Tuesday 20 September

Isaiah 47:1-49:7

He is flipping awesome.  The LORD Almighty is his name.  He foretold the former things long ago.  We should submit to Him.  He is the ultimate judge.  He will take vengence.  He will spare no-one who opposes Him. We have to submit to Him.  But, more than that, He is the LORD our God who teaches us what is best for us.  If only we would pay attention to his commands our peace would be like a river.  We are best off when we submit to Him.  We would do well to hold all these three things together.  They are three huge motivating factors in our faith.  No one of them sits above the other, but each one stands alongside the other supporting it, reinforcing it, strengthening it.  God is the ultimate reality.  God is the ultimate judge. God is the ultimate high.  God is the source of all matter.  God is the decider on all matter.  God is the fulfillment for all matter.  His standard rises far above any other.  Nothing else can compete with his appeal.  Nothing else could get close to being so good for any one of us.  Nothing is stronger, nothing is more worthy, nothing is more fulfilling, nothing brings such hope, nothing brings such a future.  And God has made himself available to us.  God has chosen us.

Galatians 5:7-26

He wants them to cut their gonads off.  We could dwell on the fruit of the Spirit.  We could compare them with the acts of the sinful nature.  That would be awesome.  That would give us a good boost in the life everlasting.  But I’m struck by the fact that Paul wanted them to cut their gonads off.  Not the Galatians of course, but the agitators who had led the Galatians astray.  It’s worth thinking for a moment what Paul was getting so narky about.  Paul was hot with rage over the confusion of the church - Paul was freaking out over doctrine.  We know Paul well enough by now to realise that he wasn’t some dusty academic - what drove him was the planting of churches and the discipleship of people.  So when he is getting so eggy about doctrine it must be because he believed it was absolutely critical to the discipleship of the people.  Doctrine was fundamentally important to the health of the church.  It’s not too trendy today to get so flustered about doctrine.  But it probably should be.  Doctrine matters.  What we believe about Jesus really matters.  What we believe about the effects of his death and resurrection make a real difference in the real lives of real people.  If people get core doctrine wrong they are spiritually castrating themselves.  And nobody wants that.  So here’s to doctrine.  Here’s to systematic theology and an obsession with the scriptures.  Here’s to reading the bible day in day out and reveling in the saving work of Jesus Christ.  Not because we want to be able to pass theology tests but because we want to live well.  And we want the people around us to be able to live well too.  And if anyone starts to preach heresy; well, I’ll bring my knife if you will...

Psalm 109:1-20

I’ve never prayed for someone’s children to be wandering beggars.  But then I’ve never done as much for the poor as David did.  So maybe the two go hand in hand - a fervent desire to care for the poor and a fervent desire to see their abusers punished.  I don’t think our current obsession with non-judgementalism serves us well.