Tag: redemption

Boxed into a Corner?

Posted on by Olaf

There are many ways we can feel boxed into a corner – for example:

  • Being defined by others rather than who we feel ourselves to be
  • Finding ourselves trapped in a circumstance or role with no apparent way out
  • Feeling locked into a church denomination.

For this duck, it’s as if its wings are clipped and it has no choice but to stay cornered in its hopeless situation. However, it makes a difference if someone has ‘got your corner’ and is actually with you – like a Coach in a boxing match to show you the way out. If you have someone with you, you are no longer alone or without help.  Being stuck can be a thing of the past.

PASSOVER

Posted on by Olaf

Over time, the word ‘passover’ has been taken to mean various things, some having been genuinely misunderstood and others being misappropriated from the original meaning.  One example is the passing of the Israelites through the Red Sea as they escaped from the Egyptians and another refers to when a person dies and they are said to passover. The correct application of the word refers to the passing over by the Lord in mercy on houses marked with the blood of a lamb in the final judgement on Egypt.  Such was the impact of this moment when the firstborn of all those living without this protection in Egypt died that there was a loud wailing throughout the country. This sad event was a catalyst to Pharaoh setting the Jewish nation free and has been remembered annually by practicing Jews ever since.  Passover (or Pesach) is in the Spring and is one of the three main annual festivals celebrated. It not only marks the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, but also the giving of the Ten Commandments and the journey to Israel. The ‘Hagaddah’, which is the story of the exodus from Egypt, is read at this celebration and takes the form of a ritual meal with many symbolic components. It was important to Jesus and we should know why.

  • ‘Passover and Easter are the only Jewish and Christian holidays that move in sync, like the ice skating pairs we saw during the winter Olympics’ – Marvin Olasky

Victory Over Defeat

Posted on by Olaf

Do you live in the shadows or in the sun?  If you take a few minutes to consider the highs and lows of your life so far, how do you think it adds up? We all want to live on ‘victory hilltop’ but often find ourselves in the ‘valley of defeat’.  This can be related to achievements, finances, relationships, moral decisions, faith and our walk with God.  Rather than being a steady progression, for many Christians life seems more like a game  of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ – one minute riding high and the next crashing down a spiral of disappointment when apparent success has given way to abject failure.  This woodland walk is beset with pitfalls from unseen hazards in the shadows but there is a better path heading towards the light.  How to get on the path where gains outweigh losses and victory triumphs over defeat?

  • ‘The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile’ – Plato
  • ‘Every moment of resistance to temptation is a victory’ – Frederick William Faber

The Lamb

Posted on by Olaf

If you take a long look at this lamb, you will find yourself thinking all sorts of things.  You might be struck by its innocence, its powerlessness or you may wonder about its future.  This lamb has not done anything wrong, it has no defences or weapon and it may end up on someone’s plate as a favoured dish before it ever gets to be a mature sheep. Does it not strike you as extraordinary that the Most Mighty One to walk this planet Earth was called ‘The Lamb of God’? This lamb is associated with meekness not with majesty, with the Will of man rather than the Will of God. To understand why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is called ‘The Lamb of God’ it’s necessary to consult both the Old Testament and the New – once truly understood never truly forgotten. Why a lamb rather than a sheep? A sheep is reared for its wool but a tender lamb gives its life.

  • ‘Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together’ – Genesis 22:7-8

Spring

Posted on by Olaf

Supposing you were an artist and had a blank canvas, would you start with Spring, another season or no season? Spring sounds like a logical choice … or does it?  Its poetic speech is always of new beginnings as we associate it with the seasonal cycle that we humans have become used to.  No Spring, no Summer. No Summer, no Autumn.  No Autumn, no Winter. No Winter, no Spring.  Each one brings something different and bounces off the previous one bringing the contrasts we all love. Snowdrops herald the Spring even after the fiercest Winter – each fluttering fragile snowdrop is a little white sail symbolising the hope of gentle summer breezes.  When you feel like your life is in the grip of Winter, consider the seasons and remember that Spring cannot be far away. Our Father God is ‘The Creator Artist’ and never gets the rhythm of life wrong.

  • ‘Spring is nature's way of saying, “Let's party!”' – Robin Williams
  • ‘It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring who reaps a harvest in the Autumn’ – Bertie Charles Forbes

Jubilee

Posted on by Olaf

In April 2012, an estimated £1.3 billion was spent celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth ll.  This is somewhat ironic as the word ‘jubilee’ is a biblical term associated with the cancelling of debts – a time of emancipation and restoration, supposed to be kept every fifty years.  It can be applied to any big anniversary for a reigning monarch and is to be a time of jubilation.  What is it that makes you jubilant?  Is it the same thing that makes God jubilant? There are many indications that you will find this ‘Jubilee’ in the heart of God as will be explored in this Booster. To understand freedom you must first understand captivity and oppression.  With the pandemic of 2020 came an oppression of people as rich and poor alike had to wear face masks, endure lockdowns and long for release.  When a vaccine was discovered and lockdowns ended, people discarded their masks – a bizarre symbol of jubilee.

  • ‘Life is one long jubilee’ – Ira Gershwin

THE JOURNEY

Posted on by Olaf

How many times have you heard it said that we are all ‘on a journey’?  This is applied indiscriminately to individuals going through a time of change, organisations seeking to reinvent themselves, political parties going through necessary redefinition, countries facing upheaval and even churches dealing with difficult issues.  To say we are all ‘journeying’ is true but what does it actually mean – travellers we?  Some individuals and communities choose travelling as a lifestyle – travel writers make a living out of it, travel documentaries entertain, ‘travellers’ move on together in community, ‘tramps’ keep moving away from something that haunts. Would you say that your life is life a journey?  If so, where have you come from and where are you going?  ‘These boots are made for walking’ goes the old song by Nancy Sinatra – how many miles, how many tears, how many smiles?

  • ‘Life is just a journey’ – Princess Diana

CONFESSION

Posted on by Olaf

When David was racked with guilt, he longed to be cleansed so that he could be ‘white as snow’.  Despite the murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba, there was a route for David out of the dark shadows to renewed joy and purity.  That route’s signpost is the same for everyone for ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) – confession. From the mightiest royalty to the poorest pauper, there are any number of ways we can lose our joy and intimacy with God but there’s only one way it can truly be restored:  ‘Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin’ – Psalm 32:5

A clean slate, a fresh beginning and a new flowering – these are the yearnings of the soul.  It’s not so much to do with the ‘severity’ of the sin as with the state of the heart and how we handle the little word ‘IF’.