Every Day with Jesus

Scripture offers a variety of ways by which the disciple might encounter God. One way is to take time to meditate upon its content. I received some correspondence asking why it is that I keep us all in one short passage over a number of days? The reason is that we might contemplate what God is saying deeply. This is meditation.

The Bible is a down to earth and practical guide to living the Christian life. It serves as our ambassador’s handbook, as we represent God’s interests in a world that has all but lost sight of God. Knowing Scripture is only useful in as far as it redirects our steps to follow closely in those of Jesus.

Since writing EDWJ, I’ve received a lot of feedback. The change was always going to be difficult for some. I’ve also received useful requests, such as a larger font and more related scriptures to study each day. However, one thing remains true: the Word of God is central to how we encounter God and live the Christian life.

When I struggle with something, one major challenge is to keep things in perspective. In all the psychometric tests my character traits reveal I quickly move from calm to storm, and tend to catastrophize my future. It has taken time to learn not to gaze at a half empty, but rather a half full glass. Indeed, perhaps I should really learn to live with a glass that runs over with God’s grace, regardl...

Teresa of Avila wrote in the sixteenth century, ’Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours... Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.’*

I became a Christian at university. From a non-Christian family, I encountered Christ and began to learn to walk God’s way; a challenge for any teenager. Every Thursday afternoon someone came round to lead me in a new believer’s Bible study. 

It might appear that this scripture is answering the question about who I am. Yet, questions of identity offer us little hope of validation or encouragement. This verse is more about where I find myself, an issue of location rather than status. Society too often demands I define myself by status my job title, for instance and itself seeks to define me within predetermined sociological constraints.

Christianity is future proofed. History will end with Christ’s return. If we don’t believe that, then the whole message of redemption unravels. We are also encouraged that mortality is merely a brief delay to immortality with God.

If we are to represent God effectively, we must first comprehend what God requires. From the point of conversion we start a journey of internal change that influences external behaviour. At the point of my conversion I did not lose my ‘old life’ overnight. I had a new allegiance to Jesus, but I was a ‘baby Christian’. I didn’t have the wisdom I’ve painfully, and at times reluctantly, accumulated t...

Christopher Meyer, UK American Ambassador 1997–2003, describing his role, wrote, ’You must be able to negotiate, to win the confidence of the powerful and influence them, to understand what makes a foreign society tick, to analyse information and report it accurately and quickly, including what your own government does not want to hear; you need a quick mind, a hard head, a strong stomach, a warm...

Following Jesus begins with a decision. At some point we must say yes, or no, to God. We don’t stumble into God’s kingdom. No one gets married unintentionally. Indeed, there’s often months of preparation before couples make their decision publicly. As Christians we are the Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9), so we are to live true to our vows of commitment to Jesus.

God’s Word introduces us to God’s way. It is not one we naturally aspire to. It requires that we both submit to God and serve others. In our material world, in which purpose has been reduced to serving personal interests, wickedness too often triumphs. When I put myself first, God’s ignored and others suffer. No surprises, for we know the human heart is desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). When serving...

We build out of who we are. The danger in a world consumed with watching others is that we seek to fashion ourselves in the image of another. All-embracing globalisation creates a manufactured culture that threatens to diminish, if not eradicate, all others. The familiarity of Coca Cola serves as a useful example. First sold in 1886, it has a company mission to sell the largest number of beverages...

Thresholds are liminal spaces: a boundary between two points in time, space, or both. All thresholds offer both a risk and an opportunity. Joshua, anointed through the laying on of Moses’ hands, is appointed as God’s man to lead Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land, a threshold of momentous proportions.

The second essential strand Scripture demands of us is obedience. This impacts our thoughts, our words and our deeds. I often end my day by making a prayerful reflection inviting God to bring to mind the thoughts, words and deeds that were unnecessary. They may have been unkind, untrue and more about massaging my pride through criticising others than about appealing to God for mercy and help.

As we conclude our journey looking at the seeds for revival, there are three essential strands that emerge which Scripture commands us to practice. The first essential is prayer. Such prayer has two core components and these are clearly expressed in King David’s great prayer. They are repentance and request. Every time we approach God, make confession and repent, within moments we stand in need of...

It can be assumed that living and serving God is restrictive given the open nature of today’s society. Whilst we cannot determine the direction within which society moves, we can take responsibility in the degree to which we will swim with the tide.

The story of Balaam is normally remembered because his donkey spoke. However, it’s really a story of speaking truth to power. Balaam had to choose between God and himself. King Balak promised him great rewards if he did as he was ordered. Indeed, it appears Balaam had a reputation for divination, seeking knowledge about the future by supernatural means, something condemned by God who alone holds t...

In a tolerant society, disagreement is too quickly characterised as bigotry. Whilst we pride ourselves on the value of free speech, political correctness can dumb down public discourse. This presents a real and present danger for Christianity today.

God instructs us to turn to prayer when things are difficult. In an increasingly self-centred society, it’s easy only to think of my difficulties. Yet, I have died with Christ, and I no longer live, but rather Christ lives in me. The real difficulty is the state of our world.

On Pentecost Sunday we noted how the disciples, gathered in the Upper Room, ‘saw what seemed to be tongues of fire’ come and rest on each of them. This after nine days of prayer, from Christ’s Ascension until Pentecost. God answered their prayer with His presence. It is indeed the presence of God that we seek through prayer; God present with us and God’s presence in response to the subject of our...

Solomon draws his prayer of dedication of the Temple to a close. We have identified six foundation stones upon which God’s temple is established. These are: right relationships, refusing to sin, trusting in God’s provision, offering everyone the love of God, engaging in spiritual warfare, and knowing that true freedom is the fruit of forgiveness.

Forgiveness turns the world right side up. God has always known this, and demonstrated the power of forgiveness through the life and death of Jesus. The undeserving, including us, were offered an opportunity to renew friendship with their creator.

Prayer presents a challenge and a mystery to all. It’s easy to feel discouraged with prayer. In prayer we engage in warfare in God’s name, and war disrupts all of life. God’s promises are always fiercely contested and we’re invited to enrol in the battle and to make God’s cause our cause.

In times of hardship it’s easy to look for a scapegoat; someone on whom we can lay the blame for our misdeeds. That’s the Old Testament role of the scapegoat. All too often we look for someone who looks and behaves differently. Throughout history this has led to the oppression of people on the basis of their ethnicity.