Episodes

  • February 7th - Hebrews 12:1-2

    February 7th - Hebrews 12:1-2
    Feb 7 2025
    Hebrews 12:1-2 And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Life is not a sprint but a marathon, so we all need to learn how to ‘hang in there’ through thick and thin. Here, the writer to the Hebrews reminds his readers that this is what the life of faith is all about. We have to learn to endure, and he clearly has in mind that the Church to which he was writing was likely to experience considerable persecution and suffering. If they thought that living for Christ was going to be a leisurely walk in the park then they needed to change their thinking quickly. By itself that would be a rather bleak message. But the whole purpose of the letter was to bring encouragement. The writer knew that as we focus our attention on Jesus we will gain all the inspiration and strength that we need for the road ahead. He urges his readers to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus. His language is very specific and makes it clear that there will be many other things that could distract our attention. We will need to shape our lives in such a way that we keep our focus on Jesus. I have many friends who find it helpful to start the day in prayer. Many of them use these notes to encourage them as the day begins. My father was a businessman and he travelled up to London every day for 40 years. Throughout that time, he set aside part of the journey for reading the Bible and praying. Every year he read through the whole Bible; these times with God, amid the bustle of the morning commuters, helped to keep him focused on Jesus. It really doesn’t matter how you do it, but find ways that help you to maintain your focus on Jesus. Question What more can you do to make Jesus the daily focus of your attention? Prayer Lord God, I thank you for Jesus and ask that you will help me to make him increasingly the inspiration and strength of my life. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins
  • February 6th - Hebrews 12:1

    February 6th - Hebrews 12:1
    Feb 6 2025
    Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. Over the years I have played lots of different sports with a great deal of enthusiasm and, truth to tell, not much success. However, I have had a number of friends and acquaintances who have been enormously successful in their chosen sport and they have all deeply impressed me. My main reflection is that they were all incredibly disciplined. Their diets were carefully designed and observed, and they gave a huge amount of time to ensuring that they were constantly practising and improving. They had a determination to give their absolute best. In our verse today the writer pictures Christians as athletes who are running a race infinitely more important than any sport, and makes the obvious point that we need to get rid of anything that slows us down. You clearly wouldn’t enter an elite race wearing heavy clothes or lugging a suitcase. And so, he encourages his Christian friends to identify any weights that might slow them down and to get rid of them. The writer pictures the Old Testament men and women of faith, whom he has described in the previous chapter, in the stadium roaring their encouragement to those who are running the race. This is such an important word for us to hear today as we face the innumerable challenges of living for Christ in the 21st century. The circumstances of our society are, of course, very different from those who have gone before, but we can still draw enormous encouragement from their lives. Like us they were flawed and frail human beings, but they hung in there and we need to be inspired by their faithful lives despite incredible challenges, opposition and persecution. The race ahead of us is bound to be demanding and so we will need to give the best of us to ensure that we are not allowing anything to get in the way of running well. This is infinitely more important than any sport. Question Consider this carefully: what could you do to enable yourself to run more effectively for God? Prayer Loving Father, help me to listen to the inspiration and encouragement from those who have lived the life of faith in the past. Help me to run well for you today. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins
  • February 5th - Hebrews 11:31

    February 5th - Hebrews 11:31
    Feb 5 2025
    Hebrews 11:31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. In this chapter the writer to the Hebrews introduces us to a number of Old Testament heroes of the faith. It isn’t anything like a complete list. Hundreds of important characters receive no mention at all. And so it is fascinating that he chose to shine the spotlight on the prostitute, Rahab. We might have expected him to skip over her in favour of people with a more respectable line of work. But no, Rahab is commended because of the hospitality that she gave to the Israelite spies when they went to explore the Promised Land. In fact, she went further. She was also willing to lie to the King of Jericho’s messengers when they went looking for the spies. What impressed the writer was that Rahab was not swept along by the disobedience of the other residents of Jericho. She was willing to put herself in danger in order to show her commitment to the God of Israel. The focus on Rahab reminds us that the door of faith is open to every kind of person. In Jesus’ ministry he went out of his way to make this clear. He continually shocked his contemporaries by the company that he kept. He was often seen with prostitutes, tax collectors and others with dodgy reputations. For many of the religious leaders, the fact that he spent time with such people was clear proof that he couldn’t possibly be the Son of God. But Jesus was continually keen to show that he came for everyone, whatever their background and however flagrant their sin. It is a continual challenge to the Church today to ensure that the doors are wide open to everyone, whatever their background. Only then can we stay true to the God who throws open his arms of love to everyone who will come to him in faith. Question Are you truly welcoming to everyone who comes into your church? Prayer Lord God, thank you that your arms are open to everyone in my community, whatever their background, failures or needs. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins
  • February 4th - Hebrews 11:17-18

    February 4th - Hebrews 11:17-18
    Feb 4 2025
    Hebrews 11:17-18 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” This is a really tough passage. The idea of God apparently asking a parent to kill their child is hard enough. But it is infinitely more difficult when you consider that, on this occasion, God was asking Abraham to murder the son who was going to be the start of the great and mighty nation he had promised. It’s all very perplexing. But we are invited to focus our attention on Abraham, the man of faith, because he was willing to do whatever God called him to do, knowing that it would all work out wonderfully. The writer observes that Abraham had worked out that if Isaac had actually been killed then God would have been able to raise him from the dead so that his plans could be fulfilled (v19). He was absolutely convinced that God could be trusted, so was happy to make any sacrifice. Sacrifice lies at the heart of every loving relationship. When you truly love another person, you will gladly go to great lengths to please them – even if it is costly and difficult. And so we shouldn’t be surprised that God looks to us to make sacrifices. He may call us to give up money, status, power and possessions in order to bless others. On the face of it, this might seem incredibly demanding and unattractive but, when it is seen as part of a loving relationship with a God who loves us so much that he made the ultimate sacrifice of his Son, it all makes sense. None of this is to say that sacrifices are pain-free and easy. The pain in Abraham’s heart when he prepared to offer Isaac must have been overwhelming. But as men and women of faith we can share his confidence in God, and know that any sacrifice we make is only a pale reflection of the sacrifice that he made for us when he sent Jesus into the world. Question What sacrifices have you made for God, and what sacrifices would you be willing to make in the future? Prayer Lord God, thank you for the ultimate sacrifice that you made in sending Jesus into the world. Amen
    Show more Show less
    4 mins
  • February 3rd - Hebrews 11:12

    February 3rd - Hebrews 11:12
    Feb 3 2025
    Hebrews 11:12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. The writer to the Hebrews described Abraham as being “as good as dead”. That’s not flattering, but he was describing a 99-year-old man who was married to Sarah – a woman decades past child-bearing years. The whole situation looked hopeless. But God had promised that Sarah would have a baby from whom a mighty nation would be born. In human terms this was laughable nonsense. But God was at work, and so something which was humanly impossible was exactly what happened. Isaac was born and the nation came into being with descendants as uncountable as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. We are continually tempted to domesticate God. We try to make him fit into the world that we understand and make him like us. Long ago Voltaire, the French philosopher, expressed this powerfully when he said: “God made mankind in his own image, and mankind has been trying to get its own back ever since.” That is to say, we are tempted to make God like us, and we don’t do miracles. Reading the Bible confronts us with a God who is in the business of doing miracles and so we need to be ready for them. This will only happen as we get closer and closer to God in prayer and as we spend time reflecting on the Bible. By doing so, our limited ways of thinking and our cramped expectations will be challenged to embrace God’s way of looking at the world. I love the dramatic contrast between the apparent deadness of Abraham and Sarah, and the unquenchable vitality of God’s life that was unleashed when they obeyed God and stepped out in faith with him. Let’s allow God to start shaping our thinking so that we enter each day with a confident expectation that he will act miraculously as we trust ourselves to him. Question What miracles have you seen and what miracles are you praying for at the moment? Prayer God of miracles, we worship you. We praise you for the way in which you moved in Abraham and Sarah’s life and ask you to touch our lives today with your miraculous power. Amen
    Show more Show less
    4 mins
  • February 2nd - Hebrews 11:8

    February 2nd - Hebrews 11:8
    Feb 2 2025
    Hebrews 11:8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. At the age of 75, Abraham headed out from his home in Haran without having a clue where he was going! What an incredible moment. People, in my experience, just don’t do things like that. Usually, we have a clear idea where we are heading – and a whole lot of planning happens first too. But Abraham was called by God so off he went. We have to conclude that Abraham was absolutely confident in God. In human terms he was taking the most enormous risk, but in spiritual terms he was clearly completely convinced that he was doing the right thing. In our risk averse culture, you can imagine people lining up endless very sensible reasons why Abraham should play it safe and stay at home. But his confidence in God was all that he needed to step out into the unknown. I have spent a huge number of hours in recent years working with colleagues on risk assessments. I totally understand that this is a very responsible way of working and I will always want us to do everything we can to anticipate carefully all potential risks and to exclude unnecessary ones. However, that doesn’t mean that we should play it so safe that we never step out into new areas or try new ideas. Abraham’s life of faith should give us courage to step out with God. I would hope that every church is a community where people are encouraged to take steps of faith even when the risks of failure and opposition are real. Playing it safe doesn’t seem to be the way in which God works. Question When did you last take a risk for God? Prayer Loving God, thank you for the inspiring example of Abraham. Teach me more each day of what it means to live a life of daring faith. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins
  • February 1st - Hebrews 11:7

    February 1st - Hebrews 11:7
    Feb 1 2025
    Hebrews 11:7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. The account of Noah building an ark and saving his family together with vast numbers of birds and animals is a story of enormous courage. The world had never seen a flood like this before, so the idea of Noah building a vast boat would have seemed absurd to all those around him. And the idea of packing the boat with smelly wildlife would have appeared even more ludicrous and challenging. But Noah did these amazing things for one reason: he was a man of faith. In this chapter the writer to the Hebrews unpacks what it means to live by faith, and Noah offers us an inspiring example. Most of us spend much of our lives conforming. We fit in with society and the people around us and just get on with life. I’m not criticising that approach, but it makes me wonder how we would respond if God asked us to do something that everyone else would consider deeply weird. Through the centuries God has often asked people to do such things. When, at the end of the 18th century, William Carey heard God calling him to take the gospel to India he met a barrage of criticism. One senior Christian leader said: “Young man, sit down; when God is pleased to convert the heathen world, He will do it without your help or mine.” He called Carey “a most miserable enthusiast”. Although Carey was mortified by the experience, he didn’t give up. Carey became the father of modern missions and his influence enabled millions of people to hear the good news of Jesus. Question What would you do if God invited you to do something unlike anything you had ever done before? Prayer Loving God, I thank you for inviting me to travel with you on this exciting journey of faith. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins
  • January 31st - Hebrews 11:1

    January 31st - Hebrews 11:1
    Jan 31 2025
    Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Many people think of faith as being a rather weak, sentimental way of thinking and are inclined to say that they would rather trust the facts. Some philosophers have compared faith with taking a leap in the dark. Personally, I would never encourage anyone to take a leap in the dark. That sounds extremely dangerous and is only likely to result in disaster. I firmly believe that God calls us all on a journey of faith and that amazing adventure is a leap in the light. First of all, God reveals himself to us through creation. Just by opening our eyes to the amazing world around us we see constant evidence of how majestic and powerful God is. Looking at creation doesn’t force us to believe in God, but it is a powerful indicator of how great he is. God has also given us the 66 books of the Bible to show us how he has worked in the lives of men and women through thousands of years. Within it, we learn that God is a consistently loving God and that he is incredibly patient. The story of the Bible is one of humankind constantly disappointing God and yet, time and again, he offered his forgiveness. He did this supremely in the way in which he sent his son Jesus, to die on the cross. And God has now given 2,000 years of Church history during which we can see how men and women have lived for him through times of persecution, plenty, disaster and victory. God has also given to many of us the gift of Christian friends, in whose lives we can see the reality of faith being lived out through the bumps and challenges of everyday life. I do believe that God calls us to take a leap of faith and to trust our lives to him, but it’s not a leap in the dark. We need to open our eyes to what a great God he is and then place our full trust in him. Question How would you to describe your faith to someone who is not a Christian? Prayer Loving God, thank you that you invite us to step out with you on the adventure of faith. Amen
    Show more Show less
    3 mins