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 21st 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)