"David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown." 1 Chronicles 21.16 David knew when he had blown it with God. On the occasion referred to in the verse above, he had pressed ahead with a census of Israel against the Lord's command. Yet, as on the occasion when he was confronted with the sinfulness of his behaviour towards Bat

"After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’" Acts 13. 22 There can be few, if any, figures from antiquity whose highs and lows, triumphs and defeats, flaws and virtues have been as minutely documented and analysed as David - Israel's greatest king-priest. From his "secret "anointing by the prophet Samuel, through the long years of guerrilla wa

"I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him." Deuteronomy 18.18 Pausing from issues surrounding Christian identity, to acknowledge today as the first Sunday in Advent... This year we are exploring the season through the lens of the prophetic sayings about Jesus. It is estimated that Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophesies during his earthly ministry. The Gosp

"Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Exodus 32.13 The mis-behaviour of the Israelites in their desert wanderings after Egypt can obscure our appreciation of the maturing of Moses' own growth in grace and in his relationship with God, whom he has come to tr

"God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,'" Exodus 3.14 Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush on Mount Sinai changed his life and his whole worldview. Raised in Pharaoh's court, Moses had been - culturally and educationally - Egyptian. Now he understands that - ethnically and (soon) vocationally also - he is an Israelite - of the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now he knows where he really fits into the human story. Even more significantly, Moses now has a new awareness o

"This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." Titus 3.8 Taking inspiration from Abraham means cultivating a faith which draws us away from what is comfortable and familiar towards God's intended future for us. It is not a straight path but we may expect many twists and turns, some of them of our own m

"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15.6 It may seem odd to begin a search for Christian identity in the Old Testament. Yet that was Jesus' own reference point. The New Testament did not come into being until after his life, death and resurrection. It offers us a retrospective account of Jesus' walk on earth and his immediate impact on those around him. But it was the scriptures of the Old Testament which were the formative influence

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1.7 How do we balance our individual identity with our commitment to community? Can I develop as a person without becoming egotistical and self indulgent? When Jesus' calls us to deny self and follow him, what are we giving up? Am I intrinsically valuable or just part of the crowd? In short, what is personhood and what does it mean to define oneself as a Christian pers

"... godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6.6 In ,my devotions today I was reminded of Socrates' aphorism: "Contentment is natural wealth; luxury, artificial poverty." Not to be confused with complacency, contentment is about appreciating what we have rather than what we lack, or - worse - envying others. This applies to whether we are working, resting or playing. So we are not talking just about being in a settled state but the attitude with which we travel w

"... far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1.21 Today is the Feast of Christ the King. Don't be alarmed if you come from a liturgically-rich background and you cannot recall any such occasion from your earlier experience. This is a relatively modern innovation. But its principle is sound: to harness the Sunday before Advent as the culmination of all the previous