[Friday's Devotional] - Jesus and the children

Jesus and the children At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:1-5 [NIV] The phrase "Children are the church of tomorrow" was a phrase I heard often growing up in church. I think it was a warning to adults not to alienate children in church, and to motivate them to volunteer for children's work and nurture the next generation of church leaders. As the years went by, another phrase seemed to take its place: "Children are the church of today", because it was realised that children were not "treading water", waiting to grow into an adult church, but that the church was for all ages and children were not to be treated as second class citizens in the Kingdom. I think there is truth in both, but there is still a way to go for most churches in realising the potential of children in the church community. Three gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the story of how Jesus demonstrated the value he placed on children. People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16 [NIV] The disciples were probably acting in what they thought were Jesus' best interests, after all he had had a hard day and was probably tired and the parents were no doubt jostling and pushing and holding their children up and clamouring for attention. The disciples no doubt thought "kissing babies" was something Jesus could gladly do without.  Jesus was quite short with them, because by their actions they were betraying a belief that children are irrelevant and a nuisance. He used the situation as another illustration of the Kingdom. What qualities does a little child have that open the doors of the kingdom? There are so many including innocence, acceptance, trust, purity and openness. Adults would do well to remember that though God uses our intellect, learning and experience, he doesn't demand we present him with achievements before he values us. The things that may matter to us, the things we value each other for, don't necessarily count for much with God. He wants us to come to him as children. Father God, Thank you for showing us that you value children – your children – and that you are never too tired, distracted or disinterested to give us your attention as human fathers sometimes can be. We thank you that we don't have to strive to be accepted, because you love us as we are. Amen Mairi Mowbray Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - Jesus

Jesus The readings in church at advent time remind us of the many prophecies concerning Jesus made years before his birth. In Luke chapter 2 we read of how Jesus was dedicated in the Temple and the prophecies spoken over him by Simeon and Anna. Simeon blessed the child and proclaimed:  "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed."  Luke 2:34-35 [NIV] Apart from this account of his dedication and the account of his birth, only one other story of Jesus is recorded in any of the gospels and that is the story of Jesus at the Temple. Again, this was a story often told at Sunday School, because it was about a child, so we might have been expected to identify with the message of listening to our parents and not wandering off. You can tell from just how upset and scared Mary his mother was at his disappearance:  "your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." Luke 2:48b [NIV] I always thought that Jesus' reply smacked of arrogance:  "Why were you searching for me?. Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  Luke 2:49 [NIV] Although we are told Mary did not understand his reply, she seems to have let the matter drop. His mother treasured up the memory of this event, suggesting that, although she regarded Jesus as an ordinary child most of the time, there were occasions when Mary was reminded of what his destiny was and she was in awe of him. Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem because he was thoroughly enjoying listening to the teachers of the law and asking them questions. We are told that "everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." Luke 2:47 We are always fascinated by tales of child prodigies, such as Mozart who started writing tunes at the age of five, or the clip on the internet of the five-year-old who can speak six languages or the child from Rugby on the TV show "Child Genius". Maybe the pilgrims at the Passover saw Jesus like that. Children with abilities and skills way beyond the expected are a source of curiosity and they certainly make adults feel inadequate! We are perhaps used to thinking of children as "incomplete adults", apprentice people who need to learn skills from us before being leashed onto the world. But God can use children to speak wisdom and to give understanding. Often it is their innocence and lack of inhibitions that enable them to say things which turn out to be very wise. "Out of the mouth of babes…" Father God, thank you that you can use the words of children to speak your words of wisdom to us. Help us not to think too highly of ourselves, our experience and our intelligence to miss what you might be speaking to us through the words of children. Amen Mairi Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Isaac

Isaac  Isaac is yet another Old Testament character whose birth had been longed for and prayed for. He made his arrival when his parents Abraham and Sarah were one hundred and ninety years old respectively. This promise was made concerning him: ".. your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."  Genesis 17:19 [NIV] Isaac had some hard to deal with situations in childhood. He had to endure the indignity of the mocking of his half-brother Ishmael and then the pain of him being banished to the desert by their father. Then he narrowly escaped becoming a sacrificial victim. The story is usually told from Abraham's perspective, how he proved his loyalty to his God, but imagine how terrifying it must have been for Isaac! It all seemed such fun to start with. Abraham was saddling a donkey with the help of two servants. Isaac must have thought he was going on a "dads and lads" bonding and camping session. He watched his father cut up wood and then the two of them set out for the hills. On the third day of the expedition, Abraham left the servants at the camp and took Isaac up to the mountain, to worship, he told him. So Isaac carried the wood and Abraham carried the means of lighting a fire and a knife. It wasn't long before Isaac innocently asked his father where the lamb to be sacrificed was to come from. Abraham told him that God would provide it, which seemed to satisfy the boy, as he happily carried on up the hill with his dad. Imagine the horror when the altar was built and the fire laid, of being bound up with rope, laid on top of the altar and seeing the knife coming for him, in the hand of his own father! What a relief when Isaac hears the angel calling out, "Abraham, Abraham, do not lay a hand on the boy." Isaac's reaction could have gone many ways. Would he ever trust his father again? Would he turn to God in relief at having his life spared? Would he turn away from God because he felt he had been used in order to prove a point? Would Isaac have been damaged for life by the experience? Isaac must have been very resilient because after the camping trip he went and lived with his father in Canaan. His story continues with his marriage to Rebekah, followed by the birth of his sons Jacob and Esau and Isaac becomes one of the fathers of the Jewish faith. Father God, we pray for all children forced to undergo experiences that frighten them and that they do not understand. May they know your love and protection when they find it hard to trust their own parents. Amen Mairi Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - David

David The great King David's story is told beginning from his childhood. He makes his first appearance in 1 Samuel chapter 16. Saul, whom Samuel had anointed as King had displeased God and Samuel was sent to Bethlehem to Jesse to anoint the one God chose to be his replacement. It turned out to be David, the youngest son of Jesse, who was tending the sheep. David became companion to Saul and the music he made on the harp soothed the tormented soul of Saul. Then one day the Philistines came in war and an army was gathered to go and fight them off. Three of David's brothers followed Saul into battle. David was sent along with the sandwiches! The battle was to be decided in what was effectively a duel - hand to hand combat between Saul and a Philistine representative, Goliath, a giant of nine feet tall. Saul took fright and promised great riches and the hand of his daughter to the man who could defeat the Philistines. (The story can be found in I Samuel 17) David, with the wild misplaced confidence of youth volunteered to do what Saul could not and he was roundly ridiculed especially by his brothers. But David's confidence was not in his own strength or ability, but in God's strength. Rejecting the offer of protective armour (because he was too small for it to fit properly) David, clasping his catapult, faced up to the Philistine who was armed with spear and sword. Goliath laughed at the effrontery of the boy claiming his God would see that he won. And so it was, that with a well-aimed shot, David let a stone loose from his sling, hitting the Giant on the temple and killing him outright. What we usually take from this story is that David was a brave little chap – at least that is what I was taught at Sunday School. David was really confident, but not overconfident as Goliath thought, or self-confident as his brothers thought, but confident in God's power to save his people.  "All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's and he will give all of you into our hands." David shows a great deal of understanding and maturity, or wisdom, which is what qualifies him in God's eyes eventually to be the ruler of the nation of Israel. Father God, Thank you that you use the weak and the vulnerable to defeat the oppressive and powerful. Help us to have confidence that however small we or others view us, you can use us in your plans. Amen Mairi Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - Samuel

Samuel The stories of many of the heroes of the faith in the Old Testament begin with their childhood, or even before, when prophecies about them are made. These children undergo testing experiences in childhood which prepare them for leadership later on. This week I want to look at some of these stories and reflect on the children we nurture. Samuel has two Old Testament books named after him. The story begins with his mother, Hannah. She had a longstanding battle with another wife of her husband Elkanah, and was  taunted for her infertility. Hannah turned to God in desperation, praying and promising that if she could but bear a son, she would dedicate him to God. The result was Samuel and he grew into one of the greatest leaders Israel had ever known. He served as a prophet who could discern God's will; as a priest who led Israel to worship; and as a military leader. He chose, under God's direction, Israel's first two Kings, Saul and David. As soon as Hannah had weaned her son, (and although Hannah may have kept feeding him beyond the normal time perhaps to prolong the inevitable separation, he would still have been very young) Samuel was dedicated in the Temple in fulfillment of her vow and he served under Eli whose own sons should have done the job, only they were corrupt. You can read the story in the first few chapters of 1 Samuel. The writer is careful to point out that at the time: "the word of the Lord was rare, and there were not many visions" 1 Samuel 3:1 [NIV]  So it was very unusual that Samuel heard the audible voice of God, and perhaps explains why it required Eli to be woken from sleep three times before he realised what that it was the Lord calling the boy. Samuel himself had no idea what was going on, but he did as instructed and when God spoke the final time, he repeated what he had been told, "Speak Lord for your servant is listening". (1 Sam 3:9) When Samuel repeated what he had heard to Eli, so began his life as a prophet. Samuel was taken seriously because even though his words rebuked Eli, they agreed with those of another man of God (I Sam 2:27-36). God spoke to the boy Samuel, and the old man Eli took him seriously despite the apparent unlikelihood or unfamiliarity of the events the boy was experiencing and describing. Father God, Thank you that you use the young and the innocent to speak to your people. Help us not to discount the words you may be speaking to us through children. Amen.   Mairi Mowbray Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!