Monthly Archives: August 2024

Why do I write?

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A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures for ever.”

(Isa 40.6-8)

Ten years ago, I began to write. I found my voice, as a follower of Jesus and one whose delight it is to know and learn to know him better. I found that writing each week helped me to grasp the truth, as I wrestled with words and found relief in articulating what was encouraging or troubling me. The discipline of weekly writing has been an unmitigated blessing to me, and by God’s providence and grace, has proved a blessing to others too. It seems that often my words help others in turn to find their voices – how I thank God for this manifestation of the ministry of all believers, as the gifts of each one finds a place in serving others!

The years have seen changes, in my family and in my circumstances, and the world has known great griefs and upheavals. But through it all, the word of our God stands, and there I place my hope. I have proved the sweet faithfulness of my Saviour, the greatness of my Father’s heart, the reviving power of the Spirit. I have not learnt and put into practice everything that I have written – sadly it seems that very little has changed in my essential nature – but I believe that the process of writing and sharing week by week has been nourishing and correcting, a means by which God has spoken to me and sustained me through these ten years. For the moment then, I commit myself to continuing to write, and trust that as I ask, seek and knock, my gracious and generous God will answer, will direct and will open the doors according to his good purposes for my life within his great and growing kingdom.

These are the words with which this endeavour began. They remain a true statement of my desires in writing, and I share them again with you today. All glory to God, who in Jesus has set us free to know and love him, and to live ever more in his presence!

August 31st, 2014….

So what do I forget, all too often? I forget who I am, and forget what is true about the world I live in and the One who made and sustains it.

I forget that in the end, all human achievement and glory will count for nothing, and that the praise and admiration of men is not where true peace and satisfaction come from.

I forget that it is not my own busy-ness which dictates my worth as a person, and my possessions are not the source of my identity and security.

I need to take time to remember the truth, the truth that sets me free to live in the light of eternity.

I accept my insignificance and transience, because the word of my God stands for ever, and that word tells me that I am a beloved daughter, one for whose freedom a great price has been paid, and who can never be torn from her Father’s side.

I take time to remember that the glory of the grass and flowers is the faintest echo of the glory that awaits God’s beloved children in the future he has prepared for us.

I remember that all my longings and desires are known to Him who loves me more than I will ever truly understand, and that He knows best how to fulfill those desires.

In remembering, may we find rest for our souls. May they be anchored in the truth of the word, so that no dazzle or distraction can take our peace away. In Christ, we are now and always, beloved, accepted and sustained. Let us walk the days with him.

Ageing with [gr]attitude!

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It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the work of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be for ever destroyed.

But you, O Lord, are exalted for ever.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

(Ps 92)

My times are in thy hand; my God, I wish them there; my life, my friends, my soul I leave entirely to thy care.

My times are in thy hand, whatever they may be, pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem to thee.

My times are in they hand; why should I doubt or fear? My father’s hand will never cause his child a needless tear.

My times are in thy hand, Jesus, the crucified! Those hands my cruel sins had pierced are now my guard and guide.

My times are in thy hand; such faith you give to me that after death, at thy right hand I shall for ever be.

(WF Lloyd 1791-1853)

60 years ago today, my parents welcomed me into the world. They loved and cared for me, and they raised me in a home where Jesus was loved and honoured, supported by a congregation of faithful and encouraging believers. I am a child of the covenant, and have so much for which to give thanks to God.

As I enter my seventh decade, I am acutely aware that the days remaining to me may become clouded with ill health, that my sphere of activity may become limited, that many precious friends and satisfying activities may be lost to me before in turn I am called home. What is my attitude to these things? Will I choose resentment for all the things I have not had or done; choose to fear what God may permit to come to me from his loving hand?

No, by faith I choose gratitude, as I reflect on the past and dwell on the promises which are mine in Christ; promises which will last through whatever lies before me, and even through death to glory beyond. By faith, I choose to look forward to what God has for me to receive from him in this season, and to what he has for me to give. I have known too many fruitful saints who remain fresh in old age, to fear that there will be nothing that I can do for my king in the years that may remain to me!

Loving Father, I thank and praise you for the gift of life, and most of all for Jesus, through whom life becomes worth living. Thank you for your care for me as I grew up, for your provision for me down the years. Lord, keep me humbly dependant on you, and cheerful in my outlook. Let each day find me expecting good things from you, and also willing to accept what your providence may decree should happen to me, trusting always in your goodness.

My times, my health, my resources, all these are from you and to be used for you. Let me not withhold anything, but gladly be available to be used as you wish. Keep me fresh and eager to serve you, sensitive to opportunities to share Jesus’ love, and in tune with your spirit. May I be green and fruitful for you, feeding deeply on your word, drawing strength from the fellowship of saints, and increasingly transformed into the likeness of my Lord and saviour, in whose name I pray, Amen.

To hear is to obey…

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Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live..

(Isa 55.2&3)

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding.. then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

(Prov 2.1,2&5)

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said…. [the Lord answered] few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.

(Lk 10.38,39&42)

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)

I think we can all sometimes have ‘hearing’ problems when it comes to our relationships, particularly with God but also with one another. How often have I been guilty of distracted listening, of paying little real attention to the person speaking to me? And the result is that I misunderstand them, often hurting them as it becomes clear by my inappropriate responses that I have not cared enough about them to really listen and absorb their words. Arrangements get messed up, feelings are hurt, and a whole heap of unnecessary trouble arises, when I fail to listen. Our sense of hearing can only really function properly when our minds are also engaged, to process and act upon what we hear.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used for ‘hearing’ implies an obedient active response. If nothing is done in response, in or by the listener, then they weren’t actually listening at all! As a follower of Jesus, I am called to listen for his voice, not only because He wants me to know him, but also because without listening – really hearing with all that implies about willingness to respond – I cannot know what He would have me be and do as his disciple.

As I listen, I put aside my own assumptions about God’s character and purposes for his kingdom, and I choose to be open to being wrong about all sorts of things! I put aside the wisdom of the world around me, and I choose to learn the truth of God. I choose to remember that I am dust, and that God’s ways are far above my comprehension – that not to understand is no reason to disobey the Almighty, if I truly trust him…

There are many good things which could be done in the name of Jesus, but unless I prioritise listening in humility and expectation, then I may end up very busy with a whole lot of things that are not my calling.. I trust that God will lead and enable me for the work I am to do, and that labour will always be founded in obedience to the word which I hear. There will be a continual rhythm of attentive, critically self-aware listening, which naturally bears fruit in a life of sacrificial love and delight in the One whose voice we are tuned to above all others.

Heavenly Father, let me, like Mary, choose to sit at my Lord’s feet as his disciple. Give me the hunger to hear his words, and the humility which keeps me from thinking I already know it all. Let me remember that busyness is not equal to holiness; that I do not earn your favour by working for it; that all I can ever do is respond in thankful service to your abundant and unfathomable grace to me.

Let me live then in this rhythm of listening first; of making time to read and ponder your word, and trusting that you will lead and enable me then to live for and with you. Speak, O Lord, and let me truly hear and obey your voice – for your glory and the blessing of many in the kingdom, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

It’s all a bit.. overwhelming!!

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“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”

(Isa 42.1-4)

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'”…. in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

(Isa 45.22-25)

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

(Lk 23.44-48)

Embrace the “covenant of vocation” or, rather, be embraced by it as the Creator calls you to a genuine humanness at last, calls and equips you to bear and reflect his image.

Celebrate the revolution that happened once for all when the power of love overcame the love of power. And, in the power of that same love, join in the revolution here and now.

(NT Wright; p 416,The Day the Revolution Began – 2016, SPCK, )

I have just finished reading this book – not that I have done much more than look at the words… my concentration is not good these days, and theology  can be quite challenging. But…. I am so grateful that I persevered, because even though I failed to grasp much of the argument, yet I retain a flavour of the triumphant story which it tells. The author’s skill and expertise in this masterful exposition of the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion has been so helpful, stretching my understanding and I thank God for the gifts which have been put to such glorious use for the building up of the kingdom.

I have glimpsed the greatness of the salvation narrative, been blinded by its light and complexity and yet also compelled by the love which it reveals.  While striving to grasp the theology with my mind, my heart has burned with awe and delight, humbly accepting the truth revealed. It is so much more, so much greater and more glorious than we can begin to imagine, and all part of the great purpose of God since before time began… that we might dwell with and delight in one another, sharing as Creator and beloved creatures in the joy for which we are designed.

I have a sense of so many threads gathering together to create a rich tapestry, like a great carpet unfolding ahead of me as I stumble and endeavour to follow, however lamely, in the way of peace, the way of holiness, the vocation to which I am called and now – by Christ’s triumph – am free to fully live! I am relishing the truth revealed, the fresh understanding of where we are going and why the gospel matters for today as well as for tomorrow.  A fresh vision of mission is revealed – to declare here and now that the world is no longer in bondage, that Jesus has defeated those powers that bind humanity in misery, that true freedom is in him and free to all who will come! The great revolution was launched on Good Friday, and as Jesus’ followers, we are commissioned to spread the word of radical change, the word of hope, that because of him, it is possible to be fully human at last!

As the great revolution is being worked out across the world – in God’s word at work and in our experience of him through the sacraments – may we his people be drawn to worship afresh by the magnitude of His plan, the depth of His love, the steadfastness of His purpose which is being fulfilled hour by hour and heart by heart.