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#adventcalendarday24
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Have you ever gone to open the final door on your advent calendar and someone’s already opened it? Join with me and read Luke chapter 24 and we’ll find someone’s already opened the most important door . . .

I’m always struck by the devotion shown by some of the disciples, especially the women, even after Jesus died. Even after he was dead, those disciples still served him.  And due to their devotion, the women make the puzzling discovery that the stone has been rolled away and Jesus’ body has disappeared.

Luke is at pains to point out that the disciples should have expected this result. The angels and then Jesus himself reminds them that the prophets foretold this. In fact we know from our readings that Jesus had said on three occasions to the disciples that this would all happen. I guess the truth is (for most sensible humans), that dead people don’t come back to life. Even though they had seen Jesus raise others back to life, after all they’d witnessed over Jesus’ trial and death, and now it was the third day after, they simply couldn’t in their grief, dare to believe that what Jesus had said about this would come true. After all, who was left to raise Jesus?

Thinking about the way Luke has constructed this account of Jesus’ life – deliberately historically accurate, verified by eyewitnesses and careful to show how Jesus intentionally went about his business: unwaveringly authoritative over sickness & death, disability and the forces of nature, (and the enemy of God); captivating by his unmatched understanding of God and how people should live with each other in response to God; carefully yet provocatively confrontational with the religious leaders;  and finally the instructions he gives to the disciples to carry on the ‘family business’  – leaves me with a renewed sense of God’s engineering according to his sovereign plan, and as Jesus, his total commitment to willingly sacrifice himself as the pivotal action in that plan.

How wonderful, amazing, surprising and fully engaging for us to discover, along with the first disciples, that the final door has been opened! That actually there is someone left to raise people from the dead! That our lives are swept up in the cosmic purposes of the creator of the universe because WE ARE LOVED! And we are loved so much that despite our almost constant rebellion, God has both carefully and astonishingly engineered a way for our relationship with him to be restored forever.

There’s no need for further questions today – everything has been asked and answered in Jesus!

Maranatha!

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday23
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With only two days until Christmas, it’s time to read Luke 23, please join me.

We are immediately assaulted with the farcical ‘trials’ by Pilate and Herod. All of our outrage at injustice boils to the surface as we read of what happened to Jesus. False accusations are resounding but neither Pilate nor Herod can actually find anything wrong to convict Jesus with.

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

And for a moment we dare to believe that justice, albeit rough, might prevail.

• If you had not heard the accounts of Jesus’ life before, how might you be expecting the ‘story’ to end? How might you be feeling?

But fear, jealousy and political expediency seemingly win the day and an innocent man is sentenced to die. Let’s reflect briefly on Jesus’ responses and final words:

³¹ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” verses 28-31 show Jesus despair for the state and future of humankind. It’s like he’s saying, “If an innocent man like me can be convicted – how bad will thing get as even more pressure is brought to bear on those in authority? Prepare for the worst!”

³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This is true grace expressed through extreme torture. He looks down the pages of history and sees everything that every single one of us has done and will do and realizes that unless he makes this sacrifice right now, despite never deserving it, our sin will forever separate us from God. And he just has too much love for us to allow that to happen.

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Here’s a man who was not able to do anything other than repent in the presence of God. He’s the one who gives all of us hope – It’s never too late and there’s nothing so bad that you can’t be forgiven and welcomed into God’s Kingdom. But note again Luke’s determination to show us that a choice is required. The other criminal was not saved because he chose to ridicule Jesus instead.

⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” At the point of death, when it seems all is lost, Jesus trusts his Father.

• Where are the gifts for you in this chapter?
• Where are the challenges?
• What are the memories of past or present injustices that are recalled?
• How might you be called to let the undeserved sacrifice happen trusting that God’s will must be done?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday22
#willyoujoinme

Hi Everyone – will you join me reading through Luke 22?

We’re back into the more familiar passages from Luke’s gospel but it does feel a bit bizarre to be reading them today! And yet, especially over these final three days, this is what Christmas is really all about. The birth of Jesus without everything that follows would be meaningless.

The word Satan means enemy, and more particularly – the enemy of God. The bible makes clear that whilst he is God’s enemy he is not God’s equal. So whenever it appears as though Satan is prevailing it is only temporary and only ‘allowed’ by God until his ultimate purposes are achieved. And you can see this most clearly in Judas. Satan gets involved, it looks like the enemy is winning, only to be thwarted later on when God’s plan is fully revealed.

We probably don’t spend quite enough time reflecting on this and as a consequence find ourselves perplexed and discouraged when our godly plans seems to get ‘derailed’. And let’s not beat around the bush . . . as the next few days play out in the life of Jesus there will be what seems like some horrific ‘derailment’ including personal betrayal, denial, trumped-up charges, ridicule & physical torture and ‘finally’ death.

• When have you seen your own plans derailed by the enemy? How did you cope? What sense of God’s bigger picture have you been able to identify subsequently?

As we move into the Luke’s account of the Last Supper we again see Jesus’ exquisite planning and timing, (which is worth remembering even with regards to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus). The words of Jesus reveal the approaching climax of the new covenant (promise) between God and humans. The shedding of blood was like signing a contract. And this contract was for you and me.

• Just for this moment, pause and give thanks that God loved you enough to forgive your sin and sign the promise in his own blood. You. Me. All people.

And before we finish today, I want to think briefly on Peter, who is the character so many of us warm and relate to. Fiercely loyal, brutally fragile, fallen and restored. He’s like an archetype for all that we aspire to be for Jesus, all the ways we let him down and all the ways Jesus knows our true heart and loves us anyway. Notice that Jesus never condemns Peter – he certainly drills him with a piercing look and it’s that look that Jesus gives to us too – and he dies for us anyway.

• What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? Do you think Jesus knows? How is he looking at you right now? What is he going to go on and do?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday21
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Hello to everyone joining me ‘unwrap’ the life and ministry of Jesus on our advent journey. Please go ahead and read chapter 21.

And what a chapter! The first two verses and the last two are easy enough but in between . . . I’m no expert on what is broadly known as ‘the end times’ (and I simply don’t have time or space to deal with it all properly here) but in this teaching there appear to be (roughly) five sections:

1. Jesus prophecy of the destruction of the temple (vv5-7) – to the disciples, this would have seemed improbable and horrific. It was a large and beautiful building, protected by the walls of the temple mount which were huge and imposing and seemingly impregnable. And, 1^st Century Jews, as devout Jews still do today, saw the temple as the ‘tabernacle’ of God, his dwelling place. For the temple to be destroyed would imply that god had been defeated in some way. And yet, no more than 40 years later (AD70) it had in fact been destroyed by the Romans as a reprisal for civil disobedience.
2. Warnings against deceivers and false teachers (vv7-9) – Jesus warns that others will come claiming to be him and that we should not be fooled. That we should not be frightened of various wars and that these will not in themselves signal the end. Of course we know that to our collective human grief, wars continue.
3. Events of the end time leading to the coming of the Son of Man (vv10-28) – Jesus warns that there will be persecution of his followers because of their faith in him, but that they should not worry because he will give them the words to say and wisdom to understand. Over the centuries, we know that this too has occurred. (note v18-19 – I can only interpret these verses as meaning ‘in terms of your eternal life in God’s Kingdom you will gain life, even if you lose your earthly life’.

None the less all these highly disturbing things will transpire, some literally, some metaphorically, by way of heralding the return of Jesus as King.

• The lesson of the fig tree (vv29-33) – Jesus compares the natural observation of the seasonal effect on trees to these events. His implication – ‘in the same way you know summer is coming, you will know when the end times are here and the Son of Man is returning in glory. It will be as plain as day’.
• Exhortation to watchfulness (vv34-36) – so we are to keep watch and pray that we will be able to escape the traumas of the end times.

I find myself pretty perplexed by all this apocalyptic teaching. We know some of the things have happened, some are still happening, and some are yet to happen. There’s so much more to Jesus than the birth of a baby, the ministry, mission, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. There’s us and our engagement with it all!

• How does this passage make you feel? What do you make of Jesus words that “heaven and earth will pass away”? (v33)
• To what extent do you feel we are living in the end times now? How then should we live?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday20
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Open the door to day 20 – read Luke chapter 20!

According to Luke, there are no more healing miracles now until the resurrection of Jesus. We have come to the sober moments of continued and growing confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and as a consequence, their plots to have Jesus killed. These last few days for Jesus are increasingly days of darkness for him and confusion for his disciples – the very antithesis of what our world is ‘screaming at us’ to celebrate. Surely Jesus is the light – yes! Surely Jesus came to set us all free from the tyranny of sin and death – yes! But at what cost? What courage and conviction? What resolute sacrifice?

Jesus has entered Jerusalem as King (see yesterday’s post) and now the religious leaders challenge him! “Who gives you the right?” they ask. (v2).  Jesus keeps his head, destroys their attempts to trap him and then tells yet another parable against them. And they knew it, (v19). On the one hand he is affirming that HE is the son of the owner (God) and THEY are merely tenants, who are headed for destruction. Frankly, it is mind-bogglingly provocative. And it will have its inevitable consequences.

Yet no matter how hard they try they simply cannot outfox him. Nothing happens until he allows it.

As Luke recounts the events of Jesus’ life, I cannot help but be struck by how perfectly engineered his whole life and ministry was. This was THE moment in human history when God said “Enough!”

And all of our moments of darkness and confusion, all our stupid mistakes and our willing disobedience, all our triumphs and failures, all our ordinariness and our amazing successes – all of it hinged on the son of the owner’s willingness to tell the truth about life and death and live them both out completely.

There are days when we will soar like eagles and days when we will crawl like maggots but one day, The Lord’s Day – all his (and our) enemies will become like a footstool: chaos, injustice and pain will be disintegrated. But only because Jesus planned and went through it first. There is no way Jesus is getting out of Jerusalem alive – he didn’t intend to.

• It’s 5 days before Christmas – how are you feeling?
• Forgive my focus on all the conflict, (but it has to be about 30% of what we’ve read, right?). What has been revealed to you through it all? Why do you think Luke included it along with all the ‘nice’ stuff?
• From all you’ve read and learnt so far this advent – how are you going to respond to Jesus’ greatest gift?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday19
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Hi everyone – will you join me in reading Luke chapter 19?

With only a few more days to go until we “unwrap the present” of Jesus – it might be worth starting to think back on all we’ve learnt about Jesus and ourselves so far in Luke, but for now we’ll press on with the text.

I’ve always loved the episode and exchange about Zaccheus – it’s the ‘Good News’ in a nutshell! Again, the unexpected one finds salvation, when he earnestly seeks after Jesus. His reputation was “sinner” (v7) which probably means he had been cheating people and was a collaborator with the occupying Roman forces. Notice again, that salvation is realised after repentance but that Jesus knows where to find him and engages willingly. And repentance looks like good news to everyone else. Everyone else is a recipient of good news (the reparations Zaccheus makes) once Zaccheus is.

Which begs the questions:

• How was finding Jesus and repenting – good news for you?
• How was/is it good news for those around you?
• Is there anyone you’ve inadvertently ‘written off’ or dismissed as a sinner? How can you provide evidence of good news to them?

And now as Jesus literally draws near to Jerusalem (coming up from Jericho) for me, there’s a sense of dread as I/we know what’s coming. As Luke has been recounting the historically verified accounts of the words, works and ways of Jesus, he’s leading us to the inevitable climax.

I was struck today with the emphasis change in Jesus’ self-identification. The parable of the Ten Minas uses the storyline of a King. The entry into Jerusalem is that of a King. He even says of himself when instructing his disciples, “Tell them the Lord needs it” (v31). His weeping over Jerusalem is like a father weeping over a wayward child. And his anger in the temple is against abuse in his (God’s) own house.

This is no longer just a rabbi and friend, or even prophet and miracle worker, standing by dispassionately dispensing truth, mercy and wisdom. This is the Lord, the King, coming to claim his own people, his inheritance and his responsibility. He comes resolutely with pathos and deep, deep relationship in preparation for his coronation – and what crown will he wear?

• What difference does it make to consider Jesus as King? How does it change your relationship with him? (ie not just, friend, teacher, saviour even)
• What are the implications for a world that hates him and tries to kill him – then and now? Why did/do they hate him so much?
• What does it mean when a monarch is willing to (and does) give up everything for YOU?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday18
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Day 18, ¾ of the way through! (Join me in reading Luke chapter 18)

Have you ever noticed that it’s easy to speak about persistence when you don’t need be yourself? We can recognise it as a virtue but I suspect we’re all pretty glad when we’re not actually required to be. Why? Because it ‘stretches’ our faith – it tests whether we will still trust in God to deliver, even if we don’t get the answer we are looking for, exactly when we want it. But Jesus’ teaching on prayer is consistent through Luke’s gospel: “Ask and it will be given to you” (Luke 11:9); because of boldness (Luke 11:8) God will give as much as we need; and here in v5, even if it seems like we might be “bothering” God, we are encouraged to continue.

My experience this year, in a season of ‘waiting’ for new work, (which has so far stretched to eight months), has definitely been that God has not got sick of me! I have been impatient, grumpy and frustrated, sometimes even fearful but God has not let me down. There has been financial provision when it seemed there wouldn’t be and there have been encouragements at just the right time through phone calls from random friends I hadn’t spoken to in years or even running into friends in the most unexpected places. I have built up a reservoir of trust in God’s exquisite care and timing. It’s not the end of my waiting yet, so my prayers continue to be pretty simple, “Lord, I need a new job! Can you please open a door today? Thank you for your provision so far, please continue to meet our needs? Thank you for my friends and family who care for me. Help me to keep trusting in you.” Or words to that effect. And my overwhelming sense is constantly that God is saying, “Ian, it’s not a bother, I’ve got this, hang-in there.”

The next section of our reading makes clear, again, that it is the unexpected who will be honoured in God’s kingdom. Sinners (tax-collectors) and those not thought highly of (children) who humbly approach God will be welcomed into his Kingdom. But those who trust in their own means (keeping the law – righteousness – or wealth) will not be able to enter. Why? Because they are self-sufficient; they don’t think they need to amend their ways, let alone trust in a saviour.

• Is there something in which you need to trust in God for today? Have you asked him again & again? What might he be saying to you? How might God be calling you to stretch your faith?
• Do you ever feel unworthy to be loved and accepted by God? What might God be saying to you about that?

I notice that Luke records Jesus’ prophetic words about his death and resurrection; quickly followed by yet another miraculous healing.

• How has God revealed himself to you in the past that helps give you faith for the future?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday17
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Hello everyone – please join me in reading Luke chapter 17.

If you’re someone who doesn’t like conflict, you’re not going to like this next teaching of Jesus. We don’t use the term “rebuke” all that much these days, and often not in a positive way. Jesus starts by saying that sin will inevitably come from time to time but that when it does, you should actually rebuke the person who has sinned against you, or in other words, confront those who have done you wrong – but with the purpose of you subsequently forgiving them and restoring the broken relationship.

Let’s face it, when someone sins against you, a wedge is driven between you, which separates you from each other relationally. You feel it and it never goes away until you are properly reconciled. People will say to you, “Just get over it” but the truth is you can’t unless the other person acknowledges that they’ve wronged you. Notice Jesus says, “. . . if they repent, forgive them” (v3). And be prepared to forgive and forgive and forgive!

What I find so counter-cultural in this is that Jesus is insisting that we, the wronged person, take the initiative in the process of reconciliation. We’re not to sulk or hold grudges, nor to pretend it didn’t happen or doesn’t matter – we are called, as followers of Jesus, to actually confront sin – but with the ultimate purpose of forgiveness which allows reconciliation.

This is entirely consistent with Jesus’ own mission and ministry. He came to confront sin with the aim of offering forgiveness, leading to reconciliation with God. Even on the cross (the greatest sin done to anyone in history!) he cries out “forgive them Father, they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34). You see, our sin drives a relational wedge between us and God. Sometimes unwittingly, other times deliberately. And Jesus came to confront us about that sin and to offer forgiveness – and all we have to do is acknowledge our sin (repent) and we will be forgiven That is why he taught us to pray (Luke 11:4) “Forgive us our sin for we also forgive everyone who sins against us”. The words, works and ways of Jesus are all about being reconciled to God and to one another.

The consequences of not being reconciled are perpetually (eternally) broken relationships with people and with God. Which is why the concluding verses about the coming of God’s Kingdom are so sobering, even frightening. When Jesus returns it will be sudden and decisive. At that moment it will be too late to be reconciled either to God or to each other.

Hence the burden is on us to take the initiative NOW, to confront and forgive – to repent and be forgiven.

• Is there anything in your life that needs forgiving? Humbly ask God to show you and then repent (start to live God’s way in that issue) and receive his wonderful, undeserved forgiveness.
• Is there someone you need to forgive? Ask God’s help in confronting that situation wisely but frankly, and be willing to forgive whole-heartedly.
• Is there someone you know who needs to know God’s forgiveness? How can you demonstrate that to them? Maybe, like the tenth leper, it might come by your humble thankfulness for all that God has done for you?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday16
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Go ahead and read Luke chapter 16. (2/3 of the way through – don’t worry if you’ve missed a couple of days – just jump back in here!)

Jesus is teaching to his general group of disciples here again and it appears some Pharisees are also listening in. The only way I can make sense of this first parable (vv1-8a) is that it’s better for the rich man to make some money than none at all so he applauds the shrewd manager’s quick thinking. But you see that’s not the point of the parable. It’s in vv8b-13 that Jesus applies the principles from the parable. And I think he makes the observation that we (believers) can learn from the ways of the world in the use of our money – it’s ok to be shrewd.

I remember one practical application of v9 from one ministry context: our church offered to pay for a shade-sail for a local primary school. This surprising (and somewhat controversial!) use of our hard-saved tithes opened relational doors at the school which are still bearing fruit many years later. It was very clear to me – in order to promote our desired mission we had to invest shrewdly in something that had no financial benefit to us but significant, long-term kingdom benefits.

• Does your money serve a mission or has its accumulation become a goal in itself? (Who could you talk to about that?)
• What Kingdom investment might God be calling you to make?

Turning now to the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus, there seem to be two main points.

1. Jesus seems to be illustrating v13 “ . . .you cannot serve both God and Money”. The Rich Man appears to have gone about his life with no regard to the plight of Lazarus. Lazarus finds his comfort in heaven, whilst the Rich Man’s eternal reward is in Hades (the place of eternal fire).
2. Jesus seems to be saying there is a clear separation in eternity between those who find themselves in heaven and those who find themselves in hell. (NB: there is better teaching on this in other places in scripture but I think Jesus is using a generally held belief as part of his illustration). But he also points out that even coming back from the dead won’t be enough to convince some people.

• What signs are there that your eternal destination is secure? Using what we’ve learned from Luke so far, what might your life be marked by to suggest this?
• How does it make you feel to know that not everyone will be in heaven? What does the previous chapter suggest should be our attitude to those we are concerned about?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday15
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Hi everyone – please go ahead and read Luke 15.

At first glance it’s such a relief to read this triplet of Parables: “The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin & The Lost Son” – they’re all stories of rescue, inclusion and celebration – and they give a really clear picture of God’s heart. I especially love the emphasis Jesus makes of the one who’s lost something (representing God), actively searching until what was lost (us) is found.

But the beginning and end of the chapter are important ‘bookends’. We might think given the story-lines, that everyone is included. However we’re told that the parables come in response to the Pharisees muttering that Jesus was spending time with outcasts – sinners. And at the end it’s unclear if the older brother (representing the Pharisees in the parable) chooses to join the celebration or not. God’s heart is clear – BOTH younger (representing sinners generally) and older brother can enjoy ‘the fruit of the farm’.

Because of what Luke has previously told us, it’s no surprise to us that Jesus is spending time with sinners – we expect it. But the Pharisees had real problems with it because of their laws and the need to stay ritually clean. Sin was like dirt that you can’t remove and it was thought to rub off on anyone who made contact with sinners. In the days of Jesus, sin was ‘removed’ by making sacrifices at the temple.

In order to enjoy ‘the fruit of the farm’, we ALL need to make a response:

1. “Younger brothers” need to repent and return to their father. This means realising that you’ve made the worst mistakes, that you have deliberately avoided accountability with God and return to him ‘begging’ him to accept your broken self

• “Older brothers” need to do the work of the Kingdom, enjoy being in the Father’s presence and welcome any younger brothers who join them. This means living every day as though God is the most important factor in your life. Submitting to his will and purpose – making sacrifices of time, independence and self-determination. Celebrating all that God has done and is doing for you and especially welcoming those who are struggling to return and belong.

• Who do you relate to in the three parables?
• What response do you think God is asking of you?
• In which areas of your life do you need to repent?
• How can you recommit to serving God?
• How might you demonstrate the father’s love and welcome to any ‘prodigals’ (lost son / sinners) you know?