City on a Hill: Digital

Four months Nehemiah prays for a breakthrough, and then with the king's approval, he returns to Jerusalem to help them rise up and rebuild the temple. Jerusalem was once the city of God, but it had become the city of fools. Sometimes we can become so accustomed with brokenness, we forget it exists. In order to do something about brokenness, we have to first admit the problems exist. Then we rise up and build. There is joy in the build, as God watches us step in faith to live for Jesus and serve him with our giftings and resources. With his hand upon us, we can do meaningful work, and everyone has a part to play. All 32 verses of Chapter 3 are basically a list of names, with the places they served, the things they built, and the people they were next to. May we, with God's help, do the same in rebuilding the church.

Nehemiah could have minimised the tragedy of the destruction of his home city, or felt apathy toward it. He is living in Susa, the most liveable city of Persia, and has influence as the loyal cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I. Yet, Nehemiah wept and prayed. First, he adores God and praises his glory, realising that he cannot do anything without God. Second, aware of God's steadfast love, Nehemiah prays on behalf of his people, bearing the responsibility for Israel's disobedience, prefiguring Christ. Many times we come across mess in our lives, our work, our family, the church, and the world. Everytime we have the choice to keep calm and carry on, or to reckon with the mess and do something about it. It is easy to shift the blame, and the responsibility, to someone else. Yet, we ought to take the responsibility on ourselves. May we repent of the deceit, false teaching, hypocrisy, hardness of heart, misplaced love, worship of idols, disdain toward the church and contempt toward our fello...

Light cannot have fellowship with darkness; A believer cannot marry a non-believer. For those already in relationships with unbelievers, however, the Bible says to persevere so that your holiness might stir the heart of the other. Yet, cases of non-believers coming to faith because of a faithful significant other are few and far between. If you are single seeking a spouse, seek one that serves Christ.Israel had a problem with compromise, marrying pagan wives and thus marrying their gods, breaking the first commandment that God is to be worshipped exclusively. Ezra sees that Israel's sins have piled up to heaven, and he prays and fasts for mercy. Repentance is required in the rebuild, and we need leaders that pray on behalf of the people. We have forsaken God's commandments and our guilt has reached heaven. Yet, Christ died as our substitute on the cross, incurring the wrath of God in our place, that we might no longer be slaves but through his mercy be adopted as children of God....

The rebuild requires complete devotion to God's word, that we would obey and live his word, trusting the hand of God's grace. In a culture where the Bible is challenged, and in a world that pulls and pushes us away from God, we need to take time to pray that God will help us believe in the inspiration of scripture by faith. The Bible is not merely a historical text or a text of laws, it is a notebook written by God to us that we might come back to him. May we learn from Ezra and set our hearts on God and his word, not confusing knowledge with obedience but being doers of the word.

Seduction, suffering, and slander of God's people left the temple unbuilt so God's prophets, Zechariah and Haggai, called the people out on their inaction. Haggai rebuked God's people for prioritising building their own houses while God's house remained in ruins. Rebuilding the temple was necessary to rebuild relationship with God. We cannot waltz into the presence of God without him making a way to meet us on his terms: the temple was that holy mediating place. Israel's rebuilt temple was eventually destroyed, but we have a living temple in Christ. May we not be too busy building our own life that we forget Christ and his church. Use your gifts and passions to meet the needs of the church and the world.

God's people are prone to experience seduction, suffering, and slander. The world seduces us with compromise — that if we adapt our beliefs to fit the culture around us we would be supported.Christians are judged more by their reactions than their actions. We don't plan to be seduced, nor do we plan to react badly to displeasing situations. Yet, neglecting to compromise, we experience suffering and slander which is liable to silence and oppress us. May we not cave in. May we stand firm on Christ and his words, lest we be ashamed of him and he be ashamed of us when he returns.

Church is not a consumeristic product or spectator sport, it is a commitment that calls for investment from all hands on deck. Rebuilding the church requires an altar of our God, obedience to God's word, all hands on deck, and is marked by tears and joy. The early starts of the rebuild centred on repentance and desire for God's word as Israel remembered following the ways of culture led to exile. Those who knew the first temple wept when the foundation of the second was set as they recalled their fall from grace and their burden of sin and shame. Yet, many shouted with joy as they celebrated their release from exile and their arrival home.

In exile, Israel wept. They were spiritually distant, unsure of God's promises, and caught in complete darkness. These last few years of lockdowns have caused frustration and loss, and we are now coming out of the rubble and must work together to rebuild the house of the lord. The rebuild begins with God, who never gives up, but promises to rescue his people. God's plan for his people is good, and he won't leave them by the rivers of Babylon for ever.Rebuilding the house of the lord requires a reordering of our life and loves around Jesus, the perfect fulfilment of God's renewal and rescue. He is the greater temple, and a temple that cannot be destroyed. The world wants us to rebuild our lives on our own, but Christians are meant to be a city on a hill, established in Christ and seeking first his kingdom, not our own. Everyone matters to God, and is required to be part of the fulfilment of his promise. Let us resolve and commit to rebuild.

The tomb is empty: if it weren't, all the Romans and Pharisees needed to do was go to the tomb and show Jesus' body to his disciples. Yet, his body was never found. Furthermore, women, who in the first-century were not valid witnesses, were the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection. One of the women was Mary, a former prostitute, and when she bows down before the risen Jesus, he receives her worship and comforts her.Every day, we fall short of the expectations required for us to be considered “good enough” for “the good place” but the story of Easter is that Jesus is good enough, loves you no matter what you've done, and has died a substitutionary death to defeat the darkness and bring us into his glorious light. Evil will have its day, and one day Christ will return to usher in a new heaven and earth, wiping away our tears, and ending suffering. Until then, may we be a City on a Hill that stands for Jesus' truth, love, justice, and hope, trusting that he is risen, and triumphant o...

How should we feel about the death of Christ? We ought to remember that it was a death undeserved in the place of a life undeserved, Barabbas. Like Barabbas, we have all committed treason against the king of the universe through rebelling against him through our sin, making a mess of the life he's given us. Like Barabbas, we are responsible for the debt we owe yet Christ took our place and paid the debt of sin for us, dying the death we deserved for sin and satisfying the wrath of God.When Christ cried ‘it is finished,' the temple's veil was torn from top to bottom signifying that God has made a way for man to come receive eternal life instead of a tomb, and a feast in heaven at the table of the Lord.

Pride is the innate desire of our hearts to be entitled to more than what we have. Pride takes, humility gives. We are to daily clothe ourselves with humility by casting our anxieties onto Christ and being watchful for the devouring devil by staying sober-minded.God is supreme, all-knowing, and all-powerful: We are not. May we humble ourselves therefore and trust that we will be exalted in the age to come. On that day, when Christ returns not as as a servant but as the king, the weak will be strengthened, the broken restored, and the humble exalted. Until then, may we endure through suffering and live righteously, not boasting in our strength nor being overwhelmed by our weaknesses, but casting our burdens onto the one who bore our grief on the cross.

Suffering refines true faith and removes the dross of false faith. Opposition to Jesus and friction with the world forces us to decide where we stand and counterintuitively can be a source of joy as we share in Christ's sufferings.When bad stuff happens, respond with good. Whatever people say about us, do what God thinks is right. We live in light of God's judgement, not the world's judgement. In the end, we are accountable to God through how we act amidst suffering. May we as the people of God entrust our souls to our faithful creator, trusting that he rests on us through our suffering.

As Christians, living for God in these last days, we must be alert yet not alarmed with the war of ideas between the world and the Christian life. This is not our home, but still find yourself some travel companions: the church, the only place where pursuing godliness is celebrated.Don't be surprised by suffering or by antagonism to the Christian life. The kingdom of the self and the kingdom of God are at war with each other, therefore arm yourself with the knowledge that Christ is risen and one day you will be too. Pursue godliness in the church and gospel communities. Live like Jesus, not like the world. Be obedient to God.

If you want to live an authentic Christian life, speak the truth, pursue peace, and let God reign supreme in every sphere of your life. By this we “honour Christ as holy” and become zealous for doing good.When Jesus calls us to follow him, he calls us to a life abounding in truth and full of grace. Even in suffering and hostile environments, we are meant to pursue peace amidst evil because we are blessed in knowing that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is ours. God is for us, and so we do not fear those who can kill the body but rather fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. May we be zealous for doing good, defending our faith by our gentleness and respect, whilst holding fast to the gospel — that “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” and is now seated “at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

Marriage is a live drama of Christ and the church. If we are to live righteously in the home, we must partner together — husband and wife — to live humbly and understand each other. Christ loved the church not by dominating her, or belittling her, but by washing her feet and sacrificing himself. When the Bible says that wives should submit to their husbands, it also says that husbands should honour their wives as co-heirs. Husbands should use their strength to protect and not to impose on the woman who is biologically designed to be physically weaker. Abuse is not masculinity. Every week a woman dies at the hands of their current or former spouse. This is not masculinity, but the mark of the beast. The Bible does not condone remaining in submission to an abusive relationship, but rather calls wives to submit to a husband who is able to love and honour them as Christ loved the church.

We are wired to resist pain, yet as Christians we are called to be like Jesus even when it hurts. Though God is opposed to slavery, he plays the long game and calls his people to fight injustice not with injustice but with humility and grace. When we're treated like slaves in the workplace, suffering for doing what is right, we are to be encouraged that God sees and has gone ahead of us. Jesus knows what it means to suffer like a slave despite doing good, yet he persevered. Peter was a witness to this — seeing that Jesus ‘committed no sin, and was reviled but did not revile in return, suffered though did not threaten, entrusting himself to him who judges justly.' So too we ought to follow in Christ's footsteps, becoming uncomfortable for his sake, restoring relationships that have been broken and standing upon our faith wherever we are, shining the light of Jesus to those around us. Justice for our suffering will come, but until then our job is not to fight back injustice with injus...

While we live as elect exiles, we can't drink from the spring of living water while at the same time poisoning it with the sin of the flesh. Our right thinking ought to shape our right living. If we are in Christ, we will abstain from sin, pursue a life of beauty, and honour all — even government.Living in what was the world's most locked down city and coming out to vaccine mandates and political tension can make it hard to want to obey the government. But Peter wrote this letter during the time of Nero. So we submit in recognition that God is sovereign over all, and has all authority. The purpose of the government is to work for good and restrain evil. If they fail, we can speak out and shine light against authority that is misusing power and acting contrary to the goodness and grace of God. In the end, governments will give account to God. Until then, we submit to the king and honour one another — that “through our good acts we should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people...

Jesus, as the chief cornerstone, is infinitely precious. The chief cornerstone was the largest and most expensive stone used in building. It had to be perfectly cut, and it reminded the other builders who began the work. Jesus must be the foundation of life, for when we believe in him, the cornerstone will not be put to shame. The world may shut you in, but Jesus welcomes you in; the world may talk behind your back but Jesus will shower you with praise; the world may point at you as dirty and broken, but Jesus heals and makes us whole.The love The Father has for The Son, is the same love he has for us now. It is not conditional upon our merit, or whether we have it all together, but on the legitimacy of Christ. Belief is more than intellectual assent, but complete trust in Christ as the foundation of our salvation and of our lives. We cannot build our life on any other foundation, because it is all sand. No one and nothing but Christ can carry us and hold us together. Let us live us...

The Bible is more than the best selling book of all time, it is the living word of God that is life-giving, lasting, and maturing. Thus, we obey the Bible by believing it, and being born again. Our rebirth is not something we gain ourselves, but something that God alone can give you through the life-giving and life-restoring word of God which does the work of God to accomplish the will of God. Kingdom's will rise and fall, but God's word endures forever.As children of God, born again through the living word of God in Jesus, we must rid ourselves of hypocrisy, jealousy, and deceit. We must not slander one another, but seek to out-do one another in love and showing honour. To become mature we must drink the pure milk of God's word, and live a life of repentance in light of this reality as the beloved children of God.

How do we remain faithful to Jesus in a post-Christian secularist age? By understanding that we are exiles sojourning on earth as temporary residents in a foreign place, and our home is in heaven. Although the world will try to tell us that this life is all there is, God has placed eternity in our hearts and we will find that nothing else will satisfy. Still, instead of rejecting earthly blessings we ought to be thankful for them, but never confusing them as the eternal thing.It takes courage to live out our faith as outsiders in the world, but we know our hope is not in the world but certain security in the living hope of Jesus. When we chose sin, Christ chose holiness. When we chose the world, Christ chose God. Now all who place their trust in him for forgiveness of sins are his elect, inheriting his kingdom and his righteousness, a kingdom unshakable and without end. In his kingdom, our true home, we will enjoy every spiritual blessing and the wholly satisfying pleasure of the pr...

The Great Commission is global, for all nations, because in Christ we are all one. We as the global body of Christ exist to know Jesus and out of the overflow of our knowledge of him to make him known. Instead of building walls, Christians should be building bridges. May we recognise the need for the gospel in our city, sharing the hope of the goodness of God to the some 200 nationalities within our own city of Melbourne. The Great Commission is vital, and by God's presence and power that will be with us always, it is achievable.

Baptism is a symbol of our engagement to Jesus, and is open to every believer. Faith is about word and action. The Great Comission instructs us to be baptizing and teaching the faith. It is amazing to see what God can do when we meet together and read through the Bible. It is not complicated, and could be as simple as meeting up with someone over coffee and to read a chapter of the Bible together. May God help us to live out our faith in word and action, pursuing community through loving God and loving one another.

Everyone is a disciple to something that influences us, and is part of our environment. Who are you a disciple of?A disciple of Jesus is someone who loves, trusts, obeys, and is becoming more like Jesus.There is nodiscipleship without community. As part of the body, we are to encourage one another using the gifts God has given us. This is more than being friendly and talking to people at church, but being vulnerable with and learning from one another. You need not travel the world to go and make disciples, let us know Jesus and make Jesus known to those around us, trusting the Holy Spirit will make us more like Jesus.

To understand Christ's authority, look at the cross. His authority is self-sacrificial and humble, giving rest to the weary. He has come to give us eternal life and rest to the weary, freedom from sin, and Satan, and death. Instead of living our own truth and submitting to our own authority, let us fall down and submit to the kingship of Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and earth. Tomorrow is not ours, but it is God's. The kingdom of this world is coming to an end, but the kingdom of Christ is everlasting. Trust that he is no tyrant, but that the supreme one is loving kind.

Because of the deep-seededprivilege of Israel, who felt they were entitled to a saviour, and because of their stiff-necked rebellion in idolatry, judgement fell upon Israel. Even their renowned prophets, Elijah and Elisha, were sent to restore not their people but a gentile widow and gentile leper. Similarly, Jesus was rejected by his people so that the gentiles might be saved. The gospel eats at our sense of entitlement. To know Jesus is to need Jesus, who came to seek and save the lost. Jesus came for the spiritually poor, for those who think that God would never want them, for the oppressed, and the widow. Jesus is needed by all, privileged and poor, but only when we recognise our own spiritual poverty and our need for Christ to save us can we know him.

The first Christmas is historical fact. Some of the first witnesses of Jesus' birth were pagan magicians, shunned characters that a religious Jew would not have put into their story if it weren't true. The first Christmas, though predicted by prophets, was still unexpected. He was born in a poor town, slept in a manger, hung out with tax collectors and sinners, and was crucified as king of the Jews. We can choose to be consumed by our self like Herod who secured his own power and kingdom, or the religious leaders who knew the prophecies but did nothing. Else, we can be like the wise men who in their wisdom knew that the maker of the stars and king of kings lay in a manger: Jesus, the Son of Mary.

As Josiah dusts off the book of the law, he realises that Israel has been at war with God. Showing true repentance, Josiah tears his clothes and made a covenant with God, steering an entire nation away from idolatry and back to God, even reinstituting the Passover which hasn't been kept since the judges. His efforts were so great that Josiah was called the greatest king that Israel has had, or will have. Still, it was too little, too late. God's wrath could not be kindled, and by the end of 2 Kings Jerusalem is destroyed and Israel is exiled to Babylon. Fourteen generations later, God's wrath would be kindled forever through the death of Jesus, his son. Christ is the king Josiah could not be, granting us repentance that does not result in judgement, but in acceptance if we confess our sins, trust Jesus is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. May we walk in the newness of life by the Holy Spirit.

Jehu was anointed by God to strike down Ahab, the former king who did more evil than any king before him, committing atrocious idolatry with his wife Jezebel. Jehu, directly and indirectly, slaughtered the entire house of Ahab and Jezebel, and all the worshippers of Baal. Idolatry angers God and incurs his righteous wrath. Like Jehu, our world wants justice and God has called us to take action. Better than Jehu, we are to show the world how our faith has changed us to push back against darkness and evil with goodness and light. In Christ, we are called to fight the good fight for our faith against the powers with the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) and the armour of God. Christian, use a sword and not a butter knife. First, use the sword of scripture on yourself to pierce through the idols in your own life, then use it to pierce the lies and idols in other's lives.

Every king of Israel was ranked and measured against one criteria: their faithfulness to God. All that mattered was whether they lived to lead others to God, and to please God, not their military success, riches, geographical expansion, or political influence. Every bad king fell away from the correct worship of Yahweh and to idolatry, which was the sin of Jeroboam, Israel's first evil king. Ahab was worse than any king before him, even worse than his wicked father. What made Ahab particularly wicked is that alongside his idolatry, Ahab married a foreign wife (Jezebel) and took the gods of her people. One of these gods was Baal, a storm god which would have been particularly important considering Israel's environment. Ahab's sin was that of compromise. He chose to pray to God but also Baal, and to follow the violent, destructive, path of his wife: Jezebel.God cares about our relationship with him, and the way we treat others, particularly the poor and powerless. There is to be no co...

Wisdom without worship is worthless, and kings rise and fall when they lose sight of the wisdom of God, take pride in themselves, and seek to build Eden on Earth through money, sex, and power. Solomon, made king at the age of 12 with the death of his father David, was offered anything by God, and he chose to ask for wisdom. This led him to become renowned as the wisest man in all the world, who wrote elaborate proverbs and was the first to build God's temple. Yet, he rapidly fell into pride and riches. He became known for accumulating multitudes of horses and chariots, hoarding excesses of gold, and taking many foreign women as concubines and wives. All of this in direct contradiction to God's command regarding the prerequisites for a king.Like a ship adrift at sea, the compass needs only be off by a few degrees. To reverse engineer our life and live with the end in mind is the key lesson from the wise fool to never forget. Let us pursue our first love, beware of our subtle sins and...

The blessing that comes through Jesus is not about worldly riches, but about being adopted as children of God. In our sin and rebellion we have been incurring spiritual debt despite thinking that there's a glitch in the system that lets us have profit instead. The pandemic has increased people's desire for God. He is on the move and the gates of hell cannot persevere against the church, but we have a job to do. Here at City on a Hill, we have felt God call us to make disciples, to care for the homeless and disadvantaged, to reach the next generation, to focus on growing the church in the digital age, and to build a community on prayer that hungers for intimacy with God and fights battles on their knees.

There are occasions in life where God appears inactive and indifferent, letting the wind and waves take over to the point that the boat seems like it will sink. The waters of chaos may overwhelm us with fear — of division, big government, vaccines, or viruses, of loss, grief, suffering, or death. There will be storms and winds, but a day is coming when the sea will be no more. Until then, we trust that Jesus is still king. His miracles reminds us of his divinity, and that he is on the mission to restore order in a chaotic world of sickness and suffering and death, and to establish his reign on earth as it is in heaven. Not too long after calming the winds and waves on the boat, Jesus, at the cross, was drowned in the waters of chaos and wrath which we deserve for sin, was submerged in death, then raised eternally victorious over sin and chaos and death.

A mondegreen is a misunderstanding or misinterpreting of a section of a song. In a similar way, many of us have misunderstood the figure of Zaccheus, seeing him as a short man who climbed a tree to see Jesus. Yet, Zaccheus was a rich tax collector, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. His riches meant that he was corrupt, and had gotten away with taking cuts from tax collection for a long time. Jesus knew the type of man Zaccheus was, but he still called him by name and wanted to dine with him. Though Zaccheus was rich and corrupt, an unlikely convert with an undignified pursuit. Yet, unlike the rich young ruler who held onto his riches, Zaccheus was willing to humiliate himself and give from his riches after his encounter with Jesus. This is the heart of Jesus: one that seeks the lost, and dines with them. If you are to reject Jesus, reject the Jesus of the Bible and not a mondegreen Jesus. He longs to bring the rebel, the renegade, and the unloveable home. Let this Jesus...

When will the cost be too great for you to follow Jesus? Despite having kept the commandments since youth, the rich young ruler had one thing he lacked: giving up his all to follow Jesus. After he walked away saddened, the disciples were shocked and said: ‘who then can be saved?' To which Jesus says: ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.' We cannot do anything to earn material inheritance, but have a good relationship with our family. How much less so can do we anything to inherit eternal life, but be born in the family of God, have a right relationship with him, and follow Jesus.

For twelve long years, the bleeding woman was outside looking in. For twelve long years, she was touched by no one. When she reached out by faith to touch Jesus, in hopes of healing, Jesus calls her his daughter, and says that her faith has healed her so she can find shalom. That is, the full restoration of peace with each other and peace with God. Her healing was not a tap and go transaction, but a relational connection. She had faith that Jesus could heal her, and it was this faith that made her well. Her faith was not blind trust or a superpower, it was trust in a person. To have faith in Jesus is to realise that he is the only one who can free us, save us, and heal us. It is not about the strength of our faith, but about the strength of the person we have faith in. Whether you feel like a somebody like Jairus, or a nobody like the bleeding woman, all of us end up on our knees begging for Jesus. Let us live our lives caring for the ones on the sidelines in truth, love, and grace....

Chaos is the disruption of God's good design, and the forefront of the darkness in the spiritual realm that is over the world. The forces of evil in the spiritual realm knew that Jesus came to overthrow chaos and the power of darkness. Darkness is also self-destructive, and in the same way that Legion was cast into the herd of pigs and drowned in a lake, so too every force of darkness will eventually be cast into the lake of fire. Violence, disease, chaos, and death will not have the final word: Jesus will. The war with the spiritual realm is real, but Jesus is the victor and through him we too can have victory. Jesus not only delivers his people from evil, but he also makes them new, clothing them with his righteousness and granting them a peace beyond understanding. Yet, without Christ we remain enslaved to sin and the powers of darkness.

The woman who wiped Jesus' feet with her hair and tears was a ‘woman of the city' known to be a sinner and prostitute. Her alabaster flask was her appeal, and once the flask is broken to pour the ointment there is no turning back. Furthermore, a Jewish woman wouldn't reveal her hair until her wedding night, yet here she was breaking her flask and unbinding her hair, wiping the feet of her saviour. Thus, overcome by guilt and shame, yet realising Jesus is the only one who could set her free, she laid down her all at the feet of her saviour.We are all in spiritual debt and need a saviour to come on our behalf and pay our debt. The religious and rebellious are both equally in need of Jesus. A faith with conditions is no faith at all, so may we lay down all our sin and shame before the feet of our saviour who on the cross said ‘it is finished', paying in full our debt of sin by his life, death, and resurrection.

Widows were the most vulnerable of society. When Jesus saw a widow had lost her only son, Jesus had compassion on her, without her even asking for help. He then raises her son from the dead, unafraid of becoming polluted by being near a dead body because Jesus is the source of life.God is never too busy for us, nor is he unable to do the extraordinary. He does feel compassion on us. And he has the power to set us free from our greatest threat and pollution: sin and death. Therefore, we can be fearless to give the rest of our days to living for the glory of the one who loves us and has raised us to eternal life.

The law mandated that the unclean had to live in isolation outside of society, and if they ever came across another person they were to shout their shame and say: “Unclean! Unclean!” Lepers, wherever they went, were unclean outcasts who no one dared approach, lest they too become unclean. Yet, in Luke 5, we see the leper approaching Jesus, bowing facedown, to receive the healing he so desperately needs. By asking Jesus “if you are willing, make me clean” he shows that he knows Jesus is able to heal him. When Jesus touches the leper before healing him, he is showing that his love for the unclean person is not dependent on their cleanliness. Grace is the arms of Jesus reaching into the mess of our lives, and pulling us close. There is no affliction or suffering beyond Jesus' power to heal, if he is willing. At the cross, Jesus willingly took upon himself our greatest affliction — sin and death — so that whoever comes to him, trusting in his power to save, shall be made clean and set f...

Jesus, like Moses, is in the desert at the edge of the Jordan river. Where Israel spent 40 years there because they failed to be faithful, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert and persevered. In the desert, Jesus relived the story of Israel and rewrote the ending. The devil wanted to offer Jesus the crown without the cross, to give Jesus the glory without walking the path of suffering and faithfulness his father has set for him. Throughout the temptations, Jesus trusted that his father will provide, is for him, and has a better plan and greater kingdom.The story of Jesus' temptation helps us with our own. We are to be like Jesus in our trust of God's promises and plan, but also not too much like Jesus in being the hero of our story and facing the devil. The Bible says we are to flee temptation, pray against it, and resist the devil so that he will flee from us. Trust in the righteousness of our forerunner and great high priest, Jesus Christ. Trust in the father above who cares for us,...

In 1st Century Israel, Rome controlled Israel through tyranny. It is a time where Israel felt isolated and hoped for redemption and freedom from political oppression. Simeon was ‘a righteous man who waited for the consolation of Israel' and didn't die until he saw the Messiah. Oppression through sin, brokenness, and evil isn't just out there — it's inside us. Yet Jesus comes into the essence of our being, looking into our heart and wanting to transform us from the inside out. We are made to have a real relationship with Jesus, to encounter his presence in our daily lives. In the midst of fear, uncertainty, suffering, and despair, Jesus is our hope, our anchor, and our love. We ought to wait upon the Lord through prayer, setting our eyes on things above, and reading through the promises in the Bible. Every promise finds its yes in Jesus.

The cross is about how we relate to God and how knowing God changes us. We are refugees fleeing the oppressive regime of darkness, but God has come to bring us to his kingdom of light through the cross of Christ. Jesus is now our peace with God. His death is our life. His strength is perfected in our weakness. You can't earn the cross of Christ, but you will have to pay the cost for receiving it by taking up your cross daily. Let us trust ourselves into him who judges justly. We can know that we belong to God's eternal family, and know him as our perfect and attentive father by living under the cross of Christ, the only place of salvation, security, and safety. We can trust God for the future because of the cross of Christ. We can be a non-anxious presence to those around us because of the cross of Christ.

True worship is about approaching God on his terms. Anything apart from that is false religion. The institution of the tabernacle is a microcosm of creation, and of God's will regarding offerings. The willing of heart (God's people) bring the resources and the wise of heart (builders) make it happen. God wants us to use our gifts to bring beauty in chaos. You don't have to be the best but do your best with what you have for God. It wasn't the sheer glory of the tabernacle, or the skill of the workers, that was worth the presence of God, but rather the presence of God chose to dwell there. Now he chooses to dwell in our hearts by his Holy Spirit. Let us live as his priests and workers, using our skills to the building of the church and the advancement of the kingdom in the world. Jesus was the ultimate sacrificial offering to God, revelation of his character, and fullness of his glory. Let us truly worship him in Spirit and in truth.

In a tent outside of town, God's presence dwells away from his people as a reminder of what could have been had they not disobeyed in idolatry and their stiff-neck ness. How often do we forget that the prize of heaven is the presence of God? On the mountain, God reveals himself to be firstly merciful, abounding in love, and slow to anger. He is not quick to look for excuses to condemn. His love extends to thousands of generations. Yet, God is not apathetic to evil. His mercy is not ignorant to sin, but it is lopsided. While his justice is poured upon a few generations, his love is poured upon thousands. His greatest act of love and judgement was met at the cross, when the judgement we deserve for sin was put upon Jesus, because of God's love for us.

Where does your mind go when it's free? Whose approval do you seek most of all? What are you pursuing that you believe will make you complete? What are you most fearful of losing? Who or what do you look to when things get tough? What are you making the most sacrifices for? Who or what do you see as the answer to the world's biggest problem?Many times we fail to give God the glory and honour he deserves. Let the story of the golden calf be a warning for our own lives. The Israelites projected their own image and desires onto a mute god they created so they won't have any accountability, a god that let them play games of sexual immorality. They lost sight of God, yet God never lost sight of them. Even when it feels like God is high on the mountain away from us, persevere and pray. Do not take the easy route and create a god. Do not forget to pray, for the little things and the big things. Do not lose sight of God. Remember his fearsome holiness, then lean into his arms of grace. What...

Israel's priests are the mediators between the holy God and a sinful people, representing God to the people and the people to God. They were to stand before the Lord for the people: offering gifts and sacrifices for sins, helping those who are ignorant or astray, teaching the people, and interceding in prayer. In their consecration, the priest put the blood of a ram on their earlobes, thumbs, and big toes. This represent the priests becoming hearers of the word and mediators of God, giving an example to the people of how to walk. Yet, all these men died but we know a high priest who lives forever. He did what those high priests could not do, and was what they could not have become: God's true and perfect son. Jesus perfectly represents God to us, because he is God, and he perfectly atones for our sin by offering himself to God in our place, dying our death for sin, and living forever to make intercession on our behalf.

The tabernacle is the sanctuary of God's holiness, the place of his absolute morality, perfection, glory, and goodness. As such, because of sin, no one could enter his presence without specific boundaries and rules in place. Even the outer sanctuary was designed to separate the people from God. The sanctuary of our king is full of blue (like the sea and heavens) and purple (a rare colour used by royalty), representing God's dwelling place and kingship. Jesus was given a purple robe as he was beaten by the Romans. The word that was with God in eternity, the reason which formed the world, became flesh for us and we have seen his glory. When he died, he tore the veil for, top to bottom, making a way for us to live with God, and God to live with us. The tabernacle was the sanctuary and home of God, but now God makes our hearts his tabernacle. Pitch the tent of your life around God, with him at the centre of our life. Don't fall for a false Jesus. We want a Jesus of acceptance, but not o...

We are always ready to accept the terms and conditions for any company we use, but whenever we hear about God's terms and conditions we become hesitant. Making the terms and conditions a religion is a problem, but wanting a relationship with God without accepting the terms and conditions is like telling your loved one you love them but don't want to put in any effort to maintain that relationship. Yet, the law is a covenant of grace that pointed to God's promise: that those under the blood of Christ, through grace, will one day see his face. Neither the elders nor Moses on Sinai could see God's face, in fact, no one has seen God's face in all his glory. Yet, as on the mountain God feasted with a few chosen people, so did Jesus feast with a few chosen people at his last supper. Through his death, he has drawn all people to himself so that through obedience by grace many from every nation will feast with the lamb in heaven.

When we read the Bible, we must remember we are travelling to a foreign country and be good travellers. We must understand the context of the time (the ancient near-east 3500 years ago), and then we can see that God was indeed showing mercy to the vulnerable and oppressed. By Exodus 20, the Israelites were rescued from their slavery in Egypt and given the law to help them reflect God's character amongst themselves and to the nations around them. The law embraces the vulnerable. People weren't allowed to be abducted, slaves (which worked more as interns) were only obligated to work for seven years and then given a choice of freedom. Furthermore, runaway slaves had to be protected on the basis that they ran away from an abusive master. God's laws are not oppressive. They work in the dark reality of our world, and provide mercy and grace amidst the darkness. Now we live in light of Jesus' death and resurrection. Let us live in light of the kingdom, and live to see bondages released an...

Like us, Israel doubted, disobeyed, and were divided. The ten commandments ultimately reveal the heart and holiness of God, as well as the chief goal of our life.The idols we bow down to are never static, and your religion is what you do in your solitude. We are to give our all to God and see the disconnect between what we know, and what we do. Many Christians understand biblical concepts, but they struggle to obey them because of innate desires prevent them from doing so. Set your eyes on God, for he is jealous for our affection and will not share his glory with another. This is because he knows what we ultimately need, and seeks to keep us free. Therefore, rest within his presence. Take time from your work, and from your recreation to rest in God. When we live rested in God, we live free and love God and neighbour as God intended. When we cover, we are saying that God isn't enough. Let us not grumble, but have gratitude with what we have. In Jesus, we have been blessed with every...