Thursday 17 November

Ezekiel 32:1-33:20

The blood drained from my face when I first heard this concept.  I had joyfully air-guitared along to the thrashing snarls of Slash’s guitar in “live and let diiieee oh, oh, oh, oh oh”.  I merrily bought into the idea that you are your own person and you are free to choose whatever you want to choose.  In my mock humility I got myself out of all kinds of heart-ache by saying “far be it from me to tell you how to live”.  But I am a watchman and I will be held accountable for your blood.  Your fate is on me - I have a responsibility to preach the word to you.  And before you think I’ve ripped an obscure Old Testament passage out of context and flipped it into an inappropriate application, let me say that Jesus draws on this concept when he sends out the disciples and Paul explicitly references it when he tells the Jews “your blood is on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility” (Acts 18:6).  God has given us the word of life so that we will pass it on the people in our sphere of influence - evangelism is not an optional extra.  If that makes you feel guilty (as it often does me) then repent.  Then ask for greater boldness - even the apostles had to do that!  And remember that our responsibility is to speak the word, not to see it take root.  We are required to try to tell people about Jesus and leave the conversion bit up to God.  He calls us to co-labour with Him, to make long-term commitments to people and to walk them from first hearing the gospel into them running a house group.  It is a heavy calling but the burden is light.  It is a bit daunting but, in Him, the yoke is light.

James 1:1-27

When Paul and the other apostles were scattered around the Mediterranean pursuing the mission to all of the nations James probably stayed in Jerusalem pastoring a church for observant Jew whose hopes and desires had been met in Jesus.  So he writes with a pastor’s heart and a delicious, spicy Jewish flavour.  This flavour could be summed up with the verse “do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.” (1:22).  Obedience and action were ground into the Jews understanding of religion - sacrificing at the temple, taking care of family members, controlling your diet, celebrating the festivals.  Religious life meant doing God’s things in all of life.  That was just how it was.  But in Greek thinking (which most of us in the West grow up in) religion can be more of a theoretical business - debating philosophical ideas, reaching a cerebral truth and perceiving things in a certain way.  Greek religion can sometimes be more bothered about reaching good doctrine than reaching good action.  So it is worth us being aware of that and digesting as much of James as we can.  So his simple, instantly applicable verses are more like sporting drills for us to do than history facts for us to learn.  So I’m going to try to be quick to listen today.  I’m going to try not to interrupt anyone (God knows I need his help on this).  Because I want to know the freedom of living the law.  I want to be blessed by God for doing what He asks.

Psalm 127:1-5

“He grants sleep to those he loves”.  Despite all the broken nights we have had over the last 5 years I am beginning to see that this is actually true.