These Lively Oracles

Too often, when we start to build something or do something in God’s work, we try and second guess God and tell Him what it is that He really needs. Even though we all know that God doesn’t work that way. We still try to take the initiative and get things done. This was evident many times in the bible. But one occasion that I was recently studying brought the message home to me a bit more strongly. I shared in a previous blog about how The Judge Samson, and the Prophet Samuel both lived at approximately the same time period – give or take a couple of years. While Samuel was with the armies of Israel in the Valley of Elah, Samson was 30 miles to the South West fraternising with the Philistines. Samson was imprisoned and made blind, and Samuel was busy grieving over King Saul being rejected by God….. 1st Samuel ch15v35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. But God told Sam...

There is a little town mentioned in the bible and very little was ever spoken of it. Or so we thought. It is known as Shechem and is first mentioned away back in Genesis. It is still there today and is about 30 miles north of Jerusalem. It is a strange little place with absolutely nothing to offer except that it is right in the middle of two valleys, one heading north and south and the other coming out of it and heading west to the Mediterranean Sea. And it shares the valley floor with another town called Sychar. Both little towns are only about 2 miles apart and historically they both appeared to share the local water source. A single well. And, like some of the places mentioned in the Bible, although this is just a little place, serving only as a junction or waypoint for travellers, it has proved to be very significant in God’s plans over the millennia and centuries. How many times has God met with us at a juncture in our lives? It was here where God met with Abram and promised him t...

There have been many times in my life that I felt that I have been walking blindly through things. Or even just been so busy that I was concentrating on what was going on around me rather than looking to Jesus. I can think of times when I was involved in large employment schemes, or doing exams. Or even just getting along with life with my friendships and family life. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that I deliberately forgot about God in my life. I didn’t. But sometimes the “stuff” of life just requires my attention. But it has always been good to know that God was always there. Isaac was leading a nomadic life in tents in the desert. He was almost sacrificed on an altar by his father Abraham. But as we can now sit and take a panoramic view of his life we can easily recognise that God was there all the time…. Genesis 26v3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. Jacob had a tumultuous lifestyle. Even from his mother’s womb he wrestled with h...

There are a vast number of people who work in christian and church circles who always seem to be nameless and in the background. They busily labour away and are seldom ever seen in the spotlight of church functions or celebrations. They clean the church, do the administration. Look after the various youth groups and organise the music. But no one ever gets to see them while they’re working. Everything just seems to come together during the service and no one is any the wiser for the workers in the background. One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, was just such a person. Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter and he had previously been a disciple of John, the Baptiser. And yet, it was Andrew who went and got Peter when Jesus was baptised by His cousin, John. Read the words as recorded by the Apostle John… John 1v40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John (the Baptiser) had said and who had followed Jesus. v41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother...

Why are we so reluctant to volunteer for anything? We take a job. Or a position in   sports group, or industry, or the military only for the older wiser ones to tell us “never volunteer for anything”. Or maybe we are in a group or a line-up and one of the leaders calls out “could one volunteer step forward please?” And you are all pleased with yourself that you never stepped forward only to discover that everyone else took one step backwards and left you standing alone. Why don’t we volunteer for anything? Is it because of “imposter syndrome?” Or because we don’t feel good enough, or qualified enough? Actually, such feelings and mind-sets are quite common among several walks of life. We doubt ourselves and our abilities so much that we don’t feel we should actually be doing what we have been chosen to do. Or maybe we do not volunteer for the fear of looking foolish? No one wants to be made to look foolish. This only brings ridicule from our peers or colleagues. I’ll be honest, I us...

I remember once going for a job interview in the city. It was with an employment agency that I wasn’t really fond of and I didn’t really want to go. I tried everything to find a reason not to go but there was no reason came to mind. And so I went off into town. The office was on the top of a three-storey building. It was in the roofspace which actually meant it was on the fourth floor. And so, I trudged up the staircases until I got to the top. With heaving breath, I rapped on the office door and was invited in. I was given a few minutes to get my breath back and then I was invited into another office to do the interview. To my surprise, there was a former employer sitting there smiling at me. He said, “Hi, I’m so glad you decided to come. I was hoping that you’d turn up”. I didn’t know it, but the job was mine before I even left the house that day. All I had to do was turn up. This little memory reminded me of the story of Joseph and his brothers. The same Joseph with the special coat...

We see people go about their christian lives and attempt projects, or witness to people and then they move along and never seem to give the moment a second thought. We get involved together in christian music, groups and choirs, or prayer groups, or bible study groups and then when they have ran their course, or faded out, we move along and just seem to forget about them. It can become disheartening after a time when we don’t seem to see any fruit for our labours. But God doesn’t forget these things. God has His own Endgame. Remember when the Children of Israel cross the Red Sea into the Sinai Desert? What a miracle! What an event! But we forget that this was not the only time that God parted the waters. It happened again. Moses did it first and it is recorded in the Book of Exodus… Exodus 14v22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.  But after Moses died and authority was handed over to Joshua God did t...