Why does he eat with .. sinners?

Praise: God the Liberator. "I will praise You because 'you are my help and my deliverer, O LORD'" (Psalm 70:5)

Scripture: Jesus was often found just hanging out at the house of people the religious types of the day called "sinners". I love the fact that having just impacted one of these sinners (Matthew the tax collector), and called him to follow him, he then wants to hang out with Matthew at his place with his friends. How else would he be able to have the opportunity to connect with those who 'need' him? How easily would we find ourselves encouraging Matthew not to spend too much time with his old friends who were a bad influence. Not so Jesus, the "friend of sinners".

I want to be able to connect with people in a similar way, without prejudice Lord. If my life/body is truly a temple of the Holy Spirit as we read in Corinthians, then could it be that you want me to express this reality to people who don't yet know the Lord. Interestingly I also found the story about Joseph helpful in this. Here he is stuck in prison, unjustly. Yet he is never without opportunity to impact people with the Lord. He shows concern for the cup-bearer and baker. He asks them why they seem upset and then has opportunity to share some truth about God (all dreams belong to him) but also to demonstrate the truth by inviting them to share their dreams trusting that God would supernaturally work through him. So he did, even though it didn't immediately lead to his release. That would come later but God still had purpose in keeping Joseph where he was.

Lord, let me not be too preoccupied with what might seem to be going wrong with my situation, but more concerned about the people around me and what you are doing and want to do in their lives through me.

Prayer: Pray for the strengthening of marriages. Pray that couples will honor and care for one another in the love of Christ. Ask God to bless and heal those whom he has joined together, that nothing would drive them apart.

Do you understand what you have been given?

Praise: A Faithful God. "I praise you because 'your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies' (Ps. 36:5) and 'great is your faithfulness'" (Lam 3:23)

Scripture: "Now we have received .. the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God." (1 Cor 2:12) I often find myself living on a very 'natural' level, all too self-centered and too restricted to what I think I am able to achieve. This is why I need to keep reading Scripture, especially something like what is shown to us in this verse. The very Spirit who plumbs the depths of God, who knows what no man has ever conceived of or imagined, has been given to us by God so that we might be centered upon Christ and live on a different plane.

For Paul, it was worked out through weakness and fear amongst the sophists of Corinth, who were no match for the wisdom of God. It needed a demonstration of the Spirit's power, not Paul's oratory. Does my life "need" this also?? What will it take to see people I know become Christ-followers? Nothing less than the power of the Holy Spirit. But do I see that this is what has been given to me, in Christ Jesus? Am I sufficiently released from the limitations or shackles of mere human ability and desire? Will God even remain faithful to his word and his promises? I believe so, I must believe so. I sense that the stakes are being raised ... or maybe they have always been there and I am only truly seeing things more clearly now.

Prayer: Pray that joyful gratitude would characterize our community, and flow out in ministry to others. Let us sing, making melody in our hearts to the Lord.

What's your Good News?

Praise: The Burden Bearer. "Praise be to the Lord, to God [my] Savior, who daily bears [my] burdens" (Psalm 68:19)

Scripture: "Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" This morning I found myself asking, 'have I all too easily domesticated the gospel (good news), somehow making it safer'? I know that Jesus born of the virgin, crucified, buried and raised by the Father according to the Scriptures was the heart of Paul's gospel and is reflected in our creeds. But do we make enough of Jesus' life and how he proclaimed and demonstrated a new reality with the coming of the Kingdom?

What made this truly good news, something worth singing and shouting about, was that something of heaven was now invading earth. Personified in Jesus, but also demonstrating God's compassion, his power over all the works of darkness (healing, deliverance, raising the dead), his desire for renewed intimacy and friendship with his children and the true miracle of changed lives - men and women desiring and empowered to love God and one another more consistently. It is this Kingdom that excited and called me many years ago and the message has not changed. I know I have changed, but not always for the good sadly.

Lord, let your will be done here on earth (and in me) as it is in heaven.

Prayer: Pray that we will be a people who are generous and cheerful in their financial giving to those in need. Cry out to see the floodgates of heaven open and so much blessing poured out that we will not have room to contain it. Pray for breakthrough and rejoice in God's abundance.

Just keep it between you and God

Praise: A Personal God. "I praise You, God, because You are a personal God, who gives me the honor of knowing You personally, even inviting me to feast at Your kingdom's table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Matt 8:11)

Scripture: "The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God." This could be a bit misleading to some. Aren't we supposed to share our faith with others, after all? But for Paul, it seems that there are to be some self-imposed limits on on our 'exuberance' for Christ and how we communicate with other believers what we are excited about. It strikes me as an attitude problem - do I find myself more concerned with proving myself right, or am I more concerned with the faith and freedom of my brother.

When it comes to different foods, drink, holy days, etc., it is a good thing to have our minds made up as to what is important and how we are to live. But we are to be careful about imposing these interpretations (even if they are true), upon other brothers and sisters in the Lord, when they are in a different place. In other words, be careful not to judge fellow believers over issues of faith and practice so as to make them feel condemned. Right relationships 'trump' right belief and right behavior. Orthodoxy without love is very dangerous ... and displeasing to our Father in heaven.

Help us Lord, not forget the importance of love and unity in the Church.

Prayer: Pray for purity in thought, word and deed for each other. Pray that we would be a people who confess our sins, receive forgiveness and are purified from all unrighteousness. Proclaim that we are a people who, like King David, cry out: "Create in me a pure heart, O God." Take joy in the promise, "The pure in heart will see God."

How awesome is this place!

Praise: The Holy One. "Holy, holy, holy (are you) Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." (Rev 4:8)

Scripture: "How awesome is this place!" Jacob exclaims. What place is he talking about? He goes on to call it the House of the Lord. We know that he was on a journey, on mission we might say to find a wife in Haran. Other than that, we know that he had a rock for a pillow! But what truly made it awesome was that God was there ... and he had not realized. God can set up his House anywhere he wishes and such a 'place' becomes a gateway to heaven.

I found myself thinking about ourselves and what we desire as Church. What if we defined it as the place where Jesus is present with his people on mission (building up the Bride of Christ). How awesome is that, and not a little scary! I love that the picture of how God wants to reveal himself and his purposes, to connect with His people, the 'Church' is seen in such a way even at this early stage, with the man who would become Israel. May we be struck by the awesome, fearful beauty of Jesus and his desire to be with us and us with Him and the Father, as we continue on mission both for Him and with Him.

Prayer: Pray that as the One Who called us is holy, we might also be holy in all that we do. Cry out for grace to embrace God's discipline as beloved sons and daughters, for the revelation that He disciplines us for our good that we might share in His holiness. Worship the Lord in the majesty and splendor of His holiness.

Rejoicing and Mourning Together

Praise: Eternal, Saving God. "I give praise to you Father, 'the only God our Savior.' To You 'be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore'" (Jude 25)

Scripture: In Paul's letter to the Romans, our reading starts with the words, "let love be genuine". He then goes on to identify numerous characteristics of genuine love. In v15 he says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." Is my love that genuine that I find myself responding to other people's emotions with those of my own? Do we feel close enough connection that we own one another's emotional experiences?

This continues to be quite a journey for me as I learn to risk allowing my heart to be expanded in this way. I have lived too much of my life in a very self-reliant manner which has caused me to keep up some emotional barriers as a self-protection. Yet now the Holy Spirit is working in me to take greater risks, even though it will lead at times to being hurt. However, without that, we don't get to enjoy the benefit of emotional closeness and connection. It is the pursuit of relational intimacy with one another as a reflection of what the Father longs for with us, through His Son Jesus Christ. Continue to expand and heal my heart Lord that I may love as you love.

Prayer: Pray that God, who gives endurance and encouragement, will give us a spirit of unity with one another as we follow Christ Jesus so that with one heart and mouth, we may glorify the God and Father of our Lord. Pray that we would accept one another, just as Christ accepted us, in order to bring praise to God. Thanks God for His love which binds every virtue together in perfect unity.

Do you see yourself as the "Blessed of the Lord"?

Praise: God, My Refuge, My Fortress. "I praise you, Lord, for you are 'my Mighty Rock, my Refuge'" (Psalm 62:7)

Scripture: The people that Isaac lived amongst looked upon his life and could say, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you ... You are now the blessed of the Lord." (Gen 26:28-29) I found myself thinking about how much that might be true of me and how often (or not) that is heard from people around me. It also reminded me of some verses from Zechariah, "In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'" (Zech. 8:23)

Firstly, we need to be close enough to people, following Christ is an 'open' way and understanding that all of life is sacred - wherever and with whomever I find myself. Christ is always with me, because He is within me by His Spirit, and as I cooperate with the Spirit and allow the characteristics of the Kingdom be evident in my life, then I am truly blessed (see Matt 5:3-10). I am blessed as a son, through Christ, and it is that new identity and the hope that comes with it as a co-heir with Christ, that brings forth fruit in my life. Love, joy, peace, etc become the blessing not just for me but through my life to the people around me and ultimately the nations of the world. Do I realize just how much purpose my life has?

Prayer: Pray that God's favor would surround us like a shield. Pray that we would bind mercy, kindness and truth about us and write them on our hearts so that we may find favor, good understanding and high esteem in the sight of both God and people. Give thanks that God will bless the righteous.

Finding Christ outside the Camp

Praise: A Merciful God. "You are a gracious and merciful God" (Neh. 9:31) "and I praise you for your great mercy."

Scripture: The writer to the Hebrews in our passage, invites us to go outside the 'camp' to meet Christ and to suffer the same reproach. Jesus, of course, was taken outside of the city, Jerusalem and all that it stood for, to be crucified for our sins, cast out like the dead carcasses of sacrificial lambs killed on the temple altar. At one level, this is written to Jewish believers to remind that that the old covenant (represented by the city of Jerusalem) is now obsolete, and that our life is now in Christ.

We are not to settle for temporal provision/delights/home as our true 'home' is found in the city that is to come. But I was also challenged by the missional call to be those who would 'go out' and engage with those who are yet to believe, and lo and behold it is there that we find Jesus already there. It may cost us, we may suffer, people will be confused and question us, they may even want to discount us, but we will find Jesus only too ready to embrace us.

In the very going though, we also become bearers of the kingdom message and reality. Jesus in the gospel reading tells us that in coming to him to drink, we will subsequently find a river of living water flowing from our own hearts into the lives of others. This is what Jesus and the presence/power of the Spirit makes possible through our lives.

"Here am I lord. Send me ... in the power and fullness of your Holy Spirit."

Prayer: Pray for God to add to us those who are being saved and those whom he would call into our missional, community life. Humbly acknowledge that God provides the growth as we faithfully obey and trust. Rejoice in God's loving kindness that endures forever.

Feeling weak and droopy?

Praise: A God of Justice. "Lord, I praise and magnify You, who is 'just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.'" (Romans 3:26)

Scripture: "Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." (Heb 12:12-13) One problem of reading extracts like this is that you're not always mindful of what has gone before. This would be especially important when your test begins with the word 'therefore'. What has gone before is part of the reason or motivation for what is about to come. So what was the writer talking about? Just this, we are involved in a struggle, within, that will call for endurance. But God as our Father is there to support us in his love, and this will inevitably involve some measure of discipline. This is good for us and ultimately the most loving thing to do. It is unpleasant, but it is what bears fruit in our lives.

'Therefore' we also have a responsibility in this. We do tend to 'droop', at times we feel weak, we are in need of healing and without the right choices, things could get even worse for us.Weak knees are one thing but a dislocated hip is quite another. But let us not become complacent and think that we are immune from these realities. We have the power within to 'gird up our loins' so to speak. We must learn to 'walk in the Spirit' as Paul would put it - understanding that that is both a new power that comes to us through the Spirit (our oneness with God), but also wisdom to make good (healthy) choices in life - to stay on the right path, to overcome the temptation that we face daily to step away from the path of righteousness. Our own flesh and the devil continually bombard us with this temptation but Jesus creates new possibilities and new realities to us. Let us learn to cooperate with the work of the Spirit, however that is mediated to us, so we shall be healed/saved.

Prayer: Pray that generosity and abundant provision would flow in our lives and communities, that we might give to those in need and provide for the work of the kingdom. Thanks God that he is able to do immeasurably more than we could imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.

Are you leaving or learning Christ?

Praise: The Everlasting Father, the Ancient of Days. "I praise you Lord, as the 'Ancient of Days' (Daniel 7:9), the 'Everlasting Father' (Isaiah 9:6), who lives forever and ever."

Scripture: "many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him." (John 6:66) Jesus certainly did not seem to be in the 'people-pleasing' business at times, nor was he preoccupied with simply gathering a large crowd or following. Yet these are two things that at times in my life have had undue priority, sadly. There seems no place in Jesus' economy for half-hearted discipleship, it was all or nothing. He graciously invited people to follow him, to be with him, to come as they are, but his purpose was that they be changed in the process so as to fully reorient their lives around him and his word. He seemed at the same time to be both very attractive (in his manner, his compassion), yet also at times shocking (would you not have been initially shocked by his command to eat his flesh and drink his blood?). People would either learn from him or leave for a safer/easier option ... most it seems chose the latter.

What are you choosing? Are you really hearing and responding to the call? Am I,I ask myself. We are reminded by the writer to the Hebrews to, "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Heb 12:1-2) So, what might be dragging you down, what in your life might you need to cast off? How do you need to simplify things or make room/time for Jesus and the things of his kingdom? Are you in it for the long haul and therefore setting your mind on things above? What needs to go?

Prayer: Pray that we would be a community characterized by life-giving fellowship. Pray for genuine care and honoring of one another in unity of spirit and the bond of peace. Thank God for one another and for the grace to love each other as Christ loved us.

Looking to the Reward

Praise: The Almighty God. "O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you." (Psalm 89:8)

Scripture: "He [Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." (Heb 11:26) Touched this morning by this remarkable aspect of Moses' faith - rather than enjoy the blessing of being the son of Pharaoh's daughter (ironically through a kind of adoption), Moses chooses to align himself with God's people - something we can only do through 'adoption'. He rejects the immediate reward (in a worldly sense), for the eternal reward of his Father in heaven.

Moses had an awareness of his true identity, and therefore calling from God, that would have seemed like foolishness to the onlooker. It led to a life of struggle and even reproach. The writer connects this to Christ even before the Christ had come to earth in Jesus of Nazareth. Here we see something of the continuity of the purposes of God and his plan being worked out. But Moses chooses to embrace the call of Christ, regardless of the cost in the short term.

We need to beware of the pull of our world/culture which is preoccupied on the short-term and with personal pleasure and 'plenty'. The life of faith calls us to treat our life on this earth differently, not something of our own but something for which we have been made stewards for the glory of God. It begins though with our sense of identity, who we truly are in Christ, the beloved of God - allow this truth to wash over your spirit.

Help us Lord to see and be drawn to the greater wealth of knowing and serving Christ, trusting in that which is to come.

Prayer: Pray that apostolic leaders would be raised up within the Church, called by God and confirmed by God's people. Pray that we would all hear the call of Christ to go, "as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you". Pray that we would listen for the heartbeat of God for the identity, vision and mission of the Church. Thank God for his apostolic anointing and pray for more.

Pioneers or Settlers?

Praise: The only God. "God I praise you because you are the Lord, and there is no other; apart from [You] there is no God." (Isaiah 45:5)

Scripture: In many of us there is a deep desire to 'settle', to find and make our home so as to enjoy life. In the reading from Hebrews, the writer commends those who lived the life of faith, looking for God to deliver, provide, heal, etc. and yet never seeing the promise fulfilled. In fact, the way their lives turned out they might almost be excused for wondering if God was even there, never mind working on their behalf. "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (Heb 11:13)

Though called to seek the Kingdom of God upon the earth, to make a difference wherever God has put us and to have the opportunity to reveal Christ by our love, yet they/we are still described as strangers or exiles. I can at times feel something of this tension in a different way as a legal alien (from the UK) living in the United States. The homeland or country we look for is not England (at least most of the time!), but the city that God is building in heaven that will populate the new earth. Referred to in John's Revelation as the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem which is being prepared as a bride for his Son, Jesus. He speaks of the Church.

In this sense we are to live a life of impact here and now, perhaps even as pioneers, but all the while not settling for this but looking for the fulfillment of the promise. These people never got to see God 'come through' for them in their lifetime. This is a challenge to us when we can be so preoccupied with human notions of "success", that we could even misinterpret such a reality as failure or lack of faith. But God is not ashamed of them, of being their God. He loves their devotion and commitment in spite of outward circumstances. Father, may we have such grace upon us to keep our sights set on that which is above.

Prayer: Pray for all to hear the truth, acknowledge their need, turn to Jesus for grace, forgiveness and empowerment by His Spirit. Pray that we would be a people who will receive God's promises. Thank God for calling us to Himself.

God's pleasure in a faith that pursues Him and is not passive

Praise: God the Creator. "Creator God, I praise You because 'You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship You'".

Scripture: In the reading from Hebrews, the writer says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who (diligently) seek him." [Heb 11:6] We are reminded of the place of faith (or we might say 'trust') in God's economy, but more importantly it is a faith that leads to action, action in the sense of pursuing God, and doing so diligently as we are encouraged in the authorized version. Am I pursuing a deeper, more intimate relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ? How fitting that as we begin this journey together, this should be a part of our readings. Thank you Father.

This is more than just a faith that God exists, but a freedom to trust in this God who desires to be a loving, compassionate Father to us, who desires to share himself with us. I am reminded of some of the words from the Psalmist when he said, "This I know, that God is for me .. in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? .. For you have delivered my soul from death .. that I may walk before God in the light of life." [Psalm 56:9,11,13] This God has known my pain and gathered my tears in a bottle. This God I feel safe to open my heart to. Help me in this Father that I may walk in the light of your life.

Prayer: Pray that God's Word would be read, meditated upon and proclaimed by his people, with boldness and clarity. That Jesus, the living Word, would be exalted in our lives and communities. Thank God that his word never returns empty but always accomplishes that which he determines.