The enemy of our souls has two tactics which he uses on us believers, both of which prove to be very effective in thwarting God’s work in the world and in the church. First off, he tries to tell us that there is basically nothing that we ‘bring to the table’ that would be of use in this work. Actually, as the Paul tells us in today’s passage, just the opposite is true. God generously gives gifts to each and every one of us. The second thing, another lie, is that, even so, we can’t really contribute much to the effort, that what we do won’t actually make much of a difference. But again, Paul counters this thought, that as we learn and grow and use our gifts there is a tremendous impact on the church, its growth, its effectiveness and its work. So, on with it, my friends: discover what gifts God has given you, and then put them to work. I’m guessing that we could never guess just what will come of them.

Today's Scripture passage and meditation touches on something that is quite odd. Or, at least, it seems this way to me. Culturally, as staid, 'proper', unemotional sorts we feel quite okay with being very passionate--and sometimes even loud and boisterous--when cheering for our favourite sports team or when expressing ourselves at a political rally. But then, when it comes to public worship, we are anything BUT exuberant or passionate. It is, we tell ourselves, because we want to be respectful and reverent towards what is holy. So why, then, can other peoples and cultures--including even the Pentecostals in our own culture--be quite boisterous, quite excited and passionate, in their worship? (We see something of this in today's psalm.)

So, in my asking why this is the case, let me ask a probing question: is our reserve because we are simply that way by nature--even though when it comes to a football or hockey game we are anything BUT--or, is it because we simply aren't passionate or excited about the things of God anymore? And if so, why, and how might we renew that passion, that excitement, once again? Something to think and pray about.

I don't know whether you have noticed this from my writings, but I have a deep conviction, born of my own experience, that our personal faith should be something vital and exciting, that the church--and each individual church--should reflect this reality. In other words, church should be something that people are excited about and want to be part of. So, what has happened, because obviously, this has not happened everywhere. My surmise is that part of the answer to this question may relate to my meditation for today, namely in our lack of personal story-telling, our lack of witness to what Jesus to us and has meant in our lives. Anyway, read on, and see what you think.

One of the wonderful things about our God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, is that while He is the same, yesterday and forever, He is always fresh and new and always revealing more about Himself. It is like any vibrant, growing relationship. And the great thing is that, even though He is no longer physically present, we can still know Him and relate to Him and learn more of Him continually, by prayer and by the study and meditation of His word. In today's passage, the disciples were able to see Jesus and know Him in new ways, but that is just as true for each of us today. Wishing all the best of this day.

Today's two meditations put me in mind of one simple question, namely, why doesn't this kind of thing happen today? With the crowds on that Pentecost day in Jerusalem the news about Jesus came as a terrible shock--and then, because of God's mercy--as a time of rejoicing and decision. And, with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, what was, for quite a while, dismal news of the worst kind, became, for them, some great and amazing news as well. So, back to my question: why doesn't this kind of thing happen today?

Well, maybe that's the wrong question. Maybe it does happen, and maybe it can happen if the conditions are right. I mean, have we really proclaimed, in ways that people can hear, that Jesus is truly alive? Do people really grasp that He is truly forgiving and merciful and willing and able to give them a new start, that Jesus is truly there for them regardless of what they happen to be going through at the present time.

I really wonder just how effective we have been in getting all that good news out there. Anyway, there's something to think about, pray about, and seek God's guidance about.

Today's two meditations put me in mind of one simple question, namely, why doesn't this kind of thing happen today? With the crowds on that Pentecost day in Jerusalem the news about Jesus came as a terrible shock--and then, because of God's mercy--as a time of rejoicing and decision. And, with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, what was, for quite a while, dismal news of the worst kind, became, for them, some great and amazing news as well. So, back to my question: why doesn't this kind of thing happen today?

Well, maybe that's the wrong question. Maybe it does happen, and maybe it can happen if the conditions are right. I mean, have we really proclaimed, in ways that people can hear, that Jesus is truly alive? Do people really grasp that He is truly forgiving and merciful and willing and able to give them a new start, that Jesus is truly there for them regardless of what they happen to be going through at the present time.

I really wonder just how effective we have been in getting all that good news out there. Anyway, there's something to think about, pray about, and seek God's guidance about.

Today is Good Friday and a day, above all others, when we are reminded most vividly and forcibly, just how much God loves us. To think that He would go so very far--all the way to the Cross--to demonstrate that love, and more to the point, to apply that love in such a way as to forgive us and set us free from guilt and shame and sin and death. It is humbling to think that He went that far, and even more humbling, to think that it was necessary, such was our sin and separation from Him.

Today's passage, and meditation, are certainly challenging, and none the less so because they run against everything that our world or our culture teaches us. We are told to be assertive, to stick up for ourselves, to not allow ourselves to be trampled upon or treated less than respectfully be anyone else. Demeaning ourselves, accepting a lower or lesser place on behalf of others, are certainly not promoted, not in the least. And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did on the first Maundy Thursday. And what He commanded us to do. In fact, the very word Maundy comes from a word meaning 'command'. "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And how did Jesus love us? By accepting a lower place--at the Cross, of course--but also at this meal. He was willing to take a lower place, the lowest place, out of His love for us. And, we are to do that for each other in response to His love. In fact, He commands it. Yuck. I don't find this to be easy, and yet that is God's desire for us in the church. Wishing you all the best as you (and I) try to carry this out.

Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, the day that we remember the Last Supper, the Passover meal, that Jesus shared with His inner most group of disciples. It was a day that was fraught with much significance for the Jewish people, recalling Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and does so for us as well in terms of our deliverance from the slavery of sin and shame and regret. But there is one other aspect to that night that we can most easily forget, which is the theme of today's Scripture reading and meditation. Judas, and indeed all of the disciples, let Jesus down, and so do we all. It is something worthy of our pondering and our prayers.

Jesus Christ, in everything He did and said, was careful, was devoted, to giving glory to God His Father. And so my question is--whether for myself, or for each one of us--is whether we do the same? I'm afraid, speaking for myself at least, this is not always front and centre in my mind. Instead, I am thinking about my grocery list or my list of errands or my task at hand or what I am intending to accomplish today. Far too often I do not think about where God might be in this, or how He might be shown--or glorified--in these activities. Anyway, if you're like me, such an idea gives lots of room for thought, and prayer. May God bless you richly as you pursue this thought. Amen.

We began Holy Week, what is understandably the most important and sacred week of the entire church year. It begins with Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and ends with His crucifixion, death and burial--and of course, His resurrection. But, without those preceding events, there would be no resurrection. To me, to think that Jesus would willing take this on for us reveals, demonstrates, His great and unending, unfathomable, love for us. To do for us, what we could never do for ourselves.

Today's passage and meditation put me in mind of something that is truly important in the Christian life, namely how willing, or quick, we are to listen to God and obey what He says. Or, put another way, how willing or quick we are to cooperate with Him--which should, actually, be the entire name of the game. But how often we put off obeying, put off doing what He says, hoping--in vain, I'm afraid--that He will change His mind. Or else, like Pharaoh, being willing to go 'only partway along' with what God says--when God actually wants us to fully obey, fully do as He says--like Moses and Aaron--even though, as with Moses and Aaron it was sometimes inconvenient and sometimes downright scary. But then, look what happened when they obeyed.

I don't know whether this is true for you or not, but I find myself grumbling much more than usual, and also finding fault more frequently. I don't know whether it has to do with the Covid regulations and our enforced confinement and isolation, or with the increasing presence and power of the social media, or with the pervasive social and political conflicts and divisions that seem to be everywhere.

Against all this, the advice of our psalmist in Psalm 141 verse 3, is especially pertinent. "Set a watch, a guard over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips, keep the door of my lips." This gives the idea of having someone guarding our lips, our mouths, not to prevent anyone or anything getting in (as guards usually do), but to monitor and control what comes out. I think that with my grumbling and fault finding this is probably a very good idea.

This control over our speech will then, as our psalmist also suggests, have a cascading and cumulative effect on other things in our lives, things like our attitudes, our behaviours, and our associations. Our speech invariably impacts all of these.

Today's passage and meditation focus on a very pertinent question, namely whether there is anything in our lives which impede our ability or our desire to serve and follow God fully. With the rich young man of our gospel reading, it was his wealth, his possessions, but with us it can equally be a myriad of other things. Lots of things--power, position, prestige, possessions, people, pleasure, to name a few--can get in the way of fully trusting God with our lives. At times, dealing with this can seem very challenging, almost overwhelming.

But when we consider what God in Christ Jesus has done for us--something that we will especially come face to face with in just a few days' time--such a sacrifice seems almost minuscule, almost insignificant. As that old hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,' says so well, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Something to think and pray about for today.