24 - Is this the end?

Many people are jumping onto the religious bandwagon at the moment with some predictions of the end of the world, especially in the light of the Corona pandemic. Again, I will not get into that debate at the moment, but I find it interesting, that in the days before he went to the Cross Jesus preached about the end of days. I find these final teachings of Jesus so interesting and challenging.

This is what he told his disciples:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." - Matthew 24:42-44

I honestly don't know when the world is going to end, but the one thing I know I can control is how I respond to the Son of God, today. By choosing to receive the gift of grace offer to us through Jesus, we are promised a placed in Christ's kingdom.

C.S. Lewis wrote in "The Case for Christianity" - 
 
"That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

23 - Practise what you preach

As soon as Jesus entered Jerusalem, he began to speak out more and more against the religiosity of the Teachers of the law, often exposing their faults and false practises. Of course this didn't do anything for his populatity, but Jesus was not worried about winning the award for "most polite Rabbi" of the year. Jesus knew his days were numbered and so he was willing to challenge anyone who was willing to hear the truth:

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." - Matthew 23:1-4

His words in verse 3 are known the world over, albeit in different forms. We have all heard the phrase "practise what you preach" and this is Jesus main argument against the Pharisees. They had lots of good things to say (things that we God-fearing and holy), but they didn't actually live these laws and ideals themselves. That is the tragedy of the whole thing - they were so close to being true disciples, but they refused to do what Jesus had asked of them.

So, as we edge closer to Easter, I think it is worth asking ourselves the question:

"Do we practise what we preach?"

If we don't do this people will soon see through our masks and disguise.

Living in Grace
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22

Alright my numbering system may seem a little off, but there is some method in my madness. I have been trying to write a brief post on eavh chapter from Matthew's gospel during Lent. We managed to get up to Matthew 21, which was Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but I didn't want to surge ahead and lose the connection with Jesus' last week on earth.

Matthew saves seven chapters for Jesus' death and resurrection, so we will use these as our reflection over Holy Week. And it is during these days that we note Jesus' powerful teaching on a number of different subjects. For today, we see how he is questioned by many of the religious leaders, all trying to catch him out, but he stumps them with his profound words. In Matthew 22, he says:

^"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 34-40)

There are a lot of things we can draw from these verses, but in my opinion the obvious one is this: 
"If we practised these 2 key commandments sincerely we would end up keeping all the other laws and commandments together."

It was Jesus' love for his Father and his love for us that drove him through the last week of his life.

What keeps you moving forward day after day?

Living in Grace
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Celebrating the King

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, let us read some words from Zephaniah who shares a remarkable prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. As you read his words cast your mind on the image of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Hosanna in the highest - praise the Lord of lords.

¹⁴ Sing, Daughter Zion;
    shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
    never again will you fear any harm.
¹⁶ On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.
¹⁷ The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,    but will rejoice over you with singing.” - Zephaniah 3:14-17

For all of the reasons mentioned by Zephaniah, Jesus comes into our lives this week and invites us to kneel before his throne. What will our response be?

Living in Grace
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Lent thoughts

Sometimes one just needs to read the wisdom of those who have progressed a little further down the road of life, love and faith. Enjoy these thoughts as we travel deeper into Lent and closer to the Cross.

“No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.” -  John Chrysostom 

“Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.” -  N.T. Wright  

Jesus -  "Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)


May you have a blessed day.

Living in Grace
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'Sea of Troubles'

I love the Sea and so you can understand my frustration at being only a few kilometers away from the ocean and yet not being able to get there, or even smell it at this time. Lockdown has forced all of us into new spaces and needing to make sacrifices, although missing the ocean is really not a major crisis compared to the genuine needs of the majority of us.

It was Shakespeare who wrote of a 'sea of troubles' (in Hamlet) and this is pertinent for everyone at this time. One trouble ripples into the next one until we can feel overwhelmed by the vast ocean of trials. However, it is into this sea of trouble that we must remember some of the core promises that come to us in the Scriptures. Where there is a great need, there is always a great God who is willing to step into the void created by our troubles.

Turning to our focal reading for this week we note the following sentiment:

"O Israel, hope in the Lord; for he is loving and kind and comes to us with armloads of salvation. He himself shall ransom Israel from her slavery to sin." - Psalm 130:7-8 (Living Bible)

This picture tells us that where we are (and are found in our sea of troubles), so God is also present. Michael Wilcock writes:  

"With Yahweh are three constant companions, Forgiveness, Covenant Love, and Redemption. Wherever he is, there they too will be found. And the psalmist also is not alone: with him come the rest of his people, for they too may be redeemed..."

When you get a moment read Psalm 130 again and place yourself as the one who writes the Psalm. It is a wonderful way of speaking to God in prayer and remembering God's promise to come to our aid.

Living in Grace
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Lack of understanding

 

Do we really understand the things that are happening around us or are we just caught up in our own little worlds? I am not speaking specifically about dealing with Covid-19, but rather about things in general. It is easy to look at the world through our own 'rose-tinted' glasses and not to see from the perspective of others.

Take the reading for today. Jesus has just explained to his disciples that he is on a journey to be 'tortured and crucified' and all they are consumed with is: "Can I be awared the number spot in your kingdom?!"
True, it was actually James and John's mother who asked the question, but it still speaks of an underlying self-centredness. Please read through these words and allow them to add to your personal Lenten journey today:

^17-19 Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.”

²⁰ It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
²¹ “What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”
²² Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
²³ Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.” - Matthew 20 (The Message)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once remarked: "The world says: "You have needs -- satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom."

What is Freedom for you?
What does Jesus think of Feedom?

Living in Grace
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