Monthly Archives: September 2023

Who is this that speaks?

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 ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge…

Jesus said.. ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die..

(Jn 5.24-27; 11.25)

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades … These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds…

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live… These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds.. These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds….. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds…..

Then… I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to  break the seals and open the scroll?’… Then one of the elders said to me, ‘..see, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll..’ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne… And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

(Rev 1.18,2.1,12,18; 3.7.14; 5.5-10)

It is easy for the cares of the world to distract us, for the evil one to beguile us into focussing on humankind and thus lead us into despair, for our own failures to hobble us and hold us back from joyful living. One of the best antidotes to doubt, fear and despair is to bring ourselves back to the truth that we have received about God, about Jesus Christ, about the good news of salvation and all that is purposed for this world by our Maker.

As we find ourselves becoming uneasy and distracted, or even better, before it happens, we can choose to turn our thoughts to the realities which are revealed through scripture, and gain a true perspective, a safe rock on which to stand against the tide of doubt. What better subject to choose for such meditation than the name of our saviour? In the thinking of the writers of scripture, a person’s name is considered as denoting their character and purpose, something which we tend to forget. But once we take this on board and begin to look for all the ways that Jesus is described throughout scripture, we quickly find our minds  lifted onto a very exalted and thrilling plane!

There are so many wonderful ways in which Jesus is described and named for us through the narrative of the bible, and I commend them all to you as worthy sources of fruitful thought and meditation. Today I quoted  some of the names given at the beginning of John’s Revelation – spoken by the One who is counted worthy to receive the praise of the hosts of heaven and who yet knows us, our deeds and all our circumstances.

Read these wonderful names to yourself again, read aloud and savour the majesty and power which they signify. Then remind yourself.. “It is this person in whom I trust; this one who calls me beloved; this one who has promised to bring me safely home; this one who calls me to serve him while life remains in my body; this one who calls me to trust amidst chaos, pain and darkness.”

When I remember to whom I pray, and of whom I witness, and for whom I live, I bow in adoration and praise, rejoicing to be counted among his people and exalted by the honour of being known by his name. Then, I stand my ground with a renewed confidence and trust with renewed hope that He will indeed do all things well. Glory to him in and through all!

spare me the closed ear…

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Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you.. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you..

(Deut 6.3,6&18)

Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? .. You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.

(Isa 42.18&20)

The Sovereign Lord … wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

(Isa 50.4&5)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.

(Jas 1.22-25)

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

(Rev 2.7)

When my children were small, distracted and impatient of instruction or parental caution, I would sometimes ask them to listen to me with their eyes as well as their ears… I reckoned that if they were concentrating both eyes on my face, they were a good deal more likely to be concentrating their minds on my words! The faculty of hearing is repeatedly referred to in the bible as of crucial importance in responding to God’s revelation of himself, and always the inference is that unless one responds in obedience, one is not really listening, not hearing properly.

If I claim to be attuned to God’s voice, alert to his instruction, and yet continue to make choices and behave in ways which contradict his will, then I am not actually hearing him at all. I have closed my ears to his voice, and am listening instead to my own desires, or to the cultural voice which speaks more pleasingly. It was this sin into which the people of Israel fell, and were repeatedly warned against by the prophets. All their boasted faithfulness to God was in practice a willed deafness to his call to obedient witness and dependence on him. They paid a very high price for that persistent rebellion, and I need to learn from their story to be humble and aware of the danger of complacent self-assurance.

To have faith in God, is to make no distinction between hearing and obeying, and we are thankful that it is God’s gift which enables us to respond to him in this way. Apart from his grace, we are bound in a deafness which amounts to fatal rebellion against our maker and redeemer.

In Jesus, we see that perfect listening obedience which enabled him to do all that God entrusted to him, to speak God’s words and to proclaim the coming of the kingdom with such power. In Jesus, we see one who heard and trusted, whose unique understanding of God’s will bore fruit for our salvation. He is our constant companion and our good shepherd; he always knows God’s will, and can carry it to completion. We can therefore walk in confidence with him, knowing that he fully hears and understands the Father’s will and we can trust him always, whether we understand or not.

It is the Father’s will and gift that we should hear and obey him in faith; it is our good Shepherd’s voice which comforts us along the way and restores us when we have become weary or gone astray; it is the Spirit who quickens us to listen with our full attention, desiring only to discern God speaking that we might delight him in our obedience.

Heavenly Father, quicken my spirit to concentrate fully on you as you speak to me through your word. Let me hear you clearly, let hearing be obedience, submission, loyal love and trust. Let the likeness of Christ be seen more and more in my readiness to put your words into practice, and give you all the glory in my life.

Finding the right words…

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By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.. Everything’s falling apart on me, God; put me together again with your word.. You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your word to renew me…. Every word you give me is a miracle word – how could I help but obey?

Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.. steady my steps with your word of promise so nothing malign gets the better of me.

(Ps 119.105,107,129&130,133, the Message translation)

God put me to work from the day I was born. The moment I entered the world, he named me. He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate…..The Master, God, has given me a well-taught tongue, so I know how to encourage tired people… Who out there fears God, actually listens to the voice of his servant? For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going, anyone groping in the dark, here’s what: Trust in God. Lean on your God!

(Isa 49. 1&2; 50.4&10, the Message translation)

Then Jesus gave the twelve their chance; “Do you also want to leave?” Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, of eternal life….”

(Jn 6. 67&68)

I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet-clear and piercing: “Write what you see into a book… ” I turned and saw the voice.. I saw a gold menorah with seven branches, and in the centre, the Son of Man, in a robe and gold breastplate, hair a blizzard of white, eyes pouring fire-blaze, both feet furnace-fired bronze, His voice a cataract, right hand holding the seven stars, his mouth a sharp-biting sword…. I saw this and fainted dead at his feet. His right hand pulled me upright, his voice reassured me..

(Rev 1:10-17, the Message translation)

Our words are so powerful, to wound or to heal; to discourage or to build up; to speak love or to spread hate. We are warned to beware of hasty speech, to guard our tongues from thoughtless utterances and to make sure that what we do say is kind, wholesome, constructive and God-honouring.. it is wonder that most of us dare to speak or write at all, and no surprise that we so often fail in courtesy, wisdom and gentleness, causing unnecessary pain and too often bringing our Lord into disrepute by our hasty words.

What a relief then to consider how different is our God; to read of the power of his words, of their purity and truth; to reflect that where we fail, he never does. The Saviour of the world, the coming King and Anointed one who comes to fulfill God’s purposes of redemption is perfect in speech, in finding the right words to accomplish all that he desires for us. He can comfort, strengthen, rebuke and command – all in the right way and at the right time!

He speaks the words of life, and he is the Word of Life – by whom all things were made at the direction of the Father. What a wonderful companion for our lives, and what a guide to introduce to our fellow travellers as the infallible and unfailing support for the journey. How marvellous that we, as mere creatures and specks in a vast universe, can know the maker and sustainer of all that is! Because our God speaks, we can know him.

I am so thankful for all those who have taught and encouraged me over the years to trust the word of God, to handle it responsibly and to grow in wisdom in understanding it. I am so thankful to have the bible in my own language, and to have so many resources to help me use it well – a privilege which so many still lack.

Heavenly Father, I praise you for the Living Word, for the Voice that speaks truth and love, that calls me to come into your presence with confidence and to be at rest there. 

Living Word, I rejoice to know you as my Lord and Saviour, to hear you find the right words to comfort and restore me, to find fresh strength and new wisdom as I hearken to you by your Spirit.

Holy Spirit, may the word in me bear fruit for the glory of the Lord and the building of his kingdom. Thoroughly work it into my thoughts and understanding, so that no part of me remains unchanged, unresponsive or dishonouring to him. Amen.

a prayer upon parting

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However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has give me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace… Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

(Acts 20.24&32)

Peace to the brothers and sister, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love.

(Eph 6.23, 24)

Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known…by the command of the eternal God, so that all ..might come to the obedience that comes from faith – to the only wise God be glory for ever through Jesus Christ! Amen

(Rom 16.25-27)

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

(1 Thess 5.16-24)

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

(Heb 13.20&21)

And so it has come to farewell… the time has dragged, then raced, and all at once the day is here and we are at the parting of the ways. But how wonderful to know that as children of God, we never say goodbye for ever, only farewell, only ’till we meet again!’

It is a good, but humbling lesson, learning over again that other people do not depend upon us for their thriving in life. Our presence in this community has – we trust – been a blessing and a means by which God has worked to build his kingdom, to break down prejudices and to show his love to others. But once we are gone, that work will continue, and we hope it will grow and bear fruit in lives transformed and a growing church! We are entirely at the Lord’s command, and it is by his Spirit that the work is done; we give all the glory to him for the fruit which is produced and give thanks for the privilege of labouring in his name. We also confess to him the mistakes we have made, and pray that they will not hinder his work but prove an opportunity for grace to abound.

The apostle Paul knew all about saying goodbye to his fellow believers, to people with whom he had laboured and suffered, grieved and rejoiced. His prayers for those people are rich in inspiration for us as we have to commit one another to God and walk down different paths. They remind us of what really matters, and of where our true confidence and strength must lie – in Christ, through whom God has given us all things, by whom we now live, and who alone can meet all our needs in this life. It is God’s will that we might live to glorify him and serve him, so surely we can trust him to make this possible, no matter what our circumstances may be?!

We each have a choice when God asks us to let go of a precious gift – either to release it with thankfulness for all that it brought and a prayer that we might have grace to do without it; or to resent God’s command, to let bitterness and self-pity have their way with us and blind us to God’s love, to the possibility of new gifts which are different, and to the reality of his command to trust him in all things to do what is good and right.

Heavenly Father, I worship you today and confess again your sovereignty. All that I have is of you, to give or to take away according to your good purposes in my life and those of others. I thank you for all the joy which this place and community have brought me over these seven years, and pray that I will release the gift back to you with a humble and hopeful spirit. May your work here be strengthened as your people depend on you and step out in faith; may the memory of our time together be an encouragement not a source of regret. May I step out in faith to the future you have assuredly prepared for me, although I do not yet know what it is. Keep my loss free from the infection of bitterness and self-pity; keep me thankful, humble and hopeful, and above all keep me faithfully loving to you, through our Lord Jesus, in whose name all your children are saved. Amen.