Where do I place my trust?

SCRIPTURE
A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7,8

OBSERVATION
The prophet Jeremiah is laying out the consequences of trusting man in or trusting in God. The former leads to barrenness and death, the latter to fruitfulness and life. The point is it is not if heat comes, it is when heat comes that the difference is made obvious. The heat brings barrenness and death or fruitfulness and life.

APPLICATION
I am experiencing heat at the moment. My job is under review and I am facing the possibility of office closure, which would mean redundancy for me. Where do I place my trust? It’s a no-brainer. Today I trust in the Lord.

PRAYER
The Lord is the light of my salvation. Whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life, I shall not be afraid.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

My Plans, His Plans

SCRIPTURE
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons…
Mt.20:17-20


OBSERVATION
Today’s Gospel is remarkable on two counts. Firstly, for what happened. Jesus has given His disciples excruciating detail about what is to happen to Him in Jerusalem: …betrayal, condemnation, mocking, scourging, crucifixion and finally, resurrection. But it’s as though He had said nothing. Immediately the disciples start squabbling about who is to be His right hand man. Secondly, this passage is remarkable for what Jesus is actually saying. He succinctly outlines the Paschal Mystery… Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.

APPLICATION
Like the disciples, I’m not always that good at listening to what Jesus is saying. Like them, I often am too busy clamouring for my own plans and desires, not His. Today is a day for me to listen, truly listen to what the Lord is saying to me. It just might be the revelation of a great mystery…

PRAYER
Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Less is More

SCRIPTURE
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exults himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exulted.
Mt.23:12

OBSERVATION
Jesus is teaching the crowds, warning them not to follow the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. He then gives the blue print for true greatness… be the least.

APPLICATION
This is another great Christian characteristic that the world simply calls madness. To choose to be a servant, choose to be last, choose humility over exaltation screams in the face of today’s self-centred absorption with which the world constantly seduces me. Humility has always been a hallmark of the saints, men and women who chose to go against the flow of their times. They had learnt the secret that less is actually more. Today I chose to go against the flow, to be least and little.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus. You are the Servant King. Teach me your ways that there may be less of me and more of you in my life.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Perspective

SCRIPTURE
For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Ph.3:20

OBESERVATION
Paul is writing while imprisoned to the church in Philippi, giving doctrinal teaching on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The basics are being covered and warnings given to watch out for those who are enemies of Paul and what he preaches.

APPLICATION
This verse gives us believers our most profound change of perspective on life. It is a mystery to non-believers, something they can never understand. Our gaze is always over the horizon. As good as this life gets (and it is very good) it is still “shadow lands” compared to the glories of the next. We are aliens, travelling through a foreign land. Heaven is our home. Today, whatever it brings, only makes sense because of the hope I have in tomorrow… eternity spent with my Lord, my Saviour and my friend.

PRAYER
I wait in joy and hope for the coming of my Saviour Jesus Christ. Come, just like you promised!

Little Flower, please pray for me.

Teach Me How to Love

SCRIPTURE
But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven…
Mt.5:43

OBSERVATION
Jesus continues his blueprint for Christian life in His Sermon on the Mount. He’s now getting down to the nitty-gritty… Love your enemies! This goes against everything the world tells us, which is to hate your enemies and defeat them. This would probably be the most well known command for Christians that non-believers quote… “Christians? They the ones who are meant to love their enemies aren’t they?” Yes, meant to but seldom do.

APPLICATION
This is an area I haven’t been really tested in. Sure, there are people I find it hard to get along with, some types of people I even avoid. But I can’t think of anyone I actually hate.
I’ve heard it said that the opposite of love isn’t hatred but indifference. Maybe that is the starting point… look out for those I avoid or turn my back on… and love them. This could be harder than I thought!

PRAYER
Jesus, no one is beyond your compassion, not even me. Teach me how to love, that I may be a true son of our Father in heaven.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

All are Family

SCRIPTURE
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.
Mt.5.21,22

OBSERVATION
Jesus is giving His Sermon on the Mount, the great exhortation on how to live the Christian life. He deals with the basest of human conditions: murder, divorce, lust, unforgiveness, hatred. He equates unforgiveness with murder.

OBSERVATION
Anger and judgement both happen in my mind. On the outside I can appear all peace and sweetness but on the inside be in a turmoil of stinking thinking. Jesus is telling me to change the way I think. This is not easy. It will involve changing old habits, retraining myself in the way I think about others. The starting point for this is in a word Jesus uses repeatedly in this portion of His famous teaching, the word “brother”:

…anyone who is angry with his brother
…anyone who says to his brother, 'fool!’
…and there remember that your brother has something against you
…be reconciled to your brother

You work harder at relationships with family. Today, I remember that all whom I meet is my brother, my sister… is family.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus. Thank you for roll-modelling what a true brother is. Strengthen me today to see all as brothers and sisters, as family.

Little Flower, please pray for me.

The Place of Refuge

SCRIPTURE
Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel…
Esther 4:17

OBSERVATION
Esther has just been appealed to by her uncle Mordecai to approach King Xerxes and reveal Haman’s plans to eradicate the Jews. She knows that to approach the King unbidden is punishable by death. But if she remains silent, she and her race will be annihilated. In short, she is between a rock and a hard place.

APPLICATION
The story of Esther is a wonderful story of courage and faith winning out over evil. In the early stages, Esther looks doomed whichever way she turns, so she turns to the only way left to her… she turns to her God.
I’ve just received news that my office faces the possibility of closure, leaving me made redundant. It looks gloomy whichever way I turn. I choose to turn to the only way left to me, …my God.

PRAYER
Father in heaven, my times are in your hand. Give me the peace your Son gives to those who love him.
Little Flower, please pray for me.