Friday 6 May

Judges 4:1-5:31

I don’t know what the exact criteria are for gangsta rap but I think Deborah and Barak’s song has got to get pretty close to qualifying.  It makes reference to people’s mothers (v7&28), includes several curse words (v23), mentions brothers divvying up the ladies (v30) and gets pretty explicit about someone getting a cap in their ... temple (v26).  Traditionally this section has been drawn on extensively as proof of God’s willingness to have women in leadership and of his respect of women in general.  That would seem to be a fair assessment.  The song mentions 3 heroes; two of them are female and the third is the Lord.  If nothing else, I think this is a valuable passage for keeping our eyes open to the inclusiveness of our God.  He seems to be far more willing than many of us to use broken and sinful people, no matter what gender they are.

John 4:43-5:15

Boom! In case you were having any doubts about Jesus’ ability to get it done, here are two monster acts that demonstrate his unsurpassed power.  First of all he speaks and a child who is both close to death and well out of earshot somehow hears him and is restored to full health.  I can’t even begin to work out the physics of that but I do know that the theology is pretty impressive.  Then, he plucks out a bloke who has been crippled for a generation and, again, with just a few words, tidies all the mangled mess of aching joints, mental stress and lost hopes.  What is fascinating about this one though is that Jesus almost gives him a cooling off period to ponder on what has occurred and to appreciate that his salvation has not yet truly come.  Yes this poor bloke can now eat, sleep and walk in joy but he has no idea what has rocked his world and he has still not walked into the life that is eternal.  So Jesus finds him later and both reveals his identity and challenges the man to respond in faith.  This power of Jesus is not just to help people out of their troubles and get them back on their own two feet. No, Jesus wants to get them on their knees, not their toes. Jesus’ agenda for people is complete freedom and complete fullness of life but those both come, bizarrely, in kneeling submission to Him as their Lord.  It’s something that is critical for us to cling on to.  If we really want to help people, if we really want to see them do well then we need to go beyond just being kind.  We need to introduce them to Jesus.

Psalm 57:1-6

“God fulfills his purpose for me.”  I like the balance of this.  I like the fact that the pressure is on God and not on me.  I think he can take it better than I can.