ARTICLES
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
SABBATH
30 March 2025
Biblical Theme Overview
Source: BibleProject (bibleproject.com)
On page one of the Bible, God orders a beautiful world out of chaotic darkness within a sequence of six days. And on the seventh day, God rests. This introduces the major biblical theme of patterns of seven that conclude with God and humans resting together as partners . In biblical Hebrew, the word “seven” is connected to the idea of fullness or completeness. And that’s something we all long for but don’t often experience. Instead, we find ourselves working endlessly, fighting back chaos, with no real rest. This is reflected in the creation story of Genesis 1. It begins with darkness and disorder, but then God speaks to bring about light and order so that life can flourish, which happens over the course of six days. And on the seventh day, something special happens: God stops and rests. Creation is brought to its completion on the seventh day. God’s presence fills his creation, and the land provides for all of God’s creatures, including humans, who are appointed to rule the world with God forever kings and queens of the seventh day rest.
But the humans are deceived by a dark power, and they forfeit that rest. They’re exiled into the wilderness, where they have to work as slaves to the land. But God wants to restore humanity back to that seventh day rest , so he chooses to give the family of Israel that experience of ultimate rest, so they can share it with others. He tells them that every seventh day, they’re to stop their work, or in Hebrew, to shabat , so that they can rest and enjoy God’s good world . This is the Sabbath, celebrated every week on the seventh day.
When Jesus appears on the scene, he launches his public mission on a Sabbath day. He reads aloud from the scroll of Isaiah, saying that it was time for all captives and slaves to be released because this was the year of the Lord’s favour. Jesus is claiming that seventh day rest would ultimately come through him. He said that he was the Lord of the Sabbath, he confronted disorder and darkness in all of its forms . And because of the resurrection, we have hope in God’s promise of future rest with Him as kings and queens of the new creation .
PSALM 87
2 March 2025
A Rewrite
by Christian Bargholz
On a mountain there stands a city,
A city on a hill that cannot be hidden.
It shines like a beacon to all around,
Its gates welcome in the weary
traveller and spiritual nomad.
This city we call Zion.
You’ve heard it said, ‘Babylon is a
glorious city’,
‘Tyre is the pride of Lebanon’, and
‘Nubia is the jewel of the Nile.’
They are nothing compared with Zion,
Whose splendour outshines them all.
Mere compliments are paid to those
cities,
But glorious things are spoken of Zion.
9 February 2025
PSALM 65
A rewrite
by Norainie Bargholz
You ought to be exalted on your holy hill, oh God,
And promises made to you be kept.
Because you’re the one who responds
to our pleas,
Every man shall seek you.
When we’re drowning under the
waves of our sin,
You’re the one who forgives.
Your chosen ones, who live in your presence -
We’re blessed.
The good things we find in your house -
These shall please us.
You save us with mighty acts of power,
God our rescuer.
All the earth, to its furthest corners,
pins its hopes on you.
You are mighty to your core,
And with that power you brought forth mountains,
Quieted the raging seas,
The clamouring of the waves,
And the outcry of people.
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From horizon to horizon, people are
awestruck by these wonders,
From east to west comes the
sound of their rejoicing.
The rain is your doing - you bring it
and it blesses the land.
The river flows continuously and
the grain grows,
As you had destined it to.
The ploughed land is gently watered,
And brings forth its crop, thanks to you.
Blessing upon blessing mounts up
with abundance,
Wherever you step groans under the
weight of your extravagance.
The grasslands are lush and verdant,
The highlands revel in their luxuriance.
So many are the sheep and goats,
they shroud the fields,
So full the heads of grain the valleys
glisten like gold.
Everything’s in raptures.
2 February 2025
PSALM 110
A rewrite
by Christian Bargholz
The Father declares to the Son: “Take the place of prominence by my side, And those who oppose you will fall at your feet.”
Adonai declares His rule from His throne on Zion, The shadow of His sceptre falls across the nations. Those loyal to Him will find comfort in its shadow, Willingly offering themselves as a sweet aroma of worship. What the Father declares is everlasting: His Son is both Priest and King; Intercessor and Ruler; Holy and Royal.
He sits next to His Father in the heavens, Ruling with justice and mercy. Those who oppose Him will encounter His judgement, Those who trust Him will experience His grace.
26 January 2025
HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE PRAY?
A Moment of Shalom
by Norainie Bargholz
How often should we pray? I remember as a child, not long having arrived from Australia to live in Malaysia, being asked by a relative how often Christians prayed. (They assumed I’d know, seeing as Australia was a ‘Christian’ country.) The point they wanted to make was that Muslims were more pious because they prayed five times a day, every day. (Out of interest, I found out that Orthodox Jews today, like Jews since at least Daniel’s time, pray three times daily, as well as blessing God when they undertake a range of activities, including eating, drinking, waking up and going to sleep. There is also some extra-biblical evidence that early Christians, likewise, prayed thrice daily.)
When one prays at the same time every day, using exactly the same words, the act of prayer can become a ritual , even a ritual devoid of meaning as you could easily recite the words by rote, with the mind and heart disengaged. This defeats the whole purpose of prayer. Prayer is communication with the Almighty . It’s confession, an unburdening of ourselves and our worries on the One who can actually do something about them, but it’s also a drawing closer to God, an acknowledgment of our dependence on him and his grace . As an act of worship, it should require us to be fully engaged.
Such engagement requires effort . (I wonder if the brevity of the Lord’s Prayer is God’s way of addressing this.) It’s easier, I’ve found, with some prayers than others. Spontaneous prayer, for example when we hear good news and immediately thank God, is one. So is a petition for something really close you your heart. (At the moment, I’m really fully present when I ask God to give Nick a new job.) I’ve found mixing things up also helps, so that I’m never praying the same thing twice in a day.
So, returning to the question I posed at the beginning: how often should we pray? There is no specific command in the New Testament that answers this question , other than Paul’s in 1 Thessalonians to ‘pray without ceasing’. Other translations give this as ‘never stop praying’, ‘pray all the time’, ‘pray regularly’. This suggests praying often. I myself have found there is a benefit to praying short prayers, often. Praying often helps keep God and what he has done front and centre in my life.
I can’t tell you how often to pray. It’ll be different for each of us. I just want to encourage us all to keep drawing near to God, and prayer is one of the best ways to do so.
19 January 2025
PSALM 1
A rewrite
by Christian Bargholz
The one who finds favour is not the one who journeys down the iniquitous path, or the one who is content to miss the mark, or the one who’s worldview is warped by cynicism.
Rather, the one who finds favour is the one who derives their joy from the words of their Creator, one who, through fervent contemplation, loses themselves and the very concept of time in the profound depths of the Scriptures.
This favoured person, this one most fortunate, experiences continual refreshment, and enjoys fresh seasons of growth and regrowth as if rooted deep to the very source of nourishment and contentment. Such a person has found true life: they are sustained, provided for, and all their endeavours succeed.
But those who do not find favour — those who journey down the iniquitous path, those who are content to miss the mark — are nothing like the favoured ones. Cut off from the root, they are neither sustained nor refreshed, but rather see their endeavours crumble into the dust of failure.
The fortunate, favoured ones are truly known by their Creator, and at the end of all things, find belonging in the great community of Grace. But those who miss the mark find no place to call home at the end of their journey.
22 December 2024
THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL
by Norainie Bargholz
It’s that time of the year again, the pointy end, the festive season. A time when most of the world celebrates the giving of the greatest present ever given: the incarnation of God’s son , sent to take away the sins of the world.
It’s generally a time of joy, when we emulate God’s gift-giving by offering presents to our loved ones. Indeed, the Bible itself announces the birth of Jesus as bringing “tidings of great joy” for everyone. But why is Christmas a time of joy, and Easter not so much? I can understand why the incarnation (actually, Jesus’ whole life) was a joyous thing; it was God ‘tabernacling’ among his people once again, recalling God’s presence among his people in the wilderness. But it’s still only the promise of the ultimate gift.
The actual delivery of the gift took place when Jesus went to the cross and atoned for all of our sins . Easter is a celebration of the seemingly low point of the crucifixion and the high point of the resurrection. If the crucifixion is a low point it is because it reminds us of our own culpability in Jesus’ death; that what we’ve done merits that kind of gruesome torture. Instead, the crucifixion should be seen as the high point, the crowning glory of God’s plan to redeem humanity, the delivery of the gift .
Our hearts should sing and dance from the sheer joy of our freedom, our deliverance from ourselves and our failings; to exalt God and rejoice in his everlasting presence in us through his Spirit. These things should be on our minds when we take communion each week. This doesn’t make light of our sins nor downplay the heavy cost to God of our redemption. It does, however, place the gift of Jesus as the highlight of our week and our lives.
And so, as we enter the festive season, let’s remember two things: that the birth of Jesus is indeed the beginning of good news: God became one of us and made his home among the lowly, and that should cause us to jump for joy. But the second thing to remember is that the birth of Jesus was the first step on the path to God’s greatest gift of all: the death and resurrection of Jesus, by which we have all received grace upon grace already given . And that event should give us even more cause for joy, not only once a year, or even once a week, but indeed at every moment of our lives.