30 November

Today's the day when in 1995 Bill Clinton became the first serving US President to visit Northern Ireland. During the day Bill and Hillary Clinton received a rapturous welcome as they visited communities on both sides of the sectarian divide, and in the evening the President lit Belfast’s Christmas lights from behind a bullet-proof screen. Standing in front of a giant Christmas Tree shipped over from Belfast's twin city, Nashville, Tennessee he told the thousands of Clinton fans that America and Northern Ireland were "partners for security, partners for prosperity, and most important, partners for peace".

Jesus came to bring the message of peace with God to people on both sides of the social division that existed in his time between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus is the only way for any person to come to God. This is how his peacemaking mission is summed up in Ephesians chapter 2:

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

29 November

Today's the day when in 1877 Thomas Edison first demonstrated his new invention, the phonograph - a means of recording sound that was the predecessor of the modern day record turntable and CD player. His first phonograph recorded on tinfoil cylinders using a stylus. Unfortunately this system had poor sound quality and destroyed the track during replay so you could listen only a few times. Edison's early patents show that he also considered the idea that sound could be recorded as a spiral onto a disc. His accomplishment was so unexpected by the public at large as to appear almost magical and he became known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park," New Jersey, where he lived.

Recording sounds is easy nowadays. We take it for granted. Discs, mp3 players and computers make it simple. It’s a bigger challenge to make sure the word of God is recorded on our hearts. But God promises this is precisely what his Spirit does. Jesus said his Spirit will lead us into all truth and Jeremiah tells us, in chapter 31, how that can happen:

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

No longer will they teach their neighbours,
or say to one another, "Know the LORD,"
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

Maybe today you need to turn down some of the other noises you listen to and tune in to the message that God has written on your heart.

28 November

Today's the day when in 1990 Margaret Thatcher tendered her resignation as Prime Minister. She made her last speech from the steps of Number 10 Downing Street, saying, "We're leaving Downing Street for the last time after eleven-and-a-half wonderful years and we're happy to leave the UK in a very much better state than when we came here." Cameras then filmed her tearful departure from her official residence, as the premiership of Britain's first female leader - and the longest since 1827 – came to an end.

You probably won't have the honour of entering and leaving Downing Street during your career, but whatever comings and goings there are in your life you can be sure that God is with you through them all. And even in the final going out from this life into the next. This is how Psalm 121 expresses God’s promise to us:

The LORD watches over you,
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm,
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

27 November

Today's the day when in 1975 TV presenter Ross McWhirter was shot dead outside his home in London. Well-known as co-founder of The Guinness Book Of Records and host of the BBC TV programme Record Breakers, he was an outspoken critic of the IRA and had recently offered a reward of £50,000 for information leading to the arrest of IRA bombers. The gang that killed him were arrested two weeks later, following a six-day siege at a flat in London’s Balcombe Street. Charged with ten murders and 20 bombings they were jailed for life but were freed in April 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

McWhirter's determination to speak out against evil men and stand up for what he believed in reflects one strand of God's message through the prophet Ezekiel. He tells us that it is our responsibility to speak out and warn other people of the judgment that awaits them if they reject God. That’s not a very comfortable thing to do but listen to the serious warning God gives to those who will not speak out. This is from Ezekiel chapter 3:

When I say to a wicked man, "You will surely die," and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

26 November

Today's the day when in 1992 it was announced that The Queen would begin to pay income tax. Prime Minister John Major told the House of Commons that The Queen had informed him she wished to make changes to her tax arrangements so that, for the first time since the 1930s, the monarch would pay tax. Under these changes she also took responsibility for the working expenses of most of her family so that only The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and the then Queen Mother would be paid by the public.

Questions about who should pay taxes have continued throughout history. One time some opponents of Jesus tried to trick him into an act of rebellion against the Roams with a question about taxes. This is how Mark chapter 12 records the conversation:

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
And they were amazed at him.

Most people are not unduly enthusiastic about paying taxes, even though we have to do it. Jesus shows us there is a far bigger question to face: not, how much do we pay to the state, but how much do we give to God? That’s the real life-defining question.

25 November

Today's the day when in 1952 Agatha Christie's murder-mystery The Mousetrap opened on the stage at the Ambassadors' Theatre in London. The crowd-pleasing whodunit went on to be the longest continuously running play in history. More than ten million people have attended over 20,000 West End performances of this classic play set in a remote country house, with a plot full of twists and turns, dark comedy and light relief.

The enduring quality of The Mousetrap is in sharp contrast to the many plays that have opened and closed within a week and it makes other classic stage-shows that have run for a few years seem short-lived. Its enduring quality is beyond question.

Endurance is the thought that filled the minds of the Israelites when Solomon dedicated the new temple to God. Through the awesome mystery of his glory filling the temple they saw the God whose love endures for ever. This is how the moment is described in 2 Chronicles 7:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."

24 November

Today's the day when in 1859 British naturalist Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking and controversial book On The Origin Of Species was published. Darwin’s theory was that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called "natural selection". Those organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than those of the species that lack the variation, so gradually life forms change to suit their environment.

The extent to which Darwin's theory is accurate has been argued by scientists and theologians ever since. But whatever method God has used to make us the people we are, the Bible leaves us with no doubt that every one of us is a wonderful example of God's creative handiwork. Psalm 139 celebrates the miracle of our creation like this:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

23 November

Today's the day when in 2004 Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of his 1,000th game for Manchester United. Having led the team through a time of extraordinary success in the 1990s and early 2000s, winning a cupboard full of trophies, he celebrated this milestone in his 19th year as manager. Sometimes criticized for his handling of personal disagreements with players and his "my way or the highway" approach, Ferguson nevertheless demonstrates an exceptional perseverance in his role as manager of that one club for such a long period of time.

In a fast moving world, perseverance is not one of the most respected virtues around. It's easy to cut our losses and run when things get difficult. But in Romans chapter 5 the Bible shows us that in his grace God is crafting the experiences of our lives to teach us perseverance. This is what it says:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

22 November

Today's the day when in 1963 President John F Kennedy was assassinated by a gunman in Dallas, Texas. The presidential motorcade was traveling from Dallas airport to the city centre when shots were fired from the window of a building overlooking the road. The President collapsed into the arms of Jackie Kennedy. Seconds later Texas Governor John Connally who was travelling with the Kennedys was shot in the back and seriously injured. Shortly afterwards Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the murder of the President but he himself was shot two days later and was never brought to trial.

Millions of people still remember where they were when they heard the news that JFK had been shot. It's one of the defining moments of modern history and an event that made a lasting impression on a whole generation. It seems strange that so many people can share in such a vivid memory of one man's death. Yet at the very heart of Christianity is the death of one man, Jesus Christ, which was not just a defining moment for one generation but for every generation. This is how the once-for-all death of Jesus, our great High priest, is described in Hebrews chapter 7:

Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

21 November

Today's the day when in 1934 Ella Fitzgerald made her singing debut at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. She went on to become one of the most influential jazz vocalists in the 20th century, winning 13 Grammy Awards over a period of five decades. With a vocal range spanning three octaves, she was noted for her purity of tone, near faultless phrasing and intonation and she was one of the greatest interpreters of classic American songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin.

Who could have guessed at that debut performance in New York what the future would hold? Who could have imagined what greatness lay ahead? In a similar way, when we know God as our Father we don’t know exactly what lies ahead in this life or the next, but we know that in some way great things have been prepared for each of us. Listen to these words from 1 Corinthians chapter 2:

No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him.

20 November

Today's the day when in 1995 Princess Diana appeared in a TV interview and spoke openly about her separation from the Prince of Wales. Interviewed by Martin Bashir on Panorama, she famously said that she would like to be a queen of people's hearts but she did not see herself becoming Queen of this country. Admitting that she had been unfaithful to Prince Charles, she also spoke of his extra-marital affair saying, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

These unusually frank and personal remarks from a member of the Royal Family shocked the nation and evoked considerable sympathy for Princess Diana. The failure of the royal marriage caused genuine sadness to millions of people. Day by day we meet people who are themselves going through real troubles, whether it’s the breakdown of relationships or other serious difficulties. It’s easy to think, "that’s your problem, not mine" but in Galatians the Bible encourages us to listen and get involved in each other's problems. It says:

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

What’s more, we can trust our problems to God’s care and show others that God can lift the weight from their shoulders in a way we never can. This is just what the writer of Psalm 68 is celebrating when he says:

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour,
who daily bears our burdens.

19 November

Todays' the day when in 1994 Britain's first ever National Lottery draw took place. Lottery operators Camelot announced that around 15 million people had bought 35 million tickets between them, at a cost of £1 each. They were hoping to win a jackpot of about £7 million although their chances of doing so were only one in 14 million. In fact seven winners got around £800,000 each in that first lottery draw.

Although the lottery has always been publicised as just a game and a bit of fun, Christians have generally been very wary of taking part. The ‘ticket to dream’ can easily be a ticket to envy and greed – to buy into the false dream that more cash can solve our problems and make us happy. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he teaches him (and us) about the satisfaction that comes from being content with our material possessions:

Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

18 November

Today's the day when in 2000 the celebrity wedding of the year took place as Hollywood leading man Michael Douglas married Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones. The ceremony took place in New York’s Plaza Hotel at an estimated cost of £1.5 million, but it was shrouded in secrecy due to an exclusive deal with OK! Magazine reputedly worth £1 million. Security was so tight that guests had to show their hologrammed invitations before being allowed in and private photographs were banned.

In a world where the process and cost of holding a wedding often seems to eclipse the importance of marriage itself, it’s good to listen to the Bible setting out a pattern for loving commitment in marriage, as it does in Ephesians 5:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

17 November

Today's the day when in 2003 Arnold Shwarzenegger was inaugurated as Governor of California. His career had already taken him from body-builder to film star; his big break came in ‘Conan The Barbarian’ in 1982 but he remains best known for his role as ‘The Terminator’ in James Cameron’s 1984 android thriller. His move into politics began with a determination to promote physical fitness for young people and more recently the ‘Governator’, as he has become known to many, has endorsed a radical commitment to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Schwarzenegger is not the first person to allow his celebrity status to help him step up to a position where he can make a difference in society. But making a difference is not just the role of celebrities or politicians. Through the prophet Micah God issues a challenge to all of us to live in such a way that the world around us will be blessed. This is how he puts it:

He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

16 November

Today's the day when in 1961 boxer Frank Bruno was born. He rose to fame after turning professional in 1980 and winning 21 consecutive fights by knockout, and his career reached its climax in 1995 when he won the WBC world heavyweight championship. Bruno achieved great popularity with the public by cultivating his cuddly bear image and his friendship with commentator Harry Carpenter, not to mention his frequent appearances in pantomime. Sadly after his retirement from boxing his life took a turn for the worse, following the breakdown of his marriage, the suicide of his former trainer George Francis a serious mental health problem.

Frank Bruno’s life has probably had greater highs and lows than most of us experience. But for all of us life is an often unpredictable mixture of good times and bad times. The Bible gives us a great reassurance that God is with us in the best of times and in the worst of times. This is how God’s faithfulness is spelt out in Romans 8:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

15 November

Today's the day when in 1889 Brazil's last emperor was deposed in a military coup. The Brazilian monarchy had been established in 1822, when Portugal's crown prince, Dom Pedro, proclaimed an independent Brazil under his rule. The Brazilian empire got off to a rough start, however, and in 1831 Emperor Pedro I abdicated in favour of his five-year-old son and returned to Portugal. Pedro II was crowned emperor in 1841 and during his five-decade reign Brazil enjoyed unprecedented stability. However, he later alienated certain sectors in society, including the military and the growing urban middle class. After being deposed in 1889, Pedro II went to Europe, where he died in exile two years later.

The New Testament urges us to depose the powers that set themselves up in our lives in opposition to God. False thoughts and wrong actions quickly become strongholds which obstruct God’s kingdom work in us and through us. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 tells us to be ruthless with them:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

14 November

Today's the day when in 1922 the BBC began regular radio broadcasts from London. The station known as 2LO began broadcasting on medium wave from Marconi House. Programming began with a newscast read by Arthur Burrows, the first Director of Programmes. The following day BBC broadcasts from Birmingham and Manchester were launched. From these simple beginnings has grown the vast international media corporation that is today’s BBC. Could Arthur Burrows and his colleagues have believed how deeply radio and TV would penetrate our society in the years to come?

Believing in the power of communication is at the heart of living as a Christian. God has spoken supremely about his love and salvation through Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose again. But he is still speaking to us in our daily lives by his Holy Spirit. The book of Acts tells us that since Pentecost the promise of the prophet Joel has been fulfilled and God is actively communicating with all his people, young and old, men and women by his Spirit. These words are from Acts 2:

… this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
`In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.’

So today, listen out for what God is saying to you by his Spirit. Is there a dream he has given you or a word burning in your heart that you know is from him?

13 November

Today’s the day when in 1940 Walt Disney’s film Fantasia was first released. The unusual animated film had no plot; it was an ambitious, artistic attempt to marry music and animation in a new way. The film's many animated sequences ranged from Mickey Mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" to dancing hippos in "The Dance of the Hours." In 1999, the film was updated and re-released as Fantasia 2000, with new sequences to music including Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

Disney had successfully shown that music does not just have to be the background to films – it can be the subject, because music is a wonderful gift from God that has great power to move us deeply and enable us to express ourselves in a way that words cannot. So it’s no wonder that God commands a fantasia of praise from the full orchestra of created things. This is how Psalm 150 puts it:

Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

12 November

Today’s the day when in 2001 Greek authorities announced they would hold in custody 12 British plane spotters who had been arrested on charges of spying. The 11 men and one woman denied taking photographs in a restricted military zone. They had been attending an air show at a military base near Kalamata in southern Greece. British diplomats said they understood the group had a written invitation to attend the air show, but one which would have included a strict no-photography clause. They expected the court to view the whole affair as a cultural misunderstanding since plane-spotting is almost unheard of in Greece but in fact it took the group until 2003 to clear their names.

Back in the Old Testament some real spies managed to go unnoticed in their mission to bring a report of the Promised Land to Moses and Aaron. Some of the spies were filled with fear by what they saw, but Joshua and Caleb were full of faith. Their report is recorded like this in Numbers 14:

"The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

There’s a word to encourage us to trust God today, whatever we think lies ahead.

11 November

Today’s the day when in 1918 the First World War came to an end. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month an armistice was signed between Germany and the Allies. The war had left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation or exposure, as a result of the conflict. The coming of peace was a great cause for celebration, but against a background of terrible suffering that had preceded it.

When the New Testament reminds us to rejoice that there is peace between ourselves and God it cannot do so without also drawing our attention to the suffering that preceded the achievement of peace – in this case the costly death of Jesus for us. These words are from Romans 5:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

10 November

Today’s the day when in 1944 lyricist Sir Tim Rice was born. Best known for his collaborations with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and his work with Sir Elton John to create The Lion King, he has also appeared regularly on TV and radio. He co-founded The Guinness Book of Hit Singles and appears in the film About A Boy in several real clips from the gameshow Countdown where he acts as the adjudicator. He remains outstanding as a great wordsmith and communicator.

All of us will speak thousands of words today. They might not be as carefully thought out as Tim Rice’s lyrics, but we would be wise to ask God’s Spirit to watch over our speaking. This prayer from psalm 19 helps us to do just that:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

9 November

Today’s the day when in 1989 East Germany opened the Berlin Wall, allowing travel from East to West Berlin for the first time in decades. The following day, celebrating Germans began to tear the wall down. One of the ugliest and most infamous symbols of the Cold War was soon reduced to rubble that was quickly snatched up by souvenir hunters.

We are probably all glad to be without the Berlin Wall but it’s all too easy for us to build our own barriers between ourselves and other people. One of the easiest ways to do that is when we hold a grudge against someone who has offended us, especially if they have upset us more than once. Let’s listen to a conversation between Jesus and Peter on this subject, recorded in Matthew chapter 18:

Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister when they sin against me? Up to seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

When he said that, Jesus didn’t mean, ‘start counting until someone has sinned against you 70 times 7’. He meant, ‘stop counting and start forgiving.’

8 November

Today’s the day when in 1793 the Louvre Museum in Paris was opened. Best-known for being the home of the Mona Lisa and the setting of many scenes in ‘The Da Vicnci Code’, the Louvre was a royal palace for two centuries before the revolutionary government made it a museum. Today the Louvre’s collection is one of the richest in the world, with artwork and artefacts claiming to represent 11,000 years of human civilization and culture.

It’s hard to imagine how many people and civilisations have gone before us in this world and how many generations might follow us. But there is no doubt that God is the Lord of history and the King over all ages. In the Book of Revelation the victorious saints sing this anthem of praise to Jesus in chapter 15:

"Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.

Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed."

7 November

Today’s the day when in 1913 the French Novelist Albert Camus was born. He is most famous for his 1942 novel ‘The Stranger’ and his later book ‘The Plague’ in which he expressed his views on the absurdity and futility of human labour. In his view no events had any significance or meaning so the best we can hope to do is to make our own meaning by trying to enjoy our struggles. Camus was a long way from the Biblical view of life, which tells us that God has created us with the special purpose of reflecting his glory by the way we live our lives and becoming more like him. This is how the Apostle Paul sums it the astonishing purpose God has given us for living, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3:

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

6 November

Today’s the day when in 1972 the British Government froze pay and prices in an attempt to halt spiralling inflation. After talks between the Government, the TUC and the CBI had failed to produce an anti-inflationary deal, Prime Minister Edward Heath announced in Parliament there would be controls on pay and prices. In the following months this led to widespread industrial unrest, most memorably the miners’ strike the following year which caused serious power shortages and led to the imposition of a three-day week.

Earning our wages is important to all of us and generally we hope that over time they will increase. A three day week sounds attractive, but if we didn’t get our full week’s pay most of us would have difficultly paying the bills.

Yet when it comes to knowing God, what matters is not what we can earn but what God freely gives. If we think we can earn his love by what we do we are seriously deluded. His word tells us that if he paid us the wages we deserve, it would be dreadful; but instead he gives us the wonderful undeserved blessing of life in all its fullness. This is how Romans 6 verse 23 puts it:

‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.’

5 November

Today’s the day when in 1952 General Dwight D Eisenhower swept to victory in the American presidential elections with the largest number of popular votes ever recorded for a presidential candidate. His popularity among the American people as a military hero, having commanded his country's troops through Europe during World War II, was translated into a landslide of over 31 million votes.

The challenge for Christians is to welcome Jesus to rule over us with such enthusiastic acclaim. When we first start walking with him we name him as our ‘Lord’ but it’s easy to forget that as time goes by. And that’s precisely why peter says this in his first letter:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Maybe you have voted Jesus out of office in your life so he is no longer ruling over you. If so, are you ready to set him apart as Lord once again today?

4 November

Today’s the day when in 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated as he left a peace rally in Tel Aviv. The gunman was rapidly overpowered and arrested. He was believed to be one of the founders of an illegal Jewish settlement on the West Bank and a member of an extreme right-wing organisation. The rally at which Mr Rabin was shot was attended by about 100,000 Israelis who backed the Rabin government's peace initiatives with the Palestinians.

If you work for peace, whether it’s on an international scale or in your own family or workplace, Jesus says you come under God’s blessing. But in the next breath he warns us that doing what is righteous is no guarantee of popularity. Here are his words from Matthew 5:

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3 November

Today’s the day when in 1957 Russia launched a dog into space. Laika, described only as ‘a female Russian breed’, was the first living creature to be sent into space. She travelled on the satellite Sputnik II and was fitted with monitors to check her heartbeat and other vital signs. Animal welfare organisations expressed outrage but the Russian authorities insisted that this experiment allowed them to learn vital information about the prospects for human space travel. So you might say that Laika was the pioneer for all the human beings who since travelled in space.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the only way to the Father and in Hebrews 6 it explains that he is the pioneer who has gone before us into God’s to prepare the way for us to follow. This is what it says:

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

2 November

Today’s the day when in 1998 the Morris worm became the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention. It was launched from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A worm is a self-replicating program that uses a network to send copies of itself to other systems and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms always harm the network, if only by consuming bandwidth. They have been causing us frustration ever since and countless hours of research have been spent trying to create the computer equivalent of a worming tablet. Disciples of Jesus are people who have been launched into a new life by the power of his Spirit and whose influence spreads through the network of their relationships. Jesus didn’t have the analogy of computer worms to work with, so he illustrated the point with good old salt and light. This is what he says in Matthew 5:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

1 November

Today’s the day when in 1986 the River Rhine turned red. Following a catastrophic fire at a chemical factory in Switzerland, 30 tons of pesticides were discharged into the river, giving the water a bright red appearance. Within 10 days the pollution had travelled the length of the Rhine, killing an estimated half million fish and wiping out some entire species. A public outcry resulted and the Rhine Action Programme was set up to clean up the river. There were celebrations when salmon finally returned in 1997.

You hear a story like that and it reminds you of the time God turned the River Nile red. It was the first plague he brought on Israel when the Pharaoh refused to set God’s people free from slavery. This is how it’s recorded in Exodus 7:

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

If, like Pharaoh, you’ve been tempted to ignore something God is saying to you, that’s just a gentle reminder of how seriously God takes his own word and how much he wants us to listen.