In the Old Testament, the presence of God was symbolised by the ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle, the detailed construction of which can be read in Ex 25-29. There, we see the precise details God gave to Moses and how the holiness of His presence meant the high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year. The presence of God was what made the Tabernacle special and set apart the nation of Israel. Now, through the sacrifice of Jesus, a high priest in the order of Melchizedek, we realise that Immanuel has come not only to ‘tabernacle’ among us (John 1:14) but has come to dwell in us by His Spirit.

Paul is exasperated that the Corinthians have not realised the implications of this great truth, accusing them of worldliness and a failure to understand God’s great plans for His church. Our identity as God’s house/ temple gives us worth, dignity, value and purpose. It should affect how we live our everyday lives, for we are now being built, like living stones, ‘into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1 Pet 2:5)

In the last chapters of the Bible, John writes about his vision of heaven after Jesus returns. (Rev 21-22) He sees an extraordinary depiction of the new city of God, but something is conspicuously missing. There is no temple in this new Jerusalem. There is no need of a temple. Jesus is right there with His people: ‘And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”’ (Rev 21:3) Just as God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, so once again God is dwelling with His people. That is ultimately what life is all about, and what our identity is meant to be: the people of God, living with God, God’s house, God’s temple.

Whatever happens, Paul urges, stand firm. He longs for the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of Christ. We demonstrate the truth of the gospel by how we live. We are called to be ‘living demonstrations’, not fuelled by fear or duty but living as citizens of heaven. Our true home is elsewhere and therefore we can live without fear.

2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that God’s ‘divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.’ God enables us to live as He wants; we are not on our own.

Sarah Davey, in her book ‘Women who met Jesus’, talks about this as a ‘kick.’ Pregnant women down the ages wait to feel the signs of life growing within, the fluttering, the movements, the kicks that are our only signs of life. Nowadays, scans and tests for heartbeats are a routine part of antenatal care, and we are in a privileged position to realise much more of what happens in the gestational period. Still, though, the baby’s movements within are a positive sign that all is going well.

Human gestation takes approximately 40 weeks (9 months), which can feel a very long time! This period for animals varies greatly. A dog’s pregnancy is 64 days on average (about 3 months.) An alpaca’s pregnancy lasts 345 days, almost a year. An African elephant’s pregnancy lasts 655 days, nearly 22 months (almost two years!)

Pregnancy is a time of waiting. The physical changes it brings are visible, but until we hold that baby in our arms, our dreams and hopes are just that: dreams and hopes. It takes birth to have our dreams and hopes fulfilled.

In the spiritual realm, God breathes life into us, giving us dreams, ideas, visions, plans. Faith is ignited within us rather like the meeting of the ovum and the sperm which results in conception. Our spirit and God’s Spirit meet, and we are filled with hope.

But thern comes the gestational period, and this varies. There is no set time between God speaking and fulfilling His promise. Even a cursory reading of the Bible confirms that! Abraham is promised a son and heir, but has to wait 25 years before he holds Isaac in his arms. Joseph is given a vision of greatness at 17, but must face years of desperation before the dream comes to pass. David is anointed king over Israel as a young man, but has many wilderness years to face before he is crowned. Even Jesus did not start His earthly ministry until the age of thirty, despite the miraculous nature of His conception.

Sarah asks, ‘Do you need a “kick”?! A kick to remind you of God’s promises to you? It may be that once upon a time, someone gave a prophetic word to you and you absolutely knew it was from God. Yet time has gone on and nothing seems to have happened, and even though the word is firmly planted in you, there is no evidence of its fulfilment. You can’t even feel the “baby” kick.’

The waiting period, the gestational period, between conception and birth, can be long, but those ‘kicks’ are encouragements to us to keep going. Some promises need more ‘knitting together’ than others. ‘When they are ready to face the world, they will tell you! They will get into position and the flood waters will break!’ (Sarah Davey, ‘Women who met Jesus’)

God’s plans will not be thwarted. You may be giving birth to an elephant of an idea! Hold on and wait for the kick!

Putting on armour is a cumbersome task. It takes time and preparation. If we want to stand against the devil’s schemes, we have to be prepared. We have to be ready. Paul makes clear the nature of the spiritual battle that is ongoing. (Eph 6:12) We cannot hope to remain standing if we are not prepared.

The armour Paul lists starts with the belt of truth buckled around our waists. (Eph 6:14) Truth is absolutely essential. It holds us together. It provides a firm foundation for us. Truth is under fierce attack in our relativistic society. We are drip-fed lies every day – lies about the meaninglessness of life, the lack of sanctity to human life, lies about identity, government, war, everything. We need the truth of God’s word if we are to stand firm.

Then we have the breastplate of righteousness in place, protecting our hearts. (Eph 6:14) Prov 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts above all else; life flows from it. We need to be people who love God and other people with all our hearts.

Our feet need adequate footwear so we can run with the message of peace and reconciliation with God. (Eph 6:15) There’s no room for ill-fitting shoes. I bought some glittery, sparkly shoes to wear at the arts’ festival recently, and they were a disaster because they were so uncomfortable, blistering my heels and squashing my toes until I could barely walk, let alone run. We need to let our feet take us on God’s missions, so we need the right shoes!

The shield of faith protects us from the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph 6:16), but it can only do this as we take it up. Faith will always be our best defence. When the devil lies to us, he speaks his native language (John 8:44). We can ony defeat his lies through truth and faith in what God has said. The word of God is our sword, able to defeat the enemy as Jesus did in the wilderness. (Matt 4:1-11)

Put on the armour of God. You’re going to need it if you want to stand firm today!

Not only is Jesus the Prince of Peace, though; He is also the price of peace. There is no such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes: somewhere, someone has to pay for the lunch. Jesus paid the price for our peace with God (and consequently our peace with other people) through His death on the cross.

As a result, we are urged to be peacemakers and to live at peace with everyone as far as possible (see Rom 12:17-19). We are called to imitate God (Eph 5:1), to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48) We are urged to seek peace and pursue it (Ps 34:14), to embrace it and not let it get away. When we see, as the shepherds in the story by Andrew McDonough saw, that Jesus came to bring us peace, our lives are transformed.