Daily Devotionals

1 Peter 1.3-9

I’m quite a fan of those cheesy icebreaker questions that ask: if you were an animal or chocolate bar or Spice Girl, what would you be and why? (FYI it’s a Labrador, Kitkat and Baby Spice for me). Questions like that get me thinking in a different direction and often bring with them unexpected discoveries, along with a decent amount of silliness, of course.

So, let me ask you the same question but this time, about your faith. Just humour me for a moment, if your faith were an animal, what would it be? … A hardworking little ant, maybe. A full of flap flamingo. How about a kind of weather … a calming sunset perhaps. Or maybe a thundering storm. And what if you were to describe your faith as a kind of metal? … On my good days, my faith feels like copper cabling, not so impressive looking but a conduit for useful stuff – but there are certainly days when my faith feels too easily bent out of shape, a little rusty at the edges and not all that fancy to look at. More like tin. Yes, there are definitely tin faith days.

Today’s passage points us to a different metal altogether.

When describing faith, Peter says that it is more precious than gold. How remarkable that the everyday, faltering steps of our faith are compared to something so valuable and beautiful. That precious material that adorns and shouts of wealth: gold. We’re told that such genuine faith will result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus is revealed. The Message translation puts it brilliantly saying: ‘When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith… that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.’ Our faith may feel feeble, it may seem weak and inadequate, but it is extraordinarily valuable to God and, as this passage explains and celebrates, it leads to the most incredible gift: the salvation of our souls.

In rising from the dead, Jesus has won for us an inheritance that Peter describes as imperishable, undefiled and unfading. To put it another way, it is going to last forever, it’s pure and it is vibrant. This inheritance is our salvation. We’re told that it is ready and waiting for us – it is kept in heaven.

But that isn’t to say that it is a purely future reality. Peter tells us that we are already in the process of receiving this living hope, this outcome of our faith, this salvation of our souls. And therefore, we don’t sit counting down the days until we reach heaven. We live our salvation today.

This calls us to a new perspective on the difficult things in our lives. Peter doesn’t pretend that suffering doesn’t exist, remember that he was writing at a time when believers were being killed for holding fast to the Gospel, but he refers to suffering trials as being ‘for a little while’. In the same way, Paul says in 2 Corinthians: ‘this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure’ (4:17). It’s as though, when we eventually hold our inheritance fully, even the most awful things of our earthly life will somehow seem to have lasted a mere moment. It’s easy to hear the words, isn’t it, but how much harder to live a life where faith and suffering stand side by side while trusting that an eternal hope is on the horizon. Praise God that it isn’t reliant on us. As Peter says, ‘we are being protected by the power of God’ and so when holding on to hope feels hopeless, we can be sure that God is fighting alongside us in the battle.

God has given us the gift of this inheritance because of his great mercy. We haven’t earned our salvation nor do we need to strive to prove the genuineness of our faith. It is all in Him and to His glory. We are simply called to rejoice in the receiving of it. And when such joy doesn’t seem all that forthcoming, let us remember that whether our faith feels like trusty copper cabling or an old piece of tin, in the eyes of our loving heavenly father, it is always, always golden.

Let’s pray:

Father, thank you for the gift of our salvation. Thank you that it is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. When the difficulties of today overshadow the promised glory of our inheritance would you change our perspective and give us joy. Help us to trust that our faith, however feeble it feels, is valuable to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 8.28-39

It is a cliche to say that your wedding day is the happiest of your life, but on 14 July 2012 I felt pure joy as the chaplain spoke the words, ‘I now pronounce you man and wife’. In response, I let out a strange and slightly embarrassing noise, somewhere between a cry and a cheer. Thankfully, I’m not sure anyone registered it except me, but I remember it clearly because it was one of the very few times when I – as a fully signed up member of the repressed Brits club – let out a completely uncontrolled overflow of emotion in public. My squawk was not one of joy, or excitement, or even gratitude. It was the sound of relief. 

Martin and I had spent much of our relationship until that moment living on separate continents, and from watching the friends around me, I knew all too well that life could throw obstacles in the path of even those couples you thought destined to be together forever. Job offers in different countries, university places in different cities, conflicting obligations to family, financial challenges, differences of opinion over current political topics, and the list could go on. But here I was, looking at the person I had chosen to spend the rest of my life with, knowing that there was now nothing that would separate us. Whatever was to happen from here, we would face it together. Or to put it in less saccharine terms, Martin now had no escape. ‘Those whom God has joined, let no man put asunder.’ (A phrase taken from Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9.)

In order to underline the definitive nature of our commitment to one another, we had made vows. It was not only ‘no man’ who could put us asunder. We also pledged that sickness, poverty, and the very worst of times would not be enough to split us apart. We were now one flesh, ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health’. Such big promises.

So far, so romantic. The wedding service, however, has to make one concession. There is a situation which will divide any couple, about which we have no choice, and in the face of which we can do nothing. This is why the promises Martin and I made to each other, and that all married couples make, come with a caveat. I will love and cherish you, we say, ‘until death us do part’. Even on the very day we celebrate our coming together, we must acknowledge that there will be a day when we will be parted. In a ceremony designed to recognise the very best of human love, we still give voice to its limitations.

In today’s passage, Paul reminds us that there is in fact a love even greater, even more glorious and powerful than any we might experience here on earth. Greater than our love for our spouse, our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends. It is a love that will not yield even to death. We have even greater cause to yell out in glee than me, a bride at the altar.

For we are loved with a love that reaches into the past, soaks the present and extends into the eternal future. Nothing of this world, nor anything in all creation, can bring it to an end. No person, no hardship or distress. Even death is no threat to it, for it flows from Jesus, the one who conquered death, by giving himself up to it in order that we too might be raised with him, justified, glorified, rising as more than conquerors. 

On his wedding day, the groom ‘leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). So we, in joining ourselves to Jesus, leave behind our old way of life and become members of a new family. We are not promised that we will never again face hardship, but rather than when we do so, we will do it with Christ beside us, within us, fighting for us. No one can stand against us. And we can be confident that he is ultimately working all things for good, even when we cannot see it. 

This is why, after we had made our vows to one another, Martin and I chose to have our wedding guests sing In Christ Alone with us, a song that reminds us of the hope we have in Christ. He is the one who stills our fears and offers solidity in the midst of our strivings. The one who took on flesh, endured man’s scorn and died on the cross in order that we might live. Our Saviour, who burst victorious from the grave and overcame sin’s curse. 

Every Christian can echo the sentiment that caused me to feel so overcome as I stood at the altar in my white dress, with a shiny new ring on my finger: I am his and he is mine! And we can all celebrate together, voices rich with love and relief: ‘No power of hell, no scheme of man, / Can ever pluck me from his hand.’

Father God, Thank you that through Jesus’ death the curtain between us was torn in two and we are no longer separated from you. Thank you nothing we do, and nothing that can be done to us, is enough to change that. Help us to live in your love, to proclaim your victory and to build our lives on the certainty of our future with you,
Amen.

Romans 8.12-25

I’d like us to think about three things from today’s reading: the glory we are promised, life in the present and the hope we have. 

Firstly then, the Spirit we have received has not made us slaves, lowly workers in God’s kingdom, but rather we are adopted. We’re welcomed into God’s family, as children and co-heirs alongside Jesus. I wonder if you’ve spent much time dwelling on your status as a co-heir of God along with Christ? Paul tells us that he considers ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us’. I don’t know what particular sufferings you have in your life; I find it hard to conceive of a glory so great that the sufferings in my life and in the world as a whole can’t be compared to it, but that is what we have been promised! And while we long for this glorious future, we aren’t alone, for ‘creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God’, for that day when we are reckoned as children of the King and receive our inheritance of glory – even creation will be set free.

This glorious future inheritance does have strings attached though. There’s an expectation upon us as members of God’s family to behave fittingly; if we are led by the Spirit, and put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. By following the guidance of the Spirit we have received, and who lives within us, we’re not only living in a pleasing way to God, but we are being changed in the present. Inheritance is a familiar concept to us today, as it was for the Romans thousands of years ago; upon the death of a family member or close friend, you may be left a portion of their property, as set out in their will. This isn’t the only inheritance we receive, though, as we also inherit our appearance, aspects of our character and behaviour from others, particularly our parents. I can see this in my own life in many ways, for example, I can see that I have inherited a huge part of my character, interests and use of time straight from my Dad (for better or worse, some might ask!).

Similarly, because we are adopted into God’s family, we start to inherit God’s character, priorities and perspective, as we are led by the Holy Spirit. You may have had a self-aware realisation at some point in your life that you’re turning into one of your parents – let’s strive towards being able to look back and see how our lives have been shaped towards Christ’s likeness. This isn’t to say that if we are led by the Spirit that everything will be rosy; as Paul says, we suffer with Christ in this present time that we may also be glorified with him, but the Spirit of adoption we have received means that we do not have to fall back in fear.

This leads me on to the final point: hope. Verses 24 and 25 say,  ‘For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience’. We can be hopeful because of the certainty of what we do not yet see, and because we have the Holy Spirit bearing witness with out own. It’s easy to be fearful of that which we can’t see yet if we are uncertain of it, but this chance of redemption and a future that we can’t yet see but are certain of is the great hope of Christians across history and the world, that sets us apart from the futility of the world. We were saved in hope, because if we could see the future that has been promised we wouldn’t need hope any more, and we can live in hope through the sufferings of this world because we know what God’s got waiting for us.

Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you so much for what Christ did for us on the cross, making us co-heirs with him in your family. Thank you for your Spirit that dwells in us, leads us and witnesses to our spirits that we are your children, and thank you that we aren’t left to our own devices and strength to try and live holy lives. We ask that you would help us to put to death the deeds of our bodies, that we might be glorified with Christ on that last day, and that we would wait patiently until then without losing hope.
Amen.

Romans 6.5-14

Have you ever tried to end a bad habit? Whether it’s picking at zits on your face or biting your nails… If so, you’ll know just how difficult it is! The saying rings true: Old habits die hard. Of course, we’re also susceptible to more serious habits, behaviours we don’t want others knowing about – I’m talking about the sinful patterns in our lives that make us feel ‘enslaved’ (v.6). Paul rightly chooses such a word of provocation – there is no good connotation to being a slave, whether back in first century Judea or here today.

If we are enslaved, it then makes sense that naturally we’ll desire freedom. Yet it’s easier said than done. In fact, it’s so difficult that Paul tells us that in order to find freedom, we need to die to sin. Talk about extreme language – but it also reveals the gravity of what Paul’s talking about. This isn’t just dealing with bothersome pimples or inconveniently long nails. This is dealing with sin, a matter of life or death.

Death, death, death… why all this talk about death? Isn’t it all just dark and gloom? In a way, it is. Death is horrific, no qualms about that. There’s nothing redeeming about death itself. And that’s why Jesus’ death on the cross, his gruesome and shameful crucifixion, was so shocking and final in nature. To His disciples, to His family, it was the end of all hope. Death, death, death…

But no! That’s not the end of the story! For Jesus was raised from the dead, and therefore ‘will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.’ (v.9) Or as it says in 1 Corinthians 15: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ (vv.54-55) He has defeated sin and death, once and for all. And hallelujah, Christ is alive!

For many of us, myself included, talk about death can be very abstract. Some of us have had to face it in pain and sorrow. But as a whole, Western culture doesn’t like to talk about death. We want to feel inspired and uplifted! Can’t we just talk about Christ being alive and about us living with Christ? The answer is no. We only live with Him if we are raised with Him, and we can only be raised with Him if we are in a state from which we can be raised, that is, death. We need to go through death to have life – we can’t just have the end result without the process.

So on one hand we have sin and death if we continue to live our old life, and on the other we have resurrection life in/with Jesus if we embrace the new life. I don’t know about you but it’s pretty clear which I’d rather choose! This is the good news: Christ died, and Christ has risen, and if we die with Christ, so too will we be risen and live with Christ.

Yes, it’s a matter of faith. Yes, it’s a matter of ‘believing’ (v.8). Yes, it’s a matter of ‘considering ourselves’ (v.11) as so – after all, it hasn’t fully happened yet. We still struggle with sin, we still face death as an earthly reality. What I appreciate about Paul is that he doesn’t pretend life is grand. Neither does he expect us to have already fully overcome sin (see what he says in chapter 7 about his own struggle with doing what he doesn’t want to do and not doing what he wants to do!). But that doesn’t give us an excuse to capitulate to sin and its passions.

We cannot be passive. Paul exhorts us to be proactive now: Do not…! No longer…! The truth of the eternal reality impinges upon the present, and we have a responsibility to partner with that truth. We still have a choice. We can continue to sin and entertain wickedness – but that doesn’t align with the eternal reality that we ‘have been brought from death to life’ (v.13).

Does that mean we can and should fight this battle on our own? Of course not! Only in Jesus Christ do we have dominion over sin and death – we need His help immensely. And so let us present ourselves to God, trusting that in and by His grace, sin will not enslave us – we look to the day when that eternal reality comes to fruition.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, thank you for your death and resurrection that also takes us from death to life. Will you help us when we are enticed by our old life of sin and its passions, instead of looking forward to the eternal reality of new life with you. Even though we still struggle, will you strengthen us by your Spirit so that we can step into your freedom and victory. In your name, we pray,
Amen.

Hebrews 12.1–3

This passage follows chapter 11’s swelling list of great heroes of the faith. It recounts fantastical stories that many of us began learning as little kids. When reading those stories as adults, we start noticing that some of the characters were deeply flawed, and some of the stories were really messy! In many ways they were ordinary humans, just like us, in and through whom God did extraordinary things. Their legacy is the common thread that connected them: faith. As they did in their faith journeys, we’re to “also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely.”

Several years ago, my husband Andy and I backpacked the Dingle Way, a long-distance trail in southwest Ireland. It winds through astonishing terrain, but because we carried (in hindsight!) more supplies than we needed in extremely heavy backpacks, some days the pain and agony of our load far overshadowed the phenomenal views and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. What relief we felt in the times when we took off the backpacks and walked without them! How much more manageable the distance, how free we were to enjoy the full experience and fellow hikers, to soak up the beauty around us.

Similarly, in life we sometimes think that the weight we’re carrying is so vital, so non-removable. What is the unnecessary weight you carry? What sin is like suffocating cling wrap to your soul? What is distracting your gaze and focus? Sometimes we’re convinced there’s just no other way, when in reality these prevent us from experiencing the fullness and freedom He offers. It’s time to drop the over-stuffed, unnecessary, misery-inducing backpack. Listen to the One beckoning all those who are weary and burdened, and He will give you rest. Ask Jesus to open your eyes, ask Him to free you from that which He has not asked you to carry and from that sin which you’ve allowed to burden and numb your walk with Him.

You can’t properly run a race with a giant backpack! Not only is it relieving to have that weight removed, it’s necessary for the faith journey set before us. We’re told to run with perseverance – carrying on in spite of difficulties and obstacles – which assumes we will indeed face those, just as the saints in chapter 11 did. Their perseverance included building an ark when there were no rain clouds in sight, leaving home not even knowing where God was leading, offering to God that which was most precious, facing threats and abuse and even death.

Jesus is very familiar with challenges like these, and He knows the faith required to endure them. He is the one who brought our faith into being, and He’s the one who perfects it. Sometimes we’ll notice Him pioneering new things in and around us as he perfects our faith. It’s most often gradual and at times imperceptible.

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Joy and a cross seem incompatible with one another. It’s important to note that the joy set before Jesus was not a joy in his present circumstances. The present time for Him held atrocious, horrific things: being deserted by those who were supposed to love him, being beaten, mocked, and even crucified! Yet His deep-rooted joy was ultimately in what lay ahead, that which wasn’t clear and obvious in those dark hours . . . the day when He would be united with God and in His presence forever. Our joy should be anchored in that same hope – a future hope – not just a hope in the circumstances of this life. So much of scripture adjusts our gaze to a more distant horizon.

There will inevitably be times of discouragement, unclarity, and perhaps even times of hostility from others as we persevere in the race set before us. In those times, we can find comfort in knowing that this difficult terrain was endured by the great cloud of witnesses and by Jesus Himself. Not only that, but He’s given us His church, modern-day saints to run with us. Some may look like obvious heroes, but most are other “ordinary” people just like us, saved by faith that is gradually being perfected by its Author.

Dear Jesus,

We thank you that we are not pioneers on this journey of faith. We follow generations who have faithfully walked before us, and you, our incarnate Christ, walked upon this soil and modelled joyful perseverance. Thank you that we are not alone. You continue to walk alongside us and lead us in this race. Show us the weight that strains and the sin that binds us ­– convict us, bring us to repentance, and rescue us. Fix our eyes on you, and let us share in your joy.
Amen.

Hebrews 4.14-5.10

In Hebrews chapters four and five we are plumb in the middle of Hebrews’ exposition of one of its most distinctive and powerful themes: that Jesus is our Great High Priest. Although the heavenly intercession of Christ is alluded to in other places in the New Testament (eg Roms. 8.34 and 1 Tim. 2.5) the discussion in Hebrews is the fullest, deepest and most inspiring of all. The two psalms quoted in 5.5 and 6 help form a short chain of titles for Jesus. The 2nd Psalm links together kingship and Sonship – God’s Son sits at his right hand. The 110th Psalm links kingship with priesthood – the Lord who sits at the LORD’s right hand is a priest forever like Melchizedek. Now Jesus is the Son of God, King and Priest.

The focus throughout today’s reading is on the uniqueness of Jesus’ priesthood. All priests are humans and have real empathy for their fellow humans with whom they share their weaknesses. Precisely because any human priest shares not only in the humanity, but also the sinfulness of those on whose behalf he intercedes, he has to offer sacrifices not only for their sins but also for his own. This is most obvious in the greatest OT sacrifice of all when, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest enters behind the veil into the most Holy Place. He offers first a bull for his own sins before offering two goats for the sins for the people. Even the HP is a sinner like all of God’s people.

Priesthood is a privileged position which requires a divine call and appointment. In this respect at least Jesus priesthood is like that of all OT priests – God has appointed him. But Jesus is appointed to a higher status and permanent office. Jesus priesthood has four advantages over human priesthood: first because of his perfect life he has no need to make an offering for his own sin and so offers himself for the sins of others; secondly because of his resurrection he lives for ever and therefore his priesthood is not rendered ineffective by age or death. Because he lives forever his priesthood is permanent. Thirdly because Jesus is exalted to God’s right hand his sacrifice is seen in the very presence of God – in heaven rather than on earth. Finally because Jesus is not only God but became and remains a human this means we have a man in heaven as our intercessor and advocate on our behalf.

The combination of these things is a powerful spiritual comfort, in the literal sense of comfort – giving spiritual strength to our life in Christ. Here for me is the heart of the matter. Jesus’ incarnation (that as God he shared and shares our humanity), his obedient life (he did not sin), his sacrificial death (by which offering of himself on the cross he covers my sin) and his resurrection (he lives forever never to die again) are all things that he undertook as a human on my behalf and yours. They mean that Jesus our heavenly intercessor who intercedes for us not only was human but is human and his pleading has the power of all that he undertook, suffered and achieved as a human on our behalf. And that is just what I need. If Jesus as God were to plead before His Father’s throne on my behalf this would be powerful and persuasive but I’m not sure that I would be so confident that he was on my side. But he shares my humanity so closely and fully that it only differs from mine and yours in one crucial particular – he never sinned. He lived a perfect life of obedience to His Father and won a hard fought battle with exactly the temptations I – you – we face day by day. And though tested he came through untainted by sin. He has the nail marks to prove the extent and cost of that of obedience that was tested in every kind of temptation. He became obedient even to death on the cross. Now he pleads his perfect life and sacrificial death on behalf of sinful humanity. And this gives me great confidence: the nail prints of the Lamb are visible for heaven to see. For the Father to see.

The poets and hymn writers always say it best. Giant among them is Isaac Watts from 300 years ago. This is from ‘Join all the glorious names’.

Jesus, My Great High Priest,
Offered himself and died,
My guilty conscience seeks no sacrifice beside;
His powerful blood did once atone; and
now it pleads before his throne.

My Advocate appears for my defence on high;
The Father bows his ears and lays his thunder by;
Not all that hell or sin can say
Can turn his heart, his love away.

‘Join all the Glorious Names’ by Isaac Watts

You probably know Before the Throne of God Above – a modern revival of a 180 year old hymn made more powerful and more popular by a better tune. But it is this simpler 40 year old song by Wendy Churchill that, one Sunday evening, had me sinking to my knees in worship and weeping tears of joy at the sheer confidence I can have in Jesus’ pleading before his Father for little me. I make it our final prayer:

Jesus is king and I will extol him
Give Him the glory, and honour His name
He reigns on high, enthroned in the heavens
Word of the Father, exalted for us

We have a hope that is steadfast and certain
Gone through the curtain and touching the throne
We have a Priest who is there interceding
Pouring His grace on our lives day by day

We come to Him, our Priest and Apostle
Clothed in His glory and bearing His name
Laying our lives with gladness before Him
Filled with His Spirit we worship the King

O Holy One, our hearts do adore You
Thrilled with Your goodness we give You our praise
Angels in light with worship surround Him
Jesus, our Saviour, forever the same.

‘Jesus is King’ by Wendy Churchill

Hebrews 1.1-4

When I hear the writer of Hebrews say that Jesus ‘sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high’, I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke to the high priest of Israel on the night before the crucifixion.  We hear the story in the gospel of Mark.  Jesus and his disciples are in the garden of Gethsemane.  While the disciples each drift off into sleep, Jesus wrestles with God in prayer, deeply grieved to the point of death.  He cries out saying, ‘Abba!  Father!  All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what you will’  Once Jesus reaches that place of submission to the Father’s will through prayer, Judas arrives with a crowd armed with swords and clubs.  They seize Jesus and bring him to the high priest.  These are Mark’s words describing the encounter: 

‘They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none.  For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying,  “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’”  But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?”  But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 

Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.’

In this horrific encounter the earthly high priest sits in judgment over the heavenly high priest.  The earthly priest, like the priest before him and the priest before him, is a man beset with weakness.  He is a man who can only offer sacrifice for the sins of others after he has offered a sacrifice for his own sin.  And yet here he is, standing before the sacrifice for his own sin.  He is standing before the heavenly high priest who himself has no sin and needs only to offer up a sacrifice for the sins of others.  

And when the lowly carpenter from Nazareth declares that he would sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the high priest is outraged.  Jesus’ words sound to his ears like the most outrageous blasphemy.  That this presumptuous Nazarene would have the gall and irreverence to stand before the office of the high priest of Israel and declare that he would sit at God’s right hand!  This was too much to be borne and so the high priest calls for judgment and Jesus is condemned. 

I wonder if Jesus’ words to the high priest on that day actually made the priest rest easier about putting Jesus to death?  I wonder if it made the priest say to himself, ‘I could not have gotten clearer blasphemy than what that man said!  We are surely free from any guilt in putting him to death!  We have done our duty.’  I wonder if perhaps Jesus’ words even helped the high priest to sleep peacefully the night after Jesus was put to death?  

But Jesus’ words must be measured in the light of his resurrection.  The writer of Hebrews, who stands on the other side of Jesus’ condemnation, the other side of his death, who stands in the light of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, not only says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the power, but that Jesus is the heir of all things; that all the world was created through him that He is the reflection of God’s glory, the exact imprint of God’s very being, and that he sustains all things by his powerful word.  He goes on to say that this Jesus, the man who stood before the earthly high priest of Israel and was condemned, is superior even to angels, worthy of greater honor than Moses, a greater high priest than any that ever were before him, and that the salvation brought about through his death and resurrection is the basis for a covenant better than that which was given in the past through the law of Moses.  

The claims that seemed to be outrageous blasphemy before the high priest, are embraced by Jesus’ followers when he is raised from the dead.  May we who also live on this side of the resurrection not only stand in faith believing that Jesus made purification for our sins and sat down at the right hand of God, but that he will come again upon the clouds.  

Let us pray together,

Jesus, you are higher than we can imagine.  You are seated at the right hand of the throne of power and you will come again on the clouds of heaven. Even so, come LORD Jesus! 
Amen.  

Ephesians 2.1-10

A few weeks ago we passed Easter, and the story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ never ceases to affect me. It always cuts me to the very core that Jesus chose the way of the cross – to suffer and to die for me. The story doesn’t shy away from the brutality – it’s bloody and it’s dark. Easter Saturday is solemn as we wait to hear how the story ends. And so comes Easter Sunday morning. Jesus is risen! Praise the Lord.

At the Alpha course this week we were discussing the resurrection of Jesus, looking at some of the evidence together and were thinking how we can know Jesus is God by the fact that he rose from the dead, as he had said he would. And whilst that is true, it’s missing a crucial part of the resurrection story. It’s missing where you and I fit into this picture. What does the resurrection – and later ascension – of Jesus mean to us? This passage tells us that we’re actually caught up in the middle of this drama. 

But as with Easter, before we rush to the exciting resurrection morning we need to examine what happened before then. Paul doesn’t hold back as he describes our previous life – before knowing Jesus as Lord. Verses 1-3 says we were disobedient, following the course of this world and on the road to condemnation. Paul even goes so far as to say we were dead. Through our trespasses and sins, all the things we had done wrong, we were dead. 

Undeserving and hopeless. Dead.

But God. In verse 4 everything changes, as God steps into the picture. ‘But God, who is rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ As Jesus was raised from the dead, so were we. As Jesus ascended into heaven, so we were seated with him.

Did you note the contrast? Not only have we gone from death to life, but more than that, we have been seated with him in the heavenly places. We are now in Christ and with him in the heavenly places. No longer children of wrath but showered with grace upon grace.

But what is grace?

It’s one of those ‘Christian words’ that I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand. Sometimes I write a little note in my journal when I’m extra grateful trying to define grace. Like ‘grace is when your friends have made you dinner as you come home after a busy working day’ or ‘grace is to laugh so hard you get a stomach ache’ or ‘grace is the sky painted so beautifully tonight I felt like crying’. Do you know that feeling?

But the Bible tells us this is not the way to define grace. Grace is defined by God’s actions. And it’s painted in vivid colours in this passage. How did God show his grace? He brought us from death to life. By grace you have been saved.

Grace is also knowing it’s not because of anything we have done, but because of who God is. Paul underlines this point twice so that we don’t miss it – it’s not because of anything we are, but because God is rich in mercy. It’s not the result of our own works – it’s God’s gift. We were dead through our trespasses, but God loved us so much that he made us alive together with Christ.

This grace confronts my pride, where I want to be able to do everything on my own, I need to realise that my salvation is 100% the work of God’s grace. I was dead – God made me alive in Christ. Perhaps I need to stop and marvel at that fact more often.

And this grace calls me to action. The last verse of today’s passage hints at a big plan at work all along – where God has good works planned for us all to work his good purposes.

We are to expect grace to be at work in us, and we are to expect grace to be worked out through us – to extend that same grace in whatever way we can to others.

How can you see God’s grace at work in you and through you today? That is the resurrection life.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we thank you that you have saved us. That you have brought us from death to life. We are so thankful. Thank you that we are free to live and work for your glory today. Help us to understand your grace and help us to live it out. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Colossians 3.1-4

Have you ever heard the expression ‘they’re so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good’? The expression refers to people who float along through life with their heads in the heavens, and their feet two foot above the ground; they’re no help to anybody. But actually, when I think of people I know who, I would say, are ‘heavenly minded’, they are people who bring so much good and hope to the present. 

Today’s passage, Colossians 3.1-4, is a call to lift our eyes above the immediate, the tangible, the visible and to seek the things that are above. Our lives and our futures have been utterly transformed by Christ and therefore we need a complete transformation of our mindset as well. If we have our eyes down and hearts set on earthly things, we will live as if this life is all there is. But if we have hearts and minds set on things above, this will inevitably shape the way we live in this life, as we’ll have our eyes fixed on a far truer reality.  

This passage, although only four verses, is packed with truth, both about who we are, and who  Jesus Christ is. I’m going to pick out four truths to focus in on from these verses:  

Firstly, verse 1 opens with: ‘if you have been raised with Christ…’. Paul is saying that, as believers, we died with Christ and so, inexplicably, we have also been raised with Him. We are new creations. The old is gone and the new is here! We have received new life in Christ and have a hope of one day being resurrected at His return.  And so Paul is encouraging the church in Colossae to remember this complete identity change they have undergone and to remember their resurrected reality with Christ.

Secondly, the second half of verse 1 tells us that Jesus has ascended and is now seated at the right hand of God. Jesus has been given the highest honour, praise and glory. He is our Lord, He is our King and He is seated on the throne and has all sovereignty and power. He rules, and he reigns and one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord. And it is to this Christ that we are to lift our eyes and our hearts.

Thirdly, verses 2-3 say that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God and therefore we are not to fix our eyes on earthly things. Our old selves have gone and we are now new creations in Christ. Our old lives are hidden, dealt with on the cross. And therefore it would be foolish to fix our eyes on that which is dead and wasting away. We have been raised with Christ and so we should fix our eyes on the things that are above.

Fourthly, Jesus will return. We don’t know when, but we do know that it will happen. But even more than Jesus returning, verse four says that we will be ‘revealed with Him in Glory’. Our hidden-ness will one day be over, Jesus, who is our life, will appear and we will reflect His glory. This truth should shape how we live our lives. This is our destiny, our reality and our future.

These four truths are magnificent, wonderful, awe-inspiring insights into the reality of our world. This is what is true. And yet, the immediate, visible world takes so much of our attention. There’s housework to be done, friends to catch up with, food to buy, Netflix to binge watch, Facebook to scroll down, news articles to read and bills to pay. These things are not all bad but they do trick us into thinking this is all there is.

‘Thought discipline’ comes up elsewhere in the New Testament. 2 Corinthians 10: 5 says ‘we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ’. Philippians 4:8 exhorts us to think about things which are pure, right and praiseworthy. And our passage today encourages us to ‘seek the things that are above’. This is not passive pondering, but active seeking. It takes effort, discipline and practice to learn to have a heavenly mindset.

But we don’t just screw up our fists and think really hard about these truths either. These are heavenly mysteries revealed to us only by the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to the reality of our world. And so we spend time in God’s presence, we spend time in His Word and with His people. We pursue these truths like the treasure that they are. For no matter how enticing our present world may be, the reality is that:

1. Christ has been raised and so will we.

2. Christ ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father

3. Our lives are hidden with Christ

4. He will one day come again in glory and we will be revealed with Him.

This is the reality. This is the truth. Let’s allow our lives, our minds, our actions and our thoughts to be shaped by this reality.

Let’s pray:

Father, we thank you that the truths packed in these four verses are the true reality of our world and our future. We’re sorry for the times when we have lived with our eyes downwards and hearts set on the things of this world. We lift our eyes to you again, we seek you Lord, we long for you. Fill our hearts and minds with your truth and help us to live each day with eyes fixed on our future destiny. In Jesus’ almighty name,
Amen.