December 5
“With amazement the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of that people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth. The Jewish nation had been preserved as a witness that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham and of David's line; yet they knew not that His coming was now at hand. In the temple the morning and the evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God; yet even here was no preparation to receive Him. The priests and teachers of the nation knew not that the greatest event of the ages was about to take place. They rehearsed their meaningless prayers, and performed the rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honour they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah. The same indifference pervaded the land of Israel. Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were untouched by the joy that thrilled all heaven. Only a few were longing to behold the Unseen. To these heaven's embassy was sent.”
Desire of Ages, page 44 from the chapter, 'Unto you a Saviour'
God does not force himself upon anyone, even upon those who are supposed to be His family. Heaven’s ambassadors only went to those who were prepared – and you’ll be finding out soon who were listening. Talk about an unlikely audience!
At the same time there are none so deaf as those that will not hear. Imagine you are a priest in that magnificent temple. I’ve seen the stones of the plinth the old temple was built on. Even the plinth is magnificent! You can read the thoughts of the disciples as they try to get Jesus to talk about the temple,
“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.”
So the building is magnificent – and the ceremonies that went on inside were a spectacle to behold. Even Roman soldiers serving in the area were impressed. They compared the Jewish religion with their own soldier’s faith and chose to follow the God of the people they were aiming to keep under control.
It appears that everyone was moved by all that was at the heart of the Jewish faith, except the Jews themselves.
It is so easy to get accustomed to something and fail to see the meaning of the event. I took time out yesterday to swim. Half-way through 1500m I had cramp in my feet. Talk about pain, (well, pain for a man). I kept on swimming, I ignored the pain. You can get used to almost anything. You can even ignore God at the heart of your faith.
It takes courage to re-examine your faith to find out if you are still in the faith and not just going through the motions. Here is your promise for the day, because you are one of those who has examined your faith …
“The same indifference pervaded the land of Israel. Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were untouched by the joy that thrilled all heaven. Only a few were longing to behold the Unseen. To these heaven's embassy was sent.”
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
From October 21st this site will continue going through 'Desire of Ages' - but begin to advance rather faster than one paragraph at a time.
Our sister site, at the Upper Room, will progress at a rather slower pace - one paragraph at a time. If you want to head to our sister site for the slower trip through an excellent book you will eventually follow a link to the Upper Room. This will start on October 21st.
"When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Gal. 4:4, 5
The Saviour's coming was foretold in Eden. When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment. They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer. But the fulfillment of the promise tarried. Those who first received it died without the sight. From the days of Enoch the promise was repeated through patriarchs and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His appearing, and yet He came not. The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message. Century after century passed away; the voices of the prophets ceased. The hand of the oppressor was heavy upon Israel, and many were ready to exclaim, "The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth." Ezek. 12:22.
