Fresh From the Word 2016: The Bible for a change

Witness to the Light

1 The heavens declare

Notes based on the New International Version by Deseta Davis

Deseta Davis serves as associate Pastor of a Pentecostal church. She also works as a tutor in the Centre for Black Ministries and Leadership at the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham, where she is able to bring the study of theology to a range of people who may never have considered such study. Deseta works very closely with a local prison chaplaincy team, helping to bring hope to those who are incarcerated. Married to Charles, Deseta has two grown-up children and a beautiful granddaughter.

Friday 1 January

Called to share

Matthew 3:1-12

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’ (verses 7-8)

Witness and testimony are generally frightening words. They make you think of courts of law and giving witness statements about what you saw or heard. Someone else’s life could be dependent on your witness testimony.

Today Christians can be fearful to share a testimony or witness to the Good News of Christ. Yet we are all called to look out for and share news of God’s action within the world. In the Bible, testimony is about God’s improbable rule, but it is also about earthly rulers and authorities who deny it, such as Herod.

We start the year with John the Baptist stirring up trouble for himself. He seemed to have no fear to speak out against Herod and the ruling classes of the day. Even to his own detriment he testified to God’s rule in the face of the unjust use of power. For many of us today, society’s indifference rather than the threat of persecution forms the context for our mission and life. How do we speak out? How do we testify to God’s righteous rule in an unresponsive world this coming year? Our daily Bible readings will help move us in the right direction.

† God of courage, fill me with your Holy Spirit and fire so I may testify to your power before the unjust powers of this world.

Saturday 2 January

The testimony of heaven

Psalm 19:1-6

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (part of verses 3-4)

Although John the Baptist in yesterday’s text declared God’s greatness mainly with words, testimonies can also be in action and deed. In some protests people have stood or sat in silence until they have been arrested or moved by force. Today’s text sees an outward demonstration in silence. The heavens and skies proclaim the great power and works of God but without word or speech – no sound. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world, open to all.

This text focuses on creation and how it is a great testimony to the glory of God. Yet humanity exploits nature and the environment for its own gain. In Genesis 2:15, God gives specific orders to be good stewards of the gift of creation. However, humanity seems determined to constantly take from nature and not give much in return. Many believe that the earth cannot be sustained in this way. It is as if humanity is trying to silence the voice of nature.

Much as the human race seems blind to it, nature testifies to God’s power. The sun shines and the rain falls on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). It treats everyone equally, poor or rich, powerless or powerful. May we be as nature, declaring the works of God by treating each other fairly and equally.

† Gracious God, forgive us for exploiting your magnificent creation. May we be more aware of the part we play.

For further thought

Take a few moments to reflect on the gift of creation. What can you do to help sustain the earth?

Witness to the Light

2 Rulers brought down

Notes based on the New International Version by Deseta Davis

See Deseta’s biography on p. 1.

Sunday 3 January

Not for sale

Psalm 118:1-9, 26-29

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans… than to trust in princes. (part of verses 8-9)

Today we look at another form of exploitation: that of humans. Human trafficking is a global crime where people are exploited and deprived of their dignity and rights. Men, women and children are recruited or moved by means of deception or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. It is said to be the world’s fastest growing global crime; profits are high and risks are low. The system is based on greed, control and power.

Today’s text encourages refuge in God rather than putting trust in humans – including princes and rulers. Edmund Burke is reported to have said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ It is argued that this is a crime that society does not listen to, business does not see and governments do not talk about. Yet God is able to deploy power for the sake of social transformation. God expects us as human beings to take up the cause for those who are suffering from an evil crime, to stand up to governments and canvas those in power. As the transatlantic slave trade was eventually outlawed, may we one day see victory over this crime.

† God of Compassion, your power breaks the evils of this world and transforms societies. May we work together as a people, church and community to help break the evils of trafficking.

Monday 4 January

Before kings

Psalm 119:46-48

I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame. (verse 46)

‘It is unacceptable to be hungry in this day of plenty.’ This was said on the BBC News this morning as it looked back at the Ethiopian famine that occurred in 1984. During this famine over one million people died. It is reported that the Ethiopian government at the time was in denial that people were dying from starvation and civil war.

One community leader went against his government and invited the BBC to document the horrors of war and famine. This was the first time such a documentary was aired on TV. It brought the world to its knees. The world stood up and took notice. Help was sent from near and far, giving people food for the first time in many months. This community leader stood up to his government and something happened that had never been seen before. The situation changed due to one man.

We should not be ashamed to speak to rulers and governments on behalf of the voiceless. God’s principles are for the poor and dispossessed. The Psalmist was not amongst the great but was willing to testify before great and powerful people and not be ashamed. In today’s society it might seem very old-fashioned to speak of the statutes of God, yet in this age where the rich and poor are further and further apart, we need to join the Psalmist and speak of God’s statutes, letting those in power know that it is unacceptable for people to be hungry in this day of plenty. We could make a difference!

† Loving God, Jesus lived amongst the poor and dispossessed, may we be willing to speak on their behalf to those in power.

For further thought

How could you lobby your government on behalf of those who are in poverty?

Tuesday 5 January

Opposites attract?

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. (verse 5)

In the Hebrew world, women who could not conceive were considered cursed. There was no help for a woman who had no children and it was not much better if she had no sons. She was deemed an outcast in society. There was no hope for her if her husband died. She had no one to care for her in that patriarchal society, and lived in poverty and on the edge of society for the rest of her life.

Hannah who was barren for many years had given birth and celebrates. She testifies to the greatness of God. She distinguishes God from all other gods in unrivalled divine power. She announces that God’s power is used for radical social upheaval.

God’s upside-down kingdom works in opposition to the expectations of earthly society, which sees the poor, weak and oppressed as denigrated. Yet God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, seating them with princes and giving them places of honour. God makes alive, girds the weak with strength and gives children to the barren woman. Her humiliation has now gone and she has the joy of motherhood.

Nevertheless, God also humbles the proud, brings down those in power and breaks the bows of the mighty. God in his sovereign rule changes the social norms. As Hannah in her patriarchal society testifies to the up-turned kingdom of God, the reversal has now taken place: those with no voice now speak out and the powerful and wicked are silenced in darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails, but by God’s grace

† Sovereign God, thank you for your grace; may those who are abased in society be exalted in your kingdom.

For further thought

How do you see God’s upside-down kingdom played out in your society?

Wednesday 6 January

They seek him here, they seek him there

Isaiah 9:1-7

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. (part of verse 7)

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a novel about a ‘hero’ – known as the Scarlet Pimpernel – who is master of disguise. During the French revolution he rescues individuals sentenced to execution and evades capture from the authorities. Only his closest followers know his true identity. He is a quick-thinking escape artist and becomes the subject of an international manhunt.

The French Revolutionary authorities could not find the Scarlet Pimpernel though they searched high and low. The same could be said for the Magi in their search for the king of the Jews. They travelled far and wide in their search. They were totally focused on their goal and were not discouraged when they seemingly reached a dead end in Herod’s palace. They kept asking, searching, and seeking – they sought for him here, they sought for him there, until the baby king was revealed.

Today the earth is seeking godly rule. The mystery of God’s power is revealed to the world, yet it seems to be slipping out of grasp. We may never really grasp hold of it but we need to continue seeking to encounter God’s ways. The French Revolutionary authorities became frustrated at the elusive nature of the Scarlet Pimpernel. We cannot become frustrated at the mysterious nature of God’s government. ‘Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.’ Jesus’ rule is undergirded with justice and righteousness forever. As we persist in seeking we will become more aware of, and have greater participation in, the righteous kingdom of God.

† God of Justice, help us to persist in seeking you. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

For further thought

Reflect on where you saw God’s presence in the last 24 hours.

Thursday 7 January

The young prophetic voice

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (verse 5)

During a recent visit to Macedonia, a group of 15–19-year-old teenagers testified of their recent mission trip to Bulgaria. They spoke openly and clearly of the blessing that they had received and how they declared God’s love and action in their lives. Macedonia has some very poor villages, the children suffer greatly, yet these youngsters could go and testify to God’s grace and power even in their own lack.

Many people were called in the Bible from a young age, such as David and Samuel. Moreover, Jesus, in the Gospels, tells the disciples that the kingdom of heaven was made of the characters of children. Jeremiah, being a young man, was afraid to speak at first and, like all of us at times, made excuses: ‘I am only a child,’ he said. But God told Jeremiah of the divine assignment he had been given. God had called Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was born. So Jeremiah spent most of his youth and adulthood lamenting and crying out against evil.

There are very many young people in prison today that have committed some horrendous crime. There are far fewer who have the prophetic voice, appointed over nations and kingdoms, to uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow the evils as well as to build and to plant. Yet if the young can commit crime, they can also speak with the prophetic voice of God. May God put his words in the mouths of the young so they may be a prophetic voice to their generation.

† Pray for the young people you know. Ask God to put his words in their mouths and give them courage to speak.

For further thought

Have you thought about mentoring someone younger than you? Seek someone out today and start the process.

Friday 8 January

When all else fails!

Habakkuk 3:16-19

Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. (verses 17-18)

The world is reportedly coming out of the recent recession and many people have suffered greatly. Many have lost a great amount. Those that had much were brought down to the level of those who did not have much. Those with little to begin with, have even less. Countries that were suffering in debt have greater debt, and even the richer countries of the West have had to take on more debt. Some countries have not been able to keep themselves afloat, causing discontentment and demonstrations against austerity measures.

Countries are in panic mode as governments have fought to stay in power. To keep their economies stable they have taken action that has been mainly targeted against the poorer people of society.

It was very similar in Habakkuk’s day. There was international crisis and national corruption. Babylonia had become the world power. Fear had come upon Israel, and Habakkuk prophesied the exile of Judah to the Babylonians. He knew that dark and difficult days were ahead. However, here we find Habakkuk willing to weather the most unimaginable economic crisis as he put his trust in the most sovereign God.

Habakkuk’s prayer was poetical, stating that whatever situation he found himself in, such as if there were no figs, grapes, olives, sheep or cattle – if everything failed – he would continue to trust in the Lord: ‘I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!’ He was willing to live with the crisis as long as God was with him.

† Pray for the government of your country to make godly decisions.

For further thought

Consider how you can trust God when you are at your lowest ebb.

Saturday 9 January

Polar night?

Matthew 5:13-16

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden … In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ (verses 14 and 16)

Around the Arctic Circle lies the land of the midnight sun, where for many months in winter some countries endure long hours of darkness. For some, the sun stays below the horizon throughout the day. This darkness can have detrimental effects on the health of the population, causing Seasonal Affective Disorder, lack of energy, and other problems. Many people seek out artificial lighting to help them feel better.

In today’s text, Jesus tells the most unlikely people that they are the light of the world who can remove the effects of darkness. Light has many distinctive qualities. It can be seen from a long distance; people are attracted to it and seek it out. Light illuminates and gives guidance. It benefits alertness, mood, productivity and sleep patterns.

Light must be exposed to be effective; it is of no benefit under a cover. Society is in spiritual darkness and is seeking light. Jesus told his disciples that they were light-givers and not receivers. However, light needs a source; nothing can happen unless it is connected to the source. God is the source to which the Christian is connected and therefore brings light and its benefits to a dark world. As a light cannot help but shine, may the light of God shine through his people to illuminate the darkness of a chaotic world. Finally, as light does not bring glory to itself, may the glory of God be seen by the world through the deeds of God’s followers.

† God of light, may I march through the darkness, lifting high the flame, until your glory is seen by the world.

For further thought

Reflect on how your deeds can show the light of Christ to the world.

Witness to the Light

3 Fulfilling all righteousness

Notes based on the New International Version by Mark Woods

Mark Woods is a Baptist minister and writer. He has served as editor of The Baptist Times and consulting editor for the Methodist Recorder, and is now a contributing editor to the website Christian Today UK. He is in leadership at Leckhampton Baptist Church in Cheltenham, a small but lively and growing congregation. He keeps reasonably fit by running and tries to enjoy it, without much success. For true pleasure, though, he believes that you can’t beat a good book.

Sunday 10 January

The first step along the road

Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented. (verses 13-15)

Theologians sometimes struggle with the baptism of Jesus. It could not be for the remission of sins, because he was sinless. It could not effect an entry into the new community of the redeemed, because he fell into a different category altogether. Jesus himself gives us very little help: he just says that it is ‘proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness’.

However, we might do better if we stopped trying to fit this action into too tight a theological framework, particularly if our tradition is one of infant baptism. Aside from what it ‘means’, there is what, to an adult believer, it feels like. It is a profoundly solemn moment of commitment. It is a new beginning. It is a moment to receive grace and strength for a journey into the unknown. It is undertaken before a community of praying believers; Jesus had only one, his cousin John, but he was a host in himself.

Jesus was beginning a ministry that would take him to the cross and resurrection. He was to tell his disciples that they would have to take up their own crosses, too. Everything follows from this moment.

† Loving God, thank you that you have called me to follow in Christ’s footsteps. Give me strength for the journey, I pray. Amen.

Monday 11 January

We don’t have to do this alone

Acts 8:14-17

When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. (verses 15-16)

The poem ‘Invictus’, by W E Henley, has become famous in recent years because of its use in a film about the South African rugby team, and for the Invictus Games for disabled ex-service personnel organised by Prince Harry. It’s stirring stuff. The poet thanks ‘whatever gods may be’ for his ‘unconquerable soul’; the ‘menace of the years/ Finds, and shall find, me unafraid’. He concludes: ‘I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of my soul.’

It’s impossible not to warm to such an expression of courage. On the other hand, if we tried to live up to that ideal, most of us would fail miserably. We are afraid all too often. We sense that we are not as in control as we would like to be; indeed, all too often we feel inadequate to what we have to face.

The ritual of the laying on of hands, which Peter and John enact in Samaria, is a recognition that we are not the captains of our own souls – or at least, if we are, we need help and guidance through the storms of life we will experience. The Samaritans had been baptised into the new community – a horizontal relationship – but they had not entered into a new relationship with God. Without God’s Spirit, Christianity is just another philosophy. In praying the Spirit into their lives, Peter and John were offering them something different from anything they had known before: a profound connection with each other and with God.

† God, thank you for giving me free will, strength of mind and courage to endure. Help me not to be too proud to ask for help when my own resources are not enough. Amen.

For further thought

Which most needs strengthening in my life, the horizontal relationship with other people or the vertical relationship with God?

Tuesday 12 January

Gaol-bird for Christ

2 Timothy 1:6-14

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. (part of verses 8-9)

Throughout this reading, one idea is dominant: shame. Paul writes to Timothy from prison, where he has been placed for the second time. He is afraid that his fellow-believers will think that his situation reflects badly on him and compromises the gospel. There is no smoke without fire, they might think, and what sort of religion has a gaol-bird as an ambassador? So he encourages them to be firm in their faith, as he is firm, because God is faithful.

Today, in Europe at least, religion has become less ‘normal’ and religious people are sometimes seen as a bit odd. The recent deluge of criticism from aggressive ‘New Atheists’ has helped to create the impression that Christianity has been discredited. It can be hard to go against that current. There can even be a sense of shame at believing things other people don’t, and a temptation to want to belong.

In the Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury there is an old abbey church that is one of the loveliest anywhere. It has beautiful soaring buttresses and it is set in green lawns. Inside it is all stained-glass and polished brass. A few hundred yards away is one of the oldest Baptist chapels in the country. It is in a converted medieval house down an alley, and it’s really nothing to look at. Those seventeenth-century Baptists must have felt the contrast: but they were not ashamed of being poor, weak and shabby. The gift of God had been fanned into flame in their lives.

† God, help me never to be ashamed of Jesus. Fan into flame the gift of faith in my life and help me to believe your promises even when it’s hard to stand alone.

For further thought

Am I too much influenced by what other people think and say? Is fitting in more important than being true to what I believe?

Wednesday 13 January

Passing it on

Psalm 71:5-18

Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. (verses 9-10)

We are used to thinking of our own time as one that is lacking in respect for older people. Technology is for young people and older ones struggle to keep up. In earlier times old people were more respected because things didn’t change so much and their experience was relevant and valued.

There’s a certain truth in this and the Bible usually reflects that view. These verses, though, remind us that old age has never been without its difficulties. The passage speaks of vulnerability, fragility and perhaps loneliness.

So at one level, this gives words to older people in our congregations who might be feeling just that. The Psalmist has been there before them. It is also a rebuke to younger people who might feel inclined to criticise them or ignore them: have we become the ‘enemies’ against whom the Psalmist prays, through a lack of care or respect? Listening to the stories and discerning the wisdom of older people is part of our discipleship.

However, the tone of the psalm is not one of condemnation but of trusting faith. The Psalmist has always trusted in God and God has not failed him. The longer he lives, the more there is to say – he knows not ‘how to relate them all’. (verse 15).

It is this saving and keeping power of God that he wants to live long enough ‘to declare … to the next generation’. One of the privileges of the young is to assure the old that they have sown good seeds of faith in them.

† God, thank you for your care for me throughout my life. Help me never to lose my faith and trust in you and teach me to be grateful for what I have received from others.

For further thought

Am I a friend of older people, or an ‘enemy’? Have I thanked those who have helped me on my journey of faith?

Thursday 14 January

Love that never lets us go

John 14:15-21

‘On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.’ (verses 20-21)

This passage is one of the foundations of the orthodox Trinitarian belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. John places it in the context of a deep, personal commitment of Jesus to his disciples in the face of his forthcoming suffering and death. It is both demanding and generous: he says, ‘If you love me you will keep my commands’, but also ‘I will not leave you as orphans.’

The passage is very rich, and dense with meaning. Jesus will leave the disciples, but he will come back to them. He will not be visible, but he will be experienced through the Spirit, and the life that he shares with the Father will be shared with his disciples as well. The whole relationship is held together by love.

For Christians today, these verses are deeply comforting. We are profoundly connected both to God and to one another. When we put our trust in Christ we enter into a new and living relationship that can only be severed by a deliberate act of our own will: for his part, God will always be faithful.

These words have brought strength to Christians who have felt abandoned and isolated. They are words of hope: the risen and ascended Christ shares his life with his people. William Chatterton Dix includes a reference to verse 18 in his great Ascension hymn, with the lines: ‘Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;/ Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how.’

† God, thank you that Jesus is near even when everyone else seems far away. Though I do not understand, help me to trust in your love and in your saving power.

For further thought

If I am happy to rest in the love of Christ, am I also willing to respond to his challenge to love and obey him?

Friday 15 January

Word of life made known

1 John 1:1-4

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (verse 1)

John’s letters are traditionally believed to have been written by the author of the Gospel. Certainly this one starts with a very personal recollection of encounters with Jesus: the author has seen and touched him. He has not only met the man Jesus, however: he has met the ‘Word of life’, the eternal Son of God. It is this ‘eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us’, that he is to proclaim.

These few verses are deeply meaningful. They tell us, firstly, that we should value our own experience of Christ. We cannot see or touch him physically, as John could, but we can still know him and testify to his work in our lives. John says that he proclaims ‘what we have seen and heard’. Believers have all seen and heard what God has done for them.

These verses also remind us to concentrate on the main thing: that Jesus was God come in the flesh, God incarnate. We are right to want to imitate him in healing and doing good, and these things are good in themselves. However, if we fail to take opportunities to proclaim that Jesus is the divine Lord, we are falling short in a crucial part of Christian witness.

There is also a restlessness here. John proclaims Christ ‘so that you may have fellowship with us’ – become believers too. In verse 4 he says, ‘We write this to make our joy complete.’ For Christians, joy cannot be complete while there are still those who don’t know Christ.

† God, teach me to understand what you have done for me. Help me to understand how you have touched my life, so that I can proclaim it to others too. Amen.

For further thought

Am I satisfied with my Christian witness as it is, or am I restless when I think of those who have still not met Christ?

Saturday 16 January

Who do you think you are?

Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. (verses 14-16)

Family history today is quite an industry. There are websites and search tools to help us find out about our ancestors. Programmes in which celebrities trace their ancestry are popular. Perhaps the more different our lives are from those of our ancestors, the more curious we are about them.

In these verses Paul invites us to think of God as the head of every family on earth. God is the source of all that makes us human. God has authority over all the world: in most first-century cultures a father’s authority was unquestioned. God is the protector not just of a small Middle Eastern nation, but of the world. God is the universal provider.

Furthermore, all family relationships – and of course these were conceived of in patriarchal terms, with the man in charge – were to be based on God’s relationship with his people.

Of course, verses like this have been used to abuse power. They should not be, though. Paul portrays God as giving with extraordinary generosity – giving Christ, whose love ‘surpasses knowledge’ but which allows us, if we are faithful and prayerful, to be ‘filled to the measure of all the fullness of God’. This is not a father who keeps his children in subjection. God wants to lift his children up, not keep them down.

No wonder then that Paul is overcome with a sense of wonder at the goodness and grace of God, who is ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine’.

† God, help me never to be afraid when people think I’m foolish for being a Christian. Help me to remember that your power is infinite and your riches inexhaustible. Amen.

For further thought

If I’m afraid of the bullies in the playground, it’s because I’ve forgotten that my Dad is bigger than theirs.

Readings in Philippians

1 Grace to you, and peace

Notes based on the New Revised Standard Version by Erice Fairbrother

Erice Fairbrother is a New Zealand writer, teacher and poet theologian. In 2013 Erice resigned from parish ministry to further her vocation as writer and oblate of the Order of the Holy Cross, New Zealand, and was vested as a Benedictine solitary in that same year. When not walking on the beach or enjoying time with friends, she lives out her vocation teaching Benedictine formation and spirituality, providing retreats, and offering ministry support through pastoral supervision.

Sunday 17 January

God and the open heart

Acts 16:11-15

The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ (part of verses 14-15)

‘Have you just come for the food?’ Unable to mask her irritation, a parishioner turned questioningly on the street kid who, yet again, had arrived during the last hymn. On the one hand she was right – he was indeed hungry. On the other hand, she got it wrong. What draws people in and where it will lead them is God’s work. Ours is to offer welcome and nurture.

Lydia and her friends, meeting outside the city for prayer, are found by Paul seeking such a Sabbath gathering. Realising they were ready to hear more of God than they’d already received, he prayed with them, and fed them with the good news of Christ. Lydia, her heart opened by God, listened eagerly, which led her to baptism, and the baptism of her community. What does it take to draw seekers into a deeper fulfilling relationship with God? Perhaps it is more about risking an acceptance of difference, and an eagerness to have our hearts opened to offer hospitality and trust. The readings this week provide clues about this, as we consider Paul’s encouragement of mutuality within a deeper fulfilment that is found in a life of right relationship with Christ.

† May the God who came to be one of us find in me this week an open and eager heart; and let any new steps towards Christ begin with me.

Monday 18 January

Righteousness – get real!

Philippians 1:1-11

It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me … (part of verse 7)

Get real! When a pre-schooler brought a picture to his teacher she told him it was wonderful. Without hesitation, he responded, ‘Do you know what it is?’ Caught out by her own quick affirmation, the teacher had to admit ‘No.’ If we don’t keep it real, affirmation and encouragement are mere pleasantries. All of us like to be taken seriously, our work valued and respected.

Paul keeps it real when he offers his friends encouragement and praise. He lets them know why he values them. There are no pleasantries here but words of affirmation that come with concrete examples of why he can be so confident in his praise. Three examples: their faithfulness gives him confidence because it will bear fruit, he values them because they share with him in defending the gospel in the face of opposition, and he can pray all the more for them because they hold him in their heart. If righteousness is about being in right relationship, then that is what we experience in this opening of Paul’s letter. This is righteousness born out of a faith that is real and demonstrable.

We all need hope and encouragement. As Paul underlines in many of his writings, it is gossip and talking about one another that tears at the heart of gospel communities. Encouraging each other builds us up as the people of God. Real conversation holds us in real and life-giving relationship. When we keep it real with one another, we witness to a faith that has an even greater reality, the living presence of the Christ. It is this that draws the world to us.

† Pray today for those who have been an encouragement for you. Give thanks for their love and honesty and for the growth that has come about because of them.

For further thought

As this week unfolds, are there colleagues at work, or in your community who need to be thanked and encouraged for the good work they give to others?

Tuesday 19 January

What really matters?

Philippians 1:12-18a

I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel … (verse 12)

What really matters? Paul makes it clear that what matters most is that the gospel is proclaimed. In prison, his words were borne out in the way he lived his life of faith in that environment. For instance, he writes, the whole imperial guard know that it is because of the gospel that he is there.

Some years ago, a debate took place in New Zealand concerning the nature of church schools. One issue was the commitment to faith as a necessary qualification for teaching staff. How could these schools be identified as Christian if some were atheist, or agnostic, or of another faith altogether? In its least edifying moments such conversations began to judge and call into