Every Day with Jesus: Treasure for the Heart

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The capacity to see the negative in any situation would win them an Olympic medal if it was a sport.

We reach a sort of climax here as Paul says, ‘Since, then…’ With these words he signals to his readers that he’s laid the groundwork and he wants them to take notice. For some Christians, reading the Hebrew Bible can feel like a foreign country where there’s seemingly a lot of laws and retribution without the grace of the New Testament God. He begins by exercising his authority as a man of God, ushering in God’s healing of the water, much to the delight of the townspeople of Jericho.The apostle Paul is thrilled that the good news of Jesus is making such an impact across the Roman world.

He is especially gloomy about work, finding that for all the short-term benefits, the fruit of what he has done will be left to others who may or may not deserve it. His indignation (could be translated anger) can be read in a few ways: that the leper wasn’t sure He would be willing to heal him, or that He was angry at how sin had messed this man’s life up, or maybe that He knew the man would ignore His later request to keep quiet.Such as when praying with others and God seems to inhabit our prayers through His presence in breath-taking ways. Here the light of God’s kingdom is implied by what we are saved from – a life of groping around in the dark while losing our way and perhaps smashing into brick walls. For the believers to live out of a new self, Paul says that they need to continue putting to death whatever would keep them embroiled in sin; that is, their earthly nature. False teachers there have been trying to entice the Christians with promises of secret knowledge to enhance their spiritual experience. Paul was pretty unconcerned whether Timothy had memorised which kings of Israel were good and which were bad or how many of the minor prophets spoke to Judah.

Many seem to imagine that the hills are somehow a reminder of God, and so looking at the hills is a reminder of who He is. Nehemiah had inspired his people to keep going, they were armed for battle and prayerful in their work as they rebuilt the wall.

For many it represents fanciful ideas that we accept even though there’s no logical reason to do so, even in the Church. As we read Paul’s intercessory prayer for the Colossians, we can more deeply understand his concern for the new believers if we keep in mind the context. Fascinatingly, as Andrew, Peter’s brother, and the other disciple begin to follow the Lord, He turns to them and asks a question. There may well be some truth in such a distinction, but there is also some confusion over what the lordship of Jesus means.

Our vision for this site is to revive the heart of the abbey by establishing here a house of prayer for all nations, a new Christian university and a hive of gospel endeavour. It is, of course, a crucial part of our walk with Jesus, though sometimes God is asking us to use our common sense and get on with living!The homecoming scene has been the finale to many a film: the lost child is reunited with her parents; the broken marriage is resolved; the hero who has won the day and cheated death is brought back into the safety and warmth of the family.