14 September 2010
Psalm 61, 62; Job 40:1,41:1-11; Acts 16:6-15; John 12:9-19

This creature known as Leviathan is one that cannot be controlled by any creature under heaven and the Lord uses its example to show that we are impotent even in our own realm and yet the Lord God made them all. All of creation, until us, responded to Him in such a way as to be obedient to His will. We alone among the created order rebelled against His authority and all the trouble in the world is traceable to that rebellion and sin. Before we begin to assert ourselves, our wisdom and understanding against the Lord we need to remember who we are.

It is assumed that Lazarus had died by the time of John’s Gospel. The prevailing belief about why the synoptic Gospels do not include the story of Lazarus is that he was still a wanted man at some level and it was not safe for him if his story was once again told during his lifetime. Here we see the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah in particular. The crowds have heard about Lazarus and now they believe that Jesus is coming in triumph to establish the kingdom in Jerusalem and greet Him with all the acclaim and accoutrements of a ruler. They have seen His power over disease, infirmity and now death itself and have come to the only conclusion that makes any sense, He is Messiah.

The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus prevented Paul from going places. Has the Spirit ever prevented you from going anywhere? We must live in tune with God’s Spirit and His will if we would truly follow Him. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask that He lead us not into temptation but then it is up to us to be sensitive to His leading and His Spirit if we are to not fall into temptation. Paul is obedient to the will of God preventing him but then to the Spirit of God in the dream of the man of Macedonia. How strange then that the person he meets there is not a man at all but a woman named Lydia (or perhaps she is a woman from Lydia, it is difficult to tell). It would be this woman through whom God would move forward His kingdom in the region. It is best not to be too literal in our interpretations of visions.

Let me abide in your tent for ever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.