Garry spoke tonight about the subject of human value. So often, we associate our value with work, and it’s true that God gave us work to do (see Gen 2:8-17), but work is not the source of our value. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of the garden; he was meant to serve and guard it, demonstrating the servant nature of work which Jesus exemplified. (Luke 22:24-27) After the Fall, work became more painful and involved toil and sweat (Gen 3:17-19), and as a result of sin, our views on value and work have been largely distorted (see Eph 4:17-18).

So often, the prevailing culture sees evolution as the norm and this means that human value has no real explanation; we exist ‘randomly’ or ‘by chance’ and have no purpose or meaning. Instead of having value because we are made in God’s image and because God values us, people feel there is meaning only insofar as they can create their own meaning and identity; this is often tied in with the job they do or the money they earn. When we become the arbiters of meaning, the consequences can be frightening: Down’s Syndrome has been virtually eradicated in Iceland because abortion is practised on babies shown to have this ‘defect’; they are viewed as ‘things’ to be eliminated rather than people having value. God places tremendous value on human life, however (see Matt 10:29-31); so much so that Jesus came to redeem those under the law (see Gal 4:4-5; 1 Pet 1:18-19). God places great value on us and we do not have to earn this value and cannot change our value. God’s acceptance of and love for humankind is unconditional and unwavering. Through His great love and because of the value He places on each and every one, He gave Himself for each and every one, to draw each to Himself for now and eternity. It cost Him so much, but He looks at you and says, ‘You’re worth it!’

Our hope rests on the unchanging nature of who God is (see Heb 6:17). God’s faithfulness is a thread which runs throughout the whole Bible. Here are just a few verses reminding us of this fact:

• Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deut 7:9)

• He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. (Deut 32:4)

• All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. (Ps 25:10)

• For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (Ps 33:4)

• For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. (Ps 57:10)

• Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps 89:14)

• Great is Your faithfulness. (Lam 3:23)

These verses remind us of God’s faithfulness to us and this theme is continued in the New Testament, where we see that God fulfilled all His promises in Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us of God’s faithfulness in 1 Cor 1:9 and 1 Cor 10:13; he goes on to say, ‘But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.’ (2 Cor 1:18-20)

We are not consumed or destroyed because of God’s great faithfulness!

I recently watched a film called ‘The Perfect Storm’, about a fishing crew on board a ship caught in a hurricane. The film was very well done – I almost felt seasick as I watched the boat go up and down as the waves crashed into it and the winds howled. It really captured the desperate nature of a few men battling all the forces of nature, and unlike many films adapted from true stories, there was no happy ending for that crew or for their loved ones left behind. The storm battered them, and they lost their lives in it.

Many of us may feel like that at the moment. We may feel we’re in a storm. We may wonder if we’ll survive this period – either because we’re afraid of the virus or because we’re not sure our mental health will endure or because we’re not sure financially we’ll be able to cope with the recession to follow. But there is a difference for us, because God is with us in the storm. Just as Jesus was in the boat with the disciples when the fierce storm came upon them and ultimately calmed that storm and protected them  (Mark 4:35-41), so too we can know that God is with us at this time, and that is what will see us through. Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:35-39). Our hope is based on all that Jesus has done for us and we trust in the fact that His sacrifice brings us back into relationship with God, a relationship that nothing at all can sever. Because of this, we have hope in every circumstance of life; we have an anchor that holds us steady.

Today, as we remember the Day of Pentecost, we can rejoice and have hope because God lives in us. He is permanently with us. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19); the Holy Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Rom 8:26) We have hope ultimately because God is with us and if God is with us, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31)

Today is the day in the church calendar when we celebrate the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon believers in fulfilment of God’s word (Joel 2:28-32) in power to enable them to be God’s witnesses throughout the whole world. (Acts 2:1-13)

Energy, power and strength come from God, who gives power and strength to His people (Ps 68:34-35). We do not ultimately find the energy, power and strength we need to live for God in our own resourcefulness or entrepreneurial spirit. We find energy, power and strength in God’s Spirit, the life we now live, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. (Gal 2:20)

So often we feel weak and feeble, powerless and afraid, but in God, weakness can be turned to strength (Heb 11:34; 2 Cor 12:9). The Christian life is not meant to be lived in our own strength but in God’s (see 1 Cor 1:18-25). Today, as we receive God’s Spirit afresh in our lives, we can receive poewr and ongoing transformation from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)

God has given us full access to HIs endless energy and boundless strength through Jesus’ resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. What awesome truth!

Today’s thoughts were prompted by Nicky Gumbel’s commentary in the BIble In One Year daily reading scheme.

1. Anxiety

At the moment, most of us are feeling more anxiety than usual, partly because our routines and lifestyles have had to change so rapidly. We tend to feel anxious when we feel out of control or that the future feels so uncertain. Ps 68:19-20 reminds us that the Lord ‘daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.’ We must not carry yesterday’s burden over into today or add tomorrow’s burden before we are required to bear it. God urges us to come to Him with all our burdens and we can safely leave our cares and anxiety with Him, knowing He cares for us. (Matt 11:28-30; 1 Pet 5:7)

2. Failure

We have to face the fact (as Peter did when he denied Jesus three times) that at times we fail the Lord. Failure is a heavy burden to bear, but failure was not the end of the story for Peter and doesn’t have to be the end of the story for us. Although Peter failed him, Jesus took the burden of his failure, forgave him, reinstated him and used him as powerfully as anyone in human history. We can be set free from the burden of failure.

3. Injustice

Injustice is hard to bear, and no one knows that better than Jesus, who had to endure an unjust trial and unjust sentencing. Peter tells us He could do this because ‘He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.’ (1 Pet 2:23) We too can bring the burden of injustice we may be facing to the One who judges justly and can leave the matter with Him.

4. Sin

On the cross Jesus, the innocent, died so that we, the sinful, could go free. He bore the burden of our sin so that we no longer have to live under the weight of the burden of sin. We have been set free! (Romans 6)

5. Guilt

True guilt (over sin) is removed when we confess our sin to God and accept His cleansing. (1 Jn 1:9) But often we are burdened by false guilt, feeling guilty about things that are not actually our fault. God reminds us that when our hearts condemn us, He is greater than our hearts and knows everything. (1 John 3:19-20) Freedom from guilt (real or imagined) is one of the great blessings God offers us.