Read Luke 13:1–9
The practice of digging around a tree is common when it is not growing well and, in turn, not producing the fruit it was planted for. When the soil around the tree is disturbed, the roots are damaged in the digging, and then the tree has to grow new roots, which, in turn, strengthen the tree to bear fruit for the next season.
Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that doesn’t bear fruit. The owner says, ‘Well cut it down’, but the man taking care of it says, ‘Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it’.
The tree doesn’t need to be destroyed but disturbed and fed instead.
We are like this tree. We were planted in the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus and given a purpose – to bear fruit. Yet it is easy to drift away from Jesus and begin to follow the way of the world and the way of ourselves. We find it easier to listen to the devil, tempting us with lies in the idea that ‘it is my life and my body; I can do what I like’.
But Jesus has chosen you as his own for his purpose. To bear fruit. The fruit of God’s love in action toward those around you. You are created to be a blessing to others. You are blessed to bless others with God’s love in action.
When the word of the Lord challenges you to live differently, it is like Jesus digging at your roots – the roots in self rather than in the word. You see, the word is the fertiliser of life, and the word of Jesus Christ will feed and sustain you in bearing the fruit of God’s love in action.
When Jesus digs at your roots, hear the word, and be ready for his word to guide, challenge, heal and restore you. Be prepared for his word to nourish your hungry soul, ready to go out into the world with new growth and fruit that blesses others.
Dear Jesus, dig into my roots of selfishness and worldly ways. Let me grow in you to bear fruit for others. Help me to be a blessing to everyone I meet today. Feed me, nourish me, and strengthen me daily in your holy word. Amen.
Pastor Mark lives with his two daughters aged 11 and 8 in Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane. He currently serves as a pastor in the LCANZ and is passionate about sharing Jesus’ love with those around him. Pastor Mark loves to travel with his family to see the wonders of God’s creation and meet people who share their stories of what God has done for them.
The people you meet
by Reid Matthias
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Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked (Acts 8:30).
Read Acts 8:29–35
Unfortunately, the context from this passage is not included in our reading today; however, Philip has been told by an angel of the Lord. No other directions, only ‘Go south to the desert road …’
It’s interesting how we meet the most wonderful people when we travel along paths that seem deserted. While on recent travels in a different country, I happened to be wearing a Fremantle Dockers cap. As we were walking outside the Vatican, a man eyed me curiously. As we passed each other on the street, he said to me, ‘Go the Pies.’ Of course, I wasn’t ready for someone who knew AFL; however, we had a brief conversation that ultimately resulted in another surprise.
We were on the same cruise ship. And we met each other again by the pool.
For 10 days, I met and re-met this man and his wife, and each time we did, we talked about deeper things. He found out I was a pastor in Australia, which, while he hadn’t had a positive experience with religion, he found the eventual conversation about faith fascinating and not at all what he expected.
Now, in likening my story with Philip’s story in the Bible, I did not eventually baptise him in the ship’s swimming pool. But the other similarities bear a resemblance. Philip was minding his own business when an angel directed him to go a certain way. When he did, he encountered a startling man – an important official, a eunuch, who was in charge of the treasury of Queen Candace in Ethiopia.
It would have been very easy for Philip to disregard this man. Certainly, this foreigner, this Gentile, and a disgraced one at that, could have been seen as outside the boundaries of grace. Philip’s response to the official’s question of faith was one of connection and faith. After the passage was explained to him, the official asked to be baptised, and what history tells us is that this Ethiopian official took the Christian faith back to Africa, where some of the oldest churches in history, older even than those in Europe, were started.
This was because of God’s hope of saving faith through Jesus for all people. God used Philip and his obedience simply to ‘Go south to the road – the desert road.’
On which deserted road might God be calling you? Can you imagine the interesting people you might meet and share the saving grace of Jesus with?
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for speaking to me, giving me guidance along the way. Open my eyes to the wonderful opportunities to share your love. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com
Are you serious?
by Reid Matthias
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‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip (John 1:46).
Read John 1:43–51
Let’s face it. We all know that one place, or that one town, where everyone said, ‘Uh, that’s the place to avoid.’ I won’t name any names here (other than Las Vegas, ugh), but picture that town or city in your mind. Then, understand why Nathanael questioned Jesus’ hometown.
For Nathanael, Nazareth would have carried the same significance as Woop Woop, Australia. Considered by many locals to be the middle of nowhere, Nazareth had no special meaning to anyone or anything. Additionally, the Old Testament Scriptures don’t seem to point to Nazareth much when it comes to Messianic prophecy, although Matthew says that the Messiah would be a Nazarene. Bethlehem, yes. Jerusalem, yes. Nazareth, not so much.
Therefore, Nathanael’s question is about being flabbergasted.
God doesn’t use the normal, everyday kind of place or person for his needs. God uses the famous and the entertaining. God uses bright lights and neon signs, right?
It’s interesting that Philip’s response to Nathanael’s question is so short and simple. ‘Come and see.’ Philip doesn’t have to convince Nathanael of Jesus’ power or his references. Jesus can do that on his own.
Just come and see. Jesus is the King, born in a manger. He’s the Lord of Creation walking down the road with sandy feet. He’s the Prince of Peace who will carry the cross for you and me.
So much more than we ever expected from someone from Woop Woop, Nazareth.
If I can offer any one piece of advice for this, on 21 January, it would be this: Don’t be surprised when the world’s limitations of Jesus fall short. Those who would call him a fairy tale, a myth, a liar and a fraud will someday come to the realisation that Jesus is the Son of God come for you and me to bring us to the Father for eternal life.
Come and see.
Thank you, Jesus, for coming to this world, a humble servant, a king with a cross. Thank you for superseding all my expectations and overwhelming me with joy for your future. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com
The very least
by Reid Matthias
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
I tell you, among those born of women there is no-one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Luke 7:28).
Read Luke 7:24–30
Is this hyperbole? Should we interpret Jesus’ words as a literal statement?
Because it feels as though these words are too over-the-top to believe. John the Baptist – the one who made straight the way in the desert, the one who baptised Jesus! – is not as great as the least in the kingdom.
Come on, really?
I guess I’d better see who’s on the list of ‘least of these’.
Jesus is pretty detailed about who these ‘greater-than-Johns’ are, and it comes from the Book of Matthew, chapter 25. This list includes the hungry, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned! The contemporary world is evidently quite content to treat Jesus’ words as hyperbole. There is no way that all the needy and the imprisoned can be greater than John the Baptist.
They haven’t done anything … They have no value … They clog up the system for those who produce …
These are the words of the Pharisees.
But Jesus literally says, ‘For I was hungry … I was thirsty … I was a stranger … I was naked, and I was imprisoned.’ And if we believe that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, then Jesus is the one who is greater than John.
This means that when we seek to improve the lives of the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the naked and the imprisoned, even if we do the very least, we are taking part in God’s work in his kingdom.
Much like the ancient Pharisees, modern-day humans expect Jesus to be on the side of the rich, the powerful and the important, but that’s not the case at all. Jesus (and John, for that matter) has never been what we expected. Thankfully, he ends up being more.
You may be hungry, thirsty, or sick while you read this. You may be exposed to the elements and suffering from the coldness of rejection. You may feel imprisoned by your thoughts and your past. Jesus is with you, child of God. Jesus draws you to himself, and instead of being the least, you are one of the most important people in the kingdom.
You are his beloved.
Thank you, Jesus, for your presence in my times of need. Help me see that in others also. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, and together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta, they have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist. You can find all of his novels and music links at www.reidmatthias.com