The invitation

John 7.37-39—37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let an- yone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

In this extract from John 7, we are reminded of the great feast of the Tabernacles . In the incredible narrative of God’s providence during the escape from Egypt, He provided them with water when they were thirsty and food when they were hungry. As Moses struck the dry and arid rock, thirst quenching water erupted from it. Giving life and sustenance.

The fascinating addition to this Jewish expectation of God’s providence is that not only will God provide but the recipients will also become a source of life for others. These strong images were well developed in Jewish thinking so, when Jesus declared these words, the people would have al- luded to the Old Testament prophet and priest, Ezekiel, as he also declared a similar theme at the restoration of Israel’s fortunes.

Jesus’ addition of ‘living’ water added a new dimension to this declaration. It spoke of the new cov- enant, a new dimension—the Holy Spirit. This beautiful section gives you and I a window into our commission. But first, we must come and drink of the living water so that we ourselves experience the life giving Spirit that has been given to us.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, may we be refreshed by the power of your life giving Spirit. May we experience our hearts and minds being renewed by you. May we as your church be a place that others can find refreshment and life.

Open family

Psalm 68.6—’He places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.’

Time after time, we see the image of family being described in the pages of the Bible. We see references to oneness, unity, a tree with branches, a vine, brothers and sisters amongst other images. It is one of the great themes running through the vein of the Old Testament into the New.

But what does it mean? Family is a place of growth, a place of joy, making memories and building together. That doesn't mean that it is always plain sailing. Sometimes there are strains, disagree- ments and challenges. But above all, as Christ is the head of our family, we can see this living or- ganism grow to be a place where people can flourish.

As MCC, let us keep pushing forward in the mindset of kingdom values. Where the stranger is made a friend, where those who feel without hope can receive hope, where the broken can find healing, where those who feel far from God can draw near.

Every single one of us has a part to play in our family. From the welcome at the beginning to the cup of tea at the end, what happens on Sunday morning is often the first glance of who we are. So let us be that place where people find green pasture for their souls.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, as your Church, let us be mindful of the many people in our city that are lonely and without hope. May we be a church where people find family. Open arms, an open table and an open door.

Open table

Songs of Songs 2.4—He brought me to His banqueting table and His banner over me is love.

There is something quite special when the people of God gather together. The union, the agreement, the shout of praise that rises up as we declare the truths of God through prayer, song and Bible study. Like any allegorical type of textual reading, there is a degree of interpretation and cultural understand-
ing that can lead us to some beautiful imagery of how extravagant our God is.

Here in this verse we read that this table is not merely a table but a table laden with food. The poor in society could not have afforded a banquet and yet God invites them. We see the same imagery used again in the parable of the wedding feast told by Jesus.

In the upside down kingdom of God, money, social standing, notoriety, influence and power play no role in who gets the VIP invite. Instead, this table signifies a security and protection in the pres- ence of the King. This idea of a banner (sometimes interpreted as a standard) was something that meant a great deal to the people of God in the Old Testament. It was normally associated with an army, a herald that went before and declared who you were. In this incredible juxtaposition, we see this banner is ‘love’.

In our pursuit of loving God and loving people, may our great city see the standard above our church—the banner of love.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, we desire to represent you in your fullness and glory here on earth. We long for the people of our city to see how gracious, loving and forgiving you are. We declare to our city, come and eat at our table.

Joyce continues our series on the Finite and the Infinite.

Open door

Matthew 25.40—Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

What did Jesus mean when he said ‘whatever you do’? Is it simply about loving and caring for one anoth- er in the same way Jesus did? Moreover, it is worth noting that here in Matthew’s gospel he has
the words ’for the least of these’. Let us not forget where Matthew came from. A tax collector and someone quite despised by society and in turn, someone who despised the poor who definitely

couldn’t pay their taxes.

Just prior to these verses, there is a description of judgement day using the analogy of sheep and goats and then this is followed by the words, ’for I was hungry and you gave me food’. The disciple’s response probably frustrated Jesus, ’when did we see you hungry?’ They just hadn’t quite grasped what the kingdom looked like.

Earlier in this series, there was a stark reminder that we have been given the Spirit as a deposit of the guarantee of what is to come. God has given us an incredible opportunity to partner with Him in bringing about a renewal of kingdom thinking, kingdom words and kingdom actions. Today, con- sider what you could do to be a part of this incredible mission.

Set yourself a goal, make it happen and act. Stop and breathe.

Loving God, thankyou for the challenge we find in scripture to act with justice and mercy to those who are considered the least in society. Lord, help us to be a church where the door is open for those to find safety and acceptance in the arms of your Son.

Open minds

Romans 12.2—’Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’

Paul’s letter to the Roman church is an incredible charge to be people of the Spirit. To have our mind re- newed is not simply to move from a to-do list of the flesh to a to-do list of a new moral Christian
code. It is the all-sufficient transforming power of the Spirit that enables you and I to be ministers
of the new covenant—a renewal that is a profound, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought change from the inside out.

In the letter to the Romans we read of a transformed church that is enslaved and utterly submitted. Verbs that seems to suggest a contrary message to the Spirit of freedom—but when we are desiring God’s best for our lives from the inside out, we willingly submit, willingly become enslaved to his ways.

Why our minds? The mind is not simply a computer data system that needs a reboot every now again because it has become clogged up with cookies and notifications. The mind has a spirit and therefore a mindset. Imagine a church, whose collective mindset is so kingdom focussed that it be- comes a powerful and yielding force that the Lord can use to transform our beautiful city of Mid- dlesbrough.

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, we hear the groan and longing of Heaven for your bride to be transformed by the re- newing of our minds. Almighty God, may we, your church in this city, have a kingdom mindset that we may display your glory through our story of salvation.

Open ears

Hebrews 3.15—

’Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’

Sometimes when we read stories from the Old Testament of the incredible and miraculous power of God,

for example a pillar of fire and of smoke guiding the Israelites through the wilderness, we can not fathom

that they still rebelled against God. Or, what about the disciples who witness first hand the miracu-

lous feeding of the five thousand and yet just shortly after when faced with around 4000 people,

they had seemingly forgotten all about a previous miracle?

There are times when we simply can not see the way ahead. Maybe there are struggles and strains

on our finances, in our work place or in our families. And sometimes, in those moments, we can

not see the wood for the trees. We become so consumed by our circumstance and place all our en-

ergy into just surviving it.

It is in these times that we need to stop and breathe. Hear the still small voice of God. The voice of

our Lord is like the sound of many waters. He knows what we need in those moments, he under-

stands and sympathises with our challenges and our fragility. This verse is not a ‘telling off verse’

but it’s a desperate plea from Heaven to stop and hear His voice. We have a choice to believe one

of the following:

GODISNOWHERE

GODISNOWHERE

Stop and breathe.

Loving God, may we take the time to stop and listen. And in that stillness, may we hear your

voice. Help us Lord to not ignore your providence which can be right in front of us and may we

see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

Open arms

Galatians 3.28—There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and fe-

male, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

As we make our way to Holy week, this movement will act as a bridge between the life of Paul, into a fo-

cus on the church and then onto Christ. The verse that aids our focus today epitomizes God’s wel-

coming attitude. In the first century, this verse was a stark contrast to the cultural attitudes. The

extraordinary nature of God’s generosity is found at the heart of this verse.

The commitment of God to you and me, that irrespective of background, culture, age or gender, his

love and grace, his forgiveness and restoration is unswerving.

There is a call upon our church to be those same open arms. When we consider Paul, who was

steeped in the most religious form of Jewish elitism, this verse only stands as an even more power-

ful reminder of that truth. Are we willing to allow the Spirit to challenge us in this area? To sit and

listen to someone who is the polemic of your life, experience or culture can be incredibly enriching.

We can learn so much from each other and our different experiences of how we relate to our God.

For as this verse states, we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Stop and breathe.

Lord Jesus, may we be the kind of church that can welcome the stranger with open arms. May

we be the kind of church is enable to learn from one another, from our lives, and experiences of

you.

Open hearts

2 Corinthians 6.13—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.

Just prior to this verse, Paul again, spends some time defending his work and ministry to the church of

Corinth and wider afield. He bares his soul to them and therefore places himself in a vulnerable position.

Sometimes we can allow culture to shape us in such a way that to wear your heart on your sleeve is

seen as embarrassing or too exposing. We can sometimes bury negative emotion in favour of pre-

tending that ‘all is well’. And of course, there is a danger that in church life, we can make a link be-

tween negative feelings and lack of faith.

By no stretch of the imagination is Paul suggesting we should say everything we think or feel but

there is a call to integrity of emotion. A call to the people of God to be the kind of church where you

and I can be honest without fear of judgement. As the church, we are the community where the

Spirit dwells and therefore where the Spirit is, there is freedom.

As we work together as a community of believers, so in turn, we should grown in loving and caring

for one another—having hearts that are open and full of generosity—because this is what God has

displayed through his glory in our salvation. In turn, as this glory is displayed through our stories of

salvation, we ourselves can then be a witness to a waiting world.

Stop and breathe.

Loving Father, would you enable us, to bear with one another with integrity and open hearts, that

in turn this glory would be displayed for a waiting world.

Fashioned for grace
2 Corinthians 6.1—As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

Culture is a hugely shaping force in many people’s lives. We have to be honest and admit that sometimes even church culture can have a not so dissimilar affect or impact. Paul was concerned for the church in Corinth that the pursuit of power, influence and pride, which was endemic in the first century
Greek culture, would negate all that they have gained in Christ.

It is incredibly easy in the face of changing culture, ideas, societal norms and what is deemed ac- ceptable, for this to permeate into our thinking and understanding of God. And in so doing, shape God in our image rather than understanding God for who He is actually is. Therefore, Paul urges the Corinthians to grasp the grace of God.

In these opening lines and the few that follow, Paul refers to Isaiah 40-55 which centres around God’s covenant love through the work of the Servant of the Lord, who would die and resurrect. Paul was again urging the church to be that continuation of the promises of God. To grasp the grace and not conform to the pattern of the world but be renewed in their thinking.

You and I are conduits of God’s grace—this is our calling and our vocation. Stop and breathe.

Loving Father I ask that you would enable me to grasp the grace you pour out upon our lives. May I be a conduit of your grace to others.