XV_Enough

XV

Enough

‘Jesus asked them, ‘’Do you believe that I am able to do this?’’ Matt 9:28

A few years back I wrote a long and rambling dissertation on a group of reformers in the 15th century – exciting I know!. This group was appearing in Europe around the time of the reformation when the Protestant Church was born. The great leader of this Protestant movement was the (initially reluctant) minister Martin Luther. As any good theology student would tell you, Luther was the grand daddy of the ‘Justification by Faith Alone’ or sola fide argument. Faith in God, in his grace, mercy, compassion and power being at the centre of our walk with God. It interested me therefore to find this little excerpt from a discussion between Luther and one of his ‘flock’.

‘In Torgau a wretched little woman once came to me and said ‘Ah, dear Doctor, I have the idea that I’m lost and can’t be saved because I can’t believe.’ I (Luther) replied, ‘Do you believe, dear lady, that what you pray in the creed is true?’ She answered with clasped hands, ‘Oh yes, I believe it is; it’s most certainly true!’ To which I replied, ‘Then go in God’s name, dear lady. You believe more and better than I.’ It’s the devil who puts such ideas into people’s heads and says, ‘Ah, you must believe better. You must believe more. Your faith is not very strong and is insufficient’. In this way he drives them to despair.

...Now this is ‘the grand daddy’ of the ‘by faith alone’ argument saying all this. It makes me think that he knew a thing or two about doubt, maybe a thing or two about being under attack too. Perhaps he knew what it was like to feel as if his faith wasn’t genuine; maybe he had felt that others around him seemed to be more ‘spiritual’, more on fire for God than he; maybe he had felt lost in the smokescreen of this material world; or perhaps everyone else seemed to be going for it with God and he felt like he was ‘playing Christian’ rather than being one?

As I look back over those questions I’d have to put up my hand and say, ‘Yep, I’ve felt that way too at times’.

I think a lot of us have been in that place where doubt and low ‘spiritual self esteem’ (if there is such a thing) abound. It usually comes up when big decisions of life/future/work/relationships and calling rear their heads. Sometimes it just comes up when life seems predictable and over-comfortable. Often it’s when we’re faced with the question – Do I really believe God’s got ‘this’ in His hands? If I put my trust in him, will he come through? The question I guess we’ve got to ask if we’re in that situation is – what do we do? Is it a question of trying harder? How much faith should we have?

John Ortberg’s book ‘‘If you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat’’ drew my attention to a good answer to this question, and I hope that if today, right now, as you read, doubt or worry is something you’re facing, that God will encourage and challenge you, as he is challenging me, in this simple response.
‘ Ole Hallesby writes about the father who comes to Jesus to ask him to help him ‘if you can’.

‘If?’ Jesus says. ‘All things are possible to him who believes’.

‘I do believe’ the man says, ‘help my unbelief’

Like most of us, he was a mixture of trust and doubt.

How much faith did he have?

‘Enough to come to Jesus,’ Hallesby writes. ‘And that was enough’.

How much faith do I need? Not a feeling of certainty. Just enough faith to take a step.

XV Looking Up

XV
Looking Up
‘this same Jesus….will come back in the same way…’ Acts 1:11

Think about the disciples who saw Jesus taken and ascending into heaven. True, he had spoken about ascending to his father, but the moment had come! Forty days ago he had come back to them – were they to lose him now? Then, suddenly, he was gone! Confused and perhaps afraid, they looked up trying to see him. There is a medieval painting of this scene and the only visible part of Jesus in the cloud is the soles of his feet!

Then two angels appeared and spoke about Jesus’ return; wasn’t that just what they wanted to hear? But the promise had no time scale! And Jesus had told his followers that they must first receive the promised Holy Spirit and then make disciples in an ever expanding mission? So, he might not return very soon after all. What does this episode say to us? All too often we overlook the Ascension of Jesus and pay small regard to the promise of his return. Why? I wonder if the significance is not properly understood? In these verses, the ascension of Jesus, the promise of his return and the commission to the disciples are inextricably linked.

The ascension or glorification of Jesus marks the completion of his ministry on earth; he has glorified his Father’s name (John 12:23,28) and returns to heaven as the glorified Lord. He will not appear again until the day of which the angels spoke and in the manner of his going, i.e., in glory (Acts 1:9, 3:21, Rev 1:7). Read and ponder these verses which display God’s purposes in redemption on the broadest canvas. There is a third strand to this story – the part played by the disciples. In vv 2-8, Jesus’ last words were about the coming kingdom, their filling by the Spirit and the witness they would spread. In Matt 28, they were commissioned to ‘go and make disciples’. This was impossible without his presence promised to them ‘until the end of the age’ – and at that time Jesus will return. The promise is secure, but when, oh when will it take place?

The last prayer of the Bible is ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Read these words and assess your feelings – Is there a sense of eager longing? A feeling of concern? A lack of readiness? A fear of the unknown? In Matt 24:42, Jesus says ‘Keep watch’ – the greatest challenge of all.

XV_Communication

XV

Communication
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to there needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

I don’t know how you feel about emails, with one or two of these popping through your inbox every week but we live in an email culture. If you’re anything like me you come to your office on a Monday morning and there waiting for you are 300+ emails in your junk mail and about another 30 that have found there way into your inbox, let alone the ones you actually have to reply to.

Here is a story about someone who sent an email to the wrong address, so when sending emails remember to put the right address in the “To” section!

A Minnesota couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out from a particularly cold winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they had spend there honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of the hectic schedules the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida a few days earlier, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked in to the hotel, and there was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However he accidentally left one letter off in her email address and, without realising sent the email. Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston a widow has just returned home from her husband’s funeral, he was a minister who had a heart attack and died. The widow decided to check her emails, thinking she might have messages from relative and friends. After reading the first email she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room and saw the computer screen on which read…
To My Loving Wife, Subject: I’ve arrived!! Date: January 2008
“I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you’re allowed to send emails to your loved ones whenever you like. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. I’ve very much looking forward to seeing you then. Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine.
Love……
P.S It really is hot down here!”

Sometimes we get caught up in the world of electronic communication with emails, facebook, msn, writing people emails and messages when we actually need to talk with them.
All God wants to do is sit and talk, like close friends do, like a husband does with his wife, like a parent does with their child.

May we be intentional in our communication, because at times, when friends are not so close around us, communication becomes distant. May we not take for granted the friends we currently have around us, so therefore stick close to them, watching out for them, as God watches our for you.

XV_Talent?

XV

Talent?

‘I was afraid and so went and hid your talent in the ground’ Matt 25:25

You’re probably familiar with the parable of the talents. In it the Master entrusts his 3 servants with ‘talents’. ‘Talent’ meant large sum of money, but it’s a good word to consider. Upon his return from a trip the master learns from each of his servants what they did with ‘their talent’. Two of them have used what he gave them and returned with more than they started with, they have done well and he is pleased. One has buried his talent, he has done nothing with it and the master is furious.
This story was re-written hundreds of years later by a theologian, and in it his 3rd servant spent all his money on drink and high living. For the theologian, these kinds of sins, rather than mere laziness, seemed more ‘worthy’ of the master’s scolding. However, looking at the original passage tells us something else. The master didn’t scold the servant for attacking his character (‘I knew you were a hard man’ v24) or binging, his rebuke is for wasting his talent, wasting his gift, burying it, letting the potential go unrealised.
The servant says ‘I was afraid’. Isn’t it so often the case that ‘fear’ is the cause for sin? How often do we let fear get in the way? How often does it hold us back? How often does it keep us boxed in and contained? Fear causes me to falter. Fear causes me to keep the deepest things to myself, fear causes me to go so far with God or relationships, but then to withdraw, fear causes me to doubt myself and God, fear causes me to wait for someone else to volunteer before I raise my hand, fear causes me to stay safe rather than take a risk, fear causes me to stay in the boat rather than walk on water.
In Luke 2 v10, the account of the birth of Jesus, the angel says to the shepherds, ‘Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, today...a saviour has been born’.

See, when Joy is there, fear has to leave. The angel say’s ‘Don’t fear, because Joy has come’, Jesus is born, the saviour is here, a reason to celebrate! When Joy turns up at the party, fear has to leave and go home.
In church the other day someone said faith was spelt r.i.s.k. Perhaps we do need to accept that there is always going to be an element of risk when following God and using his ‘talents’. Mary took a risk when accepting the Angels message; the shepherds took a risk when they made their way from the hillsides, leaving what they knew, to follow God’s call. I’d hazard a guess that the two servants in the parable were taking a risk when they invested or handled the money the master had entrusted them. In all these cases, there was fear, but...how great was the reward? What joy did God give them for stepping out? Had not God had Mary in his hands all that time? And the shepherds as they travelled and gave what little they had? This much is true -> we all have a gift. We have all been given talents for God’s glory. We have been made by the Father and therefore have all been given unbelievable potential, a part to play in furthering God’s Kingdom. We are not called to be Billy Graham or Matt Redman but only ourselves. The person God made us to be and who God died to redeem. What do you think?

XV_?

XV

?

Who do you say I am? Matt 16:15

Are you direct in talking to others? These words of Jesus show that he was prepared to give a direct challenge. Talking with Jesus must have been quite a scary experience; he had an ability to cut through reasoning that did not stand up to his penetrating insight. Do you remember the attempts made by the Samaritan woman to divert the conversation away from personal issues?

It was no accident that the incident related in Matt 16 took place near Caesarea Philippi. This place had been the centre of Baal worship in earlier years; the Greeks later made it a centre of worship of Pan. In Jesus’ day there was a temple, built on a hillside by Philip, to honour Caesar as a god. Against that backdrop, is it not amazing that Jesus, the wandering rabbi, raises the question ‘Who do you say I am’? It was as if the whole area, if it had a voice, might say ‘This is where you find god – in the fertility rites of Canaanites, or by the sensual worship of the Greeks or in the dominating force of Rome, declaring that Caesar is Lord. All three had a common aim – to draw God’s people away from the worship and service of the one true God. There is a total distinction between the worship of God and that offered to Baal, Pan and Caesar.

Who do you say that I am? The question has deep significance in 2008. The direct challenge put to Peter and the other disciples is, in turn, directed at us. As in Jesus’ day, there is no shortage of opinions about Jesus – a great teacher, a prophet and so on. BUT, you are faced with a question to which what ‘they say’ as an answer is irrelevant. Imagine that you are in the bodily presence of Jesus right now (and you would probably be overcome in prostration) asking YOU the question that you cannot brush aside. It is one of the most significant questions to be faced in life.

I can imagine that some of you will reply that you believe in Jesus; good, but Jesus reminded his hearers that demons believe and tremble. This question goes deeper, I suggest that if this devotional achieves what it should, then the whole context has to be read and pondered. The revelation to Peter that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah means that from this point on, Peter is no longer a free agent but, as the following verses tell us, he is to follow in the path of suffering and death. There is no other way.

This revelation of Jesus to Peter in not ‘by man’ (cf John 1:13) and is directly from God (and we might add by the Spirit, the one sent to reveal Christ to us). If, as you read these words, you feel that their full significance is diminished in any way, seek a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to show us who Jesus is.

XV_Comfort

XV

Comfort
‘May your unfailing love by my comfort’ Psalm 119 v 76

I was at the annual Delirious? Christmas concert the other day, an awesome night, interspersed with weird costumes, revamped Christmas carols and passionate worship. I had heard the band’s new album was called ‘kingdom of comfort’, this immediately made me think about the verse from 2 Corinthians 1:2 ‘praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort...’.
Well, although this is a truly awesome verse and one that shows the great grace and love of our Father God, this was not what the album title was referring to.

We heard of how the band had travelled to places like Cambodia and India, how they had met children in rubbish tips and seen people living so far below the poverty line they were utterly shocked and broken by the experience. Encouraging us to think about all we had in the west, in England, all our abundance – especially at this time of year, the title track of the album was played, with these lyrics ringing out....

‘see me falling down...there will come a day when all this will fall away....see me falling down..save me from this kingdom of comfort where I am king...from my unhealthy lust of material things...save me...’

I find that at this time of year we sit in church or in meetings and talk about how materialistic society has got. I shake my head and say ‘but it’s all about Jesus’ and bemoan the increasing PC culture that seems to shake every aspect of Christ out of Christmas. We now have ‘happy holidays’, ‘seasons greetings’ and that coca cola advert where all their lorries are driving through the snow bringing us our coca cola as the trademarks of Christmas.
Yet for all my head shaking and theological grumbles – I know that I’m just as much to blame. I still find myself wanting, expecting, needing ‘things’ this Christmas. I find myself in this mindset that having that i-pod, or that computer, or that thing for my car or that new album, or just...a...little...more...money....will somehow make things a bit easier........a bit more comfortable.

When God came to this earth as a baby, there was nothing comfortable about His arrival. Born to a virgin in a society that would condemn a birth out of wedlock, arriving in a cold and windswept stable, being a marked ‘man’ before his birth. There has been a great inaccuracy in our Christmas cards nostalgic rendering of this event.
I think the bottom line is this -> this Christmas we have a choice. As a friend has often said, if we take Christ out of Christmas we only has MAS = Minus A Saviour.

I think we all need to decided whether this year we will be participants of ‘the kingdom of comfort’ where our needs are met in ‘things’ and where we’re ok and comfortable with our lot....or whether we are going to choose to be sons and daughters of the ‘God of all comfort’, finding our joy in Him and being part of the Kingdom of Comforters, bringing Jesus, bringing light, to others this Christmas and beyond.
God Bless and Merry Christmas

XV_G.L.A.R

XV

G.L.A.R

‘for the law was given through Moses; ...

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ John 1:17

I recently read these words below in Philip Yancey’s book ‘What’s so Amazing about Grace?’ and was struck by the overwhelming power and unfathomable nature of this thing called ‘grace’......see what you think....
‘’...Grace makes its appearance in so many forms that I have trouble defining it. I am ready, though, to attempt something like a definition of Grace in relation to God. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more – no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less – no amount of racism or pride, pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.
There is a simple cure for people who doubt God’s love and questions God’s grace; to turn to the bible and examine the kind of people God loves. It tells of a murderer and adulterer who gained a reputation as the greatest king of the Old Testament, a man after God’s own heart. And of a church being led by a disciple who cursed and swore that he had never known Jesus, And of a missionary being recruited from the ranks of Christian torturers. I get mailings from Amnesty international, and as I look at their photos of men and women who have been beaten and cattle-prodded and jabbed and spit on and electrocuted, I ask myself; ‘what kind of human being could do that to another human being?’ Then I read the book of Acts and meet the kind of person who could do such a thing – now an apostle of grace, a servant of Jesus Christ, the greatest missionary history has ever known. If God can love that kind of person, maybe, just maybe, he can love the likes of me.
I cannot moderate my definition of grace....because the bible forces me to make it as sweeping as possible. God is ‘the God of all grace’ in the Apostle Peter’s words (1 Peter 5:10). It means that I, even I who deserves the opposite, am invited to take my place at the table in God’s family.
The world runs by ungrace. Everything depends on what I do. Jesus’ kingdom calls us to another way, one that depends not on our performance but his own. We do not have to achieve but only follow. He has already earned for us the costly victory of God’s acceptance....’’
If I’m honest, I’m selfishly writing this devotion as a letter to myself because this is a message I need to hear again today. God’s grace is a force we can’t contain. His grace is like a river it consumes and covers, flowing over all of us, drenching and enveloping us. But what is our response?? Graham Kendrick was once asked to define the art of leading worship, he simply said ‘be a worshiper, be a servant and be yourself’. Love God, serve his people and be the person he created you to be. This is our response and our calling.
The enormity of what Jesus did only sinks in when I realise that he did it for me. We have much cause to worship, for as one of my favourite songs goes...‘Grace Like A River, is flowing down, on you and me’

XV_Instead

XV

Instead

‘A garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair ….’ Isaiah 61:3

I love this passage for many reasons. First of all, because it sets out God’s purpose in bringing salvation through his anointed servant -> who comes to restore the broken relationship between people and their God. The words of Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth identify him with the servant: ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:18).

In their historical setting, these verses are a powerful reminder that God’s plan will not be defeated. It might look as if it was all going bottom up, but even if the people were rebellious, they were still precious in God’s sight. Looking back across their history, the only explanation for their continuing place in God’s purpose was that there was a plan that they had not understood. Is this why we read elsewhere in this book of Isaiah the promise – ‘my righteous servant will justify many’?

There is a repeated word ‘instead’ in this chapter. It occurs in v3 (x 3) and v7 (x2). When a word occurs this often, it indicates something important. The link in each case is to the year of jubilee, which happened in OT times every fiftieth year. There was a release from debts, property reverted to its original owner, servants went free and even the land had a rest! Blowing a trumpet marked the beginning of this tear of thanksgiving. Although the literal observance of jubilee does not happen today, Jesus announced a jubilee for all humanity, in which the mourning, despair, shame and disgrace of the human condition is taken away and instead we are given a crown, oil, a spirit of praise, an inheritance and everlasting joy. Picture language, yes, but wonderful pictures.

This is where we came in! Praise should mark those lives where formerly there was despair. We can only praise God in the measure that we value what he has done for us. So, be honest, and ask yourself, how do you measure up? I do not think that we are just talking about singing and praising God in church or even in the bath or the shower! It seems that it is more of an attitude, something that we ‘wear’ as the verse says. There is an old song whose first verse runs:

Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God, In every part with praise
That my whole being may proclaim, Thy being and thy ways …

Is that my prayer? Is it your prayer? If answered, it could bring hope to our world, full of despairing people, who do not know the ‘instead’ that Jesus could bring them.

XV_Together

XV
Together

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue

but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

About a month ago I was stood at Heathrow Airport waiting to pick up my work colleagues who had just traveled back from Australia. I arrived early so not to miss them coming off the plane and would enable me to have enough time to chill out, and be ready for them coming through the gate. I positioned myself right up by the barrier so they could see me as soon as they came through.
Time ticked on and lots of other people were coming through the gates.
I sat back and watched as people came through the gates, and frequently as soon as people caught the eye of a loved one, their eyes would open up, a great big smile would appear and some of them would run over to greet there loved ones.

It was a priceless reaction when people saw loved ones for the first time. They were hugging and wanting to know if each other were alright, but this was genuine enjoyment that they were reunited, that they were together again.

‘Love Actually’ for me has one of these moments where the film is drawing to a close; where a little boy called Sam knows that a little girl called Joanna, who he has a major crush on, is leaving and all he wants to do is see her.

Against all odds on a busy day at Heathrow airport, after running past security guards, jumping over them, then having security guards run after him, he eventually sees Joanna and calls her name. “Joanna…Sam says” “Sam…Joanna replies” “I thought you didn’t know my name, Sam asks” “Of course I do replies Joanna”. Sam has been caught up by the security guards, so says to Joanna “I’ve got to run”

Upset, the security guards take him back to his dad, thinking it’s all over, knowing he might have missed his chance.
Joanna appears at the gate and walks over to Sam, simply just to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Sam is made up, and jumps in to his dads arms.

The sweet innocent love that this child has is one that God has for us. Like Sam, I can imagine God would do anything just to see us. All God wants to do is see us smiling, to walk beside us, to have a relationship with us. The beginning of 1 John 3 opens with “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” You and I are children of God, where we can reach out a hand and be met with a hand of security, strength and sheer greatness.

In Gods eyes you are perfect, and he doesn’t want to hold anything back. We are the ambassadors of Gods love, so it “with actions and in truth”. So wherever you are, sat at work or at home reading this, pause and reflect on the love God has for us knowing that he wants to give you a great big hug.

XV_You

XV

You

‘You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted

from nothing into something’ – Psalm 139 v13-16 (the message)

It will come as no surprise to readers that I don’t know much about babies.

Despite being a teacher, my knowledge and experience with the youngest of the young is woefully poor. Still, I know that as I look at that picture, I am not on my own when I say that I know nothing about this child. I don’t know if it’s a he or a she, I don’t know what their name is, what this child’s life is like now, what kind of person they are – I don’t have a clue!

God knows though.

The psalmist paints a picture of God’s understanding of us in Psalm 139; I think it’s one of the most beautiful psalms to God in the bible. In it he talks about how God saw us being made, how he had every day of our lives written in his book even as we were being formed. How deeply and completely he knows us.

He watched us as we were sculpted...bit...by...bit. He knows us completely. Totally. Inside out.

When God looked at me, like I look at that child up there in the picture, he knew all the things that were going to happen to me. He knew what kind of person I was going to be, he knew what passions I would have, what difficulties I’d encounter, what longings I would have. What my life would be to him.

He knew all of these things and before I’d even drawn my 1st breath he had made his mind up about me, about all of us. It’s often hard to get our heads around this, when we think of all the ways we fall short. But knowing all that lay ahead, he loved us
Them
Him
Her
Me
You

John 3:16 says ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son’ that we might be saved through him. We know that one well don’t we? Sometimes I think we know it too well. I often let it roll off my tongue and slip out of my mouths without really knowing what it means. Knowing what it truly means today to be loved by someone so much that they will die for you.....you as you are....you today.

The Psalmist knew this loving God intimately. He stood in front of his creator, confident in Him and said ‘here I am, an open book, I’m yours, test me, speak to me, lead me on’. He knew that through God we have all been made from nothing into something. Jesus’ sacrifice shows us just how much God valued that ‘something’. I love the words of Martin Smith when he wrote ‘God didn’t screw up when he made you...He’s a Father who loves to Parade you’.
Your Father God made you. He cherishes you, He always has. He made you to be you. He has plans for you. He loves you.