2 Chronicles 7:11-9:31
Ah, at last, the silver bullet - the secret key to a life of rich prosperity and joy. But it isn’t anything fancy. It doesn’t sound that sexy. It is simple humility and honest prayer. I keep feeling so much pressure to move beyond this, to adopt a more assertive pose, to power dress or to find the magic formula. I keep hearing a voice that tells me I haven’t got what it takes, that I somehow need to find something else to really begin to live well. Maybe I need to listen to more sermons or read more books or attend more conferences or receive an impartation from one of the truly ‘anointed’ ones. And, in a way, I do need to do these things (at least some of them). But they are not the silver bullet, they are not the secret key to a full life. Humility is. Submitting myself to God is. Being prepared to up sticks or put down roots or do something new or stop something old just at the slightest hint from the Lord. That is the silver bullet. That along with real and honest prayer. Prayer that is tenacious and persistent in really seeking God in trying to find the core of Him. Prayer that takes a chunk out of my day, that leaves a bite in my timetable. Prayer that gives me sores on my knees through its relentlessness and longevity. Prayer that is every day silent fumbling towards the Light of the World. Humility and prayer. God commended them to Solomon (7:14) and he commends them to us.
1 Corinthians 11:2-34
This long-hair, head-covering, head-shaving thing is a bit complex isn’t it? I haven’t got a clue on that one right now. I think I’ll shelve it and come back to it in Ephesians 4 or 1 Timothy 2.
But the stuff on the Lord’s Supper - that is a bit more straight-forward. And in Paul’s rebuke is hidden an absolute gem on the power of this sacrament. Paul says that approaching the Lord’s Supper in the wrong way can actually make you sick. In fact it can actually kill you. How could it do this if the bread and the wine were just theatrical traditions to help us remember the cross? There must be more to them than that; these pieces of food, when used in Communion must somehow actually carry a spiritual power. They must actually somehow become Jesus’ body and blood for us. And so, when we eat them, we must actually be feeding ourselves on Jesus; we must actually be doing ourselves some spiritual good. We must actually be doing the same as an athlete drinking some Lucozade or as a car taking on some petrol - we are giving ourselves spiritual energy. And, when we do the Lord’s Supper together - as we all stand alongside each other and watch and support each other in each other’s taking of the Lord’s Supper - then we must also be truly bolstering our community and firing up our church. The Lord’s Supper is a huge and potent event for the church. It not only calls us to come together but actually pulls us all together, it not only points our hearts to Jesus but also fills our hearts with Jesus, it not only points our bodies to mission but empowers our bodies for mission. What an amazing gift it is that Jesus has given to his church.
Psalm 98:1-9
New songs come out of a sense of wonder, not a sniff of royalties.
No comments:
Post a Comment