Category Archives: encouragement

I travel in safety..

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On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire… Whenever the the cloud lifted.. the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped… Whether by day or night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

(Num 9.15,17-18,22)

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

(Ps 3.3)

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favour as with a shield.

(Ps 5.11)

Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

(Isa 52.11&12)

One of the most powerful images to describe our lives as believers in Jesus, is that of pilgrimage – a journey towards a goal, sometimes in company with like-minded travellers and sometimes alone but always with purpose. The famous book “Pilgrim’s Progress”, written by John Bunyan, is an exposition of our lives as we travel from unbelief to faith and finally to glory, exploring the various trials and challenges we may face along the way. Although the style may seem dated, the subject matter and the truth it describes remain relevant for us today.

We are travellers – either towards home with God in glory; or towards some God-less existence in an eternal self-determined exile. We are travellers going with different speeds, facing different challenges and succumbing to different weaknesses, sometimes we even stop moving, but the path remains, and the call to keep walking along it.

The words quoted from Isaiah are a call to respond to the saving work of God’s great anointed Servant, our Lord Jesus, in repentance (a coming ‘out’ from the world’s way of doing things) and in obedient pilgrimage to our eternal home and heritage as God’s people. The language is a deliberate echoing of the Exodus experience of the people of Israel, reminding Isaiah’s hearers of that journey by faith through troubles and trials, when God was ever present with them to lead and provide. However it also echoes the language of priesthood, calling us to let God’s word purify us as we go, continually letting go of those things which remain of sinfulness in thought, word and deed. An additional motivation to become purer as we travel, comes in the reminder that we now bear the holy things of God as his priests – his voice in the world, those who live for him before other people. We carry the Holy Spirit, we are the bearers of the good news of Jesus, it is for us to live in ways that honour God’s name since it is now our name too.

It is a lot to remember each day as we get out of bed, and it is a huge challenge as we are well aware of our own weakness, and the hostility of the world to the gospel that we bear. But, as we go, we are also assured of God’s presence with and protection of us – those who bear his name and who love him with true sincerity of heart are also under his special care. We are not running in terror of our lives, but walking calmly, committed to holiness and obedience and at peace because God – the Creator, the Sovereign God Almighty is our leader and our guard.

These words were given to me this week by a good friend, and I share them with you as the basis for prayer:-

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.

Almighty God, thank you for calling us into pilgrimage from darkness to light, from grief to glory in your house.  Let us live as pilgrims in fellowship, in service, in faith and in readiness to move or stay as you direct.

Thank you for your protection over us, your presence with us and the confidence we can have in you as we look to you each day for what we must do.

As we travel let us go in faith, leaving those we love in Christ’s hands, putting our own hand into His as our guide; and looking to find the work He has prepared for us to do by the strength we receive from His indwelling spirit. In the name and for the sake of Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Standing firm

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..Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.. “I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed… In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He… was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and those of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

(Dan 7.2,11,13-14)

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back.. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone, ‘Watch!’.”

(Mk 13.32-37)

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Rom 15.4-6,13)

It is good for us, living in the prosperity and peace of western Europe in the 21st century to give thanks and rejoice in the freedoms we enjoy. It is not good however, to presume that these are remotely normal or common experiences for humankind. History – if we will pay attention to it- tells of centuries of struggle against poverty, famine, war, and oppression. If we will listen today from all around the world, we hear the ongoing cries of those in bondage in modern slavery, those dying of hunger and disease, those whose lives are being bombed and raped into shreds, those who have no freedom of faith, those who are so desperate that they have enslaved themselves to evil in order to survive.

The human heart is incurable, apart from the salvation and transformation offered by God in Christ Jesus, and from that heart comes the pollution and pain of our planet. We should not be surprised by the latest upsurge in aggression and violent nationalism; by the strengthening of control by totalitarian states; by the enthronement of ‘self’ in our culture; by the naked greed of capitalism and the dreadful implications of its free expression. All these things come about because human beings are fundamentally broken. It is foolish in the extreme to believe that education, improved healthcare, or any other intervention can actually make a lasting change to the root causes. As followers of Jesus, we share the good news that there is hope – and ultimately that there will be a new heaven and new earth, where all that our spirits cry out for – justice, beauty, freedom – will be fully realised. But we also know that until Jesus returns, the powers of darkness will continue to exercise their violent dominion and wreak havoc among us. This is not pessimism, or defeatism, it is a realistic and biblical understanding of history. The visions of men like Daniel are a glimpse given by God to his servant – and thus to us – of the pattern of history until God winds all things up and makes them new.

The visions are wild and frightening, Daniel is often left weak with terror and bewildered, but they show the ultimate realities which are at work and which we forget at our peril. Daniel’s visions appalled him, and rightly so. We too should be on our knees as we acknowledge the grim realities around us. But, we also know that Daniel got up from his knees, and went on to serve his community faithfully, prayerfully, and effectively for the remainder of his days. He took the revelations as motivation for persevering in the work to which he was called – not a reason to curl up and hide from life. He had reason to hope, to stand firm in the face of threats and trials, to live as one accountable for his use of time and talents to a supreme Lord. So do we!

You are the Living God and you endure for ever; your kingdom will not be destroyed, and your dominion never end. You rescue and save; you perform signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. Have mercy on your servants as we live in the midst of time, that we might be faithful in spite of fear or threat, and might have peace as we trust in you. We know and believe that you are on the throne, and at the right time, you will return and make all things new. We are on the winning side, Lord, let us trust this truth when we cannot see it, and when the powers of darkness are at their height. Let us, like Daniel, get up and go about the work which you have given us, holding forth the gospel of Christ to all who will listen, and fearing nothing because we fear and worship you, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Let me walk with you a while..

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Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God [He] will come with vengeance; with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

(Isa 35.3&4)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

(Gal 6.2)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.

(Heb 10.19-25)

Between local in person bible study, online church bible study, online prayer groups, in person prayer and facetime prayer I seem to have spent a fair bit of the last five days alongside other believers in this work of encouragement – mostly on the receiving end of it, which is wonderful. As we read God’s word in community, we grow in wisdom and understanding; as we listen to one another’s stories and pray together, we grow in love and trust.

I fully believe that one of the principal ways in which God works to sustain us in the trials to which he calls us, is through one another. We are called to be his voice, his heart, his hands and feet to touch and aid one another. We are made in his image, and as believers, we are made new, set free by his overwhelming love for us to show that love to others. We are blest both in receiving and in giving, as God wonderfully binds his children closer to one another in affection and trust.

It takes humility to admit that life is hard, to accept that we cannot do it alone. But we are not meant to! God designed us in his image, and he lives in eternal community as Three-in-One, a relationship of delighting and harmony. We are made to be known, and once we realise that in Christ we are completely accepted as we are, we can open up to others, to love them and be loved by them. The gifts of God are to each one individually, for the blessing of the whole body of Christ – you have things which I need, and I may have things which can bless you. We need to be willing to both give and receive.

The passage in Isaiah is associated with a band of pilgrims, on their way home at last and with a vision of the glory awaiting to sustain and encourage them. But they are weary with the journey, wounded from struggles and long-carried burdens. And so the prophet’s words exhort them to encourage one another, saying, “Look!! The Lord Almighty is on your side, he is your Father and Champion, and is entirely for you.” If we walk alone, who can encourage us?

Are you willing to walk with someone a while? To be a fellow pilgrim, not a lone pioneer?

Let us not neglect opportunities to meet together, in small or large groups, so that we might encourage our fellow pilgrims by listening to their stories, sharing their joys and sorrows, bearing their burdens – walking in their shoes for a little way if we can. As we make ourselves available to be used by God in his church, we ourselves are encouraged and bound more closely to people who will in turn support and watch out for us lest we stray, who will pick us up when we fall, and bear our burdens when we have no strength or words to intercede for ourselves.

May God grant us increasing love, patience and gentleness as we walk together on the road, that we might be good for one another; keeping our eyes fixed on him and trusting that he will keep his promise and bring us safely home.

Just keeping going..

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A thanksgiving psalm.

Shout out to the Lord, all the earth, worship the Lord in rejoicing, come before Him in glad song.

Know that the Lord is God. He has made us, and we are His, His people and the flock He tends.

Come into His gates in thanksgiving, His courts in praise.

Acclaim Him, bless his name. For the Lord is good, forever His kindness, and for all generations His faithfulness.

(Ps 100. R Alter translation)

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 

a time to be born and a time to die, and time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…..a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace… 

I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning.

(Ecc 3.1-4,7,8,10-11)

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

(2 Thess 2.16&17)

As I write this week, I am conscious of the shadows cast by heavy burdens in the lives of many dear friends, and also of the national and global challenges which we face in these days. It would be so easy to give in to despair. But, as those for whom the gospel of Jesus Christ is truth and light, we must cultivate a different reaction – a lived outcome of faith in a sovereign God, which is a steadfast heart.

We believe that our God is on the throne, and that his plans for creation and for his people are being fulfilled. We believe in his promises to save us from sin, and through all manner of suffering which life in a fallen and sinful world must involve. Therefore, we look expectantly for daily blessings and tokens of divine love, the signs of his presence among us and his power at work. We trust they are there, and then look for them! The testimony of God’s people down through the ages is that even in their deepest sorrow, and fiercest trial, they have seen his hand and heard his voice – when our time comes, we too will surely know this care and provision.

We choose to act responsibly, taking up the duties which are part of our place in life and community – trusting God to be at work, using them in us and for others, no matter how small or trivial they may seem. We keep on reminding ourselves that life will always and inevitably involve pain and loss, so that we need not fear these things, because our God knows our frailty and has provided for us.

We choose to worship God by persevering, and continually affirming God’s power and glory. We worship by enjoying God’s good gifts of life, creation, family and friends, culture and creativity, fun and laughter as part of our daily bread, things that he wants us to appreciate and use well.

We worship by praying for ourselves – and others – the perspective which he alone gives, to see our troubles in this world as light and momentary in the face of eternity and the promised glory which awaits. This in no way diminishes these trials, saying they are nothing, but by his help we refuse to let them dominate and overshadow our lives. We pray for ourselves – and others – that we might recognise God’s provision against our troubles when the occasion arises. We do not anticipate and dread these things, but rather in trusting, and realistic faith, we daily commit ourselves to our Lord, Saviour and God. Humankind is born to trouble; we will have struggles and pain, death will come to us all. But as believers, none of these things should be able to paralyse us on a daily basis and rob us of joy.

Heavenly Father, worthy of our praise and the adoration of all creation, we come before you in our frailty, praying that we might not dishonour your name by living in fear and mistrust. Grant us courage to live each day well, however insignificant our lives may seem, that we might worship you by our trust and cheerful spirits. When troubles rise, Lord be our refuge and provide for our need, that we may know and rejoice in your faithfulness. For the sake of our Lord Jesus, your son, our Saviour we pray these things, Amen

On being set aside…

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“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

(Job 1.21)

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

 (Phil 4.9, 11-13)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God… Endure hardship as discipline… God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees!

(Heb 12.1,2,7,10-12)

The missionary Amy Carmichael wrote, ‘in acceptance lieth peace’, and surely this is the key to those seasons in our lives when all our plans are thrown askew by unplanned interruptions, and especially when through illness or accident, we are left by the side of the journey of life to watch and be waited on by others, wondering what our purpose is and fretting over those tasks undone.

The intellect may have assented to the proposition that my health, talents and productivity are all surrendered to God, to do with as suits his divine purpose. But when I am called to live out that surrender with a quiet heart and a cheerful face, the reality can be quite different. How can it be that God wants to suspend my useful activities? How can it help his purposes for me to be unable to labour with the talents he has given? It is extremely tempting to believe that without my particular input, nothing can usefully be achieved, and that somehow, by my inactivity, I am failing God, my neighbours, and his kingdom-building work.

All of these thoughts demonstrate that I haven’t really understood and accepted just what it means to fully surrender all that I am and have to God, to be used as he sees fit. If the Creator and Lord of all wishes to lay me aside for a season – whether long, or short – that is his business, and mine is to accept his decision, to look for his lessons for me in this time, and to expect that he has things for me to learn and do even in this unwelcome inactivity. Some of God’s most productive saints have been those who have embraced his unexpected, apparently limiting, plan for their lives – consider Joni Eareckson Tada, wheelchair bound and crippled for life, who has been enabled to minister to hundreds of thousands of people, sharing the love of Christ through her weakness.

Perhaps I need to learn to be served, to embrace the humility of asking for assistance and graciously waiting until someone is able to give it. Perhaps I need to learn again that I am not the only person who can do my tasks, or that they are not quite so important as I like to pretend they are. My true worth lies not in how significant my labours are, but in my Lord’s love and sacrificial death for me. If I were to be laid aside for the rest of my life from active service, yet I know that his love and delight in me would be undiminished.

Perhaps I need also to learn a deeper sympathy and compassion for those who are truly limited in their activity – the long-term housebound, those with life-limiting conditions. Lord, let me take to heart the frustrations, losses and narrowed opportunities which are mine in these days, so that I might be more sensitive and imaginatively loving to those who are denied so much all their days.

Above all, perhaps I can live more slowly and deliberately, willing to be quiet and still, to truly see the beauty around me, the good things with which I am so well supplied, and to be profoundly thankful as I consider from whom all has come.

May I accept this discipline from my Lord with grace and cheerfulness; trusting that as he has called me to it, so he will give me the strength to bear it with a stout heart and in hope that it will not be wasted. May I look for and learn the lessons he has for me in it, that I may come through stronger in faith, and more able to serve, glorify and love him in the days ahead. As the clouds of heavenly witnesses testify with glad shouts to the faithfulness of the Lord, may I be encouraged to prove for myself by obedient acceptance, that he is indeed worthy to be praised.

A position to live up to..

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Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, an how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’..”

(Ex 19.3-6)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

(1 Pet 2.9&10)

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…

(Eph 1.18-20)

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…  I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press onwards to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus….Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

(Phil 3.10, 12-14,16)

..and what have we already attained, what do you and I have to live up to? My friends, take thought for who God has made you today, now, through faith in Jesus Christ. We are those to whom Peter writes as the chosen people of God; those who have received mercy and are now a royal family with a mission to show God’s love and character to all nations.

Hold up your head, you bear a crown and a royal name. No one can take that from you, ever. No one can cut you off from the King of Kings, your elder brother, or from God on high, your heavenly, holy, and eternal Father.

Hold up your hands, you lift on high the glory of a risen Saviour, a perfect and complete Redemption and victory over sin and death. You can never praise him too highly, or too much. Your calling and privilege as his priest is to make him known in all you do.

Hold up your courage, you are indwelt by that same power by which Christ was raised from the dead; that same power which God now exerts for you, at work in and through all your circumstances to bring you to his side in glory and to fulfill all his good purposes for you.

Your daily life is God’s daily invitation to live in the full power and glory of who you now are, by faith in Christ. Your duties and responsibilities, your leisure and your service, are equally part of what delights him when it is offered up in praise and thanksgiving. Nothing is left out or unwanted, nothing is too small or insignificant to be valued by our God, when we direct our minds daily to live for his pleasure.

Past failures and regrets; past triumphs and achievements – all are equally put behind us each day as we come to the Lord and offer up all we have – the day before us and the breath in our bodies today. Sins are forgiven and cannot hold us back, victories are to be thankful for and to fuel faith for the future.

Father God, enlighten my heart to grasp the hope which is mine in Christ; the wealth which I inherit together with your people; and your incomparably great power at work in and for me. You are transforming me so that one day I will come home to new life with you in the new creation – sinless, painless, deathless. For the glory of Jesus my Lord, keep me pressing forward and living up to all that he has done for me. Amen

Father, it hurts..

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Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent for ever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. for you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

(Ps 61.1-5)

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

(Jn 13.34)

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage, … if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully… Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer… Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn

(Rom 12.6-12, 16)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

(Gal 6.2)

Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission is reported to have said this, “The Lord’s work, done in the Lord’s way, will never fail to have the Lord’s provision.”

While I am sure this applies to global mission movements and great developments in church outreach and evangelism, I also believe that it applies to my own small life. It could be translated to read, “As I obey God’s call to offer my life in his service – whatever circumstances I am in and whatever resources are available to me – I may be sure that He will enable me to fulfil that particular and unique calling.”

I have been working out just what that means in this current season of life – and being a slow learner and a forgetful soul, I find I am treading familiar ground with a sense that I should have been here a while ago!

My life does not involve many responsibilities, I have much personal freedom to structure my time, and that brings a challenge in knowing what God wants me to do with my availability… Recently, I have felt overwhelmed with the sheer number and range of burdens being carried by my friends and family, let alone those further afield to whom I am committed in prayer support. As I wrestled with the discouragement and sense of my own futility in face of such need, I was helped by the love of friends and some wise counsel. The Spirit has been working mercifully to open my eyes to a new understanding.

This burden of sharing in the lives of others, which is also a privilege of course, is my particular calling in this season. I have time when I can be alone and without distraction, when the Lord can take me through the names and needs of many, to obey Christ’s command of love and bear them before him in prayer.

I want to bear this burden honourably. I want to glorify my Lord as I give myself in this way – not grumbling or complaining about the list of names, nor becoming cynical and weary of the work. I want to remain hope-filled and quietly rejoicing in the goodness and faithfulness of God, even as I contemplate suffering or loss. My dear Lord knows my heart, and promises to meet my daily needs in order that I may fulfil this desire to serve him worthily; as my heart is permitted to feel a little of his great heart, sorrowing or rejoicing, over all his beloved children.

Today therefore, I embrace this calling and thank the Lord for it. I do not need the answers to the trials of others – this is his business. Instead, I come in humble and glad faith to the ONLY one who can bring relief. I bring those my heart loves to the Father by whom they are even more beloved. I lift these precious people up for his love, even as a child comes trustingly to a parent for the fixing of a broken toy, or comforting of an injured sibling. If I am tempted to fix them myself, or to try and wrestle God into a solution of my own making, I will only become distressed and weary.

Father God, I come in love and thankfulness for those whom you have given me to pray for. I rejoice in all that they are, and all that we share as your children. Above all I give thanks that you know their need and are already at work to meet it. I thank you that your will is more glorious and generous in its outworking than I can begin to imagine, so that I don’t need to try to find the answers but simply lift them to you and cry, “Father, it hurts!”.

 

 I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching wise, to meet the glad with joyful smiles, and to wipe the weeping eyes: and a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathise.

(Anna Laetitia Waring, 1823-1920)

 

An unlikely asset in our mission..

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Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Matt 28.18-20)

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua… “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan river into the land I am about to give to them…

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous.. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

(Jos 1.5-9)

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

(Matt 6.33&34, the Message translation)

Strategies, visions, special training programmes and extra staff…are those what we think the church needs to fulfill the great commission of her Lord? Or is it simpler than that?

When we read the story of Joshua, on the verge of entering into the land which God has promised to the people, and which it is their mission to take possession of, we expect to find God issuing instructions about military strategy and training, logistics and procedures. Instead, we find that Joshua is commanded to hold fast to the word of God, absorbing it into the very fibre of his being, so that his thoughts are coloured and shaped by it. This command lies at the heart of the great assurances of the first chapter of the book – and this means that they are the focus or highpoint of the chapter. God is effectively saying that if Joshua holds fast to all he learns about God in the book of the law, then he will be in exactly the right place to succeed in his mission. Nothing else matters as much as this foundational dependence.

Joshua’s commission came with the assurance of God’s presence. Our commission likewise, comes with Christ’s word that he will never leave or forsake us. He has authority to send us out – just as God’s authority sent Joshua into Canaan – to take possession of that which already belongs to him, namely all those for whom he died, the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ..

So, the challenge is to us to follow Joshua’s example. We have so much more than Joshua in terms of God’s revelation of himself through his word – we have the living Word himself! We have God’s authority, and his command, to go and make disciples, trusting that – as for Joshua and the people of Israel – God will go before, to fight the battles, break down the walls, and change the hearts of those whom we face.

It is as we live on, and by God’s word – committing every day and resource to him for his will and his glory; never assuming that he is following our agenda, but looking to be guided by the spirit; putting his interests before our own worries and preoccupations – that we find ourselves by the Lord’s side, on the victorious side, watching as he opens up the way and brings us into full possession of the kingdom which he has decreed will be our home.

May we be made bold and courageous as we fix our eyes on the Lord, so that as his word becomes our food and drink, our daily direction and focus is to be where he is working, loving those whom he loves, and believing that he will be glorified in our time.

Be strong and courageous my friends, for the Lord himself is with us and will never forsake us. In his name, let us live bold and obedient lives, for the battles belong to him, and the victory has been won!

On being filled..

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And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

(Jo 2.28-29)

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth…. [He] will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

(Jn 14.15-17,26)

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about… in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit… You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

(Acts 1.4&5,8)

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children… [when] we do not know what we ought to pray for, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

(Rom 8.16&26)

Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Eph 5.15-20)

God’s gift to the church, to his representatives on earth, so that we might continue the work begun by Christ, and spread the good news to all people and glorify our Lord – this is the Spirit promised by Joel and realised at Pentecost. In a recent bible study, it was pointed out that the Spirit is always ‘sent’, always a ‘gift’, never manufactured or summoned by people for their own ends. We may resist or reject him, but we cannot control or direct him. We may choose to ignore his promptings, and grieve him by our stubborn pride, but we can never presume to summon him.

The Spirit is sent from God the Father, to do many things for the church in the world, not least to empower every single one of God’s children for the task appointed to them. In a world where women were of little significance, and no legal standing, the thought that God’s Spirit might come to them as powerfully as to their brothers was shocking. But so it was to be – all would receive this gift as their inheritance, as the pledge of their eternal home, as the assurance of their adoption into God’s family and their security there.

By the Spirit, we are empowered for the mission of the church – the task of kingdom building and gospel sharing wherever God is pleased to place us. By the Spirit, we are enabled to grow in understanding of God’s work, of his character, of how we might live wise and godly lives in a broken world. By the Spirit, our prayers are brought acceptably before God; even our most inarticulate expressions of need, and of worship, are assured of being heard on high. By the Spirit, the body of Christ ministers to itself and to the world – we encourage and bless one another, exalting Christ at all times and in all circumstances as the Spirit continually points to his supremacy in power, love and faithfulness.

Friends, how could we not want to be filled with this gift? And yet, I wonder if sometimes I keep parts of my life shut up, unwilling to allow the transformation which may come as I surrender to the Spirit’s teaching and leading and illuminating work. We don’t always want to see the truth about ourselves, or to surrender control over our lives.

Will I resist? Will I remain full of myself, my aims, my false confidence and stubbornness?  Or will I accept the gift which my Father is pouring out on his church continually, for our refreshing and his glory? May God, in his mercy, not leave us shut up, but help us to open fully to his power, to the indwelling and daily refreshing Spirit.

A wider vision..

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May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,

Selah

that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for you, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.

Selah

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.

(Ps 67.1-5)

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. I will bow down towards your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stout-hearted. May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.

(Ps 138.1-5)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Matt 28.18-20)

Pray.. for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

(Eph 6.19&20)

I grew up in a congregation which met weekly for prayer on a Saturday evening. It wasn’t the kind of meeting where we shared personal concerns, but rather an ambitious and confident gathering which every week prayed around the country and around the world. The focus was on what our sovereign God was doing through his ministers, missionaries and through the unfolding of history.

I am profoundly thankful for this background to my early christian life, which I was privileged to continue in other churches which I attended. Sometimes, it seemed a great effort to drag myself out on a dreich night, sometimes my own affairs pressed hard and I was tempted to give way to self pity. But I never regretted making the effort to overcome the temptation, to face the weather or my own weariness, in order to join with others in lifting God’s world up to him for his will to be done and his name glorified.

This discipline of entering into intercession for God’s people and the growth of his kingdom is such a privilege, but also a blessing! I would encourage anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by the issues facing their own congregation to get involved in the work of prayer for the world. It lifts us out of our own lives for a little and shows us something of the breadth of God’s vision for our planet and our race. God is working all the time to fulfill his purposes – raising up and casting down nations, just as he did in the time of the prophets. He is moving people around the world in order that they might hear the gospel and take it back home to their own tribe and tongue. He is sending the light of Christ into prisons and detention centres, as his persecuted saints witness in their cells to his love and the power of the cross and the empty tomb. He is using poverty-stricken believers in war-torn countries to show his love to their displaced neighbours, bringing healing and hope.

Our God is not chained, he cannot be controlled by border guards and oppressive regimes, or silenced by control of the media. Our God will be glorified in all the earth, and he invites us to be his co-workers in making that happen, as we pray for others and also grow in courage to witness ourselves to our neighbours. Let this work of intercession be an encouragement to you when you feel there is no future for the gospel in your neighbourhood. The God who has called you there is faithful, and has work for you to do – even if it is the silent witness of loving, serving and forgiving others who refuse to let you talk to them about your saviour.

Yes, the world has many troubles and sorrows; human rebellion against God continues to work itself out in pain and destruction, the degradation of both people and the planet we inhabit. But, our God is on the throne, and we are under his wing. We have his authority to preach good news, and to pray for others who are also reaching out in his name. Let us, like the psalmist, cry out to be made bold and stout-hearted that we might join with confidence in the work of growing the kingdom, and interceding for one another.