following two days of intense action, everyone wanted to have a word with Jesus. Some Greek people. Members of the Sanhedrin. Herodians. Sadducees. Pharisees. Regular folks. Everyone wanted to hear Jesus talk about who He was and what He intended to do. They questioned His identity, His authority, His politics, His eschatology, His ethics. The whole series of conversations built to a fever pitch, when Jesus launched into a tirade against the Jewish leaders (especially the Pharisees).

Afterward, He broke down in tears again. He had less than a week to live, and He knew it. Time was running out, and Jesus, meek and mild, seemed to have gone stark-raving mad!

If this is how the week begins, Lord only knows how it will end.

 

Prayer

 

Lord Jesus, the Law, the prophets and the other writings of the Hebrew Bible all pointed to You and anticipated, in unparalleled detail, the significant events of Your first and second comings. You are the Messiah. You came in humility as the suffering Servant in Your first advent, and I anticipate the day when You will come in power and glory as the reigning King in Your second advent. You are the Bread of life; You are the Light of the world; You are the Good Shepherd; You are the Resurrection and the Life; You are the Way, the Truth and the Life; and You are the True Vine. You did not come to be served but to serve, and to give Your life as a ransom for many. You came to seek and to save that which was lost. And You came to accomplish the work that the Father gave You to do. I glorify Your Name for who You are and for what You have done.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

How long will we be in heaven?

And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

1Thessalonians 4.17

 

That’s an easy one. Forever! One of the most famous verses in the Bible says this: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3.16) The word eternal means something that will never end. Jesus promised that he was going to prepare a place for us. He said, “I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”(John 14.3)

Here’s the hard part. We can’t begin to get our brains to understand the fact that we will live in heaven always and forever. But we can get this much, eternal life isn’t just about having lungs that work for a really long time. It’s about having a heart that will love forever the Lord of the universe, your best friend, Jesus. 

 

 

 

Think of the best moments you have had as a family. That’s just a little taste of what heaven might be like. What makes heaven even better is that God himself will be there, and he will make it a place we will enjoy being forever and forever. 

Read Revelation 21.3-4 “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.’ “ Heaven isn’t just about eternal life. It’s about eternal love and happiness.