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The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2016Sample
### The Source of all Good Things
People are looking for happiness. They are searching for love. They are
desperate for peace. But so often, we look in the wrong places.
St Augustine prayed, 'Lord... you have made us for yourself and our hearts are
restless until they find their rest in you.' God is the source of all good
things.
### Psalm 4:1-8
## 1\. The source of joy and peace
So often we seek joy and peace in the wrong places. 'How long will you love
*delusions* and seek *false gods*?' (v.2). We think that money, possessions or
success will be the answer. But these are delusions and false gods. David
tells us where true joy and peace is to be found - God has made us for a
relationship with him (v.3).
We are not promised a problem-free life - the psalm starts with a cry, 'Give
me *relief* from my *distress*; be merciful to me and hear my prayer' (v.1b).
David is confident that God will hear, 'He listens the split second I call to
him' (v.3b, MSG).
God alone is the true source of joy and peace. 'Let the light of your face
shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when
their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and *sleep in peace*, for you
alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety' (vv.6b-8).
There is greater joy in the presence of God than there is in material
prosperity and luxury. Prosperity, and the apparent security it brings, does
not necessarily lead to peaceful sleep. Only in God's will can we truly 'dwell
in safety' (v.8).
> Lord, thank you for listening when I call to you. Today, I seek you and put
my trust in you. Let the light of your face shine on me. Fill my heart with
the joy of your presence and grant me peaceful sleep.
### Matthew 4:23-5:20
## 2\. The source of blessing and true happiness
According to Jesus, true happiness does not come from all the things that
society suggests. It does not come from celebrity, beauty, wealth and
possessions. It is not about how you feel. It is not about what you have or
even about what you do.
The Greek word used in 5:3-11, '*makarios*', means 'blessed', 'fortunate',
'happy' - the privileged recipient of God's favour. Or, as the Amplified
version puts it, 'happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous, that is,
with life-joy and satisfaction… regardless of their outward conditions.'
In the Beatitudes ('beautiful attitudes'!) Jesus highlights eight unexpected
situations in which you receive God's favour and blessings.
* Be spiritually desperate for God
'Blessed are the poor in spirit' (v.3a). The word for 'poor' means 'begging…
dependent on others for support'. Here, it means being brought low or weakened
to come to the place of realising the need to depend on Jesus. 'You're blessed
when you're at the end of your rope' (v.3a, MSG). The poor in spirit are
blessed because, through what Jesus has come to make possible, 'theirs is the
kingdom of heaven' (v.3b).
* Weep over your condition
'Blessed are those who mourn' (v.4a). Mourn your own sin and the mess in the
world around you. Weep with those who weep. It is not wrong to weep and to
mourn the loss of those we love. Jesus' promise is that those who mourn 'will
be comforted' (v.4b). God's comfort goes way beyond any kind of ordinary
comfort. As Joyce Meyer writes, 'It's almost worth having a problem in order
to be able to experience it.'
* Be content with who you are
'Blessed are the meek' (v.5a). The Greek word for 'meek' means 'gentle',
'considerate', 'unassuming'. It is showing kindness and love for others. It is
the opposite of arrogance and self-seeking. It means 'broken', not in the
sense of a broken glass that is shattered, but in the way that a horse is
broken - tamed, strength under control. Through Jesus the meek are blessed -
'they will inherit the earth' (v.5b).
'You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less'
(v.5a, MSG).
* Be hungry for God
'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness' (v.6a). Pursue a
relationship with God as your number one priority in life. Pursuing anything
else for its own sake ultimately leaves you empty. But the blessing of a
hunger for God and his righteousness is that you 'will be filled' (v.6b).
'You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God' (v.6a, MSG).
* Receive forgiveness and be merciful
'Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy' (v.7a). Don't give
people what they 'deserve', but give them what they don't deserve. As C. S.
Lewis put it, 'To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God
has forgiven the inexcusable in you. ' The merciful are blessed because 'they
will be shown mercy' (v.7b).
* Be completely sincere
'Blessed are the pure in heart' (v.8a). This is not just outward purity but
integrity, openness, sincerity and authenticity. It is a purity that truly
allows us to 'see God' (v.8b). A pure heart starts with your thoughts because
your thoughts become your words, your actions and your character.
To be pure in heart means to allow others to see us as we are - in all our
brokenness and vulnerability. 'You're blessed when you get your inside world -
your mind and heart - put right' (v.8a, MSG).
* Strive to bring peace
'Blessed are the peacemakers' (v.9a). Don't stir up conflict, but make peace.
Jesus, the Son of God, came to make peace for us on the cross (Colossians
1:20). Blessed are the peacemakers 'for they will be called children of God'
(Matthew 5:9b).
'You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete
or fight' (v.9a, MSG).
* Expect nothing in return except persecution
'Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness' (v.10a). Don't
expect anything from the world in return except criticism. But God is with the
persecuted church: 'theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (v.10b).
'You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution' (v.10, MSG).
We see here the third way in which Jesus fulfils the Old Testament. We have
already seen that Jesus fulfils the Old Testament *history *(Matthew 1:1-17)
and how he fulfils the promises of the Old Testament *prophecies* (Matthew
1:18-4:16). Now, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus fulfils the Old Testament
*Law* by revealing its full depth and meaning: 'Don't suppose for a minute
that I have come to demolish the Scriptures - either God's Law or the
Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to *complete*' (Matthew 5:17, MSG).
The American rock singer turned pastor, John Wimber, said, 'Jesus is
insatiable. Everything we do pleases him but nothing satisfies him. I have
been satisfied with Jesus. He has not been satisfied with me. He keeps raising
the standards. He walks in high places.' In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
'raised the bar' to the sky, not to bring us down but to lift us up: 'I've put
you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - shine!' (5:16, MSG).
> Lord, I long to live by the values of the Sermon on the Mount and be
characterised by the Beatitudes. Forgive me for falling short. Help me to live
like this in the year ahead. Help us as a community to live like this and to
be a light to the world around us.
### Genesis 9:18-11:9
## 3\. The source of love and unity
Love covers and protects. It does not seek to expose other people's weaknesses
and faults. It does not delight in other's misfortunes.
Today's passage begins with the rather strange account of Noah getting drunk.
The fact that he was a righteous man did not mean that he was perfect. Shem
and Japheth are commended for '*cover[ing]* their father's nakedness' (9:23).
Love and unity go hand in hand. The Tower of Babel is the symbol of disunity
(11:1-9). The people said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower
that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make *a* *name for ourselves*'
(v.4). This act of pride and power-seeking led to disunity, symbolised in the
confusion of different languages in the world. 'The Lord confused the language
of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the
whole earth' (v.9).
The day of Pentecost was the reversal of Babel. The Holy Spirit enables people
to say: 'each of us hears them [speaking] in our native language' (Acts 2:8).
The gift of tongues symbolises the fact that the Holy Spirit reverses the
disunity of Babel and unites all peoples and languages.
This is the common experience today as we see the Holy Spirit bringing love
and unity across churches, languages and nations.
> Lord, may we never seek to make a name for ourselves or our own church,
denomination or movement. Rather, may we seek to glorify your name. Pour out
your Spirit, O Lord, on the church as on the day of Pentecost. May there be a
reversal of Babel. May there be an end to disunity. May your Spirit and the
values of the kingdom of God bring love, joy, peace, true happiness and unity.
### Pippa Adds
**Matthew 4:24**
'People brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those
suffering… and he healed them.'
I am going to pray for anyone I know who is sick or suffering today.
St Augustine, Confessions: Book 1 (Penguin, 1961) p.21
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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible,
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About this Plan
Start your day with the Bible in One Year, a free Bible reading plan with commentary by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Nicky Gumbel is the Vicar of HTB in London and pioneer of Alpha. This is an updated plan for 2016. ‘My fa...
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