Be Accountable

Daily Byte

Everyone needs help. No exceptions. While Christianity most certainly is a personal faith, it most definitely is not a private one. In fact one of the best parts about Christianity is that it brings us into a community, a family - the church.

One of society’s favourite boxes is that of individualism. We are encouraged to believe that ‘going it alone’ is somehow heroic and that to show need is nothing more than weakness. In stark contrast to this the Bible teaches us that there is more to life than just us and that being part of a wide and diverse community called the church is extremely important. Living beyond boxes in this case is a call to turn away from selfishness and individualism, and to embrace being involved in community.

One of the many, many reasons God invented the church is because as I have already said – everyone needs help. We need each other. As the author of Ecclesiastes suggests we are stronger when we stand together. Furthermore, if we fall down we need the help of others to gently lift us up. Our togetherness can also result in tremendous personal growth. Belonging to a community like the church that is made of many wonderfully diverse colours, cultures and languages will almost certainly challenge us to learn from others and to deal with our prejudices.

So for all these reasons and more besides it is very important that we belong to a church, and in this way make ourselves accountable to other Christians. Letting others know our strengths and weaknesses and humbly listening to encouragement or challenge will enrich us hugely and grow us spiritually. Being accountable to others is also a way of living beyond the boxes in our sometimes quite selfish and individualistic society.

Pray As You Go!

Lord God we give thanks to you for our communities. We recognise that as much as we ourselves are not perfect, so no community or church can be either. Forgive us for the times we harshly judge others or belittle them for their weaknesses and mistakes. Help us to be humble and to become accountable to other Christians in a way that will challenge and grow us. Help us to accept that we all need each other in this way. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Focus Reading

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
their friend can help him up.
But pity the person who falls
and has no one to help them up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Be Real

Daily Byte

One of the legendary Peanuts comic strips was set in the classroom on the first day of a brand new school year. The students had been asked to write an essay about their holidays and feelings on returning to class. In her essay, Lucy wrote, “Vacations are nice, but it’s good to get back to school. There is nothing more satisfying or challenging than education, and I look forward to a year of expanding knowledge.”

The teacher was pleased with Lucy and publicly complimented her on a fine essay. In the final frame of the cartoon, Lucy leans over her desk and whispers to Charlie Brown, “After a while you learn what sells.”

In our society today there can be huge pressure to “learn what sells” and to adapt our lives accordingly. To say what others want us to say, to do what others want us to do - in other words to fit neatly into a box. The major problem with this of course is that we become afraid to truly be ourselves in case that does not “sell”. We put up masks and pretend to be what we are not in an effort to fit in and please others. In the process we potentially not only lose ourselves but also sell out the integrity of our own souls.

Strangely enough, Christians can be the absolute worst at this failure to be real. We feel a tension between the way we should live to honour God and the way we actually do live. So we pretend to ourselves and others that we are something we are not. In the process we risk putting many people off Christianity as a result. I say “strangely enough” because Jesus challenges us towards authenticity in all things – to be real. To be honest and vulnerable about our weaknesses, fears and mistakes. In today’s focus verse Jesus warns us against pretending to be what we are not in the strongest possible terms.

Don’t fear being real because although others may reject us for it, the Bible promises that God has love enough to accept us as we are and power enough to transform and heal us! For this to happen though we have to bring ourselves to God as we really are.

Pray As You Go!

Thomas a Kempis said, “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.”

O’ Lord we recognise that the process of personal change becomes so much clearer when we ask you to do it in us. Forgive us of the times we pretend to be what we are not. For the times we buy into societies counterfeit box of living life behind masks. We ask that you would give us the courage to come before you and others simply as we are. Give us strength enough to be real about even our worst weaknesses and mistakes. Give us compassion enough to learn to accept and love others as they really are. For we know that it is in this way that your Spirit can heal and transform us all. Amen.

Focus Reading

Matthew 7:15-23 (New International Version)

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

Life Beyond Boxes

(This week’s BDC was written by Rev Gareth Killeen).

Daily Byte

People like us to live in boxes. No, of course I am not talking about cardboard ones but rather socially constructed ones. Fitting people neatly into different types of boxes makes it easier to define them. Knowing exactly what kind of box you fit into makes others feel safer around you.

What we often forget is that Jesus refused to be fitted into any of the boxes of his day. Jesus actively challenged his societies many rules of what it meant to be a good and devoted God-follower. In fact Jesus loved to turn popular ideas of how society should be right on their head. Just one such example is how Jesus challenged our notions of leadership when he said things like ‘if you want to be great you must be a servant’, or the ‘first shall be last, and the last first’ (see Mark 10.44 & 10.31). Jesus often proposed upside down ways of thinking like this. Jesus challenged the hierarchies every society seems to have where a small number of people live comfortably on top while many others are left to languish on the bottom. He spoke against religious tendencies to exclude certain people from our relationships because they don’t fit into our narrow definitions of acceptability. In many ways boxes can limit and confine us. Jesus lived beyond the boxes of his day because he taught that God passionately loved all people, and not just those who place themselves at the top of hierarchies. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with their particular box, or who feels left out and on the outside of society should feel recognised and loved by Jesus.

In the same way we are called to live beyond boxes. To resist many of our societies rules and regulations of what it means to be ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’. Some examples of how we might live out of boxes is by not living as if money is the be all and end all of life, or by embracing and not rejecting society outcasts such as the poor, or by loving and lifting others up rather than pushing them down in the race to get ahead.

Over the next four days we will be looking more closely at four different ways that we can actively seek to live ‘beyond the boxes’ and follow Jesus in his way of radical life and love. But to do that effectively we first need to be prepared to hear Jesus’ words of challenge and to obey Him and move ourselves out into totally new ways of life and being. Are you ready to follow Jesus into a life beyond boxes?

Pray As You Go!

Almighty, Holy God, as we sit back and think about South Africa today, we admit how many boxes do exist in our society. Boxes of what it means to be successful (wealthy), of what it means to be meaningful (popular), of what it means to be important (powerful). Forgive us for those times we allow others to squeeze us into neat little boxes and forgive us for when we reduce others in the same way. We ask O’ God that throughout this week, you would open our eyes and hearts to what is truly important in life. Give us the strength to follow you in living life beyond the boxes. Amen.

Focus Verse

Mark 10:42-45 (NIV)

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Heaven and Earth

DAILY BYTE

There is one final joyful discovery about calling this story teaches us. Lonely little Jacob, now exiled from his family and homeland, is given an amazing promise. That God would bless him to be a blessing, and that he would leave behind an amazing legacy through his descendants.

“Your descendants will be like the DUST of the earth.” The word used for dust actually means ‘rich topsoil.’ Jacob is promised that those who come after him will be like this fertile topsoil that much life and beauty would spring out of.

Know this then: Callings don’t rely on us being great, just on us relying greatly on a great God!

Tony Campolo tells the story of visiting some schools in Haiti that his organisation runs. On the way to back to his hotel, he was intercepted by 3 young girls, the oldest of whom was no more than 15. She said to him:
“Mister, for $10 I do anything you want me to do. I’ll do it all night long. Do you know what I mean?”

Yes, he knew what she meant. Campolo turned to the next one and said, “What about you, can I have you for $10 as well?”
“Yes,” she replied.

He turned to the last one and asked the same thing. She tried to mask her contempt of him with a smile, but it's hard to look sexy when you are only 15 and hungry. Campolo said to them, “I’m in room 210. You be there in just 10 minutes. I have $30 and I am going to pay for all 3 of you to be with me all night long.”

Campolo rushed up to his room, and called down to the front desk to order every Walt Disney video they had. Then he called the restaurant and ordered 4 banana splits with extra ice-cream. The little girls arrived at his room, as did the ice cream and the videos, and they all sat on the edge of the bed and they watched and laughed until about 1am. That is when the last of the 3 girls fell asleep.

Campolo relates that as he saw these 3 young girls stretched out across his bed, he thought to himself:

“But nothing’s changed, nothing’s changed. Tomorrow they will be back on the streets selling their little bodies to dirty, filthy johns because there will always be dirty, filthy johns who for a few dollars will destroy little girls. Nothing’s changed. And I don’t even know enough Creole to tell them the salvation story.”

But then the word of the Spirit spoke into Campolo’s heart and said: “But for one night Tony, for one night you let them be little girls again.”

God has this wonderful way of taking our tiny, little offerings and efforts and dreams and hopes and making them more, making them enough. Every time we perform an act of love in God’s name, no matter how small and senseless it seems against the great tide of evil, every time we do so, we capture God’s dream and vision for us, we live out our calling and we do the work of Jesus.

Jacob’s vision of angels descending and ascending the ladder between heaven and earth is a powerful reminder to open our eyes to the numerous heavenly possibilities in life. That when we dream God’s dreams, obey his callings, and take on even the smallest of Jesus’ characteristics then we bring something of what is up there to down here.

Heaven descends into our lives, and we in turn are lifted up into something higher, something more. By following your life’s calling you are bringing little bits of heaven to earth!

So may this story of Jacob be a joyous and surprising reminder that your life IS meant to mean something quite wonderful, and that as unlikely as it sounds, within you lies the potential to change entire lives and worlds.

As God has called you to be, may it be so.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, thank you for the wonderful way you take the small, ordinary offering of our lives and you imbue them with heavenly wonders. Help us to be faithful to our life’s calling, and in this way to bring something of heaven here to earth. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Genesis 28:14-16 NRSV

Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder set up on earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.

Your Greatest Thrill

DAILY BYTE

There is another wonderful discovery about calling that I would like to bring to your attention. When reading the story did you notice how Jacob woke up from his dream filled with holy awe, bubbling with exuberant joy, and alive with hope-filled possibility? From this we learn that:

Callings are best expressed in the place where our greatest joy and the world’s greatest need coincide.

We rob ourselves of potential joy around our callings by obsessing that God sends us only to do things and go places that would make us miserable. This begs the question of what kind of father do you think God really is? Sure, there will be times when we have to self-sacrifice or take a leap of faith, but most of the time our callings will involve those parts of life that we really enjoy.

I remember a couple of years back, doing a spiritual gifts questionnaire with some youth. One of the gifts listed on that questionnaire was that of chastity. During the course of the evening, I had 3 or 4 teenagers surreptitiously approach me, all with haunted, worried expressions, and who whispered to me: “Show me how to answer this thing so that I don’t land up with the gift of chastity! What a bummer that would be.”
But did you ever think that if you were called to chastity, you might be overjoyed? You might find it hard and sacrificial but also deeply fulfilling at the same time. As Frederick Buechner once wrote: “Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
In fact, Frederick Buechner twice spent periods of his life working as a school chaplain, and would often encourage his pupils to work deeply on their inner sources of joy as being places of great potential for their callings to develop and be expressed.

Spend some time thinking about what you most enjoy doing in life, the places you feel ‘God’s pleasure’ resonating within you, and then think about how you can use that to make a difference in reaching out to others. Write down some of your reflections and begin to centre your prayers on them as you continue to search God’s purpose for your life.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Holy God, you created me with the ability to have joy for a reason. Bless me with the imagination I need to see how I can use the things I love to do in ways that will serve and further your Kingdom. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Genesis 28:16-17 NRSV

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place- and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Why Were You Not More Like You?

DAILY BYTE

Jacob’s story has another wonderful discovery for us to make in connection with calling, and it is this:

Callings are best embraced when we embrace who we really are.

I wonder how many times, while he was growing up, that Jacob might have wished he was a little more like Esau? A vibrant, sporting personality that might more easily earn his father’s love and respect.

Sometimes we make the very great mistake of thinking that to fulfil a calling, we need to be more like someone else. More similar to a certain person that we look up to and admire.

But the ultimate core of embracing our calling is learning to embrace ourselves as we really are.

In a Hasidic tale, Rabbi Zusya, an old and wise man, muses about how much of his life he has wasted trying to be someone else. He says, “In the coming world, they will not ask me ‘why were you not more like Moses?’ Rather they will ask me, ‘Why were you not more like Zusya?’”

There is probably nothing more joyful, more freeing, than becoming content to just be who God made us to be, and finding out that in God’s eyes that is unbelievably pleasing to him and exactly what this world most needs us to do.

At the height of his fame, Henri Nouwen, the famed Catholic priest and author, left behind his work at a prestigious university and his global speaking ministry in response to a call from God.

He believed God was calling him to join a small community which existed to serve a number of severally handicapped people. He was given the task of looking after a young man named Adam. Henri provided 24 hour care for this young man – bathing, dressing and feeding him.

Nouwen later wrote that he considered this period the most significant of his life. He shared how he believed that Adam had a tremendous purpose for his life in terms of bringing humanity and joy to others, and he repeatedly testified that he learnt more from Adam about living a God-honouring life and fulfilling a calling than he had from anyone else.

Perhaps when we wrestle over the issue of ‘what is God calling me to DO with my life,’ we are actually asking the wrong question. Maybe we should rather be asking, ‘WHO is it that God wants me to BE?’

Calling seems far more concerned with WHO WE ARE than what we do. Calling is intrinsically about identity – the identity that flows out of relationship.

Remember what God said to Jacob in his dream: “I am the Lord your God, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”

Just like Jacob, you are a precious child of God, beloved by your Father in heaven, and created to be like God in every way.

Embrace that.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Loving God, help us to have the courage to embrace who we really are. To build our life and work around who you created us to be. Help us to remain faithful to you in this always. Amen.

Ordinary

DAILY BYTE

You have been created to dream of being significant because you are meant to be significant.

God designed you that way.

Your life is meant to make a difference in this world and to leave it somehow a better place. Deeper than our need for food or air or water is our need for meaning - for our lives to count for something.

Now that need could be distorted by our egos. It can get sidetracked into narcissism or egotism. It can be hijacked by our insecurities and fears.

That’s exactly what happened to Jacob. He was born second in a set of twins, and if you read his story carefully you’ll find out that’s exactly how he felt about himself ... second! Jacob was the brother who preferred the company of his mother and enjoyed indoor activities, while the older Esau was a real go–getter. Esau was a big, hairy athlete who loved hunting, a real man’s man.

Esau was also their dad’s favourite. He was the first-born meaning he would inherit a double-portion of their father’s wealth. It is no wonder Jacob felt so secondary in comparison. For goodness sake, we learn from their birth story that Jacob was born clutching onto Esau’s heel, already desperately trying to catch up to and compete with him.

Perhaps this is why Jacob felt the need to cheat to cheat his brother out of his first born rights, and then later out of their father’s final blessing. Cunningly Jacob dressed up in skins so that he could fool his blind father into believing he was the more hirsute Esau. He managed to trick his dad to the extent that when Isaac smelled his clothes he said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the field.” Now that’s something I truly hope my father has never said about me!

Esau was so angered at being robbed of this blessing, and of being deceived by Jacob yet again, that Jacob was forced to flee for his life. That’s when he had his dream and heard God’s call. So the first lesson about calling that we learn from Jacob’s story is this:

Callings are found in the most ordinary and every day places and in the most ordinary and every day people!

In the middle of a backwater wasteland of a place; a lying, cheating, thieving, jealousy-riddled younger sibling is found and called by God. We don’t have to be world-leaders, world-beaters, extroverted, lavishly gifted and famous for God to call or use us!

If you have ever looked within, and found only weaknesses, fears, deceits, and sins leaving you feeling very ordinary, then let me tell you that you are in excellent company! The Bible is full of ordinary people in ordinary places who end up doing God’s work because they are willing to listen and be obedient and not because they are extravagantly talented.

Sadly, these days the church seems to only use ‘called’ language in conjunction with ministers and preachers. Funnily enough, there are very few priest or minister stories in the Bible – rather the stories are about how God called and used shepherds and kings and wine stewards and goat herders and administrators and tax collectors and mothers and fishermen.

What a wonderful, joyful discovery it is for us to learn that God calls ALL of us, that he created us to want to make a difference and that no matter how weak or inadequate, vain or sinful we may be, God is still more than willing and able to use us.

PRAY AS YOU GO

O Great God, throughout the Bible you used very ordinary people in ordinary places in quite amazing ways. It is an incredible joy to find out that you are willing to use me in some wonderful way as well. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE

Genesis 25:24-27 NIV

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The fist to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.

Jacob’s Calling

DAILY BYTE

(This week’s BDC was written by Rev Gareth Killeen.)

Have you ever discovered something that brought unexpected joy into your day? Like putting on a pair of jeans you haven’t worn in a while and discovering money in the pocket!

Or looking up the answer to a long-running argument you were having with your spouse and discovering that you were right all along! What a fantastic feeling ... that must be. I say ‘must be’ because that actually hasn’t happened to me yet, but here’s hoping that maybe one day ...

This week we will discuss the topic of ‘calling’ – this is the idea that God has created all people with a special purpose and destiny in mind and that central to life and fulfilment itself is living in a way that is obedient to this calling.

However, the topic of calling seems to be an area where there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings clouding something that should actually be joyful and life-giving for us.

We live with so many questions surrounding our callings that we are prevented from moving forward into them in any meaningful way. Questions such as: What exactly is my calling and how do I find it? If I do find it then how am I meant to express it? Why do others seem called by God and have these powerful dreams for their lives but not me? I understand how God could have used wonderful people like Mother Theresa or Bishop Tutu, but what possible use could he have for someone like me?

This is what I love about the story of Jacob. When Jacob is first called by God, he has just totally messed up his life. He has lied and weaselled his way one time too many, and then been caught out and so forced to flee for his life. In the middle of his journey, late one dark night, Jacob flings himself down with a stone for a pillow and has a dream.

It is an incredible dream where God affirms and calls him. Yes, God promises Jacob – lying, deceitful, little coward that he is – that he would be used by God in a quite wonderful way.

This is why I think that if we spend some time in the company of Jacob’s dream it could teach us much about our own. If we recognise the sheer grace that was behind Jacob’s calling, then we might create some space in our hearts to receive that also.

We may even make some joyful and unexpected discoveries about God’s plans to use us to make a difference in this world.

Do some thinking for yourself around the topic of call. Do you feel called by God? What larger purpose does your life have? Commit your thinking to God in prayer.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Gracious Father, help me to understand something more about my life’s larger destiny and purpose. Help me to move through any misconceptions and misunderstandings I might have. May this week be one where I joyfully discover truths about my life that I was not fully aware of before. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Genesis 28:10-15 NRSV

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Shine

FOCUS READING 1

Isaiah 60:1-3 (NRSV)

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

FOCUS READING 2

Matthew 5:14-16 (NRSV)

'You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

DAILY BYTE

This week, you have read in Exodus about how God, through power and grace, drowns the things that enslave us.

And you have heard that we work in partnership with God, as God works against evil and brings greater good into the world.

The images of God that we see in Exodus are God as a pillar of fire and a cloud that lights up the night.

We also read in Matthew today that as people who believe in God, we are the light of the world! So, this tells me that for God’s good, freeing power to be visible even to evil, we must be like clouds there with the darkness, lighting up the night.

As we let Christ shine through us, that is what happens – we are able to light up the night, walking with others through difficult, chaotic, even deathly times – into the new life that God has for us.

And so, at the end of this week, ask yourself, what does God need to drown in your life, so that you can walk into a new life? An old pattern? A suffocating habit? A seemingly unconquerable addiction? A vain attitude about how great you are? A self-reliant pompousness that says, I don’t need God to succeed – or anyone else for that matter? A laziness that prioritizes other things that aren’t really fulfilling over whatever it is that God wants from you? What needs to drown so that you can live – and not just be alive in the bodily sense – but shine?

PRAY AS YOU GO

God, I want to light up the darkness in this world. Help me to let go of the things that keep me from living the promised new life you have for me. Help me to stand confidently, as you slowly wash my old habits, patterns, and fears away. Teach me to accept the power of your grace. Let me shine! Amen.

Painting Pictures of Egypt

FOCUS READING

Exodus 14:24-30 (NRSV)

At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’

The Pursuers Drowned

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

DAILY BYTE

You heard yesterday that one of the questions that people are asked when they are old enough to speak for themselves when they are baptized is: “Do you repent of your sins and renounce all evil?”

This is the question with two parts. 1: Do you repent of your sins? And 2: Do you renounce all evil?

The first part looks back at the past. We continue to reflect on the story from Exodus today – so, this is the part that looks back at Egypt. This part of the question asks - are you ready for your old life to be drowned?

Are you ready to let go of all the fears and inhibitions and guilt and shame that have caged you before?

Because there is a new life – a new path stretching out in front of you, and that life is completely different from what has happened and what was expected of you before in Egypt.

In Egypt, the people of God were expected to do what they were told by their slavemasters. They were expected to follow the rules and to acquiesce to the powerful people that oppressed them. They were expected to accept their life in chains.

But in the new life of baptism is a completely new journey, and although it’s tempting to go back to Egypt and the old life (like the Israelites wanted to), if you don’t leave the old life behind, it’s impossible to walk freely into the new promises God has for us.

The new life is one where you’re asked: Do you renounce all evil? Do you agree to partner with God in triumphing over evil in this world and bringing about good? Do you agree moving forward to want what God wants? To this is good what God thinks is good? To stand up and speak out when injustice and oppression and every form of evil are racing in on their chariots?

Notice in the story from Exodus that te Egyptians only drowned after God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea. As Moses obeyed God, the flood waters swooped in and it says, ”The Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”

In our new life, God asks for our active role in working against evil so that evil won’t be able to chain the world with its power.

God says, even evil will be so awed by God’s power that it will have no choice but to say, “We must turn back – because the Lord is fighting for these people.” Those were the words of the Egyptians right before they drowned.

In our new life with Jesus, we agree to partner with God so that the powerful love of God is so evident in the world through our lives that nothing – no one – can ignore it.

Do you live this new life? Do you want this new life? Do you find yourself often turning back to Egypt?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Sara Groves sings a song, “Painting Pictures of Egypt,” about the struggle between leaving our old, chained lives behind to walk into the new life God has for us. May these words inspire your prayer today, as you seek to let go of the things that chain you and walk with God into a new life of powerful truth and justice:

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I’ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

Drowning in baptism

FOCUS READING

Matthew 3:16-17 (NRSV)

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

DAILY BYTE

You’ve been reading this week about the exodus of the people of God through the waters of the Red Sea. You’ve been reading that it was strangely necessary for the Egyptians and their old way of enslaved life to drown.

And today, we see that drowning is, in fact, what baptism is all about. In our church, we have a very small baptismal font, so it’s difficult to get the full effect, but baptism is a symbolic drowning. We heard this week in Durban that a young person was literally washed out to sea during a baptism ceremony. This tragedy is unspeakable, and we pray for the family and the family of faith that have been struck with this grief. Bodily death is surely not what God intends from this practice. For thousands of years in the church, it has been a powerful and mysterious ritual, meant to bring life, not harm. It offers to many a tangible moment where all of our old ways of life are literally drowned out by God’s grace, and we are brought to life again so that we can journey forward.

When we baptize children, we recognize that God’s grace has been working in their lives, even though they are too young to have the language to articulate that gift. We recognize that they are imperfect but that even in their imperfection, God wants to draw them to God’s self and give them a new life in God’s family that is even better and more whole than their life, as an individual. Before they can even walk on two feet, they are offered the gift of walking with others who love them into a new kind of life.

And when grown people are baptized, they make the decision after a journey of praying and learning and reflecting that they are ready to say yes to the free life that God has for them. They’re ready to leave their old habits, patterns, and fears – all the things that have tied them down. They’ve recognized the grace that’s been working in their life and want to open themselves to a new life where they can walk even taller and shine even brighter with God’s free and beautiful life pouring out of theirs.

When people make this decision in The Methodist Church, one of the questions they get asked is, “Do you repent of your sins and renounce all evil?” This is a big question that deserves a lot of thought and prayer. We’ll look at this question in more detail tomorrow, but for now, think and pray for yourself – do you repent of your sins and renounce all evil today?

The Necessity of Drowning?

FOCUS READING

Exodus 14:28-29 (NRSV)

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday, you read a story about my great-aunt, who finds it necessary to drown the squirrels that take captive her home and garden. You read the story of the Egyptians, pursuing the Israelites, as they made their way out of Egypt, and you read that “ the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.” We questioned – was this really necessary? Does this action from God fit with the God that I believe in?

As I thought about this and had a little chat with God, I remembered what it was that the Egyptians stood for – I remembered what it was that they wanted from the Israelites. The Israelites often had a difficult time remembering. They often were tempted to go back to Egypt. But, do you remember?

Do you remember that the Egyptians stood for a life of slavery? They wanted to put the people of God back into chains. Pharaoh had let them go, but then he realized – oops – I gave away all my free labour! How am I going to build my pyramids now? He said, I’ve got to go and get them back...

This is how it is with us – isn’t it?

We make a break for freedom – we get a new start – we’re just getting on our feet with a new, healthy pattern in our lives, a new path to growth, and then chasing after us comes the old way – racing as fast as it can to catch up with us, camping next to us in the night when we’re vulnerable and we know it’s there lurking, waiting for us to let our guard down so that it can pounce and catch us again.

You release that squirrel in a nice, peaceful garden someplace else, far away from you, and as fast as it can run, it comes sneaking back to nibble on the most tender new leaves in your own soul’s garden.

Nope, it seems harsh, but I’ve realized the Egyptians had to drown.

God has to triumph over the old, enslaving ways.

God has to swallow them up in God’s chaotic, primeval waters for us to be able to be raised up out of the water through a new birth and walk tall into a new life.

What new pattern are you trying to establish in your life right now? What freedom are you trying to grasp? What new path can you envision in front of you?

Now, what is chasing after you from your past, still grabbing to hold you in chains?

Squirrels

FOCUS READING

Exodus 14:19-27 (NRSV)

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.

DAILY BYTE

My great aunt is a spunky dame. She is in her eighties, a tutor at an under-privileged kindergarten on the rough side of Philadelphia, a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, a community leader, and a world-class gardener who is serious about her rhododendrons. So much so that there is even a bush named after her... This passion for gardening, however, also throughout the years has made her a mortal enemy of the squirrel.

Now, I know South Africans think they are the cutest little bushy-tailed creatures, far preferable to monkeys in your garden, but for a gardener like my aunt, the digging, nibbling, annoying and insatiable squirrel is the enemy.

My aunt tried catch and release traps, taking them out to release them in far off places, where they could chew someone else’s garden. There are ultra-sonic squirrel pest deterrents that you can plug in to make an annoying noise that supposedly only squirrels can hear. There are water jet squirrel spray-away contraptions, and there is natural squirrel repellent that you spray on your plants so that when the sweet little things take a bite, the plants taste terrible, and they go looking for someone else’s delicious plants to munch.

But unfortunately for the squirrels in my great-aunt’s yard, none of these humane remedies seemed to do the trick. She had had enough. The squirrels would have to drown. The humane catch and release cage proved to be quite useful. The process of drowning went something like this. Set out catch and release trap to gather squirrels from the yard. Once gathered, fill rubbish bin full of water. Dunk cage with squirrel into bin full of water, and close lid. Leave until dead.

I squirm just thinking about my loving, hug-filled aunt doing this. It seems so out of character, and yet, strangely to her, somehow necessary. I am not advocating the drowning of monkeys. But this story leapt to mind when I read the story from Exodus for this week - because this story makes me squirm, too. I’ve always wondered how I could believe in a God who drowned the Egyptians – after all – they’re people, too! Surely God must have loved them, as well. Surely there must have been another way – a humane trap, a distraction, a deterrent, something that would keep them from coming to that fate.

Have you ever wondered the same thing? In this popular story where the Israelites are led through the waters of the Red Sea out of Egypt, have you ever questioned why this was seemingly necessary and how it fits with the idea of God you hold? Read again tomorrow...

Starting Over

DAILY BYTE

As we conclude this week’s devotions on the broad theme of dealing with conflict, we look at Jesus’ teaching about conflict within the church.

Here’s the passage from Matthew 18:15-17:

‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector.’

The process that Jesus envisions for dealing with conflict within the church has as its clear motivation the restoration of relationship within the community. By dealing directly with the one who has wronged you, you are enabling your relationship with that person to be restored. According to Jesus, this is a responsibility that falls on the one who is sinned against!

Recently I heard of someone who was forever being ‘stood up’ by a friend. So this person courageously approached the friend and pointed out what she was doing. The friend was largely unaware of her behaviour, and so now has the opportunity to do things differently. Had the person who was always being ‘stood up’ not said anything, chances are the friendship may have slowly sputtered and died.

What joy there is when relationship is restored after hurt has been caused.

When such reconciliation does not happen, Jesus envisages the circle of shared responsibility widening to include one or two others, and indeed the entire church community if need be. Not because he wanted conflicts between individuals to be escalated into a major community palaver, but because he instinctively understood that an unresolved conflict between two individuals impacts the entire community of faith. And so the entire church community has both an interest and responsibility in seeing that conflict is resolved.

But what happens when not even the engagement of the entire church can convince someone of their wrongdoing that is fracturing the life of the community at large? Well, according to Jesus, we should treat such a person as a Gentile and a tax-collector!

WHAT??? Did Jesus really say that??? (Some biblical scholars question whether he actually did.) But before we rush to the conclusion that Jesus is saying that we should hoof such wrongdoers out the church, we must remember what his attitude was to Gentiles and tax-collectors. These so-called “outsiders” were of course the special focus of the embracing, inclusive appeal of the Gospel.

Eugene Peterson’s translation of this passage is most helpful here:

If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him — work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love.

What Jesus is saying is that those who will not be reconciled because they refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing, despite the best efforts of the church community at large, are demonstrating that they have not begun to understand what it means to be part of the church. And so special effort is needed to reach out to them, to draw them in to an authentic understanding of what belonging to the body of Christ is all about.

Indeed, in the verses immediately preceding this passage in Matthew 18, Jesus tells the story of the shepherd who goes out searching for the one lost sheep, and concludes the story by saying that it is the will of the Father that not even one of the little ones should be lost.

What a challenge to us as we deal with conflict in the church. And what a reminder of the lengths to which we all are called to go to ensure that the beautiful gift of community is held on to, even in the face of difficult struggles when we’d far rather just let certain people go.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, we pray for your Church throughout the world, and for every local expression of it. We pray that the beautiful gift of Christian community would be cherished by all who belong to the Body of Christ. And in those difficult relationships where real hurt has been caused, help us to respond with truthful resolve and long-suffering love, that we might graciously be your instruments of healing and reconciliation. Amen.

Where Two or Three are Gathered

DAILY BYTE

In Matthew 18:20 we read this well-known saying of Jesus, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” It’s a verse that’s often quoted when there is a disappointing turn-out at a church event, encouraging the die-hard faithfuls that even though they may be few in number, Christ is still present. And of course that’s true. How wonderful that when it comes to church gatherings of any kind – yes, even Circuit Quarterly Meetings, Synods and Conferences – Jesus never sends his apologies.

But I’m not convinced that this is primarily what Jesus was getting at when he offered this beautiful assurance of his presence. For one thing, Jesus is always with us even when we are on our own (see Matthew 28:20 for that promise), so this verse can’t mean that he is suddenly present when two or more come together, where before he wasn’t.

What I’ve recently noticed that I’ve never paid attention to before, is that this saying of Jesus comes in the context of a passage (Mt 18:15-20) that deals with the reality of conflict within the church. The passage (which we’ll explore tomorrow) speaks about the importance of dealing with conflict and the lengths to which brothers (and sisters) in the church are expected to go to address wrongdoing. The passage doesn’t sugarcoat the issue at all and refuses to offer any glib reassurances that ‘everything is gonna be OK!’ It offers the sober recognition that the work of reconciliation requires maturity, perseverance and the support of the community, and even then it can encounter resistance and seem futile.

But here’s the point. As we engage in this ministry, as we engage with others with the intention of dealing with our differences and discovering the joy of reconciliation – which is precisely what it means to ‘come together in Jesus’ name’ – we find that Christ is there, an active participant in this ministry of reconciliation. Indeed, it is as we struggle to find one another across the divide of our differences that we come to know Christ and his presence with us in a way that we couldn’t possibly know when everything is all plain sailing and hunky-dory.

So we should be encouraged to persevere, doggedly holding on to those whom it would be so much easier just to reject and abandon, trusting that as we seek to find true reconciliation Christ is indeed with us, cheering us on and offering the gifts of his power and peace as we look for the vital difference that his reconciling presence brings.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross we see the true nature of your reconciling love and the lengths to which you were willing to go to win us back to you. Thank you that it is precisely this reconciling presence of yours that can be known whenever even two or three come together in the hope of finding one another beyond their differences. Help me to remember this, especially in the difficult relationships that I face. Thank you that you are there! Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

Speaking the truth...in love

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday we spoke about avoiding conflict, and said that the cost of avoiding conflict is usually too high. The failure to deal with conflict can breed all kinds of bitterness and resentment that diminishes the abundant life that God intends for us. Far better to address conflict when it arises, however uncomfortable that might be.

Of course, HOW we address conflict really matters too. There are people who quite frankly relish the prospect of ‘letting people have it’, in pointing out the faults of others. They ‘tell it like it is’, but in ways that can often be insensitive and unkind.

George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill were two men who both had a reputation for having a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. On one occasion George Bernard Shaw sent Churchill a note that read, “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend…...if you have one!”

Churchill sent back the following reply, “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one!”

On another occasion Lady Astor, in a fit of exasperation, said to Winston Churchill, “Sir, if you were my husband, I’d poison your coffee.” To which Churchill replied, “Madam, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

We can chuckle at these sharp, witty retorts. But all too often, sharp words – however truthful they may be – can cut very deep, which is not very funny at all. Honesty that does not have the best interests of the hearer at heart is really a cruel form of selfishness.

This is what the author of the book of Ephesians meant when he spoke about the importance of “speaking the truth in love.” It’s a verse that has application to a range of different situations, but it certainly speaks to the ways in which we address conflict. It raises a fundamental question for us as to our motivation in confronting those with whom there may be a conflict. And that is, “Do we truly want what is best for them and what is best for our relationship with them?” If we’re clear about that question, then we can better weigh the words we use, and indeed the spirit and the heart behind the words, to judge whether we are indeed speaking the truth in love.

When the intention is to seek reconciliation, then we realize that if one person “loses” in the interchange, then both people in fact lose. It seems so obvious, but if someone is demeaned, humiliated and made to feel ashamed, then whatever conflict is being resolved is not really being resolved at all.

Yes, this is hard! But thankfully we are not alone. The work of reconciliation is one of Jesus’ specialities. And whenever we are honestly and earnestly engaged in such work, he is truly present. We’ll look at that tomorrow.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, give me the courage to speak the truth. But also give me the grace to do so in love. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Ephesians 4:4-16 (The Message)

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift... He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Avoiding conflict

DAILY BYTE

It really matters how we deal with conflict. It matters not just to our personal relationships, but to the communities of which we are a part. Unresolved conflict is like a cancer that can erode marriages, families, businesses, organizations, political parties and most certainly the church. So when conflict arises, as it invariably will, how we deal with it really matters.

Many people prefer not to deal with conflict at all. They rather avoid it at all costs – as they smile sweetly and pretend that all is OK and go on their merry way. It’s a strategy for dealing with conflict that is fatally flawed. When conflict is ignored, especially when it is serious and ongoing, it takes root in hidden places within us and then expresses itself in shadowy, unpredictable and usually very destructive ways. Festering resentment and bitterness can suddenly explode in volatile anger, or can express itself in passive aggressive ways that are really like subtle acts of relational sabotage, or it can be turned inward and present as depression (though there are, of course, other reasons for depression too), or it can give rise to cynicism that robs life of much of its joy. This is not the abundant life that God intends for us. Clearly, ignoring conflict in the hope that it will just go away is a very naïve and short-sighted approach.

Are you one of those who would rather avoid conflict? That’s perfectly understandable as conflict is, by definition, uncomfortable. But if you’re one of those who avoid conflict at all costs, I need to say that the cost of doing so is way too high.

The good news is that dealing with conflict creatively is possible. And when that happens, conflict can actually become a positive force for growth and relational maturity. It can also give to us a deeper insight into the nature of God’s reconciling love, and the grace with which God seeks to reach out to us in the waywardness of our disobedience and rebellion.

We’ll continue exploring this theme tomorrow.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, sometimes it can be so hard dealing directly with conflict. I often wish that it would just go away. But I know that unresolved conflict can be such a destructive thing, robbing life of its richness. Help me to be courageous in confronting things that need confronting, in ways that are gracious and life-giving. Amen.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE

2 Corinthians 2:9-11

The focus of my letter wasn't on punishing the offender but on getting you to take responsibility for the health of the church. So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don't think I'm carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I'm joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us. After all, we don't want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we're not oblivious to his sly ways!

Julius Malema

DAILY BYTE

The disciplinary enquiry of Julius Malema last week at Luthuli House certainly made headline news. I, like many others, found myself captivated by the story. In the first instance, I have long been concerned about the kind of leadership that Mr Malema has offered. The issue for me has not been the specifics of the policies that he has espoused, even though I may not agree with much of them. The issue for me has been the way in which he has exercised his leadership. The Christ-like example of servant leadership has, in my opinion, been totally absent in him as he has pursued a political agenda designed to bolster his own power within the ruling party. To that end he has traded freely in the currency of populist rhetoric, unconcerned about the divisive effects of his utterances. The influence of leadership carries with it a weighty responsibility that it be exercised in ways that do not sow further seeds of prejudice and division. Calling Mr Malema to account for his words and actions is appropriate, as indeed it is for any leader who wields their influence with arrogant disdain.

In the second instance I’ve been fascinated by this story because it offers a rare glimpse into the workings of the leadership of the ANC. As a few political commentators have observed, the charging of Julius Malema is an opening salvo in the leadership struggle within the ruling party that will continue to unfold until the elective conference in Mangaung next year. How the ANC leadership handles this Malema matter will be hugely instructive of the political fault lines within the party. Certainly, the brash and open display of anti-Zuma sentiment by the ANC Youth League members outside Luthuli House last week, has illustrated the depth of the rift that the ANC is facing.

You may be wondering the relevance of these comments in a devotional blog like this. Well, the ways in which power is exercised, conflict is handled, dissension is responded to and unity maintained or abandoned are all matters that are of key relevance to the Christian faith. And certainly when it comes to the church, the way in which we manage these things is of central importance to the kind of witness we offer to the world.

Make no mistake, if the church has little to offer by way of an alternative to the kind of petty power squabbling that was on display at Luthuli House last week, then we have failed to understand what kind of community Christ calls us to be. Over the next couple of days we will explore this theme further as we think about the things that make for vibrant, healthy and Christ-like communities, especially in the face of the reality of conflict.

PRAY AS YOU GO

God of grace, in the conflictual situations of our lives you call us to embrace a different way from the authoritarian, power-grabbing ways of the world. Remind us of the example of Jesus, and help us to put his example into practice in the day-to-day living of our lives. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Philippians 2:4-7

‘Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,taking the very nature of a servant...’

Freedom From Oppression

DAILY BYTE

Finally, we worship to keep us free from the potential oppression of any dark, circling clouds. Victor Frankl relates his experiences of being in a concentration camp during the Second World War. One afternoon the men of this camp had tramped back several miles from a work site and were lying exhausted and sick and hungry in their barracks. It was winter and they had marched through a cold, dispiriting rain.

Suddenly one of the men burst into the barracks and shouted for the others to come outside. Reluctantly, but sensing the urgency in his voice they stirred themselves and staggered out into the courtyard. The rain had stopped and after months of non-stop depressingly dark gloom, a ray of sunlight was piercing through the lumpy, leaden clouds. The sunlight was reflecting on the little pools of water that had gathered on the concrete floor of the courtyard.

‘We stood there,’ said Frankl, ‘marvelling at the goodness of creation. We were tired and cold and sick, we were starving to death, we had lost our loved ones and never expected to see them again, yet there we stood, feeling a sense of reverence as old and as formidable as the world itself.’

Worship is for those moments where we feel trapped in beds of exhaustion, disappointment and disillusionment: moments when we feel too tired or too angry to get up and worship and are dispirited by the dark storm clouds that are hanging over our lives.

Worship is the discipline of sometimes dragging ourselves week after week, day after day, into God’s presence, when we are feeling dry or angry or sad. Worship is stubbornly clinging to the hope that one day, despite all apparent evidence to the contrary, the light will break through those clouds. For we know that above those clouds, the sun still drenches the world in life-giving rays. We may not be able to see it for now, but it is there … and it always will be.

So why do we worship? Well, perhaps the greatest truth of this is that worship runs like a thread throughout the Bible and throughout humanity because worship is that which brings us out of ourselves, out of the world’s mould and out of the darkest clouds into a place of God’s sunlight.

Worship is not just about one thing, like the songs that we sing, or the prayers that we pray, or the experience of being together, but it is all those things together and more besides. When we worship we are listening for the strains of God’s gospel that fill the air even more powerfully than the greatest of musical compositions. When we worship we are opening our hearts to God. When we worship we are gulping in the air God created us to breathe. When we worship we are remembering how God really shaped us to be. For we all know deep down that we never stand to tall as when we learn to bow our knees before God and that when we are God’s then we are truly free to be ourselves.

Ultimately, we worship to be free and we worship to stay free.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, help us to remember that discipline is indispensable to worship. Give us the strength we need to worship you despite the darkest clouds that may be hanging over our lives and despite any feelings of dryness, anger or sadness that we may be struggling with. For it is when we open our hearts to you in worship and when we bring to you a sacrifice of praise, that we can know the fullness of the freedom you created us to live in. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Psalm 112:4 (MSG)

Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people—
God's grace and mercy and justice!

Freedom From Being Falsely Shaped

DAILY BYTE

So we worship because it keeps us free from ourselves, but worship also keeps us free in other ways as well. The Phillips translation of Romans 12 warns Christ-followers not to allow the world to ‘squeeze’ them into its mould. Romans 12 reminds us that worship is a defiant and radical protest against being squeezed into the world’s shape.

For we live in a world that insists life is about money, success and image. We live in a world dominated by fear, stress and anger. We live in environments that stunt our spiritual imaginations and teach us to greedily hoard our emotions and possessions. In almost every movie, TV show, magazine and advertisement there are invitations for us to conform to this ‘mould’. It’s like we are continually and repetitively being called to worship something that is not God and follow a way of life that does not originate from God.

Such pressure to conform to the world’s mould is nothing new. The ancient Israelites struggled against a world that tried to mould them into the shape of Baal worshippers. The early church wrestled against a world that tried to shape them around Emperor Worship. Many Christians either lost their lives by refusing to engage in such worship, or they became Emperor Worshippers by day and Christ-followers by night.

Don’t for a moment think that we are free from such pressures today. For our world tries its best to convince us that there is nothing more to us than being consumers of products and that there is nothing of value to us other than our appearances.

This is the message we hear day after day, hour after hour, and if we allow ourselves to be squeezed into such a mould then we ARE NOT free!

This is why we need to worship. We NEED to go to church and sing and pray of a God who is both incredibly great and generously loving; of a creator who made us with all the dignity and purpose of God’s own children rather than being mere consumers; and that there is so much more to us than we could ever have imagined possible before. It’s almost like when we are worshipping we are gulping in the air we need to survive. It’s almost like worship clears the smog out of our lungs and the fog out of our brains.

Tony Campolo tells the story of going for a stroll along the boardwalk in Atlantic City and encountering a little girl who was carrying a massive stick of candy floss. It was so big that it absolutely dwarfed her. Tony exclaimed in surprise: ‘You’re so little and that candy is so big. It’s bigger than you are!’ She replied: ‘You don’t understand mister. I’m really much bigger on the inside than I am on the outside’.

Worship reminds us of our true shape, of our inner value, and that we are created to be bigger on the inside that we are on the outside. We need to worship so that we will stay true to that shape and to keep us free from being moulded by the world.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, this is why we worship you – because we need to. For it is when we immerse ourselves constantly in your presence, that our souls and spirits are shaped in your image. Help us to keep from being moulded by the world. In Jesus name. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Romans 12:1-2

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my sisters and brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.