Every Day with Jesus

Three times God’s glory initiates in our human story. First, God spoke creation into existence. Next, Jesus was born, the mystery who is both God and man. Eventually, Christ will return, marking the end of the ages. Today we live in the time following Jesus’ earthly life and wait in anticipation of His return.

It’s reassuring to know that everything that exists was created by a supreme intelligence – God. In times of uncertainty, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, life can prove challenging. Where can we find the level of security we crave? Well, it remains where it has always been, rooted in the truth of God’s Word.

The wonder of the incarnation, or the appearance of God in the flesh, is remarkable. Despite disobeying God, what we call sin, our heavenly Father chose to come and live amongst us to reveal who God is and how we are to enter into fullness of life (John 10:10). God’s glory, clothed in flesh, walked this earth, so that the full face and glory of God was veiled from human sight. No one can see the f...

This issue of EDWJ will look at God’s Word, God’s will and God’s work. Today we start with God’s Word. Strikingly, it preceded all of creation, for God’s Word is Jesus, the foundation for all that is. Ultimately, creation is sustained by God’s Word alone (Col. 1:15–17).

It’s New Year’s Eve, a time when well intentioned resolutions are made, yet seldom kept. In contrast, the Christian year traditionally starts with the first Sunday in Advent, so is well and truly up and running by now. In 1755; John Wesley* introduced the idea of the Christian renewing their commitment to Christ each year with a Covenant Service. He used material from the writings of the seventeen...

The incarnation is God’s complete and final invitation to enter into friendship with God. Defined as ‘a relationship between two or more friends’,* friendship leaves a lot of scope for determining its substance. It takes a lifetime to explore this friendship with God, and presents a series of questions, the answers to which will decide how deep and intimate we allow that friendship to become.

Christianity is born out of hospitality, which means ‘friendliness to guests’.* And everyone living on God’s earth is a guest. As Christ’s disciples, we are invited by Jesus to offer the gift of friendliness. Not all of us feel comfortable in a social setting. It’s one reason God creates His family, often expressed through church congregations. Yet, the Church’s primary purpose is to reflect the p...

Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Mary presented herself with her Son for purification to fulfil Mosaic Law. Here Simeon took Jesus in his arms and prophesied the heart of the Christmas message for all time. It is hard to wait for God’s moments that we’ve already perceived in the eyes of God’s Spirit, but not yet manifested on earth. Israel had lived in prophetic silence for four hundred years for th...

God speaks to provoke a response. He is never static. We live in an age where the goal is the accumulation of knowledge, but knowledge is there to enable us to perform better in life. So, all that we observe, encounter and mentally absorb is meant to find expression through our lives.

In Britain, December 26 is a public holiday called Boxing Day. Established in the nineteenth century, servants were given the day off and the wealthy provided boxes of food for poor people. Traditionally in England we go for a long walk, graze off the cold cuts from Christmas leftovers, and generally wind down. It’s a day of reflection after the energetic fun and frivolity of the previous day. It...

Happy Christmas! The rush towards Christmas has ended. We awake to the hushed silence of the feast of Christ’s birth. What’s true of our physical experience is also true for our spirit. Mary, after all the shocking events of Gabriel’s annunciation, ‘hurried’ to visit her cousin Elizabeth (v39). Looking for reassurance for the bold ‘yes’ she has given to God, He confirms His word at the first greet...

The seal of the Holy Spirit is like an engagement ring. It demonstrates that we are pledged to God, and shall ultimately be a part of the mysterious Bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2–3). We are joined to Christ ‘the hour we first believed’. Christmas is God’s proposal to humanity.

Christmas is a season of light, from Christmas trees to gaudy house extravaganzas. These all symbolise Jesus, the light of the world, arriving with the gospel message that sin is defeated and we are free to follow and worship God.

If we treasure something, we store it up for future use. The UK Treasury maintains the economy, promoting conditions that enable economic growth and stability at home and abroad. The kingdom of God offers a treasury of wisdom, which is the currency, and ensures its effective growth.

Christmas is a season of wonder. The incarnation is surrounded with mystery as God breaks in. How completely we take the Gospel reports seriously may well depend on our appetite for the supernatural. But for me this is pure history!

The Christian life is counter-intuitive. We are taught from birth to do all we might to avoid pain – physical, emotional and psychological. I was naive enough once to think I could live just such a life. Even after finding faith and accepting that to andbad things happen to God’s good people, I wanted to assume that God would spare me. And of course He didn’t.

One week to Christmas Day. For those lighting candles in their Advent wreath, today’s candle traditionally represents peace. Our world is always in need of peace, and of course one of Jesus’ titles is Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)

Imagine if you were to drive your car with your eyes fixed on the rear-view mirror. It would be very dangerous for you and others. Yet, many of us live our lives looking backwards, not forwards. We feel safe with what we know and have no real desire to discover the freedom of the unknown. The familiar is comforting; the future uncertain.

Christianity is rooted in biblical revelation. This collection of scriptures provides our understanding of how God works in a world consumed by its own pursuit of truth. Such is humanity’s presumption that it believes it has the competence to understand the origins of life. Yet, whilst answers are presented, they lead to many more questions.

As Christians, we enter into a partnership with God, which operates when we choose to obey and do as God directs. Here, the blind man discovers three things, still relevant today. He learns that sin is not the source of sickness (v3). We are invited to discover the grace and goodness of God in all aspects of life. This challenges many of the frames of reference we have adopted from our upbringing,...

Bound by the limitations of mortality, we can’t fully grasp God’s perspective. We think in weeks; God holds eternity in His hands (Isa. 43:11–13). At both the beginning and the end, He perpetually sees the substance of everything. Following God requires our trust, especially when life makes no immediate sense.

It’s sometimes difficult to believe, when all the evidence suggests that all we are believing in is disintegrating before our very eyes. Each of us will have a story where, when invited to believe, we stumbled and messed up.

Many never find the fullness of God they yearn for. That is because we live between the devil’s darkness and the light of God. Our society places huge pressure upon us to conform to standards that are irrelevant as far as the gospel is concerned.

The best of intentions is subject to sabotage, often by our own hand. Simply responding to Jesus is a great first step into a life subject to constant change – but only ever a first step. We are all used to seeing bright sunshine suddenly obscured by passing clouds. So with us. We feel full of God’s Spirit and then darkness engulfs us, we struggle and fall. This is the nature of growing into matur...

Observing sunrises is associated with summer, not winter. Yet they still occur. Waiting for sunrise takes patience. Once, on the slopes of Mt Subasio above Assisi, Italy, I waited to see the sun rise above the Apennines. It was cold and took time as light quietly preceded the bright orb’s return.