14th Dec

2 Chronicles 14-15     Zechariah 1     Revelation 5     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

I am struck by Revelation 5 v6: “Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain…”. This is the crucified Christ – the very same Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David who has triumphed (v5).  It never ceases to amaze me that this glorious triumph – this victory of salvation - has been somehow brought about through an apparently humiliating ignominious death. In the words of the new song in verse 9: “…because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation…”. The almighty deluge of praise and worship described in verses 11-14 is not offered to the Lamb because he is great, all-powerful, majestic or anything like that, but because he chose a sacrificial death on the cross to save us all. This made me realise that the most amazing and praiseworthy thing about God is not His power, might, splendour and so on, but His love, grace and sacrifice.

(member of the congregation)

13th Dec

2 Chronicles 13     Haggai 2     Revelation 4     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

When I first looked at today’s readings I felt overwhelmed and befuddled. In 2 Chronicles Abijah’s army of Judah, outmanoeuvred and outnumbered by Jeroboam’s forces of Israel,  calls upon the Lord and prevails in a bloody battle involving hundreds and thousands of deaths. In Haggai the ambitious yet faltering temple rebuilding project receives much-needed encouragement - and a messianic prophesy. Over in Revelation we are presented with a dazzling, mind-boggling otherworldly scene of praise to God. It all seemed far away and disconnected from day-to-day life in Bristol in the 21^st century.

Of course, I was wrong.

We are involved in a spiritual battle in which kingdoms are fought over and countless souls are at stake – a battle in which we may feel outmanoeuvred and outnumbered at times, but which can nevertheless be won if we rely upon God. There is a church (albeit of people, rather than bricks and mortar) to be restored and built up, encouraged by a vision of the coming of Christ. As an act of worship, the way we live our lives down here on earth might not have the spectacular backdrop described in Revelation 4 but it will be received by God nonetheless.

(member of the congregation)

12th Dec

2 Chronicles 11-12     Haggai 1     Revelation 3     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

The ‘school report’ to the rest of the churches continues in Revelation chapter 3. At the end (v19) we discover God’s motivation: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. God’s love for us impels Him to urge us to repent. And yet he does not force or coerce in any way – it must be our free choice: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me (v20). These words always make me think of Holman Hunt’s famous painting The Light of the World, showing Christ knocking at the door of our “obstinately shut mind”. The door looks like it has never been used and is chocked by weeds that Hunt described as the cumber of daily neglect, the accumulated hindrances of sloth. Crucially there is no handle on Christ’s side of the door – he cannot let himself in - it will take a deliberate and conscious act of will on our part to open the door. Although this verse is often used in the context of conversion, in Revelation 3 it comes directly after the judgement of the seven churches – i.e. it is very much a message for Christians like us.  Are there doors in our minds or lives that we have yet to open to the risen Christ?

(member of the congregation)

11th Dec

2 Chronicles 10     Zephaniah 3     Revelation 2     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

The messages for the seven churches (which start in Revelation 2 and will continue tomorrow in Revelation 3) sound to me rather like a school report with God in the role of a benevolent yet strict schoolteacher faced with a class of less than perfect students. In most cases the message is of the ‘could try harder’ variety: yes, some good progress has been made, but all is not well and greater effort is required. Sit up and pay attention, I’m talking about you Thyatira – and you can stop smirking as well Ephesus – you’re not as clever as you think… and so on.  Bear in mind that these messages are directed at Christians – people who already know God - who are called to turn away from sinful activities and indifference. In many ways we are like these churches – and like them we deserve a ‘could try harder’ report. This is a rebuke founded on love, for Our Teacher has our best interests at heart. He admonishes to show us where we are wrong and (as we will see tomorrow) encourages us to repent.

(member of the congregation)

10th Dec

2 Chronicles 9     Zephaniah 2     Revelation 1     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

There are some bible verses that send a shiver down my spine – ones that have a certain ‘tingle-factor’. Revelation 1 v.8 is one such verse: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’ God is impossibly and unfathomably powerful somehow standing inside, outside and all through time.

I find the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba described in 2 Chronicles 9 fascinating.  The two rulers shower each other with worldly bling, and yet it is clear that the queen is attracted and impressed most of all by Solomon’s wisdom rather than his wealth. There must have been something in the way that Solomon answered her questions that made her see that God’s love for His people lay behind all that she was seeing and hearing.  Solomon was acting as an ambassador for God – a sort of Old Testament evangelist (if you can have such a thing). The part of this story that intrigues me most comes in verse 12: King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. I wonder what lies behind these words – was it perhaps Solomon’s words - the good news of his God – that constituted the “more than she had brought him”? We may not have gold and precious stones to offer our visitors (whether they come from Sheba or Shirehampton) but just like Solomon we have something infinitely more valuable to share with them.

(member of the congregation)

9th Dec

2 Chronicles 8     Zephaniah 1     Jude 1     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

The book of Jude has a single chapter - if every book of the Bible was this short then our Bible reading project would have been over in little more than three weeks! Although Jude’s epistle is short, it delivers an important message, warning us in wonderfully evocative language of the dangers of false teachers and their teachings: They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead (v12). Having delivered the warning, Jude moves on to encourage us to bolster our defences by turning to God:  Dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (v20-21). The verses, however, that stand out for me are 22 and 23: Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Although the context is one of saving those who may have succumbed to false teaching, the advice is also very appropriate for evangelism. By being merciful to those who doubt we demonstrate the love of God, becoming a living testament to the gospel - but at the same time there is also a sense of imperative and urgency (…snatching from the fire… ) and the need to love the sinner whilst rejecting the sin.

(member of the congregation)

8th Dec

2 Chronicles 7     Habakkuk 3     3 John 1     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

After yesterday's prayer of dedication, God displays his acceptance of all that has occurred and been said in a quite spectacular style.  If that happened in a church where we worshipped, we too would kneel and face the ground, partly from terror, partly from a feeling of how small we are compared to God.  It is interesting to speculate whether an account of what happened would have reached the ears of other neighbouring tribes.  There could be no mistaking who was The God.  And so after all the ceremonies, Solomon sends the people home full of joy and gladness for all God had done for the king and the people.  Do we leave church feeling like that?  Surely God would want us to, but maybe our own attitudes and pre-occupations choke the joy and gladness.

And then in the privacy of the night, God tells Solomon that he will indeed do as Solomon has asked for all the people.  But God also makes the same message personal to Solomon.  If you follow me, I will bless you; if you don't the people of Israel will be exiled, and this beautiful temple lost.  There is a great responsibility on leaders.  We know that tragically Solomon did turn away from God, and what God said would happen did happen.  When we and God part company, it ends in tears, not just for us but often also for others.  May God protect us from ourselves.

(member of Christ Church congregation)