[46] While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. [47] Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” [48] He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” [49] Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. [50] For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:46-50
A brother is someone with whom you share the same parents. That’s in the strict sense of the word. But actually, we use the word ‘brother’ much more broadly. You probably have a friend, or even friends, of whom you might say, “he’s like a brother to me.” I certainly have a good bunch of friends of whom this could be said. Indeed, the term ‘brotherhood’ actually has three definitions:
The relationship between brothers
The feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of people or all people
An association or community of people linked by a common interest, religion or trade.
It is this third idea that is most important today.
In our passage this morning, Jesus is teaching. A large crowd has gathered, and his family are outside wanting to speak to him. You can imagine them trying to force their way through the gathered throng, trying to get to Jesus, but being pushed back by others desperate to hear what Jesus has to say. They manage to get a message through to Jesus – “tell him we want a word, will you.” They probably expected Jesus to pause, leave the building, and to head out to meet them. But he doesn’t! He’s teaching the crowd – something that he believed was a fundamental part of his mission. It was important to him that he was able to continue teaching the crowd.
His response to the person who passed on his message is interesting. He asks, “who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” I can imagine the messenger being a little confused by this response! Maybe he started to say something like, “those people waiting for you outside!” or maybe he just shrugged in confusion.
Jesus then pointed to his disciples and told the messenger, “here are my mother and my brothers.” Here, then, is the ‘association or community of people linked by a common interest, religion or trade’. At times we might read about the actions of the disciples and wonder why they were so slow, why they failed to grasp the true identity of Jesus, or why they let Jesus down so often. Maybe Jesus felt this way at times. But ultimately, they are his followers. They share Jesus’ mission. They’ve invested their lives in following him, sharing his message of hope with others, helping people to understand that the Messiah has come, and that Jesus is that Messiah. I can’t imagine that there’s a much closer bond than that!
What’s more, when Jesus points at the disciples, we too can be included in that group. We too can number ourselves amongst Jesus’ brothers – and sisters. Jesus says that, “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
If we do the will of God, we too can join that special family of Christ.
But how do we do the will of God? Primarily be striving to be more like Christ, to follow his teachings, to live a life that honours him, and to put him first in all that we do and every decision we take. Reading and studying the Word of God as found in the Bible will be a huge help here, since by doing so we can uncover exactly how God wants us to live.
One verse that summarises this all really clearly is to be found in the Old Testament, in the book of Micah:
He has shown you, O mortal, 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.
Micah 6:8
What is the will of God? For us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Much more could be written about this, but these Bible Notes are supposed to be brief!
Perhaps I’ll leave that with you to reflect on today.
Just think how wonderful it is to be a brother or sister of Christ!
Question for reflection: What does it mean to you to “act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God?” How might you do this in the days, weeks and months ahead?
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Good morning! I hope and pray that your week has got off to a good start. It’s particularly cold here in the UK at the moment; I hope that you’re managing to keep warm.
In today’s Bible Notes we continue looking at the teachings of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel:
[33] “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. [34] You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. [35] A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. [36] But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. [37] For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned .”
Matthew 12:33-37
I once knew someone who worked in the RAF. One day lunch I asked him about erroneous missile strikes. There had been a spate of them at that time, including one incident where a hospital in Iraq had been struck. I asked my friend who such calamitous errors could occur in a time when we have such advanced technology. I wasn’t trying to apportion blame, I was just genuinely curious how these dreadful mistakes happened. I remember his answer: “stupid in, stupid out.” The system might be clever, but if human error leads to mistakes in the coordinates being entered, then of course there will be mistakes. If you want to ensure that your missiles hit the right target, you have to put the right data in. Stupid mistakes lead to stupid mistakes. (I did posit that a better way of avoiding civilian targets being hit was to avoid missile strikes altogether, but apparently this is an oversimplistic view).
I do find that idea of “stupid in, stupid out” interesting though. I suppose the same is true if you build a house. If you build lousy foundations you’ll get a lousy house. If you use low quality ingredients in a cake you’ll get a low quality cake. If you eat poor food then you’ll have poor health. If you feed your brain unpleasant stuff, then the changes are you’ll be an unpleasant person.
It’s this last point that Jesus picks up in his teaching today. In verse 35 he says, “a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” If we binge on filth, whether that’s stuff we read, stuff we watch, or stuff we see, it’s likely that we will not be the most pleasant of people. This will manifest itself in the way we see the world, the way we regard people, and the way we interact with people. How can it not?
Instead, if we fill our hearts and our minds with positivity and goodness, that will be the way that we see the world and other people.
I’m aware that these are tough times we’re living through. Really tough. Our freedom is restricted. Our ability to meet up with those we love is frequently limited. Even getting hold of our favourite things is tricky. Being positive and good, thoughtful and generous, is perhaps harder than at any point in our lives. But if we fill ourselves with positivity, thoughtfulness and kindness we can change ourselves and the lives of those whom we encounter.
Where do we find this goodness? How do we store up goodness within us?
I would suggest that immersing ourselves in the teachings of Christ, reading his word, and striving to follow his example in all that we do is a great way to start. Ask him to send his Spirit into our lives, to refresh us and renew us, would be a very positive thing to do. Apologising for times when we’ve turned away from him and his way, and committing ourselves to follow him would be a great step to take.
However you’re feeling, whatever your perspective is, why not try to do that today?
Question for reflection: what are the negative, evil influences in our lives? Do we need to take active steps to move away from them? What can we do to fill ourselves with love and goodness instead?
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Good morning! I hope that you had a pleasant weekend.
Can you believe that we’re now in the season of advent? This is the season when we look forward to the return of Christ whilst also remembering the miracle of his birth-the son of God, God himself no less, being born to a young virgin in a quiet, undistinguished town in the Middle East. There will be much more of that in the coming days. Today we continue looking at the teaching of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel:
9 He left that place and entered their synagogue; 10a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. 11He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’13Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
Matthew 12:9-14
I have trackers on quite a number of items. My house keys have an AirTag. My car key has a Tile. Since I’m particularly paranoid about losing my medical pack, which I have to take everywhere with me, it actually has two trackers-an AirTag and a Vodafone Curve! It’s probably overkill, but since it’s so important to me I’m taking no risks.
Today’s verses are about the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, which many people in the time of Jesus (and indeed many today) went to great lengths to avoid anything that could potentially be regarded as work. God, after all, had rested on the seventh day of creation, and given the order that we should do the same – rest and keep the day holy.
Jesus does not teach that the Sabbath should be left unobserved-that his followers shouldn’t rest and keep it holy. But he refuses to fall into the traps laid by his enemies. Yes, the Sabbath is important, but more important is the welfare of all people.
Jesus points out that if someone only has a single sheep and it falls into a pit, they would of course lift it out. That single sheep is of great importance-the person who it belongs to will have come to love and treasure it, since it was the only sheep they had. If they lost their only sheep, they would lose the sheep that may have provided them with milk, with wool, and ultimately, with meat.
A human being is even more valuable than a sheep. If someone would do good to a sheep, why would they not do good to help out a fellow person?
Elsewhere Jesus tells similar stories to show how great his love is for humanity. He describes himself as the Good Shepherd. In this case, though, he seems to me to be teaching about the inherent value of human life, and how we should love, respect and help our fellow people whenever and wherever we can.
It’s perhaps easy to do this with our friends and family, but what about other people? Is there an element of selfishness within us that puts our needs before others? Do we take every opportunity to help the homeless person we see every day? Do we respect other people’s space as we continue to battle COVID-19? Do we dehumanise the migrants risking their lives as they brave small boats to cross the English Channel?
How would Jesus treat people in these circumstances? What would he do? Can we strive to follow his lead? Can we see the value in each and every person and do our best to support them-on the Sabbath day, and, of course, on every other day of the week too?
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Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope that you’ve had a good week thus far.
In our final Biblenotes.email of the week we consider Jesus’ credentials after John the Baptist asked his disciples to find out if he was the Messiah or a prophet. Our reading comes from Matthew’s Gospel:
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Matthew 11:2-6
One of the changes brought about by COVID is that there are far fewer people calling door to door. Previously we used to get quite a number of charity collectors visiting our house, as well as lots of people trying to encourage us to sign up for weekly menu boxes – pre-measured produce and recipe cards that you use to make your own meals. One of the most memorable people to visit our door, though, was a guy dressed in a three-piece suit and sporting a trilby hat plus a classic pocket watch. He spoke with a gravelly smoker’s voice and reminded me very much of Frank Butcher in the old days of EastEnders. ‘Frank’ used to turn up once every couple of months or so and wanted to know if we had any spare gold to sell. Quite why he thought we might have is beyond me! He struck me as a bit of a dodgy wheeler-dealer, and, if I was going to do business with him, I would definitely ask to see his credentials!
In our verses today, John the Baptist is in prison. He has heard news of what Jesus is up to, and sends his disciples to find out if Jesus was the Messiah – the rescuer of God’s people promised throughout the Old Testament – or merely a prophet, preparing the way for the coming Messiah. As instructed, John’s disciples go to Jesus and asked him if he was the Messiah.
Jesus responds not by confirming or denying that he is the Messiah, but by showing them his credentials. Look at what I’ve done, he says, and make up your own mind. Tell John that through Jesus, “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
How could anyone other than the Messiah, God himself, have accomplished this?
Look at me, Jesus says, and decide for yourselves. Surely the only conclusion is that Jesus is the Messiah?
Of course, for those who knew their scriptures, Jesus was making clear reference to the prophecies in the Old Testament of the Messiah.
Jesus tells John’s disciples how he has given the blind sight, enabled the lame to walk and enabled the deaf to hear, a clear fulfilment of the prophecy in Isaiah 35:5-6:
Jesus tells John’s disciples that as a result of him, “the good news is proclaimed to the poor,” a clear fulfilment of Isaiah 61:1-2
Here, then, are Jesus’ credentials as John would have understood them. Jesus is the fulfilment of the prophecies of Isaiah. Here is the one foretold throughout the Jewish scriptures, the one whom the Jews were waiting. Here is the Messiah come to liberate God’s people.
How do we respond to this statement of Jesus’ credentials? If he is sent by God to rescue us, how do we respond? If he rescues us from our sin by dying on the cross, how do we respond? If he asks to take up our cross and to follow him, how do we respond?
Definitely worth a moment or two of reflection on a Friday morning!
Have a great weekend. We’ll be back bright and early on Monday morning with another Biblenotes.email.
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Good morning! Here we are with another reflection based on Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel. Once again, we find Jesus teaching his disciples, preparing them to go out into the world and continue his ministry themselves. As yesterday, today’s words are challenging to say the least!
38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:38-39
A few years ago I did a Masters degree, part time, whilst working full time. When I signed up for it, it seemed like a good idea. For the most part I really enjoyed it; the classes were interesting, the seminars illuminating, and the camaraderie great. Every time I found myself up against an essay deadline, though, I began to wonder quite why I was bothering! In fact, I don’t think there was a single essay where I didn’t think to myself, “that’s it! I’m packing this in and giving up!’ On each occasion, though, I was able to calm myself down, and just get on with it. I knew that ultimately the sense of achievement on graduating would make it all worth while. Plus I’d have learnt a lot by the end, and it might even help me in my life and career.
It’s often the case that difficult things are worth persevering with. In the words of that old American Football phrase, popularised by Billy Ocean, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
In today’s verses, Jesus makes it clear that following him is no walk in the park. Christians are called to “take up their cross” and follow Jesus if we want to be found worthy of him.
This is one of the most famous expressions of Jesus, and one which is often spoken in wider society. But what did Jesus actually mean when he told his followers that they must take up their cross and follow him?
Quite simply, “taking up your cross” means to be willing to endure death by the most painful and humiliating methods of execution ever devised by humanity. This is the only image that his disciples, to whom he was speaking, would have had in mind.
Of the twelve apostles (thirteen if we include Matthias, who succeeded Judas after he committed suicide), two (Peter and Andrew) literally took up their crosses and were crucified. Of the others, only John is said to have died a peaceful, natural death, with all the others dying for their faith.
Taking up your cross means being willing to give up your life in the service of Jesus Christ. He died for us, and we too should be willing to die for him.
That is not an easy message. But it’s one that is definitely worth pondering. If it came to it, would I be willing to die for Jesus?
Of course, most of us will not be in a position where we face death for our beliefs. But what would we be willing to sacrifice for our faith? Would we be willing to lose friends? To lose jobs? To lose our comfortable, western existence?
Is following Jesus the single most important thing in your life?
If we are willing to make these sacrifices then the rewards will be great, because as Jesus says, “whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” True life will be ours – life as God intended, a life with him in his new, eternal and perfect creation. Eternal life with no suffering, sickness, disease or death.
The Christian life is not easy. But the rewards are great, and eternal.
Question for reflection: What does it mean for me to ‘take up my cross’? Have I committed my life to following Christ?
This post was originally published in my Bible Notes email.
In today’s Biblenotes.email we reflect on a couple of verses from chapter ten of Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus has called his disciples and is preparing to send them out into the world. Can you imagine how they might have felt at this point? They have witnessed Jesus’ teaching. They have seen him raise a dead girl and heal a sick woman. They have seen him heal the blind and the mute. Now Jesus gives his disciples “authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (10:1). What a daunting prospect! I can imagine their nervousness at emulating their master in the world. Before they leave, though, Jesus gives them careful instructions about what they should and shouldn’t do, and how they should respond to the world.
We join Jesus and the disciples at a particularly challenging point in his teaching:
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33
I often see a highly decorated car parked outside the station when I walk home after catching my train back from work. It’s covered with all manner of decorations and signs. It’s rather distinctive! It’s not every day one sees such a vibrantly decorated car. Indeed, these days even car stickers seem few and far between. It used to be common to see stickers boasting of National Trust membership, or RSPB membership, or advising that the driver’s other car was, for example, a tractor. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think there are as many of these around as there used to be. I don’t think it’s because fewer people are members of organisations. Is it because people don’t feel to proclaim their membership? Who knows!
In the verses above Jesus explains why it is so important that we do not keep our membership of his family secret, but proclaim it widely. Whoever tells people that they know Jesus, that they have put their trust in him, that they follow him and that they love him, Jesus will do the same for them when we encounter God on the day of our judgement. Jesus will proudly tell his father that here stands someone whom he loves, because this person has trusted him, followed him, loved him, honoured him and respected him. As a consequence, this person can have confidence knowing that after their earthly death, eternal life in God’s new creation will be their reward.
Conversely, those who do not proclaim their relationship with Jesus, or even deny knowing him, can expect Jesus to do the same with them when they find themselves stood before God on the day of judgement. “Do you know this person?” God the Father will ask his son. “No, I don’t,” the response will come. “This persons hasn’t trusted me, followed me, loved me, honoured me and respected me.” What are the consequences of that? Eternal separation from God, and denial of a place in God’s new creation. To put it in a word: death.
Challenging words from Jesus.
Do we boast of our love for Christ? Do we tell everyone who will listen that we are followers of Christ? When someone asks us, “you’re a Christian, aren’t you?” do we proudly respond, “yes, I am,” or do we try to avoid answering, change the subject, or even deny our faith?
For many living today, publicly accepting that they are followers of Christ can result in mockery, persecution, arrest, or even death. I wonder how I would respond if I found myself facing death if I proclaimed my faith in Christ? I hope that I would have the courage and the strength to proudly assert my faith, but how hard must it be to proclaim Christ if doing so could result in death. When there are people confronting this reality each and every day, it puts into perspective the challenges of those who live in countries where proclaiming Christ may lead merely to mockery or ridicule.
Ultimately, as Christians we take an eternal perspective on life and our existence. Proclaiming our faith might sometimes be tricky or make us feel uncomfortable, but by doing so we have the hope that Jesus will declare that we have acknowledged him before his Father, ensuring that we might spend eternity with him after our earthly deaths.
Question for reflection: How do I respond when people speak about Jesus? Do I proclaim him as my Lord, or do I avoid getting drawn into the conversation?
Visit the Open Doors website to find out how you can support those who suffer persecution and discrimination for their faith.
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35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
Matthew 9:35-38
Do you feel ‘harassed and helpless’? The gospel writer could have had us in mind as he wrote these words! COVID, inflation, rising fuel costs, reduced availability in the supermarkets. This is the reality of Britain at the end of 2021. It would be no surprise to me if you said you felt harassed and helpless.
I’m sure these feelings are timeless. There must always be something happening in the world that leaves people feeling stressed and as if they have no control over their own lives.
It’s no surprise then to read that when Jesus saw the crowds around Galilee, he found them to be harassed and helpless. His response was to have compassion on them. He felt pity towards them. He had sympathy for them. He loved them. Most of all, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They lacked a figure in their lives who would protect them, guide them, provide for them. They lacked someone who loved them and cared for them so much that, if necessary, they would lay down their life for them.
Jesus is the shepherd these sheep need. He says of himself, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11,14). He is the one who can end those feelings of harassment and helplessness. He brings protection, guidance and provision to all those who follow him. He laid down his life so that all those who follow him know exactly where their lives are leading – to an eternity with Jesus in God’s new creation.
What’s more, he wants those who know and love him to take his message of compassion to others. There are many who do not know Jesus as their good shepherd – the harvest is plentiful. So he calls on us to take this message out into the world, to number ourselves amongst those labourers send into the harvest.
Do you feel harassed and helpless? Turn to Jesus the Good Shepherd and find the peace that only a relationship with him can bring.
Question for reflection: Do I feel like “a sheep without a shepherd?” How could faith in Jesus change this?
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Big Mail is an interesting proposition; an email app for iOS and MacOS that “brings a fresh new look to your inbox, as well as an entirely new way of working with it.” Always a sucker for a new email app, I kept a close on their impending launch back in early 2021. British developer, Phillip Caudell, experienced a few issues with Apple’s App Store which delayed the launch a little. This only led to the anticipation of many potential users, desperate to try out Big Mail. I was one of them, and signed up as soon as I could.
The experience was not all plain sailing. A number of issues with the app, including a rogue blank dialogue pop up, plus sync problems, marred the experience somewhat. It was clear to me that Big Mail has great potential, but what was launched in May 2021 felt like a fairly rough beta. I stuck it out for a couple of months, and all credit to Caudell, updates came quick and fast. They were not enough to tempt me away from Superhuman, however, the email app which I struggle to tear myself away from.
In November, however, I decided to give Big Mail another go.
Here are a few thoughts on things I like, and things I don’t like about Big Mail:
Things I like about Big Mail:
The Bouncer: when I tried Hey email, one of my favourite elements was the ability to decide who should be allowed to send me an email – or rather, whose messages should be allowed to make it into my inbox. Big Mail has adopted a similar feature. When a message arrives from a new sender, it is sent to “The Bouncer” where you can decide whether messages from this sender are allowed into your inbox. Click thumbs up and it Big Mail filters the message and places it into the right scene. Click thumbs down, and the message, and all future messages from this sender, disappear into the ether. Made the wrong decision? Just click on “Bouncer” in the menu and you can review every decision you have taken and change your mind.
‘The Latest’: The opening screen of the app is a good idea-all your latest emails (as the name suggests!) grouped for easy access, split into the various scenes. Initially this struck me as rather messy – I’d see, for example, all the latest newsletters to arrive right on the home page. I don’t want to see these every time I open my email app, though; I want them tucked away somewhere where I can access them as and when I want. That’s no problem though – the latest is highly customisable, so you can choose which scenes are allowed to display messages here. I customised mine to show only new messages from the Conversations and the Purchases scenes. Everything else is just a click away.
Email sorting: I have developed a fairly complex system of filters and splits in Superhuman to sort my email into specific locations based on the type of message. Big Mail tries to sort incoming messages, and does this pretty well. At present messages are sorted into Conversations, Purchases, Newsletters, Notifications and Events. If a message lands in the wrong place, you can tell Big Mail to always deliver messages from a particular sender to a different location.
Scenes: Once Big Mail has sorted messages, it places them into specific scenes, along the same sort of lines as Superhuman’s splits. Unlike Superhuman, Big Mail presents messages in each scene differently. Messages in the Conversations scene, for example, are presented similarly to how emails are presented in most apps. Notifications and Newsletters are treated rather differently. When opening one of these scenes, you’re presented with a row of big, colourful, message previews to scroll through. Below this, there’s a row of top senders, and beneath this, all messages from this scene presented more traditionally, in a vertical list. This presentation is great-it makes reading, or scanning through, messages much more pleasurable, and definitely has the edge over Superhuman.
Customisable views: In each scene you can select from three different views – the bespoke Big Mail view with a carousel of large previews at the top (The Latest), then a horizontal display of Top Senders, then a list of all messages. Want something a bit more traditional? No problem – switch to a view with messages down the left hand side and a reading pane on the right (only on an iPad or Mac). Want your email old school? Switch to a good, old fashioned list view of all messages.
Email presentation: this, for me, is undoubtedly the best feature of Big Mail. Emails look beautiful, particularly newsletters. In the Newsletters scene, emails display edge to edge on a phone, and with all the usual unnecessary elements removed-sender’s email address, reply options etc. On an iPad or Mac, they look even better.
Things I’m not so keen on:
Inconsistent actions: Some actions are inconsistent across the app. For example, when displaying messages in the Conversations scene, swiping left deletes the message. In other scenes swiping left does, well, it does nothing.
Deleting/archiving messages: This is all a bit confusing. When long-pressing a message in the Conversations theme, a menu is presented which gives lots of options, including to archive or trash a message. This is generally also the case when in other scenes too. But when doing the same action to an unread message in ‘The Latest’ at the top of each scene, only the option to archive OR trash is given, depending on what is chosen in the settings. When scrolling through messages, it is possible to archive or trash a message, but when this is done, there is no indication that anything has happened. The message stays in view. You’re not taken to the next message or back to the Scene. This seems odd; I would expect something to happen to show that an action has been taken. Interestingly if you try this on an iPad, it does switch back to the Scene view – but not on an iPhone.
Sender Profiles: These work great in most scenes, but not in Conversations. Whilst I can click on the BBC News in the top senders list and get all the emails they’ve ever sent me grouped together conveniently in one place, I can’t see any way to do the same for emails from actual people. Why can’t I pull up all the emails from my wife, for example, or from my friend Ian?
Swipe actions: I’ve already mentioned how these are inconsistent. Even when they’re present, they still fall short of what I would like. It would be great to be able to swipe left to delete and to swipe right to archive on every message, in every Scene. This would make dealing with email much faster.
Inability to create custom scenes: It would be great to be able to build custom scenes and not rely on those built into the app. The developer says that these will be added in a future update, so fingers crossed!
Bugs: whilst the app has improved considerably between May and November 2021 and is far less buggy, I’m still experiencing some glitches every now and again. I periodically still get a blank dialogue box pop up for some reason. The app still crashes too often, particularly on my iPad.
Price: as a Superhuman super fan, this may seem unreasonable, but I feel the price point of Big Mail (£8.49 a month on a rolling subscription) is a little high. I have no objection paying a subscription – the developer has demonstrated that he is committed to constant development and improvement of the app, and does not make revenue by selling data (hurrah) but I would be happier with a price point of £4.99 a month.
Conclusion
I really like Big Mail. It is a fresh take on email that works well. It looks good and brings some new ideas to what has been a pretty stagnant field. Will I switch to Big Mail? Probably not, although I will continue using it for the remainder of the month I have paid for. I am, however, massively impressed with the ambition of the developer. The fact that there appears to be a single person (based in the UK no less) behind Big Mail is really impressive, and he deserves to get a large client base for this impressive app.
Big Mail offers a free seven day trial, and it is well worth giving it a go, even if you ultimately decide it’s not for you.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:1
When I was a Year 7 tutor, I always used to quite enjoy meeting my students at the beginning of the year. One of the first things we used to do was process together down to the Sports Hall, where we would have a class photo taken. Once the photos came back, my colleagues and I used to have great fun trying to determine just from the picture who the well-behaved pupils were, and, perhaps more importantly for us, who the naughty ones were! Sometimes we would be quite accurate, but more than occasionally we would fail to spot a troublemaker amongst the group!
First impressions are very important. We’re always being told, “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” When we go for job interviews, we always make sure we’re smartly dressed, with hair freshly cut and new clothes, so that we don’t let ourselves down before we’ve opened our mouth.
Mark seems to understand the importance of first impressions. He makes it absolutely clear from the very first sentence of his gospel who he believes Jesus is. He believes that he is the Christ, the promised Messiah whom the Jews have been waiting for generations. He wants the reader to be in no doubt at all that this short book is about the Son of God – not a good teacher, not a thoroughly nice bloke, but the son of God.
Here at Crossring, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the chosen one, the Son of God. If you haven’t made up your mind who you think Jesus is, stick with us for the next few months, and we’ll go through Mark’s Gospel together.
Deciding whether to accept that Jesus was the Son of God, or to reject this claim, could be the most important decision you take.
[1]My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, [2] for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. [3] Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. [5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. [8] This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. [9] Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; [10] then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. [11] My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, [12] because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. [13] Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, [14] for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. [15] She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. [16] Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. [17] Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. [18] She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. [19] By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; [20] by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. [21] My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; [22] they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. [23] Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. [24] When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. [25] Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, [26] for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared. [27] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. [28] Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you. [29] Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. [30] Do not accuse anyone for no reason—when they have done you no harm. [31] Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. [32] For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. [33] The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. [34] He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. [35] The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame.
Proverbs 3:1-35
What follows is a sermon I preached at Connect Southwater Community Church on 20th June 2021. Scroll to the bottom for an audio recording.
“Could I have the next slide please.”
No, don’t worry, I’m not going to bombard you with PowerPoint, but I am amazed at how that phrase has become part of life in pandemic Britain.
Whether it’s Chris Whitty, Patrick Valance, Jenny Harries, or Jonathan Van Tamm, we must have heard that phrase dozens and dozens of times over the last eighteen months at the Downing Street Press Conferences.
These prominent doctors have become well known to us all as we live through a global pandemic.
They have become a great source of wisdom for us, and for the government.
But I wonder where you turn for wisdom? Perhaps to relatives? Or maybe to a wise friend? Or maybe you turn to God’s word?
Today we’ll take a look at wisdom in the book of Proverbs, and look at some of the key characteristics of wisdom. We’ll do this by reflecting on three key points: wisdom is valuable, wisdom improves life, and wisdom needs a response.
Firstly then, wisdom is valuable.
What’s the most valuable item in your life? How would you answer that question if I put you on the spot right now and asked you that?
My immediate response would probably be, my house. It certainly sucks up a lot of my money! If I pondered the question a little longer, I might give a different answer – probably my family, my wife and my children. It’s them that I would struggle to be without.
The writer of the book of Proverbs provides an extraordinary answer to this question. Look at verses 13 to 16.
“Blessed are those who find wisdom,” he says, “those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”
How remarkable! Nothing you desire can compare to wisdom. Nothing! Wisdom, in this writer’s view, is more valuable than even the most precious items on our planet.
But what is this wisdom that is so valuable?
There’s no definition here, but we can get an idea of what precisely Biblical wisdom is by searching elsewhere in the Bible. In Job 28:28 we see that, “the fear of the Lord – THAT is wisdom.”
Similarly, later in Proverbs, 9:10 we read that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Fear in this sense means to have reverence for God, to respect him, to obey him, to submit to him, and to worship him. Having this attitude to God is to have wisdom.
And it is this that is so valuable – a reverence for God that leads us to submit our lives to him.
Maybe this sounds daunting. Maybe it sounds intimidating. Maybe living your life fearing God doesn’t sound particularly wonderful, but if we return to verse 13 of our reading, we see that the writer believes that those who find wisdom, who understand the value of submission to God, will be blessed. Blessed here, just like in the beatitudes in Jesus’ teaching on the sermon on the mount, means happiness. Happy, the writer says, are those who find wisdom and who understand the necessity of placing God first in our lives, because it leads to riches beyond our wildest dreams – those of knowing God, and being able to enjoy a relationship with him as a consequence of the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.
The promise of forgiveness, of salvation through Jesus – this is worth more than any gold, or silver, or rubies. Knowledge of this is wisdom, and it is this to which nothing else can compare.
My children are six and four. They both love watching television – probably far too much. My sonis now of an age where he has graduated from CBeebies onto programmes for older children. He’s also worked out how to use the remote control and can work our television far better than I can! His new favourite channel is CITV because they have lots of great cartoons, he says. This means that he and Lily are far more exposed to adverts than they have previously been. As each advert comes on, either he or my daughter remark, “oh, I’d really like that!” Or, even worse, “I want one of those!” They envisage that their lives would just be so much better if mummy and daddy would only succumb and buy them this new object of desire.
But of course, most, if not all of us fall into this trap. Maybe we’re influenced by the power of television adverts. Maybe we think our lives would just be so much easier if we could buy the flashy new home appliance being demonstrated on screen. Perhaps it’s not something we’ve seen advertised. Maybe we think our lives would be so much better if we only had less stress in our lives, or had more time. Perhaps it’s a better job we hanker after – one that would reward us more fairly for the work we do, or enable us to spend more time with our family and friends.
The writer of Proverbs makes it clear in this chapter that rather than a new washing machine or a better paid job, it is wisdom that really has the potential to improve our lives.
Look at how he says our lives can be improved.
In verses 25 and 26 he says, “have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overstates the wicked, for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.”
Probably, like me, you’ve known rather more fear than you would have liked over the last eighteen months or so. I remember last March watching the awful pictures of hospitals around the world being overwhelmed. I remember hearing how virulent coronavirus was. I remember the fear as people I knew started succumbing to this virus. I remember the fear I had as my wife,went to work in a busy A&E department, coming into contact with people with COVID every single day. I remember the genuine fear I had that this thing could wipe out my entire family.
But here in Proverbs we’re told, “have no fear of sudden disaster.” But how can we have no fear when we find ourselves thrust into the heart of a global sudden disaster?
Precisely because wisdom improves our lives. Because if we “fear the Lord,” if we trust him, follow him, put him first in our lives, if we worship him, he will be with us.
That’s not to say that we won’t find ourselves encountering sudden disasters in our lives. It is inevitable that we will find ourselves contending with difficulties and traumas, but God will be at our side. If we place our trust in Christ, we can know his Holy Spirit working in us and through us. And our ultimate hope is for a new life in God’s new creation after our earthly bodies wither away. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” That’s 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
Wisdom puts everything in our lives into an eternal perspective. Wisdom shows us that the troubles we encounter in this life are only light and momentary taken from an eternal perspective. Wisdom points us to an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Wisdom improves our lives by helping us to have a broader context for all that we experience in the here and now.
If we understand that, we can see in this chapter how else wisdom improves life. Let’s look at some of these ways quickly now.
Wisdom will prolong our life many years and bring us peace and prosperity. That’s there in verse 2. Wisdom encourages us to honour God with our bodies, and doing so will encourage us to live healthy lives and not abuse ourselves as others might do. The end result of this is longer life. This point is also made in verses 7 and 8. If we put God first in our lives and shun evil ways, we will be healthier and well nourished.
If we have an eternal perspective, our lives will be peaceful. If we are settled in our faith and know and trust that we are destined to have eternal life, we are less likely to experience the existential angst and stress that others without this comfort face.
Look at verses 3 and 4. If our lives are marked out by love and faithfulness, we will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. We will have lots of good quality friendships, and the respect of others, because we are known as trustworthy, kind, loving people.
Verses 5 and 6 are particularly well known and loved by many. They make it clear that if we trust God and submit to him in all we do, our paths through our lives will be straight and focused, with a clear sense of direction, and much less meaningless meandering.
Verses 9 and 10 show us that if we give all that we have to God, he will provide us with all that we need day by day.
Finally for now, wisdom means that we will not know fear when we lie in our beds, and sleep will be sweet, according to verse 24. If we place God first in our lives, life will make much more sense to us, and we won’t be kept awake at night worrying about all of the horrible possibilities that might lie ahead. Our hope lies in eternal life with Christ, and there’s no reason, therefore, to fear what we may experience.
Wisdom is not just a philosophical concept, but something that can really make a difference to us every day.
Wisdom really does improve life.
If we want go have a better life, we need to forget all the world tells us about looking for a better job, or making more money, buying a new house. If we really want to improve our lives we need to submit in all that we do to God, to worship his son and honour him for the sacrifice that he made for us upon the cross.
A couple of weeks ago the children in my school sat exams. The expectation that they had, and their parents, and my employers, was that I would then sit down and mark these, and provide the children with feedback on how they did. A response was required from me.
Of course, I could have gathered their papers up and, at the end of the exam, just dropped them into the bin.
But what, then, would have been the point of them sitting these exams in the first place? There would have been no point at all. It would have been an entirely pointless exercise.
Wisdom, too, needs a response.
What would be the point of “fearing the Lord” if this didn’t change how we acted?
The writer of Proverbs highlights just some ways we should respond to wisdom.
Look at verse 27. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
If we are in a position to do something to improve the lives of others, then we should grab the opportunity to do so.
It might be making ourselves available to them for a chat.
It might be helping them out when we can, supporting them practically.
It might be lending them something, or giving them something.
Ultimately it means being a presence in their lives, loving them for who they are, and helping them so see the value of wisdom, and the impact that wisdom can have in their own lives. It means being clear with them how our relationship with Christ is at the heart of all that we do, how it improves our lives and gives us hope and purpose, and how it could do the same for them too.
What’s more, we should do this now, straight away, whilst we have the chance. As the passage says, “do not say to your neighbour, “come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you” – when you already have it with you.”
The passage also instructs us in verses 29 and 30, “do not plot harm against your neighbour who lives trustfully near you. Do not accuse anyone for no reason – when they have done you no harm.”
We must be positive, kind and loving in all of our interactions.
Wisdom needs a response.
And that response is, as Peter writes in his first letter, to live such good lives among the pagans [as he puts it] that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Our lives, informed by wisdom, should point those around us to the life-giving gospel of Christ.
So what are the characteristics of wisdom?
In a nutshell, wisdom is valuable. Wisdom improves life. And wisdom needs a response.
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