1 Kings 18:16-19:21
We all know that faith is spelt R-I-S-K. We’ve heard it so many times that if we hear it again we may well smash something. Probably the head of the person who says it to us... So while this passage speaks into that zone, I’ll try to avoid said phrase. Elijah’s heart must have been beating pretty fast when he watched the four large water jugs being poured on the altar. There had been no rain for a few years, the brooks had run dry, vegetation had died, people were hunting the land high and low for some source of water, for some hope that life could keep scraping by. And Elijah was tipping water out on the ground. He was quite literally pouring people’s life-hope on the altar of worship. The consequences of failure would be certain death. Not just for him but for all the poor people whose water had been tipped into the trench. Elijah’s heart must certainly have been beating pretty fast as he watched the four large water jugs being poured on the altar. And he didn’t just stop at 4 jugs. He poured another 4. And then another 4. Each time you can almost feel the cracked lips of the Israelites leaning forward, yearning for just a drop to ease their parched mouths, to bring their crops back to life. Elijah trusted that God was the provider of water. He didn’t just mentally assent to the idea that God is the creator of two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen. He didn’t just have the song about it on his favourite playlist on itunes. He actually staked his life, and his nations life on it. Elijah took his faith and turned it into action. It caused him to squander the nations most precious resource in worship of the Lord, believing that God was well able to give back far more than they could ever need or use. I guess today, in our country, a parallel could be drawn with money. Faith in our context might mean us squandering money on the Lord. Faith might be trusting that God is the provider of all our resources and faith may be trusting him to provide for the future, even as we are tipping our precious resources into his trench.
Acts 17:22-18:8
Paul doesn’t mention Jesus’ name. He doesn’t mention the cross. He doesn’t even mention sin. He would surely have been kicked off my university’s speaking rota for such an indifference to the core truth of the gospel. What does he think he is doing, going all hippy liberal on the Athenians? Celebrating an altar TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Strewth. Has he gone insane?? It’s a good job I wasn’t there otherwise I think I might have found a nice big stick and whacked him with it. But then, if Paul listened to one of my talks he may well have been slightly puzzled by my failure to mention a coming judgement, the pressing need to repent and the resurrection from the dead. (Thinking about it, I have to thank the Lord Paul has never graced the linoleum flooring of Elliott school - if he rebuked Peter (Gal 2:14) who knows what he would have done to me!). It’s just not very trendy these days to talk about judgement. It all feels a bit ‘fire and brimstone’. It’s not that trendy to talk about repentance either. Or resurrection for that matter. But I think we have to heed Paul and accept that these are absolutely at the core of our message as much as the promise of life and healing and joy. We need to find new ways of describing what the Lord will do in the earth, what he requires from us now and what he will do for us in the future. These are glorious messages speaking of the triumph of justice and goodness, of the opportunity for us to buy into them and of a reward so exquisite that this body just isn’t strong enough to hold it. It’s an amazing thing Paul declared to the Athenians, even if he didn’t mention Jesus’ name...
Psalm 78:17-31
v 31. Do you think sturdiest is a euphemism for greedy?
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