Photo by...Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
In my first year of high school, Australia converted to decimal currency and Simon and Garfunkel released the song, “I am a rock”. While everyone in Australia was working together to adjust to the new currency the song spoke of going it alone. “I am a rock. I am an island.”
It’s a sad song about being hurt and withdrawing into isolation in order to avoid any more pain.
We’ve had some experiences of isolation this year and depending on our nature we’ve either enjoyed or hated those times.
Our God is into community. God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in a divine community of love and because we’re made in the image of God we’re also made for community.
The Christian faith in particular and life in general aren’t meant to be solo adventures. Even those with an introverted nature need others. We all need community.
Paul describes the community in terms of a body with many different and varied parts in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. The different parts of the body need each other and when they work together the body functions properly.
The beauty of this image and situation is found in the love and support we give and receive in the community. There are times when we desperately need the support of a loving community and there are times when we provide the support to members of the community.
This ‘strange’ year has highlighted the need for community. We need to care for each other and look out for each other.
It’s great to know God is always doing his best for us. It’s also clear our sisters and brothers are gifts from God. God often helps us through the community. God bless you with all the help you need and with all the strength you need to help others.
God’s masterpiece
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour (Psalm 8:4,5).
Read Psalm 8
God the Father, the great artist, once created a masterpiece. This world was crafted by him – and it was perfect. But the masterpiece was wrecked. Instead of it being what it was intended to be, it became a place of brokenness, tragedy, greed, abuse, crime, terror, war, pain and distress of every imaginable kind.
But the Father didn’t give up on what he loved. He knew what seemed beyond repair could be restored, so he put a plan in place to restore this world and us to its original glory.
That plan was put into effect by Jesus. Jesus came, and by his death and resurrection made it possible for people’s lives and this world to be transformed and restored.
It cost him his life, but he was prepared to pay that price so that God’s original plan for his people and his creation might be a reality once again. That plan is an ongoing one. It won’t be completed until Jesus comes to this world again.
We’re a special, precious part of God’s masterpiece. We’re the crowning glory of God’s creation.
We’re part of a creation that has been torn apart, and we have to live with the consequences of that. But through the painstaking and sacrificial work of the master artist’s only son, we’re privileged to be a part of a restoration process that’s continuing today.
We’ve been called and chosen by God to be part of a team, with him and with each other, that’s working to bring peace and harmony here, and so give people a glimpse, a taste of what they can enjoy in heaven.
Despite our sin, failures, mess-ups, frustrations, fears, doubts and disillusionments, God still comes to us in Jesus to assure us that we are a treasure to him. And that one day we will live with him in the fully restored, magnificent, new creation in heaven.
Lord God and Father, we are filled with awe and wonder at your magnificent creation and your boundless love for humanity. Your name is majestic in all the earth, and your glory is displayed in the heavens above. Thank you for revealing yourself to us and for inviting us into relationship with you. May our lives reflect your glory and your goodness to the world around us. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
What happened to Simon?
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me’ (Acts 8:24).
Read Acts 8:14–25
What happened to Simon? He came to Peter and John after seeing them place their hands on people and then receiving the Holy Spirit. And he wanted to be able to do the same.
While he may have had good intentions, his offer of money to buy this power was met with a stern rebuke from Peter and a call for him to repent. Simon’s response was ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me’ (Acts 8:24).
And then nothing more about Simon. What happened to him? And what happened to the man with leprosy and the paralytic that Jesus healed, the centurion and his daughter, the widow and her son, the woman who anointed Jesus, the demon-possessed man, Jairus and his daughter, and the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak?
We don’t know. It would be great to hear these stories, the kind of experiences they may have had and how their witness may have influenced others. But there is silence.
What we do have is a glimpse of one particular time in their lives when they were touched by Jesus and/or his Holy Spirit. That’s what is most important.
Our stories are important. Whether they include the miraculous or seem to be rather ordinary, they are stories of how the Holy Spirit has worked and is working within us. We can celebrate, give thanks for and share those stories with others.
And central to those stories is the Spirit’s work – his influence, encouragement, equipping, strengthening and empowering. We are the recipients of his gifts. We are the work of his hands. We are people enabled to love, serve and care.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for working in the lives of many people over the ages. Thanks for your presence in our lives today. Touch us so that today our hearts can burn with a desire to reflect Jesus. Give us joy as we serve. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Being bold
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness (Acts 4:29).
Read Acts 4:23–31
I wouldn’t describe myself as being bold. I really don’t take too many risks. I’m careful, cautious and restrained. I’m not a person who ‘lives on the edge’. I have, at times, opened packets of biscuits from the end that says to ‘open other end’. But that might be the extent of my daring!
So, when it comes to adapting to change, being open to new ventures and especially sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been hesitant. It’s been my ‘job’ to share the good news for many years. It’s what I was paid to do. So, I had to do it. But in the back of my mind, I knew that wasn’t the right motivation.
However, in doing it, I became much more confident. God’s Holy Spirit was at work, even when there was questionable motivation, even when I stayed silent, even when I doubted my ability. God was at work. There was gentle (and not-so-gentle, at times) pushing, opportunities to learn and grow, and inspiration and encouragement from people around me.
The journey continues for me. Boldness to share the good news of Jesus Christ will always be something I strive for. And I have the confidence that the Holy Spirit will continue to grow, challenge, comfort and equip me.
I continue to be blown away by the courage of Peter and John. They stood up in the face of rejection, imprisonment and threat of death. They prayed that they would be able to speak with boldness. And ‘after they prayed … they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31).
That’s my prayer and my prayer for all believers. That the Holy Spirit will continue to fill us with his power, so that we can grow in our courage to speak the word of God boldly.
Holy Spirit, renew me again today. Refresh me, encourage me, make me bold. Give me all I need so that I can reflect the heart of Jesus in all I do and say. Thank you for giving me all I need to point people to Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.