Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Jan 6 2020 - Luke 3:1-22 – A Highway for our God

The M4, linking London to Bristol, passes through the countryside just a couple of miles from our home. We live in sight of the beginnings of the Cotswolds. Its escarpment is not as high or as steep as it becomes further north, but it still stands proud over the fields and lanes below it. For the M4 to be driven through this part of its route a great cut has been made into the escarpment and the limestone and earth from the cut moved into the region below to create an embankment. Despite the sharp rise of the hillside, the motorway makes its way up a gentle slope by having humbled the hill and filled in the valley below. This feat of engineering has produced a straight run through the escarpment that contrasts with the old lanes that twist and turn as they wind their way up the steep slope.

Earth movers of the sort used in the construction of our motorways were not known in the days of John the Baptiser, let alone those of Isaiah the prophet. Nevertheless, the picture painted by their words is much the same. God is about to do something new. God is on his way to rescue his people and lead them out of exile; he will allow nothing to get in his way or to impede their journey back to the place where he will live with them and rule over them.

Every valley shall be filled in,
   every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
   the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation (Luke 3:5-6).

God is on the move. The Messiah is coming with a baptism of judgment and salvation of which John's baptising is merely the sign; "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (3:16). All people will see the salvation of God.

Luke alone records the advice of John to tax collectors and soldiers who came to him asking “What should we do?” Given his radical message, it’s surprising and instructive that he does not tell them to give up their jobs. He does not even suggest that such jobs as these are inconsistent with the kingdom for which he has come to prepare the way. Rather, he tells them to do their work honestly and with integrity and to be content with their pay. They are to seek to serve the purposes of God in the context in which God has placed them and in that context to stand out from their colleagues as those who serve a different Master. It is in this way that they enable others to see the salvation of God.

But the path of God's salvation is far from smooth. The coming of God to save us involved the way of the cross – foreshadowed in Jesus' baptism. Similarly, the path by which he brings us into the inheritance promised to us may often seem rough and steep. It takes the eye of faith to see that, through all obstacles and difficulties, God is driving forward his unstoppable purpose to bring us safe to glory. We can share Paul's confidence when he says, "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" (Philippians 1:6).

Father God, thank you for your salvation that appeared with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to live to your glory where you have placed me and in the ordinary context of my daily life. May your transforming power be seen in me. And help me always to look beyond the obstacles that would seem to stand in the way of the advance of your kingdom to see the greatness of your saving power that can move mountains.

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Jan 6 2019 - Psalm 1 – The godly life

I have just finished a rather sad book by a woman whose family were involved with the Exclusive Brethren. The leaders of that movement seemed to think that holiness required separation from any who were not in their own sect. Married couples, parents and children were divided from one another and told to lead separate lives. It is difficult to imagine that this was pleasing to God.

Psalm 1 declares:

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

What does this mean for us in practical terms? How are we to live holy lives? Do we have to separate ourselves physically from the world around us?

Who was the most perfectly holy human being who ever walked the earth? It was our lovely Lord Jesus Christ. He was and is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). His life was not shaped by that of others around him who did not know his loving Father; his life was shaped by devotion to his Father and by a determination to do the Father's will. But Jesus did not keep himself physically separate from “sinners”. On the contrary, those in his day who separated themselves from others and thought of themselves as holy and righteous complained that Jesus was often found in the company of “sinners” and of the outcasts and dregs of society. He was found often in their company because these are those for whom he came into the world. His presence touched and transformed them – he was not polluted by being with them or eating with them. 

We are called to be like the Lord Jesus, to listen to his voice and follow him. We are not called to physical separation from the world around us or from the people of this world, but we are called not to conform to this world but to have minds and characters continually transformed by the presence and power of the risen Saviour. We are called to be a people who bring his transforming presence into every situation we are in.

And we have the promise of God that those who live such lives will be blessed. The life rooted in Jesus Christ bears fruit (v.3), abundant fruit, fruit that will last (see John 15). Lives lived in close fellowship with Jesus bear fruit to the glory of God.

“Whatever they do prospers”, promises the psalm. God does not promise to make us prosperous in terms of our finances or possessions. Rather, he promises that life devoted to God is a life worth living – indeed, it is the only life worth living. It is the most blessed, the most happy of lives.

There could not be a greater contrast between the flourishing life of the one who lives in close communion with Jesus and the person who cares nothing for God and lives only to please themselves. Their lives are described as being like chaff which the winds of judgment and of eternity will blow away.

Lord Jesus, help me to live in close fellowship with you. May my life count for something – count for eternity. Keep me from becoming conformed to the character of this world. Enable me rather to bring your transforming presence into each and every action, conversation and relationship. May I bring streams of living water into the thirsty deserts of a world that does not know you. Help me to breathe in deeply of the life of the kingdom and breathe out that life to give life to others.

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Peter Misselbrook