Treasure in Clay Pots

A close friend died a few days ago and today was her funeral. The sermon was all about this passage in 2 Corinthians 4 v 7-18. The funny thing is the passage starts by talking about how we are fragile but Christ is in us, but then goes on to say that even through troubles we are perseveres. I know this passage, but have always known it as two passages. One about clay pots, one about how nothing can crush us in Christ. It seems so strange to now find that the second thought continues from the first!

The Passage

⁷ We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.^[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

¹¹ Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. ¹² So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”^[c] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,^[d] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are^[e] being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Jars of Clay

So what does Paul mean when he says ‘jars of clay?’ In Jesus’ day jars of clay were everyday items: used for cooking utensils, for holding fluids or even toilet waste! They were made of clay, dug from the earth. They were cheap to buy and easy to break. In other places in the scripture, we learn of jars of clay. We are told that God is the potter and we are the clay. God shapes and moulds us. The clay never decides what it will be nor is it able to turn itself into a masterpiece. He’s talking about us when we follow Christ. That the beauty/glory/power that is in us, is not coming from us. We are plain and broken, it is Christ and His glory that shines out of us. Doesn’t that just remove the pressure? We don’t have to be perfect, nor should we strive to be. It reminds me of something else Paul says, “His grace is enough”. If we were too perfect, the treasure would not be on display, the vessel would. God chooses to use us because we are imperfect and that is what best showcases His glory. We are a vessel for Him to use. We enter a partnership with Him to showcase His glory to those who don’t know Him.

Pressed, Perplexed, Hunted down, Knocked Down!

So in reading the second half I asked myself what does the bible say of Paul’s suffering? I’ve compiled a list below. When Saul was first converted to Paul, Jesus told Ananias that Paul would suffer:

16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.’” (Acts9 v 16)

Paul himself later admits in his letter to Timothy that he had endured persecution:

11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. (2 Timothy 3 v 11)

Later on in 2 Corinthians he describes and lists every suffering he has endured:

23 In stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness –(2 Cor 11 v 23-28)

Whilst we may not face the same list of sufferings as Paul, we can happily take his advice understanding that he is the one who would have the experience to impart on the subject! As someone who has suffered every physical pain, and endured the mental attacks of the enemy, he is the one who can offer advice.

The verbs Paul uses paint a picture of difficulties that come upon a person; they are ‘pressed’ implying that things are pushed down on them, just as Jesus suffered pressing in the garden of Gethsemanae. ‘Perplexed’ is a word I associate with mental torment, the idea of being so frustrated and trying to find a way of escape. Paul is not using light verbs here to describe something fleeting or not so lasting, he is invoking emotive words which suggest a great suffering which shakes a person to their very core and removes their ability to see an end to their pain. What Paul describes is someone who is chased and treated as an animal, hunted. He implies that the threats we face are very real and physically threaten to destroy our very lives. Yet even facing these dangers himself Paul offers us hope. He says we are not crushed, we are not driven to despair and we are never abandoned by God. Whilst the pain he describes implies pressure, Paul suggests that it will never fully destroy us because we have eternal life. It is our sufferings in these jars of clay and how we respond to them which reveal God’s glory.

It’s not an easy read, yet one so full of hope and promise. The reality though is harsh suffering and pain and how we face these when they come. Not if they come, when. Are we ready for suffering? Do we know how to cope when it does? Paul reminds us we don’t need to lose heart because these sufferings will not last and we will spend more time with Jesus in eternity. He tells us to fix our eyes on the things we cannot see (God, eternity?)

Are we fixing our eyes on the eternal?

When our finances are tight?

When a loved one dies?

When someone at work bullies us?

When we struggle with physical pain?

PSALM 1

A TRUE PICTURE OF JESUS

“They are like trees planted along the riverbank bearing fruit each season.”

Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

Or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord,

meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither,

and they prosper in all they do.

But not the wicked!

They are like worthless chaff, scattered like the wind.

They will be condemned at the time of judgment.

sinners will have no place among the godly.

For the Lord watches over the path of the godly.

But the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

This is the psalm my pastor preached about on Sunday. It’s a tale of two halves. The beginning is all about those who follow God and how they’re blessed when they resist doing what everyone else is doing. The second half if all about what will happen to those who don’t follow God.

In the first half of the psalm it picks out some verbs to describe what a follower doesn’t do. So we’re blessed if we don’t WALK in the counsel of the wicked. What does the word WALK refer to? It’s often used in the bible as what we should do with God. It implies a daily, measured, paced movement. It’s steady and reliable. V1 says we’re blessed if we don’t WALK in the counsels of the wicked. So if we do our daily life without following the world or doing what the crowd does. Or not conforming to the world.

V2 says we’re blessed when we don’t STAND in the way of sinners. STANDING refers to throwing your lot in with or identifying with someone or something, “I stand with so and so.” So it implies that we shouldn’t lose our Godly identity by just becoming like everyone else and allowing it to influence what we believe and where we place our vote or our opinions.

V3 states we’re blessed if we don’t SIT in the company of mockers. SITTING is an even more definite decision to fully immerse ourself with others, sometimes its a definite decision and other times its the result of exhaustion and defeat and this verse implies a warning that it’s particularly bad to be friends with those who put others down and make fun of them, we shouldn’t want to sit with these people.

Those who are blessed delight in the law of God and take joy in His counsel and meditate on it day and night.

Are we feeling delighted and joyful about God’s word? Are we focusing on God’s word and proclaiming it and praying it?

Are we resisting walking, standing or sitting with the world? We will be tempted!

Because this Psalm tells us that if we are we are like a tree whose roots are deep down in the water and we are being constantly and perpetually sustained. This psalm says we are planted. Who plants us? Jesus! The one who reflects this psalm in every way. He places us in His love and righteousness. He has covered our sin and given us new life that we can live to the whole (John 10:10) Or as Ephesians 3 puts it:

 ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. (New Living Version)

The best part of the whole thing is that we are not perfect and will never fully be able to live without sin. But through Christ we can choose to resist sin and Christ is our righteousness and we are covered by His grace! We can live planted in Him and in His love, grafted into His vine and flourishing! Sustained by His word spoken over us, His promises, His truths reviving and restoring us.

The warning to cap it all off, tells us what waits those who are wicked, or sin or mock. They become like chaff blown away, worthless. Their own actions become their destruction. They are condemned.

If anything should make us want to stay close to Jesus, this should.

Feeding the Five Thousand…

This is one of those miracles that I have heard since a young child. In my part of the world- Northern Ireland, children who attend Sunday School are told this story over and over again and I guess the main focus is the miracle of the event-multiplying the food to feed thousands. When i was around 12 and attending a teen bible study, our leader at the time (a chaplin in a local school) proposed that the miracle might not have been as miraculous as we think. He suggested that the miracle might have been Jesus sharing food and so enticing others in the crowd to also share the food. I have to admit that was a disappointing prospect to me. Not sure about you, but i like my miracles to be supernatural, not something explained away by common sense. Also, to me, it seems something is lost in the miracle and the meaning if we try to suggest that it wasn’t truly miraculous.

I took a little break from bible studying and blogging of late, and am just returning, hungry for the new tidbits I will learn. I have decided to focus in on those stories that I heard lots as a kid, to see if there are extra depths I can reach as an adult!

The Feeding of the five Thousand story occurs four times in Scripture- in Matthew 14 v 15-21, Mark 6 v 34-44, Luke 9 v 10-17 and John 6 v 1-15. I am also going to include some conclusions based on the reading of another account of feeding a large group of people, the feeding of 7000 which occurs in Matthew 15 v 29-39 and Mark 8 v 1-9.

I began by reading the four accounts on the feeding of 5,000 and found the accounts are very similar. Some key observations they all include are:

*Jesus had just received the news that John the Baptist had been killed and seeks to retire away somewhere quiet, but the crowds follow him

*Feeling compassion for the people Jesus chooses to spend the day healing them

*It was coming up to evening, in spring time near passover and the disciples point out to Jesus that the people need fed and they suggest that he send them away to get food

*Jesus challenges the disciples to feed the people themselves

*There is no direct description of the food multiplying only that the disciples give the food to Jesus and he prays over it, asking the people to sit down

*In all accounts there are 5000 men ( possibly with women and children too not accounted for in this number)

*There are 12 basketfuls of food left over after the food feeds everyone miraculously

By comparison, the other two accounts of feeding 4000 are not drastically different and many scholars have suggested they may be based on the feeding of the 5000 account with the number having changed with the telling over time. However, this doesn’t clear up why Matthew felt the need to include both stories in his book. The number of loaves and fishes changes slightly and the amount of people fed is even more.

In comparing these passages I began to ask myself what Jesus would want us to learn from this miracle and what is significant about the events and what they symbolise.

1.Compassion

One key thing for me that comes across is Jesus’ compassion. This man has had some terrible news about his cousin John, all He wants is to be alone, yet He continues to have compassion on these people and heal them. Also when the disciples present the predicament about having nothing to feed them and suggest sending them away, Jesus turns the problem back to them. I think Jesus is as always modelling what he expects from us. We see time and time again in scripture that when people have a physical need we should try and meet it if we can. Often a physical need opens the door to a spiritual one. I am thinking of the woman at the well as an example or the woman caught in adultery or the man at the healing pools.

Secondly Jesus does not judge the people in anyway. He doesn’t check to see if they are Jew or gentile, how they manage their physical health or financial wealth etc. All are loved on equally!

It made me think of situations when I have known someone is in need and hesitated. Wondering if I help them will they expect more help or use or abuse me. Or whether the person is truly in need or just trying to get something for free. Our hearts should be like Jesus. Compassionate. Quick to give of ourselves.

Of course the disciples did not do the miracle. They brought all they had found to Jesus and he performed it. Do we trust when there is someone in need, that if we give what we can in faith that Jesus will meet us and supernaturally multiply?

2. Proof He’s Messiah

Everything Jesus does in the gospels and during his 3 year ministry fulfills Old Testament Scripture and proves that He is not just a prophet like Elijah or Moses, but the Messiah. I believe this miracle shows the same. Perhaps the most astonishing thing I noticed in my analysis of the passages was that there is significance in the locations and numbers in the passages. In the feeding of the 5000 accounts Jesus is in Jewish territory. He is on the Western side of the River Jordan. The people he heals and preaches to are Jewish people. It is no coincidence that He feeds 5,000 and there are 5 loaves. The number 5 in Old Testament times was used to symbolise divine grace, divine harmony. There are 5 books of the Torah. When the miracle is complete there are 12 basketfuls of left overs. in Jewish times 12 was used in the Torah to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus is showing that He is the Messiah in that He is capable of providing for the 12 tribes. In the feeding of the 4000 account Jesus is located on the Eastern side of the Jordan which was known to be occupied by gentiles and in particular by 7 different groups of gentiles. In the Old Testament 7 is a symbolic number representing perfection. There are 7 days in the creation story and 7 i used to signify completion. There are 7 churches written to in Revelation from which all churches spring.

Interesting then that there are 7 loaves and 7 baskets left over. I think the symbolism points to the fact that Jesus performed this miracle twice to highlight that He has come to bring redemption that is complete for all peoples: Jews and gentiles. The first miracle feeding the 5000 demonstrated how the Messiah has come to save the Jews and the second of feeding the 4000 represented how the Messiah came for the gentiles too. In the feeding of the 5000 story we are told there were 2 fish and these too many represent the main pillars of Jewish faith the prophets and the psalms. (With the 5 books of the Torah of course.)

In reading the passages before the description of the feeding of the 5000 I came across where Jesus is preaching to the crowd and is interrupted by a gentile woman who wants him to heal her daughter (Matthew 15 v 21-28) and Jesus refers to her as a dog and she responds that even dogs are entitled to clear up the crumbs at the master’s table. Jesus allows the woman to challenge him publically to show Jews that even Gentiles will have a place in His new kingdom.

3. What about the boy?

In one account of the feeding of the 5000 a boy is mentioned who gives up his lunch to the disciples. What does the child represent? Well in Jesus’ day children were a lot less important than today, so much so that they weren’t even included in the 5000 count. So this is another example of Jesus using someone on the outskirts, someone unseen who is willing, to bring glory to His father.

Jesus goes on in John’s account to speak of the time in the wilderness when God fed the people through manna and then calls himself ‘the bread of life.’ He is no longer just addressing a physical need but using a physical need to illustrate the spirtual need: the need for nourishment of the spirit through Christ. In Old Testament times the Shew bread in the temple (12 loaves) reminded Jews that God was their source and nourishment. Is it any wonder then that Jesus completes the picture by performing 2 miracles- with 5 loaves and 7 loaves which added together =12. He has come to show that God will extend this promise to all people- Jews and Gentiles: nourishment if they will follow Him and believe Him as Messiah!

4. Comparison with the Lord’s Supper

Notice that in both passages Jesus breaks bread and gives thanks. Remind you of anyting? For me it is a reminder of the Lord’s supper, which the disciples will later experience. Jesus’ miracle also represents how He will be broken to meet the peoples’ needs. I find it so reassuring that He will meet the needs of both Jew and Gentile. As we read later in the New Testament, ‘Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread‘
– 1 Corinthians 10:17

So, in conclusion I think this miracle was supernatural. It wasn’t just some occurence of everyone sharing. Otherwise we lose the meaning of God performing a miracle through Jesus to show He is messiah and to model for us how to come to rely on God through Jesus for our provision as Christians and for the provision we need to reach out to others and in meeting a physical need perhaps allow God to open a spiritual door of need in that person. We cannot throw out part of the story without losing all te rich symolism and meaning we uncover within. It helps us glorify God- he is meticulous throughout Scripture in always fulfilling what He has said and helping us today. Jeus sis the true bread we share, His body broken for us and sustaining us to share His glory and truth with others.

Isaiah 58

Another week, another piece of scripture to study! This week I’m looking at Isaiah 58 and asking the usual questions: What is it saying about God? What is it saying to me? How should I respond?

Context

In this passage God is telling Isaiah the Prophet to address the issue of false/fake religious observance. The root problem is that the people are observing spiritual disciplines like fasting and observing the sabbath to gain God’s blessing, instead of to glorify Him or to help the homeless, poor or people in need. The people’s hearts are not truly devoted to God, as the motives for their actions are selfish and not born of love for God. As God’s love is not the source of their obedience, they are not showing compassion or love to the people most in need of their help in society.

Studying this context has really convicted me of my motives. Often I think in January I’ll do a fast to get closer to God, to hear from Him and feel blessed. Really my desire should be to get filled up with God’s love to give it away.

The Passage

Isaiah 58 (The Message Bible)

^1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout!
    Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout!
Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives,
    face my family Jacob with their sins!
They’re busy, busy, busy at worship,
    and love studying all about me.
To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people—
    law-abiding, God-honoring.
They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’
    and love having me on their side.
But they also complain,
    ‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?
    Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’

^3-5     “Well, here’s why:

“The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit.
    You drive your employees much too hard.
You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight.
    You fast, but you swing a mean fist.
The kind of fasting you do
    won’t get your prayers off the ground.
Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after:
    a day to show off humility?
To put on a pious long face
    and parade around solemnly in black?
Do you call that fasting,
    a fast day that I, God, would like?

^6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
    to break the chains of injustice,
    get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
    free the oppressed,
    cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
    sharing your food with the hungry,
    inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
    putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
    being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
    and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
    The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
    You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places

^9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
    quit blaming victims,
    quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
    firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again.

^13-14 “If you watch your step on the Sabbath
    and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
    God’s holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’
    making money, running here and there—
Then you’ll be free to enjoy God!
    Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.”
    Yes! God says so!

What do I learn about God?

In this passage I learn that God wants to help us live the life He desires from us. He wants us to get rid of sinful behaviour first and He says, “I will always show you where to go,” or in the New Living Version in v 11, “Then the Lord will guide you continually.” God puts the onus on us to change our behaviour, to start acting generously. I think this Psalm shows that God is very fair. A well known phrase that modern pyschology has introduced to today’s society is, we “You cannot control others’ behaviour, you can only control your own.” It’s amazing that as our maker and father God made us like this and in this Psalm we see him reinforcing this idea.

What do I learn about me?

I know that the scriptures often bring to light parts of me that I don’t like. This passage highlights my selfishness: I too have observed Christian spiritual disciplines to try and help me and not necessarily to consider or respond to the plight of others. I learn in this passage that I have potential when I operate under God’s guidance. That if I am obedient and change how I behave, it will change my motives and if I am motivated for others, with God’s help I can rebuild and renovate the community!

How should I respond?

My response can only be obedience. If i ignore what God is showing me, then I’m choosing a way outside of His will and help. I need to identify where I am behaving like a Pharisee and seek to change it. I need to decide to keep my spiritual ears open to His leading and allow Him to use me to serve those in need.

Here are the areas in my life that need work:

1)My driving: I am a very selfish, angry driver

2)Gossip: I have a tendency to share information from one friend with others

I plan to ask God to show me those in need of my help.

The Story of Naaman

I’m pretty sure I have read this story before or seen it used in a John Ortberg book as an illustration. But, as I sat reading The Jesus Storybook bible the other night with my son, that was the story we read. The book put it so beautifully, “God knew Naaman was even sicker on the inside than he was on the outside. Naaman was proud. He thought he didn’t need God. His heart didn’t work properly-it couldn’t feel anything. You see, Naaman had leprosy of his heart. God was not only going to heal Naaman’s skin, he was going to heal his pride.” That wee paragraph made me want to go and read and study the story again. So that’s exactly what I did the other day.

Recap of the story…

*Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army who had leprosy, he had bits falling off, no feeling etc.

*Naaman’s servant (a girl from Israel) had formally been stolen from her family into slavery. She suggested Naaman go to Israel to Elisha for healing.

*In his arrogance and pride Naaman went to the Israeli king asking to be healed and the king panicked and thought he was trying to start a fight.

*Elisha’s servant greeted Naaman and told him to wash 7 times in the River Jordan.

*Naaman was angry that the servant came instead of Elisha and that he had to wash in a dirty river and couldn’t have just done that in a river in Syria.

*Naaman’s servant urged him to follow Elisha’s advice and he did as he was told and was healed.

What I learned…

*The servant girl showed some amazing faith in that she forgave her captor and had faith Elisha could heal her new master

*The king demonstrates next to no faith and feels powerless to help

*Naaman who was proud and arrogant brings riches to pay Elisha (who refuses to take them). The two are contrasting: Naaman is rich and arrogant and full of pride and Elisha is poor and yet used by God in a powerful way. All the riches in the world can’t fix Naaman, he needs to humble himself.

*Naaman’s pride nearly caused him to lose his healing altogether

This story is used by Jesus to illustrate Israel’s problem of unbelief: Naaman, a Syrian, a sinner, is healed, yet, Israeli lepers did not seek out Elisha, just as Israelites of Jesus’ day missed Him, The Messiah.

Transfiguration

Transfigure “To transform into something more beautiful or elevated.”

So with Christmas gone and a new year underway I have been thinking of goals I want to set myself and what my priorities are. Top of these has been to grow spiritually. I guess when I think of spiritual growth I think of spiritual disciplines. A few years ago a friend lent me a book she was reading called, ‘God Hunting: A diary of spiritual discovery’ by Jo Swinney. It’s a small book and a very quick read and is really just the author’s account of studying different spiritual disciplines and trying to apply them to her life in monthly installments. For years I have thought of doing this, sometimes I have even set it as my goal only to do nothing! This year, with some like-minded ladies we are attempting to put this into practise. The first discipline we are studying is Bible Study and Meditation. We have agreed some scripture to study each week in January and are attempting to meditate on key phrases. Our third scripture was the account of the Transfiguration in Matthew 17 v 1-8.

Today in my study I have been reading the passage in different translations of the bible and reading the different accounts in Mark 9 9 v2-8 and Luke 9 v 28-36 and the reference Peter makes to the event in 2 Peter 1 v 16-18. I’m taking an organic approach first and just trying to understand the passage and the events that occur themselves and asking what is their purpose? For example, Jesus face and clothes are shining with His glory and Elijah and Moses appear and Peter wants to build shrines and God interrupts them saying He loves Jesus and telling them to listen to Him. So I thought of the following:

1. What is the significance of Jesus being transfigured? What is the purpose behind it?
2. Why do Elijah and Moses appear and what’s the significance?
3. Why did God interrupt Peter’s shrine-building attempt? What’s the significance of what He says?

On top of that we have agreed in our ladies group to ask ourselves the following questions: 1) What does the passage say about God?

2)What does the passage say to me?

3) How should I respond?

So here goes! Here’s what I cam up with for question 1.

What is the significance of Jesus’ being transfigured? What’s its purpose?

So three years into Jesus’ ministry He takes James, John and Peter up a mountain and asks them to pray and they fall asleep. They awake to see his face and clothes blazing with light. For the whole time during Jesus’ ministry He has assumed human form and been nothing to write home about and not special in any way (other than what he does). Now we see him transform into something supernatural. We see His glory and His God-like appearance. I think Jesus may have done this to increase the disciples’ faith. Jesus knows that these men will be the ones to carry His message to the rest of the world and its as if He is confirming His deity to them, confirming He is the Messiah. Up until now He has told them that He will die, but Peter in particular hasn’t believed this truly. I believe seeing that Jesus really is God’s own son and truly divine would bolster these men’s faith for what is coming: His suffering and death.

Why does Elijah and Moses appear? What’s the significance?

Obviously the human men were blown away to witness Elijah and Moses’ figures appearing. Elijah did not die according to the bible but was whisked off by a whirlwind which brought a chariot to collect him and take him to heaven. Elijah was obviously one of God’s prophets and performed great miracles with His help. Elijah in biblical times was representative of God’s Old Testament prophets.

Moses on the other hand died in Moab and God buried him there. He was obviously put in charge of leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and to the promised land (even though He Himself didn’t get to enter it). Moses in Old Testament was representative of God’s law as He helped establish the travelling temple and laws that went with it.

I believe that Moses and Elijah’s appearance may have been to do with confirming that Jesus was the Messiah at this point in His ministry, these men represented the old system: the law (given to Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah is the most famous prophet in the Old Testament. So when Moses and Elijah appeared beside Jesus, this would have confirmed that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and fulfilled the law. The mountain the whole encounter took place on was also a place of significance. Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb) was where Moses had Elijah had encountered God too- Moses received the tablets of law here and Elijah rested in a cave here. This was the place where the Lord spoke to him in a ‘still small voice.’

Some scholars also suggest that these men represented something bigger: a confirmation of who Jesus came to save. They suggest that Moses represents those who God has saved entering the promised land, the disciples those Jewish believers who accept Christ (Messianic Jews) and Elijah represents the believers in the future who will be raptured.

Why did God interrupt Peter’s shrine-building attempt? What’s the significance of what He says?

I think sometimes in the bible you just know that when Peter speaks he’s about to do something very human and mess up. He seems to really represent human weaknesses in a lot of ways through the events that happen in his life (denial of Jesus, when Jesus says, ‘Get behind me satan,’ etc). I found it really interested that he was suggesting putting up tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah and making shrines to them up on the mountain, and then its even more telling that God is the one who interrupts.

God says, “This is my dearly beloved son, the constant focus of my delight. Listen to Him.”

This of course is reminiscent of Jesus’ commissioning when John the Baptist baptised Him in the Jordan and the dove appeared. God seems to be confirming Jesus’ deity and blessing Him and pointing the disciples to look to Him. But I think there is also something bigger going on. Jesus is God’s son and Peter is suggesting these three great men are on a paar with each other, when in fact God is pointing out that Jesus is different, He is His son ( His face is shining with God’s glory after all confirming this too.)

1) What does the passage say about God? In my opinion the passage shows that God’s concern when Jesus was on earth, was to back Him and support Him and in pride confirm his identity as His son. The passage shows that God is an amazing organiser and planner, He plans at every turn to confirm everything He ever claimed and set in motion: His plan to redeem His creation: He sent Jesus to fulfill all the words He gave the prophets and all the law He previously gave the people. This passage shows how He is introducing a new covenant.

2)What does the passage say to me? I guess for me the emphasis is on that Jesus was preparing His disciples for the events to come (His death and resurrection) and He still does that today. It cements for me what is said in 2 Peter 1-3, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”

The other big thing that stood out to me was when God intervened and told Peter to LISTEN to Jesus. It made me ask myself am I listening to Jesus or just firing ahead on my own steam in my life?

Finally that the most important thing we can have is an eternal perspective: this passage is all about Jesus’ deity and it points towards heaven-that is where Jesus intercedes for us day and night at the right hand of the father. We even see a post heavenly appearance of Elijah and Moses who come down from heaven. If heaven is where we are going, are we living, am I living in that reality or am I caught up in the troubles of every day life. Am I glorifying the Father and Son through my actions or too distracted by my life? One day we will all leave this life and become like Him, so my heart should be directed at glorifying God and bearing the weight of eternity in sharing the Good News with those whose eternity may be directed elsewhere without it.

Jesus turns water into Wine

Thinking about the ministry of Jesus today, I was asking myself why was Jesus’ first miracle turning water into wine? The story is recorded in John 2 v 1-11 and in the passage, when Mary (mother of Jesus) asks Jesus to help the family throwing the wedding, Jesus responds with, ⁴ “Woman,^[a] why do you involve me?” “My hour has not yet come.” So if Jesus didn’t think it time to start His ministry, what changed? Why did God want to make this Jesus’ first miracle?

The symbolism of Weddings

Well hindsight is a wonderful thing, and as people who can now see the whole of Jesus’ life and ministry, it is hard to imagine him beginning his signs and wonders with anything else. God sent Jesus to proclaim a new covenant and to declare the old one done with. Where better to show this new promise than at a wedding? Weddings involved a bride and groom creating a covenant. We now know of course that Jesus is our bridegroom and that He made a new covenant with us when He died on the cross. As His bride we are to be ready and waiting for Him to return, (Parable of the Virgins, Matthew 25).

Weddings in Jesus’ time usually took place in the Autumn after all the harvest was brought in, when it was cool enough to enjoy sitting outside late into the evening and the whole village would have attended. A wedding feast could last up to 5 or 7 days! The bride and groom would consummate their marriage on the first night and then celebrate with their friends and family all week. The vows the bride and groom repeated to one another came from Song of Songs,  the bride would say, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers,” (Song 1:2-4). The groom would respond, “Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me. My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely,” (Song 2:13-14). Of course equally Song of Songs can be applied to us today, as we walk with Jesus He seeks for us to know that He intimately loves us and He calls us on to follow Him, He hides us and protects us from the enemy and loves us dearly. Like those marrying in Jesus time, Jesus paid a ‘dowry’ for us His bride! It was the fathers of the children marrying who arranged the match, just as God called and chose those He has saved to be with His son. We know too that Jesus will return as a bridegroom and we, His followers will be His bride, as Revelation 21 v 1-5 shows,

” Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Symbolism of when the miracle occurred

We are told too, that the miracle took place on the third day of the wedding. In terms of biblical events this is a significant symbol. In the Old Testament many key events also took place on the third day: Jonah is rescued from the pit (Jonah 2 v3-6, The Lord meets His people at Sinai (Exodus 19), Abraham sees the place God provides for him the first time (Genesis 22 v 4-8) and even the plants (including the grapes grown for the wine in question) were first made on the third day of creation (Genesis 1 v 11-13). Of course in the New Testament when the Pharisees are asking Jesus for proof of his divinity, He responds by saying,

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth “(Matthew 12:39-40).

Three is the biblical number of completion and perfection, so there is a symmetry to the fact that His ministry started and ended on the third day.

Significance of wine

You may like myself, be wondering what is the significance of the actual miracle? Why turn water into wine? Why start the ministry with that? Well this too is no coincidence. Let’s consider what water and wine may represent. We know that water is necessary for survival, so much so that Jesus even refers to himself as the water of life to the woman at the well. The jars of water that were left at the wedding feast when the wine ran dry were for ritual purification and used as part of the requirements of the Old Covenant by Jews. They were stored in stone as this was considered clean and unable to be sullied. These jars in themselves looked at with hindsight could be compared to what Jesus represented in the New Covenant. He himself had just been baptised by his cousin John the Baptist in the water of the River Jordan and he brought a new way for sinners once and for all to be clean-through the symbolic baptism of water and the Holy Spirit.

What of the wine? Well wine, unlike water is not necessary to life, it is an indulgence, something beautiful given by God for us to enjoy. So we could see it as representative of the abundant grace God gave us in sending Jesus. None of us deserve the best, we have fallen short (Romans 3 v 23), but God in his riches has chosen to redeem us. Notice in the story in John, when Jesus turns the water into wine, the master of the banquet when he tastes the wine says,

¹⁰  “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

This too is indicative of our heavenly father’s heart towards us, He desires to bless us beyond measure, abundantly, or as Psalm 104 v 15 puts it, ‘wine is to gladden the heart of man.’

In the book of Numbers when the Israelites are appealing to Moses for water, he asks God, who tells him to strike the rock of Horeb with his staff. Water is provided from the rock. We could say in turning water into wine, Jesus is portrayed as the true vine, the true provider, the real Messiah who provides the most rich fruit, the most beautiful bounty. The water of the law was given through Moses, but the wine of grace came through Jesus Christ (John 1 v 17).

Finally a thought to leave you with, Jesus story begins with a wedding and one day it will end with one too, where we will drink the fruit of the vine with Him! Or as Matthew 26 v 29 puts it:

 ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

The Wonder of a white Christmas

I found out a new fact recently that after googling has blown my mind. I’ve heard it said in the past that no two snowflakes are the same and I’ve kinda nodded my head and carried on. Until a friend’s post on Facebook made me google what snowflakes look like under a microscope. I am blown away by the beauty! Scientists have classified them by appearance and noticed that they form distinct similar patterns which enables them to classify the type they are looking at, but in fact, even in these types, no two snowflake is identical. If you wanna get a look yourself, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EntDhip2qVg

Snowflakes have got me thinking. God designed snow. He designed the whole weather system. The whole world. Why design something that doesn’t last as so beautiful? I think the answer is the same as how he designed everything else. He made beauty so we could marvel at it. He made it so we could see something about Him. He is a creative God who loves beautiful things and loves creating beauty. He loves to see us wonder!

I like everyone else this season, am preparing for Santa’s visit. I really struggled with whether I wanted to perpetuate the whole Santa thing with my son. It is so hard to fight the worldly influence of Santa. In the end I think the reason I went with it was for the wonder. I love watching a little face change to one of wonder and pure bliss. My prayer this year is that God would remind us all how precious we are as humans. No human is completely alike (even identical twins) and we will never be again when we cease to be. Our lives to God are very short for he lives forever, yet he crowned us with beauty. I pray that this Christmas we would get a glimpse of beauty in others and be bowled over by wonder. The wonder of a God who sent His own son to become our sacrificial lamb. To make a way for us to live forever with Him. I think I will marvel a little more at real snowflakes the next time they fall.

Angels appear to the Shepherds

As Christmas fast approaches and we are in the season of advent, I have been reflecting on the roles different characters have in the Christmas story. It is so easy to not reread the story because we hear it so much through the years that we think we know it. But as I was reading the story I was drawn to the shepherds.

Their story is found in Luke 2:

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told

Here were my questions following my read through:

1. What sort of role did shepherds have in their society in Jesus’ time?
2. What would it be like to see an angel?
3. Why did God choose to tell them the message first?

As I began researching I discovered that shepherds were pretty blue collar workers for their day. They weren’t outcasts as such (although many biblical writers claimed this, new historical teachers have disputed it) but they were very lower class. Shepherds didn’t have much say in how society was run and probably inherited their work from their fathers. When the angels appeared to them on that night in Bethlehem there had been no supernatural events, no prophets or prophetic acts in 300 years. To say the appearance was out of the blue would be an understatement.

I do wonder what it might have been like to see an angel. I expect there was fear, disbelief, awe, wonder and shock. I began to watch video re-tellings of the scene in YOUTUBE. I came across a video that showed 10 supposed real-life appearance of angels today. Some of them seemed pretty obvious hoaxes, although a few of them seemed like the genuine article. How would we respond today in our workplace if out of the blue there was a dazzling light and a supernatural being appearing to us? And what would it feel like after the angel has delivered their message and gone on their merry way? We’d be left in shell shock and wonder.

On the subject of why did God send his message through angels to shepherds first, I found an amazing answer. You see Bethlehem was a major town in Israel. That meant they had a temple. The temple received thousands of offerings of lambs for the atonement sacrifice. Now God was obviously sending Jesus to one day become a sacrificial lamb, one for the sins of the world. God was sending Jesus to become the new covenant. No longer would people have to offer atonement sacrifices. Jesus would be the one for all. So who better to make that point with than with shepherds? Those shepherds were not raising meat, they were raising lambs for atonement sacrifice, so the angels sent them the message that a new lamb was coming! It’s amazing that God decided to announce His son’s birth. In Jesus’ time when a woman gave birth, the family would pay a person to announce the good news throughout the village. How apt that God chose his angels to proclaim the BEST NEWS to the world, starting with those whose role in the Old covenant sacrifices was vital: the Shepherds.

Offence

So since I started writing this devotional blog I have found myself challenged. In order to explain what’s been happening you need to know a little of my character. I’d like to say I am a patient, kind, loving person all the time. I’d like to say I can insert my name in place of ‘love’ in that famous 1 Corinthians 13 but I cannot. I can be a terrible grudge bearer if someone offends me. I find it hard when something catastrophic happens in a friendship, to let it go and move on. I find myself angry at anyone and everyone who blocks my goals and struggle to keep bitterness out of my heart when someone wrongs me. I like to think this comes from the fact that I am someone who has always felt strongly when something is unjust and felt emotionally stirred when I see persecution. In reality I know that it is because I have sin in me.

Let me tell you what happened.

For the last two weeks I have had incident after incident where neighbours, family members or people in work have hurt me. Many did so without meaning to directly, others did so in order to exert their authority or control over me. I’ve had family members rush a cup of tea into me and urge me out the door so they could have a dinner with their friends that I was clearly uninvited to, elderly neighbours berating me about a messy bin (I’m a single mum who works-I mean come on!) I’ve even had emails from the headmistress of the school I work in treating me like a 13 year old who has come to her for bad behaviour! Needless to say there have been many tears and I have cried out to God asking Him to protect me, vindicate me and help me forgive.

As people, in order to feel offended, we have to make a judgement about someone else. We decide that the person involved wants to hurt us. That is something Paul encourages us not to do. In 1 Corinthians v 5 Paul says, ‘love keeps no record of wrongs.’ We’re also forgetting that everything that happens to us passes through God’s hands first and as Romans 8 v 28 says, ‘God works all things for good.’ We know our saviour went through so much suffering to redeem us and yet somehow we feel a ‘right’ to be upset or wish bad upon the person who hurt us. What we do with our hurt says something about our faith. Let’s face it too many Christians in this day and age make the headlines because of their inability to forgive and grudge-bearing, do we really want to be another Christian who didn’t live up to our creed?

These are the quandaries I have been facing. Underneath all my thoughts is the pain in my throat that makes me feel like crying or feel ashamed when I consider what people have said or how I felt when they did so. I also have this need to retain my dignity and not feel humiliated. It’s not coincidental that Christ didn’t maintain his dignity when He went to the cross. He was hung up and strung up for all to see. He was half naked and the very people who weren’t living their Jewish lives right were the ones who mocked him and jeered him and hung him up with a plaque mocking his claims to be King of the Jews.

We are also charged, by Jesus, (Luke 17 v 1-2) with the job of not offending. We have an expression in Northern Ireland, where I’m from, “It’s the pot calling the kettle black,” It’s a bit like the old adage ‘those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.’ There is something very hypocritical that I should feel so hurt and offended when I probably offend people all the time! We were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6 v 20) and live for Christ, not ourselves. Our offence usually comes from a self-entered life and often the person who is easily offended feels great pity for themselves and does not consider others’ feelings.

So what is the solution to my problem?

I must die to myself. I must recognise that God is the judge and that I no longer live, but Christ. If I continue to live serving my flesh, my self, instead of sacrificing, offence will gain a foothold in my life and before long turn to bitterness. On the other hand forgiving someone and being kind to them even when they have caused offence is best. We know that love will cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4 v 8). I must bless those who hurt me and turn the other cheek.