EmmDev 2022-02-25 [New Normal] New Things #2 - A New us!

New Things #2 - A New us!

As we draw this series to a close, we end with a great comfort.

We've been talking about new normals and the new things that God is doing.

• We've seen the danger of being stuck in the past and conversely we've been warned about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
  
• We've seen how Daniel and his friends navigated their new reality
• We've contemplated wine and wineskins and clothes and patches.
  
• We've realised that we have to swim against the currents of societal norms and preferences and that we have to learn to grow where we are planted if we want to see God's plan unfold in our lives.
  
• We've seen how people get stuck in the past like those who wept when the temple was being rebuilt.
• We've seen how comfort can distract us and cause us to forget.

All in all - facing new realities is a tall order!

The good news is that not only does God bring new circumstances into our lives, but He also makes us new on the inside! We don't have to face new circumstances by ourselves: God is powerfully, beautifully and mysteriously at work in us, transforming us and making us new so that we can face our new normals!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2Corinthians4:16 )

(That brings us to the end of our short series on "New Normals." I hope you have enjoyed it. On Tuesday we'll begin a series for Lent.)

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EmmDev 2022-02-24 [New Normal] New Things #1

New Things #1

The Prophet Isaiah expressed the beautiful idea that God was doing a New Thing in Israel's life and history. We find references to this idea of newness in Isaiah 42, 43, 48, 62, 65 and 66. 

What is particularly striking is the thought that all this newness is offered to a community coming out of seventy years of exile. Their exile had drained and stretched them. Psalm 137 (often called "By the Rivers of Babylon") describes their sense of desolation and desperation.

And yet God plans to do something new:
- A way in the desert
- Streams in the wasteland

Overnight, the Babylonians were defeated and King Cyrus of the Persians takes centre-stage. His policy was to reverse the "scorched-earth" and "brain-drain" policies of the Babylonians and he allowed the Israelites to return to Palestine and even allows them to rebuild the temple and their city. They had an opportunity to thrive!!!

Sadly, the Israelites squandered their "new day." They failed to embrace the salvation and liberty that God had given them and chose to live selfishly and ungratefully. They neglected the temple, treated their fellow humans cruelly, focused on personal gain. They became obsessed with ethnic purity and didn't honour God or devote themselves to Him. In a nutshell, they let the bitterness and scarcity mentality of the exile stay with them.

The same dangers exist for us...

"Forget the former things;     do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!     Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?   I am making a way in the desert     and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah43:18-19)

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EmmDev 2022-02-22 [New Normal] Ancient Boundary Stones

Ancient Boundary Stones

As we talk about "New Normals" we also have to be cautious. In the midst of "out with the old and in with the new" there is the danger of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater."

Twice in Deuteronomy and twice in Proverbs we encounter the warning not to move ancient boundary stones. Now, while the primary reason for these injunctions is the protection of personal property, two of the four passages emphasise the idea that these boundaries were set up by their forefathers and predecessors and that they have deep roots and go back a while. 

The passage in Deuteronomy (our passage for today) indicates that the boundaries were set by their predecessors as part of an inheritance they received from the Lord. So this boundary is both old and it's for something they received and did not earn. 

While the primary context of these boundaries has to do with land, I think the principles of boundaries apply to other areas of life, like morals, ethics, relationships and values.

The reminder that their land was an inheritance is an important warning. Just as much as greedy land barons moved boundary stones on land they had received and not earned, I think we are sometimes too quick to discard rules, norms and values that we have received and not earned. We haven't been through the pain and complexity and the refining process that led to those norms and values being shaped and formed and we should be slow to change things we didn't help build.

I was involved in an important discussion this weekend about the way ahead in these challenging and changing times. The discussion managed, I think, to show great sensitivity to the reality of the changes, but also recognised the importance of remembering the core-values that should not change.

Do not move your neighbour's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess. (Deuteronomy19:14)

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EmmDev 2022-02-18 [New Normal] Stuck in the Past

Stuck in the Past

Our passage today comes from the Old Testament book of Ezra. It's set in the time when the exiles who had been in Babylon returned home, some seventy years after Jerusalem and the Temple had been decimated by the Babylonians.

Ezra and Nehemiah had to unite and encourage a broken and demoralised people, because, in spite of being released from Exile, things back home in the Promised Land were not easy...

Nehemiah's project was to rebuild the walls while Ezra would help complete the temple rebuilding project.  Nehemiah faced criticism of his wall from external enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah and other tribal chieftains who said "A fox running on the wall would topple it."

But there is a devastating moment in Ezra when they finally lay the foundations of the temple. While one group of Israelites see this as a moment a hope, another group weep aloud because they remember the glory of the former temple and they can see that this one will not be so great.

Ezra paints such a sad picture: One the one hand there are priests with vestments and trumpets and cymbals singing "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." On the other are the older priests who are weeping aloud amidst the shouts of joy. "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away."

When we come into new normals, it is very tempting to look back, We compare our "highlights reel" to our present reality and when we do this, it only creates heartache, division and confusion. 

There is a grim warning in this story: As we get older (and I know I am!) the temptation to idolise the past and criticise the present grows stronger and stronger. Put differently: we idealise the past and are cynical in the present. As it turned out, the temple rebuilding took much longer to rebuild than it should have and needed intervention from the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to get it done. 

In the new normal, some of our plans may be a bit rough and ready. We should be quick to cheer and slow to be critical.

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:  "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. (Ezra3:10-13)

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EmmDev 2022-02-17 [New Normal] Resisting the Current

Resisting the Current

New Normals can often provide both opportunities and temptations.
The temptations are particularly enticing and society succumbs to these temptations because the world around us is driven by comfort, profit and pleasure. 

This means that as we acclimatise to our new normal the unspoken bias of our broken society is towards comfort, profit and pleasure. Paul warns us that the "worldly pattern" will push us to conform. (JB Phillips translated this verse: "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mould!")

So we have to resist this pressure...

And how do we do it?
By re-programming our minds.

We have to fill our minds with the programs and sub-routines of love, grace, service and humility. Our base-parameters need to be standards of God's Law and our inputs need to be cleared of s-p-a-m and more malicious content. 

Re-formatted minds are more able to discern God's will and purpose. When we are transformed by reprogramming our thoughts and value systems we will be more able to leverage the opportunities that new normals provide. We will hear the whisper of God's Spirit and we will be able to join in with what He is doing.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans12:2)

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EmmDev 2022-02-16 [New Normal] New Wineskins

New Wineskins

Very often we tackle "new normals" with old plans. Having a depth of experience or being nostalgic about past victories are often drawbacks when we find ourselves in changed realities and uncharted territories. We can't approach "new normals" with old and second-hand faith.

Jesus used a powerful parable to address this...

The parables of the cloth and wineskins are the first of six parables that are found in three gospels. The repetition indicates the impact and the centrality of the parables in the overall thrust of Jesus' message.

The message of these two parables is both simple and profound. In a nutshell Jesus is saying: "To digest my message, you will need to let go of the past, abandon preconceived ideas and become more flexible."

If He had only told the parable of the cloth and patch, then the apparent solution would be to get rid of the patch, but second parable refutes this. One does not want to get rid of new wine, and so it is clear that the issues are the old garments and the old wineskins.

God's love and goodness and the message of His kingdom could not be contained in the rigid traditionalism of the Pharisees and Saducees. Their religion had become a cage that limited the goodness and glory of God. Their thought systems were dominated by rules and sacrifices that left them unable to cope with grace.

The danger is that even today we easily create old garments and old wineskins in our thought systems. We hear the message so often that it seems mundane to us. We are constantly in need of antidotes to the calcification of our faith and our inability to grasp the magnitude of God's goodness.

God's Word, God's Goodness, and Jesus' Life and Message will always be a new patch and new wine. If we bring crusty old cloth hearts and stale wineskin lives to try and contain the message, we will not cope. We need to understand that we cannot be the same after the message has been received. 

The cloth patch of faith shrinks the areas of darkness and fear and the new wine of faith ferments and bubbles to expand our hearts. If we ever hope to contain the glory of God in our hearts we can be sure of one thing...
...He will always exceed our expectations!
So bring on new garments and new wineskins!

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.  (Mark2:21-22)

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EmmDev 2022-02-15 [New Normal] Daniel's Example

Daniel's Example

When it comes to negotiating a new normal, we can really learn a lot from Daniel.
He and his friends were dragged off into exile and were essentially brainwashed and indoctrinated in the ways of the Babylonians. They were stripped of their background, given new names, overwhelmed by heathen practices and tempted by opulence and power. 

I spent 7 days looking at Daniel last year and you can find those messages at the following link:  https://emmdev.blogspot.com/2021/09/emmdev-2021-09-21-seven-days-with.html

Today, instead of examining the accounts about Daniel in detail, I'm going to summarise and highlight some of his important character traits and habits because I believe these helped him navigate his "new normal".

1. Daniel was resolute. He was clear about the lines he would not cross. There were some battles that had to be fought.
2. Daniel was winsome and good at connecting to people. This meant that people liked him and he brought out the best in them. This allowed him leeway and opened doors for him. 
3. Daniel was excellent in all that he did and gained the favour and respect of others.
4. He was also courageous and disciplined in his behaviour. His life was an open book.
5. He was a person of prayer and not afraid for it to be known.
6. He was brave enough to deliver bad news.
7. Daniel valued a good night of sleep. 

These are just some of Daniel's character traits - emulating them will serve us well in our new normal.

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and sympathy to Daniel. (Daniel1:8-9)

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EmmDev 2022-02-11 [New Normal] Plans

(Apologies for the gap in devotions - we've had some challenges...)

Plans

Part of our passage today is often quoted and put onto devotional posters. The original context and circumstances of the passage make it even more meaningful...

The Israelites were in exile and they didn't like their new normal! You can read about it in Psalm 137 where they complain about being at the Rivers of Babylon; about how their captors taunted them and humilated them; about their longing for the temple and Jerusalem and about how they wished great harm on even the babies of the Babylonians. (Kind of puts our irritation with masks etc in a different plane altogether...!) 

So Jeremiah writes to them to tell them that God has a plan. But we are much too quick to jump to the "prosper and not to harm you part..." He starts out by telling them to settle down and make the most of their circumstances. They are to build houses, build families and businesses and pray for the city, being part of the solution and not part of the problem!

In other words, take the lemons and make lemonade, take the tricky circumstances and make the best of them. Take "new normal" and exercise courage, choice and influence to make a difference. We may have to do that for a while... (70 years for the Israelites in Babylon!) And then, once we have faithfully served, persevered and made a difference, He will bless and restore.

And there are voices who will tell us that this "new normal" (Babylon) is bad and we need to withdraw, run and hide. Now to be sure, Babylon has temptations and the book of Daniel beautifully demonstrates how Daniel and his friends engaged their "new normal" without betraying their convictions. Today there are many false prophets who major on minors and distract and divide the church from the kingdom work of increasing instead of decreasing.

Finally, the promise of "plans to prosper and not harm" is dependent on us "seeking the Lord with all our hearts."

God wants to work in and through us in the "new normals" we face. We need to adapt and engage, prioritising family, prayer and the transformation through peace and prosperity of our "new normals".

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD. 10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." (Jeremiah29:4-14)

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EmmDev 2022-02-08 [New Normal] Comfort, Distraction and Forgetfulness

Comfort, Distraction and Forgetfulness

There's a repeated refrain in Deuteronomy: Moses is worried that the comfort and distraction of the Promised Land will cause the Israelites to forget their need of God.

It's a valid concern...

When trouble comes and we are brought down to basics and need God's strength and grace on a daily basis, our hearts remain true and devoted. When deliverance and abundance comes, we experience a period of immense gratitude, but often we don't formalise, ritualise. memorialise or institutionalise our thankfulness and so we "get over it" and "move on". 

In our passage today, Moses reminds the Israelites that they will receive cities, houses, wells and vineyards that they did not build, fill, dig or plant. Life is not a right, it is a gift. He's concerned that once they eat and are satisfied, they will forget that God rescued them from slavery. 

During the pandemic we re-appreciated so many things that were taken for granted and pushed to the background. But now the pace is picking up and the proverbial "bright lights" are shining again. How will we resist the siren song of the rat race its seductive adrenaline rush?

We have to choose "not to forget the Lord who brought us out of slavery".

Take some time and reflect:

- How did He bring you out of the brokenness of sin and self-driven living?

- How did He carry you through the pandemic?

- How do you remind yourself to see life as a gift and not as right?

- How will you make sure you remember the Lord your Deliverer?

Unfortunately, all of Moses' fears came true: Israel fell into the comfort trap and forgot the Lord. 
For us thoughtful and reflection and action steps on the four reflection questions above will help a lot to avoid Israel's pitfall...

When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy6:10-12)

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EmmDev 2022-02-03 [New Normal] Old Normal

Hi Everyone

After a very long gap, the EmmDevs are starting again! I do apologise for the long delay in restarting, but as many of you know, Brenda's Dad has been in hospital since mid November after a brain-bleed and he will probably be there until April. We've been doing our best to support him and the rest of the family, but this has spread us thinner than usual. 

I have missed writing EmmDevs! So I'm looking forward to starting them again and do hope that our new series will make the wait worth it. 

Speaking of the new series... with the Corona Virus looking like it is going to become an endemic instead of a pandemic, people are starting to talk about "getting back to normal." The truth is that the "old" normal is gone and we have the exciting privilege and opportunity to create a "new normal". 

Over the next few weeks I will be looking at some of the traps and temptations to avoid and some of the resources, opportunities and blessings we'll discover on the road to a "new normal". 

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Old Normal

John 21 comes as a bit of postscript to John's Gospel... Chapter 20 is the Upper Room and Thomas. Jesus has blessed them: "Peace be with you - as the Father sent me, I am sending you" and He has breathed the Spirit on them. Thomas has declared his faith: "My Lord and My God!" John has concluded the book with his beautiful summary: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

And so John 21 comes as a bit of a surprise: Jesus has commissioned, but Peter's going fishing...

Preachers and Commentators are at sixes and sevens about this passage:

• Some see it negatively: Peter is regressing. He's in denial of his calling. He can't face the responsibility of continuing without Jesus' physical presence and so he simply goes back to his "old normal" - the life of a fisherman.
• Others see it positively: Peter is going back to the place where Jesus first called him. What is lovely is that Jesus pretty much does turn this moment into a "second calling" by repeating the miracle of the big catch of fish.
• Still others see a bit of both: On the one hand, Peter is overwhelmed and intimidated and so he retreats, but, on the other hand, a night of fishing could have provided him with the quiet and intimacy he needed to think, talk with fellow disciples and pray.

What's interesting is that the "old normal" produces no fruit. They caught nothing...

What I love is how Jesus meets Peter in the moment. 
No rebuke or disapproval - just a quiet presence, bringing abundance in their catch, hospitality in the fish already cooking on the fire and forgiveness, restoration and a call to service in the walk with Peter on the beach. 

You and I also face a new normal. We face the same choices and temptations as Peter and the same Lord comes to meet us promising Presence, Abundance, Hospitality, Forgiveness and Restoration. 

Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (John21:2-3)

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