May 7

John was to go forth as Jehovah's messenger, to bring to men the light of God. He must give a new direction to their thoughts. He must impress them with the holiness of God's requirements, and their need of His perfect righteousness. Such a messenger must be holy. He must be a temple for the indwelling Spirit of God. In order to fulfil his mission, he must have a sound physical constitution, and mental and spiritual strength. Therefore it would be necessary for him to control the appetites and passions. He must be able so to control all his powers that he could stand among men as unmoved by surrounding circumstances as the rocks and mountains of the wilderness.

     I was reading a book called, ‘Acts of the Apostles’, the last few pages and came upon a description of some of the main elements of the Apostle Peter’s second Epistle. The writer was describing how God puts these words into action, “His 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.” 2 Peter 1:3

     I have been re-editing a preaching course and have heavily emphasized the idea of asking many questions of the text you are trying to find about. A question we could ask of the words Peter wrote might be, “When does God give us this divine power?” We might think that God gives us the power that we need in the future. I’m sure that God does give us power for future events. I’m also sure that God gives us everything we need to be prepared for future events.

     God knew that He needed a messenger so he chose Zacharias and his wife to have a child at the right time in the right place. God used His power ahead of time. In the same way God then paved the way for His messenger’s future health by prescribing a diet that would fit him for his heraldic role.

     We, as a church, understand we have a particular role in this planet’s spiritual history. We are ‘angels’ giving a special message to this world. If God chose to equip John beforehand with the requirements to be an effective messenger then perhaps we ought to take our own current health more seriously to equip us for future action for God?

Do I know Bryn’s theme for the week? No, not yet. The song for today is ‘Highway to heaven’ and is by Jessy Dixon and the Gaither Homecoming Friends I understand the video was recorded in London. Please click on the picture to listen.