XV_Contentment

XV
Contentment

‘Keep your lives free from the love of money –

be content with what you have’ Hebrews 13:5

I can imagine that the first reaction of some of you may be ‘I haven’t got any money’! But look again at what this verse says about being free from the love of money – that is a very different position. You would have to be quite old to remember a pop song called ‘Money is the root of all evil’ – what it said was wrong then and it is still wrong. However, this confuses lots of people. But, there is a problem that cannot be disguised. In the UK recent figures for the outstanding debt on all types of credit cards is £1.3 trillion. It is so large as to almost unbelievable.

There is no pulling of punches or mincing of words in the passage we are looking at. It would take a very long time to unmask and discuss the attitudes and mindsets of the generation in which we live. How many are truly content with what they have? It is blindingly obvious that many are discontented and imagine that if only they had that plasma screen TV or a car which makes them both an object of desire or want a better set of widgets than the Jones family next door – the list goes on. Do these things (that is what they are) bring contentment?

For some such desires can become high priority and the consequences for their lives and those near and dear to them are disastrous. J John puts it neatly as he usually does; we live in one of two tents – content or discontent. Discontent is very close to coveting and that is a commandment we break at our peril.

The balance is, I believe, to be content and cultivate being content as a real positive in our lives. Close to the end of his life Paul reminded Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain. This will be a corrective and a balance to the tendency we all encounter to place too much value on the things we have and any money that God nay have entrusted to us. It is a sobering thought that we arrived in this world with nothing and we leave it taking nothing with us.

Is the standard set out here too high? We are human and we do have the ability to get it wrong. What I want to argue is that an outlook on money, which springs from a desire to celebrate what we have received, can replace our natural mindset. The chorus ‘Count your many blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done’ may be old, but has a truth we do well to ponder repeatedly.
Perhaps this is a way forward. Ask God to remind you, if you have forgotten, what he has done for you. The best of all is that is that God is with you – isn’t that a cause for being content?

XV_Patience

XV
Patience
“...be patient with each other, making allowance for each

other's faults because of your love” Ephesians 4:2

Patience seems to be a word on my mind a lot.
No matter if it's work or in my personal life God always seems to be saying, “Be patient!”. Oh how I've come to not like those words at times. “I want it now!” I yell, but God again replies, “Be patient”. I know that patience is one of the seven mentioned in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. But why then is it so difficult?

Have I just missed that one out and got six (some would argue I have less)? Did I miss that talk at church that taught me how to be patient? I wish there was an easy fix method but unfortunately it involves us to do something....love. Not only love for God but love for those around us, at work, at church and at home.

How often has God wanted you to be patient? What did you do? Did you wait....or did you rush in and get stung and then wonder what happened? It may sound like a Sunday school answer but waiting on God in prayer can help us a lot. Actually waiting for the answer though, not just saying the prayer! In Bill Hybels' book 'Too busy not to pray' he has an amazing little poem to help us remember what to do in response to prayer:

If the request is wrong, God says “No”.
If the timing is wrong, God says “Slow”.
If you are wrong, God says “Grow”.
But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says “Go”.

If the timing is wrong, God says “Slow”. He says, “Not yet, it's not part of my plan for it to happen now, trust me”.

The next time you're struggling with a friend, family member or colleague remember these words from Ephesians 4:2, “...Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love”.

Take a time out, pray, pray for them and most of all love them.

In the words of the theologically accurate boy band Take That, 'Have a little patience'

XV_Gift

XV
Gift
“…but this happened so that the work of God
might be displayed in his life” John 9:3

What would you do you if money was not an issue, if you could financially support yourself and others? If you didn’t have to think about when the next pay cheque was coming in, or what bills were going out this or that month?

A programme on Channel 4 called The Secret Millionaire has made these questions pop into my head. This programme is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, yes extra ordinary things. These secret millionaires have acquired money, and are currently in a position to invest into other people.

I watched as stories unravelled about people in difficult circumstances, not worrying about themselves but wanting to care for others. These are the people who really prefer to give than to receive. A young mother names Sabrina, who 8 months pregnant was on a week day afternoon helping a student paint their flat because she wanted to, not because she had to.

Until the secret millionaire Gill started talking to her in a local café in London’s east end, Sabrina lived in her mothers 2 bedroom flat for a long period of time, supporting her children because Sabrina preferred her income to go to others less well off than herself. Gill thought it was now time to invest in Sabrina, and support her.

Reading John 9: 1-12 Jesus comes over to the man who is sitting, begging at gate beautiful, when Jesus stops, and simply says, “Go, and wash in the Pool of Siloam.”

Now this man probably didn’t know what to do, but after obeying the commands he sight was restored and completely transformed his life. Once he was blind, but now he can see.
Jesus gave this man the gift of sight, which for him was one of the greatest gifts of all.

We can see this very evidence in Sabrina, who, with the help from Gill, transforming her life and gave her a better future, for Sabrina, this extra help was one of the greatest gifts of all.
Watching this programme has, and I hope it will for you prompt to consider, who we may be able to support, through friendship, time, dedication and even financially.

May you pray fully consider this and may God be placing signs in front of you that are noticeable. For these secret millionaires their lives have been transformed as well as the lives they have impacted

XV_Remembering

XV
Remembering …
‘What do you mean by these stones’? Joshua 4:6

If your first reaction to these words is that I have ‘lost it’, read on!

I believe that by pondering these words that God can give us fresh insight. I wonder if you have somewhere special that has particular memories for you? Perhaps when you revisited you will remember either a sense of wellbeing or an unhappiness as dark memories began to gather like storm clouds. Whatever remembering may involve for us, it may be like crossing a stile on a walk; you might look back at where you have come from, but ahead is a different footpath and fresh direction as you journey on with God. It is important to move on. We were never meant to live in the past, but memories of the past should be balanced by hope for the future.

In scripture there is often a strong link between God doing something amazing and the place where it happened. How many times were God’s people called on to remember what God had done in the past in giving deliverance, sending food, providing water, guiding across a trackless desert, to name but four? The tragedy was that so often they forgot. What about you? The tragedy of those words ‘They forgot …’

In your own journey are you strengthened or brought down by something from the past? If the latter, bring it to God in confession and ask Him to take you across the river and into a new place. The story from Joshua marks a break point in the people’s journey.

Crossing Jordan might seem like a repetition of crossing the Red Sea, (of which they would have heard, but not experienced – the parallel is drawn by Joshua). Crossing over now was their new experience. Entering into the land across the Jordan was the first stage of their claiming the long-promised inheritance. The waters of the river were stayed just as long as the priests and the ark stayed in midstream for their crossing. Special stress is put on the stones as a memorial of the staying of the river, which was in spate. To cross the river unaided was inviting death; but the presence and power of God in the middle of the river brought a safe passage. The stones speaks of life out of a place of death.

What would following generations make of this? By listening to the story of that great day handed down they would learn about it – but how to remember? That is why they had the visible and tangible reminder.

Isn’t that why we have a remembrance of God’s saving act in Christ? We have bread and wine as visible signs of what God has done through Jesus’ cross, resurrection and defeat of death – ‘the waters were stayed’. The sting of death has been drawn and we long for the day when ‘the last enemy’ will be finally destroyed. Till then, remember Him.

XV_Mighty

XV

Mighty

‘I have come to call not those who think they are righteous but those

who know they are sinners and need to repent’ – Luke 5 v32

So Jesus and the disciples are walking in the fields. It’s a Sabbath day and as they go along they start pulling off some of the heads of grain, rubbing them together, and munching on them as they walk and talk. Suddenly out of nowhere the Pharisees jump out (perhaps from behind a bush...?) and accuse them of breaking God’s law by ‘harvesting’ on the Sabbath. You can see what’s happening here. Jesus’ response is classic.
First he asks them ‘have you never read the scriptures?’. These are the heavyweights of the Torah - the top authority on the scriptures. These are people who would have had the torah, the histories, psalms and prophets memorized by the age of 14. And Jesus asks them ‘have you never read in the scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves...’. Now if you’re the disciples, the moment the Pharisees appear your thinking ‘oh man...we’re busted!’. Yet here Jesus is standing up to the Pharisees narrow interpretation of the law, their yoke.
But there’s something else going on as well. Turning to Chronicles 11 v11 we see what Jesus is referring to. David, we know, as the disciples and Pharisees would have known, was the most famous and blessed of Israel’s kings – but what about his companions...?
In Chronicles we learn just who these guys are...’Joshobeam the Hacmonite’ (great name!) the leader of the three and mightiest warrior among David’s men...’Eleaza son of Dodai’ victorious with David at the battle of Pas-Dammim.....’Benaiah son of Jehoiada’ -> whom on a snowy day went down into a pit and killed a lion! ...‘Cos we all like to kill our lions on snowy days.
So as Jesus stands between the Pharisees and his disciples, who in the story is He representing?... ->David ....and so who is he comparing the disciples with?..........->the mighty men.

.If you’re one of the disciples you’ve just gone from ‘Man we’re busted!’ to ‘......yeah......I could take a lion if I wanted!’. Jesus thinks I can be like that? Jesus thinks I can be one of the mighty men?
Jesus is showing just how much faith he has in these simple, flawed and very human followers of His. People like us. Despite all their imperfections – their sin – Jesus sees more in them than others would.
In a world where we often find ourselves attacked, or see our self confidence rising and falling like a rollercoaster – these words are of genuine comfort. I know that I doubt myself; I know that I question why God should be interested in me, after all my failures and all my shortcomings. Yet Jesus stands in front of me, in front of us and says ‘he/she/you/they are kind of like the mighty men...I am the King...and they’re my crack troops...they’re my loyal followers....they’re my companions’. Maybe today, right now, you could pray that you would know that, and maybe if you do, pray for a friend who doesn’t know it.

XV_Change

XV
Change

‘The spirit of the Lord will come upon you and you will prophesy...

and you will be changed into another person...’ – 1 Samuel 10:6

Recently I read these words once again and have been unable to get them out of my mind. It has struck me forcibly how much they say to us, although first spoken centuries ago. Perhaps it is because these words are saying so much about us? Do we see what God wants to do in us?
The idea of change can provoke strong feelings of resistance. On the other hand, people look to lifestyle gurus (of whom there seems to be no lack) by reading their books and attending seminars promising life change. Can the advice ‘Change your life in a minute’ be taken at face value? Change like a chrysalis changing into a butterfly! Been there, tried that? The fact that there are so many would-be counselors may only reflect our inner desire to be different.
How do you feel about your life at the present? Have you tried to make changes which like New Year’s resolutions have not lasted? Has this left you with a sense of frustration? In the quiet as you ponder these things, ask God to speak to you in reassurance. Ask him to remind you of his purpose that one day you (and all Christians) will be changed beyond our present understanding.
What does the quotation above say to us? The person addressed is promised three things. The Spirit of God is sent to begin the process of change. As a way of bringing change, it differs from any human solution because there is an external power at work. When we read Jesus’ promise that God our Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him, we who live today can claim that same gift of the Spirit.
For a few moments, reflect on the Spirit and his power. A power beyond our natural experience –his coming into human lives produces change. The wonder of what he does is that it has a transforming effect that may begin quite suddenly but which continues as a process – ‘we are being changed’. Seen on an apron – be patient God hasn’t finished with me yet.
The sign that God is changing something on the inside might take you outside your comfort zone. You may not think that you could ever operate in the area where natural abilities take second place in order to let God speak through you; remember that the promise ‘you will prophesy’ was new for this man. This gift is one of nine that accompany the coming of the Spirit and seek God to find out what he wants to give you. Rather like a present left unopened, we may leave on one side the gift God has given us.
It is time for change.

XV_Chopsticks

XV

Chopsticks
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. - John 14:18

Everyone takes their seats, the hustle dies down and a gentle hush is all that can be heard in the great auditorium. The anticipation mounts up as they audience all decked out in their finest clothes wait to hear one of the worlds greats. This piano player is something to be experienced ....he’s an artist.
The grand piano sits there gleaming under the stage lights, alone, waiting for the master pianist to come and make it sing. The concert in New York has been sold out for 6 months, this is a big deal. Towards the front is a lady, sitting next to her is her nine year old son in a tuxedo. He’s been complaining about his piano lessons for some time now and his mother is hoping that hearing the great Ignace Jan Paderewski, the master pianist will motivate him to enjoy his own playing.
However as Mike Yaconelli puts it ‘you can dress a nine-year old in a tuxedo, but he’s still nine!’. This boy is getting impatient and restless in his seat...suddenly he’s up on his feet...making his way towards the stage...
His mother, earlier distracted now realises what is going on, she calls after him but he’s already decided to go for it. Clambering onto the stage in front of the packed auditorium he approaches the great Steinway piano and settles himself onto the seat...the stunned audience watch as the boy starts to tap out his version of ‘chopsticks’ onto the grand piano...
‘Get him off the stage....this is outrageous...where’s the boy’s mother?!’ cries the audience.
The ushers start moving towards the stage just as Paderewski is coming out of his dressing room. Seeing what is happening his grabs his jacket and makes his way onto the stage. The audience has no idea what is going to happen next...slowly...totally unnoticed by boy, Paderewski kneels down by the piano and whispers in the boy’s ear ‘don’t stop...keep on playing...you’re doing great’. And with that he puts his hands around the boy to the piano and starts to accompany him with a concerto based on ‘chopsticks’. The two play together, all the time Paderewski whispering in the boy’s ear ‘don’t stop...you’re doing great!......’
When we look at our lives and the things we strive towards - the tune we play can sometimes look a bit muddled, a bit messy and a bit off key or out of tune. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others who seem to be playing a better tune than us. When I think of God and the wonder of his melody, I wonder just what my little tune on my little piano must sound like! Jesus said he came so that the world might know the Father so that we wouldn’t be orphans, on our own, playing that tune by ourselves. He came so that we could know our true Father by our side as we play out our tune. Today, whether things are going great or you whether you just don’t have a clue and feel you’re way off the page and you feel like giving up – know that God has his arms around you, that he is playing along with you, helping your tune soar to the heavens.
We are not alone. Wherever we are. Whatever’s going on. Even at the hardest times.

He is whispering like a Father to His child ‘don’t stop...keep playing....you’re doing great’.

XV_Speed

XV
Speed
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other
and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
– 1 Thessalonians 3:12

A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared.

Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic.

"Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop...." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the pavement toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:
"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.

Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.
We all try to take life at 100 mph, in the fast lane, racing along, knowing that if we get there 5 minutes earlier the whole situation will be better, whereas if we hold back, slow down, we will probably get there as quickly, but less stressed.

May we consider the words above, how God looks down on us with love, and may our love flow out for each other.

XV_Mist

XV
Mist

‘Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift of grace

leads us to being made right with God’ – Romans 5:26

‘I willingly have become what I unwillingly find myself to be’
These words from St. Augustine, written hundreds of years ago are not comfortable words. I’m speculating, but I wonder whether looking back at the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve mulled over words similar to those above, ‘How did we let ourselves get into this situation?’....’how did we get led astray and let anything get in between us and God...?’ If you’re like me – i.e. flawed – then you may well have asked those questions of yourself at times.
I read somewhere that the reason the stories in the bible resonate with us so much is because they are our stories...it happened then and it happens now. I doubt I’m the only to have read a story like the Genesis account and seen myself in it. I think that that is because Adam and Eve’s story is our story.
I know that I have lived that story out. Things are going great, life is good, God is blessing me, we’re communicating, I can see Him, draw strength from Him, and I can see the landscape of His world and my place in it. But then slowly...something enters my mind...something comes along in my day that knocks me off course, gently leading me away from the path I was on...it whispers in my ear, catches my sinful heart and watches as I run eagerly in the opposite direction to God. Adam and Eve don’t seem too far away now.
It’s like a mist slowly descending around me. It obscures the way ahead...things aren’t so clear any more...my defences seem weaker, my judgement is clouded, short-sightedness and fear replace faith and patience. Do any of these feelings sound familiar? Have you been there? Is that a story you’ve lived out?
What does Jesus say in this situation? When the way ahead is cloudy, when we can’t see him face to face, when we’re worried that we might be overcome with temptation or fear?
Praise God for giving us His word, for it gives us the simple loving response. In Hebrews we are told that ‘this High Priest of ours (Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin’ (Hebrews 4v15). Jesus faced it all. He knows what it is like to be human, to be fragile, to be tempted, to be tired, and surrounded. He also knows that God is bigger than all that.
But there is more to come, as Hebrews goes on to say that we can ‘boldly come to the throne of our gracious God...for there we will receive his mercy, and we will find Grace to help us when we need it most’.
What an invitation! What words of comfort and hope! What better answer could we have hoped for?! This grace God offers through Jesus can shine through the oppressive clouds and storms of life; the light of the cross’s victory over sin can blast through the mist that seeks to overwhelm us – God’s love is stronger! Oswald Chambers said that ‘the cross of Christ is the supreme evidence of the love of God’. Today, wherever we are, let us absorb that promise, believe it and know that this redemption, this free grace, this glorious truth is also our story. How does the song go...‘Amazing Grace...how sweet the sound....’

XV_One

XV
One

‘Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.’ 2 Cornithians 4:16

How much time do we spend looking at ourselves in the mirror, making sure we look good, and that we are ready to go out and meet people, when really we should be taking more time to look on the inside making sure we are spiritually ready to go out and meet people.

We spend so much time talking about keeping our bodies fit, but spend little or no time making sure that our hearts are kept in good spiritual health.

We rely so much on everything going right in order to keep us in a cheerful mood but the Bible tells us to “not lose heart” when everything around us seems to be “wasting away.”
I remember reading about a girl’s volleyball team in a small rural village that had achieved an unbelievable winning record of 65 games. What was so incredible about the success was that the school had only 18 girls in total and 16 of them were on the volleyball team.

Although it was one of the smallest schools in the state, it won the volleyball championship for three years running. Then, after 65 victories, they were eventually defeated.

The local paper reported the defeat with a large headline. Then, two days later, another headline appeared in the small paper “Team Rebounds with a Winning Streak of One.”
The key to not “losing heart” is making sure that we understand and believe that even in defeat we can be renewed in Christ. Defeats come and go in this life and that will never change.

Yet, for us Christians, defeat is one of those things that we strive to manage amidst the expectation that even in disappointment, we are victorious in Christ.

We Christians should always be on the rebound. When one foot is hindered in defeat, the other should already be moving on; looking for that “winning streak of one!”

Do we look for that winning streak of one, or do we think that that is not possible? How can you have a winning streak of one? Sometimes we look at things way off in the future, when we should be really paying attention to the things right in front of us. It is good to have a balanced mix of looking up to God, looking out to others, and looking in to ourselves.
If we persevere we will not only have a winning streak of one, but more and more. “So therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

XV_Fire

XV

Fire

‘For love is a strong as death...it burns like a blazing fire...like a mighty flame’

I have decided I like the Autumn.
I don’t know why but for some reason I’ve really noticed the change in seasons this year as leaves have started falling and the temperature has dropped. It might be because I’m a big fan of being ‘cosy’, but the arrival of Autumn makes me look forward to sitting in front of a nice warm fire, watching it rain outside!
There’s something about fire though isn’t there? Watching it, seeing how unpredictable it can be, how mesmerizing it is, how it can bring warmth and life in one circumstance – and fear and pain in another.
As I write this I’m having a think about how fire is used as an image or a symbol for God in the scriptures. The Angel with the flaming sword at the gates of Eden (Genesis 3:24), the burning bush and the pillar of fire guiding the Israelites (Exodus 3+13), the chariot of fire bearing Elijah (2Kings 2), the tongues of flame coming on the apostles (Acts 2:3).
It’s not just the scriptures either; we use the image in our daily Christian lives don’t we? We cry...‘we are on fire for you Lord’...‘set us alight Jesus’...’my heart burns for you’...
Though sometimes these words can be clichéd or overused, the more I think about them the more they seem to show some truth or symbolism about our lives and our connection with God.
These two symbols, God’s fire and our fire fuse together...Our short lives, our fragile hearts - burning for Him...His unquenchable fire of love, His eternal flame, lighting the way – burning for us...
Jesus was called ‘the light of the world’ (Matt 5:14) and ‘the light that shines in the darkness’ (John 1:5). Like a candle, Jesus’ life, sacrifice and resurrection shine brightly in a world shrouded in darkness by fear, despair and pain. As we seek to keep our flame alive and burning brightly for Him, his flame lights our way, warms us, comforts us, and protects us.
His flame is unquenchable, it will never grow dim, and it will never stop burning for us in love....but what about our flame? What about the fire burning inside of us?
When you look at that picture up above, how does that compare to your fire for God? When I look at it I have to wonder if mine is burning that brightly. What am I doing to maintain the fire? To keep it going? Is it providing warmth...or light for others...?
Paul reminds us in Romans 12 (11-16) to keep the fire of our devotion burning strong. We’ve got to continue to feed the fire with His word, with hope, with patience and prayer, compassion, grace and humility. Letting it grow larger and hotter, letting others gather around it and catch it...especially when it’s cold out!

XV_Shalom

XV

Shalom

‘Peace be with you’ he said’ John 20v19

A friend told me the other day of how he and his wife had felt a call from God to move house, uproot, leave their jobs and travel to a new place and devote their lives to a particular mission.
‘We don’t know where we’re going to live...when or how we’re going to do it and what we’re going to do for work...but we know it’s right and we really have peace about it’ he said.
Had I been in his position I may have been panicking...like mad! But, the more I thought about it, the more I knew recognised what he was talking about. It was more than a ‘feeling’ he was describing, but it’s the best word I can use to describe it - from when I have ‘felt’ it.
It’s like a sensation you carry around with you when you know you’re in what God wants you to be in. You’re doing what God wants you to be doing...and despite what’s going on around you or in your life...no matter how many questions or worries you have...you’re ok...because God is in control.
All throughout the scriptures there’s this recognition that there are so many things in our lives that push in exactly the opposite direction to this. Things that unsettle us, intimidate us, and cause us to hide or lose faith. Our work, our jobs, our relationships, the expectations others have on us, those we have on ourselves, the situation we’ve just come from, the circumstances we’re in right now, our futures...
What did my friend have that gave him such peace?
He had Shalom ...the peace of God.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples in John 20 v19 after his crucifixion the first thing he said was ‘Peace be with you’. These disciples were hiding, afraid, uncertain of what lay ahead...and what happened? Jesus appeared among them and said ‘be at peace’. Know the Shalom of God. Know His peace in the midst of all your worries, all your fear, all your anxiety, all your uncertainty. I am here...have peace.
This peace, this Shalom of God comes with the assurance that He is truly in charge. Think what a difference it made to that fearful group of men...what strength and courage it gave them...
Paul told the church Philippi (4 v6) ‘don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything, tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done...then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand...His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus’.
We serve a God who can turn the landscape of our hearts, whatever it may be like at this moment, into an image like the picture above - calm, settled and at peace. Wherever we are today, Jesus desperately wants us to look him in the eyes and hear him say ‘it’s ok...be at peace...I’m in control’.

XV_Zoom

XV
Zoom

‘There is one thing worth being concerned about – Mary has discovered it’ Luke 10:38

Why are we rushing around so much???!!!
Sorry, I’ll start again. In Ecclesiastes 3 the writer tells us that there is a time for everything, sleeping, waking, working, resting, living...dying! I feel after the week I’ve had, that had I written Ecclesiastes 3, I would have said something like...’a time for work, a time for always saying yes and never saying no, a time for rushing, a time for just doing a bit more...a time for worrying about the bit I didn’t do...’
So much of our time is spent zooming around at brake neck speed trying to ‘get it all done’. Whatever it is.
I was thinking the other day that often the things I’m rushing around trying to get done are actually good things. Seeing a mate, trying to be good at my job, calling up an old friend, helping at church, or the youth group, or at home...etc. Now this is not to say that I don’t have a multitude of selfish, lazy and egocentric moments. But I think what is clear is that we can be ‘well intentioned’...and yet still miss the mark...
The cars in the picture at the top are going quick, really quick! By some trickery of modern photography we’ve got this image of trailing lights, going at such a pace...we can’t actually distinguish one car from the next, or what’s really going on. Everyone rushing in a flurry of activity, zooming past , no time to stop.
Psalm 46 v10 says very plainly...’ be still and know that I am God’...
Be still
I don’t do still very well; if I have a personal record for time spent in solitary, silent meditation and prayer it must be in single figures. Still, when I think about it...I have to admit, it’s not actually the ‘being still’ bit that is to blame for this...it’s me. I’ve made a life so busy with detail that to stop and be still with God is actually a really hard thing to do.
Jesus knew that taking time to be still with God, time with his Father was crucial. He did so much in his ministry, yet so many times the Gospels record Jesus taking time out to be still, to pray and be with God. This was a way of living in tune with God and not the world. While Jesus was at the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38), Martha was rushing around, trying do the good and right thing - preparing a meal, being a good host; her sister, Mary, was just sitting with Jesus, being still, being in his presence.
Jesus didn’t deny that Martha’s ‘things’ needed to be done, nor that in some way they weren’t important. What he did do was affirm the most important thing...spending time with Him. The message to us is so simple à ‘be still and know that I am God’.
In the end there is only one real thing to be concerned about; Mary got it...have I?

XV_Mirror

XV
Mirror

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God – Colossians 1v 15

Noses, ears, eyes, hands, elbows and lips.
When we think of being made in the image of God, we could be forgiven, perhaps in our infancy, for thinking of the physical attributes that we have – eyes and ears etc.
From what I know, the bible says something different about this image we are made in. The Gospels give almost no description of Jesus’ earthly appearance (what he looked like)...though his heavenly appearance (what he was like) was a different matter...
The scriptures show us that Jesus’ heavenly appearance looks like...compassion ...kindness...self sacrifice...humility...charity...patience...obedience...and love. Genesis 9:6 talks about how we are to ‘reflect’ God’s very nature. Our lives should be reflecting or mirroring Jesus, his heavenly appearance...the very nature of God.
Now all this sounds great, right? Just about the proper thing we should be doing. But how does this actually work? In our day to day lives there is so much to do, so much expected of us – so much detail!
I like the picture up at the top because it just shows a simple, still and beautiful reflection of something that is...well pretty beautiful. So often I feel like my life is that lake, except work, relationships and busyness are all taking turns throwing stones into it, kicking up ripples and waves, messing with the reflection. Frustration, tiredness and a whole host of other things enter the picture all too soon.
I want to reflect the image...I just find it hard....and I get frustrated with myself.
The bible tells us that in the midst of this, the thing that I’ve got to remember...got to cling on to, is that even if ‘my lake’ is in a state and the ripples and waves are disturbing it, the original image of God is still there, constant, unchanging...perfect. He doesn’t go anywhere...he doesn’t leave us to it, not our God. The image is there, and in the busyness and madness of life, we can mirror that compassion, that generosity, that love...somehow in our day there’s got to be a chance to do it...surely?
I’m guessing that the more I look at God’s glory, the more I might reflect it.
The more I look at Jesus, the more I might mirror Jesus...the more I might look like Jesus.

XV_Intro

So I’ve been thinking about worship recently, trying to prepare a talk for 15 minutes on ‘what worship is’ and have been scratching my head as to where to start?
How can something so huge, so complex and so mysterious be neatly herded into a 15 minute slot? I guess the answer to that is that it can’t! Still when I think about those 15 minutes I realise that it is not only my talk that I’m trying to cram all the ‘God Stuff’ into...it’s a whole lot more.
My 15 minute quiet time...my 15 minutes of bible reading (if that!)...my 15 minute (4 song) worship session...my 15 minutes reading my Christian book...
Why do we compartmentalise our Christian lives like this so often?
In truth, it usually takes about 15 minutes for the point of my quiet time/ bible verse/ book/ song to fall out of my head and then it’s gone for the day!
I recently found myself inspired by Rob Bell’s ‘Nooma’ DVD’s and how a simple message of the Christian life could transmitted in the form of music, striking visuals and words of scripture.
I find those sorts of things helpful.
This week I was glancing through ‘my desktop’ backgrounds I saw a lot of pictures of creation that got me thinking. Words like ‘peace’, ‘journey’ and ‘mystery’ popped into my head as I looked at the pictures, somehow the picture and the word taking on a life of itself, sticking in my head for the rest of that day.
So...I decided that I wanted to write about the picture, to focus my thoughts, and see if in some small way, the picture and the word could find their way into my head and remind me of the divine that day.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I thought that I could send out a short email devotion (every now and then) with some thoughts, a picture, a verse of scripture, just pondering something of God. Maybe it might just help break that 15 minute ‘glass ceiling’ that so often is our time with God that day. I’m not quite sure what led me to do this, but I feel God wants me to give it a go and see what happens!
See what you think