On human frailty

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Hallelujah. Praise the Lord, O my being! Let me praise the Lord while I live, let me hymn to my God while I breathe.

Do not trust in princes, in a human who offers no rescue. His breath departs, he returns to the dust. On that day his plans are naught.

Happy whose help is Jacob’s God, his hope – for the Lord his God, maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, does justice for the oppressed, gives bread to the hungry, the Lord looses those in fetters.

The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord makes the bent stand erect. The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord guards sojourners, orphan and widow He sustains, but the way of the wicked contorts.

The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah.

(Ps 146 R Alter translation, 2007)

Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils, Why hold them in esteem?

(Isa 2.22)

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord… But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…

A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.

(Jer 17.5,7&8,12&13)

I urge, then, first of all , that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

(1 Tim 2,1-4)

One of the – many – wonderful things about believing in Jesus, and trusting in God as our Father and Creator, is that we are invited to learn to think about the world, about time, and our place in it as God does. We are offered glimpses of the great divine narrative, and as that story is embedded in our thinking, becoming our story, we are set free from so much that brings fear, anxiety, all the tossings to-and fro between hope and despair which beset those who have no anchor in eternal love.

God’s children are invited to put their hope in the only one who is worthy of it – the Almighty One, the Maker and Sustainer of all things, and the Author of the story. We are invited into an intimate, loving and trusting relationship with the only being who really is in charge. and can orchestrate everything that happens in order to fulfil His purposes – which are for blessing, beyond our imagining, as we take our place in his family and inherit the new creation.

Until that day dawns, this world is subject to the evils which beset those who have consistently rebelled against their creator, who persistently trust in their own gifts (which are truly good things, God’s gifts to us) in order to live without God in the world. Humankind is increasingly reaping the harvest of unbelief, of human pride and rejection of God. Populations are lured by extravagant promises of a golden future, to be inaugurated by leaders who know full well that they cannot actually deliver these things, and are playing on human needs and desires in order to gain power. No one, not one human being on our planet, is actually in control, no matter what their social media claims for them. 

While God may choose to permit the rise and persistence of regimes which bring appalling depths of suffering and cruelty, which dismiss the threats to our world’s fragile climate, which survive by threats, repression, mis-information and constant surveillance – the bible is clear that He is not tainted by or culpable for the decisions of these leaders, they will answer to Him for their use of power. 

Human frailty is written all over history, and we can see it today as we look around. How great is our relief then as God’s beloved children to know that we can put our faith for our lives and our future – and this world’s story – in God, who alone is able to bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness. We do not need to be buffeted by current affairs, and must be wary of being sucked into the waves of exaggerated reaction which increasingly masquerade as news. We have a foundation which is sure, and must exercise the discipline of fixing our eyes on God, keeping human beings – no matter how ‘powerful’, in their places.

Thank you Father, that you alone are reliable, and that in You I can trust. Help me to pray for those in power in our world, remembering their frailty and need of salvation. Help me to live steadily and confidently by faith in Your power and purposes, not swayed and frightened by what happens. Let my small life be a witness to your sovereignty, justice and goodness, so that others may come to put their trust in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The blessed ordinariness…

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‘The Elixir’

Teach me, my God and King, in all things thee to see,
And what I do in any thing, to do it as for thee:

Not rudely, as a beast, to runne into an action;
But still to make thee prepossest, and give it his perfection.

A man that looks on glasse, on it may stay his eye;
Or if he pleaseth, through it passe, and then the heav’n espie.

All may of thee partake: nothing can be so mean,
Which with his tincture (for thy sake) will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause makes drudgerie divine:
Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and th’ action fine.

This is the famous stone that turneth all to gold:
For that which God doth touch and own cannot for lesse be told.

(George Herbert, 1593-1633)

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and for evermore.

(Ps 131)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

(1 Tim 6.6-8)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

(Col 3.23&24)

I am in a season of uncertainty and shadows, besieged by questions and easily distressed by the normal challenges and little problems which we each face daily. I am drawn to the small daily responsibilities which are my privilege, and reminded that in everything we are and do, we are offering ourselves in worship to the Lord. The poem with which I began today is not particularly easy to read, the language is antique, but I would encourage you to take a little time to ponder its meaning. It has always brought me great comfort in seasons like this – when all I seem able to cope with are the small things of life.

My attitude to my tasks – whether it be washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, weeding and tidying the garden, taking time to listen to friends and share their lives for a time, sending birthday cards and connecting with family – speaks of my attitude to the opportunity of my life. It is God’s daily gift to me, a fresh opportunity to serve Him and to love Him, seeing and giving thanks for the abundance of good things which I receive and can share with others. It is a privilege to have a house to keep, food to cook, clothes to wash and friends to meet. A garden is a wonderful opportunity to appreciate and care for creation, seeing in my small patch a little portion of the marvellous creativity of the Maker of all things.

Cultivating faithfulness to my Lord in the small ordinary things is good for me, helping me to remember that I depend on Him for everything, and that every day brings me opportunities to enjoy His goodness, His gifts, and His presence. I see the beauty in the mugs and plates we use each day – the colours delight my eyes. I feel the warmth of the clothes which cover me, and am grateful for the skill of the designers and makers who bring colour and texture into each day. I taste the goodness of our food, and the fresh air delights my senses, like the light on my face and the wind in my hair. All these things can be prompts to thankfulness and worship of my God, to renewed trust in His provision for me and faith that He will not fail me tomorrow..

Heavenly Father, I thank and praise you for the daily opportunities of my life; opportunities to taste and see your goodness in creation, to receive your love for me through Jesus, and to share that love and all you give me, with others.

Help me to see you each day, to discern your voice and to obey it. Help me to cherish every opportunity to work for you, in whatever form that may come to me, offering up the work in praise and thanksgiving as I serve my Lord in loving response to his abundant love for me.

Thank you that even in the small ordinariness of life, I can know you, serve you, and glorify you, Amen

A heavy burden…

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“I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood….”

(Ac 20.26-28)

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith…..

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honourably in all things..

(Heb 13.7, 17-18)

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

(1Pet 5.2-4)

I have a vivid memory of a long-experienced minister speaking to a friend of mine who was considering going into full-time ministry in the church… he said “do not do this unless you can do nothing else…” By that, he meant that the task of ministry is not something to be entered into lightly, but rather with a great sense of its responsibilities, of one’s own inadequacies, and the deepest possible conviction that one will have no peace at all in doing anything else! When we read the words of exhortation to church leaders – and to church members about their attitude to their leaders, we can see just how great a burden is laid upon their shoulders.

How would you like to be held up as an example of faith for others to imitate, or to be expected to handle the word of God responsibly so that your teaching was reliable? It is both a great privilege, and a huge burden to be called to serve the body of Christ, as He served it – servant hearted, selfless, patient and long-suffering.  And so the challenge comes to us as the sheep of those under-shepherds… do we pray for our leaders? Do we do all we can to make their task straightforward?

As members of the body of Christ, we are called to exercise our minds in understanding God’s word – not blindly accepting everything we are told, but seeking to understand for ourselves. A teaching elder is glad to have his words challenged since it proves that his listeners are paying attention, and together the leader and the member grow in faith and understanding as they submit to God’s word and their own limitations.  In the same way, we look to our leaders not to control every aspect of our lives, but to help us to learn and apply the godly principles which help us to make decisions. We are disposed to follow their leading, but not without engaging our minds and being willing to express our own opinions and doubts. A community of believers which regularly engages with its leaders in conversation about the word of God and their response to it is less likely to produce power-hungry autocrats, protecting the leaders themselves from unhealthy attitudes to their God-given authority.

We have a responsibility too – to exercise self-discipline and use our gifts in direct relationship with our Creator God, so that we can be a blessing to our neighbours, our community and our leaders. I personally dread becoming one of those sheep who causes her shepherd to groan continually, as my follies and faults go uncorrected and I pursue my stubborn, stupid path of fruitlessness.

Wouldn’t you like to know that your life, your share in congregational life, was an encouragement to your leaders? Then pray, read, think for yourself, and regularly ask them how you can pray for them! Tell them that you recognise the burden of their calling and respect the authority which they bear. Assure them that you do not think they are perfect, that they don’t have to pretend to be strong all the time.. and ask God for wisdom and sensitivity in all your dealings with them. Be the sheep that makes their task worthwhile, a person they can trust to pray for them faithfully and with whom they can share their troubles if they need to. Love them, as you would be loved, that we might together glorify and honour our Lord and chief shepherd, Jesus.

Being realistic, not afraid..

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Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come… he will come to save you.”.. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way… But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

(Isa 35.3&4, 8&10)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…  Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted… It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as his children…. he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

(Heb 12.1-3,7,10-13)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.

(Jn 16.33)

He never said it would be easy….. but how quickly we react against our Lord when life presents us with painful and challenging situations. Being a follower of Jesus does not somehow exempt us from the experience of humanity – our bodies are mortal, subject to injury, disease, disability of every kind. We are as likely as anyone else to suffer from flu, cancer, unemployment, depression, untimely bereavement, and every other woe which afflicts our species on this beautiful but broken planet. It is absolutely crucial for our perseverance in faith that we understand and accept this truth – accepting it over and over as each new struggle or challenge presents itself. It can be very hard to do, but the bible is quite clear that for as long as we resist and resent God’s providence, we will fail to derive from it the blessings which He has prepared for us – depriving both ourselves and those around us as a result.

“If life’s adversities, and God’s use of them in discipline produce in the end both inward peace and moral uprightness, we cannot possibly have suffered in vain.” (Brown p235, Christ Above All – The Message of Hebrews. IVP 1982)

Please, please believe that I do not mean in any way to minimise or disregard the depth of pain, loss and weariness which some experiences can produce. I do not wish to imply in writing this that it is easy to persevere in faith when life has been blighted – it is not. BUT, I do think it is worth reminding myself of this truth regularly, when small difficulties arise, so that when the big things happen, I have some understanding of God’s ways and am accustomed to turning first to him for help. It is also good to remember this when we pray for others who are facing life-changing, irreversible trials – that they in turn will be given grace to accept and mercy when they doubt, and persevere in faith.

God calls his children to persevere when their families have been shattered by broken relationships, or by illness and disability; when their own lives have become severely limited or their employment prospects permanently blighted. These “weights” are cripplingly heavy, and only Christ can ease their burden upon us and enable us to keep walking in his ways. It is in this continual turning, dependance, humble acceptance and valiant expectation that God is with us, working for our good and his glory THROUGH what is happening, that we find ourselves journeying each day nearer to the glorious city where all sorrow is ended. As we walk thus, we can be free from fear of what may come to us in the days ahead, because we are always in the care of our loving Heavenly Father, whose purposes for us cannot fail to be fulfilled.

Dear Lord, take all of this life’s adversities and use them for our blessing and your glory – enable us to accept them from your hand. We are called to live with all the evils which beset this broken world, and it is only with your help that we can do so in ways which honour you. Lord, lead us by springs of fresh water, and sustain us on the journey, that we might not faint by the way…

Living in community

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Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments… are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

(Rom 13.8-10)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

(Heb 10.19-25)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(Eph 4.1-6)

No family is perfect, because it is made up of human beings, who are not perfect.  We may be tempted to think that it would be easy to be perfectly patient, generous and forgiving, if only we had  different people around us! But the truth is that it is in our reactions to one another that our true nature is revealed… and when we join God’s family, the same things will happen. We will disagree, irritate and hurt one another, and find reasons to put distance between ourselves and others. We are saved, forgiven and destined for glory.. but we still mess up.

In spite of this, the bible knows nothing of solitary believers, it is always the community, the body of Christ and its corporate life which is being commended to us. Our life as part of the body is our life; even though we are unique individuals, we exist in relation to and for others.  Deliberate withdrawal from our christian family deprives others of our love and service, as well as their opportunity to serve us. Refusal to submit to our community’s loving watchfulness exposes us to the risks of indulging wrong-teaching, laziness and apathy – we become ripe for attack by the enemy of our souls, even as a straying sheep is targeted by the wolves. In love, we listen to older and wiser saints, respecting and treasuring them and through them receiving God’s help for each day. In love, we bring our disagreements into the open, willing to live with difference and humbly recognising our own limitations.

We have confidence that the Spirit lives in us, enabling us more and more to live in love – Christ-like. His Spirit spurs us on to emulate Christ’s love and good works, but also to lovingly spur on one another – not in some judgemental or competitive way, but through encouragement, and in love. We answer to Christ, not to the standards of a world which does not know him, so we are free to love generously, to rejoice and to boast in our Saviour and to make his service our delight. And it is in loving his family that this begins.

As I recall times when God has used me all unexpectedly to bless total strangers, and to be blessed by them, I remember that the church is both a local body, but also the people of God around the world, and I never know where I will encounter them. I have confidence that the Spirit is working in and through me, and so I can expect that God can use me to love in his name in unexpected ways and situations, as well as in the normal pattern of my days. What a joyous and exciting prospect!

Heavenly Father, thank you that your people around the world are one family. Thank you that you bring us across one another’s paths to bless, guide, protect and inspire us – working through your human children to minister your love to us. 

Let us be inspired afresh to love in Jesus’ name, and by his Spirit to stir one another up to love and good works, sensitive to your leading in our conversations, and always ready to meet a new brother or sister along the way! In the name of our great elder brother and Lord, Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

He has come… He will come again!

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Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him..

(Lk 12.35,36&40)

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples….. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the shroud that covers all nations; he will swallow up death for ever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

(Isa 25.6-8)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

(Isa 61.1-3)

I saw heaven open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.. and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him.. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

(Rev 19.11-16)

The now and the not yet… the here and the hereafter.. the promise and its fulfilment.. as we learn the deep rhythms of the biblical narrative, we find this pattern of waiting recurs again and again. God speaks, and calls his people to trust his word will be fulfilled, to model their lives on that basis and live by its truth. As we celebrate the birth of the Messiah, the fulfilment of age-old expectations and prophecies, we also look forward to the second coming of that Messiah, to wind up the story and to exercise his role as judge, having already fulfilled his calling as sacrifice.

He came as a helpless infant to demonstrate God’s love to a broken world, to woo all and any who would respond in faith, and to welcome them into the loving embrace of the Father. He will come again and then it will not be as the wooer, but as the executioner of justice, and those who reject his love, will meet the implacable wrath which human rebellion and pride has brought upon itself.

Jesus warned his disciples against speculation about his return, instead urging them to be about their Father’s business in a spirit of glad service, and hopeful anticipation. We are not to disengage ourselves from living in order to wait, but rather to fill up our days by using all that we are given (the gift of our days, our resources and opportunities), for His glory and for the building up of the kingdom. We need not fear his return, since we are confident that judgement will not fall upon us, who are covered by the sacrifice of the Lamb. We can look forward for ourselves with joy and hope – but many others do not have that hope or confidence, and what faces them is eternal separation from God.

We are tasked by the Lord to keep on offering the gospel to them, lovingly copying His example of servanthood, and pointing them to Jesus.  He has given us so much to do – to enjoy the good gifts which are poured out upon us daily, and by our thankfulness to point others to the Giver; to delight in the Lord who has saved us and in the love which we now know; to serve our fellow believers with steady and patient commitment; to learn what love looks like in each and every situation, and to do it.

Sovereign Lord, let us your servants be renewed in our confident expectation of your return. May that expectation produce in us not mere endurance, but a glad and active embrace of the work to which you have called us. 

We worship with the shepherds, with Mary and Joseph, at the side of the infant Son of God, and we also await with eager expectation his return in glory and might, to finally put an end to all his opponents, and to make all things new. Come, Lord, come soon! Amen

It’s not a performance, it’s a gift…

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Still the night, holy the night! Sleeps the world; hid from sight, Mary and Joseph in stable bare watch o’er the child beloved and fair, sleeping in heavenly rest…..

Still the night, holy the night! Shepherds first saw the light, heard resounding clear and long, far and near, the angel-song, ‘Christ the Redeemer is here!’….

Still the night, holy the night! Son of God, O how bright love is smiling from thy face! Strikes for us now the hour of grace, Saviour since thou art born!’

( Mohr, 1792-1848, translated by S.A. Brooke, 1832-1916)

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Rom 6.22-23)

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved… For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast. 

(2Cor 2.4,5,8&9)

As a Jesus-believer, I look forward to celebrating his birth into our world, remembering with awe and thankfulness the magnitude of that step from unimagineable glory, to the tiny compass, and total helplessness of a human infant. I am grateful that our culture provides time to focus on the story, pondering what it meant, and means, for all humanity that God became one who lived and lives among us.

BUT…. I am aware that for many believers, there is an expectation, a pressure that every year they should achieve a state of heightened spiritual awareness, a transcendent calm and detachment from the busy-ness and daily uncertainties which comprise our lives. Perhaps some people do manage, every year, to reach this condition of super-spirituality, and to pass the season in serene contemplation and worship. Personally, I do not.. and I believe it can be a dangerous expectation to entertain, a foothold by which the enemy of our souls will undermine and condemn us as lacking true faith and spirituality, when we just plod on with the challenges of each day, not feeling very joyful, or serene.

Did God say that we must achieve this super-spiritual state every Christmas and Easter season? Does it say anywhere in our scriptures that we are to generate a particular group of feelings? No! The glorious and grounding reality is not in any way related to our feelings, but is based in facts, in truths which are as immutable as God himself, and as different from human fallibility and fickleness as can be imagined! If we let ourselves believe the lie that somehow every real Christian ‘gets’ Christmas in some transcendent ways, then we are letting ourselves in for serious trouble – as lies usually do. But it is not necessary to screw ourselves up to some heightened emotions in order to properly give thanks, to worship and sit for a little in awed silence before Mary’s infant son.

If our lives in any given advent season do lend themselves to giving extra time to meditating on the truth, soaking up the music and letting God speak to our hearts in an unhurried way, that’s marvellous! But it is also quite acceptable for believers to sincerely celebrate and worship without that luxury, to experience no particularly intense joys, and yet still be blessed and nourished as they share when they can in singing and retelling the story. We are not being judged on our ‘performance’ as believers in that sense, and our best response to the gift of God in Jesus is humble, quiet and relieved acceptance. We can add nothing to what he has done for us, and the grace poured out in Christ by God covers all our needs.

Father, loving and tender-hearted refuge of my aching soul, hear your daughter this night. She is weary, shot through with bitter griefs and the beauty of Christmas music brings floods of tears. She is not serene, or calm but often sad and uncertain. Thank you that her salvation is still secure because it is not dependent on her feeling the right sensations, or striving to enter a particular state of mental tranquility!

The hour of grace has struck for her, for all the weary ones for whom the season brings such mixed feelings of gladness and sadness, hope and grief. Grace is ours now because Christ is born, and there is our true peace, one which lies deep beneath the stormy waves and cannot be taken from us. Thank you..

The power of words(and music!)

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Let earth and heaven combine, angels and men agree, to praise in songs divine, the incarnate deity, our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.

He laid his glory by, took form in mortal clay; unseen by human eye, the hidden Godhead lay; infant of days He here became, and bore the mild Immanuel’s name.

He deigns in flesh to appear, widest extremes to join; to bring our vileness near, and make us all divine; and we the life of God shall know, for God is manifest below.

Made perfect by his love, and sanctified by grace, we shall from earth remove, and see His glorious face; then shall His love be fully showed, and we shall be complete in God.

(C Wesley 1707-88)

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High… The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God..”

(Lk 1.30,31&35)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

(Col 1.15-20)

Like many others, the music associated with this season of Advent and the celebration of Jesus’ birth is very precious to me. There are hymns which I have sung all my life, and cherish dearly; there are choral pieces which move me deeply, and there are the seasonal pop songs which have accompanied the festive season for most of my adult life.. Music speaks to us on such a deep level, and yet it is worth pondering the words that go along with the tunes (perhaps not so much for the pop songs though!).

The  hymn with which I began today is not commonly sung at carol services, and you probably won’t hear it on the radio during this month. It has no catchy chorus, or soaring descant and there are no animals, shepherds or wise men – Mary and Joseph make no appearance. BUT it is absolutely all about the incarnation, and the revolutionary mission of our Lord. The writer, Charles Wesley has gifted the church many great hymns, and like them, this  text of this one is incredibly rich. One website lists 32 scripture references across the six verses of this hymn. I am reminded that we can help ourselves so much to learn, understand and grow in faith by singing and meditating on the words of songs and hymns: words which are themselves the product of long pondering by saints – long ago and today. Together, these old and new songs speak nourishing truth, writing the realities of faith across our memories and minds in melodic ink, so that it stays there!

This particular hymn points to the many aspects of the work and glory of Christ; to the marvellous mystery of his mission and his victorious achievement; and to the  fulfilment of God’s plans for redemption. It reminds us of the many passages throughout scripture which reflect truths about God’s Messiah, and which leave us slightly reeling, and aware that we haven’t begun to comprehend the breadth, depth and height of the love of our God!

I am looking forward to singing the Christmas songs again, to listening to the choirs and letting the beauty and power of their art lift my spirit in praise and thanks to the Author of all good things, and above all the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the architect of the great plan of salvation. I hope that as I sing, I will let the words fall fresh on my heart and mind, so that they bless me as they have done before and I am brought to worship before the incarnate infititude, the tiny enormity of God, contracted to a span.. incomprehensibly made man.

Remember, remember.. and give thanks

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Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided; urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way; sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided; Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.

Lord, for our world, when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength and comfortless in pain; hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him; Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.

Lord, for ourselves, in living power remake us – self on the cross and Christ upon the throne, past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.

(T. Dudley-Smith, 1926-)

O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief… I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 

(Ps 143.1,5&6,8-10)

At the end of November 2023, my husband and I set off to travel to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he would be taking care of the (then vacant) Church of Scotland congregation during December. It was three months since we had left Gairloch, we had both been ill with COVID, and the autumn had been long and wet. We had no idea whether there was a long-term future for us in ministry, but meantime, we had five weeks in a comfortable flat in a beautiful city and the freedom to explore a new country. God was holding us, giving us grace not to look to the future (not too often anyway), and to appreciate the gifts which came each day.

As I look back to that time from this vantage point, 12 months later, I am quite simply brought to my knees in worship and thanksgiving. Our faithful, loving and wise Father kept us, enriched and blessed us until we were ready to hear from another congregation; until my husband’s weariness had been at least partly refreshed, and his sense of call to ministry reaffirmed by those weeks of serving in Switzerland.

We had watched the sun rise over Europe from the deck of the ferry, wondering what lay beyond that horizon; what lay beyond this brief season of caretaker ministry? I don’t think I doubted that God would provide for us, but how I struggled with waiting, with ignorance, with not being in control! And now as I remember, I give thanks for the daily provision of patience, beauty, and ultimately God’s good timing and the events which have brought us to ministry in Inverness.

God has provided good works for us to do for him here; He has given us a church family to belong to and a community to serve; He has given us fresh opportunities to use who we are and what He has given us all to His glory. How can we not be filled with gladness and gratitude?!

And so, as this year draws to a close and we face 2025 with all the pain, uncertainty and darkness which is abroad in the world, and which impacts our lives in so many ways, I have a choice. Will I remember how faithfully God has kept his promises, has provided, guided and inspired? Will I trust more fully this time, as He asks me to step into an unknown future? Can I sing with the hymn writer, and pray with the psalmist – leaving the past behind, and committing myself in childlike trust to a future path which God chooses and into which his Spirit will guide me?

Father, when she remembers your faithfulness, your child is ashamed of her lack of trust, and her fretfulness. You are trustworthy, you are good, you are patient and careful, and do all things well. Your world needs to hear about Jesus, and you have appointed your children to share the work of proclaiming his saving work; we who know him and can testify to his love and the transforming power of your spirit at work. May I, together with all your people, remember your faithfulness to your promises and be renewed in hope, in love and in faith. May we live with quiet confidence in you, and commit ourselves fully to Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

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.