Monthly Archives: November 2024

Mind expanding..!

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning….In him was life, and that life was the light of men…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

(Jn 1.1&2,4,14&16)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

(Heb 1.1-4)

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God… For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

(2 Cor 4.4&6)

Don’t you love it when the words on the page seem to jump out at you? When God sets off a firework display in your mind as you read and reflect on what the inspired authors have recorded for us, and can almost feel your brain creaking as it is faced all over again with the sheer enormity of The Almighty Triune God!

I have begun to read the book known as the letter to the Hebrews recently, and in the very first verses of the first chapter, was brought up short: take another look at that passage and just read it slowly to yourself. In a few phrases, the teacher has condensed the gospel, the creation narrative – everything that really matters – and reeled it off as though it were the simplest set of ideas in the world. I love it when the bible does this, crediting me with abilities which I do not possess, to comprehend the incomprehensible and grasp the impenetrable. Why do I love it? Because I am brought to my knees afresh in worship, in humble adoration of my Lord and the Almighty Father by whose will all things are.

Passages like the three which are quoted above are so rich in material for meditation and as prompts to further study as we tease out the connections which they are making, the multitude of echoes raised across the narrative of God’s dealings with his people and the great, revolutionary work of Jesus.  These passages also help us to consider Jesus, focussing on his person, his work and his perfection as God’s appointed one. And it is as we reflect, as we ponder and let these wonderful concepts and pictures enrich our understanding, that our faith is strengthened, and our love for Jesus is deepened.

That’s the wonderful thing about God’s word to us, in the bible and ultimately in the person of Jesus himself, it isn’t just words… It changes us, shapes our minds, transforms our values, and is always fresh with encouragement, challenge and rebuke. We can read it all our lives, and never cease to wonder, to be moved in prayer, confession and repentance, adoration and praise. How right it is to think of God’s word as food, as the crucial nourishment which we need for living; without this food, we starve in ignorance and perish in despair. This food strengthens us and directs us, always providing new things to wrestle with and to train us in living for and with our Saviour.

I don’t need to understand in order to be blessed; I rejoice in the ways that God’s word to me continually shows me my limitations and His endless power, majesty, holiness and love. He is utterly beyond my comprehension, and what a relief that is! In Jesus, we see all that we need to know in order to surrender ourselves in loving dependence and trust to this Heavenly Father – because Jesus IS ‘the exact imprint” and the “radiance of the glory” of God.

Almighty and everlasting God, I worship and praise you today, because I – as your creature – may know you as Father because of your son, my Saviour Jesus. My mind is so small, but I delight to consider him, and to let myself be lost in wonder at his majesty, and his saving work. Let me always be hungry for your word, and ready to have my mind expanded by your glory! For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

We are family…

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While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

(Matt 12.46-50)

The elder [John], to the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth – and not I only, but also all who know the truth – because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love…. the children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

(2 Jn 1-6&13)

As I reflect on the week which is passing, I am aware of three very different situations where I have been deeply blessed by and aware of my faith family. I have written before about the riches which we have as believers, belonging to the family of God, where all find love, acceptance and significance – and I rejoice today in these recent reminders of what I have been given – and can give – within that family.

I was in a sore state of mind, bewildered and troubled, and shared my need with trusted sisters. One spoke with me, others sent messages, songs and assurance of prayer.. and the storm passed, I was eased and comforted, and give thanks for these women, with whom I share so deeply and to such effect. Their wisdom, love and kindness is God’s care for me in troubled days – what a blessing!

I attended a local mission prayer meeting for the first time, and met a dear and venerable saint of 94 years, a frail widower, but inspiring in his faith and perseverance; in his desire to love the Lord and to witness to his community and pray for the growth of the kingdom worldwide. This man knew my parents and my home church, I attended university with his daughter, and our meeting brought a rich feast of memories, connections, reasons for rejoicing. I was full of thanksgiving for the privilege of being known by him, of mattering to him for the sake of my parents whom he loved. These fathers and mothers in our faith family, these darling elders who are already more than halfway to glory are such a blessing to us, like the heroes and heroines of faith named in the book of Hebrews. And his gentleness and love brought me almost to tears… what an example of how to grow old in Christ!

And last night, we were able for the first time to offer hospitality in our home to members of our new congregation.. people who six months ago were strangers are now friends, people who have a right to share our joys and sorrows, even as we know theirs… because we are family, we belong together. This is what it means to love, to belong to the house of God, being the children whom his Son saved and gladly owns as his brothers and sisters.

Today then, I give thanks for the heritage of faith – for family connections down the years through my parent’s faithfulness and hospitality in their church; for the riches of growing up in a praying, mission minded family of faith, surrounded by  parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, children and grandchildren of faith. I give thanks for the kids and young adults who once camped with us, and are now believing parents in turn sending their children to camp. I love and cherish these elders, contemporaries of my parents now modelling faithful ageing and trust in the Lord in face of death. What a shared wealth of memories of fellowship and teaching, what an incredible family we belong to! These bonds which transcend time create a family tie which nothing can break, and establish each and every believer in a world wide, generation-crossing love, a foretaste of glory and the life to come, when age and death will no longer divide us.

It’s not too late…

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Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did..”

(Ps 95.6-9)

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit…. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

(Jn 3.3-6&16)

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.

(Heb 4.1&2)

We live in a culture which is obsessed with youth, and with preserving it at whatever cost in terms of investment of time, energy and money. To become old is to fail, to disappear from public consciousness, to let others down by acknowledging human mortality and the inevitability of death. I am very aware that now I am white haired, I have become largely invisible, having joined the undistinguished mass of ‘old’ people, who are not relevant to a culture devoted to denying ageing.

This is not God’s plan for us, not his way of looking at us, and he certainly does not write people off after they reach a certain age – Moses and Abraham, Simeon and Anna, Samuel, John on Patmos – all of these served God and powerfully witnessed to him in their later years. The bible speaks of the dignity which comes with age – to have many years is to have received God’s blessing, and to be an asset to one’s community. Is this something which our churches today need to remember too? It is right that we seek to reach young people – children, teenagers, young adults – but not at the expense of respecting and valuing our middle-aged, and older communities!

Age is neither a barrier to faith, nor to active, joyful and fruitful service in God’s kingdom. While it may be true that age brings a settled pattern of thinking, an apparent resistance to the gospel, we need not give up hope since we have a God who is powerful to save, and whose Spirit is at work in lives all around us to stir up a hunger for the only true Bread, the living water. The need for forgiveness, for peace and deliverance from guilt; the desire to have hope as we face infirmity and death – these things do not diminish as we get older, but grow stronger! This means that as we love and reach out to the older members of our communities we have good reason to be confident. We have good news for them, for their circumstances.

Heavenly Father, we pray today for your children in our communities who are older, perhaps feeling invisible and unwanted; perhaps feeling that they have got life sorted! We pray for the work of your Spirit in their lives to stir up hunger for more, for hope, for assurance in the face of death. We pray against the indifference which comes with years; against the defences which were put up after some historic event which hurt them or put them off church; we pray against lethargy and against the fear that it is too late to find salvation.

Help us, as your light and witness in our communities, to demonstrate the love of Christ – to respect and cherish each and every one; to offer hope in his name and to speak of the power of your Spirit to transform. May those of us who are already aware of being older not give up serving you with gladness, but rather grow in confidence since we can look back on the years and see your goodness to us. Make us fruitful in the kingdom, and may we reach out to our peers, bringing them to meet our beloved and beautiful Lord that they might find life, hope and peace. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.

It’s not much to offer….

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When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke – like sheep without a shepherd they were. He went right to work, teaching them.

When his disciples thought this had gone on long enough … they interrupted: “We are a long way out in the country, and it’s very late. Pronounce a benediction and send these folks off so they can get some supper.” Jesus said, “You do it. Fix supper for them.” They replied, “Are you serious? You want us to go spend a fortune on food for their supper?”

But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.” That didn’t take long. “Five”, they said, “Plus two fish.” Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred – they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill… More than five thousand were at the supper.

(Mk 6.34-44, Message paraphrase)

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. 

(1Cor 3.5-7)

It takes different abilities and gifts to make a good team, and each character brings their own strengths and weaknesses – for example, I am the kind of person who sees potential drawbacks and challenges, opting every time for the safer course; while others are focused on the vision or goal, and their energy helps to drive things forward.

As believers in church families, we each operate in our own ways and fulfil particular functions. It is ok to not be like others, to be the hesitant, cautious one; or to be the visionary, the big-picture thinker. The difference is that we are already in the victorious team, and it is the Almighty God who brings fruit from our labours – even if they seem woefully inadequate. Without him we achieve nothing that has kingdom value, and with him, all things are possible!

As a church family called to be the light of God and love of Christ in a particular community, we may feel that – even as a team – we do not have the right resources for that situation. But, if we accept the truth that it is for God to do the work, we are set free from brooding over what we don’t have, and called to joyfully embrace and generously offer what we do have for his use!

The disciples looked at the crowd, and saw the scale of the challenge, and their own lack of resources. Jesus asked what they DID have, took it, blessed and multiplied it by his power, to the glory of God and the blessing of the community. The lesson is very plain, and the only question is whether we will trust God to do again what he has done in the past – bringing fruit from the labours and offering of his servants? It might not be the fruit we expect; are we willing to let the results of our labours be what God ordains?

All the resources we posses – our very life itself – are God’s gifts to us, and as believers, we return them to him in worship and love, asking that they be used in his service. He gives some gifts and withholds others – it is for us to accept that and not to fret or covet what others have. Each in their own place has a task and a calling, not that we might boast in ourselves, but rather that as we offer them to Jesus, we might boast in what he does with them. Who am I, to say that what I have is too small to be of any use?! Such an attitude denies the glory of miraculous multiplication, it demonstrates a total lack of faith and a perverse pride in being wiser than our maker..

Heavenly Father, I worship you as the source of all good things, and most of all, the author of our salvation through Jesus. I thank you for the gifts and opportunities of my life, and offer them up to you – small though they may seem to me – to use as you desire. Deliver me from the negative thinking which sees only what I don’t have; and inspire me by your Spirit to see what has been provided by you for this time and place. 

Take and use me and mine, as you will. Let me boast only in your miraculous multiplying power as I see the kingdom growing, and deliver me from envy of those whose gifts and abilities seem more exciting and fruitful than my own! For your glory, and our blessing, in Jesus’ name, Amen.