Author: Lesley Crawford

Follow Day 6 A Time To Act

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Nehemiah 1:1-2:5
Nehemiah 4:1-14
Nehemiah 6:15-16
Luke 10:30-37

Follow, Day 6

Life seemed to be going well for Nehemiah. As cupbearer to the Persian king, he was in a well-paid and influential position. He was highly respected, trusted enough to be privy to the king’s most important conversations, and even responsible for the king’s life. For a Jew in exile, his success was remarkable.

Yet when his brother arrives with news from Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s heart breaks.

After years of displacement, the Jewish people have finally been freed from captivity and permitted to return home, but all is not going well. Although the people are back in their land, the city walls remain in ruins and the gates have been burned to the ground. They are “in great trouble and disgrace.” (Nehemiah 1:3)

Presumably, Nehemiah’s success in Susa had led him to remain there, rather than choosing to return to Jerusalem, but the impact of his brother’s words is profound, revealing the concern Nehemiah still has for his homeland and people.

“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.” (Nehemiah 1:4)

His prayer is passionate and heartfelt, appealing to God’s unfailing love and pleading for restoration.

Nehemiah’s compassion for the Jewish people and his grief over their situation also prompt him to act, and he asks God to grant him the king’s favour.

It is not until five months later that his opportunity comes, but it is clear the situation in Jerusalem has remained on his mind and in his heart. On this particular day, the depth of his sorrow becomes evident to the king, and as Nehemiah begins to explain the situation and request the king’s help, he demonstrates he has also thought through the details. He has a plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and he knows exactly what he will need from the king to turn his vision into reality.

It is a costly plan, one which means leaving the luxury of the palace to go on a long and arduous journey. It will involve effort and sacrifice.

Yet there seems to be no doubt in Nehemiah’s mind his passion and calling have come from God, and he knows his plan will only succeed by God’s grace. His compassion for the Jewish people and his desire for restoration mean he is willing to follow wherever God leads.

What about you? Is there a situation where you feel sorrow and compassion? A longing for justice or restoration?

Often, that’s a sign God is moving.

For me, one of those areas of compassion is women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It breaks my heart to see the wounds inflicted on so many, and I long to point them to hope in Jesus and to see restoration. This passion has built over the years, even when I had no idea what to do with it. As with Nehemiah, it has involved seeking God, praying about each step, and waiting for the right moment.

One day, as I listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan, the familiar story struck me in a fresh way.  Just like the Samaritan, I was moved by compassion to take action, to do what I could to help the bruised and the broken, to be willing to inconvenience myself to help them to a place of healing. I knew I had to find a way.

Eventually, I completed a mentor training course with Journey to Heal Ministries and launched the programme in my church. Like Nehemiah before the king, I was terrified. It is difficult to raise a topic no one wants to talk about yet, I couldn’t let go of the call to “speak up for those who have no voice.” (Proverbs 31:8)

And like Nehemiah, I experienced God’s favour. I was able to begin mentoring someone straight away and I witnessed God’s healing power. Others came forward to offer help and support in various ways, and I saw God at work in ways I would never have imagined . . .

. . . And then COVID . . .

As I write, it has been six months since lockdown restrictions paused our work, and it may be several more months before it can resume.

In some ways, it’s comforting to recognise Nehemiah faced challenges, too. In his case, the difficulties came not from a global pandemic, but from people who opposed the rebuilding.  As soon as the work began, so did the mocking and reviling, and it continued throughout the rebuilding process.

Yet Nehemiah persevered. Despite facing ridicule, mocking, and even death threats, he was determined to keep looking to God and he encouraged the people to do the same. (Nehemiah 4:14)

He kept taking the next small step of obedience and,
one brick at a time, the wall was built.

What a day that must have been when, after 52 days of hard work (not to mention the months of prayer and preparation), the wall was finally finished!

Following God brings no guarantee of an easy life or a straightforward path, but Nehemiah’s story encourages us to keep seeking God for the next step, to follow where He leads, and to trust He will bring to completion the work He has begun.

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Reveal Day 5 The Longest Night

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Zephaniah 3:18-20
Malachi 4:1-6
Luke 1:26-38
Romans 5:6-8
Revelation 22:6-21

Reveal, Day 5

As I tossed and turned in an unfamiliar bed, it seemed like morning would never come.

I was tired, but sleep eluded me. Away from home for the first time, in a dorm filled with unfamiliar people, in darkness far deeper than I was accustomed to at home, it was impossible to settle.

After lying there, trying to sleep for what felt like hours, I finally grabbed my torch (that’s a flashlight for my American friends) I drew it under the covers so as not to disturb the others, and checked the time only to find, to my dismay, just twenty minutes had passed.

There were still hours to wait until morning . . .

The Israelites faced an even longer night.

Throughout the Old Testament, God promised a Messiah, a Saviour who would come to redeem and restore, who would deal with the problem of sin and provide a way back to closeness with God.

Zephaniah spoke of an end to oppression and shame, a gathering of God’s people who had been scattered, and the restoration of good fortune.

Malachi described a day when wickedness would be dealt with, and assured the people of God’s promise that, “for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” (Malachi 4:2)

The promises were amazing . . . but then silence.

And waiting . . .

And still more waiting . . .

. . . Over four hundred years after Malachi’s words at the end of the Old Testament, the Israelites were still waiting for God’s promises to come true. Even worse, there were no more messages from the prophets. It seemed God had gone s i l e n t.

Perhaps this led to questions:

Would God’s promise of a Redeemer ever come true?
Had He forgotten?
Could He really be trusted?

And what about you? What are you waiting for just now?

The fulfilment of a long-held dream?
An answer to prayer?
Resolution in a situation of uncertainty?

Maybe, like the Israelites, you know God’s promises, but you’re struggling to see any evidence of their truth in your current situation. Maybe it feels like God has gone silent. It can be easy to lose hope, to wonder if God really will come through for us. Those times of waiting can be unsettling, uncomfortable, and often dark.

But what if God is at work in the waiting?
What if He is waiting, too . . .
For just the right moment?

Hundreds of years after Zephaniah and Malachi’s words, Jesus came, and the promise was fulfilled. It’s striking to note Paul, writing after the coming of Jesus, looks back on the fulfilment of the promise and describes both Jesus’ birth and His death as coming at just the right time.

“When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” (Galatians 4:4)

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

Suddenly, we realize the years of waiting were not caused by a delay, but were part of God’s design.

During those four hundred years, God may have been silent, but He was not inactive.
Various world powers rose and fell as predicted in prophecies in the book of Daniel. The Old Testament was translated into Greek, which was important for God’s Word being spread among the Gentiles. And Israel was conquered by the Romans, leaving the Jewish people desperate for freedom from oppression, recognising their only hope was in the coming of the Messiah.

The scene was set for Jesus to come.

Not only was God at work in the big picture of world events, but He was also preparing individuals for their part in His plan.

When the moment came, Mary was ready. She was ready to respond with faith and obedience despite the seeming impossibility of the angel’s message.

We can’t always understand why we have to wait; God’s ways and His timing are often not the same as ours. But we can trust in His goodness and His faithfulness. His promises will be fulfilled, sometimes (often!) in unexpected ways.

We can also trust He has a purpose in the waiting. Sometimes, while we are concerned with our circumstances, God is more interested in growing our character and our dependence on Him.

Often, the times of waiting reveal our lack of control and our inability to fix things for ourselves. They can drive us to God as they remind us our true hope is found in Him.

As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ first coming, may it remind us, even when the situations troubling us are resolved, we are still waiting.

We are waiting for the day when He will come again, when sorrow and suffering will finally be gone forever, when our waiting will come to an end, when we see “the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16) and we know the longest night is finally over and the darkness is no more.

Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

..
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Worship VII Day 8 By Faith

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Hebrews 11:1-12:2
Luke 17:5-6
2 Corinthians 5:7
Philippians 3:12-14

Worship VII, Day 8

As my friend appeared amidst the crowd of other runners, I could see she was struggling. She was around twenty miles into her marathon, and exhaustion was kicking in.

As she came closer, we began cheering! She looked up, and her face brightened. She stopped to chat for a few minutes, and, spurred on by our encouragement, she ran on with fresh energy.

The next day she told us she had been on the verge of giving up, but knowing we were there, cheering her on, had given her the strength she needed to finish the race.

This is the imagery of Hebrews 11 in describing a “large cloud of witnesses” cheering on the believer in Jesus. The Christian life is described as a race requiring endurance, and we all need support to keep going at times. I love how both Hebrews 11 and the song “By Faith” provide us with encouragement by pointing us to the lives of believers in Jesus who have gone before us.

As we glance through the list of Old Testament characters in Hebrews 11, we see inspiring acts of faith, radical obedience, willingness to follow God into the unknown, hope in the seemingly impossible, and courageous choices to do what is right rather than what is easy.

We also see some of the amazing results of those acts of faith. By faith, seas part, walls fall, kingdoms are overthrown, and seemingly impossible promises come true.

It seems the key to faith is steadfast focus on the One who cannot be seen.
“Faith is the reality of what is hoped for,
the proof of what is not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1)

Each of these people walked daily in faith because they steadfastly looked beyond their present circumstances to the certainty of coming Hope. Instead of being fixated on the here-and-now, they “confidently looked forward to a city with eternal foundations… a heavenly homeland.” (Hebrews 11:10, 16 NLT)

In times of war, famine, persecution, slavery, and various other challenges of life, they found hope by focusing on God and His promises.

“By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear,
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave.”

While it’s inspiring to read these examples of faith, it can also feel daunting. We read, “without faith, it is impossible to please God,” (Hebrews 11:6) and it’s easy to wonder if our faith is enough. How can we possibly measure up to these great heroes?

It’s important to remember that, despite their faith, none of these people were perfect. Abraham had amazing faith, but he also had his moments of doubt. Gideon was fearful. Samson was impulsive and reckless. Each of these “heroes” were flawed and sinful, but because God worked in their faith, they “gained strength in their weakness.” (Hebrews 11:34) Their stories aren’t about them; rather they tell of the mightiness of God!

“By faith we see the hand of God…
…In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness.”

The work of faith does not all depend on our faith,
but on God’s faithfulness to us.

This is astounding!

It is not about how much faith we have, but Whom our faith is in. Even faith the size of a mustard seed has great power if placed solely in Jesus. (Luke 17:6)

Hebrews 11 tells how faith gives no guarantee of an easy life, reassuring us that trouble and suffering are not evidence of absent faith.

While many faithful heroes saw God working through their faith, sometimes in miraculous ways, for others the results were drastically different as they “experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated.” (Hebrews 11:36-37)

Despite the trials they faced, they persevered by trusting their God while He carried them through. Their faith may not have led to earthly rewards, but they knew the finish line made every difficulty worth it!

Hebrews 12:1-2 urges us to let these examples encourage and spur us onward in our own journey of faith, always remembering it isn’t in our strength we are called to finish the race, but by keeping our eyes on Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

“We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done,
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.”

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Sketched VIII Day 8 Naaman

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Read His Words Before Ours!

2 Kings 5:1-27
Mark 1:1-8
Matthew 8:1-4

Sketched VIII, Day 8

From the outside, it looked like I had it all together.
Wealthy, successful, happily-married.
I was respected, even admired, by everyone around me.

They knew of the victories the Aramean army had won under my leadership, of how I was hailed as a mighty warrior. I had worked hard, and now I was reaping the rewards. Second in command only to the king, I was proud of all I had achieved.

But I had a secret. I was getting sick. The scabs and patches appearing on my skin were tell-tale signs of leprosy. They were multiplying and spreading, and I knew there was no cure.

The thought of what lay ahead terrified me, not only the physical suffering, but people’s reactions when they found out.

Instead of being admired and applauded, I would be an outcast, branded unclean.

Instead of being viewed as successful, I would be seen as . . . broken.

I wasn’t familiar with feeling powerless.

All my life I’d been the one to whom people turned, the man with the answer, but this time I felt defeated. No amount of wealth or power could fix this problem. It seemed so unfair, and I was helpless to change it.

Then, my wife shared with me a suggestion from her Israelite servant; I should go and see a prophet in Samaria. She believed he would heal me.

My desperation outweighed the ridiculousness I felt at taking a servant girl’s advice, so I went to the King and explained the situation. He gave his blessing for my trip to Samaria and provided a letter to the King of Israel, so I set off along with many gifts, gold, silver, and luxurious clothing. If this prophet really could heal me, I was prepared to pay handsomely.

After meeting with the King of Israel, I was sent to the prophet, Elisha. Trembling, I waited at the door of his house. Within me, hope warred with the fear of disappointment.

Finally, a messenger came out, “Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your skin will be restored and you will be clean.”  (2 Kings 5:10)

I. was. furious.

This so-called prophet wasn’t even going to come out and see me?!
Didn’t he know who I was?!

I’d expected him to stand before me, wave his hands over my body, and call on his God to heal me, not tell me to bathe in a river! And compared to the cool, crystal-clear waters of Damascan rivers, the Jordan was a sludge-filled creek! Why couldn’t I just have bathed in a river back home?

I regretted getting my hopes up. This whole trip was pointless! I felt scandalized!

“Sir . . . ” One of my officers approached, tentatively, interrupting my clear rage.
“If the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, you would have done it. Why don’t you give it a try and do as he says? Go and wash in the river.”

Well, he had a point. I’d already come this far, might as well see it through . . .

The cool water washed over me as I submerged myself seven times. It was certainly refreshing, but it also felt like I was being cleansed, and not just on the surface, but deep inside.

When I finally dared to look at my skin, I knew instantly it had worked! There was no sign of leprosy. I was healed!

We rushed back to thank the prophet Elisha. Overflowing with gratitude, I attempted to give him the gifts I had brought.

I realised I wasn’t only grateful to Elisha; his God had healed me. The God of Israel was the true God. I was humbled by His power, which far exceeded my own, and by His love and mercy in healing me despite my pride and stubbornness.

Nothing could persuade Elisha to accept the gifts I offered, and, believe me, I tried. In the end, I had to humbly accept the healing as a gift of grace. Elisha did grant my request to load up two of my mules with earth to take home. While I had to return to Aram, I wanted to take a little bit of Israel with me. I vowed to worship and serve the true God, the living God, forever.

Then I remembered . . .

When I accompanied the King to the temple of his god, Rimmon, he would bow, and as he leaned on my arm and I supported him, I would have no choice but to bow too. Would God pardon me for this? Surely the worship of my heart was what really mattered. Who knows, maybe someday God would give me the opportunity to share of His true power through my story of healing!

Confirming my belief, Elisha told me to go in peace,
so I went,
full of joy and gratitude,
not only healed
but transformed.

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Hallel Day 13 Love That Frees

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 118:1-16
Exodus 15:1-3
Isaiah 53:10-11
Matthew 26:20-30

Hallel, Day 13

“His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1-4)

The truth of these words brought the disciples comfort as they walked to the garden, singing this refrain. It had been a strange and unsettling evening. What began as a joyous celebration commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from slavery had taken a much more serious turn over dinner . . .

Talk of betrayal and suffering,
bread being broken and wine poured out,
all pointing to death . . .

Something in Jesus’ manner was different tonight, and it left them uneasy. The comfort of these familiar words surely heartened them.

“His faithful love endures forever.”
Everything will be all right.

For Jesus, the words were a reminder of why He had come and what He had to do. God’s faithful love endures forever, despite humanity’s sin and rebellion, and He was about to demonstrate the depth of His love once and for all . . . at an incredible cost.

“I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place.”
(Psalm 118:5)

Freedom!

The disciples longed for freedom from Roman rule and they trusted Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who would deliver their freedom. Just as God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule so many years ago, surely He would do the same for them. If God was on their side, they would be victorious. There was no reason to fear.

Freedom . . . 

Jesus needed to focus on the reason why He was going through with this. It was for these dear friends walking alongside Him, and for many others who would believe through their witness.

His death and resurrection would set them free, liberate them from sin and death forever, and cast out fear of God’s judgement by making them righteous. True, eternal freedom for His beloved friends was worth all that lay ahead.

“The Lord is my helper. Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.” (Psalm 118:7)

Perhaps the disciples’ voices grew louder, more confident, as they pondered these words.

Jesus had spoken of enemies tonight, but they wouldn’t have the final word. Against all odds, the Israelites had triumphed over Pharaoh and his army. God had shown His power, and He could do it again. Surely the Lord was for them.

But did Jesus’ voice grow fainter as He sang, wrestling inwardly with what was to come?

“I know there are many who hate me.
They will do their worst.
Death will look like defeat.

O Father, help Me endure.
I know this is necessary, and I know it will be worth it.
I know death will not have the final victory.
I know this will be a mighty triumph over the powers of hell for eternity . . .
but I also know it will be painful and bloody.
Please give me strength.

And help My brothers, Father.
My death will seem like a crushing defeat to their faith.
Please give them strength to endure.”

“All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.” (Psalm 118:10)

No matter what comes against us, no matter what enemies surround us,
we can defeat them in God’s power.

“Very soon, I will be surrounded by enemies, whipping and spitting, mocking and jeering, rejoicing in My demise. Already, the true enemies, the spiritual forces of evil and darkness, invade My mind, urging Me not to go through with it, to use My power to break free.

And I could . . . but I will not.

Only through My death will these enemies be truly destroyed, and My children set free. O Father, give me victory over the temptation to quit. Help Me be strong.”

“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  (Psalm 118:14)

As they echoed the Israelites’ song of victory after crossing the Red Sea, praising God for His mighty power, hope rose in the disciples’ hearts. God was with them. Victory was sure . . .

As for Jesus, He looked to the suffering awaiting Him, knowing through His death, He would become their salvation. It was the only way.

Only in death would they, and all who would believe, be set free to embrace eternal life . . .

Great suffering lay ahead; Christ must hold onto hope, and cling to the truth that death would not have the final word:

“I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done.”  (Psalm 118:17)

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Questions Day 13 Is God Loving Or Angry?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 103
Isaiah 57:14-19
John 2:13-17
Romans 1:18-32

Questions, Day 13

Why is God angry in the Old Testament,
but loving in the New Testament?

It’s a question people often have as they study the Bible, and an understandable one. When we read of God flooding the whole earth or destroying entire cities in the Old Testament, His wrath can be hard to equate with Jesus’ compassion toward prostitutes and sinners as He ate with them, spent time with them, and told them of God’s grace in the New Testament. While the Old Testament has much to say about judgement, the New Testament appears to focus more on forgiveness, and it can be a challenge to reconcile the two.

How can we make sense of it all?
First, the Bible clearly states God is always the same;
He “does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

Furthermore, Jesus, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), is also “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

The God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament.
To understand God’s character, it’s vital we consider the Bible as a whole,
rather than focusing on isolated incidents.

While God does show anger in the Old Testament, He is also described eleven times as slow to anger, and on many occasions, we see Him showing mercy while continuing to love and care for His people, despite their continued unfaithfulness.

For example, Psalm 103 is an eloquent expression of David’s gratitude for God’s gracious forgiveness and compassion.

God does express anger at times, but this serves to highlight the severity of sin and the destruction it brings, while pointing to our need for a Saviour. The consequences of sin can be harsh, but God’s ultimate desire is not to punish, but to save. 

The Old Testament is filled with promises and prophecies pointing ahead to a solution to the problem of sin, a solution God Himself would provide because of His love.
Again and again, He reminds His people the Saviour will come.

As we move into the New Testament, and Jesus is born as the fulfilment of God’s promises, the focus shifts more toward God’s compassion because the fulfillment has come! Scripture emphasizes the reason for Jesus’ coming and His death, was to deal with sin.
If we trust in Him, we no longer need to fear God’s anger against us:
“God proves His own love for us
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
How much more then,
since we have now been declared righteous by His blood,
will we be saved through Him from wrath?” (Romans 5:8-9)

However, God’s holy anger is present in the New Testament as well. Paul describes at length God’s wrath against those who continue in sin and suppress the truth about God. (Romans 1:18-32)

We read of Jesus turning over tables in the Temple, driving out merchants and money changers in rage because His Father’s house, a place of prayer, was being treated as a marketplace.

Anger and love are both present in God’s character throughout both Old and New Testaments.

This tension can be uncomfortable. Anger is often seen as unacceptable because of the destructive effects of anger when it’s out of control, but God’s anger is different from our (often sinful) human anger, and is actually an important, and good, part of who He is.

While our anger does not accomplish God’s purposes, His righteous anger is intentionally focused against destructive sin. (James 1:20) This was brought home to me as I worked with a group of children, sharing the story of Jesus in the Temple. After hearing the story, they were instructed to transform it into a drama. At first, their presentation brought the story to life very well, but then one child decided to alter the ending.

As “Jesus” shouted and expressed His righteous anger, another boy went over and put an arm round “Jesus.” “It’s okay,” he said. “Calm down. Come outside and sit down, and we’ll talk about it.” 

In one way, it was a lovely, compassionate response, but it was also missing the point.
In some situations, the holy response is anger.
We, too, can be tempted to edit out God’s anger and focus on His love, but the truth is, since “God is love” (1 John 4:16), His anger is actually an expression of His love.

Jesus’ passion for His Father’s house was the driving force behind His rage at its misuse. God’s love for people is manifested in His anger when He sees them being mistreated or abused. If He failed to be angry over these things, then He would fail to be wholly loving. 

Surely, it’s a comfort to us, in the face of injustice or ill treatment, to know God
cares.
To know His anger on behalf of the innocent surpasses our own.
To know there are consequences for those who refuse to repent of their sin.

In Graham Kendrick’s song, “Come and see,“ he describes the cross as the place “where wrath and mercy meet.” Maybe the cross is where we most clearly see God’s anger and His love intertwined. Even as His anger against sin is poured out, His grace in sending Jesus to bear it in our place assures us of His perfect love.

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Shielded Day 11 Certain Rescue

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 59:1-21
Romans 12:1-2
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 6:17
1 Thessalonians 5:8-9

Shielded, Day 11

As I stood at the start of the rope course, trying to persuade the teenage girl to get ready, I realized I had never heard so many excuses not to wear a helmet:

“It’s uncomfortable.”
“It’s dirty.”
“It doesn’t fit properly.”
“I’m too hot.”
“It’ll ruin my hair.”

I tried to reason with her, but the excuses just kept coming.  Eventually it was only the insistence of the instructor that persuaded her. She could only participate in the activity if she put it on her head.  The helmet was not optional.

In that situation, the helmet was important because of the potential danger.  If anything went wrong, the helmet would save her from a serious head injury.

How much more important is the helmet of salvation for us as Christians, when we face real danger in our daily battle!

The helmet of salvation is first mentioned in Scripture in Isaiah 59.  The first part of the chapter presents a vivid description of humanity’s need for salvation.  Lying, cheating, violence, injustice, evil thoughts… Sin is everywhere, making it impossible for us to reach God’s standard of perfect holiness on our own. We need rescued.

The result of our reality is an absence of peace and justice; sin has led to separation from God, and, despite our best efforts, there is no hope for an adequate solution.

“They cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.” (Isaiah 59:6-7)

Isaiah’s words describe the state each one of us finds ourselves in if we are looking to our own actions to save us, because we will never be good enough for that rescue.
The draw of sin is just too strong.

Fortunately, Isaiah continues telling us that, while there was nothing humanity could do to gain access to God, God Himself decided to act by coming to us. We were weak and helpless, but “his strong arm brought salvation.” (Isaiah 59:16)

Arming himself with righteousness as His body armour, and with the helmet of salvation on His head, God stepped in to bring redemption, offering amazing hope for those who repent and put their trust in Him.

““The Redeemer will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.”  (Isaiah 59:20)

In Ephesians 6:17, Paul includes the helmet of salvation in his list of essential armour for spiritual battle, and in Thessalonians, Paul urges the believers to “put on the armour of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8) Here is our Rescue!

The hope Paul speaks of here is not a flimsy hope, as it would be if it were based on our own attempts at righteousness. Rather, this is a certain hope, based on what God has already done for us, through Jesus when He came to us, to be righteousness for us.

Just as Isaiah’s words would have provided comfort and hope for Israel as they endured the suffering of being exiled from their land, so the hope of salvation can provide a very real comfort for us today.

It is something all of us fully possess if we are in Christ, but we must choose daily to take hold of that certain hope.
After all, a helmet provides little protection unless we put it on.
And the helmet is vital, because the mind is one of the main areas Satan attacks.

Discouragement and doubt are often the enemy’s weapons of choice, as he seeks to focus our attention on difficult circumstances, trials, and challenges of life. His aim is to divert us away from the hope we have in Christ, and onto hopelessness and despair.

The enemy woos us to doubt God’s goodness and love and question His grace, by filling our minds with guilty hopelessness over the severity of our sin, while Christ offers joy in the reality of our salvation. Because He is our Certain Rescue.

We are called to be actively engaged in this battle of the mind.  Paul urges the Corinthians to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 10:5)

We must deliberately choose to focus on God’s truth by spending time in His Word each day, and by reminding ourselves, and one another, of the certainty of our hope. Our salvation does not depend on our own goodness, but on Christ alone!

Our thinking is so important because it plays out in our words and our actions.  Paul tells the Romans they must be transformed by the renewal of their minds (Romans 12:2).  Allowing God to shape their thinking was crucial in order for them to be equipped to live for Christ in a hostile world, and it is the same for us today.

Regardless of circumstances, trials, and hardships, the truth of salvation gives us certain hope. We know how the story will end, and we know our victory is already secure in Christ when we trust in His salvation.

The helmet is not optional for our rescue; it’s vital.
So, let’s put it on today and move forward with faith,
confident in the truth of our salvation, and the certain hope it brings!

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Worship VI Day 10 Do It Again

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Joshua 6:1-20
Lamentations 3:21-26
Daniel 3:16-18
Mark 11:22-24
Romans 4:18-25

Worship VI, Day 10

When I read the story of Joshua, it all seems so easy…

Admittedly, God’s instructions to Joshua and his army are strange…
march around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days
and seven times on the seventh day

But they’re clear and easy enough to follow.
What’s more, the outcome is entirely predictable.  As long as they demonstrate their faith by obeying God’s command, on the seventh day, “the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance.”  (Joshua 6:5)

When I think about life today, it all seems much more complicated.
We all have situations where we would love to see God move in power like He did at Jericho. We have each had situations where we long for breakthrough, as we constantly circle them in prayer. Maybe we’re praying for healing or salvation for a loved one, seeking God’s wisdom about a major life decision, or coming to God with a long-held dream we can’t quite give up on despite the lack of opportunity for its reality.

Unlike Joshua, we often have no idea what the outcome will be,
or how long we will wait.

“Walking around these walls,
I thought by now they’d fall…
Waiting for change to come…”

It’s easy for the waiting to lead to discouragement.

Around five years ago, this all became very real to me as I prayed for a friend struggling with mental health issues.  After a couple years of battling with this, during which I’d been praying regularly, her condition seemed to be spiralling downward. As she began texting me late at night with graphic descriptions of her depressed feelings, I felt helpless. I knew she was receiving professional help, so all I could do was pray, and I believed God could help and heal her. Unlike Joshua, I had no guarantee of how God would answer my prayer, or what that answer would look like.

I came to realise my faith must be based on something deeper
than the miracle I hoped for.

Fortunately, while we have examples in Scripture of God’s miraculous power, we also have examples of people waiting and praying in desperate situations. We meet people longing for answers that are slow to come.

Jeremiah lamented over Jerusalem’s destruction and his people’s exile to Babylon. Abraham waited decades for the child God had promised; his waiting eventually reached the point where it seemed physically impossible to bear a child.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire for no crime other than obedience to God.

Yet all these people managed to hold on to their faith in God by looking beyond their circumstances and focusing on His faithfulness.

Amidst the ruins, Jeremiah declared:
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!”  (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Abraham held onto hope even when his situation was hopeless, humanly speaking, because, “he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.”  (Romans 4:21)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bold in proclaiming their trust in God’s power and goodness, despite the uncertain outcome of their situation.

“If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”  (Daniel 3:17-18) 

Each of these knew God’s faithfulness by experience and chose to put their trust in Him, just as this song declares:

“Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You’ve never failed me yet.” 

In each case, the outcome was different, but the faithfulness of God
was exactly the same.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced a speedy and miraculous rescue.  Abraham finally saw the fulfilment of God’s promise after years of waiting.  Jeremiah never saw the restoration of Jerusalem, though it did happen after 70 years just as Jeremiah had prophesied, because God is faithful.

How can we respond in our own situations where we long to see God move in power?

Tension exists between holding onto the solid hope that God is the same today as He was to Joshua, and that He is perfectly able to “do it again,” while also accepting God’s ways are not always predictable or understandable to us.

We’re called to have faith that God is able to move mountains, while we’re also called to trust in God’s faithfulness when the mountains fail to move exactly as we wish,
because He is always faithful to His promises.

We may not have the promise God gave Joshua that our walls will fall quickly and easily, but we do have several other promises, all rooted in His unchanging character.

He promises that….

Whatever our situation today, let’s choose to hold onto real, solid hope
and thank Him for His faithfulness!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Relentless Day 6 Faith or Fear?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Judges 6:11-18
Lamentations 3:21-26
1 Corinthians 1:26-30

“Thanks for coming for the interview yesterday. We’d like to offer you the job.”

As I stood with the phone to my ear, letting the words sink in, all I could think was there must be some mistake. Surely, they weren’t seriously offering me the job!

Doubts and insecurities flooded my mind. As much as I wanted this job as a school’s worker with a Christian charity, I didn’t feel capable. I was too inexperienced, too lacking in confidence, definitely not good enough to even consider this. Although I wanted the job, the chances of being selected had seemed so small, I’d really only gone to the interview for the experience.

Plus, I’d been dealing with some difficult things lately. There was no way I felt strong enough to take this on right now. All too conscious of my weakness, I was sure they could have found someone better.

I imagine Gideon’s feelings may have been similar when the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Cowering at the bottom of a winepress, threshing wheat, hiding from the Midianites who had destroyed the Israelites’ crops and reduced them to starvation, he wasn’t exactly a picture of strength.

When the words, “valiant warrior” are uttered, I picture him looking round in bewilderment to see who the angel is addressing, not thinking for a moment that the greeting is intended for him.

What’s more, the angel announces that God is with him! Gideon has little confidence in either part of this greeting. He struggles to see beyond his fear and his weakness to consider himself a “valiant warrior,” while also finding the idea of God being with him difficult to believe. After all, the Israelites’ oppression at the hands of the Midianites has been going on for seven long years. By this point, Gideon is worn down and out of hope. He can’t help but blurt out his honest question:

“If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?”  (Judges 6:13)

Don’t we all ask similar questions at times?

Whether it’s a significant time of tragedy or loss, a situation where our hope and hard work give way to disappointment, or simply a day when the pressures and frustrations of life seem to mount up, it’s easy to question where God is and why He has allowed these things to happen.

Maybe, like Gideon, we have tried to hold on to God’s promises and the ways we have seen or heard of His power in the past, but, when we look at our current situation, we feel abandoned. The idea of God having a good plan for us can seem hard to believe.

It’s reassuring that God doesn’t rebuke Gideon for asking this question, but neither does He provide an explanation.

Judges 6:14 provides an intriguing twist: “the Lord turned to him.” As He calls Gideon to go forward in the strength he has and lead Israel to victory over the Midianites, it seems Gideon suddenly realises he is not merely talking to an angel, but God Himself.

God’s response to Gideon’s question is not to answer, but to draw close and reveal Himself. He shows Gideon He has not abandoned him, but that, even in the midst of the suffering and oppression, He is right there with him.

As God continues to speak, we see His relentless love both towards the Israelite nation and towards Gideon as an individual. By this point, the Israelites have been spiralling round in a self-destructive cycle of sin for several years. God has forgiven them time and time again, yet still they continue to turn away. It would have been understandable for Him to have rejected them, but instead He remains committed to the rescue.

The manner in which He chooses to effect that rescue is through Gideon, even in his weakness. Despite Gideon’s doubts and hesitation, his lack of confidence, and his fear, God’s commitment to His plan for Gideon is relentless. Gideon still doesn’t understand, and he continues to question his ability and seek reassurance, but despite this he is called to move forward and to step out in faith.

Gideon is faced with an important choice: follow God, or follow his fears.

As I considered my unexpected job offer, I had a similar decision to make. When I looked at myself, I felt inadequate and ill-equipped, but then I remembered my many prayers that God would let the right person get the job, and in the end, I knew my reasons for hesitating were due to fear. Instead, I knew I had to step forward in faith, trusting that God had answered my prayer, that He would be with me and help me, and that His strength would be enough.

As I did so, I saw His relentless faithfulness in providing all I needed and leading me into a place where I could serve Him and flourish. As I look back, twelve years later, still happily involved in the same ministry, I’m grateful He enabled me to choose faith over fear and as God used me even in my weakness!

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