Saturday 30 July

1 Chronicles 7:1-9:1a

How did this writer EVER get this book published?  It’s been 8 chapters now - 8 chapters!! - without anything interesting happening at all.  

Romans 13:1-14

Jesus said to Herod “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above” and the early church applied that to each and every human being.  They could have looked at their bosses and their governors and they could, very easily, have pointed out all the ways in which they didn’t live up the the calling of God and chosen to dismiss them as heretics or imbeciles.  They could have plotted revolutions like their Jewish counter-parts would do.  They could have retreated and separated themselves off from the culture and authority structure into which they had been placed, claiming to trust instead in God’s power and God’s provision.  They could have done all those things and felt like they were honouring Jesus.  Indeed people today advocate all of these things in Jesus name.  But the early church knew that is not what Jesus himself did.  So that is not what they did.  They paid their taxes, they gave their government respect.  And they did not just see this submission to authorities as a begrudging toleration of the government.  They went further than that.  They actively sought to view their political superiors as servants of God.  They chose to see them as God’s gift to themselves.  That must have been tricky.  These “servants of God” had crucified God himself and they would go on to savagely assault the early church.  These “servants of God” were incredibly corrupt and advocated all sorts of destructive and degrading practices.  But Paul and his fellow apostles never flinched in their commitment.  They believed God is sovereign and all his gifts are good, even when they come at you with a sword.  So we embrace and are thankful for David Cameron.  We embrace and are thankful for the NHS and the Inland Revenue and Social Services and Traffic Wardens.  We believe they are God’s good gifts to us.  

Psalm 89:38-45

We have a mantle of shame in our household.  At least we have a mantlepiece of my shame.  I could have sworn that spirit level said it was straight...