Tag Archives: faith

The Army of God (2 Kings 6:8-23)

Matthew 26:53: Jesus said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels.”

Like Eisha, Jesus is aware that he has an angelic army at his disposal, as he declares in the verse above. Yet, Jesus shows even greater strength and courage. When soldiers arrive to capture him, he allows it, going through with his crucifixion, trusting that God would bring the greatest victory of all, the Resurrection. Will we follow Jesus’ courageous example?

Joy in Victory (Psalm 126)

Jesus says: “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20)

Thinking of World War II it is often the case that the greater the suffering or challenge the greater the joy when the suffering or challenge is overcome. In the quote above, Jesus was preparing the disciples for his imminent death. For many at the time, the death of Jesus was a reason to rejoice. A trouble maker had been eliminated, the status quo maintained.

But, the greater joy would be reserved for Jesus’ disciples. Although, they would go through the trauma of losing Jesus, they would discover the amazing joy of seeing him again as the one who had defeated sin and removed the fear of death, not just violent death as at the end of World War II, but the fear of death full stop. That is the incredible joy that people are still discovering today, as they come to follow Jesus.

Jesus’ Anointing (John 12:1-8)

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12)

This week, we are looking at the story of Jesus being anointed at Bethany (John 12:1-8). As Jesus reclines at a dinner held in honour of him, Mary anoints him with perfume worth the equivalent of a labourer’s annual salary. This is an extravagent and incredibly expensive act of devotion. For Mary, devotion to Jesus is what matters most. But what do we spend our money on? Do we spend money on our personal needs? Do we support the ministry of the church to promote worship of Christ? Or do we give to charities that care for the poor? For Christians all these things are important, all should feature in our budgeting. We need to pray for wisdom on what proportion of our wealth we give to each.