Today’s passage was Psalm 90, which, for many of us is ‘old hat’, overly familiar, even to the point of wandering what God might want to say to us through it. As I approached it today, this was something of my mind. Anyway, as I got into it once again, I was greatly surprised--and challenged--by what I think God is saying to us through it. Perhaps you’ll find it so as well.

The season of Advent will soon be upon us, with its reminder, not only of Christ’s first coming as a babe in a manger, but also of His Second Coming, as Lord and Saviour, but also as Judge. So, it is a good time to reflect on this, and to examine our lives to see if we are ready.

We humans can far too easily fall into two equally drastic errors. We can forget that all things, all human activities and decisions, ultimately land in the hands of God. God is sovereign over all things, even with the reality of choice and free will. We can too easily think that we are in charge. But then we can also fall into the opposite error, namely of thinking that because He is in control that there is nothing that we can do. There is indeed much that we can do as we are, in reality, co-workers with Him, co-partners. This is something important to remember on this day of all days, Remembrance Day.

Our world today can often seem like a pretty troubled and tumultuous place, and sometimes this spills over into our own personal lives. Often we can wonder why this is happening to us or what brought it on and often we can feel overwhelmed by it. It is therefore good to know that our Lord is there for us, no matter what the cause and no matter what the problem or issue. And so, we, like the psalmist in today’s psalm, can always turn to Him and entrust ourselves to His ever-present care and love.

Sometimes we forget, seeing as we live on an earthly plane where so much seems ‘up for grabs’ and where loyalties sometimes seem quite strained, we forget that God’s love and loyalty is definitely not ‘up for grabs.’ His love for us is constant, and is there, unwavering, through all the seasons of our lives. And yes, even when it doesn’t seem like it. And so, we can always trust Him, trust in Him, no matter what. This is something well worth remembering.

Today’s Scripture passage and meditation touch on the sad fact that we are often shaped, and controlled, by our expectations, and sad to say this often influences the way we see God and others and ourselves, thus limiting each of them in terms of their impact and influence in our lives. Maybe it is time to revise some of these expectations--by reading, perhaps, what the psalmists say about God or what the Scriptures say about us--that we are beloved and valued and precious to God. And interestingly, even though Peter and the other disciples often failed, often flubbed spectacularly, Jesus never gave up on them. And even the person with the least advance expectations of ‘coming to any good’ as far as the church was concerned, the future apostle Paul, was used by God for immense good. Good thing our expectations, or those of the early church, were not the same as God’s. Thanks be to God..

I know that certain people disagree, but I have as an absolute conviction that God gives us free will, that is, choice as to how we will live our lives. And so we must decide, not only what we will do, but also what we will hold on to in life and count as valuable, for it is a fact of life that we cannot choose everything. Simply by choosing one thing, we rule out others. That is what my meditation for today is about: our choices in life, what we say ‘yes’ to--and to what we say ‘no’.

Unfortunately, I find that grumbling, complaining about many things, has become almost my way of life, a bad habit if there ever was one. (Maybe you are like me as well.) Here David, in today’s psalm, brings me--and all of us, if you’re like me--up short, for he is able to thank God, and even sing praises to Him, even in the midst of terrible danger and difficulties. Indeed, what are our troubles and difficulties like in comparison to his? So, here is something that we can probably all pray about, ponder, and try to change.

Often the prophets of old, especially those that we meet in the Hebrew Scriptures, had some very pointed and disturbing messages. One of these is today’s message from Micah. It especially ‘hits’ me given that when I preach I always preach with a particular congregation in mind. In fact, as I prepare I purposely picture them in my mind. So, the question arises, and must be asked, ‘do I simply preach the word of God, or, do I preach with the intent of getting a certain reaction or response? Or, put another way, am I being like Micah, simply speaking the word of God and allowing ’the chips to fall’ where they may? Or, am I wanting a certain response that fits my agenda rather than God’s? Hopefully my agenda is the same as God’s, but that question still needs to be asked and addressed! Anyway, here is something to ponder and pray over.

In today’s Scripture Jesus explains the parable that is often called the Parable of the Sower or of the Sower and the Seeds. However, I happen to think that it is more apt to call it the Parable of the Soils, as that is what it is really all about. It is the soils that make the difference as both the sower and the seeds stay the same. And, knowing that the soils stand for the condition of the human heart, that is, how receptive or unreceptive it is to the word of God or to His message, makes it very appropriate for us. It is good to know up front that responses, reactions will vary but also that some of them will indeed be positive. And, it is equally good for us to think, to ponder, just where our hearts lie in this--that is, are ours the truly receptive and welcoming hearts that God desires and yearns for? Something to think and pray about.

I don’t know about you, but there are certain things that I find both exciting and intimidating. As a personal example, I might well have had the opportunity to attend a garden party hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, if she were still alive, simply by virtue of an organization that I belong to. And yes, there is the future possibility of doing the same with Charles. It would be most exciting, yes, but also quite intimidating. And, of course, it would be even more so, if I had the chance to spend some quality time with either of them.

Well, this is exactly the scenario that John paints for us in the letter we read today, but in terms of God and us rather than the British royalty. He says that we are already counted as members of God's family and that will one day actually get to meet Him face to face. But further to that, he suggests that because we will see Him and spend time with Him, we will actually be transformed and become more like Him. Wow. That too is simultaneously both exciting and intimidating. However, that is only the start!

However, John also suggests that we should start getting ready, ready to meet Jesus and get to know Him, by looking to ourselves, our lives and how we live them. (And, as certainly as I would want to do this in terms of the royalty should I be invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party, even more so, I would want to do this before meeting up with Jesus.) Anyway, there’s something to think about.

The Bible has a great deal to say about hearing and listening, and almost always there is the underlying question of whether we will act upon what we have heard, and whether we will act upon it in an appropriate way. The Parable of the Sower (Parable of the Seeds and the Soil) presumes a range of people that do indeed listen and hear the word (the seed) and even receive it, but then what happens? It doesn’t have the desired effects; it doesn’t come to fruition. So, it does us well to examine our lives. Are our lives hardened by sin or resentments or doubt or past experiences or anything else? Are our lives and our response to God so shallow, so superficial, so rooted in our emotions or feelings, that they lack the depth required to weather the difficult times that will inevitably come our way? Are our lives so busy, so cluttered by other things and other priorities or activities, that there simply is not the room for the things of God? Or are our lives so open to God, so ready for Him, that His word can indeed grow there and bring forth fruit in abundance? Some great questions for all of us.