Written By
jeff lucas NOV/DEC 2012
y a D y Ever Question Time Copyright © CWR 2012 Published 2012 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK Tel: 01252 784700 Email: mail@cwr.org.uk Registered Charity No. 294387 Registered Limited Company No. 1990308 Front cover image: Getty Images/Photographer’s Choice/Ian McKinnell Concept development, editing, design and production by CWR. Printed in England by Linney Print. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicised edition), copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Contemporary English Version © American Bible Society. Anglicisations © The British and Foreign Bible Society 1995.
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how to get the best out of life every day HERE ARE A FEW SUGGESTIONS:
• Ideally, carve out a regular time and place each day,
with as few distractions as possible. Ask God what He has to say to you. • Read the Bible passages suggested in the ‘Big Picture’
references. (As tempting as it is, try not to skip the Bible reading and get straight into the notes.) • The ‘Focus’ reference then gives you one or two
verses to look at in more detail. Consider what the reading is saying to you and what challenges that may bring. • Each day’s comments are part of an overall theme.
Try to recall what you read the previous day so that you maintain a sense of continuity. • Spend time thinking about how to apply what God
has said to you. Ask Him to help you do this. • Pray the prayer at the end as if it were your own.
Perhaps add your own prayer in response to what you have read and been thinking about. Join in the conversation on Facebook www.facebook.com/jefflucasuk
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of
Questions are usually the fruit of an enquiring mind, or a cry for help from the confused: clarify, if you please. In the brutal hands of the interrogator, questions become weapons, wearing the prisoner down. The learned use questions to test the knowledge – or ignorance – of their students. They are expressions of wonder, as the wideeyed child asks for the eleventh time, ‘But why, Daddy?’ Jesus loved asking questions. He used them all the time. Perhaps there’s nothing unusual about that, because He was a rabbi, and proffering questions was definitely the Jewish teaching style. Not for them the single-voice teaching style of the Greeks, where many sit and listen, and the one who stands at the front of the class tells. The Jews preferred a rough-andtumble conversational style. Unafraid of conflict or disagreement, they felt questions were true stepping stones to understanding. Jesus came not only teaching with an authority that made the common people gasp and the religious ‘experts’ squirm, but with questions that penetrated the heart, and kick-started the brain. He didn’t just tell the lost how to be found, but provoked them, activated a search in them. Let’s stand in the little crowd around Jesus, and be the disciples of His that we are. Let’s open our hearts to allow His questions to come to us personally, not so that we can just gather more information, but so they might penetrate our lives and transform them. Jesus’ questions to His first disciples turned their lives upside-down. Who knows what might happen to us? Prayer: As I seek to answer the questions of yesterday today, Lord Jesus, teach, challenge and change me. What are Your questions for me, Lord? Amen.
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THURS 01 NOV
Any questions?
BIG PICTURE:
Matthew 21:23–27 Luke 20:1–8 Focus:
‘Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”’ (Matt. 21:24)
Questions are usually the fruit of an enquiring mind ...
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FRI 02 NOV
The odd quizmaster
BIG PICTURE:
Matthew 3:1–7 Mark 1:1–8 Focus:
‘… when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”’ (Matt. 3:7)
Tempting though it is to jump right into Jesus’ questions, there’s some preparation for us to do first. Before Jesus began His ministry, a very strange man began preaching in the Jordan area of the desert. John the Baptist, with his odd fashion choices and unappetising insect-based diet, paved the ‘way of the Lord’ by asking terrifyingly blunt questions. There was nothing ‘seeker-sensitive’ about him. His questions were delivered with the force of a swinging baseball bat. It’s thought that as many as 300,000 people may have flocked to submit to his baptism. Those who sought John were reminded of their national story; here, in the Jordan area, Elijah and Elisha had focused their ministries. Joshua had led the people of Israel across the Jordan into the promised land. The desert sands whispered their own messages too: here Israel had wandered for four decades, miraculously led and sustained by a patient God. But as John insisted on baptism for all (and very public repentance as part of the process), he was calling everyone to stand on level ground – a shock for the Jews, because only Gentiles converting to Judaism were baptised. In reminding them of their history, John was calling everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, to open their hearts in preparation for the coming Messiah. Perhaps you have a rich heritage, and Jesus-followers have been in your family for many generations. Perhaps you’ve been a Christian for many years. Whoever we are, wherever we or our family have been, let’s allow the questions of Jesus to come to us afresh. Prayer: Lord, whatever my heritage or history, I consciously offer myself afresh to You: I need You, I want You today, risen Christ. Amen.
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03/04 NOV Luke 3:1–18 // Matthew 4:12–17
Repent Repent. The word conjures up an image of a sullen man on a street corner, a sign in his hand. Perhaps John the Baptist was quite like that grim-faced street preacher. After hundreds of years of prophetic silence in Israel, John came as a prophet, proclaiming coming judgment. But the word ‘repent’ has been interpreted in a narrow way to mean to be sorry for sin, to turn around, change our ways. While the call to moral change is certainly included in repentance, the word means much more than that. Jewish historian Josephus was employed by the Roman army to act as a negotiator with potential rebels. Riding to meet a group of zealots whose plans to overthrow the Roman army were suicidal, Josephus called them to ‘repent and follow him’. To first-century ears, the word ‘repent’ meant embracing a whole new agenda, rather than just dealing with sin. Christianity is not just a sin-management system, but a call to live in a way that is utterly different, to live for God. John prepared the way for the questioning Christ with his own questions, offered to enlighten and bring transformation.
… to enlighten and bring transformation
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To ponder: If we view Christianity narrowly as a ‘sin-management system’ only, what kind of Christianity will result?
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MON 05 NOV
He’s not a one strike Jesus
BIG PICTURE:
Matthew 11:1–15 John 3:22–30 Focus:
‘What did you go … to see? … A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces … A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.’ (Matt. 11:7b–9)
... Jesus is swift to commend
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It’s a rule in the American game of baseball: three strikes and you’re out. Not having much knowledge of baseball (I’ve attended a number of games but prefer to watch the crowd and follow their lead), what I do know is that if the pitcher throws the baseball three times without the batter making contact with it (strikes), he or she is out. The opportunity to score points is over. A lot of Christians think that if Jesus was a sports umpire, He’d operate a one strike and you’re out policy. The Jesus they worship (and try to love) has a trembling finger poised over the smite button, just waiting for an excuse to judge them. He is never satisfied with our efforts, never delighted with our worship. Bluntly, He’s impossible to live with, and terrifying to die with. But as Jesus asks questions about John the Baptist, we see a different picture entirely. John was confused by Jesus. John was a firebrand and an isolated wilderness dweller; Jesus was a popular party guest who hung out with the wrong people. Like most of Israel, John anticipated a Messiah who would cast off the oppressive grip of the Romans – and Jesus didn’t deliver. And so John thought that Jesus might not be the real Messiah. Should he and his disciples look for someone else after all? John made a big mistake. And what does Jesus call him? A prophet. Jesus celebrates John as one of the greatest figures in the history of humanity, no less. As the ‘bridegroom’s friend’ he is literally a ‘best man’. Rather than being eager to condemn, Jesus is swift to commend. Prayer: Thank You for Your boundless, outrageous grace, Lord Jesus. Help me to live with a sense of Your kindness and care. Amen.
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Let’s face it, sometimes Jesus makes statements that are tough to swallow. At first glance, it sounds like He speaks in parables in order to prevent the masses from understanding His message. In his excellent book Jesus Asked, Conrad Gempf points out that this completely contradicts the traditional view of parables that he was taught in Sunday school; that parables are simple stories that illustrate deep spiritual truths. Jesus teaches the opposite of that here; He offers parables to the crowds, and explanations to His disciples. Far from ‘dumbing down’ His message to make it more easily accessible, Jesus was looking for genuine seekers who would wrestle with it, taking it seriously. At a time when He was incredibly popular, and it was fashionable to go and hear Him teach, He refused to become just another religious sideshow or pop preacher. Gempf points out that there’s a difference between a mystery (which is the meaning of the word used here, musterion) and a secret. A secret is hidden, whereas a mystery can be uncovered by those who investigate it, like persistent detectives. Following Jesus calls for us to be baffled, confused and out of answers at times. It means that we might have to live for days – or decades – with questions that remain unanswered. True disciples have never quite found all that they are looking for. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s the normal condition of the honest disciple. Jesus can handle our doubts, concerns and confusion.
TUES 06 NOV
Parables
BIG PICTURE:
Mark 4:1–20 Isaiah 6:10 Focus:
‘He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.”’ (Mark 4:11)
Prayer: Lord, help me to be someone who diligently looks to know You, and know the truth that sets me free. Amen.
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