(Or, what did I read and listen to during the lockdowns?)

This is a current issue. Since March 2020 (and earlier in some countries) millions of Christians have been unable to physically attend meetings in their Church buildings. I am one.

There was already a vast resource of Christian material available online. Lockdown massively added to that.

I’ve seen some discussion as to how we should navigate this material. Helpfully, many Churches have communicated recommended materials to their members.

In addition to listening to that recommended material, I identified two things to avoid; overload and confusion. So, I listen to and read teaching by Mike Betts, who oversees the Relational Mission family of Churches, to which I belong. { https://www.relationalmission.org/] I then look for what Mike recommends, confident that it will hold similar values. That gives me a set of resources in which I have great confidence.

Does that not make you too narrow? Perhaps, but it helps me not to get confused. Of course, I do listen to some other material, but I major on what I know will do me good.

I should add that, in my professional work I work with Churches and other faith groups from a very wide spectrum, and routinely read material from them.

So, is everyone else wrong? Of course not! I seek to be devoted to the apostle’s doctrine within Relational Mission. I am convinced it is correct. But, RM would never claim to hold the whole truth. RM contributes to the whole just as other Churches and groups do. But I can only be devoted to one.

In my reading I came across one group of Churches whose vision statement declares that ’the Church has left out 90% of the gospel and only kept 10%.’ In contrast to this blatant criticism of other groups, it is important to honour other Churches and respect them as part of God’s family. By God’s grace, I respect Churches to which I do not belong. We can and must learn and grow together.

Respect for other Churches is a mark of Relational Mission leaders. Relational Mission Churches frequently partner with other Churches to serve their local communities. I hope to have a similar, generous, attitude.

These words are quoted from Heb 12.28; “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.””

A few verses later the writer says; “for here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Heb 13.14).

There are many things to learn from these words. For one, the visible world is not the entirety of the world. There is the unseen, the spiritual. The Bible makes clear that the unseen is actually more real than the visible world. The present world is but a shadow of the unseen world.

What I find striking is that these wonderful truths motivate us, not to seek to escape from this world, but to be a blessing in it. The direct commands here need no explanation!

• Be thankful
• Be hospitable
• Be content
• Honour leaders
• Be loyal to the truth

Confidence about our future destiny is a powerful motivation to life with integrity in this world.

We are already receiving the kingdom, which is the future, but now. We taste Heaven here on earth. Eternity has started. Therefore we press on to know Christ and make Him known.

The Bridge Church, St Ives, of which I am a member, has recently finished a sermon series on the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. This comprises five books; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. You will find this material here: www.thebridgechurch.co.uk/media/ and includes my own contributions.

This single sermon on the book of Job started me thinking …

Eliphaz starts where some people start, with divine retribution. “Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?” (4.7) This is neither true nor helpful.

Later, Eliphaz reveals his authority. “A word was secretly brought to me … a spirit glided past my face … I heard a hushed voice.” (4.12-16). He claimed some sort of spiritual revelation. But the form of it allows no challenge. ‘God has spoken,’ he claims, leaving no room for discussion and debate.

Bildad’s conclusion is the same, but his authority is different. “Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned.” (8.8-10). Tradition and antiquity are his authority. The older the better!

Zophar is a mystic. “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” (11.7-9) Yet his conclusion is the same.

There are many doctrines (teachings) in the world. They all come from somewhere. A Church leader commented that it used to be possible to work out what book a person had been reading from their conversation. That is harder now that we multiply our sources with the internet. One risk is that the many voices can confuse our thinking.

There is much to learn from Job. The divine testimony (42.7) is that Job has spoken what is right about God.  Like the Psalmist he is free to bring his complaints before God. And God hears him!

Job comments on the injustice of life. Life is not so black-and-white as his friends suggest; “one man dies in full vigour … another man dies in bitterness of soul … side by side they lie in the dust …” (21.22-26). Like the writer of Ecclesiastes, Job sees that the outcome does not always appear fair.

And, jumping to the conclusion. “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more that the first.” (42.12). This is not a universal promise of material wealth to the faithful followers of God. It is simply the way God manifested His mercy to Job, His servant.

On his sermon on Job 1.1, John Calvin comments that Job maintains a good cause, but pleads it poorly. In contrast his friends maintain a poor cause, but plead it well. It comes as a challenge when truth is poorly argued, but error comes with force and conviction.

My Bible Notes comments start here: www.biblenotes.org.uk/editor/index.php?testament=old-testament&book=Job&chapter=1