Tuesday, November 1, 2022

 

Tuesday, November 1, 2022


Psalms 1; 2

Nehemiah 9:6-25

Revelation 1:9-20


Observance: All Saints Day


But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them.


It is important to understand what the Bible means when it speaks of “the Son of Man”. Daniel 7:9-14 describes a vision Daniel had, where he saw the “Ancient of Days” sitting on the throne, to whom was presented “one like a Son of Man”. This ancient prophecy was not some obscure part of scripture, but rather a well-known and central aspect of Jewish understanding about the end times. Therefore, when we read in Revelation about John seeing “one like the Son of Man”, he means he is seeing the Messiah as He truly is, revealed in all His heavenly splendour: the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, King and saviour of the world. No wonder John fell down at His feet “as though dead”.


It is difficult, at times, to reconcile the fact that Jesus loves us, yet we sin and wound His sacred heart. There is nothing as heartbreaking as the times in our lives when we do what Peter did at the trial, and deny our Lord, whether in our behaviour, thoughts or words. Not only that but, depending on how willing we are to listen to the urging of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are convicted of its evil inclinations and we are allowed to see (to some degree) the awesome, terrifying holiness of the God against whom we have rebelled. The miserable sinner knows well the meaning of broken-heartedness and fear.


At the national repentance that opened the second Temple in Jerusalem, Nehemiah passes the microphone over to the prophet Ezra, who leads a prayer of which today we read the first part. He tells a story, one we have heard many times in Sunday School, and is often repeated in various prayers in the Psalms. Ezra goes through the history of God, so as to remind us all of what God has done and, by extension, how those actions show what God is like. It is one thing to read about how much Jesus loves us; it is another thing to remember the times our Lord proved it to us.


The Puritan Richard Sibbes taught how we should not be discouraged in our walk with the Lord simply because we stumble now and again. He reminds us of the image of an axe being taken to a tree: even though it is only the last stroke which fells the tree, it took many swings to get it to that point. Every breath we breathe, God is working the victory of Christ within us. Sometimes we are in troughs; remember the peaks, and remember that Jesus is taking us ever higher every day.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more