Momentum

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

“As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

(Ezekiel 34:11-24, ESV)

The Compassionate Shepherd

This passage follows on from God’s word of judgement against the shepherds/leaders of Israel coming to Ezekiel. This comes from a time during the exile to Babylon, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The Israelites were well and truly scattered among the nations, and those who had been supposed to care for them had been benefiting at the cost of those in their charge. To this God declares that he himself will be a shepherd to his people, that he will seek out the sheep from among them and restore them, giving them peace and provision.

The Just Shepherd

In the midst of these verses, God turns his attention to injustice within the flock, and calls judgement on those who through selfish greed are squandering and maltreating the others. It’s easy to see this as just being sheep and that’s how animals are, but we need to remember that here the sheep are an image of God’s people. How are you treating your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you guilty of this selfishness?

The good shepherd

As we reach the end of the passage, we see another description of the shepherd God will provide – this time speaking of David as the shepherd, which following on so closely from the other would initially seem to contradict the earlier references to God himself as shepherd. For us looking back in light of Jesus coming we can see that he fulfils both sides of this shepherd: the divine – in being God himself; and the human in the line of David. In John 10:11 we see Jesus directly relate himself to these prophecies:

I am the good shepherd, The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

Few things brighten up my week like the prospect of a day, or just an afternoon, playing uncle. The prospect of spending time goo-ing at my niece or dismantling the sofa with my nephew. It’s always fun – variety is a given with a child who hasn’t yet developed an attention span – with everything from building toy railways or throwing cushions round the the floor to searching youtube for nursery rhymes.

But along with the joy of uncle hood, there is the responsibility of childcare. There is the need to be constantly vigilant and watchful – alert to potential dangers and actively seeking to avoid them.

Paul writes to Christians in Thessalonica to remind them that along with the joy of knowing Christ, and of being a child of God, comes a responsibility to live with our eyes open. To be ready; to be in our right minds. To go with God, rather than to go with the flow.

Why? He offers two reasons: firstly, Jesus isn’t going to pre-announce his return in the local paper. He will come suddenly, unexpectedly and decisively – and we should be ready. When the contractions start, the last thing a woman wants to be doing is climbing into the loft to find a bag and then working out what she should be bringing to the hospital. Wisdom packs the bag before it’s needed so it’s ready to grab and go at a moment’s notice. Now is the time to ensure we’re right with God.

But secondly, Paul reminds us that, as Christians, we belong to “the day” and not the night. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Light. The quality of our lives should be consistent with the nature of our call. As those destined for salvation through Jesus, we should live as the saved.

How? The key phrase is: “Jesus Christ … died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” In this mysterious exchange, where our old nature died with Christ, Christ’s death and resurrection becomes the power source for our transformed lives. It’s not that he “died for us so that we must” – it’s that he “died for us so that we can.”

So keep going – because, in Christ, you can.

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old— what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

(Psalm 78, NIV)

For me a little of the joy of Sunday mornings has gone! Why? Well, because I loved to see the children crossing the platform as they went out to Ark. Great to see their enthusiasm, great to see such a good number of all the ages especially when many churches hardly have any children at all. As a fellowship we are truly blessed with the number of children who come each Sunday morning but also those with whom we have contact during the week.

Asaph must have felt a real burden for the children as this Psalm so clearly shows. In his heart of hearts Asaph is questioning what we are talking about with our children and when I say ours I mean not just the children of our own family. We so easily talk about what their/our favourite football/rugby team has done. Formula 1 and Moto GP are great subjects to talk to youngsters about but Asaph wants us to talk to the children about God their heavenly Father and Jesus Christ his Son and our Saviour.

Often it is thought that the teaching of children and their nurture in the faith is the responsibility of Dave and his great team of helpers but that is only part of what is necessary. We all have a part to play – praying, helping in the Ark or one of the clubs, saying “hallo” to a child as they come in, asking them what they have learnt in the Ark. Show them you care – Jesus did:-

He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

(Mark 10:14-16, NIV)

Let them know that you care about them for the everyday things of life. Include one or more of the children on your prayer list. Ask them how they ae doing at school etc. etc.
Remember, welcoming one of the youngsters will bring you closer to Jesus. Maybe that is what is needed in your life and a little child will put you on the right road. Mark 9.36-37 NIV.

¹ God, defend me.
Argue my case against those who don’t follow you.
Save me from liars and those who do evil.
² God, you are my strength.
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?
³ Send me your light and truth
to guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to where you live.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a harp,
God, my God.
⁵ Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.

(Psalm 43, NCV).

This Psalm is talking about asking God to protect. It uses words like ‘defend’ and ‘save’. It seems that in the early part of the chapter that God has forgotten the writer and the writer asks ‘why have you rejected me?’ and then explaining how sad this is to him. Have you ever felt like this sometimes when things don’t go your way, when you’re poked fun at for being a Christian or just having a bad day? However, at the end of the Psalm, the writer says ‘I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Saviour and my God.’ (Psalm 43v5). This is the most important part of the Psalm, as even though it may seem that God is ignoring our prayers or isn’t with us, he always is and always will be.

¹ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” ⁶ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. ⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. ⁸ They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’⁹ “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”¹¹ But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. “LORD,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. ¹³Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” ¹⁴ Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

(Exodus 32v1-14, NIV)

What do we worship? Or should that be who do we worship? The latest new artist, your favourite football team, your computer, a clothes brand, it can go on and on.

In the above passage, Moses has gone up the mountain to speak to God and Aaron is left in charge of the people during their journey out of Egypt. They were getting restless and impatient as humans do and demanded that Aaron, Moses’ brother make them Gods that would lead them.

The Israelites were still living under the Egyptian culture of worshipping things like idols, rivers, the sun and the moon. They worshipped things that they could see and the Israelites continued to live this way even though they had been led out of slavery by God. 

However, the greatest failure in this passage was Aaron, Moses’ brother who saw God do all the miracles and was spokesman for Moses. Aaron didn’t seem to bat an eyelid when the people asked him to make them Gods for the Israelites to worship. He bowed to the pressure and went along with the making of the Gods for the people.

As you go through this week, think about how you worship God and instead of playing a game on the Computer or looking for the next big thing on iTunes, maybe read your bible, pray to God and worship him.

God bless,

Chris.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

(Psalm 19 vv.1-4; 14, NIV)

Ever thought of how we like to keep up to date? We read the paper or iPad, listen to the news steam radio or iPod – no limit on getting information these days. Where would we be without wifi? Sometimes, usually when we feel we need contact most the device packs up or there is no signal.

Have you felt that communication with God has been erratic these days, no signal? Take notice of the first four verses of Psalm 19! God is making Himself known 24 hours a day in every part of the world. Take a look upwards and see how God is telling of His greatness, His sovereignty, His beauty especially when the rainbow appears after the rain.

And as you give thanks to God for speaking to you in this way give thought to your own speech. Verse 14 is often used by preachers as they begin their sermons. If not spoken aloud it should be the desire of their hearts. But the words are not just for preachers! As we start this new working week, this nw day let us make a promise that our words will be pleasing to God – truthful and such as e would use in the presence of the Almighty. Remember the promises of His constant presence with us and His Holy Spririt within us and speak accordingly.

As an old preacher wrote: “May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore your blessing and in which I cannot invite your inspection” to which I would add “May I say nothing that I would not want you to hear”.

Have a GOD day!

Roy

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready ato stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with bwhich you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Exodus 17:1-7 (ESV)

The Israelites again doubted God’s provision for them – questioning if he’d sent them out in the desert to die. Their faith is swayed very quickly by the situation they are in and by how they are feeling (thirsty!).

It can be easy to think how foolish this appears and how obvious it should have been to them that God would provide, as they had seen him do previously time and again. After they’d been led from Egypt, miraculously escaped from the Egyptian army through the midst of the sea and how God had provided for them with the sweet water and manna from heaven.

We’re no different ourselves though – after everything Jesus has done for us and we see him doing around us, it should be obvious to us how much he loves us and will provide for us, but often our faith is affected by how things are going. How easily swayed are you? Do you start to doubt God when things are going wrong or he doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers? Do you ever ask yourself, Is the Lord among us or not?

Do you find yourself not wanting to trust God entirely for the situation you are facing? Is fear of the situation at hand distracting you from Jesus and his promise to always be with us?