Thought for the Day
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2nd November 2024
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
I sit on a number of committees; it comes with my roles and I have always hoped I make a difference. Sadly, often these committees are places where people talk, often beyond their understanding, many waffle in an attempt to look informed and at the end of meetings I often leave feeling we have achieved nothing. As the old adage says, all talk, no action. Making a difference can be hard. Many procedures, build over years, have ensured those in places of authority can pretty much do what they want as long as they say the right things at these meetings. In faith it is often the same. The church has many committees where much is said, little is done and those in authority carry on as before. Being a Christian can be similar, all talk and no action. We can say the right things, look like we are even doing the right things but actually never really act in the way God wants us to. Being a Christian is a life choice, one we need to make daily.
1st November 2024
2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Across these few days that end October and start November, we remember. We remember the saints and martyrs of the past and we remember those we love but see no longer. Many traditions are rolled into these few days including the wonderful Mexican tradition of the Day of the dead where families take picnics to family graves and remember their dead together. The Disney film Coco is an excellent example of this and the importance of remembering those in our past. There is a belief that over these couple of days the barrier between the heavens and the earth is lifted allowing the souls of the dead to return to their families while they remember. The importance of remembering is vital to this festival however we celebrate it. God has given us the ability to remember, to carry within us those who have been part of our lives even after they have gone from this earth. May we cherish this special tradition of remembering those we love but see no longer.
31st October 2024
Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Today is Halloween, I dislike the darkness and fear of this now popular festival. The encouragement given to children to dress up as ghouls, witches and dark characters as well as go knocking on strangers’ doors to ask for sweets or treats. In the church today is All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day. It is from Hallows Eve we get Halloween. The word Hallow means Holy, today is the eve of a Holy festival when we remember all the Saints and Martyrs of the past and celebrate their Holy service of God. The Eve was a time of fasting and preparation for the feast day itself. In the past as winter came, death became more possible and so fires were lit and people dressed up to warn off the spirits of the dead who they thought might still wander the earth claiming victims. Our Christian faith does not accept the presence of the dead on earth because we believe they are either in Heaven or Hell. Many see today as harmless fun, many see it as celebrating the things of evil. The most important thing is that we prepare to remember those who have faithfully served God through the ages.
30th October 2024
Mark 10:38 You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
We all like a shortcut, a quicker way to get where we are going, an easier way to the top, to pass the test. As Christians we like a religious shortcut. We’ve done our bit, how about a little favour in return. We scratch your back, God, you scratch ours. We can identify with the disciples James and John. We want to sit in glory one day. Basking at the right hand of God in heaven. And sometimes, we’re not afraid to tell God what He should do for us, right now! We want Jesus to give us whatever we want, what we think we deserve. We are more concerned with things than we are God. We become so presumptuous that we believe we deserve God’s blessing. We truly believe that we should get a new car, bigger house, more money because we have been coming to church for a while or we pray now and again. That is not how being a Christian works. It is all about service, about what we can give not what we want to receive. There are no shortcuts to God and Heaven.
29th October 2024
Matthew 5:27 You have heard it said… Thou shall not commit adultery.
Adultery is not really frowned upon much these days. In fact, most folk do not marry now, partly because commitment is seen as a short-term thing. The Humanist society is advocating 5 year contract marriages where both parties can just walk away in 5 years or choose to carry on. Research shows far more women wish to marry and see it as life long, compared to far more men who do not want to be tied down. This is about commitment. How willing are we to commit to someone or something for the long term, through thick and thin? God’s commitment to us has been from everlasting and to everlasting. It does not falter or waver. What about us? How committed are we to Him, to our faith and to each other? Are we willing to ride out the storms as well as enjoy the celebrations? If we choose a life of faith in Jesus then we must be committed to that not just for a few days or weeks but for a lifetime.
28th October 2024
1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour.
We sometimes think that to be compassionate and caring we have to lose our drive and ambition; nothing could be further from the truth. No one is asking for us to lose our drive and ambition, but we are being asked to not be selfish with that drive and ambition. To use it for the good of others. Whenever we prioritise wealth and power over people, we are blinding ourselves to the value of all humans and losing our own humanity for selfish greed. When we prioritise others, use what we have for the benefit of others, we are doing what humans were designed to do, help each other, pool our resources and skills for the benefit of everyone, working together for the best outcome for all, not just self.
27th October 2024
Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
The human desire is to say Me, Me, Me first. Front of the queue, top of the pile, build up my stock, thinking how anything we do will benefit self. This is why we are in the mess we are in. The majority of everything owned by just a few, leaving the majority fighting for scraps. Instead of sharing we look for a slice of the pie at the top and we don’t mind who we hurt to get there. We can all look at others, judge them and blame them, but we conveniently forget to look at ourselves. What can I do for others, what can I give, what can I offer to help others have a better life. We are reminded here that once we remove the things blinding us to the value and care of others, we can see clearly how to act and behave in order to put others first.
26th October 2024
1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
When we find something that we relate to it changes us. Finding faith in Jesus means life must change to reflect that. It becomes faith that manifests itself in living, active, real, love for everyone that always models itself on our loving King of kings. It’s unconditional and self-sacrificing. It persistently prays and works for the well-being of the beloved, that is everyone. This love pays attention not to human labels but to the one label God attaches to every human: image-bearer of the living God. Why not try, this week, to treat everyone as an image bearer of God. See what a real difference it makes.
25th October 2024
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.
Society needs rules and laws to function safely and fairly for all, we are responsible for playing our part both in school and wider society. All people need to have respect and be responsible for the rule of law and respect others by putting them first. A recent speech by the Prime Minister spoke of those with broad shoulders bearing more of the burden, a recent survey amongst CEO’s suggested they felt they needed to pay more tax, we are also hearing that the Non-Dom policy is being reshaped because a few wealthy folk have thrown their toys out of the pram and are threatening to leave and live elsewhere. Before God the rules apply to everyone. However we treat others we shall be treated that way as well.
24th October 2024
Psalm 121:1 I look to the mountains; where will my help come from? My help will come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
There is much Talk about resilience these days. The growing ability to cope and keep going when things don’t go well. Let’s face it, at some time or another, things will not go our way. For some folk at this present time, it seems like this almost every day. As young children we are very selfish, it is a preservation technique. Slowly we learn to share, to play nice, to be more patient and we learn that we will be disappointed. As we grow and learn we either build a resilience or we refuse to accept that we have to wait or refuse to accept disappointment, and we can end up with very selfish self-absorbed people often very ambitious and with little or no compassion and empathy. Life, even the fullest, best life, has setbacks. Not getting into the school or college you wanted, not getting a place in a team or a part in a play, a relationship breaking down, even down to the long dark days of winter when getting up in the dark and catching 3 buses becomes a daily setback which has to be faced.
23rd October 2024
Mark 10:35b Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
Ultimately as Christians we are supposed to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. For the past nine chapters of Mark Jesus has been showing and teaching the disciples that following him is about service and putting others before ourself. They haven’t got it. How long have we been Christians, have we got it yet? James and John certainly hadn’t got it. “whatever we ask of you.” Riches, power, status, celebrity James and John are shrewd, crafty guys. We can be the same. Instead of wanting God, we want what God can give us. We need to look hard at ourselves and see if we asking God what we can do for us or, as it should be, what we can do for Him.
22nd October 2024
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Putting others first means putting self-second or even further down the list. I may not agree with most of what Bill Gates says but I do agree with his view that any one person can only spend so much and that those with such wealth should share their fortune with those in need. An example is the seat belt which keeps you safe in your car, when it was invented for Volvo cars they gave the technology freely to all manufacturers so lives would be saved. They could have made millions, instead they put others first. We may not have that literal great wealth, but we do have wealth in other areas, our skills and abilities, our knowledge and understanding, our time, our compassion, our empathy which means we can put others first. Let us look at home, in the community and see where we can put others first. Ask yourself in every situation how can I help make this the best for everyone and not just me.
21st October 2024
Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
When I first became pregnant, I knew I was going to be a mum. Did I know how radically and completely my life was about to change? Of course not. I had no real idea what it meant! As you become a Christian You have no idea what it means. Your whole life changes. It no longer revolves around you. And it’s the best thing in the world. You gain so much more than you could ever have imagined. But only by giving something up. Following Jesus is the best thing in the world. You gain so much more than you ever could have imagined. By taking up your cross, whatever that may be for you, and giving up your life as you know it, and following Jesus.
20th October 2024
John 7:28 Then Jesus called out to them, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but He who sent me is true.
How do we know someone? Living with them, we know our family that we live with, best. We get to know people by spending time with them, communicating, getting to know likes, dislikes, hobbies, desires for the future and so on. The people knew a lot about Jesus, background, family, culture etc. They had seen miracles and signs, that he cared about ordinary people, justice and fairness. They saw that He could be the Messiah. At that point a choice was made, to follow, to believe and support or to turn away, get rid of Him because of the threat to the status quo. The same applies to us, a choice must be made. Either we accept Him for who He is, we believe, we follow and we change or we say no, we turn away, we don’t want our lives to change, or the comfortable situation we have to be lost. The choice of faith is ours. Let me encourage you to really get to know Jesus and make the choice.
19th October 2024
Luke 16:24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Over the years I have met many entitled people. They believe that because they are wealthy, titled, powerful or popular everyone should do as they say. The rich and powerful throughout history have a reputation for treating the poor and the ordinary as their own personal slaves and servants. Once the rich man dies his wealth counts for nothing. Now in hell, because of the way he behaved, he still wants the poor man, who is heaven, to come and serve him. His cruelty continues even into the afterlife. Jesus’ teaching is clear time and again that we must not put ourselves above others, or threat others badly. To whom much is given, much is expected we are told. Those of us with good educations, good standards of living, wealth, status, power and celebrity are held to much higher account. If we have, then how we use what we have is important. All we are given in life, all we have, we must use it always to the benefit of others.
18th October 2024
Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
At this time of year, as days get shorter and colder, we might want to become very insular, but we have the opportunity to serve and help others. The chance to give out of our abundance to help those who have very little. We cannot have missed the constant reminders of how many children are now living in poverty. How many schools now run breakfast clubs because children come to school hungry. How the numbers of food banks have increased hugely while the richest people in the country get richer by 2 million a day. This was never God’s intention for the world, and we have the opportunity to make things a little more equal by giving from what we have to help and serve others.
17th October 2024
Hebrews 13:6 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
When we share with others several things happen, it gives us an appreciation of all that we have, it develops trust in others and self, it makes life real, it increases our sense of self-worth and our sense of the value of others. No matter what religion we follow, or if we have no religion, it is what every human is called to do, to care for others, to help where we can. Particularly we need to help the most vulnerable, the elderly, the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the children. Every human has great worth and we all called to uphold that worth by caring for each other as God’s children.
16th October 2024
Colossians 3: 16a Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts.
I have to have pockets to carry certain things with me. Many carry a handbag, a shoulder bag, a messenger bag, to carry what they need, be that a pen, notebook, mobile, purse, wallet, tissues etc. What else do we carry? What do we carry in our hearts and minds? Do we carry a rich message of faith, do we carry the wisdom of faith, do we carry the hope of faith? Only as we pray, read our Bibles, grow in our relationship with God, will we carry that wonderful faith in our hearts and minds everywhere we go and let it percolate through everything we do and say.
15th October 2024
Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
At this time of year we think about Harvest, churches have their special service and collect produce for the community. We are particularly aware of the cost of living and the global changes and think about our response. Can we share out of our abundance? We are free to decide if we share or not, but we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves. We look after ourselves well, give ourselves treats, good food, nice clothes so let’s look after others too. We can do this by sharing, giving to local foodbanks, helping the homeless, the poor and the hungry.
14th October 2024
Ezra 10:4 Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.
Sometimes when we talk of responsibility it is very serious and grave. That is not a bad thing but being responsible also has a positive side. The good news is that when we accept responsibility when things go wrong, it also means we take the credit when things go well. I loved it when my report said I was responsible and I hated it when something went wrong, but there always has to be balance, it is the world we live in. By taking the responsibility, learning and changing when things go wrong, we are able to take the credit and the praise when they go right. Let’s hope that people can see we take responsibility whatever the outcome.
13th October 2024
Matthew 15:23 Jesus gave her no reply, Then, his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said.
How do we treat others? Do we have an attitude that judge’s people without knowing them. Do we use those cultural stereotypes and write people off because of their gender, their education, their life choice? This is the attitude that came from the disciples to the woman in the gospel story, to push her away and ignore the gentile woman. To look at her gender, culture, religion and decide she is not important to God. How dare any of us make that decision. God’s love is universal and we do not decide who is worthy.
12th October 2024
James 2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Sometime people are almost absurd in how they portray something because they want to get their point across. James paints a ridiculous picture of what some of the early church people presented the Christian faith as, something lifeless and unattractive. Such faith just doesn’t make any sense. Some of Jesus’ friends, leaders of the early church aren’t just discriminating against those whom God loves, but also favouring those who earn God’s anger. In siding with the oppressors, early Christians had aligned themselves against their fellow Christians, fellow humans and against the very living God of heaven and earth that they supposedly followed. We need to decide whose side we are own, God's or the oppressors, and then we need to make a stand for justice, to do those deeds of faith which God requires of us.
11th October 2024
Mark 8:34 If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
If we are to follow Jesus, our Messiah, there is only one way. We must take up our cross. We must lose our life as we know it, for his sake and for the sake of the gospel. We must put Jesus first, in everything. What does this mean? We don’t find out all at once. We take the first step. We begin to follow. And day by day, little by little, we begin to learn what it means to follow Jesus, to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, and to gain our lives, and so much more in return. The Messiah must undergo great suffering, and be rejected and be killed, and after three days rise again, defeat death and all for us, to have eternal life.
10th October 2024
Matthew 13:4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
The farmer in the story scattered his seed with great abandon. Some here, some there, some everywhere. He could have not bothered thinking that because there were weeds and thorns to choke some of it, because the sun might be too hot, he might as well not bother. It’s too much like hard work and what if I get no reward. It is easy for anyone to think why bother. What if it doesn’t work, what if it goes wrong. If farmers didn’t bother because the crops might sometimes fail, there would be no food for us. If we don’t bother because something might go wrong, or someone else might do it, we risk never changing someone’s life, never making a difference. We all have things to offer our family, friends, schools, communities and we can choose whether to bother or not. I hope you will always try to be generous with what you have to help others.
9th October 2024
John 6:9 There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But they will certainly not be enough for all these people.
It is so easy to be selfish, to keep what we have for ourselves. Lots of people keep wanting more and more, they already have plenty but still want more. Lots of rich people have no idea how to live day to day and like to blame others for not working harder. The truth is that most of us have more than we need and most of us want more. The little boy could have kept his picnic and said nothing, he didn’t. He gave what he had so that other people could eat too. If we all shared what we have, only took what we needed and did not always look for the way to take more from our world, it would be so much better. There would be no hungry people, no people without clothes or homes. We have a choice, to be selfish and greedy or to share. If people did not share with us, we would not have anything. May we recognise that we need to share with others because God has given us all enough if we would just share it fairly with one another.
8th October 2024
Matthew 18:7a Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble!
Can you remember the last time you tripped over? For me it was over an uneven pavement, I stumbled and landed on my knees, ouch. Around us are plenty of things which can trip us up literally but also metaphorically. We can be tripped up by desires which then lead to cheating and lying. Others can lead us astray with ideas of it’s just a joke, just for a laugh, no one will get hurt, but they do. We can be led astray and lead others astray by our own bad choices. The things we call jokes, banter, fun, are often hurtful, unpleasant, unjust and cause others to be hurt or to stumble themselves both physically and mentally. We have a responsibility, a God given responsibility to support one another, not to bring each other down. Whatever we do today, any day, lets try to make sure we are not the stumbling block to someone else’s life. We can ask God for the wisdom and strength to be those who raise others up and not cause them to stumble.
7th October 2024
Psalm 65:10 you send abundant rain on the ploughed fields and soak them with water; you soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.
Eating food is one of the few things common to all human experience. What type of food we consume and how readily available it is to us may vary widely. But we all eat. For us the meals on our table will have been brought there through the contribution of many different people working in a variety of environments. This food chain typically involves farmers or fishermen, processors, retailers and those who purchase and prepare the food to eat. Harvest is an opportunity to offer to God the contribution we make in bringing food to the table; to give thanks and pray for others in the chain upon whom we’re dependent; and above all to praise God who starts off each chain by creating the sun’s radiance and giving life to all living things.
6th October 2024
Psalm 65:11 What a rich harvest your goodness provides! Wherever you go there is plenty.
Harvest has been celebrated ever since human beings first planted seeds, From the Bible stories and festivals of the Old Testament we have our Harvest Festival where we thank God for food and farming. People understood their dependence on a good harvest blessed by God. At the time of Jesus, it is estimated that around 90% of a person’s time would have been spent producing and preparing food. The excellent work of global aid agencies and fair-trade bodies remind us that food production and matters of justice in agriculture are global issues. These appeal to our Christian sense of justice. Harvest is a wonderful opportunity to connect to the growing focus in our society on environment, health and food with God. It is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for all the wonderful gifts of creation and to reconnect with our place as stewards of that creation.
5th October 2024
Proverbs 22:9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
Yesterday was the feast of St Francis of Assisi. A rich man who, as he saw the plight of the poor and hungry, felt called by God to do something about it. He gave his wealth away to help others, set up a community of people who lived a simple life, dressing in simple tunics and spending their time helping others. This is the Franciscan order which still operates worldwide today. It does so quietly without fuss, feeding and caring for thousands on a daily basis by sharing out of what they have to make the lives of others better. A simple but effective challenge to each of us to play our part in helping others by sharing out of our abundance with those who have little or nothing.
4th October 2024
James 2:24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
Just recently on Twitter, or X, a storm was created when the very wealthy Nadhim Zahawi, previous government minister, tax dodger and who claimed MP’s expenses of £60,000 to heat his stables, took a photo of a homeless man in his rich suburb and complained that homeless people should not be allowed where the wealthy live. Did he help him? No. Did he look for a way to help society with the homeless issue, No. He left the homeless man collapsed on the pavement. This is just like the example James offers, those who dishonour the poor, in doing so dishonour God. That is an easy, obvious example, not me we say, but what do we do when we encounter those in difficulty. Walk by? Be suspicious that they are just a con? Think it isn’t real in my town or my country? These people hold God’s image too. How we treat them reflects on how we treat God.
3rd October 2024
Luke 16:10: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Taking responsibility isn’t just about the big things, it matters in the small things. If we can’t be responsible for helping with chores at home, how can we be responsible to run something in school, work or church. If we can’t be responsible enough to pack our own PE kit or the right books in our bag, how can we take responsibility for being captain of the team or being on a church committee. Everyone of us is responsible for ourselves, our behaviour, our actions, our words. Before taking any responsibility in any other things we need to show we are responsible for ourselves. No blaming others, no passing the buck, accepting that I am responsible for me. Responsible for doing the right thing, showing respect, not covering up, not lying, doing the work, being honest and being the best person we can be.
2nd October 2024
James 2:4 Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
I like to read things in different versions of the Bible because sometimes one version sums something up better than another. This verse in The Message says “Don’t let public opinion influence how you live out your glorious, Christ-originated faith.” We might say that Jesus’ followers don’t let the labels people attach to each other, or even themselves, negatively impact the way we think of and deal with people. While God has chosen to graciously honour people who are materially poor, it seems that some Christians to whom James writes have deliberately dishonoured them. They and perhaps we haven’t just shamed them, we’ve also failed to properly care for and about them the way God does.
1st October 2024
Mark 9:35 Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
Arguing about who is the best, most popular, most well-known; striving to prove ourselves the best and greatest above others, brings out the worst in us. That may just be the greatest humanitarian crisis in our world today. We are all striving to be the greatest human being instead of bringing out the best in all humanity. We have completely misunderstood what greatness is really about. Jesus reverses everything we thought we knew about greatness? Those who welcome the children, the vulnerable, the innocent, those who put other’s first, That’s how Jesus understands greatness.
30th September 2024
John 8:36 If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Generally speaking, we see ourselves as being free, free to believe, to study, hold opinions, criticise governments, to vote as we want and so on. That is pretty much true in the UK. But with freedom comes responsibility. Our freedom must not come at the cost of someone else’s freedom. Our freedom of belief must not prevent another from their freedom of belief even if we disagree with them. We are free to criticise and challenge but not free to incite and threaten. We are free to question but not to silence others. The freedom Jesus offers is freedom to be who we are in Him. Freedom to believe, have faith, freedom to be supported and to support others. We have the freedom to chose and although we long for others to find that faith too, they also have freedom of choice. God never forces anyone to believe, and neither should we. God’s given freedom to choose is for everyone.
29th September 2024
1 Peter 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing the right thing you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
There are many public inquiries and reports asked for by governments. Grenfell has just reported, the Post Office scandal enquiry continues. Virtually every report published says mistakes were made, we will learn from this, and change will happen. Sadly, all to often, the same mistakes are made almost immediately, and no change happens because no one is willing to take responsibility. Doing the right thing, being free but not covering up, showing respect, love and honour. These are all responsible things to do. These are taking responsibility for ourselves and our actions. God gave us the ability to act and the expectation to take responsibility when we do. Ultimately the choice is ours. Are we responsible people?
28th September 2024
Leviticus 19:18 You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
There are various laws that have been around in history in some form or another for centuries. One of these is the “royal law” found in Leviticus 19:18, which commands, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Many times in the Bible this law is mentioned by Jesus, by teachers, by disciples as something that real Christians must do. Jesus’ followers are reminded to treat and view each and every person in the same way. We have to accept that we receive God’s grace in part by viewing each person as an image-bearer of God whom we treat as someone God deeply loves. Quite simply we must see God in everyone, no matter who they are. Not always easy, but faith isn’t easy.
27th September 2024
James 2:6 But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
It can be easy to think that faith and belief is all about following rules, this is what had happened to so many in the Jewish faith and many in the religious groups at the time of Jesus. James, the brother of Jesus reminds us of the power of genuine faith in action. God calls us to treat everyone with equal love and respect, without showing favouritism or prejudice. Our faith is not merely a set of beliefs; it is meant to be lived out in practical ways, showing kindness, compassion, and mercy to those in need. Letting our faith be evident through how we live each and every day.
26th September 2024
Mark 8:33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
It’s no wonder that Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. He wanted to get Jesus to come to his senses, and get back to Messiah-stuff, like teaching and healing and eventually taking the throne and leading. That is what the Messiah does. Another temptation for Jesus. He rebukes Peter, and famously says to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Satan, the tempter. Who tempted Jesus in the wilderness. And who is tempting Jesus here. Why not Take the throne. Overthrow Rome. Restore the kingdom of Israel. You don’t have to suffer and die to do that. What good is it to suffer and die? How is that going to help accomplish your mission? But Jesus knew that his path had to lead to the cross. It was the only way to save us.
25th September 2024
Mark 9:34 On the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.
There are times in all our lives when one upmanship rears its ugly head. The need to be seen as better or greater than others. So, it is easy to imagine each disciple making a case for his own greatness and a case against the greatness of the others; being the first disciple, the one who declared Jesus the Messiah, those who saw the Transfiguration. It seems we are always establishing pecking orders of greatness. Look at the pecking orders in our world and country today. They are all around us. We live with and participate in them even if we did not create them. Who are the winners and losers in those pecking orders? In what ways are you and I striving for greatness instead of seeking to serve others? What needs to change?
24th September 2024
James 2:1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism.
If you have ever watched Strictly, you may remember Bruce Forsyth would say, You’re my favourite. It seems that we do like to have favourites, those we prefer over others. The Bible is completely clear that we should honour one another without showing favouritism. Unfortunately, our fallen human nature often leads us to judge others based on physical appearance, wealth, fame, gender, culture, race or social status. This tendency to base judgments on superficial qualities leads to discrimination and inequality. There is a pressing issue that we all need to address, favouritism. We must never show partiality based on social status or wealth.
23rd September 2024
1 Peter 2:16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s holy ones.
We currently see people, particularly people in government or with influence refusing to take responsibility for their actions. Refusing to accept that what they have done or said has caused suffering, injustice, failure and contributed to a cost-of-living crisis and poor public services. The US president Harry S. Truman famously had a sign on his desk which said “The buck stops here”. He recognised that there was no one higher up than him and he was ultimately responsible, whether good or bad. He had no one to pass the buck to. It is very easy to just pass the buck, blame someone else, say it is not our fault when something goes wrong, but really, for a fair, honest society, God asks all of us to be willing to hold our hands up and say, yes it was me, my fault, I am sorry and I will learn from this.
22nd September 2024
Mark 8:31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
We can get a question right, but not know what the answer actually means and that was the case for Peter, he got the question right. Jesus was and is the Messiah. But, what does it mean that Jesus is the Messiah? Right after Peter’s great confession. Jesus explains what it means: “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering … be killed, and after three days rise again.” What? The Messiah must suffer and die, before being raised from the dead? This is the first time that Jesus has told his disciples this. And it comes as a complete shock to them. This is not what the Messiah would do, suffer and die. The Messiah was supposed to take the throne of David, restore the kingdom of Israel in all its glory. The Messiah is supposed to be very alive, and very powerful. Yet He becomes a servant, vulnerable, in order to save humankind.
21st September 2024
Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.
When we go away, I often find myself watching films that I just don’t normally have the time to watch. Surprisingly I found myself watching a teen movie called Mean Girls. The title tells you exactly what its about. Towards the end someone sensible says “Being mean to someone doesn’t make you better, calling someone ugly does not make you beautiful” When we are derogatory, rude or just plain nasty to another we do not make ourselves better, in fact we make ourselves worse. We deepen our own insecurities and embitter ourselves even more deeply as we hurt others. The world is mean enough so it’s important that what we say is encouraging, gives blessing and joy to others as well as ourselves.
20th September 2024
Mark 8:29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
Do you like asking questions? Children love to know why this and why that. In Mark 8 we encounter one of the most important questions in all of scripture, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a crucial question, but the answer is the easy part. Who do we say that Jesus is? He is the Messiah, of course. We have faith because we believe Jesus is God’s Son, our Saviour, the long-promised Messiah. That’s the easy part. But what does it mean? That’s the hard part. We can get the answer right about many things, without really knowing what the answer means for us. We need to carefully ask ourselves; who is Jesus to us and exactly what difference has that made to our lives?
19th September 2024
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to use our time well that we might gain a heart of wisdom
I have often heard it said that the most important gift we have and can give is our time. Time is a precious commodity it is limited and we never know when time will end for us. To give our time to another is giving something we can never get back. Giving time shows we value another. We respect and care for another. Time is a precious gift we can give and it is a precious gift that God has given to us to use wisely. As we use that time wisely, we become wiser people, we learn the true value of time and of each other.
18th September 2024
Psalm 147:3 He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.
I am a great fan of musicals; I just love the idea of breaking into song to express our feelings and thoughts. The Greatest Showman has some amazing songs, one of which is called This is Me! It speaks to the scars many of us carry, the things which we hide from others, which society often condemns us for and treats us cruelly. The point of the song is that who we are is nothing to be ashamed of, we should not hide away, not be embarrassed but stand tall and proclaim this is me. That is exactly what God wants for us. He accepts us completely as we are, with all our imperfections, all our scars. He does not turn us away because we do not fit into some worldly concept of beauty, celebrity, skin colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion or culture. God does not judge us for these things and neither must we judge each other. None of us is perfect but all of us are loved and accepted completely by God.
17th September 2024
Psalm 19:6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
I love a sun rise and a sun set. In amongst my many photos you will find many sunsets and a few sunrises, I am always looking for the perfect one. Day after day we never doubt that the sun will come up and we will have light and day. We know the science, orbits, rotations and we do not doubt. In the past before scientific knowledge people worshiped the sun, believing that if they honoured and worshipped the sun it would keep coming up, keep warming the earth, keep giving light. God made it clear from the beginning that the Sun was there to help us, give us light and warmth. It has never failed to rise and never will. I will keep looking for the perfect picture knowing there will always be a sun rise and sunset every day without fail because God created it that way.
16th September 2024
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus ministered to and fed the crowds that God gave to Him to look after. Jesus fed and cared for everyone no matter who they were. He fed and cared for the people that knew Him and those that did not, He fed the people that were baptised and those that were not, He fed the people that knew the Ten Commandments and those that did not. Jesus fed and looked after everyone in the crowds who came to Him. We look around us, we are part of a crowd in church. We are part of the crowd that God gave to Jesus for him to look after; we are part of the crowd that followed and continues to follow Jesus. We have our God given gifts, our rich blessings, we need to thank God for them and offer them up for God to use and then let God do the rest.
15th September 2024
Matthew 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why couldn’t we cure the boy?”
It is really easy to blame people when things don’t go our way. We currently live in a blame culture. Even in churches people will blame God or someone’s lack of faith when prayers aren’t answered as they want. Faith is taking a risk, believing that even when you don’t understand everything, you still believe for the best. Faith is very much linked to hope. Having faith and hope in God means we let God know our fears, problems, issues etc and then let Him deal with it. We want instant answers and that does sometimes happen but mostly things happen in the right time, as all things needed for the answer come together. Over years I have seen instant answers but more often that not it has been over weeks and months that things change and often we have forgotten we even took it to God. The disciples hadn’t yet grasped that their job was tell people the gospel, help people, care for them and then let God do the rest. The lesson is the same for us, pray for people, care for them, help them, talk to God and then let Him do the rest. Leaving things in God hands, that is faith.
14th September 2024
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
At this time of year, particularly in schools and universities, change is happening really fast. End of one school year, a future of a new year, a new school, a new class and a new university, college or job. It can be quite daunting, not really knowing what the future will hold. People around you will all tell differing stories of how their futures changed, of how they came to be here. We are all products of changes in our lives. For me and for many the promise of Jeremiah holds security and hope. The promise of a future, of a good future. The promise of God reminding us that wherever we go, whatever our future holds He is with us. He will go with us, stay with us and will be there for us when we call out to Him. Wherever your future lies in the next few months, know that you are not alone. Know that God goes with you, know that you have a future and know that friends and families, as well as God, support you in your future.
13th September 2024
Psalm 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
Just like others reject and hurt us, we can do the same. Sometimes we reject people or laugh at them because they look different to us, because they are not from around here, because they don’t act or speak the same way as we do. No one should be rejected for being different. No one should suffer abuse because of their gender, skin colour, life choices or disabilities. Jesus made it absolutely clear that we are all accepted and loved for who we are. God doesn’t reject those who come to Him. He accepts us for who we are and He calls us to do the same. It is not us who decides who is accepted into God’s kingdom, that is God’s choice alone and He accepts us all just as we are.
12th September 2024
1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Sometimes we feel that people around us just don’t care. People often share with me that they feel like nobody cares about them anymore, they feel worthless and lonely. My reply is that although it seems that way sometimes, God cares completely and utterly for each and every one of us. God is interested in us, He is invested in us, in who we are, our gifts, and what we can offer to the world and each other. Even the smallest thing we can offer, God can use to change the world. God provides for each and every one of us all we need and more.
11th September 2024
Isaiah 38:7 This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken.
When you look around you, you will see different types of signs, all around us every day. Around school, we have rooms with names on the doors, letters and numbers, offices, staff rooms. Around our town, we see signs that tell us where things are. Street names, shop names, banks and coffee shops. Road signs tell us the speed we can go, when we must stop, when we give way. I am a huge admirer of those who learn and communicate through sign language. Signs communicate, we rely on them. The Bible is also full of signs, pointers to the coming of Jesus, pointers to the Messiah, signs showing God’s love for us and His desire for us to have a full life. The signs are there for us if we choose to look, to see and to hear what they are clearly telling us about God and His love for us.
10th September 2024
John 6:9 Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?
Within our churches, our groups, our congregations we are the crowds that God gives Jesus to look after in each place and time in history and in the present. Our families, friends, neighbours and colleagues, they are also part of the crowds given to Jesus. When Jesus looked up and saw the crowd that had followed Him, He knew that they were hungry. At that very moment a little boy is brought to Jesus by Andrew and offered up his small child size picnic lunch to help feed the crowd. The boy’s lunch was five small pieces of bread and two small fish. Enough to feed a small boy but how would it feed a large hungry crowd? Each small thing we have is the opportunity to use for God. Who we are, what we have, our God given talents can be used by God. What can we offer? Even the smallest of lunches brought a miracle. The smallest thing we can offer to God can bring a miracle.
9th September 2024
John 6:56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
The life Jesus calls us to lead is so revolutionary, so different, and yet so rewarding. It offers us eternal life. The disciples, led by Peter, knew that Jesus offers eternal life to everyone who decides to follow him. The disciples knew that they needed to feed on the eternal spiritual food that Jesus offers, just like we need to, just as we do in the form of the bread and wine that we eat and drink during Holy Communion. When we take part in Holy Communion, we draw closer to God, and we allow him to live in us and become better people who are kind, generous, loving, supportive, empathetic, compassionate and are God’s representatives here on earth making it a better place for all.
8th September 2024
John 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Jesus asks His follows if His teaching offends them? Some of them say it is too hard for them and some of us think that too. Jesus even asks the disciples if they also wish to leave but Peter says to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. Because our world thrives on this treading over others to get what we want, the way of Jesus is not popular. People turn away because they want an easy life, that fits into the pattern dictated to us by the leaders, by the wealthy, by the celebrity, by those who would have us believe strength comes from belittling and hurting the vulnerable. Does Jesus way offend us? Do we find it too difficult to be true Christians in this world? Or do we know there is no other way, that He has the words of eternal life and we must follow our leader to the best of our ability and in His strength. We are no alone in our endeavours. Jesus is always with us as we seek to be the best we can be.
7th September 2024
John 6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When a situation seems difficult, even insurmountable, we tend to get negative, lose hope, allow our vision to be obscured. Our example is Jesus. What did Jesus do in these situations? Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed. He thanked God for all the things that God had given Him. Then Jesus began to feed the hungry crowd. It was a miracle; everyone had enough food to eat and there was still food left over. Jesus did not look at the problem and think of all the reasons why a few loaves and fish couldn’t work, instead He thanked God for what He had given Him and He got on with the job.
My apologies, I have been uploading these each day, saving them, as always and it seems they have not been being saved to the file. Please find them updated again.
6th September 2024
John 6:31 Moses gave our ancestors bread from heaven to eat when they were in the wilderness. Can you do that?
In interviews I have been asked what I would do to improve a situation or to sort something out. People will think about past experiences and previous successes and challenge us as to what we can do that is better. Jesus was challenged like this time and again. In some ways they were interviewing Him for the role of Saviour, Messiah, is He who He says He is? Jesus reminds them that he is exactly who He says He is and He is exactly who their scriptures say that he is. He offers proof, He offers love and compassion, He offers miracles, they and us have to choose whether we believe or not.
5th September 2024
Mark 7:21&22a From the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, 22 commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things.
We all know that there are rules in place in societies, cultures, religions etc, often about food, so as to help people follow their chosen way. Rules are a good thing unless they completely come to overshadow what really matters and the reasons they were brought in originally. At the time of Jesus the religious folk were so fixated on rules that they had forgotten about God and His call to be people of kindness, goodness, compassion and love. They had forgotten how to treat others well, they spoke unkindly and rudely, treated others with distain. What we say and do really matters, it is the true heart of Christianity. If we obey all the rules but treat others badly, are unkind and rude, spark rumours, tell lies and are selfish then what is our heart does not reflect God and is not the way we are called to live as Christians. Of course we should be careful with what we put in our bodies but even more important is what we have in our hearts and minds, how we behave and what we say. Let me encourage you to guard your heart, to be a good friend and neighbour, to think about what we do and say and how that reflects on God.
4th September 2024
John 6;68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
When we follow Jesus there is a price to pay. He calls us to give up our worldly life and follow a life that will lead to heaven. For most of us, that is not an easy choice to make. We have grown comfortable in our daily lives. They are like a pair of shoes that we have broken in. They feel comfortable and good, and the life we are leading feels so comfortable and good. Most of us don’t like change. We get set in our ways. We get stuck in the rut of daily life, and we don’t want to get out. Being in this comfortable life means we often follow the examples of the world leaders, of the loud voices, of the political commentators, of the celebrities and the daily papers. We must decide if the price we have to pay is too much or if we are prepared to change our lives for God.
3rd September 2024
Mark 6:12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
What kind of witness are you? Do you talk to people about being a Christian, share the love you have found with others, or do you find it hard. Many of us struggle to share our faith. Jesus told His disciples to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth, and He calls us to that role as well. Many people rejected Jesus; they would also reject His disciples. If you and I tell others about Jesus, they might reject us too. They might say, "Who do you think you are? " Jesus told us to tell others about Him, but He said it would not be easy. What He does promise is the strength and grace to share our faith and the support when we are turned away. Jesus knows how it feels to not be listened to but we share it anyway. We do our part and then let God do the rest.
2nd September 2024
John 6:34 Give us that bread! Give it to us every day.
There is nothing like fresh bread and butter! Still one of my favourite things. Bread is a staple food and water is the best drink. These basic food stuffs, those which keep us alive, are used as metaphors for Jesus. Jesus is the living bread, the true bread of God, the One who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world. The people just don’t get it. They think it’s about being given food every day, saving them money and work. Jesus explains His role as the Bread of Life. Some people today are still asking for some special sign that will prove to them that Jesus was sent from God. But God has given us all the signs we need right here in the Bible. All God wants is for us to believe in the one He sent, Jesus. No excuses, the signs are there we must choose if we are prepared to believe the signs or ignore them.
1st September 2024
John 6:60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
When you were children, did you ever play a game called “Follow the Leader”? First, you choose a leader. Then you follow them wherever they go and do whatever they do. You stomp through puddles, climb over fences, or swing from a tree, all to stay in the game because no one wants to quit. We often play follow the leader in our daily lives. There are always leaders in everything we do, in family, school, church, clubs, quiz teams and so on. In John 6 we see that not everyone who heard Jesus’ teachings wanted to follow him. He lost a lot of his followers because they thought it was too difficult. We have that choice to make, whether we follow Him as our leader or if we quit. It is our choice.
31st August 2024
Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
There is a teenage film called Mean Girls and it is exactly what you are thinking. Girls in school being mean to those who do not fit their arbitrary popularism. It is led by one very powerful person who no one will stand up to. If she chooses you all well and good, if not your life is a misery. This leader makes life for others awful and those who follow her do the same because they don’t want to miss out on being popular, on being one of the chosen few. As the story resolves, a teacher tries to explain the importance of every individual and treating everyone with respect. She explains that just because you call someone stupid, it does not make you clever. Just because you call someone ugly, it does not make you beautiful. The arbitrary ways we treat others does not make us better people; in fact, it makes us worse people. Unkind, rude, taking pleasure from the hurt we put on others, trying to make our selves feel better by diminishing others. That is no way to live. This is not what Jesus calls us to.
30th August 2024
John 6:26 You came looking for me not because you saw God in my actions, but because I fed you.
Once the people who had been fed realised Jesus had left that place and gone somewhere else, they went looking for Him. They found Him way over on the other side of the lake. They were looking for another free meal. Jesus knows this and reminds them not to be so concerned about these things but instead to be seeking the eternal life that Jesus can give us. The response from them and often from us is show us another miracle, prove it to us again. We will believe if you do one more thing, but that one more thing is never enough. We look for an easy life, for what we can get out of it, instead of having faith we always want more.
29th August 2024
John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
Jesus’ miracles of feeding the five thousand and walking on water in john 6 remind us that Jesus came to save each and every one of us. The care that Jesus has for us and the world is further emphasised by the collection of leftover food after feeding the crowd. Jesus recognised that even the food which was given to Him was a gift from God and He would waste nothing of it. Jesus walked on water to rescue his disciples in a storm, they mattered to Him and He cared for them. His integrity and care for the people and world that God gave Him, goes as far as dying on the cross in our place so that we may have life now and forever. Jesus treasures us, we are important, we matter.
28th August 2024
Mark 6:48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the storm was against them. Shortly before dawn He went out to them, walking on the lake.
Most of us are pretty good at keeping the faith when things go well. Even when the small things are difficult, we tend to keep going. It is in life’s real storms that we are tested, when things are out of our control, God seems far from us and all hope is gone. Like the disciples in this story we are straining at the oars, the storm is carrying us further and further from land and safety, we are exhausted and fearful, and Jesus comes! We often don’t recognise Him because our fear makes us blind to His presence, He hasn’t visibly arrived when we thought He should, but Jesus comes! God is in control of the elements of nature, He created them. He is in control of every situation. Jesus, the Son of God, comes, He is always there but in times of struggle we don’t always see Him. Jesus comes! The disciples finally begin to recognise Jesus as God’s Son, they begin to worship Him to recognise what He has done, is doing and will do. Jesus is always there, Jesus always comes, we just need to open our eyes and see Him for exactly who He is.
27th August 2024
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
What brings you joy? I expect you could list many things but I doubt you would list struggles and trials as bringing you joy. The Bible contains several of these oxymorons where the opposite is what we expect. Why and how can struggles and trials bring joy? As we struggle, as we overcome difficulties we learn and grow. We become better people who experience more of its blessings as we develop perseverance. God uses our struggles to work good in our lives, making us patient and complete. Trusting God during these times fills us with a unique joy and prepares us for anything life throws our way. Facing trials head-on can build spiritual endurance. We don’t just get through the hard stuff, this promises that we’ll come out better on the other side if we lean into faith and do not give up.
26th August 2024
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
At this time of year there are many worries and anxieties, about exam results, moving to new places and classes, home life, university futures. They are normal, they are nothing to be ashamed of or to hide away. If you are struggling to deal with any of these, please let someone help you. When we are struggling, we often think we are the only one, let me assure you we are not. We often think others will judge us, well, if they do that is their problem not ours. As Christians we can tell God our worries and put our hope in God, but sometimes that isn’t easy, but it is an option, one of many to help us deal with life’s struggles. Each of us needs to be empathetic and compassionate to those who are struggling, including ourselves. To be supportive and respectful of one another, offering comfort and peace to each other. To allow ourselves and others to be helped.
25th August 2024
Philippians 4:13 I have the strength to face all things through the power that Christ gives me.
I love children’s literature, these days there are wealth of amazing books for all ages. Many of them have a deeper theme within them. A family favourite is Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. In this story each time they meet an obstacle like long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a deep dark forest; they say we can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, oh no, we have to go through it. In life we meet obstacles that we cannot avoid, we have no option but to go through them, to keep moving on through. The good news is that we do not have to cope alone, we do not have to face things in our own strength. Instead, God is with us, we have His strength, His love and His support to enable us to keep going even though it is really tough. In the face of difficulty, in the face of pain and suffering, in the face of deep, dark times we have Jesus on our side, we have the strength to face everything with Him.
24th August 2024
Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
As children the boys would enact certain stories they loved. Many a time they played Lord of the Rings in the garden or on a holiday hillside. As they played out battles and events there would be bows, arrows, swords and shields. Shields to defend, shields to shield from the arrows and blows of the enemy. This verse reminds us that God, the Lord, is our strength and shield. We are assured that God not only gives us the strength to serve Him but also shields us from the arrows and blows of the evil one and those who would bring us down. He lifts spirits and gives courage to those feeling weak. It inspires trust and brings joy. This verse thanks God for His unfailing protection. Imagine carrying a protective shield everywhere with us, that is exactly what God’s word promises.
23rd August 2024
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I have a picture I was given years ago where the hand of God holds the hand of a human. It mirrors that wonderful time when a new baby holds the finger of their parent, and as they grow, holding onto the parent’s hand as the parent holds onto theirs. It is an act of love, of protection and care. Isaiah offers us powerful comfort, promising God’s constant presence and unwavering support. Fear slips away knowing He is always by our side, reminds us that even when we stumble, His mighty hand will lift us up, hold us up and give us strength to stand firm. It tells us to hold on tight because help is coming directly from the Lord of peace. In tough times, this promise shines like a beacon in the dark, God has not abandoned or forgotten us. Trusting in Him brings an inner strength that nothing else can match. As we lean on His promises to uphold and strengthen our souls with His righteous right hand we grow up in strength and safety.
22nd August 2024
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
If you ever watched any of the Blackadder series you will know the Character Baldrick always has a cunning plan, but the plan is not cunning and will never work. We all make plans, some work, some don’t. This verse speaks directly to us. It tells us that God has a plan, even when life feels chaotic. This plan will and does work. This verse assures us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. That means our daily events and any troubles aren’t pointless, they’re actually part of a bigger picture. Believers can find deep comfort here, knowing their struggles may well serve a divine reason, a bigger plan. It’s about growing through them with the certainty of God’s plan. Through every day, every failure and every sin, this promise remains steadfast, we are being shaped and moulded for something greater, for God’s glory and our ultimate good.
21st August 2024
Luke 11: 34 Your eye is the lamp of your whole body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness.
How do we see ourselves? How do others see us? A good person? Always helpful, caring, hard working or do others see us as loud, uncaring, unhelpful, selfish? People often use that phrase, what you see is what you get, this works on two levels. The no pretence this is who I am level, but also the what you see or look at makes you who you are level. As Christians there should be no pretence, we should be exactly who we are in Jesus, full of light and truth. But if we live life in the shadows and the dark, look at things we should not, allow evil things to go on and watch them happen without making a stand, then that is what we will reflect and we will not be people of the light but of the darkness. Who we are is important, people of honesty, truth, compassion, care and concern. People full of light of peace and love. Yes we will get it wrong sometimes and people will be quick to judge when we do, but who we are is loved completely and utterly by God, and we should make no apologies for who we are in Him. This is me and I am loved completely!
20th August 2024
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
We often refer to things outside our knowledge as supernatural, outside nature as we know it. As Christians sometimes we may witness miracles of healing, intervention or change because the Holy Spirit is supernatural, outside of nature, because The Spirit is God, is Jesus. The Spirit was there when nature as we know it was created and then came in power to live within us at Pentecost. He is ready and waiting right now for us to allow Him to work, to bring all the things Jesus told us about into our lives. But as always, He will never force himself on us. It is our choice whether to accept the gift of the Spirit into our lives or not. It is our choice whether we confine or release the Spirit to work in us BUT to receive the Spirit all we have to do is ask and we will receive!
19th August 2024
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and brings comfort to those who are crushed in spirit.
Are you a dog lover? Do you have pet dogs? In recent years we have seen the growth of wellbeing dogs, of assistant dogs of companion dogs. These animals have the ability to sense distress or illness, warn of difficult situations, bring calmness into a difficult situation. Dogs tend to want to protect, to love, to help and all they ask in return is love and care from us. I find that people are far more relaxed talking to the dog than me. In fact, I sometimes think people forget I am there. The dog gives a totally different feel to meetings with disgruntled students or employees. The dog will also never betray a trust. They let you unburden yourself in safety. We are still recognising the incredible value of God’s creatures, still learning about all they can do and offer. I have seen the real benefit of dogs in people’s lives and sometimes it’s as if God is right there through the presence of one of His beloved creatures. After all His creation bears the mark of the creator.
18th August 2024
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
In the past valleys were seen as places of danger, you could be attacked, there was restricted access and exit. To travel through a valley, especially on your own was seen as dangerous. Therefore, valleys became synonymous with darkness, danger, harm, fear and worry. When we walk through the darkest valleys in life, instead of feeling lost and alone Psalm 23 reminds us we are not alone. It tells us that even when we face deep sadness, worry, harm, even death, we don’t have to be scared. Why? Because our Lord walks beside us every step of the way. His rod and staff are like a shield for protection and a stick to guide, help and defend us, these keep us safe and on the right path. This verse has brought peace to many people in tough times. Reassurance that our loving shepherd is always looking out for us!
17th August 2024
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
What makes you feel peaceful? Walks in the country or listening to music maybe. There are things we do to help ourselves when we need to calm down, take a step away. The Bible reminds us that we will find perfect peace if we trust in the Lord. If we Keep our thoughts, our mind and heart on God and not on everything else then we will find peace in our daily living. We are reminded that the secret to staying calm, no matter what happens, is to focus on God. God’s love can keep us steady, keep us calm, keep us peaceful, even when things around us are confusing and difficult. God invites us to let go of our worries, our frustrations, our confusion and rely on Him fully. Focussing on God means we can face anything with a peaceful heart.
16th August 2024
Matthew 11:28&29 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
We all like a good rest. Sometimes we get really tired, as my nan used to say, bone achingly tired, and we need to sleep and just rest for a while. Jesus understood this and told us that when we are tired and even when not, come to Jesus, and we will find rest for our soul. This promise stands out as a beacon of hope for those weighed down and tired out by life’s burdens. He understands our struggles and offers a path to peace that is gentle and kind. His humble heart makes this invitation even more powerful because it feels like we’re being called by someone who truly gets us. Picture a friend with open arms, ready to comfort us after a long, hard day; that’s the kind of comfort Jesus presents here. Tired? Worn out? Jesus says “come.” It’s not just about finding somewhere to sit back; it’s about receiving peace deep within our being, peace that strengthens, soothes, and reassures us no matter what life throws at us.
15th August 2024
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Did you know you can get a sensor that goes off as a dog barking when anyone comes to your door. It has been designed to put off people who might be thinking about scamming you or even breaking in. Research shows that the sound of a loud dog bark will put people off. This verse is a bit like that for Christians. Instead of a dog barking we have the protection of God with us. He is always there to help. We have the best protection ever, God. Many folks find peace just by thinking about these words. They imagine standing strong with God right beside them, strong and ready to face anything! It allows us to have a confidence not in ourselves but in God. It gives us hope that we face nothing alone, that even when things look grim, we do not face them alone but with God by our side, around us, within us, above and below us. Protected and blessed.
14th August 2024
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
As we grow and learn what we take in then goes out to others. We are an interactive species. As the Holy Spirit is within us it witnesses to us and then through us, it gives testimony to us and then through us, it brings knowledge to us and then through us. The Spirit will prick our conscience, challenge us about things in our lives, bring change within us but will also renew us, stand by us as a companion and comforter. He offers us direction, leads us, guides us, corrects us. He brings to our mind the scriptures and teaching of Jesus. He offers prophecy, power, inspiration. He enables us to speak up and to pray when we just have no words. To sit with us when we are alone and upset. He reveals things to us we need, brings things into our minds and hearts. He teaches us, brings us understanding and is everything we need from God Father, Son and Holy Spirit to live our lives as effective Christians.
13th August 2024
Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
We often talk about someone who knows us well. Our family, our partner, someone who knows more about us than most people do. The Holy Spirit really knows the deepest us, knows what we keep hidden, what we really think and feel, our deepest thoughts and fears. This Holy Spirit offers us wisdom and discernment, it allows head knowledge to become heart knowledge. The Spirit within us means we are never alone, never without God’s presence. Even in our deepest, darkest moments the Spirit is right there, with us. There is nothing and nowhere we can hide from the Holy Spirit.
12th August 2024
1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
When life is difficult, we really appreciate someone who is on our side, standing up for us. Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit is just that, our Advocate. That means the Spirit physically supports us and stands up for us; the Advocate putting the case on our behalf, another word is Parakletos. The Holy Spirit is a defender, a comforter, intercessor, assistant, counsellor, helper, strengthener, supporter. One who pleads our cause to God and God’s cause to us. The Spirit does all this by empowering us with gifts. Gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, courage, knowledge, piety, faith, reverence, authority, awe, comfort, teaching, hospitality. The Spirit adds His voice and presence to ours.
11th August 2024
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
What are you like when you are given a present? Do you excitedly rip it open? Do you put it to one side to look at later? Do you never really bother to open it? When God sent the Holy Spirit, it was a gift for everyone, and like any gift we can choose to accept it or not. We can receive it and then do nothing with it, never really engaging with it, or we can receive it and use it to help make our lives and the lives of others better. This Spirit can work in us as a still small voice, a whisper, sometimes gentle, spoken of as a dove in the gospels, and sometimes very powerful, the strong wind, the tongues of fire which can come upon us.
10th August 2024
Galatians 5:22&23a But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Most of us eat fruit in our diet, the fruit that comes from healthy living trees and bushes. It is produced because the tree or bush is strong and healthy and growing well. The Holy Spirit within us also produces fruit. If the Spirit is living within us and we are growing well, then we will exhibit this fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We don’t always show all these things, we are human, we sometimes get it wrong, but with the Spirit in us we are able to tap into His strength to produce these fruits. To be more patient or loving, or peaceful or good, or kind or even more joyful!
9th August 2024
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Some days I hear myself saying I just want some peace. When life is incredibly busy and I haven’t had a moment for myself or the family, I long for some peace and quiet, just to be me. I would suggest this is the same for all of us. Whether it’s that 5-minute cuppa, or that 10-minute prayer time, or a few minutes in the garden. We are reminded that Jesus gives us a special peace unlike anything the world can offer. This peace calms our minds and hearts. Jesus was getting ready to leave his disciples, but He didn’t want them to worry or be scared. So, He promised them and us the kind of peace that lasts forever. A peace that the world can’t offer or understand. We can hold on to this promise too. Even when things get tough, when life seems so busy, we don’t have to be troubled or fearful, we can know that Jesus left us with a gift, His peace. It’s like a lasting legacy for everyone who follows him.
8th August 2024
Genesis 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
God created us all with internal reserves of physical, emotional and spiritual energy, but we need frequent recharging or we’ll wear ourselves out. The older we are the more this is necessary. After we’ve spent our energy, we must rest and become recharged and renewed. How can we love ourselves and others when we are always going and doing and not pausing for rest? If we aren’t rested and well, how can we do well for the people we serve? The ongoing toil of doing God’s work in our world calls for getting away from time to time to reflect, to renew, and to spend time just being with family, being ourselves and being with God.
7th August 2024
John 6:30 So they said to him, what sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
Jesus was often asked about signs. Not signs you can touch, but something that would prove to people that Jesus really had come from God. Jesus had just fed 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. That was a clear sign showing that Jesus was from God, but the people totally missed it. As long as they got fed that’s all that mattered. Jesus kept healing people, doing miracles but even that didn’t seem to be enough proof. The people wanted even more signs; even more proof. How much proof do we need? God keeps working, things keep happening but we just don’t want to see. Miracles are around us every day, we need to open our eyes.
6th August 2024
Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Have you ever had need of help, for anything? Of course, we all have. Help to move things, get shopping, fix the car, change the light bulb, finding our way, medication from the doctor. We need one another no matter how independent we are. But when it come to asking for help concerning well being or mental health many of us shy away. We all need help sometimes, no matter who we are. There are relaxation techniques, suggestions on how to shift the tone of feeling by the language we use, ideas on setting aside worry time, worry trees, making plans, focusing on the present, breathing techniques, yoga, mindfulness, meditation, with apps and videos to help. There are also people to talk to, people who won’t judge but will want to help. Because of my faith I often use prayer when I am worried, I also find the positivity of thankfulness for all the good things helps put the worry in perspective. The most important thing is that God does not want us to cope alone. He is there for us and He has given us each other to help one another.
5th August 2024
Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began teaching them many things.
Even if we take time for a break, sometimes the demands on our time do not cease. The Scottish Poet Robbie Burns said, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” Once in full time ministry Jesus belonged to the people, and the crowds followed Him wherever He went. Even when He tried to take time away and pray or rest, they would search Him out. Despite His own weariness, Jesus ministered to the needy crowds because He saw they were lost, as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ compassion came to the fore, He reached out to the crowd by teaching and organising them, speaking for them and feeding them. BUT, He left them free to choose whether they believed He was the Messiah or just a miracle worker who fed them for free. We are all free to choose whether we believe or not.
4th August 2024
John 6:2 A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.
Time and again in the Gospels we meet Jesus ministering to or being followed by a crowd. People that God gave to Jesus for Him to look after. The crowds that followed Jesus were just like any crowd today, there were full of all sorts of people. Women and men, mums and dads, boys and girls, friends and neighbours, visitors from the country or from another country. There were people who knew Jesus and others who didn’t, there were people who were baptised and others who weren’t, some people knew the ten commandments while others had no idea, there were people who were tired, and others who were hungry. Jesus cares for everyone, no ifs no buts, no excuses. All are loved and cared for by Jesus. What a lesson for us.
3rd August 2024
Phil 4:8 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
These days I hear a lot about journaling. Some courses now require you to journal your thoughts and feelings. Many organisations and helps for depression, anxiety and worry suggest journaling as a way to help balance thoughts and feelings. I have been journaling for years. Using paper to express my feelings and thoughts. To write down my worries and look for ways to work them through. I personally don’t draw but others use pictures as another way to journal. Many of these Thoughts for the Day come from my journaling. Not everyone is comfortable writing or drawing but for those who are it is a way to express how we feel, to tell God what we are struggling with, and to find ways forward because it is in front of us on paper and that makes it a little easier to put into perspective.
2nd August 2024
Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Sometimes we all feel tired, physically, spiritually and mentally. Jesus never allowed His weariness to overwhelm His empathy. He knew He was the last stop for the desperate, pained people. His personal boundaries were less important to Him than His desire to love others. But, as was His example, we are also sent to places where we can get rest and let God heal us and renew us. Then we can go back out again, refreshed, for another chance to be God’s presence in the world. BUT, while it is vitally important for us to do God’s work, it’s also extremely important for us to take time for rest that we might do the work for God in the best way we can. We must take time to rest, in the day, in the week and sometimes with time away.
1st August 2024
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your worries on the Lord for He cares for you.
When someone just flippantly says, “don’t worry, it’ll be fine”, many of us don’t pay it a second thought, but actually life for so many of us is often a place of worry and anxiety. Worry and anxiety can seem irrational to others but for many of us it is a genuine heavy burden we bear. Being worried, being anxious can have negative effects on our relationships, on our self-esteem, on our physical, emotional and spiritual health. Worrying is disruptive to life and cannot just be dismissed. It needs to be recognised and accepted. In society anxiety and worry are now more readily recognised as conditions which need treatment, which debilitate, and thankfully, much more help is available. The first step for many is to acknowledge the problem, recognise we need some help and then to ask. There are leaflets and apps, just talking to a friend, a priest, a mental health first aider can point us in the right direction. God cares about our worries and concerns and He sends others to help us deal with them.
31st July 2024
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Recently I went to pick up a parcel, surprisingly it had been left at the local pharmacy. The counter staff would not let me have it saying I did not have a code and they could not verify who I was. I had the necessary delivery card and they know exactly who we are. When I politely challenged them for not giving me my parcel, I was accused of being negative, was verbally abused and treated very poorly. I choose to leave as the situation was not a good one. To supplement their income the pharmacy has agreed to become a parcel pick-up point, but they do not have the necessary software in place, they have not been trained in how to do this properly and staff are out of their depth. Pretending to be what we are not, without the training or the background, we are unable to help others, to do the best for them and in stead just alienate and upset them. I did get my parcel in the end but the pharmacy has lost our business because they were so rude and abusive. May others never be turned from God because of our unnecessary rudeness!
30th July 2024
Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”
How Compassionate are you? Be honest, some of us are far more compassionate than others. It is often due to the experiences in our lives. Compassion is not just a feeling inside; it is also something we do. Jesus had to show His followers that compassion is a part of discipleship. We are called to be compassionate. Compassion hits us in the gut and sends us into action for the sake of others. How can we rest when people are homeless, families are starving and children are suffering? We are sent into the world to be the presence of Christ, to be His hands and feet, to show His love and compassion to everyone no matter who they are.
29th July 2024
Proverbs 17:17 True friends love through everything, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.
It is often said that we can choose our friends but we can’t choose our family. That is absolutely true. Family are family whether we like them or not. Can you think of a difficult time in this past year when your friends and family really supported you? Not all families work well but usually they offer love and support when we need it. We need to look around us and think seriously, is there someone, be it friend or family, who needs my support now? Perhaps we have or need to develop strategies for sticking with people through thick and thin, being reminded that it all begins with love. It is love that enables us to stick with it, it is love that means we support one another, it is love that means we do not give up.
28th July 2024
Mark 6:56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
The gospels are full of examples of Jesus’ compassion. Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, helping the lost, it was a powerful part of His ministry to the ordinary people. Today, we also live in a world full of people who are hungry, sick, hurting and in need of God’s love, grace and forgiveness. Our compassion is a powerful part of our ministry. Our kind words, our smile and our help can make all the difference in people’s lives. We can offer a place of refuge from the difficulties of people’s lives just by being compassionate. If compassion is not our strong point, then we need to ask God to help us, to give us that compassion so can we love others as He loves them.
27th July 2024
Ephesians 4:2-3 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.
How good are you at getting on with people? If we are honest some people are just harder to get along with than others. What is it we find hard about getting on with others? That they are not like us or they don’t hold the same values, or we just find them annoying. Based on the requirements of this verse there are things we need to change. We need to be humble, gentle and patient people and that can be a challenge, and we also need to decide if it is worth making the effort and why that might be. It might help us to look at which are our strongest relationships and why they are strong and then work a bit harder at bearing with one another in love.
26th July 2024
Psalm 23:2&3a He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
I expect you have heard of Aesop, the great moral story teller. He would take time to play with the children and tell them stories. Asked why he wasted time with children he responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string and placing it on the ground. Aesop explained, “If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you need it.” All of us need to get away for a break, a rest, from time to time, take time to play, to slacken the grip life has on us. Some people really have a hard time doing that. They think they have to take their phones and laptops so that they can check their voice mail and email, and maybe even catch up on unfinished work. This is not taking a rest! If we do not rest then we will eventually break.
Apologies, loss of internet for a couple of days.
23rd July 2024
Isaiah 32: 15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest.
When you look at your life today, what’s different compared to your life a year ago, three, five, twenty years ago? In what ways have you changed? Have your values changed, the things that guide and direct your life? Are your priorities different? Has your spirituality changed? Your concerns for the world and others? What troubles your soul and breaks your heart these days? What seeds have germinated and taken root in you? What new sprouts are coming up in you? Where is growth taking place and what does that look like? When I look back on my life I can see qualitative changes for the better. My passion for justice, peace, and the wellbeing of others has grown in ways I can’t explain. My guess is that each of you could say similar things about aspects of your life. The important thing is we recognise that God is at work and we have and are changing.
22nd July 2024
Mark 6:31b Jesus said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Jesus recognised that we need to take time off regularly to get caught up on our rest. His disciples had just returned from a long and exhausting ministry trip, so He instructed them to “come aside…and rest awhile”. The disciples needed to centre themselves, to eat a proper home-cooked meal, to be in communion with God and to process. Jesus knew that in order to do this, He and His disciples had to take a break, to take care of themselves if they were going to take care of other people. If you hear nothing else today, hear this; God wants us to come aside and rest a while.
21st July 2024
1 Peter 5:8 Be watchful. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist, stay firm in your faith.
I have only ever seen a lion in real life in the zoo. I have several pictures of lions and I think they are majestic creatures. I also like to watch documentaries about them and often see traits in my own domestic cat. In reality I would never want to be anywhere near one, especially when it was on the prowl, hunting and then roaring. We respect that these creatures are wild and will kill for food. They have no concept of why a human is not just meat for the taking. The Bible refers to the enemy as a roaring lion, in other words the enemy must be respected for what they are, recognised for the damage they will inflict if they get their claws into us. The nature of wrongdoing is such that it will inflict terrible injury and even death be that physical or spiritual. We protect ourselves from Lions by not being where they are, by not wandering into their space. So, it is with us and the enemy, don’t go where they are, don’t wander into their space, have respect for what they can do and act accordingly. Remember that holding tight to our faith, to God, we will not wander into those places of danger and if ever we are called to stand firm God will provide the strength and protection we need if we let Him.
20th July 2024
Psalm 139:13 You formed me in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I was talking to a friend the other day and I said “you cannot ever put a price on life”. It made me stop and think how easily life is taken for granted and how easily it is taken from those society choses to see as expendable and worthless. Thousands dying of starvation across the globe is easily ignored, after all, they are not like us. Thousands dying in conflicts and wars, not really our problem we think. Yet, every human being is precious, formed within our mother’s womb, created and known by God. How do we recognise that preciousness in ourselves and in others? Firstly, by taking better care of them and us. We need to think about how we can take better care of ourselves and others, even more than we do now. Why not note down some things you can do to take better care of your precious self, and precious others, better. When we hear of the deaths of others, unknown to us maybe, but still precious to God, they should be recognised and grieved as God's precious ones by us.
19th July 2024
Mark 4:33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
The reality, as Jesus describes it in the parables, is that there is a energy about our lives, a spirit moving within us. Every one of us has been seeded and something is growing within us. Sometimes we don’t see it, believe it, or trust it. But it’s there. Sometimes we wait years hoping, looking, and wondering when, and then one day we see the first green blade rise up. Other times we wake up one day and are surprised by what has changed within us. How did that happen, we ask? Jesus uses everyday images from gardening or farming to talk about our lives. His parables are often metaphors for the way God works in our lives. It’s meant to be an encouragement and to offer hope. We may not always see it but God is always at work if we let Him.
18th July 2024
Matthew 9:12 Jesus said “ it is not those who are healthy that need a doctor, but those who are sick”
Today is a very special day, today we attend our son’s graduation followed by the rights of passage at St Paul’s cathedral. His life long desire to become a doctor has come to fruition. When I cradled this little boy, read books with him, said prayers each night, took him to school and watched him grow saying he wanted to be a doctor all we ever hoped and prayed was that he would be happy and safe in God’s care. Today we get to thank God in St Paul’s Cathedral for the story of his life thus far and to commit him into God’s hands as he starts his career caring for all God’s people when they are ill. I don’t think God minds that we are a little proud today. All of us are called in different ways but we are all called to be the best we can be for God in those different callings as we serve others.
17th July 2024
Mark 5:34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
The woman in this passage had tried the best money could buy to be healed and yet was slowly dying in agony. Jairus wanted the best for his seriously ill daughter, of course he did. They had both been misled, lied to, they had lost faith in society and leaders but they found faith in Jesus . Many of us have lost faith in society and leaders, so, maybe we need to ask ourselves what are our priorities? Do they need to change? We want the best for our loved ones, of course we do. Most of us are comfortable, thank God, but where is the balance between our abundance and the need of others, or the abundance of some and the genuine need of many. Fairness for all must be our priority, living well together and fairly. That is God’s priority for us, life in all its fullness for everyone not just the wealthy few.
16th July 2024
2 Corinthians 8:14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
What I see in my own life and in others is that big events in life like birth, marriage, death, illness, disability cause our priorities to change. The church sees many young parents bring children for baptism to experience what they had. From loving or hating school ourselves we want the best education for our children and grandchildren. We want the best care for our loved ones in times of crisis and we know it can happen. In becoming so fixated on wealth, society and governments lose sight of ordinary people. They become out of touch with ordinary people. Their values and priorities become more selfish. St Paul reminds us that we should each share in the care and provision of one another, that when we have more and share that with those in need, others will share with us in our need when they have more. That way there will be fairness.
15th July 2024
John 7:5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
How do you get along with your family? I often meet families who are angry at each other, don’t talk to one another, siblings who have shunned each other because of various reasons like finance, marriages, arguments and so on. We can’t choose our family; family members can be hard to get along with when they hold differing ideas and values. Yet, we are family and family should look after each other. Sadly Jesus family was also a troubled one. His own brothers did not believe in Him, in fact they tried to get Him into trouble from the word go by making Him a public figure before He was ready. They taunted Him, they questioned His sanity, they tried to stop Him because they did not want to bring embarrassment upon themselves. When families have issues, Jesus knows exactly what we are going through, He’s been there too. We need to remember that even though they treated Him badly He did not do the same to them. Instead He loved and supported them. We too, owe a debt to our families and even in the difficult times we need to ask for patience and love to be a good family member.
14th July 2024
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
As much as we try to push it aside, we all worry. Worry about money, family, illness, job security, mortgages, bills and so it goes on. We all worry to a greater or lesser extent depending on our character and upbringing. The trouble with worry is that it drains us, often pushes us further into more worry and becomes a cycle. Although an element of worry or concern is necessary in life to keep us from doing things that endanger us, the pressures of present-day life have burdened us more and more. When we are told not to worry in the Bible it is not unrealistic but rather about trusting God with the basics of life. Accepting that God provides the necessary for life but we have over complicated it with our structures and bias. God’s provision is there for us daily, it is us who have overcomplicated it by wanting more and more and accepting less as failure and then worrying about it.
13th July 2024
Mark 9:15 When the crowd saw Him they were filled with awe and rushed to him.
When do you rush? When you’re late? When you’re excited to see someone? When you are filled with joy over something? In the Bible this verse tells us that the crowd rushed to Jesus when they saw Him. An argument was happening and they rushed to Jesus, when healing was needed they rushed to Jesus, when food was needed they rushed to Jesus. When Jesus needed them they turned their backs. When we want something Jesus and God are our first port of call. Our prayers easily become shopping lists of wants. We are told to pray and to seek and to ask but we are also called to praise, worship and thank God, to stand up for Him in the world. Of course God is concerned for our needs, He makes that very clear, but our faith and life is also a calling about what we can do for others. As people came to Jesus can they come to us? Will we be God’s voice, God’s love and care, God’s hands to others? Are we the reason others find and come to Jesus?
12th July 2024
Mark 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
At some point in our lives people have made fun of us. Their reasons may be improper, nasty and rude and they may just be bullies, but it hurts. The Bible says some of the people in the synagogue began to make fun of Jesus. Who does He think He is? They ask where does He get this wisdom and the power to do miracles? Then they challenge His parentage, His family and His occupation. Isn't this the carpenter they shout. They were offended by the teachings of Jesus and refused to believe in Him, because He wasn’t like them and they did not like to be shown up. That can happen to us as well. Think of a time when you were rejected, turned away, made fun of. Think about how that made you feel. People will reject us because we are different, or believe different things. They will reject us because we advocate for justice and fairness. God will never reject us as we try to become better people.
11th July 2024
James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
My family know that I am not always very patient. I do like to see things happening as they should and find it difficult when I am told that these things are testing my faith and making me a better person. James tells us to see our difficult times as chances for joy and strength. These verses push us to stay strong even when life gets tough. Telling us that staying steady, patient and strong through troubles helps us grow. God, it says, uses our struggles to work good in our lives, making us more patient and complete. Perhaps we need to think of challenges like exercise for our faith muscles. Just as lifting weights builds physical strength and muscles, facing trials head-on can build spiritual endurance, spiritual muscles. This verse isn’t just saying we’ll get through the hard times, it’s actually promising that we’ll come out better on the other side if we lean into faith and do not give up. Trusting God during these times fills us with a unique joy, a joy of strength and perseverance, which prepares us for anything life throws our way.
10th July 2024
Mark 6:2a When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
Do you feel welcome when you go to church? I hope so! I hope you have friends to meet with and encourage you. If Jesus were to walk into our churches today, do you think He would feel welcome? Jesus went to the synagogue, the Jewish place of worship, in His hometown. He had already healed many people and even raised a young girl from the dead. On the Sabbath, the holy day of rest, Jesus would always go to the synagogue. There is a lesson here for us about attending church regularly. Jesus began teaching, and many who were there were amazed at what they heard. They didn’t know that Jesus had so much wisdom and power. Do we know how much wisdom and power Jesus has? Do we recognise who Jesus is? He wasn’t welcomed by everyone. Is He welcome in our lives?
9th July 2024
1 Timothy 6:10a For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
St Paul reminds us that the love of money is the root of all evil. Not money itself, but the love of it. When money is the priority evil ensues. The problem is whenever money becomes the narrative then all else is side-lined and cut in order to make the most profit, this means people do not flourish and do not live well or fairly. We are currently witnessing the Post Office Scandal where to maximise profit people’s lives were ruined. Billions have been put into tax havens and no tax paid. Those with wealth hide it away and hang onto it while cutting staff, using zero hours contracts and paying below the minimum wage. We all need money to live but if that is all we want, all we work for, then God is not in us.
8th July 2024
Psalm 34:18 "The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Sometimes we describe ourselves as having a heavy heart. We are burdened by someone or something, we cannot understand why something has happened and we feel lost and down hearted. The Psalms speak often of how God is there for heavy hearted people who are sad and hurting. Life will sometimes bring tough days, or weeks or even months, but this Psalm reminds us we’re not alone. The Lord understands our pain and stands close by, ready to help. He sees every tear we cry and hears when we call for comfort. The Psalms so often picture God as a friend giving a reassuring hug during the hard times. Here it promises that even if our spirits feel crushed, God’s loving presence can lift us up again. Remembering these words can give us peace when everything else seems dark and scary. We find hope knowing the Lord saves those in distress and heals broken hearts with His endless love and compassion.
7th July 2024
Wisdom 1:13 God did not make death, and he does not delight in the destruction of the living.
In the Bible passage about Jairus Daughter, Luke 15, Jairus had it all, the wealth, the power, the status, but his daughter was dying. The sick, reclusive woman had the basics, the rest had been taken by big promises and charlatans and she was constantly ill and considered an outcast. Both would have known the teaching of Solomon that God does not delight in the death of the living, that God did not make death. Both, facing illness and death, have faith in Jesus! Both believe Jesus can work the miracle for them. I am a firm believer in miracles. I have seen a few over the years, witnessed many Godincidences. I am also a believer in God given gifts in order for us to live well and fairly together. Doctors, nurses, carers, teachers, police, corner shop owners, street cleaners, rubbish collectors, gardeners…. When we all use what we have to help one another the biggest miracle occurs. We all benefit and we are all blessed. God does not want anyone to suffer, neither should we.
6th July 2024
Daniel 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
As we woke up to the election results there was a sense of hope, that at last we might see some of the promised integrity and honesty, some of the compassion and empathy, some of the genuine interest in, and action for, those in need, in poverty, with special needs. Hope is something we long for, it allows us to keep going even when everything seems lost. We are given a renewed strength and energy to keep going. When things begin to change the work is not done, new work begins, promises need to be kept and fulfilled. Whoever you voted for, this new government works for all. Never be frightened to challenge or disagree, never be frightened to express an opposite view but always do so with respect. Democracy is always fragile and must be treated with respect and safeguarded. We had a safe and orderly change of government, may it always be so and may we always fight to protect it, taking seriously our right and responsibility to vote.
5th July 2024
Mark 5:23 Jairus pleaded with Him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
What is being rich, wealthy or well off? We will all have our views on this. In Mark 5 Jairus is well off, he has status, he is an important religious leader BUT his daughter’s life is his real wealth. All the rest means nothing. The woman in the story is poor, mistreated, low in society, lied to and misled; for her richness was being healed, just being able to live a normal life. Richness is about what really matters! Not money. The poorest of people can live very rich lives. So, we need to examine what or who really matters to us? Is it family, friends, house, status, health? What are our priorities?
4th July 2024
Matthew 20:13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a fair days wage?”
You may have noticed recently that many wealthy and powerful people have made a lot out of working hard for their money, they make it sound as if the rest of us don’t work hard otherwise we would be rich too. That is rubbish. Most of these people come from money and are completely out of touch with normal people on an average or below wage, paying huge bills and mortgage costs. When a doctor is only earning £15 an hour but these people want £10,000 an hour for consulting, it shows just how out of touch they are. God’s view is that everyone should be living a good life, being paid a fair wage for their work, not trampling on another to gain for themselves; but rather sharing what we have with one another so no one suffers or loses out. Material possessions are great but if that is what is most important to us, if that is our priority, then we are not living as God intended and that needs to change!
3rd July 2024
Mark 4:28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.
Jesus often spoke of our lives as being like a garden that has been planted with seeds. It takes time, water and food, and a lot happens underground, hidden within the soil of our lives. There’s a lot of waiting, and then one day something sprouts and begins to grow, “first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain appears.” Something is always going on. Parables give us our work to do. They offer a different lens through which to see ourselves, others, and the world. God uses them to show us things about our life and the world which need our attention. What will we do with what we see? Celebrate and give thanks? Water, fertilize, prune, pull some weeds? Will we make the changes that God is asking us to?
2nd July 2024
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Currently the average teen, early 20’s person prioritises celebrity, status, money, big house, good car, designer clothes, big holidays and a top job. The average 20’s/30’s prioritises home, family, holidays, bills, good job, security. The average 40’s/50’s prioritises family, health, home, bills, helping their children, job security, holidays. Most 60’s up prioritises health, home, family, fair living standard, helping children and grandchildren, a good retirement. In this election people’s main priorities are the NHS, Cost of Living, mortgage costs and bills. God’s priority for all of us is that we have life in all its fulness or abundance. As part of that full life, we should want the best for others not just ourselves. The best is not about wealth or status but about love, life and happiness
1st July 2024
Mark 12:31 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
One of the joys of being a school chaplain is the diversity of the school, a place where everyone can flourish. All places of education should be places where everyone can flourish and that is central to the Church of England’s Vision for Education. Good, healthy environments are inclusive because we recognise and appreciate more and more the unique and different individuals, we all are. Friendships and relationships are not about rules and societal views but about love, just love. Everyone should be seen for who they are, and each one of us should see, accept and support one another as we are. God made each of us who we are, unique, wonderful and special individuals and we should be proud of who we are. We should not only love ourselves as God loves us but also love one another as we love ourselves. There is nothing greater, nothing better.
30th June 2024
Mark 12:31 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
One of the joys of being a school chaplain is the diversity of the school, a place where everyone can flourish. All places of education should be places where everyone can flourish and that is central to the Church of England’s Vision for Education. Good, healthy environments are inclusive because we recognise and appreciate more and more the unique and different individuals we all are. Friendships and relationships are not about rules and societal views but about love, just love. Everyone should be seen for who they are, and each one of us should see, accept and support one another as we are. God made each of us who we are, unique, wonderful and special individuals and we should be proud of who we are. We should not only love ourselves as God loves us but also love one another as we love ourselves. There is nothing greater, nothing better.
29th June 2024
John 5:27 God has given Him authority to execute judgement because He is The Son of Man.
Many of our surnames came about from the jobs our ancestors did or as the name of the son of. My surname came from ab Owen, ab meaning son of Owen which was then shortened to Bowen. Cooper comes from barrel making, Knight from heraldry, Smith from black smiths, and so on. Names are important so when Jesus called himself the Son of Man, this meant something. He uses the term more than 80 times in the 4 Gospels. In it’s simplest form it means human, Jesus is both human and divine. It alludes to Daniel’s prophecy about the Messiah who will save the world. He is born of the divine Spirit and birthed by human Mary. He knows human weakness, compassion and empathy. He is the first born son of God and Mary and the firstborn was redeemed to the priesthood in Judaism. The first born was also the inheritor who would carry on the father’s vision, the work of the father. As Son of Man Jesus shows all that humans were meant to be from creation. Our judgement is impaired by our sinful nature, Jesus judgement is perfect because He was without sin. Fully human, fully divine, He is the ultimate judge who understands what life is like for us.
28th June 2024
John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
We watch our children and then perhaps our grandchildren grow. We see them make mistakes, relationships go wrong, exams and studies work them hard, they chose a life for themselves. We forget that we are also still growing every day. We chose a life for ourselves. Our relationship with God should be one of growth. Often our young ones don’t listen to us and often we do not listen to God BUT we need to listen to God’s voice, to hear Him; growth is needed in that area for us to hear clearly. Communication is the key. God speaks to us as we read the Bible, as we pray and through others. We talk to God as we share our feelings and needs and thank him for all He is doing. We talk and share with one another, in the church, in our Christian family, we give and receive encouragement, we give and receive help. We share that love, compassion and concern shown to us, to others who don’t know Jesus yet. As our lives change through our relationship with God so others see the change in us, they see our genuine, honest love and care for them and may often be curious as to why. As Christians we will want to listen to God, want to respond to Him, want to work with others to share His love through practical and creative ways.
27th June 2024
Mark 4:26 The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground.
“It is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,” Jesus says. And I wonder, who are those someone’s in your life? Who has scattered seeds on the ground of your life? And what were those seeds? Who are the people that have loved and encouraged you, offered wisdom and guidance for your life, spoken difficult truths that changed your life? Who are the ones that gave you hope, stood by you, helped you find yourself? In what ways did they offer you a place to put down roots, find stability, and get your life in order? Who has awakened you and opened your eyes to see the world, others, and yourself differently? Who has inspired and mentored you? Let me encourage you to think about these people, perhaps a word of thanks, a recognition of their love, support and friendship. That word of thanks may itself be a seed planted in another’s life.
26th June 2024
Deuteronomy 5:13&14a Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.
In Deuteronomy the people were reminded about the commandments, particularly about keeping the Sabbath holy. It is very clear that everyone, all people whether slaves, servants or free, rich and poor, as well as animals, must be given time to rest, time to be with family and time to worship God. BUT some religious leaders took this law too seriously, so fixated were they on the letter of the law that a person could not do a good thing like healing someone or feeding the hungry because it was the Sabbath. This is not what God meant! It is never wrong to do good, even on the Sabbath. God created humans, God gave the law, Jesus is the Son of God, part of the Trinity, there at creation, therefore Jesus knows exactly what the laws means and how God's first and foremost concern is people, the humans He created.
25th June 2024
Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
I like reliability, I like to be early for things, to turn up when I said I would, no excuses. I really struggle with people who don’t. This makes me wonder about how good are my friends? Do they constantly let me down? Not turn up, run late? Sometimes we do need to think about how good are our friends? Do they help us, or is it only us helping them? Do they stick up for us or do they actually get us into trouble? Getting in with the wrong people can ruin our life. Once we are involved and invested with people it is really hard to walk away, and yet if someone is bringing us down, we must think seriously about our friendships, our relationships, are there some we need to challenge or change? Jesus is our truest example of a good friend, may we be more like Him in our friendships and relationships.
24th June 2024
Ezekiel 17:5 Then he took a seed from the land, placed it in fertile soil; a plant by abundant waters, he set it like a willow twig.
Have you ever thought about how you and I can be seed scatterers in the lives of others? When we have put another’s interest before our own. Those who we have encouraged, loved, reached out to in compassion. When we have sat with someone in their grief, and when we have spoken out and worked for justice. You and I have shared with someone else the seed that we are. We may not always recognise it but we do it. Take a look at your life and see the many ways you are being a seed, planting God’s love into the life of another and be encouraged.
23rd June 2024
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Most of us are happy to walk out in the daytime, most pavements are good and ways from place to place are obvious. If you walk official footpaths, you will know many are now restricted, have been fenced off and are not well kept. How well do you know the paths you take? Are there places where a torch or lamp would be beneficial? Especially at night time. Light allows us to move around in relative safety, even so, many of us do not look where we are going. We assume all is okay and there is no pothole, kerb or lamppost to worry about. Perhaps we need to concentrate more on where we are going and how we get there. God’s word is a guide for our life, a light for our path as we journey on day after day.
22nd June 2024
Luke 6:43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
We grow up knowing that grapes come from vines, apples from apple trees, oranges from orange trees, strawberries from plants etc. We also know that good strong, healthy trees, plants and vines produce good healthy fruit. Jesus often uses nature to show us about faith. Here we learn that when we are good strong, healthy people of faith, when we grow and look after ourselves, then we too will produce good fruit, we will be good people. Sadly, if we are people who do not care, who use others, hurt others and do and say bad things then we will not grow but decline, become diseased and damaged. How we behave and are as people comes from our heart, that is who we truly are. If our heart is God’s then we are good, healthy people. If not then what we do and say comes from a bad place and that needs changing.
21st June 2024
1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
As our boys grew up Gareth and I tried to give them all the tools they needed in life. As they learned to drive, voted for the first time, had relationship break ups, worked for exams and went to university, we longed for them to find their place, their happiness and their role. As parents we have a sense of duty, doing what we think will make life the best for them, but they must learn to make their own decisions; not from our telling them but from the example we set them. We cannot and must not force our children to find the right way, but we can support them, model life to them and pray for them. We are very proud of our sons; of the men they have become and are becoming. I see the compassion and honesty we modelled to them. Ultimately, we have to trust God for their growth. As Christians, we entrust ourselves and each other to God, to His work and preparation in lives. We trust the Holy Spirit to model, to support, to strengthen lives into the right way of God. The one who calls us is faithful, we too must be faithful to trust Him with ourselves, our families and each other.
20th June 2024
Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
In history churches were places of refuge, somewhere a person could go and not be targeted or chased. They were places of safety. In some places of the world this is still the way. Sadly, many do not respect this tradition. For those who need to leave dangerous and abusive relationships there are places called a refuge. Nahum tells us that God is our ultimate refuge. A place of light in dark times God offers peace to all who are troubled. The LORD is the best place to hide when life gets hard. He knows those who lean on Him, and brings them security, comfort and hope. When trouble is brewing like the dark storm clouds on the horizon. We don’t have to face them alone because God is our secure fortress. He sees us seeking shelter and wraps us safely in His powerful, loving protective arms.
19th June 2024
Ezekiel 7:23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar.
If we think of our lives in terms of growth and bearing fruit there must be areas of barren ground that are waiting to be seeded and planted within our lives. Take a few moments to think about what is sprouting and growing in your life today. Let yourself be encouraged by what is flourishing and blossoming in your life and the areas where there is new growth. Maybe your concern for what is happening in our world is being challenged. Maybe there’s a growing compassion for those in need blossoming within you. Maybe you have a new vision for who you are and how you want to live your life for God. God is waiting to bless us, to strengthen and encourage us into growth but we have to be willing for that to happen.
18th June 2024
Isaiah2:4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
The longest border between countries in our world lies between the USA and Canada. It goes on for over five and a half thousand miles. Along this border trees are cut down and stone markers placed to create a very clear border and people know exactly where they are. This border not only separates land but also culture and government, different freedoms and belief. We hear constantly about controlling our borders, countries go on about sovereignty, leaders try to take land from others through wars, and yet can we imagine a world without division, without conflict? God promises time and again that He will bring unity, He will judge between the nations, He will deal with the disunity across the world and bring peace. It is hard to imagine this when we dispute borders and treat migrants with such disrespect, but Isaiah had a clear vision of a future where God would unite the nations, heal the divisions, stop the wars and gather all together as one. It may be hard to imagine but it is what God promises.
17th June 2024
Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
I don’t fly, past experiences have kept my feet firmly on the ground, but yet I love aerial photography, seeing incredible land features from the air. One of my favourite books is Tim Peaks “Hello, is this planet Earth?” His photographs taken from the space station. It just put things in perspective. Imagine feeling as strong and free as an eagle soaring in the sky! Nothing holding you back! Seeing everything clearly below you and moving through the sky with ease and confidence. This is how we can feel when we hope and rely on the Lord. We may face storms, we may struggle in daily life, life may well be good, but God’s promise is to carry us through it all. This verse promises us peace and comfort. It tells us that God gives power to the weak and those who trust in Him find fresh energy and strength, helping us to rise above weariness with ease.
16th June 2024
Isaiah 58:10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
We need to take seriously our opportunity to change things, to challenge the unfairness and to challenge the misinformation and lies we are being told. The people who died at Normandy on D Day gave their lives for our freedom, our freedom to choose change, freedom to challenge and expect an honest answer. Freedom from division and hatred. Jesus own death was for our freedom to live honest, caring and compassionate lives and to make sure the hungry are fed, the sick, elderly and disabled are cared for and people have the simple basics they need to live a normal life. Whatever we may think or feel about this coming election we owe it to those who gave their lives for our freedoms to use our vote and use it wisely.
15th June 2024
Romans 16:17: I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
Division, conflict and suffering have been around since the garden of Eden, where humans turned away from God and division crept into everything. This division and inner conflict is a major part of today’s world and each of our lives. The result of nations and people being divided offers us the vitriolic politics we are seeing, and the growing number of wars, taking another people’s land because they are not the same as us, jealousy and hatred ensues. A divided economy has given us poverty, poor health and massive injustice. Once the community is divided it becomes individualistic and tribal, prejudice and aggression abound, anonymous persecution happens through social media. Humanity divided makes sure the few prosper at the cost of the rest. The old phrase divide and conquer still resonates and still works. Lord help us not to be divided but unified in you.
14th June 2024
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Human history, from before Jesus, through His time on earth and ever since has experienced dictatorships, corrupt governments, rich overlords, where the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Today our media is run by rich people who will cast any story to make themselves look good and earn them more influence, wealth and power. Those who question and challenge are removed, silenced, discredited. Jesus was killed because He came for the ordinary people. Because He challenged the status Quo. Giving instead of taking, serving instead of ordering, loving instead of hating, always treating the other with respect. That is the real world we should strive for.
13th June 2024
Judges 18:6 “Go in peace,” the priest replied. “For the LORD is watching over your journey.”
When I leave someone or say goodbye to someone, I say God bless; I am wishing God’s love and protection upon them in life and as they journey on. This verse makes it clear that God is watching over each of us as we journey through life and that He wants us to live in peace, without worry. How does it make you feel to know God watches over our journeys? I hope it reassures you and gives you peace. We can ask ourselves how careful and prepared we are for the journeys of life and whether we need to be better prepared. God can help us with our planning. Enable us to make improvements and better choices if we commit ourselves to Him in all of life’s journeys and events.
12th June 2024
Mark 3:21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
We hear a lot about gaslighting these days. The ability that some use to persuade people that they are ill or wrong or not seeing what is really happening and taking their control and freedom. This gaslighting was happening even in Jesus’ time, just as it is now. Gaslighting makes sure people are turned against anyone who might make a difference, who will work to make sure the poor are cared for, the hungry are fed, the sick are looked after. Those with power do not wish to relinquish it, those with money just want more, those in charge want only what benefits them. Those who use gaslighting tactics have convinced us that anyone not like us is a danger, that those who are homeless, disabled, sick or poor have brought it upon themselves. This is quite simply not true! Always challenge, always ask questions, never let anyone tell you that you do not understand or that your opinion is not valid.
11th June 2024
Mark 3:22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”
We are currently seeing politicians doing anything to discredit each other. A willingness to lie repeatedly, to misinform, to attack rather than deliver their own policy. Jesus experienced this as He sort to bring help to the poor and needy. He experienced His freedoms being taken because they did not suit the powerful, the rich, the religious leaders. They used phraseology we might ourselves use about someone we disagree with, “are you mad”? we say loudly, we cannot allow you to speak, we need to restrain you, put you away, because you don’t represent the status quo. We cannot allow you to challenge, to change, to make a difference, we must keep you quiet, tell lies about you, spread misinformation and even get your own family to turn against you. Jesus own family listened to the liars rather than to Jesus. We need to be on our guard that we are not misled by lies and misinformation.
10th June 2024
Ezekiel 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?
My son has recently had the experience of visiting the Great Barrier Reef. The pictures I have seen show just how amazing and beautiful this place is. A hive of life and vibrancy. Beautiful colourful species of coral, fish, turtles, a place teaming with life. In recent years our pollution and overworking of the area meant damage and decay to this beautiful place. Yet somehow this wonder of creation is managing to heal itself. God’s creation is made with the ability to heal, we as humans have that ability, skin heals, bone heals, minor cuts heal over and we cannot see a trace. Of course, sometimes regeneration cannot happen, sometimes we damage things so much they cannot heal. God’s creation is regenerative but we are rather good at interfering and spoiling. I am grateful for those who help us heal, who help us recover, who work hard to stop pollution and destruction. God’s world is a wonderful place may we learn to treat it more respectfully and restore it to its rightful glory.
9th June 2024
Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honours God.
It has been an emotional week, if you watched any of the coverage from Normandy in the past week you will have seen people who gave everything for the freedom of our country, for the defence of democracy, fighting so everyone could be free. Fighting for the poor, the women, the men, the slaves, the free, the Jews, the Christians, the Hindu’s, the Muslims, the Sikhs, the Roma, the children, fighting for a better life for all, no matter gender, race, colour or religious belief. Democracy is always fragile, it is fragile now, we are charged with making sure we vote on July 4th, and that we vote not to preserve our status quo but vote to help the poorest, the most vulnerable, those whose lives are already worse than ours and who deserve better. In this way we honour God our maker and we honour those who gave their lives to preserve our freedoms.
8th June 2024
John 15:13 Greater love has no human than this, that they lay down their life for their friends.
How far would you go for a friend? Would you risk your life? Would you cover for them? We heard some amazing stories of friendship from the D Day commemorations, people who were willing to give their lives in service of country and friends on the battlefield. Perhaps it would help you to think about or even note down some things you have done for friends, and things friends have done for you. This helps us evaluate if we are a good friend, if others are good friends to us, or if we seriously need to re-evaluate our friendships. True friends are a blessing and an encouragement. May we be true friends, a blessing and encouragement to them. May we be reminded every day how important friends are so we can take time to grow these treasured relationships.
7th June 2024
Mark 2:27 &28 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus was quite often accused of breaking the laws of Moses, especially the laws regarding the Sabbath. Hungry disciples began to break of some heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw it as breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath? They took the law too far. Jesus reminded them, that the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Jesus noticed that there was a man who had a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, some of the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath. If so, they would accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath. Jesus challenged the Pharisees, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil?" The Pharisees refused to answer him. They couldn’t. How can it ever be wrong to care for and heal people on any day of the week? Jesus healed him. Immediately the Pharisees left to go and meet with Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. We must remember that every day is a day to do good!
6th June 2024
Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
One of things we missed during lockdown was not physically being with people, we lost actual physical presence with one another. Jesus returning to the Father at the ascension is actually about Presence. Through the Ascension, Jesus actually becomes more present to us than He ever could before. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he was fully human, Jesus was confined to the rules of this world, he could only be in one place at one time. He was the Son of God, but he was fully human. And so, he couldn’t be everywhere at all times. After Jesus ascended into heaven, he could be present in a new way, through the Holy Spirit, and in fact he could be present everywhere at all times. The Ascension physically takes Jesus away from us, but only so that He can be present with us in a new way, being everywhere present, in a way that He could not do had He remained on earth.
5th June 2024
Mark 2:24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Sometimes the people who make our laws get a little carried away and pass some very silly laws. There is a city in Arizona where it is illegal to drive a car in reverse. So, how are you supposed to get out of your drive way? In the UK It is illegal to fly a kite in public and it is illegal to carry a plank of wood down the street. I think you will all agree that those are some pretty silly laws, but this is nothing new. Even back when Jesus lived, they had some pretty silly laws, the religious leaders, the Pharisees, were keepers of the law of Moses and they believed that keeping the law was everything. They also believed that their own understanding and teaching about the law was the only correct teaching. There are people like that around us today, they think only they are right and no one else’s ideas count. Jesus knew that people were more important than silly laws, do we?
4th June 2024
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
I subscribe to a group who are trying to return compassion into our politics and on into society as a whole. The blame game has robbed many of compassion for our fellow human beings, giving us instead a society which is all about me and my wealth and power, which is obtained and protected by blaming others and hurting them. God is frequently called a God of Compassion, of mercy and of all comfort. God is always ready to show compassion, to give mercy and love. He comforts us so we can help others who hurt too. His compassion and care reach into our deepest sorrows, lightening even heavy hearts. Think of how a warm hug feels when you’re sad; that’s like God’s compassion and comfort in this verse. He wraps us in peace and gives us strength to face life’s battles. We’re not alone or helpless; we have powerful support from above! Through Christ Jesus, this compassionate comforting presence is always with us, offering unending solace and hope.
3rd June 2024John 17:11b Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
When our boys were young, we would sometimes visit places with a maze. Trying to find our way through, getting lost, meeting a dead end so many times and then back tracking to start again. Finding our way through life can sometimes be like finding our way through a maze. Each day we have to make choices and we don’t always know which way to go. Sometimes we even choose the wrong path, and we have to back up and start over again. Jesus knew that life in this world is difficult. That’s why He prayed for His disciples when it was time for Him to leave this world. He prayed for their and our protection. That’s why He goes and sends His Spirit. Life may not be easy, but with Father, Son and Holy Spirit leading the way, we will always find a way to go.
2nd June 2024
2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
We get so bogged down in trying to explain the Trinity when all we need to see is the relationship, the interaction between God Father, Son and Spirit and us. Remember Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity and how there is place for us around that table, how it invites us in. The Father looks forward, raising his hand in blessing, a movement towards the Son. The hand of the Son points on, around the circle, to the Spirit. We see the movement of life towards us, the Father sends the Son, the Son sends the Spirit, the life flows clockwise around the circle and we complete the circle. As the Father sends the Son, as the Son sends the Holy Spirit, so we are invited and sent to complete the circle of the Godhead with our response. The Spirit touches us, and leads us by ways we may not be aware of into the circle. This is exactly what I am talking about. There is a place for us in the relationship, but it is up to us to take the invitation and join in the cosmic dance that is the Trinity.
1st June 2024
Psalm 62:6 Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
We often use the term solid as a rock, or compare something to being as hard as rock. Rock is considered safe, secure, it is used to make buildings, set foundations, to make safe, stable and secure places to live. Psalms teach us to put all our trust in God. No matter how tough things get, we can lean on Him for security, strength and stability. He is our foundation, our building block. David knew this well when he wrote these words. He faced many enemies who wanted to bring him down. Yet, he stood firm because his hope was not in people or things, it was in the Lord, his rock, and Him alone. Life brings challenges that sometimes feel too big to handle. Sometimes we might feel weighed down and unsure about where to turn. But just like David found peace and security by trusting God, his rock, we can too. Even when our hearts feel heavy with worry or grief, remember that God is a fortress, a rock, a place where we can find security, comfort and rest.
31st May 2024
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
As we approach an election, we will hear a lot about working together to make things better. Many Dioceses now have strap lines about working together. As we are drawn into the relationship of the Trinity we are also drawn into the relationship of the body, the church, together, and then from that communion with each other we are sent back out into the world to call the world back into the relationship with God that was the original idea of creation. This Trinitarian relationship is all about restoring the broken relationship between the Triune Godhead and the people, a way to the New Heaven and Earth of Revelation 21. That is why the final instructions of Christ to us in Matthew 28 are to make disciples of all nations. To bring them back into the relationship. To achieve the human flourishing that God has always wanted us to have.
30th May 2024
Matthew 3:16&17 And when Jesus was baptised, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
As we get older, we do tend to like and strongly defend our own opinion. We become resistant to change and then lose out on the new ideas and theology that are discovered. The approach of seeing the Trinity as a relationship means seeing things differently, seeing God the Father as Being itself, flowing, formless, nothingness, mystery as in the beginning of Genesis and then Christ as the living manifestation of that Being. The Holy Spirit is the Planted Hope, whenever it is missing in us, we are robbed of that inner hope, that life, that joy that keeps us in relationship with the Father. That Spirit cries out in us and draws us into the triune relationship and as such makes us part of the divine nature. We become part of that circle, that wave, that eternal love. We become more like Christ. We become part of the body of Christ on earth all within that relationship.
29th May 2024 (Apologies for a couple of missing days, internet down, now restored)
Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
How good are you at relationships? Let’s face it, we all live in relationship but some are better than others. The Trinity is all about relationship. In simple maths terms one is lonely, two are oppositional, three represent a moving, energetic, and reproductive flow. In the beginning was this relationship, and therein lies our salvation. Father, Son and Spirit were together in Creation, The Son offers himself to keep the relationship intact and with the Spirit draws us into the relationship making us part of the Divine nature and the divine relationship. This is what Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about in John 3 and What St Paul talks of in Romans 8.
28th May 2024
1 john 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
How do you see God? Be honest some of us tend to see God as a stuffy, bearded guy who sits in judgment on us; for others they see God as a kind Santa Claus figure with our personal interests at heart and a bag of goodies for those of us who are good. Many see God as an old-fashioned, irrelevant belief system and some see God as insurance policy just in case the whole God thing turns out to be real. Hedging our bets. What we fail to see is the divine threesome, a life force of everything flowing through us and all creation; a Heavenly Wave that flows through and round us rather than an inert, particle God, who sits somewhere up there and judges us. We need to recognise that the energy in the universe is not in the planets, or in the protons, or neurons, but in the relationship between them. Everything works in balance, in relationship.
27th May2024
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the LORD is one.
In our traditions and belief, we tend to work with the Trinity as a pyramid shape; God is at the top and Jesus and The spirit are below at the other two corners. I would argue, as would a number of theologians, that it is not a triangle but a circle. This circle operates like a dance of the Trinity. Each are part of each other as well as themselves. Movements and operations between them make everything flow and move in time with one another. This divine dance is of loving and being loved. We usually have a static image of God, but actually we need to see God not as the eternal judge, who punishes us when we don’t do what He says but we need to see God as the Supreme Contributor and provider of everything that exists in our lives through Jesus the Son and The Holy Spirit.
26th May 2024
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
As we move through the church’s year the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost completes the Trinity. From Pentecost next we have Trinity Sunday, today. From creation through the Old Testament to Jesus coming for our Salvation and then the Spirit coming as He returns to Heaven; we have the opportunity to contemplate the source of our energy and power and how we might live our lives as we were designed to as those created ones of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although we tend to think in terms of God or Jesus or Spirit, our faith, our life is dependent on all three, intertwined, working together, flowing around and in between each of us, the world and the universe we are part of.
25th May 2024
John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
Our understanding of our world depends very much on science and what we have learned over time. We have discovered that things we thought were true have a much bigger story to tell. When we understand things, we do so on a human level. We understand as our mind and experience allows us to. The Spirit of Truth enables understanding within us so we can comprehend and appreciate beyond this physical world. The Holy Spirit was there at creation and throughout the Old Testament but Pentecost brings it all together; The Spirit is now living not just around us but within us. The Spirit gives us the ability to recognise fully who Christ is. Not just human understanding but spiritual understanding.
24th May 2024
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
In our busy lives we often do not see what is right in front of us. The other morning I walked through an area I rarely go through. I was privileged to meet many hedge birds popping in and out, tweeting away. I met may dogs out for walk with owners, some enthusiastic, some lolloping along and some just plain inquisitive. Then there were the hurrying school students and younger ones with parents. All of this I rarely see. It struck me how much of life goes on and we just don’t know about it, or think about it. We are in our own little worlds. These are all part of God’s creation and it continues day after day whether we see it or not. We humans have caused much problem to our world by our carelessness and greed but yet it keeps going. God has provided such a richness for us but we just don’t see it or appreciate it until it is gone. We are stewards of this world and as such need to be more aware, more caring of that which God has given us.
23rd May 2024
John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
We are told that we are made up of body and soul or spirit. When we die the inner self, who we are, leaves us while the physical body dies and decays. Jesus death on the cross is confirmed by the spear in the side which provides water (Plasma) and blood. Only in shock and then after death does this breakdown begin to happen round the heart and lungs. Jesus is then placed in a tomb, a new tomb, and the body left as Passover was happening and dealing with a dead body was considered unclean. His mother has watched Him slowly die in pain and agony. He had been humiliated. Yet Mary is right there, her care of Him even into His death is paramount. The cry of It is finished, is far from one of defeat, instead it is triumph, it is accomplished, what He came to do has happened. God and humans are reconciled. What seems like failure to the world is success for God and His people.
22nd May 2024
John 19: 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)
I have never been to the Holy Land, but I have seen pictures of the winding narrow streets called the Via Dolorosa, which translates into Sorrowful way. I am also a huge fan of the song of that name by Sandi Patti. Written about Jesus’ journey through those streets to His crucifixion. During this journey Jesus is initially carrying His cross until He can no longer bear the weight. He is jeered at, taunted, spat upon and falls many times, He has been beaten, whipped, and is very weak, but He keeps going. As an act of derision He is given a crown of thorns to wear upon His head. Once He arrives at Golgotha He is crucified, nailed to a cross, with two actual criminals whose crosses are either side of Him. One taunts Him, the other asks for forgiveness. In life there are two sides, those who taunt and deride faith and belief in God and those who ask for forgiveness. Which side are you on?
21st May 2024
Matthew 28:19 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.
How are you with making and keeping promises? The return of Jesus to Heaven is about a very important promise. Jesus promises that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes, so that we can be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. The power that Jesus is given in the Ascension is shared with us through the promised Holy Spirit. And that helps us to do what Jesus did while he was on earth. It helps us to continue His mission. If we don’t like what we see, we can do something about it; we are given the ability to make a difference. We are called to be his witnesses, we are called to do what he did: to heal the sick and feed the hungry and fight oppression and evil, and to work for justice and peace, to seek reconciliation, and teach others to do these things, too. In this coming week you will have opportunities to change things, to make life better for others, to make a difference by what you do and say. The promise of The Spirit in you and I mean we can make a difference.
20th May 2024
John 15:26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
As a child I was told about the Whitsun treat, the people of the church would have a special day out to celebrate Whitsun. A church picnic, or visit to a park or even the beach. We are now in Pentecost which is what used to be known as Whitsun or white Sunday, because many new Christians would be baptised on this Sunday wearing white as a symbol of purity as they were baptised into the church. The seventh Sunday after Easter is Pentecost. It celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised. The Spirit is described as Advocate, a Spirit of Truth who will come and challenge people about Sin, righteousness and judgement, who will guide us into truth, who will bring glory to Father, Son and Spirit.
19th May 2024
Acts 2: 4a All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.
We are used to not having promises fulfilled by governments and councils. The promises of more help, better facilities are all soon masked over by policy and money. Jesus made promises and these were fulfilled. He promised the Holy Spirit. Once ascended God the father and Son send the Spirit upon the people. Jesus presence is now not limited to one place, now the Spirit is world wide, God’s presence with and within everyone who wants it, who allow the Spirit to work. That Holy Spirit comes as friend, guide, helper, empowering and challenging us into action. Those prompts in our conscience are the Spirit, ring someone, go visit, send a card, pray. The Spirit also prays with us and for us and we can’t find the words the Spirit can and does. The Spirit gives us gifts as we need them. The Holy Spirit is for everyone! We must never forget He is there, never forget to ask for His help. He will not force himself on us we need to invite Him in. Come Holy Spirit!
18th May 2024
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
Within Judaism there is a very beautiful and caring way of preparing a body after someone has died. It is done for every Jewish person and is a last right of passage. For Jesus this too was to be the case, BUT because it was Passover, this last beautiful act was delayed. When Mary finally comes to the tomb instead of Jesus there are Angels. They ask about why she grieves. Her heart is broken, her Lords body is not there and so she cannot perform this last act of love. Through her tears and despair, she does not recognise Jesus. Why would she, she saw Him die. His voice, speaking her name changes everything. She would know that voice anywhere. She wants to hold on, not lose Him again, but now she has another job, not to prepare His body but to proclaim He is risen. Mary is the first evangelist, the one who goes and tells others He is alive. From that first Easter morning that is our job too. Tell the world that He is Risen, He has defeated death. We are to live our lives as those who know death no longer binds us. He has spoken our name, called us to live with Him. This is life in all its fulness!
17th May 2024
Matthew 7:12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
A few years ago, there was a movement called Random Acts of Kindness. People would do nice things for others. People were fed, given gifts and help, anything that showed kindness to others. I wonder if you know about other movements, kindness cards, take what you need bulletin board, kindness cups, kindness rocks and pebbles on beaches, kindness poems and even kindness bingo. These happen round the country in schools and universities in the hope of encouraging people to be kind to each other, not because they have to but because they want to. Those who experience acts of kindness are much more likely to go on and act kindly to others. As it is done to them so they do to others. Jesus called us to do to others as He did for us, loved us, cared for us, compassion and kindness to us, therefore we do those things to others.
16th May 2024
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.
We are now in the short period between Ascension Day and Pentecost. 40 days after Easter Jesus is taken up to Heaven in front of the disciples. Before His death and Resurrection, He had prayed for them and us, for Gods protection as we live in this world and seek to serve Him. His ascension now places Jesus back in His rightful place with God. Far from taking Jesus away from us it is how Jesus goes from local to global. How Jesus can now be present with everyone. The disciples did not want Him to physically go but He needed to go so that the Holy Spirit could come and empower us.
15th May 2024
Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
When we care, when we have compassion, when we are kind it means we do not always put ourselves first. Instead, we see the plight of others, we recognise the unfairness and injustice and we want to do something about it. The Sussex centre for research has been researching kindness as it is linked to well being and relationships. They have already seen that giving to others activates the reward network in our brains. We feel better about ourselves and the world around us. God created us with this desire to help within our brains and hearts, a desire to look after others and improve people’s lives. It is all too easily drowned out by a selfish world that places others behind our own self-importance. Quite simply Christians are called to put others first and to do our best to make life better for all.
14th May 2024
Mark 16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Among the festivals in the church, we don’t really treat the ascension as that important and yet the Ascension of Jesus reminds us about Christ’s power. Rising from death to life and returning to His rightful place in the Godhead, means that Father, Son and Spirit are in control of our world, not any other rule or authority or power or dominion. Christ is more powerful because He has ascended and sits at the right hand of the very throne of God. Here He intercedes for us. He prays for us. Regardless of what is happening in our lives or in our world we know that our ascended Lord is in control and has not abandoned us. We are invited to trust Him, even when we don’t understand, even when we find it difficult to comprehend. We can talk to him, pray, intercede for others as He intercedes for us.
13th May 2024
John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
We may not think of service or self-sacrifice being about love, it depends on how we see love, but when you love it means you want the best for someone, you will do what you can to protect and help them. Stepping in when someone is at risk, people fighting off offenders in the streets like at London Bridge, helping people out of the collapsing buildings on 9/11, pulling people out of danger, police and firefighters do it on a daily basis. If we have a love for our fellow humans, for people in need, then we have a compassion, an empathy which prompts us into service of each other, into doing what it takes to help others. That going out of our way to help is self-sacrifice. All of us need to recognise the need to care for each other, to be willing to be sacrificial in our treatment of each other and to recognise that this comes from the love of humanity that each of us has been given and the example offered to us by God through Jesus.
12th May 2024
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
What do think of when someone talks about being kind? It is spoken about many times in the Bible and often comes within verses about love. Kindness and love are intertwined and often it is called loving kindness. To be kind you need love, love promotes and evokes kindness. Sadly, kindness is often seen as quite weak, we tell young ones to be nice or kind and we have forgotten the power that lies behind being kind. Without kindness the world is cold, selfish and right now we have such a selfish world. God has called us to kindness, to be people who care, who are empathetic and who make the world a better place for everyone. Don’t stop being kind.
11th May 2024
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines.
I used to climb and walk quite a lot in my younger years. Up Snowden, Old Man Coniston, Scafell Pike to name a few. I loved the climbs, rising above places, the incredible views. As I think about it God and Jesus were quite into mountains as well. In the Old Testament God does all his important work on the tops of mountains; Moses, 10 commandments, Elijah and the still small voice. Jesus preaches his Sermon on the Mount, He feeds 5000 on the mountain side. In Isaiah we are given this picture of a feast where we will experience the best food, the best wines and the best company. Where we are close to God, to Heaven on the mountain top of life with God through Jesus, living our best life on top of the world with God.
10th May 2024
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Someone I trained with had been in prison, he had changed his life, realised how wrong he had been, found faith in God. It did not entitle him to walk free until he had served his sentence. He accepted his punishment but once he left prison he took a different path. It wasn’t easy, people were suspicious, but he changed his life, he was sorry for what he done and worked hard to be a better person. He trained to be a vicar and is now a prison chaplain and works tirelessly with those in prison to try and help them change their lives. We need to try and find that compassion within us, to try and offer forgiveness where we can, to be willing to accept your own faults and apologise properly, letting it change us. Forgiveness can take a while, for some who have been terribly hurt it may never arrive fully, but all we are asked to do is try, to try in God’s strength to forgive. To try and be better people who respect others and accept our mistakes.
9th May 2024
Mark 16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Today is Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter it commemorates Jesus being taken up to Heaven after being with the Disciples and followers after His resurrection. It is one of the earliest Christian festivals along with Christmas and Easter and Pentecost. Jesus is taken up from their sight to His rightful place in Heaven, with God. His work of salvation completed, the defeat of death achieved and now He takes His divine place with God as part of the Godhead. We speak of it in our liturgy, in our Eucharistic prayers and creeds. It is an important part of our faith story and yet it will pass today, and many will not know about it. Some of us will celebrate this on Sunday in our services. The going up of Jesus into the clouds is what prompted the understanding that Heaven was up there, above the clouds. We now accept that Heaven is a spiritual place, all around us and within us. For us today we are reminded of what Jesus did on the cross and that we have a place in Heaven because of that. Have a blessed Ascension Day.
8th May 2024
Hebrews 13: 11 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices and love God is pleased.
Self-sacrifice isn’t always about physical harm, it can also be about emotional or spiritual harm. The toll that helping others can have on wellbeing and mental health. Caring for a relative or family member for example, did you know that about 1 in 5 young people are carers, 20% of young people have those responsibilities. Being the parent of a severely disabled child or adult. The worries and stresses of being a good friend, the person others find it easy to talk to, the person who is always there for people. We all make sacrifices regularly, but that self-sacrifice, that giving of ourself to serve others is an amazing part of the human spirit, a God given ability to do our best for others. This verse associates this self-sacrifice with love, we do things out of love for another. The greatest act of love is giving up one’s life for another. For nearly all of us that will never happen, but it is the basis around the Christian faith. The giving of a life to save others.
7th May 2024
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
What is your favourite flavour of sweet? Which ones don’t you like or do you leave in the box? In the chocolate boxes we have at Christmas the Bounty is always left. When I used to have fruit gums, I always left the yellow ones. Let’s face it there are always things we leave out because they are not our favourite. When I was at school, we always had to pick sides, two popular sporty people always had the choice of who were on their teams. I was often left until last because I wasn’t considered good at sport. Sometimes we treat people like those last-to-be-chosen, sweets or team groups. Other times, we leave others out from gatherings, parties, or other activities. Maybe sometimes there are reasons, BUT whatever the reason or excuse we might give, it doesn’t feel good to be left out. We feel sad, we feel unloved, we feel inadequate and a failure. The good news is that we are never on our own at that sad time. We are never inadequate or a failure, Jesus is with us in every situation! Jesus doesn’t want anyone to be left out. His love has no conditions it just is. And Jesus wants us to love others like that, too. There should be no favourites, no one left behind or left out. There is a word in Hawaiian, Ohana, it means family, no one gets left behind. Not just blood family but friends, community. We look after each other, we love each other, no conditions attached. That is loving others as Jesus loves us.
6th May 2024
Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.
Sheep are natural followers. They don’t like to be pushed; they prefer to be led. And it is their shepherd who leads them. We have all probably heard that sheep are not very smart animals, but that turns out not to be true. Sheep just want to be led. Sheep trust their shepherd, and go where the shepherd goes. And they let the shepherd go first, to make sure the way is safe, and then to invite them to follow him. And isn’t that what Jesus is asking of us? To be his followers? He’s not going to push us. He’s not going to force us. Instead, Jesus just keeps calling us and inviting us over and over to follow him. He promises to lead us, to protect us, and even to lay down his life for us. And he invites us to trust him. Trust him and follow him.
5th May 2024
Exodus 34:6 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Being able to forgive is about compassion. Recognising that another made a mistake, did not really intend to hurt, that someone was lashing out from a place of hurt. It is this compassion that allows God to forgive when we so constantly treat each other and Him with contempt, when we behave badly, when we are selfish and aggressive. We are free people, we have individual liberty, we are free to choose what we do and say, but we also have individual responsibility and accountability. We are constrained by laws and by respect and compassion for one other. I can only be free to express my opinions and ideas if you are free to express yours. True freedom allows all sides of an argument to be aired fairly. I cannot expect to be listened to if I do not listen to others. God’s compassion and forgiveness does not allow people to go unpunished. If we break the rules, disrespect others, misinform, lie, cheat, defraud, then we have to pay the price. We can be forgiven if we are sorry, but we still have to accept our punishment, accept the consequences of our actions, make recompense for what we have caused.
4th May 2024
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
I wonder how you see service, the Service of All. We are all called as Human beings to look after each other, to serve each other. Sometimes that can include self-sacrifice. A real altruism, self-denial, putting others first at risk to oneself. Where this is prevalent is in the armed forces, those who train to fight, hoping that they will not be called to, but being ready when they are. Those who go to other countries to defend peace, support local troops in battles and provide training. The sacrifice of so many ordinary people in our 2 world wars, most of them would not have joined the forces but they were called to by the country. You may in your family have medals, certificates, information about family members who gave their lives. These people gave a sacrifice, their life for the freedom of others. Most of us will never be called on to do this and yet people every day make sacrifices, stepping into dangerous situations at risk of personal harm to help others. They do this because God calls us as humans to be the servant of the other. To care for each other. We are called to serve one another in order to make this world as God designed it to be.
3rd May 2024
John 14: 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Sometimes we feel alone, there isn’t anyone to help or encourage, no one to just give us a hug. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, the Spirit there at creation, actively working throughout the Old Testament and now available to all God’s people. This Spirit is called the Advocate, but also a teacher, encourager, enabler, strengthener, who offers support and blessing. This Spirit who enables us to pray when we don’t feel like it, when we don’t understand. This Spirit gives us strength when all seems lost. He is with us and provides us with the peace Jesus spoke of. We are never alone! God is with us every moment of every day through His Spirit, in us, around us, with us, moment by moment. Sometimes we need to slow down, breathe, give the Spirit space to work, to be in us. It is easy to crowd Him out through business, worry, intent but He is right there, we just need to let Him work. We just need to tap into Him, to allow Him to bless us and in doing so find that promised peace.
2nd May 2024
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
When I was young, I played side drum in the Girls Brigade Band and in the school Orchestra I played the drums and percussion. Often in Orchestra pieces the percussion part, cymbals, timpani drums, gong etc have a lot of bars rest between playing. It is all to easy to come in at the wrong time and there were times I did just that. The clash of cymbals even a beat out just doesn’t work and can ruin a whole piece. Paul reminds us that life without love is just like this, a mistimed noisy gong or clanging cymbal. All it does is spoil and take away from what is important, love. We are very good at being loud, of proclaiming what is right and how things should be done, unfortunately that comes across as just noise, ineffective and offensive to the ear drums. Paul encourages us to be people who love, who are patient, kind, compassionate, who don’t boast or get angry, who don’t shout about another’s faults, but forgive and bear with each other.
1st May 2024
John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
It turns out that sheep are very good at hearing, and especially at hearing the voice of their shepherd. Shepherds would get all together with lots of sheep, at the watering hole. It was noisy and chaotic, but at the end of the day, the shepherds would call for their sheep. And the sheep would follow their own shepherds to a safe place to sleep. In the midst of all that chaos, and all those competing voices, the sheep would hear their shepherd’s voice and follow their shepherd. And that is, of course, what we are supposed to do, too: Listen to our shepherd, and follow him. There are plenty of competing voices these days, all clamouring for our attention. Voices from our TVs, and computers, our phones and tablets, social media, newspapers, politicians…….. But there is only one voice that truly matters to our soul. And that is the voice of the shepherd, the voice of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Sheep are good at listening to the voice of their shepherd, and we need to be good listeners to our Shepherd too.
30thApril 2024
Exodus 34:7 The Lord is maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.
Let’s face it, we all want to be forgiven when we get things wrong but we are much less willing to forgive others. We want people to suffer a bit, to be uncomfortable, we want people to be punished. Those are normal and respectable ideas. We need a system where law breaking is punished, that is right and just. This system does not cover the lying, the loss of trust, the dropping someone in it, the gossiping, the trolling, the insults, the betrayals. These are daily occurrences, and it is really difficult to find it within ourselves to forgive. A key to forgiveness is being sorry, recognising our faults, apologising and being different. We are not good at wanting to apologise, we often couch apologies with if, I’m sorry if you…. trying to make the reason for someone’s upset being down to them. That is not an apology, that is not being sorry. God is able to forgive and so must we. We must also be truly sorry when we hurt others. It is not easy but in God’s love and strength it is possible.
29th April 2024
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
However good we are at something, however good our life might appear to be, we will all have bad days, sometimes even bad weeks and months. We will all struggle sometimes, things might appear to go wrong but we are unique, we are valued and special to God and we are the only ones who can do certain things He has set out for us. Paul reminds us that God will carry on with us, not give up on us, but complete our lives in Him. So, each and every day we need to hang on in there, to keep going, to gain strength and support from one another, family, friends and God as we keep our eyes on the amazing, wonderful, finished product God created us with the potential to be.
28th April 2024
Mark 8:35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
As humans we are not too keen on talking about death, actually it is good for us to discuss it and even make plans. What I have discovered is that dying is about more than our physical death. We actually die a thousand deaths throughout our lifetime. The loss of a loved one, a relationship, health, opportunities, a dream; all deaths we didn’t want or ask for. In order to live well sometimes there are things we need to let go of, things we cling to that keep us from God; things like fear, anger or resentment, regret and disappointment, guilt, the need to be right, approval. The secret of a good life is the letting go, the emptying, the leaving behind, and the dying that makes space for new life to arise. So, what is the grain of wheat in our life today that needs to fall into the earth and die in order to bring new life.
27th April 2024
Mark 14:29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
Have you ever made promises you can’t keep? Said something you later regret? We all do it. In the heat of the moment we volunteer, speak up, make a promise and then when it becomes reality, it’s hard, it may affect our standing in life, we deny it, try to get out of it… I didn’t really mean……., what I was actually saying was…… excuses, excuses. Our world is full of broken promises, our politicians are the worst, making promises they never fulfil. Peter does this with Jesus, promises even to die for Him and it goes spectacularly wrong. Peter denies knowing Jesus three times, getting more and more angry. He’s frightened, he fails BUT, the great news is that Jesus doesn’t hold it against him. Jesus seeks him out, makes sure Peter knows he is forgiven. It teaches Peter a lot about faith and following Jesus so much that he grows and becomes the first leader of the early church. Jesus understands, He forgives, He loves, and we need to accept that, learn from our mistakes and become better, stronger people in Christ.
26th April 2024
Hebrews 10:25 Do not give up the habit of meeting together as some are doing, but encourage one another.
Sheep are what are known as “flock animals.” They like to be together. They don’t do so well on their own. There is safety and strength in numbers, and sheep seem to know this. So, they tend to spend a lot of time together, and they find a lot of benefit from being together. We, as humans, are “flock animals” too. We like to be together. We like to gather in groups. There is this innate drive to surround ourselves with like-minded people. We are a community that recognises that there are important reasons to be together. Christians need to spend time together. We are not intended to be on our own. That’s why Jesus created the church. That is one of its primary purposes: So that we can come together, support each other, pray together and be kept safe. We are Jesus to each other. Coming together is vital and something we must not stop doing. This group support helps us to get through the difficult times and rejoice together in the good times.
25th April 2024
Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Think
about how you feel when you have completed something, an essay, research, a
piece of artwork, books, cooking a meal, running a marathon, the next level on
a game, a rugby or football match, the next grade in music. When these are
completed, we have a sense of accomplishment. We have worked hard, given of
ourselves, learned, grown and done our best. We have achieved and finished to
that point. God is into creativity and uniqueness. Think about it: every
snowflake is different, no two people have the same fingerprints, and each of
us has a unique DNA. He created only one “you,” and there will never be anyone
else who can do exactly what God prepared for you to do. You and I are unique.
On earth, value is often determined by how readily available or how scarce
something is. Gold and diamonds are valuable because they are rare. Likewise,
since there is no one identical to you, you are rare, unique and irreplaceable.
You are of great value! As people of such great value there is investment in
making us the best we can be, in achieving the best finished product we can be.
But that means practicing, going through stages, working hard, growing,
changing. A willingness on our part to keep our eyes on the prize, to keep
working at it day after day.
24th April 2024
1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
At times in life we have, as a family, had to access benefits to help us live. When the boys were small holidays were not possible but for family who would put us up and feed us so we could go the beach with the boys. Training for ministry left us with one low income, huge childcare costs and rent and bills to pay. The church has never been that good at looking after those who serve it and I can recall many families who never got through training as they just could not afford to live. Picking on those who need benefits to try and appease right wing fascists is the lowest and most abhorrent move from any government. To tell people who are severely disabled they must work and then to be party to the death of so many by these cruel policies show just how far selfish, wealthy people are willing to go to remain in power and keep their wealth. The Bible is quite clear that our humanity, our goodness is shown by how we treat the least in society. Those who treat them with contempt do not have any real humanity and therefore cannot ever judge how people need to live. If there is no compassion, no humanity there should be no political job!
23rd April 2024
Matthew 25:21 He replied ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share my happiness!’
As I get older, I think a lot about my younger years and whether I made the most of my young life. I wanted so much to set the world alight, to become famous, to have a good life. I wanted to be published, to record an album, to write the song that would win the Eurovision Song Contest. Well, I guess I got half way there. I did record an album; I didn’t write the song contest winner but I have a few little things published. We will never know how what we have said or done has impacted the world, our family and friends, we will never know how much lives have been changed for the better because of us. Perhaps we might see when we arrive in Heaven, I don’t know. But I do know that God sees, He sees everything we do and say, everything and how it affects others. I know I haven’t always got it right but I hope I will one day hear those words “well done you good and faithful servant” I won’t deserve them but God’s grace is all we need and I pray you will hear them too.
22nd April 2024
Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
I wonder if you have ever considered that you are wonderfully made, and that each of us has a potential to fulfil. What we are striving for in our lives is the finished product. One definition of the word “potential” says it is “what you can do but have not yet accomplished.” If we are not careful, we can think that means “reaching our potential is based solely on our own efforts.” This is not true. It is about letting who we are in God be realised. Allowing ourselves to grow and become who we can be in God’s strength with the help of each other. Potential is how far we can go, not alone, but with God and each other working together. When we develop and use what God has given us, we are developing the potential He created in us and heading towards being the finished and completed best version of ourselves. That is never version 1.0 because we grow and change as our potential is realised.
21st April 2024
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
This particular Sunday is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” We all know that we need someone to lead us, and to protect us, and to guide us. We are a lot like sheep. And sheep need shepherds. The world, then and now needs someone to lead us. I suspect that is why superhero movies are still popular, and probably always will be. Because our world needs heroes. Our world needs leaders. Our world needs good and faithful shepherds, to take care of us, and to lead us. Jesus is our shepherd, the Good Shepherd, good, loving, faithful. He is the leader that our world needs right now. And we are his sheep. Flocking together, meeting together, sharing together, following Jesus and listening to is voice. May we never give up the habit of meeting together or reminding the world that Jesus is the leader they need to make everything as it should be.
20th April 2024
Ezekiel 18:23 Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “No! rather that they should turn from their ways and live?
I am watching Raiders of the Lost Ark and am reminded of first going to see it with our church youth group. At the part where the Angel of Death comes out and all the Nazi’s are killed, I remember some of the youth group shouting, Go on God, you get them. Of course, we all cheered, we all cheer now when the badies get their comeuppance and yet I feel uneasy. None of us deserve God’s love and I struggle with any God being violent and brutal towards some and not others, particularly when we know that it is always the victors who write history and we do not always know all the facts. I also believe in a God who loves the undeserving and offers grace to all. Do not get me wrong, there are many evil people who have done awful things but there are also many innocents who got caught up in these things and did not deserve what happened to them. Thankfully God is the one who judges fairly, rightly and honestly and will make sure justice is done as and when it should be. His desire is that all should turn from their wicked ways and live.
19th April 2024
John 20:25b Thomas said, "Unless I see the wound in His side and put my finger in the holes where the nails were in His hands, I will not believe it!"
There is a term often used on social media, FOMO, which means fear of missing out. People worry about missing out on things others are doing. Just after Jesus resurrection the disciple Thomas was not with the others when Jesus appeared to them. When they told Thomas, he didn’t believe them. This was his FOMO moment. He had seen Jesus crucified and buried. How could He be alive? He wanted proof, he had missed out and was feeling aggrieved. We do that sometimes, don’t we, unless you do this for me, God, I won’t believe. We want some proof. A week later, the disciples were in the locked room again, and this time, Thomas was with them. Again, Jesus came among the disciples. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas fell on his knees and answered Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" We all have our FOMO moments and we all have our moments of disbelief. It is okay to question and okay to not know it all or experience it all. God will enable us to see, experience and grow in faith. We need not fear, God will always be with us even if we think we might be missing out.
18th April 2024
Romans 8:15 The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us adopted children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, “Father.”
Most of us do not know what being adopted really means. A member of our family was adopted and has never felt anything other than part of the family and never treated any different to anyone else. Adoption is at the heart of the gospel, we are chosen in love and adopted into God’s family where we are all treated as equal and full children of God, our father; brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Spirit works in us so that we are no longer slaves to sin and death but are adopted into God’s family as full heirs to His promises as His children. God’s love of us is totally undeserved, we are adopted because of God’s grace, we are treated as family, loved and given everything not because we deserve it but because God chose to adopt us and give us everything. It is because of this that we can call Him Father.
17th April 2024
Proverbs 16:11 The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established this principle.
The reputation for fairness counts for a lot. Being honest, being fair is what we want for ourselves, our families and our leaders. Through history some leaders have even had “the fair” added to their name because of their reputation; Edith the fair, King Frederick the fair. What an accolade, to be known as fair. All of us must be fair in your dealings with each other. To get into the habit now of always treating people fairly no matter their background, status, gender, religion and even if we disagree with them. God calls us to be fair, to be honest, to live with integrity and if we start now, we will be fair in all our dealings throughout life, and you never know, we may also be given the title “the fair”.
16th April 2024
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Sometimes we must see something before we believe it, we use that phrase, Seeing is believing. It was like that for some people in the Bible, too. On the evening of the first Sunday after Jesus had been crucified, His disciples were together in a locked room. They were afraid of those who had crucified Jesus. Suddenly, Jesus appeared there in the locked room with the disciples. It was hard to believe, but they saw Him, and Jesus showed them His wounds in His hands and His side, so they knew it was Him. You and I have never seen Jesus with our own eyes. The question is, will we be one of those who is blessed because we believe, even though we have not seen? We see evidence of God at work everywhere, in our lives, in the lives of people around us, in creation. There are daily miracles we so easily see as normal; we don’t give God credit. We are called to faith, believing because we encounter God through the Bible, prayer and personal experience. We believe because we have seen how much God has done for our world.
15th April 2024
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
For many the reality of life these days is that of being a carer. Many of us care for our elderly parents, many for those undergoing cancer treatments, many for disabled children or partners, many for the terminally ill. We care because we love but that love is often taken for granted by a society that constantly wants to cut benefits to save money. If the government had to pay for the care provided free by so many they would have to cut their money-making schemes to pay for it. They even allow children to care for disabled parents. What a terrible indictment on those with money who rule our country. In the Bible we meet many who care for family and friends. An amazing example is Ruth who gives up her culture, her security and home to care for her mother-in-law, Naomi. She in turn is cared for by the landowner who seeing her example makes sure she is protected and gleans enough food. God uses people to care for His children, He provides the necessary and does not take advantage to feather His own nest. We are called to care for one another, and we are blessed as God cares for us.
14th April 2024
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
We are called to be imitators of Jesus, to be like Him. It is only when we begin to imitate our Saviour, when we begin to take the Risen Lord seriously and into our hearts, that we begin to realise that Jesus is a king who serves. He is our example; we are to love and serve just as He did and does. In order to embrace and serve others, we must see them the way Jesus sees them. Rooted deep inside us and half hidden from everyone are the real people that we are. The people of courage, the people of caring, the people who are willing to sacrifice for our families, for our friends, and as Jesus commands, for everyone. So, the next time we see somebody who drives us crazy, and we find it almost impossible to be around them, remember we have to see them as Jesus sees them. Every one worth dying for. Everyone valuable, created and loved completely and utterly by God. And in seeing as Jesus sees, we will learn to love as He loves. And when we learn to love as He loves, the world will be changed.
13th April 2024
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
When we use the word church we have the image of stone buildings in our minds. In the Bible the word church is the Greek translation of ekklesia which means assembly and describes the gathering of Jesus followers together in one place. These gatherings are spoken of as chosen people, a royal priesthood all belonging to God. This was how the chosen of God and the covenant had been spoken of in the Old Testament. Church is not the place we go to worship but the believers coming together, how we care for each other, interact with each other. Those who belong to the family of God are church wherever we are, wherever we meet. We are to offer hospitality to one another, serve each other and love each other deeply. We may meet in a building but we, the people, are the church belonging to God.
12th April 2024
Hebrews 10:25a Let us not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
We regularly hear that Scandinavia, particularly Denmark, is one of the happiest places to live. Yet they have long dark winters, far worse than ours. They cope with these long darker times by gathering together with friends and family to share food and drink together. The word they use for this type of meeting together is hugge (pronounced hoogah) This gathering together helps them to offset the impact of less sunlight. Coming together around a table with loved ones blesses their hearts. The writer of Hebrews encourages the gathering together as a community. He speaks of difficult days, of challenges which will require God’s people to persevere in faith. That perseverance will be helped and encouraged by us coming together and encouraging each other. Gathering with friends and family blesses us, strengthens us, as we bear up one another in faith. We must never stop meeting together.
11th April 2024
Luke 11:17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.”
We are currently witnessing a huge division of MPs on what constitutes racism and misogyny. Right wing factions have become very populist and powerful. What it is doing is turning a house in on itself. Division, created by leaders is for one reason, to divide and conquer. Satan has been sowing division since the Garden of Eden. Humans have been sowing division since then too. Dictators obtain power and rule by fear and division. Enough angry people on a minor topic, constant threats, fear, create an emergency so laws can be broken to fix and protect. Division comes from lies, throw away statements repeated, reported and so believed. Jesus stood against division. He healed, protected, helped and cared for and was condemned for doing so. You just can’t have someone who works for real justice being popular so let’s discredit, let’s divide. Jesus tells us we are blessed when we hear the word of God and keep it, practice it, and live it! Are we stokers of division or those who hear the word of God and keep it?
10th April 2024
Luke 24:48 From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.
How do we cope when we feel betrayed and maltreated? I know I struggle with those who would purposely hurt another by their disregard of truth and honesty, for their own selfish gain. This behaviour towards us makes us untrusting, unwilling to be vulnerable, unwilling to ask for help in case we are manipulated and once again hurt for being honest. God wants us to be people who can be trusted, who are honest, who will always look for the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. When we are given responsibility, more seniority, then we must work even harder to be honest and to look after others, to build trust and allow people to be themselves. Jesus example is one of complete honesty, of being selfless, a servant who did not use others to gain for himself. We have to try, through God’s grace, to forgive, but we also should not be maltreated by the very people who would profess themselves to be God’s chosen ones. To whom much is given, much is expected.
9th April 2024
John 8:51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.
For thousands of years people made sacrifices to please God to try and obtain favour for a better life. These sacrifices were never good enough. Jesus comes as the perfect, full sacrifice. He came speaking truth. Today we talk about my truth, your truth, we have forgotten that God is the only truth. Jesus is the I Am, He was there at the very beginning with God and the Spirit at creation. Humans are very good at talking the talk but not walking the walk. We say we believe in God but our actions and behaviour do not reflect this. Jesus speaks of Eternal Life, others speak only of death. They speak of God but do not actually know Him. The hardest thing at a funeral is reading the words about those who believe in God not dying, because they have. Physical death is still a certainty, it is spiritual death which is now overcome and defeated. The Spirit within us, who we really are, lives on. The truth of Easter is that physical death is happening but through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus we can and will live on forever with God.
8th April 2024
1 Kings 12:31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, as he decided, even though they were not Levites.
It has been said that we, as humans, have tried to make God in our image. Rather than listen to God about what is best for us, we try to make Him do what we want. God and Jesus do not mold to our ideas. Think how often we tell God how to do things, if you just do this God then this will happen and I will get what I want and then I will do things for you. Jesus does not bow to our pressure. He knows what needs to be done and when. Jesus was offered shortcuts to the throne, Satan in the wilderness, the people wanting to make Him King when he fed them, Pilate offered Jesus a way out, He was taunted on the cross to save himself. He does not take them, He does not opt out, or look for the easy route. There is only one way to go, to His death on the cross. That obedience to God is what gives us eternal life.
7th April 2024
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
We sometimes forget that the Bible contains stories about all the things we experience in life. Think about the Bible stories of loss and renewal. Abram left his country and kindred so that he might be made a great nation, renamed Abraham, and be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Jacob lost his old identity and was wounded so that he could become a new man, Israel, with a new life. James and John left their father, boats, and nets to become disciples of Jesus and fishers of people. Jesus taught his disciples that He too would have to die and then rise again to defeat death for us to have life. The Bible shows us a pattern of loss and renewal, dying and rising, letting go and getting back, leaving and return. This pattern is at the core of our baptism and it’s what we declare every Sunday in the Eucharist when we say Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. So, the question for us is what in our lives do we need to let go of? What might we need to leave behind? What needs to die so that something new can arise?
6th April 2024
John 13:34 Love one another as I have loved You.
It took the disciples and Jesus family a long time before they began to put together the puzzle of the resurrection. They knew that he had risen, but had he risen for them? We know Jesus is risen, but is He risen for us? Jesus comes and he dies that we might live. Jesus came to live as we live, to take on the burdens and the joys of our life. He went about doing good for others. He came as a servant, and finally, he had given his own life. Finally, He had defeated death and restored us to life once more. The world that Jesus saw, and taught his disciples and us to see, was where the real life is. Real life is not in the exteriors, the trappings or the ordinariness of every day. Real life is deep down in our hearts and souls where we are the image of God, the heirs of heaven. We are people to be taken seriously and we are people who take each other seriously. For it is in the service of others for God that we find real life.
5th April 2024
Luke 24:16 Jesus himself drew near, but they did not recognise him.
On Easter Sunday we shout with Joy that Christ is risen. A very simple, but powerful phrase that has changed the whole world. But you would never know this if you looked at the Gospel stories immediately after Jesus had risen, because the people who loved Jesus are running back and forth in great confusion. The women came to the grave and they saw that the tomb was already open, the stone rolled back, they looked inside, and they couldn’t see a body. Mary Magdalene ran back to Peter and told him they have taken away the Lord. Peter and John ran to the tomb, and they saw the burial cloths, but nothing else. They all wondered what had happened. They did not know what the Resurrection meant, even though Jesus had said three times that he would rise from the dead. When they do find Him, Jesus will not be the same because He has passed through another door, the door to a different and greater reality. He has passed through and defeated Death.
4th April 2024
James 5:7 Be patient, friends, until the coming of the Lord.
As Jesus died upon the cross He knew God would not leave him alone in the grave. You and I need to know, God will not leave us alone with our struggles. His seeming silence is not His absence, His seeming inactivity is not apathy. Quiet non eventful days have their purpose. They let us feel the full force of God’s strength. Had God raised Jesus fifteen minutes after the death of His son, would we have appreciated the act? Would we even have recognised it? Were He to solve our problems the second they appear; would we appreciate His strength? Would we even notice? Most likely we would give ourselves the credit. For His right and just reasons, God inserts a Saturday or quiet day between our Fridays and Sundays. If today is a silent day for you, be patient. Hang on in there. Be patient because God is working.
3rd April 2024
Acts 2:27 You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
Easter weekend events tend to skip Saturday. Friday and Sunday get the press. The crucifixion and resurrection command our thoughts. But don’t forget the Saturday. Just because there is silence on Saturday does not mean nothing is happening, it is! In the midst of the silence God is working. We often experience these Silent Saturdays. The day between the struggle and the solution; the question and the answer; the offered prayer and the answer. Saturday’s silence torments us. Is God angry? Did I disappoint him? God knows Jesus is in the tomb, why doesn’t He do something? Or, in our case God knows our career is in trouble, our finances are in difficulty, our relationships are in a mess, we are still waiting for that hospital appointment and treatment. Why doesn’t He act? What are we supposed to do until He does? We do what Jesus did. Lie still. Stay silent. Trust God. Jesus knew God had not abandoned Him and He knew that His resurrection would bring life to the world.
2nd April 2024
Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
As we have journeyed through Holy week and Easter, I have been struck by the images that speak of the abundance of Christ’s love, so many of them relating to his hands. The hands of Jesus that touched and healed so many people, The hands of Jesus as he washed his disciples’ feet, the hands of Jesus as he blessed the bread and wine, the hands of Jesus as the soldiers drove nails through them, the hands of hope which he showed in the upper room as he said ‘peace be with you.’ Throughout His ministry, Jesus’ hands blessed so many through practical acts of care and compassion. His hands expressed the outpouring of love He had for those He met. The power of touch can be the silent language which says everything, it travels deeper within people than words. A language heard, and felt, today by many through the love and compassion shown by carers, friends and family.
1st April 2024. Easter Monday.
1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
We all struggle with some people, finding them hard to get on with and perhaps very hard to love. Jesus chooses to love everyone. That is the choice before us. We cannot choose to love only those whom we like, whom we deem deserving, for whom we have good feelings, those who look, think, or act like us. It is all or nothing with Jesus. If we do not love all, then we love none. Love, for Jesus, is not about feelings and emotions but about a choice. In Jesus’ teaching if you have feet or hands you get washed, regardless of where those feet and hands have been or where they are going. That is the example and commandment he sets before his disciples and us. The first person the disciples will have to choose to love or not love is Judas, the one who for a time turns away, the one who walks in the night, the one who betrays. That, also, is our first choice. Every one of us has at least one Judas in our life. Every one of us has been Judas to someone else. Sometimes we have been Judas to ourselves. Jesus choses to love everyone, that is the choice before us every day.
31st March 2024. Easter Sunday.
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
Passover delayed the last beautiful act that Mary could do for Jesus. A ceremony of preparing the body for proper burial. As she arrives early in the morning the stone is rolled away, and His body is not there, only angels who ask why she is crying. For Mary this stings, failure to even do the last special thing she could do for her Lord. She is grief stricken and through her tears she does not recognise Jesus. Why would she? She had watched Him die; she saw it for herself. She asks where the body might be, still determined to do what she could for her Lord. It is Jesus speaking her name that brings her to her senses. Speaking her name, Mary, changes everything. When God calls us, speaks our name, it changes everything. From here on in Mary has a new Job, to proclaim He is Risen. To become the first evangelist proclaiming the risen Christ. From Easter morning her new job becomes our new job, to tell the world Jesus is risen. To live our lives as those who know Jesus has defeated death and we are no longer bound by it. This life in all its fulness given freely to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
30th March 2024. Holy Saturday.
John 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
By this time Jesus had hung on the cross for 3 hours. He had suffered humiliation and mocking. His mother and friends were there too, seeing all this and grieving. Even in His pain He cares for His mother, He puts family at the fore. His final cry is one of accomplishment. It is Finished. God and humans are now reconciled. In the worlds view it looks like failure, in God’s view it is a resounding success. Death will be defeated, and Humans are bound for heaven. At His final breath He gives up His spirit. We are all both Physical and Spiritual beings, we have a soul or spirit which lives on. Which is never lost but carried on through loved ones and the mark we have made upon this world. Jesus is dead, his bones are not broken like the others, there is no need. Just to be sure the spear plunges into His side, to the heart where the struggle to breathe, the overworking of the heart and thus shock has caused fluid to gather. This means death, the fluid and blood are proof. From here His body is hurriedly taken down and placed in a new tomb before the Passover and Holy Sabbath begins and no work can be done. A stone is rolled over the entrance. To everyone who witnessed this, Jesus is dead and gone.
29th March 2024. Good Friday.
John 19:17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)
Jesus carries his cross up the winding streets of the Via Dolorosa, People are jeering and taunting, he is already weak he has been beaten and he falls several times. In the end Simon of Cyrene is forced to carry it for Him. In churches you will often find the Stations of the Cross around the walls, they picture the journey Jesus is making, the falling, the abuse and the people he meets who love Him. At the place of the skull He is crucified, nailed to a cross with two others who actually were criminals. Pilate’s final act of annoyance at those who have forced his hand to punish Jesus, is to put a sign in all common languages that this is the King of the Jews. The leaders and chief priests hate this, they try to remove it, but it remains. One of the criminals, taunts Jesus, accuses Him, while the other humbly asks for forgiveness. Even here, on the cruel cross, Jesus offers forgiveness and hope. He never stops caring for people. Here we have the two sides in life represented, those who taunt and accuse Jesus, and those who look for forgiveness. Which side are we on?
28th March 2024
Proverbs 29:4 By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.
What do you think of when you think of Kings? The old-fashioned crown wearing, sword wielding King or the wealthy monarchs of today? The Jewish People are looking for a warrior King, on horseback, with majesty and power. Horses were war beasts; not donkeys, the king led the charge into battle. A conquering King is wanted, independence from occupation is wanted. But Jesus was all about peace, the Angels declared this at His birth. Prince of Peace. Jesus was not the King they wanted; the peer pressure was there to be a warrior. There was a public expectation but mob rule does not decide what is right or wrong. Jesus does not mould to their ideas, that’s why in just a few days they were calling for His death. If you don’t give us what we want then we don’t want you. Is that how we see Jesus?
27th March 2024
Mark 11:4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it.
The disciples are sent to get a colt, a young male donkey that has never been ridden, this is a link to sacrifice, only that which has never been used can be sacrificed. Jesus rides on this sacrificial donkey as a sacrifice and the prophecy from Zechariah 9v9 is fulfilled, your King comes to you humble and riding a donkey, a colt. Donkey’s work the land, and this could only happen in times of peace and security. Good crops showed God’s favour. Riding a donkey was a symbol of peace, security, of God’s favour on His people. Here is your saviour…… the people see a saviour from Roman occupation. This King is peaceful, caring, humble. The authorities see a threat and want the people and Jesus silenced. He comes on a donkey, no chariot, no pure-bred horse. The Messiah they were waiting for was closely associated with Kingship, but Kingship as God destined it, not as they or we want it. Real Kings are servants of their people. Real Kings do whatever is needed to save their people. Jesus is our real King.
26th March 2024
Mark 11:8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.
Palm Sunday is about Kingship, a kingship of humility and not to be seized. This king will empty Himself, become a servant, a slave and will be obedient to death, to save them and us from death. As He arrives in Jerusalem the people see Jesus the King who will free them from the Romans, Jesus the King who will feed them, provide for them, heal them. The people are looking for a warrior King, on a horse, leading his people into battle. What they get is a King riding on a donkey, humble and obedient. Jesus is King, this is like a coronation, riding in to his people’s adulation. They want a hero king, who comes is a sacrificial king. What type of King are we looking for? One who gives us everything we want here and now? Or a King who saves his people, loves them, fights for justice and peace? What King do we want today?
25th March 2024
Titus 1:8 They must be hospitable, those who loves what is good, who are self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
The word hospitality comes from being a good host to someone as your guest, caring for them, treating them well. From it comes our word hospital and host. In the Bible hospitality is Philoxenia, including Philo which is brotherly/sisterly love, and xenia which means stranger or foreigner. Being hospitable means caring for, showing love to the stranger, the foreigner. As Christians we should be practicing hospitality to those around us, and those from further afield. Much is currently made of migrants and our treatment of them is, as a country, utterly shameful. We are treating strangers as less than human, restricting their rights and freedoms and in doing so are becoming a xenophobic country, blaming a few for the ills of the many and in that behaviour lies fascism and ethnic cleansing. We are called by God to be lovers of the stranger, of those in need and to be good hosts to all.
24th March 2024
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Today is my 60th Birthday and I admit to feeling conflicted. I don’t want to be 60, I want to be 30 with all the wisdom and experience I have now. With grown up sons looking forward to enjoying them for much longer. I want to have the faith I have now when I was much younger. This verse reminds us of the brevity of life and the importance of using our time wisely. As we grow older, it becomes even more crucial to prioritise our actions and decisions, seeking wisdom and discernment in all that we do. I know I now have much less time than I have already used up and that bothers me, there are some things I would have liked to have done but now I am probably too old to do. I have regrets, I think we all do. I look at the future and know it is in God’s hands and I will try each day to live my best life for Him and pray that I can share the wisdom I have gained. I thank God for these past 60 years and ask Him to bless the next however long He sees fit to keep me here, hoping it will be a long while yet.
23rd March 2024
2 Samuel 8:14b David ruled with fairness over everyone and The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
In all my years of teaching the accolade I was most proud of was when I was called fair by children and parents. They may disagree with me but I was fair in how I treated everyone. No dispensations, no favouritism, just fairness. The dictionary describes fairness as impartial and just treatment or behaviour without favouritism or discrimination. We may not always agree with someone or their ways but as long as they are fair we can accept it. Currently we are seeing considerable unfairness and discrimination. The treatment of certain humans differently to others because of skin colour, religion, country of origin, gender and degree of wealth. Our politics have become very polarised and people will do anything to be proved right including remove the voice of those who disagree rather than have an honest and fair discussion. King David was not perfect; he got a lot of things wrong in his life but he did have a reputation for fairness. He treated the poorest in society the same as the richest, he applied rules and laws fairly across all people. He made sure power and wealth did not afford you anymore privilege in behaviour or punishment. The same should be true of us.
22nd March 2024
John 12:27 Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
In life there comes a point when we have to face reality, we may have to do things we do not want to do! At times our calling to live as a Christian will be hard. As Jesus reality of the cross and death loomed, He questions within Himself and God’s voice comes to bless Him, encourage Him. For us that voice can come from the Bible, friends and family, the church. Also, it can come from inside, feelings, thoughts the Godincidences (not coincidences) in our lives, where God uses times, places, situations to speak to us, challenge us and strengthen us. Jesus was about to face something awful, something most of us cannot even comprehend and yet He knows if He does not do this then Humans are lost for eternity. We have a path to walk, sometimes we will query if its right, sometimes we will doubt and struggle but in God’s strength we can walk it and know it will be alright.
21st March 2024
Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
All life is made up of loss and gain. Look at the way this pattern is present in our life. When we fall in love and commit our life to another, we let parts of our old life go and something of our single life dies so we can be with that other person. If you are a parent you know that there are sacrifices we make in order for the new life of our child to emerge and grow. Parents are continually letting go of their child so she or he can grow up. If you have ever been a carer for another, parts of your life die so that another might live with dignity, compassion, and love. There are the costs, the losses, we pay for an education or a career. We all chose certain losses and let go of some things so that other things can arise. For every choice we make, every yes, we say, there are losses we accept and bear in Christ.
20th March 2024
Luke 18:7a Will not God bring about justice for His children who cry to Him day and night.
We don’t often call people just these days, we use the term justice for senior judges and to describe what happens when someone pays the right penalty for a crime. God is often referred to as a just God, a righteous God who is always fair. As His children our behaviour should reflect His, we should be people of Justice, of righteousness who are fair in our treatment of others and ourselves. We are called to listen to the voices in our society who are ignored and silenced, to fight for those who our world has let down and mistreated. God’s heart breaks at the injustice In our land, in our world, and our hearts should break too. We are God’s hands and feet, God’s voice so we must learn to do right, to seek and defend justice, to care for and help the oppressed, take up the cause of the widow and orphan, to fight for the rights of those being manipulated by the wealthy and powerful. We need to earn the title of Just once again as Christians.
19th March 2024
John 12:24 Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
For centuries people have been seeking the secret to life. It is actually something we see and experienced over and over again. It’s one of those secrets hidden in plain sight. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit”. There we have it. That’s the secret to life. It’s the pattern of loss and renewal that runs throughout our lives and our world. We live and experience it, sometimes by choice and other times by chance. This same pattern is in nature. We can see it in the changing of the seasons, falling leaves and new blooms, and the setting and rising of the sun. For new things to arise and flourish the old must die away. For us to have eternal life Jesus had to die and rise again. That is the secret of life in all its fulness.
18th March 2024
Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.
At times in our lives, we will be asked what love is, who we love and why? In the Bible Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment and He replies using words from Deuteronomy that we love God with all our heart and then we love our neighbour as our self. It is a reminder that how we treat our neighbour or any other person is more important than any sacrifice or holy action we might take. Loving our neighbour is not just loving family, close friends, close community, but anyone, anywhere, anytime. We are called to love anyone in need and even our enemies. God has a heart for the vulnerable in society, the orphan, the widow, the other (those from other countries and cultures). God desires that we offer protection, nurture and stability to all. The word for this love is Agape love, love of another because they are human and God’s creation. It’s a choice we have, not dependent on how lovable or not a person is, but choosing to delight in and love someone, advocate for them, care for them no matter what.
17th March 2024
1 Corinthians 12:18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
Some of us are good at DIY and can do some smaller jobs ourselves, but more often than not we all need the help of others to complete tasks and to properly care for ourselves and each other. I can change the tyres on my car, I can paint walls, I can even hang wallpaper but beyond that I need help, proper help, expertise. As we move through life others can often see things differently, more clearly and offer another perspective on something. As they say two heads are better than one, they provide checks and balances. We need each other. We are not all the same, thank goodness, God has given us each different skills and strengths so that as we work together the best outcome happens for everyone.
16th March 2024
John 8:12 I am the light of the world, they who follow me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
It is so good to be able to leave home at 6am and it be light, also to come home in the evening and it is still light. It lifts our spirits. The days lengthen, from which we get the term Lenten, a season in which we prepare for Easter and the days lengthen as we do. Physically there is always darkness, even in the land of the midnight sun. But there is always the darkness we can feel in our spiritual and mental selves, when we can feel weighed down, and in the darkness of life. The Spirit is able to come alongside to lighten the load, those around us can be agents of the Lord as they offer encouragement and help, there are friends and family, those in our churches who can also help us. There are also organisations which offer support. If we need help, we must ask. Talking and sharing can help bring light into dark places. Jesus is the Light of the world in every sense and is right there with us to lighten the load and give us the light of life.
15th March 2024
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, has many parts, all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
Recently I had my car serviced, only 3 days later a letter arrived about a safety recall. I could not ignore it, nor do either job myself. I needed to take it to the garage, I do not have the skills or expertise needed for such jobs. For my safety and the safety of everyone who uses that type of car, I am thankful that someone else does know how to fix it. If I have a water leak, I call a registered plumber If I have a gas leak or boiler problem, I call a registered Gas engineer. When I wrote my will I went to a registered solicitor. When I am Ill, I go to a trained and registered doctor. We cannot be experts in everything. We are all different and have differing strengths and weaknesses. We all need each other. We are part of one body but we each have different God given strengths and skills to use for the good of all.
14th March 2024
Mark 1:9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
People still bring their babies and children for baptism or christening in church. They come as part of a family tradition or because they believe it is right, they also come because it means a party. In the Bible Jesus comes for Baptism by John, his cousin. His public ministry is about to start and he comes, like the people of the time, to nail his colours to the mast as to who He is and why He is here. John feels he is unworthy to do this for Jesus but Jesus reassures him otherwise. It is such an honour to baptise anyone. As this Baptism happens God’s spirit comes down on Jesus as a Dove. This is a symbolic sign of peace, of purity, of love. A sign of God’s approval and blessing. This is a reminder and encouragement for us that God sends His love, His sign of blessing and approval on each of us in that same Holy Spirit, not just at our baptism, but that same Spirit who brings us peace and cares for us every day.
13th March 2024
John 12:4b But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.
How often do we remain quiet about our faith because of fear? We worry that speaking out about something as a Christian might result in us being teased, laughed at, ostracised so we remain quiet. Fear can so often hold us back from being the people God wants us to be. Belief in Jesus is seen as not cool, but is it, really? Having faith and belief is actually one of the strongest, coolest things we can do because we are not towing the line, following the crowd, but instead we are swimming against the tide, standing up for truth, honesty, integrity, justice. We believe in God because we know there is something more to life. It doesn’t mean we don’t question or challenge sometimes, but we know there is more, we see it, experience it. In that strength of knowledge, we should be willing to speak about what we believe, to admit to faith and bring that faith into every part of our lives, conversations, work, how we treat others and family, how we behave. Faith is both words and actions that back it up.
12th March 2024
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
How do you know when it's time to clean? When your feet stick to the floor when you walk through the kitchen. When your mother can't find you when she comes into your room to wake you up in the morning. When there are more dishes in the kitchen sink than there are in the cabinets. There came a time when time Jesus did some house cleaning. When He went to the temple, He couldn't believe what He saw. People were selling cattle, sheep, and doves to be used as sacrifices in the temple. Some men were even charging people to change their money so they could pay their temple taxes. It looked more like a flea market than a place to worship God. Jesus was pretty upset. This was the place to worship God. He drove the cattle, sheep, and those who were selling them out of the temple. He also turned over the money changers’ tables. As we think about Jesus cleaning the temple, we can also be reminded that there is some other cleaning that needs to be done. Our hearts might well need cleaning from selfishness, greed, careless language, rudeness, impatience, laziness, bad thoughts. Time for a life spring clean!
11th March 2024
Proverbs 17:17 A true friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for help in adversity.
Feeling alone, particularly when things are difficult, makes us susceptible to being misled and to thinking bad thoughts about ourselves. We can easily slip into believing we are unloved, neglected and worthless. This is not a safe place to be. We all need friends, family and support, people we can just be ourselves with, who can see when we need a friend, when we are hurting and need support. People who can also celebrate with us when things are good. We are so much better together. There are support networks, organisations, groups who can help and I would encourage anyone to seek help when they need it. But we also need to be good friends as well as have good friends. We need to offer support as well as expect to receive it. We need to include people and not shun them, not make people vulnerable because they don’t fit into our norms. We each have a responsibility to each other, to stand up for each other, to support each other, to never leave anyone behind.
10th March 2024
1 Corinthians 1:4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.
Appreciating each other is so important, realising the things others do for us day in day out. Today is Mothering Sunday, the opportunity to thank our Mums for all they do. I recently took a funeral where the daughter of the Mum who had died told me it was only now that she appreciated how much her mother had done for her and now it was too late to tell her. It is good to be reminded how much we need each other, rely on each other and how much we need to appreciate each other and be thankful for what we offer each other. I love the old African proverb that for me to be me, I need you to be you. One of the first things said in the Bible is that it is not good for humans to be alone. We were created to be in communion, working and living together, using our gifts and talents for the common good of all. Make sure that today you thank your Mum, appreciate all she has done for you and don’t wait another year before doing that again. Appreciate her and everyone on a daily basis!
9th March 2024
Philippians 1:4 I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News; help you gave from the first day you believed until now.
Yesterday was international women’s Day, I have mixed feelings about it, I love the fact that we raise the profile of women, celebrate their success and tell their stories but I struggle with the fact that we still need an International Women’s Day because Women are still so poorly treated across our world. The problem we face is that male dominance throughout history has meant that everything, including laws and stereotypes have been created by men, for men. Women are fighting against years of male dominance and male diktats. St Paul spoke about thanking God for those who had helped him in his work. Many of those were women who funded him, looked after him, provided for him as he travelled. Once again much of this has only come to light in recent years as early male leaders took women out of the picture in order to reinforce a male dominated religion. We all need to promote equality and parity, to stand with each other as we all seek to finish what was started with gender equality. We all have the opportunity and the power to change things, but it starts with us.
8th March 2024
Ephesians 4:2 Called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, and bearing with one another in love.
When I was younger I was shown an illustration of how we are stronger together. In those days we had huge telephone directories, it was really easy to rip one page, even a few pages but try to rip the whole thing, impossible unless you were a super strength human with a sneaky way of doing it. The point was as humans we are stronger when we work together. On our own we can be manipulated, ripped, torn, damaged, mislead; but once we are surrounded by others, those who help us, strengthen us, stand up for us, it is really hard to break us. We are stronger together. As Christians part of the role of church and meeting together is to offer that support and strength, that wrap around support which helps the vulnerable to be stronger and grow. There is protection and strength in numbers. When God said it is not good for humans to be alone He was telling us He created us to stand together, to support each other. When we bear with each other and stand together, we are stronger because of it.
7th March 2024
Matthew 4:16: "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
During the winter months I really struggle with the dark nights. The current switching off of street lights, particularly on motorways and main roads makes this even worse. It makes the dark even deeper, more threatening. Lights in the darkness are so comforting. The lights from someone’s window, the lights up on houses over Christmas, the light from a torch or a candle. Light brings reassurance, a feeling of safety and protection. Light enables us to see more clearly, to expose any problems and difficulties. In life there are areas of darkness where we can shine our light. Where people are experiencing the darkness of grief, bereavement, illness, poverty, homelessness, loneliness, this is where we can shine the light of love, shine as lights in the darkness as God has enabled us to do. Shine the light and expose wrongdoing, challenge fraud and lies, expose cruelty, expose those who would benefit from the dehumanising and mistreatment of others. We can shine our lights in the world, be the light of Christ to others and expose wrongdoing. Keep shining!!!
6th March 2024
Luke 24:5b Why Do You Look for the Living Among the Dead?
When you go somewhere or are involved in something you will have certain expectations. Sometimes these are spot on and sometimes we get something completely different, the unexpected. When the women go to the Tomb expecting to care for and anoint Jesus dead body, they find a stone rolled away and an empty tomb. They come expecting death and find resurrection, but initially they do not believe. They overthink it. Sometimes so do we. They meet angels but think Jesus is still dead, isn’t He? They have forgotten the words about finding the living among the dead. Had they forgotten or did they just think it was not possible? Do we question if it is really possible? Once the women realise Jesus has risen, they go and tell friends, families, disciples who in turn do not believe them. They had seen the miracles, they had seen Him raise the dead, they heard the witnesses but still they do not believe. Are we like that? Don’t believe even when proof is right in front of us? Finally, Peter realises his error, he remembers Jesus words and actions and He knows Jesus has risen. Do we realise our errors? Do we finally recognise the risen Jesus and live accordingly?
5th March 2024
Matthew 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
None of us is perfect, my family know that I have my issues and foibles. I can get angry, annoyed, I can cry in frustration and hurt, I make mistakes and my family have seen it all. I am not a perfect parent but I don’t really remember the bad times and mistakes. I remember holding them when they were ill, praying for them and with them, reading them stories. I remember the wrapping them in comfort and love, favourite foods, birthdays and Christmases’, being there at the highs and lows. I remember that at every point of hurt, grief and pain I wished I could take it away from them. Picture now, the perfect parent, God, who does not remember the bad, the sin, the wrongdoing, the anger, the hatred but does remember holding us when we are sick and in need, wrapping us in comfort and love, praying with us, being there at the lowest and highest points of our life and everywhere in between. At every point of anguish, grief, hurt, disappointment He is waiting to take it all, if we only let Him. God is all of the good parenting and none of the bad.
4th March 2024
Mark 3: 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
In the early parts of the gospels, we see that when Jesus was around things happened. He was really popular because He cared, He healed, He fed people. Lives were made better by Him. By the time we get to the cross there were only a handful of people supporting Him. Sadly, once we get what we want we easily forget those who gave it to us. Once we are alright it is easy not to help others. Today Christians and many organisations make a difference, food banks, warm banks, homeless shelters, access to medical care, things happen but those in leadership whose job it is to protect the vulnerable, to care for the poorest and support them have happily handed that off to the church, to charities because they are fine, they have all they want and more, so to retain power and influence it is easy to spend money on popularity rather than real need. There should be no child poverty, no homelessness, no lack of dental care, no lack of NHS spending but their selfish ambitions mean those in need are always neglected. We are people of action, of love and compassion, we change things like Jesus did, by prayer and by action. We need to hold people to account, our counsellors and politicians. Challenge them, their constant misleading and manipulation of figures and facts. Be truthful and honest. That is what Jesus did and so must we.
3rd March 2024
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Just recently I was listening to a programme tracing the events leading up to the murder of Brianna Ghey. What was so obvious was how the pair who murdered her used individualism, separation from friends and family, trolling on social media, divisive controlling and misinformation to separate this young innocent form those who could support and help her. By the time the two murderers committed their crime they had removed her from her support network, kept her from others who could stand up for her, manipulated her on social media so she felt alone and that they were her only friends. Our wellbeing and the wellbeing of others is vastly increased when we are supported, when we have friends and family who stand up for us, when we do not allow others to be separated from the group and so become vulnerable. When we cut people off, shun them, ostracise them, ignore them we are contributing to their vulnerability. Those who prey on others do so by being divisive, separating someone, making them alone and so susceptible to a manipulative “friend”. God designed humans as sociable, interactive, interdependent beings who need to look after one another. We have a duty of care each to each other. Not allowing anyone to be separated or become vulnerable to those who would cause harm.
2nd March 2024
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. Having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His.”
If you have ever watched a cowboy film you will have seen them brand cattle, put their mark of ownership on the cattle so people know who they belong to. All around us are branded items, we buy Pepsi or Del Monte, Cravendale, Superdry, Adidas or Nike. We purchase favourite brands. Remember Toy Story and how Andy put his name on the foot of Buzz and Woody, all marks of ownership. When we become Christians, we are branded, we carry the mark or seal of the ownership of God. We can physically experience this with the sign of the cross made on our foreheads at our baptism, but whenever we make our declaration of faith in God, from that moment we are branded, marked by God as His children, sealed by the Spirit. We are marked as Christ’s own, bought and paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross, part of the family of God, we carry Him in our hearts and minds for all our life.
1st March 2024
Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
I have often been asked, what do you think you are playing at? Or words to that effect. They come from those who believe that acting in the interests of others is upsetting the status quo, might damage their good life. When life goes well for us, we easily forget that what we do or don’t do, can make life different and better for others. Doing and saying the right thing makes life better for all. It benefits us and everyone else. The choice lies with you and me, all of us. When life is going well for us we can easily choose to be those who are selfish, entitled, arrogant, rude, unpleasant, to preserve what we have for ourselves only: or we can choose to be people of goodness, compassion, kindness, to be helpful, to always see the best in others, to not blame but to encourage and bless. This is simple courtesy, treating each other well, as we would like to be treated. Being people who do the right thing by each other and by God in all circumstances. If we are blessed, then we should always fight for others to be blessed as well.
29th February 2024
1 Peter 2:17. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour all.
How good are you at treating others with respect? Perhaps you feel you do not get the respect you deserve. Treating each other with respect is something we should all do, no matter what we read in papers or get told on social media. I am no better than you, you are no better than me, none of us are any more entitled than another. Even if you are born into or rise to highest ranks of society, you are no better than another who does not. The moment we begin to treat everyone equally, of equal value, then things change. Compassion and dignity become the priorities, not wealth and power. We recognise the value of every life, and we mourn when any life is taken or lost. Many of us have influential and high-powered jobs, we play a huge part in society. We must never forget that we are no better than another, If any of us are fortunate to achieve well we must not forget the other who is not as fortunate and never forget God created us all equal.
28th February 2024
Matthew 7: 9 & 10 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
How do you feel when someone does something wrong to us or those we love. We feel aggrieved, angry, hurt. But think for a moment, everyone that we hurt, that we dehumanise and maltreat, they feel the same, aggrieved, angry and hurt. None of us have the monopoly on being offended or hurt and it does not justify mistreating others with malice. If we do not want or like things done to us, then others will not like it either. Therefore, we should not do it or say it. We must see those around us as equal and deserving of just as much as we are. None of us are any more entitled than anyone else, no matter who we or they are. We justify our poor actions by dehumanising the other. By making excuses. No one deserves different treatment because of their gender, their religion, their life choice, their culture, their place of birth. Each one is a human being, created by God as equal to one another. None of us chose where we were born, none of us choses our culture and none of us have to right to disregard another because they are different.
27th February 2024
Malachi 3:1b Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty.
In Malachi we have the prophecy of this event in the Temple, the coming Messiah, BUT that coming means all the issues, problems, evils, injustices and misdirection will be exposed, lit up for all to see. The refiners fire, the fullers soap; only refining, cleansing, changing will bring people back to God. Liars and cheats will be exposed, they cannot stand before God. Those who oppress the poor, who pay insufficient and unfair wages, who cause and support child oppression and poverty, who mistreat and scapegoat the alien and the stranger, who choose wealth and are selfish and unrepentant in their pursuit of it, who choose not to serve but expect others to serve them. These words about treating people properly, fairly and equally exists across all religions and all religions are guilty of pushing these instructions aside in favour of selfish gain, self-importance, superiority, prosperity and domination of others. The blaming of others for our problems, the blaming of the weaker members of society for its issues. The unwillingness to look, listen and learn from our mistakes. We are called to live peaceably, to live together, to work for the flourishing of everyone not just ourselves.
26th February 2024
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
How good are we at time management? It is often a question on application forms or in interviews. The Bible teaches us a lot about how to handle our own experiences and time? The prophets and Jesus took time away to slow down, to pray, to seek and wait for the mighty hand of God on their lives. This is an example for us to follow. Do we take time to listen, to seek His will, to prepare, to take time out from the world and all its many distractions that usually demand our attention? This time of fasting and prayer was where Jesus was prepared, blessed, challenged and tempted. At the end of it He is ready to begin His ministry, to build the bridge between Humans and God, to open the gate, the door to Heaven. Lent gives the opportunity for us to be prepared, blessed and challenged and we will be tempted. If we use our time well we can be blessed and be a blessing to others and God can and will use us.
25th February 2024
Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness.
Being tempted is an experience we meet every day. Tempted to disobey, to take risks, to lie or bend the truth, to take something not ours, to be unkind, to act up, to walk away. After Jesus’ baptism he was guided into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit led Him into a solitary place with the purpose of making Him rest and prepare for greater events to come and to contemplate and pray, to seek God and His will for the future. It is why people go on retreat before big events in their life, to seek God’s will and refreshment. It gives time to listen and be quiet. Fasting, going without food, allows a person to concentrate more upon God and to seek the way forward. It is a giving up of earthly things so we can concentrate on heavenly things, our relationship and calling. But whenever we seek God and look to prepare ourselves, we will be tempted to turn away, to give up, to not bother. In God’s strength we too can overcome those temptations just as Jesus did.
24th February 2024
Luke 2:49 Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?
I love visiting Cathedrals, seeing the incredible buildings built before all the technology of today, feats of engineering and beauty. I often find these visits are real blessings, things happen, the atmosphere, the holiness and presence of God. In Jesus time the equivalent of a Cathedral was the Temple. The centre of the Jewish religion. Joseph and Mary go to the temple to thank God and what a visit it becomes! Joseph and Mary have had so much happen to them, and it keeps happening. From here the family go home and Jesus grows up. The stage is set! He is wise, has the favour of God on Him. We hear nothing again until he is 12 and returns to the Temple in Jerusalem where He remains behind and mum and dad have to go back and find Him. What does He say about where He is? I am in my father’s house. Where better to be than in our Father’s house, whether it be local church or Cathedral.
23rd February 2024
Luke 2:37b Anna never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
We meet some interesting people in the Bible, Anna, a prophetess. An early widow who had lived in the Temple for years. She dedicated her life to God, a life of prayer and fasting. What if she had decided after a year or so, that’s enough, I’ve served long enough in the Temple, time to move on, find a new life. Sometimes if we don’t see a quick benefit or an instant success we are tempted to give up, move on and not be patient in our life for God. Patience is something we need as Christians. Anna had been there a long time, then she is there as Jesus comes into the Temple, she speaks out, prophecy, she identifies Jesus as redemption. Her years of prayer and fasting brought to fruition in this moment. We never know what God may have for us, but we could miss a crucial time in our calling if are not patient and listening to God.
22nd February 2024
Isaiah 58:7 To share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself away.
Have you ever wondered why Lent is Forty days? Forty is obviously an important number, it is mentioned 146 times in the Bible and is linked to a time of trial, testing, preparation or probation. Also to God’s grace. Isaiah 58 tells us that during such times we are to pursue justice, set people free, share food with the hungry, house the homeless, and cover the naked. Lent is an opportunity to better use our time in what we do for others and for God. As we approach Easter it reminds us what Easter is really about and that we need to take time to prepare and change whatever is needed in our lives before God. Whether it be forty days or every day, or any period of time, we need to have time to examine ourselves, to look at changing those things in our lives that need changing. The opportunity to give up things which drag us or others down.
21st February 2024
Mark 1:12a Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
I wonder whether you have ever been in a wilderness. Literally or figuratively. Wilderness literally translated means wild deer ness, a place where wild animals roam. Somewhere we are not familiar with and feel uncomfortable, threatened, scared and not safe. We cannot see a way through or out. Life here is a struggle. Lent may be an opportunity to take ourselves away from the norm, to prepare and learn but being in the wilderness can happen to us at any time in life. Being cut off from usual life, usual people, usual routines. Every day is like running a gauntlet, fighting just to exist, never mind flourish. Wilderness experiences of illness, poverty, bereavement, hurt, job loss, failure, too much success, can all leave us cut off from our support, friends, family. Here we must navigate new ways through and out. We need to remember that although we may feel alone, we are not. God seeks us out even there when no one else seems to find us. Remember Elijah in a wilderness of fear or Esther in a wilderness of isolation from her family, Mary, Jesus mother and the other Mary and the disciples trapped in a wilderness of grief on that first Good Friday. But God is there, in the midst, the presence of comfort, encouragement and love. In the midst of the wilderness God finds us and holds us as we journey, guiding us step by step, supporting, encouraging. Lent is a time of preparation but can be a time of wilderness, as Jesus was not alone, neither are we. Those Angels are there to help us, strengthen and support us. God is right there with us.
20th February 2024
Luke 4:2 For forty days, being tempted by the devil, and he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
Looking at how much we have in our homes we find it hard to give things up, to have less, instead we tend to want more. It is a symbol of success and achievement. In today’s society we have a lot more than food to give up during Lent; technology, possessions, money, power, position as well as food. Jesus had a wonderful baptism experience, a mountain top experience followed by forty days of loneliness in the Judean outback away from all the distractions of the world. He gave up everything He had and was to go into the wilderness or valley experience. Many Christians come off social media during Lent and recognise how it has become too negative for them. Some never return. Others take the opportunity to read more, study more. Some give up watching TV, some give up certain foods. There is no hard rule about what we give up or take up. It is the giving of more of ourselves to God that is most important during Lent.
19th February 2024
Mark 1:15 The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
We have arrived in Lent. The next few weeks can be, if we choose, those of fasting, prayer and preparation for Easter. As humans we can never be perfect. It is impossible to keep every rule completely, to not get it wrong sometimes. BUT a change of heart and a belief in Jesus Christ leads us to forgiveness and the right way before God. Jesus, the Son of God, took forty days for time apart to prepare for His earthly mission, how much more do we, ordinary people, need to take the forty days of Lent to prepare and rededicate our lives to God. Take quiet times apart for meditation, fasting and reflection to bring us closer to God to prepare us for the mission set before us. Jesus regularly took time away, to pray, to contemplate, He is our role model, our example, so let us follow our leader and use Lent to prepare, to learn, to be challenged, to seek, serve and follow Jesus.
18th February 2024
Matthew 8:8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
If you wanted Jesus to heal someone, would you want Him to physically come and touch the person? I think I would. We would expect Jesus to come and see what needs to be done. In this story of the Centurion, he is a soldier in command of others and yet he says he is unworthy for Jesus to come to his home to see and heal his servant. He recognises Jesus authority, he sees what the religious leaders could not. How do we see Jesus? Do we have that faith? Do we recognise Jesus authority? The centurion tells Jesus that all He needs to do is say the word and it will happen. Say it, speak it out. The power of God’s word. God spoke and the world was created, God’s word was made flesh in Jesus, Jesus was God’s word spoken to us. Words have power, God’s word can create and heal and change things. God speaks and we should listen. We have the power of words, the power to speak into situations, to heal and hurt, to change things for the better. Jesus spoke and the servant was healed, Lazarus was raised, lepers were cleansed, sight was restored, the lame walked. Words can challenge, can heal, can bless, can encourage but they can also hurt and destroy. As Jesus used His words for good, to speak truth to power, so must we.
17th February 2024
Philippians 3: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider rubbish for the sake of Christ.
If you were asked to list your achievements, what would you say? What are you most proud of? St Paul lists off many things which make him a Jew of Jews. He reminds them of his zealous pursuits of Christians to put them to death. He speaks to the reasons why he could be proud, more than most, of his Jewish heritage and yet he says all this is rubbish, it doesn’t matter, it counts for nothing before God. Our self confidence in our achievements, culture, practices, beliefs are nothing if we do not know Jesus as Lord. No matter how wonderful we may think we are it is only in Jesus that we can be saved. Only Christ allows us the defeat of death and eternal life. There is nothing wrong with achievements, or being proud of the good things we do, but that pride needs to be in the context of our faith, our life in Christ for which we daily live and strive to do our best.
16th February 2024
Matthew 5:39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
I expect you are aware of the phrase, the straw that broke the camel’s back, the idea that as the load begins to get heavier, it can be the lightest of things which can finally break us. Being a hardworking, well mannered, good person is something most of us aspire to and do on a daily basis, within that we will have events, situations which make us struggle, but somehow we keep going, we do things to try and make that situation easier, we even take more upon ourselves rather than upset someone else. Eventually we snap, it becomes too much, our self confidence and self-esteem are finally downtrodden, and we react, sometimes seemingly unproportionally to that small thing, but it is a reaction to weeks or months of this finally coming to a head. We may get angry, often upset, feel violated or maltreated. The other person may not even realise the impact they have but our response should, if nothing else, make them question why. Turning the other cheek is an excellent aspiration but it can also be a millstone to our own mental health and wellbeing. There is only so much we can take as humans. God would have us treat each other better, be more ready to be kind than not, be more ready to help than not and to always appreciate that a careless word or action from us could really hurt someone and devalue them. In everything we do and say we need to think first and seek always to bless the other and not to hurt or devalue them.
15th February 2024
Mark 3:14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to proclaim.
Can you remember a time when you were called to do something, or chosen to be part of something? These events make us feel good, that we have been seen as part of something important. The Disciples were called and chosen by Jesus. They then followed Him and His teaching, worked alongside Him as students in training and then were sent out to proclaim Jesus to the world. The word Disciple means follower and/or pupil of a leader or teacher. They were also called Apostles which means emissary, missionary, one who is sent out. We tend to think of these first 12 as the most important and yet we too are called to follow Jesus, we are chosen by God, and we are sent out to proclaim His love. We are Apostles and Disciples; we are called to serve Him and bring others to Him. The list of 12 names we read in Mark soon becomes much longer, it is added to every day across the world and we are part of that list of those called, chosen and sent out.
14th February 2024
1 Corinthians 7:17 Each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.
For some the ordinary is not enough. We like life to be exciting, when things are happening, we want to be in the centre and sometimes we lose sight of the importance of all the ordinary, basic things we do every day. There will be times when we wonder what good can come from the basic, ordinary things that God is calling us to do, but we must do it anyway. Being reliable, supportive, feeding ourselves and others, turning up to things, sharing a cuppa, doing our job. Christ will work through our ordinary, our daily prayers and through our obedience in doing daily things to bring joy and blessing into our own life and into the lives of others; but most of the time this happens in the ordinary things of life. We need to see God in the ordinary, to be willing to do things, however simple they may seem, and that way God will work His miracles through us.
13th February 2024
John 2:9 The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
When wonderful things happen for us, many people do not see it. We and our family and friends may recognise God at work but others will not. The master of the wedding feast does not know that the good wine is a gift from Christ, so he gives credit in the wrong place. Most of the guests went home that day completely unaware of the miracle. They enjoy the best wine, directly from the hand of Christ. But they don’t know where the gift had come from. They enjoy the gift without knowing the giver. Daily we enjoy good gifts from God and do not acknowledge where they come from. We have been greatly blessed. Often the wine is flowing for us. Our troubles are often few and our joys are many. The real problem is that we’re giving credit in the wrong place. We see it as our hard work, our provision but at Cana if it had not been for Jesus all they would have had to show for it would have been six stone pots of water. If it had not been for the blessing of Christ, our life would be just stone pots of water. Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain!
12th February 2024
James 1:17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him.
How do you look at your life? Do you accept that there are good things, blessings, that are God given or do you see it all as your right? Actually, every good gift comes from above, from God, the creator. Everything that brings us pleasure and joy. The gifts of music and art, the gifts of work and sport, the gifts of love and family, the gift of health, the gifts of food and shelter, the gifts of peace and joy. We are so blessed and yet we habitually blame God for all that is wrong, and very rarely thank Him for all that is good! We love to take credit for our own success but love to blame God when things are not so good. Life is a blessing from God, it is a wonderful opportunity to serve and bless others, sadly we become more selfish, more self-reliant and like to praise self rather than God. We must begin to accept and realise that all our wonderful blessings come from God and we need to be more thankful and give Him the credit.
11th February 2024
John 2:7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Sometimes we wonder what is the point in carrying on, why bother, we think, enough is enough. Often in the Bible we see people who play their part in a story because they do what they are asked to do, even when it may appear pointless. Jesus Christ could easily have turned water into wine without any involvement from the servants, but He chose not to. God works with His people. He works as His people pray and as His people are actively involved in His service and in doing as they are asked. God’s blessing came to the wedding guests through the obedience of the servants. Gifts of grace come from the hand of God, but they are received by His people through the prayers and the work of his fellow workers, us! Here’s the principle: God will do what only He can do, and we do what He has called us to do. God wants to use us to bless others but we must be willing to do our part. The gift of the new wine is given as the servants are obedient to all that Christ told them to do. So it needs to be with us!
10th February 2024
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
We sometimes wonder why things happen in our lives, we question “why me” and we try to look for reasons. As Christians we try to trust in God and what He can and will do in our situation. But none of us knows how God will use what is happening in our lives, but we can be sure that God will use every circumstance to work His loving and best purpose for us. This is true of every situation whether illness, heartache, loss, or disappointment. When the difficult times happen, Jesus is already there, He will always be there, He will show His glory; but it is not for us to tell Him how or when. When things are difficult and also when times are good, we need to tell God what is happening, and we need to ask for His help. He is already there but we need to recognise our need and be willing to let Him step in.
9th February 2024
John 2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there.
I think we all like a good wedding. Friends and family coming together to share in the joy of a couple. These days people tend not to have a free bar, it is far too expensive; often a couple of bottles of wine are put on the table, any more you want, you pay for. In Jesus time the groom was supposed to provide all the wine. We first encounter Jesus performing a miracle at a wedding in Cana. Mother Mary recognises that that there is a problem and she brings the need to Jesus. What do we do when we see a need? We should always ask for help and the first person we must ask is Jesus Christ. Mary had the ear of Christ, and so do we. Mary gives us a wonderful example to follow. First, she asks for help from Jesus and then she submits the matter and herself to Jesus. May we be willing to do the same, that way miracles can and will happen.
8th February 2024
Luke 18:17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
Within the church generally we are very good at telling people whether they are accepted or not. We love to make people jump through hoops, the criteria we have put in place, when Jesus makes it so clear that God accepts people as they are and with simple childlike faith and belief. Certain people in our churches try to make people follow our rules, our criteria. Often those who are rich and powerful are rewarded and given an easy pass, the success and promotion in worldly things is seen as reason for promotion in the church instead of the simple child like faith that God asks of us. When children accept and believe things that is it, no ifs or buts, they trust and accept. Children feel completely safe with their parents and know that they will do anything to care for and protect them. Children trust completely. Jesus reminds us that this is the type of faith we should have. That acceptance and trust that God will do anything to protect and care for us. A faith that knows we are completely safe with Him. This is the child like faith we are encouraged to have, may I encourage you to see God like this and completely trust Him.
7th February 2024
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
Time and again in the Bible when people encounter God and Jesus the pieces fall into place, people finally recognise God, who He is, they recognise Jesus is the son of God, the King of Kings, the one they have been looking for. Professional success, material wealth and societal prestige, take second place to God. If we want to live our best life now? Stop thinking about OUR life and OUR happiness, OUR preferences, OUR success and OUR accomplishments. It’s not about you, not about me. It’s about God. It’s about this radical message of living life as servants, of turning the world’s view of success on its head. It’s about taking up your cross and following, no matter what the cost, just so we can be one little part of the grand and wonderful work of God to transform this world. For any of us to really and truly have our best life right now is by giving it away to God. It’s not about us. It’s about God. Turn our lives over, give them up and follow Him. We’ll never find a better life.
6th February 2024
Proverbs 17:9 Love prospers when faults are forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
The church is currently on a supposedly mission orientated drive. Money is being poured into new bid ideas and missional activities while parishes are being starved of support. It seems that many of our church goals, nationally and locally, are all about us! Not God! The mission of the church is, sadly, not about you or me. The mission of the church is about God, about God’s redeeming work in the world, about living that out and making room for others to join us in that living. The world is full of people who are looking for hope, for love, for friendship and compassion. People who are looking for fairness and justice, not gimmicks, not lessons in good behaviour, but forgiveness. The disciples finally figured it out. It took them a while, it took them sorting through the questions of self-importance and self-interest that, up until that point had been the motivating, compelling forces in their quest for success, for the ability to live their best lives and share that love and forgiveness with others.
5th February 2024
James 2:7 Pure and genuine faith in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
We all meet a lot of people in our lives and they are all different with differing ideas, strengths, problems and needs. When Jesus began his ministry he encountered all sorts of folks, people who were not living their best lives, people who needed some hope for the future, something more to believe in. At the end of his ministry Jesus didn’t have thousands of adoring followers lined up to hear him; just a few fearful women at the foot of his cross. Jesus did not flash a smile and promise “Your best life now!” No, He said strange things, like: follow me and I will make you fishers for people or, if anyone wants to be my disciple, they should take up their cross and follow me. Instead of promising relief from the political oppression of Rome, wealth to eliminate the drudgery of day-to-day existence, positions of power and influence to bring success, Jesus spoke about strange new ideas like love and justice, ideas that had very little to do with us as an individual, with our life and our success and our best life now, it was and is to do with God! God’s message of love and reconciliation for the whole world, not just for us. Where we care for the orphans and widows and refuse to let the world corrupt us.
4th February 2024
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
We have all been told at some time that we should do the right thing! Recently we remembered the horrors of the Holocaust, where the right thing was not done. In the Bible this phrase is used, Do unto others what you would have done to you. If we had applied that phrase to the Holocaust then the Nazi’s too would have been tortured, interred, experimented on, and murdered. But what happened was others were dehumanised, made out to be less than the Nazi race and therefore any punishment was justified and excused. We are still at it today, dehumanising, pretending others are less than we are because we’re male, or of a certain race or colour, or we went to a certain school or university; we dehumanise people because they are disabled or sick or poor. Blaming others for things because we believe we are special and are better than others. This is simply not the case. In God’s eyes all are equal and all are deserving of fairness and justice. Doing unto others as we would want for ourselves is so simple and yet so easily ignored! Following God’s teaching on Doing unto others is the only way we will stop injustice, unfairness, genocide, murder, poverty and hunger.
3rd February 2024
Luke 2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
In the temple Joseph and Mary encounter Simeon, a righteous and holy man. He had been promised that he would see the Messiah before he died. I often ask myself and others what if Mary had said no? I also ask what if Simeon had not listened to the Holy Spirit? He was directed to the temple, what if he’d shrugged it off, didn’t pay attention to that thought, that feeling, that prompting. What if we do not pay attention to the Spirit in us, to God’s prompting, that nagging feeling, that call to be made, that gift to be given, that place we should or should not be. Simeon listens to the prompting, he is urged towards the family, to Baby Jesus. He speaks prophecy, he is part of prophecy. He sees the Messiah, holds him in his arms and reminds everyone that this Baby is for Gentiles and for Israel. Light and glory. Simeon blesses them and offers the prophecy of Jesus death and the hurt to come. Mary is warned of the pain and sorrow to come for her so that the world might have the chance to be saved.
2nd February 2024
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For most of us we want the best for ourselves and family. We want the better job, more money, a bigger car and house. We all long to be those who are comfortable and well off rather than poor. Interestingly church growth across the world, particularly in the west, is very much tied into how we have a successful, happy, abundant, prosperous life. People are sold the story of having our best life now! It’s all about us! This is often called the prosperity doctrine, the misinformation that God wants us to be wealthy and it enables some preachers and church leaders to live as millionaires. That is not servanthood, that is not serving God and people, caring for the poor and sick. If life is all about us, we cannot live our best life as God intended. We have to recognise that life is not all about us but it is all about God. About making God’s world the best for everybody not just us.
1st February 2024
John 1:46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Young children love the word why. They go through a stage of replying why to anything we ask them to do. Many of us continue through life to ask why, to question everything and that is not always a bad thing. The calling of Nathaniel by Jesus is someone asking questions, challenging Jesus to find the truth. He questions Philip’s claim to have found the Messiah, who is this person, how can anything good come from Nazareth? Nathaniel is sceptical. He knew what kind of folks lived in Nazareth. What kind of guy from Nazareth could answer the longing in HIS heart, give him the purpose HE needed? Nathaniel then challenges how Jesus knows him. Jesus reply is to speak into his heart, into his mind and personality. Jesus speaks the truth and Nathaniel learns that to live his best life He needs to follow Jesus. Jesus speaks the truth into our lives as well, but we must be prepared to listen and to hear, then we too, can live our best lives in Jesus
31st January 2024
John 1:48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Do you ever sit and think or ponder? Sometimes we have a place we like to just sit and think, a favourite chair or room. We first encounter the disciple Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. A place for pondering, thinking about things, working through some of the issues of his life. What is the meaning of my life? Am I happy? Where do I fit? Am I living the best life I can live? These are questions we ask ourselves. These weeks of Epiphany are the time in the church year when we get to see Jesus starting his ministry, making his way into the lives of all these people offering them the life-transforming opportunity of becoming his followers. Nathaniel finds the answers to his questions in Jesus and becomes a follower. We can also find the answers to our questions if we follow Jesus. When we ponder, when we think Jesus is there with us and offers all we need to find our way forward. What Jesus did for Nathaniel He willingly does for each of us.
30th January 2024
Luke 2:22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Do we like doing what we are told? As children and teenagers, we rebel against being told what to do because we believe we know better. Society only functions because most of us do as we are supposed to, we keep laws and rules and enable people to live decent lives. A little after Jesus is born, He is taken by his parents to the Temple. Joseph and Mary do as the law requires. They are people of faith! They bring Jesus and present Him to the Lord. The Lord gave them a son and they offer a sacrifice of turtle doves or pigeons in thanks to God for what He has freely given. Jesus is presented as a symbol of light in the darkness, presented as all children should be in thanks to God. Doing as the law requires sets Jesus as one who is within God’s law, a fulfilment of the Law.
29th January 2024
Luke 12:48 To whom much is given much is expected.
Last Year My husband and I were invited to film for a TV game show. As it has now aired, I am free to talk about it. We had a wonderful day, were treated so well by the runners, junior staff, make up people etc. They were so kind and helpful, nothing too much trouble. Where I struggled was the treatment by the celebrity presenter. You get the impression on the TV that they try to get to know you, are interested, want to have a conversation with you. That was not the case. Apart from a brief wave and general hello at the start, no other interaction happened than what you see on TV. As things were being re shot the presenter was engrossed in their phone, they occasionally talked to the guest presenter, but the contestants didn't really exist. For the sake of a personal introduction, a shake of the hand, a picture with you, the experience would be so much more welcoming. The problem with celebrity, it seems, is that they can see themselves as above others, that they don’t have to make an effort to even just be polite. How sad. This verse reminds us that the more we are given the more is expected of us in how we use it, how we treat others. Simple respect and politeness cost nothing. Yes, being famous means meeting loads of people and that can be tiring, but the wonderful lifestyle they have because of their status is more than enough of a reward. No one is better than another, no one has the right to look down on others, politeness and respect cost nothing and should be freely offered by all to each other no matter our status in society.
28th January 2024
John 6: Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
On a hillside with 5000 hungry people, Andrew speaks up. What he says would be seen by most as silly, pointless; what use is a small picnic to feed 5000 people. But He, as all the disciples have, has seen His confidence grow, he has experienced Jesus encouraging him, supporting him, not criticising his mistakes and failures but using them to help him grow stronger, to be more confident because of his faith and his friendship with Jesus. Are we those supporting friends, encouraging friends, friends that do not criticise and allow others to grow and flourish, learning from mistakes? Everyone of us makes mistakes, we all fail but everyone of us deserves a second, third, fourth and more chance to learn and grow, because God loves us all and God wants each of us to succeed.
27th January 2024
2 Corinthians 4:7 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.
You may not believe it or even think it, but every one of us can do amazing things. It may not be easy, but in God’s strength it is possible and encouraged. We may need to struggle, to keep going when around us negativity pushes in, but we will find strength from within, strength we never thought we had, strength from God, from our faith. That is the resilience of the God given human spirit, where we are never alone even in our darkest moments, because God is there; with us, around us, supporting us, holding us. In the midst of the hardest, worst times we are never alone. We have resilience from creator God, resilience in the human self that we are. Sometimes we need to look deep within, to dig into those deep resources within ourselves but we do not need to face anything alone.
26th January 2024
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
At times of great turbulence and uncertainty throughout the history of humankind, the Bible has provided a source of comfort, assurance and hope. Her late Majesty the Queen once said “To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn, than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?”. It’s something Jesus pointed out to his own first followers, that even when everything around us is crumbling, even though, “Heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away”. God’s word will continue throughout famine, war, pestilence, plague and pandemic. And I wonder if this is something we particularly need to hear today? So much of what we thought we knew and the things that we trusted to be there always were upended or taken away by COVID and subsequent issues of war and costs. Hope is something that is in short supply at the moment. BUT, The Bible gives us hope, because it shows us that God’s big story and His ultimate plans for good are there for us all. It gives us hope because we read in its pages that what we see and experience here and now, is not all there is, and that God and His love and His goodness will ultimately prevail.
25th January 2024
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
Being resilient is a term banded about a lot these days. The Government challenge the resilience of our young people and in my opinion disrespect them. Resilience does not come from being stuck in a place and refusing to move and change, but rather from a willingness to adapt, learn and change when things do not go our way. Something our young people have had to do over the last pandemic years. A determination to succeed still needs people to listen, to learn, to adapt and change. Being resilient means not conforming to the ways of this world which says we push on regardless of the pain and suffering we cause, in order to get our own way and further our own agenda. Instead, we make choices to change, to adapt, in order to offer the best not only for ourselves but for others too. God created us as individuals who need each other. It is not good for humans to be alone. Instead, we grow, learn and change together. We become better people because of who are around us, families, friends, colleagues, neighbours, we all need one another to strengthen and help, together.
24th January 2024
John 6:1 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
Empathy is a characteristic that is really lacking in our country and our world. Instead of putting ourselves in the shoes of others we judge harshly, offloading the blame for all our ills on those we can, usually because they are different. We use disability, illness, skin colour, culture or religious belief to mask our own inadequacy and complete lack of empathy. Struggling and failing in areas of our lives can actually help us develop empathy for others. When we experience failure ourselves, we are more likely to be understanding and compassionate towards others who are going through similar struggles. This is what Jesus did when He became human, became as we are, experienced life as we do and still chose to love us, care for us, fight for us. Empathy is a characteristic we need to develop and use more in our ever increasing, intolerant world.
23rd January 2024
2 Corinthians 4:9 There are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.
When life is tough, when things seem not to be going well, do we want to give up, yes, do we, no. Do we feel despair, yes, do we know enemies and feel crushed, yes, do we give up, no! How many of us would take a risk, give up our security, our safety, to rescue someone we love? To walk away from injustice, to stand up and challenge wrongdoing in work, in society, in government? Most of us will never be in that situation and yet daily we do face difficulty, despair, hardship, sometimes physical injury or disability. For some of us every day is a difficulty to be overcome, none of us know what our neighbour is facing, what daily struggles some of us face and yet somehow, with resilience and determination, we take it one step at a time and keep going. The resilience of the God given human spirit is amazing.
22nd January 2024
Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
We have bad days, but we also have good days. We are human, we get it wrong, but God sees the heart. He sees us in the quiet times, when we are secretive, when we work quietly without a fuss. It is really encouraging to know that God sees it all, the good as well as the bad, but it is also a warning, If we are not that good person, if we pretend to others that we do care when we actually don’t, then we are reminded that God sees the truth, the real us. We may be able to fool friends, colleagues and family but we cannot fool God. Let me encourage you to try and be better, kinder, more caring and try a little harder not to slip into those bad days, not to let them get to us. But, even when they do happen, remember God knows the truth. All God wants from us is for us to try, He would rather we try and fail than never try at all. Remember the good you do, be reminded of how much you care for others, it is not for us to shout about or expect praise for what we do, but it is the whole person that matters, the us that God made us to be and as God sees us for who we really are, let us try to see the best in each other.
21st January 2024
Luke 6: 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
How good are you at being merciful? When someone upsets us, outdoes us, gets more than us, uses us; do we want them to suffer, to be paid back for their insults and more? Do we want our pound of flesh or do we really want revenge? Our practice of mercy comes from our experience of mercy from God. If we got what we deserved, let’s face it, we would not survive, we deserve nothing. Being merciful is a Godly attribute we can have; using our ability, in God’s strength, to forgive others, to show mercy and compassion. To offer a second chance, to work for peace, human rights, economic justice and to transform how society works. Our showing mercy and compassion means we stand with those who suffer, we look for the flourishing of all, we show mercy, even to the undeserving, we act on behalf of God as compassionate, merciful people who promote justice and mercy and try to stop exploitation of our world and all living creatures.
20th January 2024
2 Samuel 7:5 Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
Sometimes we feel life is good, we have done well and things are going our way, maybe at last. King David was in this good place and he knew it. Life had been generous to him, not least in providing him with a strong house made from cedar wood. David wanted to be generous to God, as the source of his good fortune, and wanted to build a special house for God. The trouble was David wasn’t actually listening to God who had different ideas. God didn’t want David’s generosity expressed in this way. God wanted to continue being generous to David in establishing the kingship with his offspring forever. How often do we try to force our own ideas on other people, out of a mistaken sense of our own generosity, instead of listening to them? How often do we try to force our ideas on God instead of listening to Him? Instead of giving people and God the things that we think they must want, can we instead offer them the generosity that recognises who they truly are, and be generous with whatever they really need for them to be the people God is calling them to be?
19th January 2024
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
I do love Call The Midwife. Great Sunday night viewing, feel good factor and the triumph of good over evil. The mix of Nun midwives with others is truly wonderful, we see the value of nursing staff in the community, the value of support and of the relationships developed in the community. They tackle many of the issues facing the slums of London and of health amongst ordinary people as development happened, not always for the better. It offers strong female role models, in the midwives and the Nuns. No one predicted how successful it would be but it has caught the imagination of people because it reminds us of how important community is to society. Always help, always someone on our side, always someone to care and fight for the underdog. This is the society God promotes, fairness and justice, care for one another, empathy, compassion, helping the poor and making society better for everyone. Sometimes the church forgets that Community is vital, people working together in the local area, providing needed support, not because we want to force people into church but because we want people to know just how much God loves them and enable them to become part of the wonderful, amazing family of God.
18th January 2024
Isaiah 40:3 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
The long dark and cold days and nights of winter are difficult. The older I get the harder it is to get up in the dark, come home in the dark, the cold permeates more and the cost of heating the old vicarage is a lot. Morale is low even in the New Year, because of the short daylight hours and the cold weather. It seems summer is so far away and the change in our seasons shows how we have not been prepared for the very cold or the very hot, the huge amount of rain and storms we now have. God gave us a world to steward and care for, a world with enough resources for everyone to live well but we have chosen to exploit those resources for wealth and power. As a result, too many now live in damp and cold, struggle to eat and heat. So many children live in poverty. As much as I struggle there are far more for whom life is a daily battle. For all of us there is hope, we cling to the hope of a better future, of leaders who will make things better and be true to their promises. I cling to the hope of life in Jesus, to a secure future, to help, provision and compassion from a God who is interested in me and everyone of us. If you need more than that then please do contact someone, ask for help, there are people who will share the load, please do not cope alone.
Samaritans 116 123
17th January 2024
Matthew 11:2 & 3 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
I can honestly say that we all, no matter how strong a faith we have, have moments of doubt. John the Baptist has been put in prison because he has challenged Herod on his adultery, divorce and remarriage. John, the voice crying out in the wilderness, Jesus’ cousin who leapt in his mother’s womb, who baptised Jesus and witnessed the spirit descending and the voice of God, is sitting in prison and has time to think. What is happening to his mission, why is he in prison, why has Jesus not come to help? He sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah. Jesus does not criticise, or challenge John’s doubt, instead he tells them to report to John what they see, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed. Jesus does the work of God, the miracles, and so reminds John of the continuing mission. We all have doubts, it is okay to have doubts, Jesus does not condemn our doubts but reminds us of all that He has done for us and all that He will continue to do for us, even when we doubt. God never gives up on us, ever.
16th January 2024
Exodus 34:6 The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands.
Theologian Elizabeth Johnson wrote a book called Abounding in kindness. In it she tries to show us that God’s love is an amazing, incredible mystery that we simply don’t fully understand. She shows how God is Abounding in Kindness. There is no end to His love or His kindness. She points out that we just don’t appreciate this. Yet it so clearly shines out in the Old Testament where they constantly encounter a God of great mercy who abounds in love, kindness and faithfulness. Then in the New Testament Jesus is the very embodiment of this abounding love and kindness all the way to the cross and beyond to defeat death itself. For Johnson, God’s compassion and solidarity for those who are suffering requires us to show the same. If God’s heart is turned in compassion towards this world, as we know it is, then we as His followers should show this abounding love, kindness and compassion to each other. If we do not help our brothers and sisters in need, if we do not try to alleviate the suffering and poverty of the other, if we do not care for our created world, then we are not fulfilling God’s role for us in the world.
15th January 2024
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is a God of promises; the promise of an enslaved Egypt to be made free to Moses, the promise to a poor young girl living under oppression in an empire, that she will bear the Messiah. Promises made in the shadow of conflict, oppression, persecution, and uncertainty. Look around right now, so much suffering and oppression. War in Ukraine, in the Holy land, so many places beset by darkness, injustice, ethnic cleansing, poverty, occupation, oppression. Here in UK, so many people lonely, destitute, homeless, in poverty, struggling to just survive. Facing all this we wonder just how we can wait any longer. Advent is a season of waiting, it is almost beyond our abilities to wait, to sit with the pain of this broken world and wait. As another Christmas has come and gone, we must hold fast to the promises of God, promises made to the oppressed, the excluded, the humiliated; made in times of war and occupation, oppression and injustice. The hope is there to be seen, even in the absolute mess of the world, God is at work, He has been at work down the centuries. He is already at the side of the broken and forgotten, already comforting and defending the poor and lowly, the humiliated and those caught up in war and power games. We continue to wait for God’s certain promises to come to fruition as so many have done over the years. We listen for new promises He is making to us day by day; we wait for the peace and justice held for us by Jesus Christ. We wait, we watch, we pray that the Child who came to Bethlehem that first Christmas, who redeemed us, died for us and defeated death for us will come again and restore the world to the perfect Kingship of God and restore us to the people of peace and love that He created us to be. Even so Lord Jesus, Come!
14th January 2024
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
27 years go today I gave birth to my eldest son. He’s just bought house with his partner; he became a teacher and will soon move out. It is amazing to think that that baby became a grown man. This story of life is common to us all. We are born, we grow, we live, we may have children of our own, we grow older and eventually we die. As I grow older, I realise that there have been many things I regret not doing, too much time spent striving for things out of reach and not appreciating what I actually had. God knows us before we are born, God knows the number of hairs on our head, God wants what is best for us, He wants us to succeed and have a wonderful life but we are often so busy trying to get the next best thing that we never live the great best life God wants for us. Before we know it, our children are grown, we are quickly headed to retirement and all that we could have done wasn’t accomplished. God is still wanting the best for us, even now, it is never too late to appreciate what we have and seek to live the best life God wants for us. We just need to recognise it.
13th January 2024
John 20:21 As the Father sent me, so I send you.
What do you think of when anyone talks about being a prophet? Most of us think prophets are of the Old Testament, resigned to history, we forget Jesus was a prophet and we don’t really talk about Jesus in this way. Remember Jesus was interested in us and his followers becoming like him, just like the prophets of old were persecuted and often rejected so am I and so will you be. Jesus’ life and work is prophetic and as we become like Him so do we become prophetic. We do not just read a book and repeat what we learn; but we go deep into ourselves to hear God’s message born in the midst of pain, burden, frustration, suffering and disillusionment. From inside we know we need to find other people who see what we see and do something about it. If we do not challenge the status Quo, no one will. When we are motivated by revolutionary love in the prophetic tradition of Jesus, we recognise the pain of our planet, the agony of the poor, to work for peace and against injustice and racism and hate, so that we can transform a broken world into the community of God.
12th January 2024
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.
I wonder if you have ever thought about why you are here, in this life, at this time? I know I have. Many people question their existence and role, some even needing help when this brings doubt rather than hope. God reminds us time and again that we all have a purpose, that we are all chosen and precious. In simple terms we are chosen because we have been born. Each of us has been chosen by God, known before we were even in our mother’s womb. We are chosen because we are here, now, and God is waiting for us to just look to Him, that He may bless us. We are keepers of His revelation: people with creative thoughts and ideas, people with gifts and talents, people who are chosen and precious to God. Do not hide away what God has chosen you for, do not ignore His love and His call, do not allow others to stop you answering His call on your life. There are things only you can do, so step out in faith and allow God to work in you.
11th January 2024
Hosea 12:10 I have also spoken to the prophets, and I give numerous visions, and through the prophets I give parables.
Various theologians write and speak about how prophets arise in periods of crisis to chart a message of resilience and hope. Prophets appear firstly as an early warning system, speaking out about what is to come. Then, as it becomes more real, they educate people about what to do to end the suffering and alter the course. Finally, they describe the future and guide people to find it within themselves. Prophets ground their prophecy in the bedrock of spiritual traditions. They recall the ancient stories and covenants between the God and human beings. They reinterpret ancient teachings and retell the old promises; immersed in tradition even as they talk about the need for change. As we begin 2024, I invite you to join me in becoming a prophet. It does not matter what our race or culture may be. It does not matter what age or gender we are. We can all become prophets of our own time. We are all needed and we are human beings living in extraordinary times. We seek a spiritual purpose to our lives. We ask difficult questions, we seek vision. We challenge leaders and politicians; we strive to be common-sense advocates for what will work best to help all people.
10th January 2024
Matthew 2:11b Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The third Epiphany gift given to Jesus is Myrrh. Myrrh is associated with sacrifice and death. Myrrh is a perfumed anointing oil used for burial. This gift is clearly associating Baby Jesus with death. In His future His death would be crucial to His story as both King and priest. The true humanity of Jesus, Son of God, both human and divine is reflected. He can and will die. He will defeat death on our behalf. Who wants to sacrifice themselves? This is something Humans are rarely called to do, occasionally someone will sacrifice themselves. What would you do if you were called to make sacrifices? A challenging question. Jesus is a King and a priest who will offer Himself as a sacrifice to die so that we can have eternal life. All three gifts are linked to Jesus life and ministry. They are a prophetic, foretelling of what Jesus was going to do. It has an impact on our lives, It is a challenge to servanthood, priesthood and calling, to live our lives as best we can for God each and every day.
9th January 2024
Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
The second Epiphany gift to Jesus was Frankincense. Frankincense was an expensive incense, used in worship, used to anoint priests, reserved for those called to serve God and the only incense used at the Altar. So, Frankincense can be associated with the priesthood. Who wants to be a priest? There are some of us who are called to be priests or vicars. Unlike being a king or Queen, this is a lot less popular choice for people. But, if you were a Priest, what would you do? Priests are called to care for God’s people, to lead them in prayer and worship, to be servant leaders, to visit the sick, to pray for God’s people and to stand in the gap. Priests are called by God. Jesus is a priest; He stands in the gap between God and Humans, allowing humans and God to be reunited. He acts as both servant and leader. St Paul calls Him the great High Priest who came to serve and enables us to hold firmly to our faith.
8th January 2024
Isaiah 60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
We have just celebrated Epiphany when we remember the coming of the Magi or kings to Jesus. They brought several gifts. The first listed is gold. We associate gold and riches with Kings, they are often presented to Kings in worship. Who wants to be a King? At some point in life, we all want to be a king or Queen, but what would we do if we were? Would we want to give generously or take? Be entertained or actually help people? With power comes responsibility and yet it also changes people into more selfish people who want to get the best for themselves. If you can suddenly do pretty much what you want with little or no consequences, what would you do? Early kings often maltreated their people, took everything from them, treated them as slave labour. Many Kings believed they were put there by God so no one could challenge them or say no to them. They were supposed to take care of their people, protect them, and lead troops into battle. The job of a proper King was to lead their people before God. Sadly, kingship meant many forgot all about God and placed themselves in that role. Jesus is a real King, Lord, Son of God, who will and does care for His people and leads them properly and safely, protecting them to eternity with God. This King will have to die and defeat death to achieve this, which He willingly does. Jesus is our true King.
7th January 2024
Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The return to work after a holiday can be quite a shock to the system. The lay ins now replaced by very early mornings, the travel to work, the arriving and finding the internet, crucial to work, is not functioning, the keys to necessary rooms not available and the beginning of a new year is not running as smoothly as we might have hoped. The enthusiasm we arrived with soon lessens, the targets for the day are quickly undermined and one begins to feel that the hope and promise of the new year is already waning, if not gone completely. Our faith can also follow this same pattern. Our enthusiasm wanes under pressure, our desire to complete tasks and targets are thwarted by things beyond our control and it is easy to become quickly despondent and lacking in energy. God knows we will daily meet situations beyond our control, that we will struggle to keep our enthusiasm and will easily lose our focus, so all He asks of us is that we commit our day to Him and allow Him to deal with things, to not take it all on ourselves but allow Him to shoulder the burden. That way we will find the strength and rest that we need to serve Him with enthusiasm daily.
6th January 2024
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
All through the Old Testament the story of our salvation is sown. Jesus comes on that first Christmas to show us that the beginning and the end of all existence is Jesus, the God-man who walks with us today in our hearts just as he did as he was taken up in the arms of his mother on that first Christmas. This is the unbelievable mystery that God is with us. Emmanuel. He has come to stay. He has come to share our humanity. He has wept and suffered. He cries today in the pain and the sorrow of a world that refuses to leave the darkness and move with great love into a new light and into a new life. He does not give up on us, offering unconditional love day after day. From the beginning God has offered us everything, humans have turned away. He is still offering that love each and every day.
5th January 2024
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.
Jesus was not born in a royal palace but in a humble stable for animals. Jesus was wrapped in common cloth and placed in a manger for his bed. He was welcomed into the world by the poorest of shepherds guarding their sheep at night, the poorest and most lowly people. There was no room for Mary to give birth to her son in any inn. This is hardly the treatment expected for the Birth of the Christ Child. And yet, if the truth be told, it is all too often the way we treat each other. When you think about it our wonder gives way to shame, and it all becomes too painful for us to grasp. And yet when we look at the crib on Christmas day, everything becomes clear, and true, and lovely. God who dwells in inaccessible light, suddenly appears as a weak and helpless infant, hungry to become one of us, to take on flesh and share our humanity. It’s all about love, God’s weakness is His love for us. The Child has come not only to love us, but more important to teach us how to love each other. “Love God with your whole heart, mind and soul, and love one another just as I am always loving you.”
4th January 2024
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
The Bible gives us hope as well as many other things. Throughout the bible is weaved Hope. The hope of a Saviour weaves through the Old Testament. The hope of all things new and eternal life through the New Testament. The hope of the Jesse tree who comes from David’s line, to be born in Bethlehem. In the gospels there are signs of the future to come and we look about us in the world and think those signs are being fulfilled, we wonder, we pray, we worry, but no one knows or will know the day or hour. All we are called to do is to live as if it is about to happen, not be caught out, live as those waiting but not wasting, to expect the unexpected and live the best we can for Jesus; with honesty, integrity, compassion, servanthood, patience, peace, joy and gentleness. The scriptures offer us hope and patience, comfort and compassion, peace and strength, may we always look to the Bible.
3rd January 2024
John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
At Christmas, we hopefully become aware that the festival Christmas itself is a gift. It was the first gift. It is God’s gift even today. And when we give gifts to each other at Christmas, this mirrors the gift of God Himself to us on that first Christmas. The gift of Christ himself, freely given to us but along with it comes a challenge to our lives. A realisation that we need each other, that we must reach out to each other, that we must overcome the barriers that separate us from each other, that we must work to understand that it is in true humility and service that we find truth. We walk from darkness into God’s light as we find the lost, heal the broken, feed the hungry, release the prisoner, rebuild the nations, bring peace among people, and live as Jesus calls us to each and every day.
2nd January 2024
John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
I love singing carols, the story they tell, the message they give, and as we sing them and celebrate, we realise that love is ours, freely given in Jesus, but, it is also a challenge because love has a price. As God becomes one with us in Jesus, we realise that this is the way of peace, this is the way of harmony, this is the way of all reality; the price is the challenge that we must love one another in the same way. As God loves us, freely and unconditionally, we must love, in the weakness, in the need, in the reaching out, and in the gentle feeling of His presence. For God is a God of light and not of darkness, a God of ultimate triumph and not failure. A God who loves us unconditionally and then asks us to do the same through Jesus.
1st January 2024. Happy New Year and God's rich blessings be with you.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Happy New Year! Another year has begun, we will spend a few weeks writing the wrong year on the date, we are all older and the time that has gone can never be got back. We make resolutions offering ourselves a new start, a way to change, Dry January or Veganuary, join the gym, go to Weightwatchers, just try to be a better person. This yearly idea that it is never too late to make changes in our lives which are good for us and for others. For many this idea of resolving to change works well, for others it seems to last a very short time before we confess, we have not been able to keep our resolutions. God offers us this new start every day, every part of every day. We do not have to wait for a new year to get a new start. God offers us a new start at any time. All that is required of us is to accept that we are not perfect, realise we need to apologise and try to change to become better people through Jesus. Jesus defeated the hold of death on us because of our wrongdoing and so enabled us to be forgiven and able to make a new start at any time. As you begin a new year remember to make a new start with God and remember you can do this at any time.
31st December 2023. New Years Eve.
Luke 1:37 But nothing is impossible for God.
We are not asked to worship Mary as Jesus’ mother, but we do need to treasure her, respect her, recognise her for who she is, God bearer, mother of Jesus our saviour. She is an example to us of one who lets God work through her and thus the saviour of the world is born. You and I do not know the consequences of us not doing what God asks, not hearing his voice, not doing what we might see as either too normal or impossible. Remember Gabriel’s words, for nothing is impossible for God; Mary was given everything she needed to be the mother of Jesus, to fulfil God’s work. We are and will be given everything we need to fulfil God’s work, whatever that maybe, we will mostly never be remembered by the world for what we do but God will always remember. Mary does not ask for our adoration, not to be remembered, she points always to her Son, always to God and looks for nothing for herself, she simply does what God asks of her, that is her example to us; at the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, may we be the same.
30th December 2023
Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Within the early church they were weighed down by the idea of original sin; that babies are born sinful as sin is passed through Human Nature. St Augustine taught that to stop any human being damned to hell they must be baptised, even as babies, this enabled the church to force babies to be baptised so that should they die, they would go to heaven. A doctrine enforced by fear! I certainly do not believe that God ever intended that doctrine to be part of the church and what I know of God, babies are not sinful. The Roman catholic church hold the Virgin Mary, not tainted by original sin, in very high regard and have been accused of the idolatry of Mary. As a result, the protestant church has tried to avoid giving Mary any real value or credit. We need to find a middle ground; Mary is vital to the story. Jesus’ humanity relies on Mary being his mother, being born of a woman by the Holy Spirit. She could have said no! She did not. In any role we are given by God we can say no, we can refuse, we always have a choice as Mary did, question is do we do as God asks of us or do we say no?
29th December 2023
Luke 1:46 & 47 And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
During Advent and Christmas, we think a lot about Mary. Her candle is for joy. We remember the important role Mary had in Jesus’ story and the joy she expresses in the Magnificat. In the church she is the one woman who has been treasured and respected, featuring hugely in religious art, music and literature and in theological history. She is often called the second Eve as Jesus is called the second Adam. She is the mother of God, Theotokos which means God bearer. She was the epitome of humility and obedience and as such an example for us to follow. In church tradition she is the daughter of Joachim and Anne. We first meet her as she is visited by the angel Gabriel and willing to let it happen to her as God says. We last see her in Acts1 v14 where she is devoted in prayer after the ascension. We see her at the foot of the cross, entrusted by Jesus to John. Jesus’ humanity comes from Him being born of a woman, Mary His mother, by the Holy Spirit, both God and Human.
28th December 2023
Isaiah 9:6a For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given.
A child is born to us. What a wonderful prophecy by Isaiah. A child is born to us, how simple, how full of mystery. A child. When we think of God, we think of great light, we think of creation, we think of an extraordinary, untouchable reality that dwells in great light, we think of something far outside the boundaries of our own mind, unable to grasp even the beginning of what it is to be God and what God is like. And then God appears, weak, a helpless infant, a child, a baby, full of need, totally relying on a mother and a stepfather. We wonder why does God do this? Why would He come in such a way in His weakness? The only answer is love. We realise that out of unconditional love God Himself became one of us and took on our own life, our own flesh and blood, that He might let us know, in such a striking way, that the solution to all our problems lies in our weakness not our strength, lies in our humility and not our arrogance, lies in the ability to love and not to be frightened and not to walk around in the darkness but in the light.
27th December 2023
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Each year as I read these words, I think of my childhood. I confess, I was afraid of the dark. At Christmas there was always light, the tree lights, fairy lights and street decorations. I feel safe in the light. The light of the world comes in Jesus’ birth and it shines in the darkness; we are surrounded by darkness so we appreciate the great wonders of the light itself coming to us. Jesus brings light to our hearts. At Christmas; our steps are lighter. We are drawn closer to each other. Our spirits are lifted. And rightfully so, because it is deep into the winter darkness and things around us get a little dark in our own hearts, problems in our world. For this Christmas we face an uncertain future, wars, hunger, famine, death and destruction in the Holy land and Europe. We need to understand that our light, our life and our security comes from God Himself. Even in the darkest times The light of Christ shines out.
26th December 2023
Luke 16:28b&29 Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
Realising the error of His ways Jacob Marley urgently tells Scrooge about his impending doom, that his old partner can avoid such a horrible fate as his. Scrooge doesn’t believe him, thinking he is a phantom of digestion: “a bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese,”. It takes three Christmas spirits and the whole night to teach Scrooge that he is dead inside and that, indeed, he has been so most of his life. Why do we love this story so much, endless remakes and readings? BECAUSE A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is true. we are citizens of the earthly city, the old city, we are citizens of Jerusalem and Herod is our king. We are troubled by the report that a prince of Life is born. We do not really want peace on earth. We scoff at good will unless it comes our way. We are serious in our hatred of these things and will do whatever necessary to preserve the status quo. We do not like change. We will even condemn the prince to death on a cross, worship power, status and money and pay lip service to a tradition rather than change. We have the opportunity to recognise the error of our ways, question is, will we?
25th December 2023
Matthew 2:2 ‘Where is he, who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.’
At the end of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, the change in Scrooge, the redemption of this man, happens because of God’s grace, God sends His own Son, Jesus, to defeat the power even of our death. It will take Him the days and nights of the Passion to do it! But He will defeat death itself. He will become the new Star, a Super Nova that does not fade, the Star in the East, where there is dawn, beginning, a new aeon, the universe commanded by the Creator in Love. We will become citizens of a whole new city, our Father’s house in which each of us has a mansion. What a drama God enacts in us! We are scared, yet drawn in, and finally, completely taken with this drama. We proclaim it, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is true. Freed from Death, Scrooge was filled to the brim at last, with Life! So are we! From death to life is the story of both Christmas and Easter. A baby was born who changed the world, who offers that change to you and I, to everyone. All we have to do is take it. May God bless you this Christmas Day.
24th December 2023
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
The carol While Shepherds watched, was written at a time when hymns and music in churches could only be that which came directly from the Bible. As this carol’s verses were lifted straight from Luke Chapter 2, it was accepted, the only Christmas Hymn allowed to be sung in the Anglican church in the 18th century. It was then called the Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour. It’s first tune was one we now recognise as that of an Easter hymn but as Carols began to become popular a new tune was adopted, one that came from folk songs. This is very much a carol of the people, one that would be sung in public houses, village squares and in church. Lifted straight from the Bible, it is a carol that recounts an important part of the Christmas story, everyone, no matter their status in life, from the poorest to the richest, we are all invited to come and find Jesus.
23rd December 2023
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
While you have been singing carols you will pick up on words like Joy, peace, hope and love. Christmas presents these things to us and encourages us to practice them. If I ask which is the greatest of these, what would you say? If I asked you for the best present you could receive, what would you reply? Children are good at recognising that in both cases love is the most important. The love that came down at Christmas, the love of God embodied in a baby who would be the saviour of the world. We give presents to others because we love them, we come together as family and friends because we love them and they us. Love is the greatest gift we can offer to others and that we can receive from them. It is also the greatest gift we receive from God, the love of Jesus, freely and unconditionally given every day to us and first given on that first Christmas at Bethlehem.
22nd December 2023
Ezekiel 36:26: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
At this time of year, we will see the name Christina Rossetti at the bottom of one of our favourite carols. She wrote In the Bleak Midwinter initially as a poem for Christmas. If you follow the verses of the carol, you spot a very harsh beginning, words like bleak and stone, Rosetti had depression and other medical problems and treatment for these was poor, if you could actually get any help. Her poem came from a place within, a place where life was at times, hard as iron, stone like and bleak. Yet there was also room for the desire to give the gift of her heart. She also reminds us that even though this is the Son of God who comes, the stable, the manger, the loving mother was enough for Him. He comes to be the saviour of the world through a dangerous, poverty filled situation so as to identify with ordinary people. Rosetti’s poem became a wonderful carol, music written by Gustav Holst then Harold Darke, we sing it each year and declare that we can and will give Him our heart.
21st December 2023
Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
When we light the Advent candle for joy, we remind ourselves of the spiritual truth of this Christmas season: “Unto us a child is born.” In telling the Christmas story, the Gospel writers remind us that when things seem darkest, joy can come in unexpected places and small packages. Children remind us of the joy of playing, giving, learning, and loving. In the presence of such joy, our inner child can awaken our Christ nature and then the Messiah is truly born in us. Joy makes daily life more exciting; we appreciate life so much more; we see things as blessings rather than just every day. It allows us to bring another dimension to everything we do and change how we act and interact with those around us. Joy fills us with a gratitude to be expressed to God and to each other. The joy of Jesus being born in Bethlehem to bring us eternal life.
20th December 2023
Luke 2:31 &32 For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.
Dicken’s A Christmas Carol is about the dark side of Christmas. Scrooge hates Christmas. To love Christmas, he has to change and, like most of us, Scrooge does not want to change his ways. Jacob Marley was dead. The register was signed by “the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.” Even Scrooge signed it. Marley is dead but His spirit is in chains and suffering eternal wandering and punishment because of the selfish life he lived. This story is the meaning of Christmas dug deep. Christmas: that magisterial account in the Bible of the confrontation of death by Life, where death is exposed, examined, troubled to the core, and dragged kicking and screaming to become born into Life, to change its very essence. We humans are all to easily members of the firm of Scrooge and Marley. We do not have the luxury of visitations by the spirits to challenge and change us but we do have the prophets, the Bible, Jesus, His forgiveness and love, but we must choose to take it and to change.
19th December 2023
Luke 1:18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
Most renditions of the Christmas story begin with the angel Gabriel telling Mary she is to bear a son. But in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ birth story matches John the Baptist’s. Months before visiting Mary, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to announce that Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son to be named John. Because he is so old, Zechariah questions whether paternity is possible, like Mary’s initial response to her improbable pregnancy. But while Mary’s question is answered, Zechariah is chastised for doubting, then struck mute for the duration of his wife’s pregnancy. The situation and the question are the same, but Mary gets encouragement while Zechariah gets silenced. Why? … Muting the perpetual cycle of thought is a gift that brings greater peace. For Zechariah, muteness was imposed. We are also sometimes called to mute our own thoughts, to be still and know God, with quiet minds and open hearts, we find rest in the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace of God.
18th December 2023
Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
When we light the Advent candle for joy, 3rd Sunday or Gaudete Sunday, we remind ourselves of the spiritual truth of this Christmas season: “Unto us a child is born.” In telling the Christmas story, the Gospel writers remind us that when things seem darkest, joy can come in unexpected places and small packages. Children remind us of the joy of playing, giving, learning, and loving. In the presence of such joy, our inner child can awaken our Christ nature and then the Messiah is truly born in us. Joy makes daily life more exciting; we appreciate life so much more; we see things as blessings rather than just everyday. It allows us to bring another dimension to everything we do and change how we act and interact with those around us. Joy fills us with a gratitude to be expressed to God and to each other. The joy of Jesus being born in Bethlehem to bring us eternal life.
17th December 2023
Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
When thinking about Christmas we often forget there were 2 babies involved, Jesus but also His cousin John, the Baptist. A pregnant Mary visits a pregnant Elizabeth and at their meeting there is recognition by the baby within Elizabeth as well as Elizabeth herself. Recognition of someone and something special happening. At this time of year when we prepare for Christmas and dutifully do our carol services and Christingles, concerts and readings, it is easy to forget why we are doing them. We can forget exactly what is special about Christmas. One of the reasons we place nativity sets under our altars, outside the church doors, around our homes is to put the nativity, the birth of Jesus at the centre of Christmas. They serve as a reminder that Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas. All the other things we do should be our joyful response, our leaping for joy at the birth of Jesus our saviour. Let me encourage you, if you don’t have a nativity set you can get all sorts, classical, cartoon style, play Mobil, Lego, whatever type doesn’t matter, what matters is they remind us of exactly why we celebrate Christmas.
16th December 2023
Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, from you will come one who will rule over Israel, from the ancient times.
This year there is no tree in Manger square, no hotels or tourists, the church of the nativity is pretty much closed, only basic services are happening in the churches. Bethlehem is a dangerous place this year. The war in Gaza has left the city exposed and without the safety needed to celebrate Christmas. Bethlehem is a dangerous place this year. It has been a dangerous place over the centuries and it was a dangerous place on that first Christmas. Yet Bethlehem was where Jesus was to be born, from the line of King David Joseph had to take Mary on an uncomfortable and dangerous journey to Bethlehem to register them as King David's line. As the place where the King and saviour of the world is born, Bethlehem is important and has been the subject of struggles and wars through the centuries. This town of Bethlehem is being represented across schools and churches, village halls and homes all around the world. We may not be physically able to go to Bethlehem this Christmas but we can go in our hearts and minds and recall the story, the characters and be reminded of that first Christmas in Bethlehem.
15th December 2023
Mark 13:32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
We are now in Advent. Advent means "to come." Do we know what's coming? Of course we do, Christmas is coming. This is an exciting time, but it may also be a difficult time of waiting, especially for children. Waiting for the day when you can open the gifts that you see under the tree. What can we do to make this time of waiting for Christmas more than just a useless time in the waiting place? We can think about the true meaning of Christmas. We can think about Jesus and his love. We can think about giving instead of receiving. We can enjoy all of the beautiful music and the decorations of the season. We can get ready and we can help others. When we do those things, we will find joy, even in the waiting. We are waiting for Christmas, but we are also waiting for something else. We are waiting for Jesus' return. He told us that he would come again and he told us to watch and be ready for him. What should we do while we are waiting? We should worship and praise him, love and serve him, and share his love with others. When we are doing those things, we will be ready for his return, and we will find joy in the waiting place.
14th December 2023
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Are you someone who reads the Bible? Or perhaps it just sits on the shelf gathering dust. As someone who loves the Bible, its stories and words of hope, can I encourage you to read it. Not all of it at once and I recommend you do not start at the beginning. If you’ve never read it before, consider starting with one of the Gospels. If you’re sceptical about the Bible, why not give it another chance. If you’re troubled by the way that the Bible has been used to oppress, please continue to wrestle the truth from it. Wherever you start from with the Bible, consider taking the next step and If you know and love the Bible and you follow the God you find revealed in its pages, most especially in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, keep reading, keep studying, keep loving it, keep letting it dwell with all its riches in your life day by day with its transforming, hope-giving, life-affirming power. If we all did that, the world would be a much better place for all.
13th December 2023
Mark 13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Keep Watch!’
I have heard that if you live to be seventy years old, you will spend three years of your life just waiting. Waiting in line at the shops, waiting in the doctor's office, waiting for lunch to be ready, waiting for play time at school. In his book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go," Dr Seuss talks about a place called "the waiting place." He describes it as a useless place where people are just waiting. Waiting for a train to go, or a bus to come, or a plane to go, or the mail to come, or the rain to go……..Everyone is just waiting. I don't particularly like waiting, do you? I don't like it, but I don't know of any way to avoid it. We all have to spend some time in this "waiting place" that Dr Seuss talks about, but it doesn’t have to be a useless place. While we are waiting, life goes on, and we must make good use of our time. What can we do? Well, we could read a good book or call a friend on the phone. We could make a list of things we need to do today or, we could even study, listen to music or a talk. We can read our Bible and we can pray! There are many things we can do besides just waiting. Let’s make good use of our time.
12th December 2023
2 Corinthians 4:8 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair.
In recent months the war in Ukraine has dropped out of our news. A year ago it was always near the top of the programme, now only now and again it pops up. The situation hasn’t changed, if anything it is worse, but the interest of newspapers and broadcasters is elsewhere. In church we have Ukrainian families, some with family members still there. One of our church members went into the war zone to get her elderly, disabled mother out and bring her here after her sister had died. If you need an example of resilience, this is it. She was told not to go by everyone, gov sources said do not even try. She went anyway. Her pathway into Ukraine was blocked in many places, she kept going until she found her way in. Often her travelling was blocked by destroyed roads, flattened buildings, walking miles over rubble because that was the only way. In the words of St Paul, she was troubled, she had her doubts, she found herself in despair at times with enemies around, but she never felt alone. Her faith and her resilience born from that faith kept her going. To many this was foolish, too dangerous, not possible, but she stuck at it and in God’s strength brought her mum home.
11th December 2023
Psalm 40:2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Accepting failure can give us a new perspective on life, we can reassess the priorities in our life and it can help us see things from a different angle and viewpoint. Failure can also help us develop perseverance and resilience. When we fail, we have two choices: give up or try again. Those who choose to keep going despite failure are often the ones who experience the greatest growth and success. To the world the death of Jesus looked like a failure and yet from it came the world wide spread of faith in God, of forgiveness and love. What seemed like defeat and failure became life giving success. Failure does not define us. How we react to it does.
10th December 2023
Mark 13:35 Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
The Scout motto is Be Prepared, you used to carry a hanky, a 10p for the phone box, now we all have a mobile, we prepare for a new school year, for birthdays and Christmas, for holidays, exams, special events. Getting ready and being prepared takes time and needs to be done well. We prepare so we are ready for what is to come, we have the equipment, the knowledge, the resources, so we can do our best and give our best and so there are no surprises. The story of the master leaving the house in care of servants, if they know when he’s coming back, they will prepare just before, if they don’t, they either take a risk and get caught out or are ready at all times. Like that party we had when parents were away and chaos ensued, furniture wrecked, damage done, can it be cleared up before they get back so they don’t know. NO! Advent means coming, Jesus is coming, He came that first Christmas and we celebrate that each year But He is also coming again, and we need to be ready, to be prepared, not just clearing up at the last minute.
9th December 2023
Matthew 25: 40 Whatever you did for one of these you did it for me!
Mother Teresa was often asked why she did all she did for others, caring for the sick and homeless, feeding the poor, living a life of service. Her reply was always that when she looked into the eyes of these people, she saw Jesus and as she cared for and served others so she served God. Because we are created by God and bear our creators resemblance within ourselves, in every human heart, there is a desire to help and care for others. Yes, in some people that desire to help is so small that they never really find it, but for us, who we are before God, what we do for others, is seen by Him. Those little acts of kindness, our words and actions, the smiles, the tears, the shoulder to cry on, the hands we hold, the hugs we give, the just being there; that is doing unto others and therefore doing it for God.
8th December 2023
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” which means “God with us”.
Asked to tell the Christmas story in their own words, groups of children I have worked with pretty much share the basic version we all know from hymns and nativity plays: Joseph and Mary, a donkey, angels, star, stable, kings, shepherds, and, of course, baby Jesus. As these children talked about each character, I remember one pupil pointing out that in normal life kings and shepherds would never “hang out” together. Their bond, what brings them together, is Jesus. They are each an important part of the story, no one is less or more than the other in Jesus. What that means for us is that from his birth, Jesus taught that we should love everyone: black, brown, or white; rich or poor; cool or nerdy; gay, straight, or questioning, old or young; at our centre we are all one in God’s love. It’s unconditional love, love is who we are, not just at Christmas but every day.
7th December 2023
Galatians 5:13-14: But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
I sometimes wonder if we realise that our freedoms rely on the respect of others and their freedoms rely on our respect. If our determination to only look after ourselves is found in the hurt, destruction and eradication of others then we have sacrificed ourselves on the altar of fascism. The term Ubunto, means I am because you are. I can only truly be me if I allow you to be truly you and we do the same for each other. We are all reliant on each other and as individuals and we will not always agree. Not one of us will ever be completely right. Every one of us makes mistakes. This does not stop us from moving on, from growing, from freedom, but only if we are willing to change, if we are willing to listen and learn from each other. Sometimes we have to find a compromise to find a solution, a fair and just way for each other. Our true freedom lies in humbly serving one another in love, in being who we are because of who you are.
6th December 2023
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
The first candle we light on Advent Sunday is the Patriarchs’ candle, also called the Hope candle. The expectation of what God promised through the patriarchs’ and then the prophets would come to be. Our faith is the assurance of things hoped for, we contemplate both hope and faith as we spiritually prepare our hearts and minds for Christmas. Hope arises when we glimpse a new possibility, these glimpses can inspire us to make positive changes, they can motivate us to adopt new ways of thinking and behaving. We believe because we come to some understanding of how a thing works. We may also believe because it’s what we’ve been taught to believe. The challenge is that it’s possible to hold two seemingly contradictory beliefs in tension. For instance, we can believe in an all-abundant God. Yet, sometimes, if funds are low, the anxiety we feel about provision for us betrays a lack of that belief. Resolving these contradictions is the domain of faith. It’s in the spiritual dimension that we experience faith as a deep inner knowing arising from divine intelligence born within us as we find and grow in Christ.
5th December 2023
Matthew25:29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
The Parable of Talents reminds us that we all have God given talents, gifts and abilities to use in this world, we must step out in faith and be encouraged by what God gives us; and remind ourselves that when we don’t use those gifts and help others we are turning against God and being disrespectful of all that He has given us. Around us there are folk who regularly visit others, check on neighbours, get shopping for people, organise appointments, help with friends’ children, donate to places like Crisis or the Salvation Army, give to food banks, help out at these places, offer help and companionship, pray for people, support others and so the list can go on. As we do all these things, we are doing this for God’s people, and we are doing it for God. Bless you! God has given us so much we return only a little when we use what we have to bless others and in doing so bless God. Thank you! Be encouraged, what you are doing is fantastic.
4th December 2023
Jeremiah 33: 15 In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
However we view Advent, a time of waiting or preparation, a time of serious contemplation or a time to get excited, Advent guides us to explore what Christmas means to us personally and to discover within ourselves that the greatest gift we can give to our family, friends, and the world is who we are in Jesus! I ask myself each year why does the story of Mary and Joseph and the baby born in a manger continue to resonate with us more than 2,000 years later? It is because Christmas represents the godly child born in each of us and the divine attributes we can develop as we learn to express our godly nature in human form. The four Sundays of Advent proclaim aspects of our divine nature; hope and faith, peace, love, and joy. The traditional themes of Advent allow us, through meditation, prayer, and Bible study to contemplate the ways to share our deepest gifts of hope and faith, peace, love, and joy with others.
3rd December 2023
Psalm 145:14 He helps those who are in trouble; he lifts those who have fallen.
The discoveries all around us that we use every day, that we depend upon for life, did not just come into being complete and perfect, they were all ideas which initially were failures, some failing again and again; but they were persevered with, worked on, learnt from and even as they are used daily, improvements are made. So it is with us. We are not complete and perfect, we need to strive to become better and so we persevere, we work on ourselves, we learn and grow every day. Hopefully we recognise the same applies to others and instead of criticising and judging we try to support and encourage so that we may all grow and flourish together and so make God’s world a better place for all.
2nd December 2023
Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
We are now in Advent, I wonder if you eagerly opened the window on your Advent calendar this morning and discovered what was there. Advent is a season of waiting, of hoping, of preparing and of discovering. The excitement of a coming Christmas, of gifts we can’t wait to unwrap, can be lost in the waiting because we do not use our time wisely. Advent offers us time to prepare, to get ready for a big celebration but also a time to discover, to learn more about life and our place in it. This verse speaks of waiting patiently, that doesn’t mean just sitting doing nothing, it means doing things while we wait to prepare. Reading, studying, learning, discovering, preparing. Being people who use time wisely, use it for good and do not waste it. For me this Advent season is a journey to Bethlehem, a journey where I discover new things every day as I prepare for Christmas. As I travel along, I am never alone, God travels with me on this voyage of discovery. So do many others who God sends in and out of my life just as He does yours. Enjoy your own voyage of discovery this Advent.
1st December 2023
John 5:32 There is another who testifies on my behalf and his testimony is true.
In court rooms, in churches, in legal cases people are called to give testimony, to tell and show what happened to them or to someone else in a situation. That testimony might be positive or negative, but it is then judged and often corroborated by others. A person testifying about themselves although compelling and helpful, often needs backing up by evidence or by the testimony of others. Jesus was often accused of not having evidence to back up His testimony and yet there was John the Baptist, a clear witness to Jesus and to God’s participation in the world, there were the prophecies and scriptures in the holy books, there were the miracles and teachings. The evidence to corroborate Jesus and who He was came well presented and clear and yet was ignored and twisted. We are called to give testimony about what we believe and who we believe in. That testimony comes not only through our speech but through how we live and what we do. We may not stand up in church and give a testimony but every day we give testimony through how we live out our faith.
30th November 2023
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
Do you know what the current best seller is for books? Neither do I, but I do know that the Bible is the most read book in the whole of Christian history. It may or may not surprise you to know that it is now deliberately excluded from the bestseller lists because it would upset the results. Before this exclusion the Bible topped the best seller list every time. Business and industry didn’t want that so they excluded it. This collection of 66 different books written over 1500 years, but with an incredible coherence from start to finish, the Bible. This book translated into 700+ languages; where 5.6 billion people have access to it in their own language, the Bible. So, much easier to change the rules and take it off the list than to admit it is the most popular book. It is a book that has changed history, changed nations and changed lives. It is a book worthy of respect and worth reading, why not give it a try.
29th November 2023
1 Samuel 16:7b For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
I hate upsetting people; I feel dreadfully guilty even when it is not my fault. When the tension rises, we’re having a bad day, the final straw breaks the camel’s back, we snap and in that one moment people see and judge us. God sees it too, He judges us as well, BUT He looks at it alongside all the rest of our life, all the good we do. He sees every part of our life, while everyone else only sees that odd moment, He sees us 24 hours a day, He knows the real us. Don’t get me wrong, we need to apologise to those we hurt, even when it’s not our fault, we also need to apologise to God, but God, and perhaps those who know us best, see what happens in the context of all of who we are, He knows our intentions, what we really are trying to do for the best. God looks at the heart and that is who we truly are in Him.
28th November 2023
2 Corinthians 4:9 We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.
We often view unsuccessful times, struggles and problems as a negative experience, but they can actually be a valuable tool for growth. Humility is an important aspect of life, and when we are unsuccessful it can help us develop a more humble attitude. When we struggle and fail, we are forced to acknowledge our weaknesses and limitations, to accept that we are not perfect which can ultimately lead to personal growth. By embracing failure and learning from our mistakes, we can become stronger, humbler, and more empathetic individuals who are better equipped to serve others. What we can and need to do is to give support and receive it. To be encouraging and be encouraged. To speak up in confidence knowing we are listened to as we listen to others. To see failure not as something to be avoided but to embrace it as part of our learning process, to learn from it and build upon it.
27th November 2023
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
We all have bad days. Everything just seems to go wrong. These bad days do not define who we really are. But one ill-chosen comment, one bad reaction, one careless word or action and suddenly we are seen in a bad light. We are human, that isn’t an excuse but we are not perfect, so it does happen. But there is so much more for us. So, at this time of year, when it is damp and dark and a little sad, a little good news is needed, I think. Let’s be encouraged that actually what God is interested in, is what you and I are like most of the time. The things we do and say that no one else does. The person of our heart. That is who we really are. Each of us is an individual created by God to do special things, things that only we can do and say, people that only we can make a difference to. This is who we are and who God calls us to be. Bless You!
26th November 2023
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
As Christmas approaches, I usually buy a new decoration. This year I have found an old-style oil lamp, reminds me of the 70’s power cuts, it has a Santa and glitter which is constantly moved by the power supply and is lit up. The movement draws the eye and it makes me smile. I have always loved a snow globe but this is constantly moving and I love it. It is mixture of the old and the new working together to make something lovely. We can become so wrapped up in the old, in tradition for traditions sake, that we forget the new needs to be embraced as well. As the world changes, as we understand more and more, discover more through science, understand what being a human actually means, and realise that much of the past was established through limited understanding; we realise that God is at work now and in different ways and we the church need to catch up a bit. We need to realise God works everywhere and in everyone and the limits we put on things are not God’s limits. God’s love is for everyone, whoever they are and we have no right to tell people what God wants when we don’t listen to Him or respect what He is doing around us. We might try to put God in a box but God does not belong in boxes and neither do we.
25th November 2023
Jeremiah 8:4 Say this to the people of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You know if a person falls down, they get up again. And if a person goes the wrong way, they turn around and come back.
Failure can be a difficult and overwhelming experience. It can leave us feeling lost, confused, and questioning God’s plan for our life. However, it is important to remember that setbacks are a natural part of the human experience and overcoming them is possible in God’s strength and love. Failure is an inevitable part of life. We live in a broken world. Whether it’s a failed business venture, a broken relationship, or an unfulfilled dream, we all experience setbacks at some point. It’s essential to understand that failure is not a reflection of our worth as individuals or our relationship with God. In fact, failure can be an opportunity for growth and transformation, even when things don’t go as we expect. It can be challenging to trust but we can find support and comfort in knowing that God is always with us, even in our darkest moments.
24th November 2023
Matthew 24:50 The Master will return on a day and at a time that the servant does not expect.
It is so much easier to do the right thing and behave well when we know we are being watched and seen. We will settle into work and chores far more quickly when someone is watching us. We want to be seen to do the right thing. Left to ourselves we may well do things differently, to not work or do chores as we should, to be unpleasant and uncaring because if no one knows, it doesn’t matter! WELL it does matter. We know within ourselves but more importantly God knows, God sees, who we really are. Who we really are comes out when we are not held to account by people, when we think we are not seen. We should be the same person in both public and private life. Being seen doing good things should not be the only reason we do them. Being faithful to God in all our life isn’t particularly attractive in the world’s eyes but being seen to do good by others is. A current trend with our politicians is being seen to do things, to get what they can out of a situation. Before God it is not about what He can and does do for us BUT about who we are in Him. Good, honest, faithful people all day, every day no matter who is or isn’t watching.
23rd November 2023
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
I grew up on Dr Seuss stories and love watching the films that have been made of these stories. At this time of year, I particularly like watching The Grinch story. The idea that this character has spent his life hating Christmas because of what happened to him when he was young. He speaks of his heart being 2 sizes too small. We often refer to people who are kind and generous as being big hearted, in Grinch terms their hearts are 2 sizes bigger. The Bible speaks time and again about loving God with our heart and soul and mind. That everything we are and do flows from our heart. At the end of the story the Grinch says Kindness and love are the things we need most. How true! Nothing is more important or more valuable than love, love comes from the heart and from love comes kindness, compassion and care.
22nd November 2023
Matthew 22:39b ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
We all meet people who profess faith in God but then treat others with contempt. Love of God and love of humanity are not two separate things, one cannot love God but shun humanity. Compassionate action, concern for the other, reflects and mirrors the divine image. Love is not an obligation but happens because God is present in the human soul, because we are of the creator. When we love others with warmth, affection, and care for their needs, it is God loving them through us. We love because God loves us and that love flows through us to the other. We express our love for God in loving God’s children. We cannot say we love God but then let children go hungry, we cannot say we love God and ignore our neighbours need, we cannot say we love God and treat others with contempt.
21st November 2023
Isaiah 43:4 Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honoured, and I love you.
This weekend I have watched my first Christmas Carol film for this year. As I watched I was struck by the lack of value placed on Scrooge’s life by others in the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas yet to come. The people who knew him in life speak so poorly of him, they take and sell his belongings before his body is even removed, he will not be missed. He was disliked and even hated and the only things that had any value were his belongings which could be sold. None of us really know what others think about us, they may be polite to us face to face, but we don’t really know what they honestly think. What we do know, for certain, is how much God values us, how precious we are to Him. We are not the sum of our belongings, we are not spoken ill off or forgotten about. We are loved so completely and utterly, we are so unique, so special, we really matter to God! Our life has real value, we are the only one of us ever to live and we are the only one who can do what God has set aside for us to do. Chosen, precious and loved.
20th November 2023
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.
How good are you at paying attention? Do people feel you listen? Do you take in what is happening around you? This chapter of Matthew is about paying attention, attention to what is going on around us. It uses the seasons and the cycles of the fig tree to remind us that we can tell the coming seasons by the clues around us. We see change everywhere currently, huge climate change, many more big weather events, global warming, seasons are now at different times of the year. We also see change in the world, wars, innocent death, loss of freedoms, the rise once again of fascism, extreme right wing policies, hatred and ethnic cleansing. In the midst of all this change is the promise of God and His word being not only constant but enduring forever. God and His word will never pass away. So we pay attention to the world, its events and we pray, pray for peace, seek to work for good and we let God and His word direct us and guide us through all the changing scenes of life.
19th November 2023
Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.
An old proverb says, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, we can believe we are an expert when we actually do not have that complete knowledge. Humans like to pass themselves off as knowing lots about as many things as possible, but, we often cannot be bothered to learn all that we need too about things and this can lead to deception, misinformation and thus danger. Our capacity and ability to learn is amazing, wonderful, and exciting but it needs to be appreciated and valued. The Bible speaks of the eyes of heart being enlightened, what we learn needs to be both head and heart knowledge, making us not only knowledgeable but also practical, helpful, compassionate beings who work together to make this world a better place. We need to take our opportunities of learning and remembering and value these opportunities, value the capacity for knowledge we have and not waste it. Never think we know it all and always be willing to learn more, to learn from others, to value the knowledge of others and our God given capacity to learn.
18th November 2023
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
The words from Ecclesiastes speak of time, a time for everything under heaven, time to be born and a time to die, it also talks of a time to laugh and a time to cry. Crying is often a huge part of our grief, particularly in the early stages, but as we remember the person for who they were to us, the laughter comes in the stories, the memories of what happened when we did this or said that. It also mentions gathering and scattering stones, gathering stones to mark a place or a burial site, scattering stones when a memorial or place reminder is no longer necessary. As these words speak of time we always long for more time, more time with someone where we might treasure them and appreciate them more. More time to do things we always promised we would do but didn’t. As we remember our loved ones, we hopefully begin to realise that every day, every moment counts and matters. Time with loved ones is not to be wasted but used and appreciated. God gives us time to use well, to make others feel special and to treasure those relationships God has blessed us with.
17th November 2023
Hebrews 12:1a 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.
There are lots and lots and lots of Christians who have gone before us. The Bible tells us these are the Great Cloud of Witnesses who we have as our example. Grandparents, Great grandparents, aunts and uncles, men and women of God who came before us, people who are part of our family, who are part of our makeup, part of what makes us who we are today. These folk we believe are in Heaven and see what we will do, and they’re cheering us on as we try to live for Jesus. They know that if we believe in Jesus, we will be in Heaven one day too. We celebrate and remember these people because we want to remember and be encouraged by the example of Christians who lived and died before us. We want to think about all the good things they did and how they lived for Jesus so that we can live for Jesus too. We remember their faith and follow their example so that we can be like them. So that we can be a blessing to others around us and those who will come after us.
16th November 2023
Psalm 30:8 Weeping may last for the night time, but joy comes with the morning.
I am a real fan of The Repair shop, and so often the items brought in are the only thing someone has that belongs to someone they have lost. It becomes important because of the memories it sparks inside them. We watch as the music played by an object, not heard in years, sparks memories that were almost forgotten. We watch as an item returned to its former glory brings a smile, a memory back to life. It is not surprising that objects and things spark memories; whether it be colours, smells, foods, activities, they can all make us remember, cast our mind to another time, place, event and person. Memory is a rich blessing, within its richness there is both pain and joy and yet the pain is, more often than not, surpassed by the joy that comes. One of the greatest gifts that God has given humanity is the beautiful gift of memory. In a sense, memory allows us to relive a moment, a time, a relationship that was so special to us. It allows us to remember God’s faithfulness to us.
15th November 2023
Matthew 15:14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.
What we do and say matters, actually what we do matters more because actions speak louder than words. When people look at us what do they see? How do we behave? What people see us do and say and whether the two match up enables them to make a judgement about us and what we believe. This verse gave us the phrase “the blind leading the blind” when those who we look to don’t live out what they say then we will not be able to either, we will be lead astray. People find God and faith because of friendship, compassion, care, honesty integrity and truth. If they do not see these things in us, in our actions then they will not want to know about our faith, about our God. Being blind to how we behave, to whether our actions and words meet up means we cannot show others our loving compassionate forgiving God because it does not shine through us to them. It is a hard job to be a good Christian but all God ever asks of us is to try, to try in His strength. May we be those who strive to be better people who don’t just pay lip service to God, who are not blind to God’s ways, but strive to live well for Him.
14th November 2023
Colossians 3:16a Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.
I wonder what the Bible means to you? For many it means very little. Perhaps, a few nice words at Christmas? A few usable quotes? The inspiration for some of our great works of art and literature? It is so much more than that. It’s the source and bedrock for all we believe as Christians and the means by which we come to know the saving love of God in Christ Jesus. It truly is the Word of life. We’re talking about so much more than words on a page. The Word of God in the Bible, points to the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, who we come to know through its pages. And every Sunday and week day, throughout the world, whether in church buildings or online, the Word of God is preached, shared, bringing to life people’s faith. Our faith!! These words should influence everything we do and everything we say. We must let the word of Christ make its home in us. Make sure we’re well-stocked with the treasures of God’s word in our minds and hearts and let these riches take up residence in our life.
13th November 2023
Daniel 2:21 And He changes the times and the seasons: He removes kings, and sets up kings: He gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.
At this time of year as the autumn heads to winter, storms, rain, cold, darkness, life becomes more difficult, people often feel sad and we miss the warmth and care free days of summer. Life is the same as we grow older and life changes, the storms come even more frequently, darkness is more present and we long for those care free days of youth. Those long days outside, on the bike, fishing at the pond, picnicking in the park, little to worry about. As the seasons of the year roll around, we look to spring and summer once again, we long for time to use more wisely. In life the seasons do not come round again, in the autumn and winter of life there is no promise of spring and summer to come again in earthly life, only in our heavenly future with God. Even in our autumn and winter years God promises us wisdom and understanding. Love, care and compassion. These things that we have, here and now, we must use to the best of our ability in God’s strength.
12th November 2023 Remembrance Sunday
Philippians 1:3 I thank God in all my remembrance of you.
On November 7th, 1920, in strictest secrecy, four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Asine and the Somme. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. One body was selected at random. The other three were reburied. The Unknown Warrior was placed inside a coffin, on top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed: "A British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for King and Country". On the morning of the 11th of November, he was taken to Westminster Abbey. The idea of the unknown warrior/soldier was that all of the relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the Unknown Warrior could very well be their lost husband, father, brother or son... THIS is the reason we wear poppies. We do not glorify war. We remember - with humility - the great and the ultimate sacrifices that were made, not just in this war, but in every war and conflict where our service personnel have fought - to ensure the liberty and freedoms that we now take for granted. Every year, on the 11th of November and Remembrance Sunday, we remember the Unknown Warrior and every person who has lost their life in the service of others. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
11th November 2023
Isaiah 49:15 Can a mother forget her child and have no compassion on them? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
This time of year, is very much about remembering. The history of this word is about bringing to mind and bringing together things of the past. The falling leaves remind us of the fallen in life. At the remembrance service at the Royal Albert Hall today, poppy petals will fall in the silence, one for every life lost in war. In remembering we bring together the tearing apart of people and places by war and conflict. The tearing apart of families by loss and death. The tomb of the unknown soldier came from the desire to offer bereaved families the possibility that their loved one had been brought from the battlefield and placed in honour in Westminster Abbey! Even as we easily forget the things we promised to learn and change after each conflict, God does not forget us! We are all treasured and loved by God, never forgotten, always loved.
10th November 2023
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”
In this past week we celebrated All Saints and remembered all the Christians who have gone before us. I wonder how many saints you can name, people who have gone before us who have helped us and been an example to us. My Nan was my first example of faith, her love and service, her wandering around the house singing hymns and carols, a trait I continue even now. Even when the official church did not recognise these local, family people as saints like Matthew, John or Paul, these local and family people served God faithfully and are most definitely saints and I’ll let you into a secret, you and I are saints too. Ordinary people who have been set apart to serve God through our faith, our love, our service. There is an old saying about standing on the shoulders of giants, these saints are the giants whose shoulders we stand on and we are and will become the shoulders that others after us will stand on too.
9th November 2023
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring everything to your remembrance.
One of the sureties of life is that we will all lose people dear to us. We want to remember and honour those we love but see no longer, whose memory we treasure and whose presence we miss as the old funeral service says. Remembering is something we do every day, it implies that someone or something exists in our memory but is not always present in the moment, but can be recalled without much effort. Remembering is the storehouse of our heart and mind. We bear someone or something in mind. We preserve a memory, we recall and bring to mind those who have been part of our lives, who have loved us, cared for us, gone into bat for us when things have not gone well. Each day is about bringing back memories, good memories, things which make us smile and laugh. We might use flowers and candles to mark our remembering of someone. We also have photos, artefacts, things given to us or said to us that we hold on to and remind us of our loved ones. God gives us these memories, the opportunity to remember the blessing they have been to us. May we never forget.
8th November 2023
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Learning is lifelong. It is a capacity given to us by our creator, God. For children and adolescents learning is an optimal experience. Their brain wants to learn, to keep making connections. As we get older it can take a bit longer but our experiences, our learning offer us wisdom, understanding, the ability to explore, to develop. Some of what we learn only ever gets into short term memory and working memory while other things go into long term memory, usually because they are repeated and recalled regularly; where we don’t think about something or someone every day but the memory is there to be recalled as needed. The value of learning cannot be overemphasised. Learning the skills we need for life, learning the knowledge for our career, learning the basic functions of our bodies, learning the Bible and our faith in Christ, learning to distinguish between fact and fiction, truth and lies. These are vital to our life and need to be recognised, appreciated, and valued.
7th November 2023
John 16:22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Ideas of Heaven and what happens after we die differs among us, for me, I am a great believer in families being watched over by loved ones, of spirits in heaven, the spirit and soul that makes us who we are that live on in our lives and hearts because of the part they played in our lives. Although the physical body has gone, the Spirit, the Soul, what made them and us who we are, lives on within us and within the world in which they lived and had an impact. We never get over our grief for those we lose to death and anyone who tells us to get over it is not understanding or compassionate. We do learn to adapt and live with our grief. We learn to adapt and live here on Earth without our loved ones. God promises to be with us as we remember our loved ones, He promises to comfort and bless us as we adapt to life without them and He continually blesses us with memories of love and laughter as we are mindful of those we love but see no longer, whose memories we treasure and whose presence we miss.
6th November 2023
Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Every time we get a new prime minister they promise better, honesty, transparency and integrity and it never happens. Things are kept hidden “for our own good” they tell us, when it is actually for their good and theirs alone. In big organisations when scandals come they promise better or they deny the problem until it is too big and damages them. Those at the top are so out of touch and do not understand normal, everyday life but apparently they think they are in touch with us . Actually they see profit as most important and all else is cast aside and glossed over. Owning up to our mistakes is the only way to change, to improve, to do better and grow. God challenges us to change, to confess our sins, it is a major part of being a Christian. We must own up to our mistakes, seek God’s forgiveness and then we are able to be forgiven, to change, to grow and to move on. We need honesty, integrity and transparency in our Christian lives. We need to admit the issues, to be honest and in doing so become better people and a better world.
5th November 2023
Romans 12:2a Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed and changed by the renewing of your mind.
As I reflect on all those I have accompanied through their school journey, I realise how much I watched them grow and change. Seeing determination, hard work, challenge and stubbornness, particularly through the recent Covid times. This comes about because of a willingness to change and adapt. A willingness to be transformed and allowed the mind to be renewed. This was a choice they have actively made. Recently we have watched 2 nations once again turn to aggression and conflict because they are unwilling to change, Yes, they are unwavering in their belief but unwilling to compromise, to make change in order to find a way forward without bloodshed, without conflict and without enormous awful consequences. One of the lessons for us is not to be so stuck in our determination that we are unwilling to change or compromise to find a better way. Not to be so stuck in our belief that we are unwilling to listen to another’s. Not to be so resolved on an issue that we cannot see the wrong within it. Determination is a good thing but only when it allows us to be transformed, to change and adapt as we grow.
4th November 2023
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
I wonder, do you know in which UK public building these words, written in Latin, are found? ‘Unless the Lord builds the house the builders labour in vain’ (Psalm 127.1). These are laid in the floor of the Central Lobby in the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Our politicians walk over these daily! They are a reminder that Scripture, the Bible, has informed, shaped and provided the foundations of our country. God’s word is a strong foundation for a nation, and for God’s people as we know it and learn to live by it. Colossians reminds us to let the word, God’s word, dwell in us, live within us. The Bible is a living word, God’s word. Those words in Westminster are there to remind politicians that they are there to serve, sadly these days these words are trodden under foot just as people are trodden under foot in the pursuit of power and wealth and God seems forgotten by the very people called to serve. Perhaps they need reminding that they are servants of us all.
3rd November 2023
Ephesians 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
This time of year is about remembering, bringing actively to our minds the people and events stored there. Remembering is something that should happen fairly easily, without too much effort. This is slightly different to recollection where we learn and recall information, usually for an exam or test. Remembering what is in our storehouse enables us to function on a day to day basis, learning how to talk and walk, learning to read all stay with us for life, learning those things to enable us to look after ourselves, learning how to behave within society, these become second nature, we learn them and they are part of us, we don’t always value them because they are part of our normal experience. IN those early years of life we are like a sponge soaking up everything, our capacity for learning is enormous. We are born with about 100 billion neurons which then make connections as we learn and grow. Our remembering in prayer is such a blessing both to ourselves but also others who we offer up to God for His care and blessing. Remembering someone in prayer is one of the greatest gifts and blessings we can give.
2nd November 2023
Romans 1:7 To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today is All Souls, part of three days where we remember the saints, not just the canonised ones but all those who have gone before, served the Lord and been an inspiration to us. All Hallows Eve, now called Halloween, readies us for the remembrance of those who who were called of God, also called saints, blessed and holy. For centuries the church had its local saints, there were so many that there were just not enough days in the year so the church created All Hallows or All Saints Day when we could remember these special people. Every one of us as God’s children is to be remembered and treasured and so on All Souls we remember those we love but see no longer, who memories we treasure and whose presence we miss. So today remember those folk, those saints from your life, those who have made you who you are, blessed you and given so much to you, and thank God for them.
1st November 2023
Psalm 90:17 May the favour of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands.
My husband and I are now pretty much empty nesters, one son working, away a lot, the other studying and working away. Sometimes we don’t hear from or see the boys for days, but they know we are always here, supporting and loving. I miss them terribly; the years of a young family have gone so quickly. I am so proud of them and we would never stop them pursuing the right way forward for them, even if that means hardly seeing them. Our children, as they grow, must take on life’s responsibilities, learning to live and adapt for themselves. The same applies to us as Christians, we have a family to support and help us but we have to take on life’s responsibilities for ourselves, we must learn to live out our faith, adapt as necessary and grow up in faith. God is always with us, we are constantly loved and supported and, in His strength, we learn, grow, change and adapt. Our children may not ring us every day, but we need to be in contact with God every day; a constant relationship offering support and strength in daily life. Just as our children are our greatest blessing and give us such pride and joy, we too, should be God’s greatest blessing, giving Him pride and joy in us.
31st October 2023
Colossians 3:16 Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Exceed in hope.
As a school Chaplain one of things, I hear from those who have our students on placement, or meet them outside school, is how confident and self-assured they are. Not a confidence that is overstated or over played, but rather where it allows independence, good choices, active participation and decision making. Part of our school life is about developing young people, not just as those who are successful in exams but those who will become wonderful adults in our world. We make it clear that this does not just depend on exam results but also how one relates as a person. How we communicate, how we make decisions, how we function under pressure, how we develop as a person. The same is true of us as Christians, it is not all about Bible Knowledge but as much about how we live out our knowledge and our faith. How we communicate, make decisions, offer hope and forgiveness, how we function in everyday life. Head knowledge doesn’t change lives, heart knowledge and thus action does change lives, may Christ’s message live actively in our hearts.
30th October 2023
Nehemiah 8:8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
In the history of God’s people, His word brought to the people through prophets and teaching was key. By the time we reach the story of Nehemiah the people had turned away but they are brought back through reading God’s word and they reaffirmed their identity as God’s people, bound to him in a sacred covenant. Those words and many others are written in our Bible. Once a year we have Bible Sunday, when we give thanks for the Bible in the life of Christian faith. We commit 'to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest’ the Scriptures, we pray for those who don’t have a Bible in their own language, and for those whom owning and reading a Bible is an offence under the laws of their land. Our Bible is made up of the Old and New Testaments, the story of God’s love throughout history. Still people turn away and still it has the power to bring us back to God when it is read and lived out.
29th October 2023
Nehemiah 8:6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!”
One of the amazing scenes of the Rugby world cup has been watching certain nations pray before and after matches. Standing together, some on their knees, praying in faith. During matches we saw some players thanking God, looking up to the Heavens in grateful praise. It has been a blessing to realise that although we, in the UK, are not so bothered by our background and history of faith and Biblical teaching, other nations still are. I found real inspiration in the faith of the Fijian team. When the last world cup was here in the UK, we met with players from Samoa who wanted to meet and pray with Christians while they were away from home. I long for, and pray for, a reaffirming of us, of the UK, as God’s people, bound to Him. I look for that reawakening, that revival seen in previous times when people were challenged to live differently and take God and His word seriously again. That prayer starts with us, in our churches, in our own private prayers, as we seek to live our lives for God and through our prayers change things.
28th October 2023
Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house the builders labour in vain.
Our weather is a constant source of conversation but also of horror and upset at the moment. People have been flooded, some repeatedly this year. People are seeing their possessions and homes damaged and destroyed. Some will not be back in their homes before Christmas. There is very little temporary housing to help and insurance companies just won’t insure anyone who has been flooded. We believe as humans that we are in control, that we have mastered nature and can do what we like without consequence. We have been so selfish, so money orientated that we have built on flood plains, built developments without infrastructure, put more homes on land than there is space for and not put in defences. We are reminded that unless the Lord builds the house, unless we build in God’s ways, correctly, unselfishly, caring for our environment, then we labour in vain. When we do not care for creation, when we become greedy and selfish all we succeed in doing is hurting God and hurting one another.
27th October 2023
Matthew 21:29 The son answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went.
How good are you at keeping your word? Are we people of our word and do what we say we will? Jesus reminds us that we can say we will help, we will do what is asked of us but then walk away and immediately forget, maybe even deliberately, and go and do something else. That is not a good or honest way to be. We can also say we won’t do something and then on reflection decide we should. All of us are quite good at doing this with our family and friends. God would prefer us to do what we say in the first place, but if we do say no to begin with God is very happy when we change our minds and do the right thing. Are we people who say one thing and do another? Let’s try to be people who do what we say, who live up to helping others and looking after the interests of others as well as ourselves.
26th October 2023
Ephesians 5:15 So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time.
In a few days time we will set our clocks and watches back an hour as British Summer Time ends. I wonder how many clocks you have in your house? All will need to be reset this weekend. We have a few lovely clocks, most with a story or special reason behind them. I find clocks fascinating and quite comforting. I love the sound of a solid tick, tick, reassuring, steady, informative. I have never had a loud chiming clock but many people love them and find them reassuring and comforting, especially at night. We use the terms clock face and hands; these are human traits. The passing of time is both comforting and concerning as we can never get back the time that is lost and gone, clocks are a reminder of using our time wisely. The Bible speaks a lot about time, using it well and how our time is measured. God himself has also been mixed up with Old Father Time in our history, because God is the ultimate measurer of time. We are called to make the best use of our time to share God’s love, to help one another and to make the world more like the wonderful perfect world God originally created for us to enjoy.
25th October 2023
Ecclesiastes 9:10a Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
Watching the rugby and cricket world cups has reminded me, once again, about the commitment, time and energy, the focus, needed to be the best in sport. Often these folk have little home life, relationships suffer, constant travelling and training, sacrifices are made to be “the best”. For most of us this never comes, we never live in that bubble of success and celebrity but that should never stop us striving to be the best we can be in everything we do. Striving to be the best parent, the best teacher, nurse, secretary, PA, the best bus driver, shop keeper…….. the best Christian we can be. In all we do God asks us to do it with all our might, all our commitment and drive. For our Christian life that means living it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, living it at work, at home, at rest and play, in our family and in our hobbies. Whatever we do or say should be the best we can be as a Christian. Our commitment means spending time studying the Bible, praying, learning, serving, being part of a church and growing in faith. God only asks we try, day in, day out, and He stands by us, helping, strengthening, guiding us if we let Him.
24th October 2023
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
What is life about for you? Is it about what you can get for yourself, the most money, the biggest house, the best holidays? It is true we all want the best for our families but God’s creation is all about relationship. We are reminded by St Paul that we need to look after the interests of others as well as ourselves. How do we look after the interests of others? Do we help other people? Do we share with others? Are we interested in what happens to other people or just ourselves? Lots of people in our world are going hungry, in our country one person in five is going hungry, mostly children and then the elderly. Many parents are going without food to make sure their children have enough. These are people who are in work but just cannot afford to live because the cost of living is now so high. How can we help? We can give out of what we have. Donate something to the food bank, we can share so that others can have enough. We may not have huge amounts ourselves but we can all share a little.
23rd October 2023
Acts 28:2 The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.
Once October comes and the nights draw in, I really begin to struggle. I have been told it is SAD, Seasonally Affected Disorder, where I and many, many thousands of others struggle with less sunlight, cold weather and short days. It has a link to why some animals hibernate, and common symptoms are sleeping more, difficulty getting up, eating more which are just like hibernation. The things that help are light and heat which in a cost-of-living crisis become more difficult to obtain. The light and warmth of our hospitality to others can make a difference. Receiving each other with compassion and warmth, sharing good things, offering smiles and light through our conversations and contact with each other. The warmth of heating is really important and the warmth of welcome is vital to keep one another blessed, encouraged and well.
22nd October 2023
Acts 17: 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
As many of us do I have photos or posters of favourite places in my office. One of them is of the Lake District, taken from the Kirkstone Pass above Lake Windermere. It is a very special place for me, particularly my youth when I regularly sailed and swam on and in the lake, climbed the mountains and walked miles. It is what I would call a thin place, by that I mean a place where you feel nearer to God, where the distance between Earth and Heaven seems very small and God seems almost in touching distance. Anywhere in this place enables me to feel closer, to hear better, to see more. The first time I took my children there I was so excited, I wanted to pass on this love I had and 2 young boys swimming in the Lake, walking in the hills, sitting by the Kirkstone was amazing. They both still have a love for this place as well. There are places where we can feel nearer to God, and sometimes it is a good thing to be reminded by a photo or a visit. God is never far from any one of us but sometimes He can feel closer and those are the places and times we should always look for.
21st October 2023
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
When life seems unfair, when we struggle to forgive, when we question why someone should get away with bad things, we can be assured that there are consequences. Just because we forgive in God’s strength it does not stop the consequences of someone’s actions and their punishment. We must remember, the same applies to us. Sin has consequences; forgiveness in God’s strength does not nullify these consequences. We remember that on the cross they hurled insults at Jesus but He did not retaliate. He suffered but he made no threats. Instead, he looked down on the crowd below Him, people who loved him and hated him, who revered and feared him, who had kissed and flogged him, who had cheered Hosanna and who had cried “Crucify him” and experiencing all the pain and agony of one betrayed and broken, He said “Father forgive them” When we stop judging and start forgiving, we can begin to love, to be at peace and to find a real freedom in Jesus’ love for us.
20th October 2023
2 Corinthians 2:10 But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ.
There are days when we all question, when we all struggle with our faith, with forgiveness, with why bad things happen. Sometimes the pain is too great. It seems beyond our human strength to understand and forgive. Jamie Bulger, Stephen Laurence, the families of those killed in the London Bombings, the events of 9/11 in New York. The Bible teaches us that forgiveness is so important. That we need to let go, not in our own strength but in God’s. Hundreds and thousands of people struggle with their feelings of loss and devastation, hopelessness and grief, they wrestle with God and question their faith. Many people are trapped in prisons of unforgiveness because of broken relationships and betrayal, abuse and breakdown of trust, perceived injustice and deception. Our lack of forgiveness eats away at us, so that we cannot be ourselves, our lives are clouded by unresolved pain from the past, we cannot find peace, we might just have to “Let go and let God”, put judgement aside and put the matter in God’s hands, our only option is to let go and let God or else be eaten away.
19th October 2023
Proverbs 25:8 Don't jump to conclusions - there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.
We all jump to conclusions, decide on something without knowing all the facts. A thought to contemplate for all of us, is that when someone offends us, they may well never have intended to. Sometimes shyness, ignorance, misunderstanding can result in a non-intentional upset. We need to try not to jump to conclusions. Humans are not perfect, we do sometimes do and say the wrong thing but often we do not mean to offend anyone, we do not mean it as a hostile act. We need to be willing to give others the benefit of the doubt, to be forgiving and reasonable. We need to treat others as we would like to be treated and as God willingly treats us. As humans we are so very capable of acting without thought for others, without fairness and justice, without kindness, but we have the choice as to whether we behave like that or behave in the loving, compassionate and forgiving way God intended.
18th October 2023
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
The sudden cold snap has taken many of us by surprise, lulled into a false sense of security that October will be warm. From over 20 degrees suddenly the overnight temperature dropped to 2 degrees, in some places even minus. From just a T-shirt we now need several layers, coats and gloves to be found and everyone in my household has come down with a cold. Life can change in an instant, things around us change quickly, in the words of the hymn, “change and decay in all around I see, o Thou who changes not, abide with me". The one constant for us as Christians is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is with us at all times and in all places, the heat, the cold, the peace, the war, the comfortable and uncomfortable, the wealth and the poverty. Sometimes we need a reminder that God is a constant, that the unconditional love of Jesus never changes.
17th October 2023
John 11: 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
No matter what Jesus does He is unpopular with someone! Even when doing good, healing, helping, caring, this very attitude puts Him at odds with, of all people, religious leaders. For the leaders of Jesus’ time it was about power, the way to the top, the best homes and food, authority over others. What is it for us? It should be about service, caring for the other, loving our neighbour, empathy and compassion. Jesus was only ever concerned about people, their physical and mental health, their ability to feed and care for their families. What are our concerns? Right now in our world and our politics the servanthood, the care and compassion has gone, it is actively criticised, condemned and very unpopular. Those of us who stand for this compassion, concern, mental and physical health provision, the welcoming of the stranger, can risk making us very unpopular. Yet if Jesus was willing to be unpopular to do the right thing, then so should we.
16th October 2023
Isaiah 43: 19a &25 See, I am doing a new thing……..I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more”
When things are not going well, we will often try something new. In sports when a team is losing or struggling, they will often try something new as they have nothing to lose. As humans, everything God was doing to bring us back to Him was not working as time went on and human nature turned us away. So, God does something new He sends Jesus to show us the true meaning of love and forgiveness. Jesus gave sight to the blind, clean skin to the leper, wholeness to the lame, but the greatest miracle of all was the forgiveness of sins. But there is a caveat. We have a part to play in our own forgiveness. We have to turn to Jesus, accepting our responsibility and wanting to change but Jesus also made it very clear on many occasions that we do not only receive love and forgiveness, we are also called to show love and forgiveness to others.
15th October 2023
Matthew 21:38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’
Remember that saying Possession is nine tenths of the law. As creator this is God’s world, He made it and He asked us to care for it. He has the right to take back but because of His love for us He is in no position to enforce it. When Jesus teaches about the tenants in the vineyard, He shows the betrayal of humans against their forgiving loving God. Not only do the wicked tenants, or humans, take what is not theirs and refuse to give it back, they are also plotting murder. Murder the son and keep the land. Surely, we can’t be compared to the tenants in the story, we wouldn’t do that, hurt people, cheat people, contemplate murder. Sadly, murder is the grim pinnacle of the upward slope of sin, where things can lead if not kept in check. We need to make sure we are not treating God’s creation and God Himself with disrespect, that we do not take what is rightfully God’s possession and want to keep it for ourselves. God actually wants to freely give us our inheritance through Jesus, the question is whether we want to accept Him or not.
14th October 2023
Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are set on you, because they trust in you.
Within our weekly service we say Peace be with you to each other. We wish peace and blessing upon each other as Jesus did to the disciples. Jesus knew that peace and forgiveness go hand in hand. And because it is so hard for us to be forgiving, He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us and to strengthen us, because we are unable to be forgiving in our own strength. You see, hatred does not bring peace, negative anger cannot create hope or bring peace, revenge does not solve any problems and brings the opposite of peace, turmoil. Jesus knew that forgiveness is incredibly hard for people. Pride, hurt and anger get in the way. We can be quick to judge and slow to forgive. Pride prevents us from taking that first step to heal a relationship and restore peace. The God of the Old Testament, of Abraham and of Jacob, is often presented to us as an angry God and a God frustrated by his people but when look deeper you see that primarily He was and is a patient and forgiving God who wants peace for all His children.
13th October 2023
Matthew7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
What do you think is acceptable and what do you not? Each of us in our society have wrongs which we somehow think are now acceptable. The lines have become blurred and the more we accept as okay, the more society seems happy to do wrong. Tax evasion, fiddling expenses, taking from the elderly, shoplifting, speeding, cyclists ignoring red lights, insider trading, tax havens; basically, making sure that if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Every sin, from the smallest to the greatest, is the failure to give others their due. Society has its norms and rules to make things work, the queue, waiting our turn, speed limits, paying taxes, personal space, not taking what belongs to others, not cheating in exams, fair wages. At the centre of all this and our faith is a simple rule which cuts through it all. The Golden Rule, behaving towards others as you would want them to behave towards you. We all want to be treated fairly, politely, considerately and kindly, so we must treat others that way too and without waiting for them to do it first.
12th October 2023
Colossians 3:17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done to your best and more in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks.
If we took practical exams on being a Christian, how well would we do? Jesus and the early church offered teaching and help on the expectation of how we live out our faith. In our daily lives and relationships, we are called to be people of patience, forgiveness, love, peace, wisdom, and hope. How we treat one another matters. What we both do and say matters. Others are patient with us, so we need to be patient with one another. Forgiveness isn’t easy but we are forgiven so often by God, by family and friends, we need to be able to forgive as well and not hold grudges. We need practical love for our fellow humans which makes us compassionate, caring, and considerate as well as being at peace with ourselves and the decisions we make, being wise enough not to try and make ourselves more important than we are and in this world. We also must have hope, hope for a world that sometimes seems daunting, angry, inhospitable, and very selfish. We are part of that future hope, we can make the world a better place by what we do and say, how we behave, react, treat one another, and grow as Christian people. When we do these things, live as practical loving Christians, people will see it, will experience it in us and will speak of that to others.
11th October 2023
Matthew 21:41b He will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.
In 30 years of marriage, we have only lived in one house that we owned and then only for about 18 months. We have lived in rented accommodation or vicarages. These places were and are not ours, we would make many changes if they were. We are stewards of our landlord’s house, and there is a conflict between the aspirations we have for the house and what the owner wants for it. Stewards and tenants should care for that which is entrusted to them, doing the best they can for the owner. Being a good steward will lead us to suppress our own desires and wants, to focus on another’s agenda. The church is a steward of God’s mission to the world, He generously entrusts the worldwide church, us, with it. As tenants in God’s world, and entrusted with his mission, we must not impose our aspirations and desires on the church, or on others. This is God’s world and we should be good stewards of all He has lovingly given us.
10th October 2023
Psalm 146:7a Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry?
It is regularly reported that over the last five years, the number of people forced to turn to a food bank because they cannot afford to eat has soared. This includes people who work in supposedly good jobs. Some food banks are now based in Hospitals because of the number of nurses who need them just to survive. The Food Foundation reports a total of 9.3 million adults experienced food insecurity in January 2023, Around 3.2 million adults reported not eating for an entire day because they could not afford food, or did not eat so their children had some food. Children living in poverty are more at risk of being exploited by or becoming victim to criminal gangs, mental health, physical health are deeply affected. Almost 40% of children in a one parent family are in poverty. Disabled households have to find an average of almost £12,000 more a year to achieve the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Gender affects poverty, with three million women in low paid jobs. The challenge for us today is to share out more fairly what we have. We are all from differing backgrounds, statistics tell us there will be those among us who regularly go without. We need to rise to the challenge of helping when we can. As God has freely and abundantly given to us, so we need to give to others freely and abundantly.
9th October 2023
Matthew 9:5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
For centuries the church has peddled the idea that illness and disability is a result of sin. How easy it is to look down on someone and blame them for their circumstances. We know that this is not true. Doing wrong does not cause illness unless through self-harm and carelessness. But it is true that doing wrong does affect us, psychologically, mentally and spiritually. There is a psychosomatic reaction where mental and psychological problems manifest themselves physically. We are all brought low by badness, cruelty, bullying, teasing. When we do wrong it affects us. We may not see it immediately but over time it does. We become angry, cold, aggressive, unpleasant people, and it makes us physically suffer; aches, pains, lack of strength and fitness. When we are forgiven, it lifts the burden, it helps the bowed head and back straighten, the coldness thaws, the aggression lessens. This does not mean all physical illness is healed, but somehow, by the grace of God, things improve, get better and we become better people. Being forgiven and forgiving others is the key to a much better quality of life.
8th October 2023
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
I wonder if you watch or even like The Simpsons. It has been running for years and usually I find people love it or hate it. We often watch it as years ago my husband did a focus group on it and its morals and lessons for the Christian church. Much of it satirises differing aspects of religion and church. Some episodes have a very spiritual and moral aspect to them. One of its most powerful messages is that of forgiveness and unconditional love. The very Christian neighbour Ned Flanders somehow keeps forgiving and helping the family, even when they mistreat him. The mother Marge constantly finds the good in every situation, encouraging and supporting her children and her incompetent husband through everything. Whatever you think of it, it has a huge following in the church as well as outside it. This family go to church every week, pray before meals and bed, often ask God for help and experience God at work in their lives. None of us are perfect, we all get things wrong and let people down and yet God’s love for us is unconditional, He sticks with us through thick and thin and all He asks of us is that we try to be better parents, children, neighbours, friends and Christians in His strength.
7th October 2023
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
You would think that in this day and age we would have the best definition of things and yet Thomas Watson wrote a bible-based definition of forgiveness 300 years ago which is so clear: Forgiveness is “when we strive against all thoughts of revenge, when we will not do our enemies mischief but wish them well, we grieve at their calamities, pray for them, seek reconciliation with them and show ourselves ready on all occasions to release them”. Each part of this definition is from the bible. It is very clear our forgiveness is to extend to all people, just as the forgiveness of God through Christ extends to all people. Jesus often linked love for enemies and forgiving others with receiving peace. To forgive others, to pray for them, brings peace, the same peace that we can experience every day because we have been forgiven and we are prayed for by others.
6th October 2023
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I get very frustrated with computers, especially passwords. I seem to constantly have to change them, get told I entered them wrongly etc. I have just found out that we spend, as humans, 500,000 hrs a day typing in security codes and passwords. This seems to me to be very inefficient, surely there is a better way? Of course, we need security but every time they say they have new more effective things in place, things just get worse and we suffer. I am so glad that with God We do not need passwords or security codes, we do not need to keep changing how we access God. The way to the God is just the same as always, Jesus, accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, being sorry for our wrongdoing and trying to change. No passwords needed, God is always there, ready and willing for us to access Him, every minute of every hour of every day.
5th October 2023
Matthew 18:1 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
How are you on forgiveness? Most of us struggle with forgiving others, even when it isn’t necessarily their fault. Peter asks Jesus, how many times he must forgive? He grew up with rabbi’s who taught that if a man commits an offence, he should be forgiven up to 3 times on the 4th he is punished. Jesus is much more radical and says indefinitely, there is no limit to forgiveness. To illustrate this Jesus tells a story, a man who owed the king 10,000 talents. A ridiculous amount, a bit like being a millionaire. By contrast, the unforgiving servant was only owed100 denarii, about a month’s wages. Jesus was making the point that nothing other people can do to us can in any way compare with what we have done to God and if God can forgive us the debt we owe him, then we can surely forgive others the relatively small debt they owe us.
4th October 2023
Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
I was completely thrown by a recent advert using the term GOAT, I could not understand what a goat had to do with a shower gel or aftershave. My son then explained it stood for Greatest Of All Time: GOAT. Claiming someone or something is the greatest of all time is a bold claim and not really substantiated. In the Gospels Jesus had to deal with this very question, who is the greatest? His reply was to take a child and tell us to be as children. Why? Because children see things simply, without fuss and bother. They have a wonder about the world, an awe, which for us in later life, has become tired and lost. True greatness, according to Jesus, comes from childlike humility, childlike acceptance and belief, a simpleness in faith that does not get bogged down in the ifs and buts. Children are special, wonderful, a God given gift and should be treasured and cared for as such. From them we learn honesty, simpleness, awe, wonder and unconditional love. This is a good way to live our lives as Christians not being the greatest but rather the best we can be in God’s love.
3rd October 2023
Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
I have recently come across a report that has found that over a million children in the UK are sleeping on the floor or sharing a bed. They are calling it bed poverty. The cost-of-living crisis means replacing broken beds or old mattresses has become a luxury many cannot afford. There is also a huge problem with washing bed linen, particularly in the winter where fuel poverty means lacking of washing facilities and no where to dry them properly. Families talked of using one room for all to sleep in to try and keep each other warm with a family of 4 or more sharing one double bed for months in the coldest times. This is so shocking, so appalling that in this country the government does nothing to relieve this poverty and portrays such people as scroungers rather than help them while pocketing huge expenses and salaries and having all their heating paid for by the tax payer. God desires all of us to lay down and sleep in safety, we as a society, are allowing children to suffer because of our selfishness. We need to hold to account politicians, wealthy people and those who have so much to insist they start paying back to the society which has provided so well for them.
2nd October 2023
Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
What are your prayers like? People often say they don’t know how to pray, and I tell them it is just like having a chat to a friend, in this case God. What I do notice about my own and other prayers is they can be very selfish. We tend to pray about ourselves, our needs, our feelings and ideas whereas our prayers should be for and about others. As with much of our faith our attitude is an issue. The key to it all is forgiveness. We are freely forgiven by God but we are not so keen to forgive others. We are good at holding grudges, wanting to see others suffer for what we perceive they have done. There are always consequences to actions and forgiveness does not nullify these. Only when we are willing to forgive can we truly be forgiven and can we truly pray for others rather than ourselves. Forgiveness is not easy, it can take a long time but all that is required of us is that we try, in God’s strength, allowing Him to deal with the details.
1st October 2023
James 1:25 But the one who looks intently at the perfect law of God, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this person will be blessed in what they do.
When I am away or out for the day, I do love a gift shop. I have always loved to buy a notebook, postcard, pen, pencil a picture for the wall etc. Often, I come home with the intention of using them, putting them up, but the business of life means I find them weeks, months later still unused or not put up on the wall or the shelf. We have every intention of using things or doing something but so often life gets in the way. The same goes for our faith, for our good intentions and the changes we say we need to make, we have every intention when we leave church, read a book, finish Bible Study or Quiet time, but then life happens, washing still needs to be done, lunches packed, food cooked, shopping done, cleaning, paperwork, the daily job and suddenly things are forgotten. Thankfully God does not forget us, does not forget to bless us, care for us, strengthen us and be with us. In His strength we need to try a little more not to forget those things we said we would do and the changes we said we would make.
30th September 2023
Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.”
When I was younger my Nan would always say to me after a meal have you had enough? She was concerned that I did not go hungry. If we asked that question of people round the world today what would be the reply? The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has reported that about 1 in 5 ( 20%) of people in the UK live in poverty. They said that over the last 25 years, children have had the highest poverty rates. Child poverty is now the highest since last century Life events, like illness or redundancy, can cause poverty. But it is mostly caused by structural and systemic issues, and exacerbated by increasing living costs, creating a cycle that keeps people trapped in hardship. There is enough food grown in the world to feed everyone comfortably, everyone could have enough and more but half of it is lost in waste. Much of it is held to achieve higher prices, much is thrown away after lengthy storage to drive up prices. The result is over a billion people have little access to any food and so go hungry. This verse is a simple challenge about our behaviour, about loving neighbour as self, about making sure not only do we have enough but so do others. It is why we collect for food banks, for Harvest, why we donate to charities, why we try to help others so life for everyone can be fair and good, so everyone can have enough.
29th September 2023
Matthew 18:14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
It is so easy to take things out of context, to misinterpret and fit things into our view. So, if we put things into context…Remember the parable of the lost sheep. Where the Shepherd or God does everything to find the lost one. And then “If my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him?” Jesus says 70 x 7 in other words never stop forgiving. Or the story about how a King lets off one of his servants who owes an enormous debt but that servant goes on to treat those below him badly and not forgive them. So, in this context Jesus says if someone sins against you, go and sort it out when the two of you are alone. No finger wagging and telling people off, but restore relationships, sort things out. Sadly, often when someone has upset us, we go and tell EVERYONE else about it. Do you know what he did? Do you know what she said? I’ll tell you….. but in confidence of course. We talk to the entire community, bar the one person, The one person we need talk to. It is all just made worse. Jesus’ language, Jesus’ context is all about reconciliation. So should ours.
28th September 2023
1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they appear as folly to him, and he is not able to understand them for they are spiritually discerned.
I do enjoy a programme on TV called Secrets of the London Underground. The programme goes to old stations, hidden platforms, hidden store rooms and places where things are restored or kept. There are treasures that so many of us are not party to and will never see, like the first attempt at an escalator which was circular, some of the most ornate gateways, beautiful old signage, incredible short platforms and ornate carriages. Some of these we would never see if not for this programme. There are so many people in our world today for whom things are hidden, people who never get to hear about Jesus, people who never get to see the treasures of knowing God for themselves. People who never see the ornate history and tradition of the church. Perhaps we need a TV programme about the secrets of the Christian Gospel where the hidden treasures are shown, the experiences offered allowing the history to immerse everyone in God’s love, not just the few.
27th September 2023
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed are those who trust Him.
We have been given senses that allow us to fully connect with the world around us, to connect with God through everything. Those senses were given by God and in the Bible we see God using those senses, the seeing and hearing His people, the smell of offerings, the touch of healing. We also have the ability to rest, to take a nap and God gave us that ability, a way of refreshing ourselves and just being able to slow down and reset. We also have the ability to make music, the joy and health benefits this brings, as well as reading or writing poetry, reading favourite stories or about how others have found peace and wonder from the world. For the scientists among us we can find God in the rocks, the earth, macro and micro biology, astronomy, chemical elements. From conception our bodies make physical connections, our brains make connections, synapses fire up and we learn and become amazing beings who have the ability to be creative, to celebrate life and each other, to contemplate, learn and discover, to make ethical arguments and create a better, fairer world for everyone. It is through all these and more that we are able to find God and His creation, bless each other and be better people because of it.
26th September 2023
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Do you ever feel that you have never been away? Everything just slots back into place. Whenever we return to school in September it is as if we have not had the summer break. Everything just slots into place and we begin the patterns and timetables of the year all over again. Yearly patterns are helpful to us, certain things that we know happen at various times of the year. We work towards and through these using them as a hook to hang our lives on and to guide us going forward as well as reminding us of the past. Right now, we are celebrating Harvest, soon we will move into a season of remembrance then Advent and into Christmas. We have certain services and traditions which allow us to both learn from the past but also move forward. The very seasons of the year also allow us to do this, seasons given right at the beginning of time by Creator God to enable us to structure our lives. God gave times and seasons for everything under Heaven that we would learn, grow and move forward together.
25th September 2023
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
We do, as humans, like to tell others they are wrong and we are right. That often means those people who misbehave in our community, we think we can tell them off. Churches down the centuries have often chosen to do lots of finger wagging, lots of telling people off, lots of telling people who don’t fit in to our church to go away. Sadly, there are so many stories of people publicly shamed in front of the church, forced to live ostracised in their own homes, because families aren’t allowed to socialise with such sinners. In my own family history, someone was barred from their church because they challenged the behaviour of the pastor. The problem is that far too often we read the bible with a pair of scissors or the loose-leaf edition. We keep the bits we want to keep and throw the rest away. We read things out of context. In context Jesus’ teaching is always about reconciliation, building bridges and not putting up walls. Before God we always need to seek the best outcome and not stroke our own egos because we rightly handle the word of truth.
24th September 2023
Ephesians 4:1 We live and act in a way that is worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these.
Just recently I read about Frederick Banting who along with others, gave insulin to the world in 1921. He was offered a life time of riches to sell the patent for its production to pharmaceutical companies who saw how profitable it would be, but his view was that this discovery belonged to the world and should be available to everyone who needs it. The consequence of this action was millions of people able to live normally and not die unnecessarily. For him lives came before profit. There are other examples of this philanthropy but they are few and far between. The human desire to look after self, first, often pushes us to make decisions for ourselves rather than others. If only we could all offer what we have for others to benefit from, if we could all look to others before ourselves, our world be much more like the world God created and intended for us. Change begins with us, one step at a time and it will make a difference.
23rd September 2023
1 Corinthians 12:12a There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body.
Many of us like things to be straight forward, or to be able to root our knowledge and understanding in things we like and value. To connect with God is not like straight forward maths, it’s like algebra or trigonometry not in its complexity but rather in its’ creativity. There are so many creative ways to connect with God and not surprisingly these ways also help our mental health and well being. We’re different not just in our physical appearance and spiritual giftedness but also in the way we connect with each other and with God. We are, as St Paul tells us, One body, many parts. We all have different things to offer but we all need each other to work for the best in our world. Going outdoors is a wonderful way to connect with creation, with nature and so with the creator. Putting our phones away and going for a walk, reading or studying outside, watching the sun rise or sun set. When did you last lay down on the grass and look up at the sky, the clouds and just wonder. If you like yoga or meditation, doing this outside adds a new contemplation aspect. Just sitting outside and thinking or just being can be a revelation for us. God gave us these things we should be tapping into them and allowing ourselves to be blessed.
22nd September 2023
Mark 9:25 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Sometimes we just can’t seem to do anything right, we try but it just doesn’t seem to work. Jesus disciples had been sent out to help and heal but they could not seem to heal a young boy. His father is desperate, he knows what Jesus can do but the disciples have confused him. He is now firmly sandwiched between believing in what God can do and not experiencing this happening for him. I think many of us are in this position, we believe, we have faith, but we are also confused by what we see in the church, the abuses of power by leaders, the lack of compassion and love and the blame for decline put upon ordinary people who just want to love their church and serve it. We believe and yet we struggle with our belief. Once we recognise this, that we need God’s help to live out our faith, that in our human strength we simply cannot believe enough, we call out to God and in doing so open ourselves to His strength and support. We must never be put off from crying out to God to help our unbelief.
21st September 2023
Acts 2:44 And all those who had believed were coming together and had all things in common.
Jesus understood that living life is not something to be done alone. We all need support and help. God initially created families and stated it was not good for humans to be alone. Being a Christian is often too difficult to do alone, especially when the storms hit. We need each other. We need our fellow believers. Jesus knew this which is why he spent so much of His ministry building community, it is why he founded the church. The church may not be perfect. No congregation is. Jesus began the church, to share the gospel, to bring healing and hope, peace and justice, love and support to each other. That is a theology that offers us a sure foundation. One that we can build a life of hope and meaning upon. One that can survive the storms and trials that this life inevitably throws at us.
20th September 2023
Ephesians 4:16 We speak the truth, we deal in the truth, we live in truth, each one in their own special way always helping others.
What is your view on honesty? We were taught Honesty is the best policy and honesty is something to be valued in all people, it grows trust, it brings safety and protection. We are responsible for how we behave, and if we chose the path of dishonesty then there will be consequences. Everything we do and say has consequences whether they be good or bad. We reward the good consequences of hard work and study, of music, sport, drama. There are also the bad consequences, unnecessary deaths and injuries because of carelessness, anger, misdirected ideas. On a recent emergency call I heard about they took a man to hospital who had been stabbed by his own brother. Drink and drugs, tempers flared and one brother stabbed the other. The consequence is one fighting for his life in hospital and the other looking at a prison sentence. Both lives and those of their families and friends are hugely impacted because of the consequences of this behaviour. The way to good consequences is to weigh up our actions, our words. To be people of honesty and integrity. To act worthily, to always deal in the truth. This is the teaching of Jesus and of the church. We all need to be people of honesty, people who strive for good consequences and people who recognise when we have got it wrong and strive to put it right. We need to be people who accept the consequences of our actions, always trying to make them good consequences.
19th September 2023
Romans 18:12 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
I am a real fan of unions, from the perspective of defending the little people, making sure people are kept safe at work, not maltreated and paid fairly. Sometimes arbitration or mediation is needed, sometimes people need representation so they are not misunderstood and not overpowered or bullied by those above them. None of us in any situation should think we are there because we are perfect or we know all the answers. We may be called to help but we are flawed too. We may need to change our view, to move the prism so that we see differently, we may to change our perspective, to compromise, BUT The purpose must always be forgiveness and reconciliation, fairness and care, honesty and integrity. Jesus is all about building bridges and not walls. As St Paul says Loving neighbour as self, living honourably, not quarrelling or being jealous but putting on Christ, becoming more like Him. In our Christlikeness we grow in forgiveness, in love, in compassion, in peace and in bridge building. It is not easy but all God expects of us is to try our best, in God’s strength. As we forgive, we are forgiven.
18th September 2023
Matthew 21:20 And when the disciples saw it, they wondered, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
How good are you at keeping focus? Over the years in school, I have met students who can focus really well for ages, but also those whose focus has gone before the lesson really starts and everywhere in between. We do understand these days that processing issues can determine someone’s ability to focus and we are offering ways to help students with this. If you look at the disciples, they also sometimes have difficulty keeping focus. Like a child on Christmas morning, they easily got distracted by things around them, by unusual events and happenings and by their understanding of Jewish law. They became fixated on something instead of on Jesus and His teaching and calling of them. Jesus has to remind them to keep focused on their faith and belief. It is very easy for us to be distracted, fixated on the wrong things and to lose sight of Jesus teaching and calling of us. Focus on God, on Jesus is about being the best, whole person we can be. Listening, watching, praying, loving, caring; being people focused on Christ, and on being Christlike.
17th September 2023
Ephesians 4:2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults.
This weekend is the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year. In the next 10 days people are expected to reflect on their actions and words, those they have hurt or caused pain, to seek forgiveness and to change. It is a wake-up call for them and ends with Yom Kippur, a day of atonement, recognising the consequences of actions and words and trying to make them right. If you prefer a more scientific approach to this idea, Newton’s third law tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, there is an action and a consequence. Whatever we do or say will have a consequence, a reaction to what we do. We may not intend to hurt or offend; we may not intend to cause distress but if and when we do we must recognise it and do something about it. We need to act in a worthy way, be people of peace, patience and humility and ultimately be people of truth and so admit out mistakes, seek forgiveness and change.
16th September 2023
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Making connections is a term used across society, there are several groups who use this term for the work they do in business, in social care, in transport links, in social circles. It is about connecting with those of a like mind, those who have a similar vision or strategy to get things done. We all make connections every day with people we talk to, work alongside, family members, friends and so on. Connections also need to be made with belief, with faith. Connecting with God means having a two-way communication with Him through prayer, reading the Bible, listening to His voice, and acting accordingly. There are different ways to connect with God, such as looking for Him in nature, when we really begin to look at the world, space, stars, we begin to see this is not all accidental. We also connect through other people, circumstances, dreams, visions, silence, and contemplation. Another proactive way to connect with God is by giving and serving others, which makes us valued and happy and reflects God's love for the world through our caring actions.
15th September 2023
Matthew 13:23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
As different as the four soils are in the Parable of the Sower, they all hold two things in common. Seeds and the Sower. The Sower sows the same seeds in all four soils with equal toil, equal hope, and equal generosity. The Sower does so without evaluation of the soil’s quality or potential. There is no soil left unsown. No ground is declared undeserving of the Sower’s attention and seeds. This is not about the quality of dirt. It’s about the quality of God, the divine Sower. We want to ponder what kind of dirt we are. God simply wants to sow his seeds of life in us. No life, no person, no soil is left unsown by God. God does not give up on us, any of us. Seeds here. Seeds there. Seeds everywhere. That seems like poor planning. Surely with today’s economy that’s just wasteful. By today’s farming practices it is inefficient. With the cost of seeds and the time spent sowing it may not even be profitable. These are not, however, the Sower’s concerns. They are human concerns. God is quite simply concerned that every person, every heart, every life gets the opportunity to find their creator and have a relationship with Him. God doesn’t count anyone out or anyone as undeserving and neither must we.
14th September 2023
Matthew 18:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out the problem, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
How do we handle Conflict and Disagreement? As humans we are not very good at dealing with these things. “He’s not my friend any more” “She said this” “He did that” It happens all through school, and we keep doing it even as adults. Stories about how people handle things badly are treated as funny and appear all over social media and YouTube. Stories about people handling relationships well are rarely heard about, conflict is corrosive. Conflict causes damage. Some damage cannot be repaired. We have bible teaching about conflict in the church So what does Our Lord say, don’t go and talk to everyone else. Just go privately and talk to that one person. After all it may be a misunderstanding. Or they may have perfectly good reasons for what they did, which if you heard would make perfect sense. Or they may have not understood how much it would hurt you. They may just say sorry. In that reconciliation we and they are helped and relationships are restored.
13th September 2023
Romans 11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!
Let’s be clear, none of us deserve God’s love but He freely gives it anyway. None of us has the right to tell another they are not deserving of God’s love, to turn them away, to judge them. There are those who weaponise the Bible, take things out of context, sideline anything they don’t like in order to exclude, to justify slavery, the disrespect and suppression of women, to suppress human rights, to exclude the disabled and the different. God’s purpose does not change! God’s love and forgiveness is for all, it is not dependent on what we eat, or what we wear, or what we do, where we live, our status, culture, skin colour. It is dependent on Jesus, Jesus’ death and resurrection only. God does not reject anyone, therefore neither should we.
12th September 2023
1 Peter 2:18 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, love God, honour those in authority.
I wonder if your family or friends ever remind you to take responsibility for what you do or say? The word responsibility means having an obligation to do something, be answerable for one's actions, morally accountable for one's behaviour and so able to be blamed or credited for it. We all like to take the credit not so much the blame. You only have to look at the news to see the daily blame game, the unwillingness of politicians to take responsibility when things go wrong but loving to take the credit when they go well. If we do or say something that causes others to be hurt, to fall, to be ridiculed, and lose out then we must take responsibility for that. If we are wrong, we need to be willing to admit it. We are reminded time and again in the Bible that we need to respect authority, that we need to respect each other and that we are responsible for our actions. Actions have consequences. If we chose to disrespect and not take responsibility, then we have to accept the consequences. We have a choice. We have a choice whether to admit our mistakes and learn from them, we have a choice whether to do the right thing when no one else is looking, we have the choice to stand up to wrong doing, bullying, bad behaviour, lies and deceit. We have the choice to take responsibility for our actions and words or not. Taking responsibility builds trust. We have a responsibility to others and to ourselves.
11th September 2023
Romans 12:4&5 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have recently witnessed an amazing national team success in the Women’s World Cup. This was very much about team work, everyone working together for the best result. In any team sport, everyone has different roles. In football, not everyone can be the striker, you also need defenders, mid fielders, a goalie. In cricket, not everyone can be a top batter, you also need fielders, different types of bowlers. In netball, not everyone can be the goal shooter, you also need mid field players and goal keepers. No one can do everything, so team members have to rely on their teammates and help each other. Similarly, in the church we are called to think not only of ourselves, what we do, our position, but more importantly to remember other people. To be generous with our gifts and talents because no one can do everything, we are urged to use what God has given us to benefit those around us. Alongside this, we are told to accept help from those who are gifted in ways we are not. A generous church has members who freely give help to others and are also humble enough to freely receive help too.
10th September 2023
Deuteronomy 1:31a In the wilderness you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a parent carries their child.
Knowing who Jesus is, what we believe about God demands an answer in our homes and families, in work, in a hospital, at a funeral. Not just on Sunday morning, but during those nights when we struggle to sleep and when we worry. Knowing who Jesus is, what we believe about God demands an answer not just when life is going well. But when life is falling apart. That’s when our faith is tested. And when the answer is not just words. But when it is life. When the rubber hits the road, so to speak, that’s when what we really believe comes to the fore, that’s when people see the real us and our real faith. It is easy to be a Christian when life is good, when we are successful, and so easy for us to take the credit. It is far harder to be a Christian when trials face us, when we are struggling; yet that is when God is at His closest, when God can and will pick us up and carry us if we need it. In all conditions we have God’s strength to carry us through.
9th September 2023
Jeremiah 17: 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
The metaphor of a tree is quite common in the Bible. As signs of life, strength and longevity they are good examples for us. The key is roots, deep and strong along with water and soil. Trees by sources of water flourish. They grow, bear fruit even in times of drought. Our lives have times of drought, tough times and they have good times. It is easy to live our faith in the good times, but it is in the tough times that our roots, our soil and water pay off. These are our relationship with God, the Bible, prayer and our community of friends and supporters. We need to grow deep roots, know God’s presence, know how to respond in tough times and know we are secured and supported by our Christian family. The old phrase for this is living a God centred life, if we put God in the centre then all that projects out from that will be Godly, will be loving, caring, strong, supportive in the knowledge we are never alone. As long as our roots are deep, we will flourish and if we eve need help and support not only is God there but our Christian family. Never be worried about asking for help, support and prayer.
8th September 2023
Matthew 10:24 A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master.
Our experience of slavery is either from history or the stories of modern slavery that sometimes come out in the press. We don’t think in terms of slaves and masters today, but we do experience teaching as students and during our lives. The relationship is not an equal one. One will always have a superior role. The disciples, the early missionaries, were Jesus’ students just as we, His 21st-century disciples, are also His students, and just as He faced opposition, aggression, condemnation and hatred we should prepare ourselves to face the same. We do not deserve anything better than Jesus did, in fact we deserve a lot less, but the world, sin and the devil would make us slaves, want to entrap us and stop us having the freedom God wants for us in Christ. Jesus goes on to context this idea within equality, that we are equal in status, in experience and in value to God, none better than another.
7th September 2023
Matthew 14:24 The boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Unusually, on our recent trip to the Mediterranean, we spent quite a few days being battered by wind and waves. After the recent very, very, hot weather it then led to high winds and storms across the area and we were battered somewhat. We were unable to call into one port as the weather was so bad, and it managed to break a lift cable on the ship. Now, I am not a fan of bad weather at sea and have to lay either on the floor or in bed. Pills are little help. I cannot imagine anyone being out on the water in a storm, let alone walking on it. Yet Jesus comes to them in the storm. In their fear and battered state, He comes, He even invites peter to come to Him, Peter is fine until He takes His eyes off Jesus, then he begins to sink and fear sets in. He calls out and Jesus’ hand is right there. When ever life batters us we are not alone, Jesus is right there with us, in the middle of the storm, holding out His hand to us. All we need to do is reach out, look to Jesus and know we are held.
6th September 2023
Luke 9:20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
What we believe about God matters, more than anything else in life. That’s why Jesus initiated the conversation with His disciples. Jesus knew that what they thought of Him would affect how they would live their lives going forward, when He was back in Heaven. Their theology; their understanding of God; mattered. Jesus had a theological conversation with them. A first easy question, “Who do people say that I am?” All they need to say is what they hear, rather than what they believe, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, a prophet. But then the harder question, “Who do you say that I am?” We know the answer to this question. We’ve been to Sunday School. We know this stuff. We’ve heard it before. But Jesus is looking for more than the pat Sunday School answer. Jesus wants us to answer this question with our head. heart, soul and life. Who do we say that Jesus is? If Jesus himself were to ask us that question, how would we answer it? And doe our life reflects that answer? What do we really believe about God, about Jesus? The answer will set the course of our life. It matters!
5th September 2023
Romans 12:5 In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
This time of year in school is always a period of welcome, new year 7 and 12, new staff, and welcoming back everyone else. The word welcome means we are pleased and encouraged to have people with us, along side us. We are all part of a community and communities look after each other, help one another, work together and support each other. In school we spend this first term looking at what it means to be part of this community through a series of characteristics we worked with everyone in school to identify. In Romans Paul is very clear that we are all part of one body or community, but we all have different gifts, strengths and thus different parts to play. We honour one another, belong to one another and respect individuality and difference, growing together. Each of us has a part to play in our community, in our family, and God has given us these different gifts to enable everyone to flourish, together. As we journey together may we support each other, encourage each other, help one another and look after each other as God intended.
4th September 2023
Matthew 12:7 If you know what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not condemn the innocent.
The idea of a strict sabbath day of rest is an old one. In my youth shops were not open on a Sunday, apart from Paper shops for a few hours. The idea of a day of rest has always been a great idea but of course not everyone can rest on the same day. How could nurses and doctors, power and water workers, transport drivers, public services just shut down for a day. They cannot. The point is that the sabbath for some became a rule so important to some that others were allowed to suffer, go hungry, even die to keep a rule. It is too easy to become so wrapped up in rules that we forget real life. People don’t just get ill on 6 days, people don’t just need food on 6 days, people need care, love, compassion, food, water, medical help 7days a week 24 hours a day. But people also need rest. In the past only the wealthy got time off, workers had no time off apart from the odd religious holiday and then only for a couple of hours to go to church. People did not live long, worked to the bone. God made us to be productive but also to have rest. God himself rested and created us to do the same. It does not matter on which day we rest, as long as we do. Taking time for ourselves is vital, it can be any day, any time but things will still happen, we will need to help and care for others even then, just as Jesus did. We are not called to sacrifice everything in pursuit of rules and laws, only to be merciful, caring, just and loving people. Take rest when you need it because to be the most effective, we need to rest and recharge ourselves regularly.
3rd September 2023
Hebrews 12:7 Children need correction; God treats us as his children. For what children are not taught and corrected by their parents?
How do we see God? Do we believe that God is like a divine scorekeeper, keeping track of all our good and bad deeds and so live our lives rather fearfully, just hoping that we come out okay at the end. Or do we believe that God is all-accepting and welcoming, but rather distant and waiting patiently in Heaven for us to get there, and so not really worry about our good deeds and our sins. What we believe about God affects how we pray. If we believe that God is distant, and simply watching events unfold in our world with little participation or influence, then we won’t spend time asking God to change the circumstances in which we find ourselves. If we think of God as a stern judge, we might avoid prayer, because we won’t dare to ask God for help. Then again, if we think of God as a loving parent, we will turn to God when we need help or advice. If we think of God as a friend, we will spend time in conversation with God just talking about our day. We need to have a positive view of God and allow Him to be a friend, a loving parent who cares about us, this view will enable us to grow and change as Christians and be sure in our faith as we grow.
2nd September 2023
Matthew 15:27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Sometimes even those who are confident or seem clear in their task can seem unsure about what they are here for, who should they help? Jesus sometimes seems to ask Himself is He just here to help the Jews or all God’s people? He is reminded, challenged, by a woman who will not accept that God values her and her people less than others. She may be despised by other humans, but not GOD. This is a huge reminder to all of us that all God’s created children, whoever they are, are included in God’s plan. Even the lowest of low, who gather up the crumbs under the table are still offered God’s love, are still just as deserving as those who sit at the top table, perhaps even more so. God is merciful to all, all people, no matter who they are, where they come from, what their pedigree is in world terms. God’s love, God’s mercy and forgiveness is for everyone.
1st September 2023
Titus 2:7 &8a In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your example show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned.
What do people think about us when they meet us, see us, work with us, socialise with us? Do they see confident, happy people or do they see insecure, unhappy people, do they see who we really are? You would hope that if people socialise with us, they like our company so hopefully they like us. What we believe about God and our personal faith in Jesus means that when people look at us and how we live, what we say and do, they should know we are Christians, God’s people. Any dishonesty, lies, cruelty, anger and lack of compassion will be judged as not of God, and rightly so. We can be subject to that phrase I’ve heard many times “Call yourself a Christian!” It is very hard for us to live up to expectation, sometimes even impossible, but our lives must reflect what we believe, we need to be people who are genuine because that is how we challenge others and bring them to know God for themselves. Thankfully God works with us, strengthening us, helping us to be the people we should be in Him. God also forgives, allows us to start again, wipes the slate clean. We simply need to be honest, genuine, and be exactly who we are in Jesus.
31st August 2023
Matthew 13:28b The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go quickly and pull up the weeds?’
The overzealous "weeders" in Matthew, who wanted to purify the community by rooting out the bad seed, has been a temptation for followers of Jesus in every age. We whip ourselves into a weeding frenzy, certain that we know the difference between weeds and wheat, good and bad people, and that we know just how to deal with the weeds, the bad ones! We actually do not know and it is not our job! Jesus' makes it clear that any attempt to root out the weeds will only do more damage to the crop. This has played out far too many times in congregations and churches, with some determined to root out anyone who does not agree with their "right" interpretation of Scripture, their liturgical practice, or their stand on a particular issue. There are those who pronounce judgment on people inside and outside the church and it does serious damage to the church and its mission. Jesus makes clear that we simply cannot be certain who is "in" or who is "out." In fact, God's judgment about these matters will take many by surprise, it is up to God, not us. Only I know my real standing with God and only you know yours. Thank God it is not up to us! We can leave the judging to God, the weeding to the angels, and get on with the mission Jesus has given us, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
30th August 2023
Matthew 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
The disciples are asked by Jesus: “Who do you say that I am?” This is a basic question that I believe all followers of Jesus must answer, and not just once when we become Christians, but at all times in our life. Who do we say that Jesus is? And based on that, who do people say we are? Our understanding of God, our theology, can and must change over our lifetime, as we grow in our faith. How we answer this question directly affects how we live out our faith, our life. What we believe about God, how we see Jesus, affects how we face trials in our life. What we believe about God affects how we navigate our way through illness, pain, hurt, disappointment, success, failed relationships, job loss, grief. What we believe about God affects how we approach every aspect of our life. Our Theology, understanding, does not have to be complicated, but it does need to be sure. Our Bible, our prayer, our church community will all help to build and strengthen this understanding as we grow together.
29th August 2023
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
When in training Priests often undergo a personality type test. The one I did identifies you as either an introvert or extrovert. As someone who had always been identified as outgoing, gregarious, I was surprised to be identified as introvert. In this case it means where we get our energy from, where we get our energy from, what refreshes and helps us. For me it is quiet places, being alone, not in crowds of people. I still struggle to speak to groups of people, I still get embarrassed and wonder why anyone would listen to me, but I draw my strength from the quiet empty church at 7am, the empty school at 7am, no one else about, having peace to be with my thoughts, my God, hearing what I would not hear in the hustle and bustle when everyone else is there. I am struggling more and more with large crowds as I get older but I cope in God’s strength. I love the quiet places, my garden, the church where I can be just me. We are all different and that is a blessing God has given. We must never judge another for being energised and blessed in whatever works for them. However you thrive and are blessed, have a great day and find time to be in those blessed places be they loud and busy, quiet and calm or anywhere in between.
28th August 2023
Mark 4:37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
We have all been there. We have all been caught in one of life’s storms, being battered by circumstances beyond our control, far from the safety of land, with the wind and seemingly everything else against us. We all get our turn in this particular boat, usually when we least expect it. None of us gets through this life completely un-battered and unscathed. BUT whenever we are caught in one of life’s storms, we can trust that we are not alone. Jesus is with us. We are never alone in that boat. God’s Son, our Lord and Saviour, is always with us. That is His promise. He may not immediately calm every storm, even though we want Him too. But in our storms of life, whatever they are, He is with us in the midst of every single one of them. He is with us in the storm; he is with us on the boat. When in our life we feel battered by the waves, and far from the safety of land, with the wind blowing strongly against us, that is when we can be assured that Jesus is with us.
27th August 2023
Matthew 15:9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
We often use the phrase the best laid plans… sometime things just don’t turn out as we expected or wanted. In societies and laws, the best laid plans can easily become lost, somehow the priorities can become skewed. Sadly, we are in the realms of being in a certain club, following certain rules where some people are considered worthless, outside, excluded. This is a place we have been in the church and in society so many times over the centuries. Blame the Jew, the traveller, the immigrant, the women, the black skinned, the alien, if they are not in our club then they are worthless. How disrespectful is that to God? God has not created anything that is worthless. We have no right to judge, to decide. It is us, our selfish human nature, our often-skewed ideas that have forced exclusion. God’s purpose of inclusion for all has never changed, it will never change.
26th August 2023
Matthew 13:13 This is why I use stories and parables to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand.
We often wonder what the purpose of something is and we all need help to learn and understand. The Disciples wondered about why Jesus used parables and that was about understanding. Education is all about learning the skills to enable further learning, discovery and teamwork. Not only do we need to learn but we need to understand. To profit from education, from life, we need to listen, look and understand. The human condition means we think we know best and that we don’t need to listen to others, or to look deeper and understand another point of view. It is so easy to become self-absorbed, to lose sight of reality and what is truly beneficial to us and others and what is not. It is too easy and has become too easy to lose sight of God, of His incredible creation, to put ourselves above God, above learning and above understanding. We are never too old to see, hear and learn new things but we are often too stubborn. There will never be a time when we know it all so we must take the opportunities of life as they come and as they are given by God. Don’t lose sight of your faith, of God, remember there are lessons everywhere and we should always be ready to listen, to learn and to understand through the opportunities and experiences God offers us every day.
25th August 2023
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I am fully known.
Within society we are used to earning things, our exams, our pocket money, our salary, our reputation and so on. As Christians we rightly change our lives to try and live as good people, to try and earn our position with God, but nothing we do or say earns us a place in Heaven, none of the rules on food, clothes, worship styles, make the difference. We need to remember that we are human, we only see partially, imperfectly, through a mirror, dimly. God sees it all, God is not either/or. God is fully inclusive. God’s love is for everyone and only God’s love in Jesus makes the difference. Only Jesus, His death and resurrection, can earn us a place in Heaven. Jesus died for everyone, no matter their colour, culture, status, gender, place of origin. All of us are fallen, all of us are sinners, all of us get it wrong and all of us are still loved by God, are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection. May we never stop anyone from finding what we have found because of our prejudice or the traditions and ideas we may hold.
24th August 2023
Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
I have often heard it said that there are no atheists on a crashing plane. When life is in the balance most people will cry out, look for someone to believe in, to help. Prayer is often where we and many others cry out when life hits hard. Recently I was blessed to visit the Colosseum. We queued for an hour and a half but it was so worth it. Fascinating, inspiring, challenging. Seeing the places where gladiators prepared, cells where sacrificed people, often Christians were held, seeing the maze of tunnels underneath where the hunters held an advantage. Over the centuries it has been declared a place of martyrdom and pilgrimage, consecrated as a place of worship and in 2000 Pope John Paul II had a cross erected there to commemorate those martyred and to encourage people to pray, a focal point of prayer, in this place where lives were battered, where people were martyred. When we are in the Colosseum battles of life against the gladiators of pain, hurt, insult, lies, the cross is right there. The place of focus, the place of prayer, we can call out to Jesus at any time, any place and know He is right there, we are never alone with God.
23rd August 2023
Acts 10:15 Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.
Within religions and beliefs, the food we eat and the way it is prepared can be important. We all know that many religions promote vegetarianism, some allow some foods and not others. Some have strict rules on when and how we eat. All there for reasons of tradition, teaching and instruction. The problem comes when the observance of these rules becomes more important than the reason for doing it. Rituals need to have a moral and ethical reason. We need to do things for the right reasons, know why we do it. Remember the story of Peter having the vision of the sheet with animals on it, some of which were forbidden for Peter to eat by his religion and yet God tells him to kill and eat. God reminds Peter that nothing God gives for us to eat is to be turned away as unholy. It all comes from God and as such is acceptable. The same applies to people, everyone is one of God’s children and no one is outside of God’s love. No one God has created, is any the less worthy than another.
22nd August 2023
Matthew 15:11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.
I was brought up, as I expect most of us were, to wash our hands before cooking and eating, to stop the transference of bacteria onto food. Even on a picnic my mum would have wet flannels in a plastic bag, the forerunner of the wet wipe. We understand that bacteria can cause illness so we take sensible precautions. Actually, a bit of dirt in the gut is good for us, developing our immune system. I was partial to a bit of earth and coal as a toddler apparently. Jesus is quite blunt here, what we eat passes through us and goes down the toilet into the sewer. What we digest will be cleared from the system so why make such a fuss. Far more important is what we say and do, things which affect those around us, hurt them, mislead them, judge them. There is nothing wrong with rules as long as we know why we have them and they do not become more important than God and His love for us.
21st August 2023
Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Every time we come back from holiday; I promise myself we will take less next time. We come back with clean unused clothes and I really struggle with the amount of luggage on the trolley as we try to find our car. We tend to pack for every eventuality and a lot more besides, just in case. Having too much can become a real burden, things and possessions can become more important than life and people. It becomes about what we have rather than who we are. Jesus reminds His disciples to travel light, to allow others to help with the practical things of life and He reminds us all that when there is too much baggage weighing us down, we need to cast our burden onto Him, allow Him to help carry the load. As we look to Him and others to help us may we also be a help to those around us as they seek to travel light.
20th August 2023
Matthew 13:8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
We probably don’t know a lot about farming but if we heard of a farmer going out and sowing his seeds on a public pathway, on rocky ground, and amongst the thorns, we would see that as simply wasteful, inefficient, and ineffective. Its bad farming. You can’t plant seeds among the rocks and thorns or on a path and then act surprised or complain that nothing grows. Jesus’ representation of farming simply does not fit in our mechanised, focused, maximum profit world. The parables Jesus uses offer us a different perspective, a new worldview. They give us a glimpse into God’s world and what God is like. They reach into our ears and our eyes so that we might hear and understand, see and perceive. They are pearls of grace that test our heart’s willingness to surrender to and be enveloped in the amazing, unending, generosity of God. This surprising generosity of God is exactly what the parable of the Sower reveals to us. Thankfully this parable is about God’s faithfulness and not about farming, soil quality, or how things work in this broken world. In the Sower’s world, God’s world, what we may see as wastefulness gives way to hope, inefficiency gives way to love, and profitability gives way to generosity. Every part of our life has been sown with the seeds of God’s love, God’s life, and you know what happens to seeds: Apple seeds become apples. Peach seeds become peaches. God seeds become…. God's people and they bear fruit.
19th August 2023
Matthew 14:23a After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
I wonder what you think about prayer, it may not be something you even think about, and yet when in need people will often turn to prayer, asking God for help, crying out because there is no one else. I believe that prayer is important, vital, life changing. It allows us to ask what God is calling us to; how we can grow as Christians and it enables us to call out when we are in need and receive His love and strength. After the feeding of the 5000, a huge miracle, Jesus takes himself away to pray. Yes, even Jesus knows the value of prayer, alone time with God. If Jesus needs to pray how much more do we need to. Prayer is a powerful sacred space in which we are drawn into the presence of God, in which we learn through being with God, in relationship, and through prayer we are transformed more and more into the people God creates us to be. Prayer is a place entwined with generosity where we give ourselves to God, and He so completely to us, where we become better People.
18th August 2023
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to bless and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.
Do you remember those party games we played as children, hide and seek, musical statues and musical chairs. With musical chairs there was always less places than there were people and so someone would always miss out. It seems a bit like this every August when the exam results come out. In a moment a piece of paper can take that chair away and suddenly the university place someone had offered is gone. The plans made over the last couple of years are no longer possible and the dreams and hard work seem, in this moment, not to have paid off. Life can change in an instant, plans gone, future seems uncertain and yet year after year amazing admin staff and teachers in schools somehow manage to find new plans, new chairs to put back in the circle and no one is left without a future. The future may look different but so often I hear from students a year or so later who tell me this was the right thing for them, this is where they fit well. It is good to have plans but also to recognise that life never runs smoothly and change happens. God see the overall picture of life and He is right there in it with us whatever happens and He makes sure we always have a future and always have hope.
17th August 2023
Matthew 13:26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
At some time in life, we all question why God allows evil to grow with the good. Who among us has not wanted to take matters into our own hands and think we are doing good by rooting out the evil in our midst? God would stop us from doing anything of the sort. Why? It is not so easy to tell the weeds or bad, from the wheat or good. The roots of both are often intertwined below the ground. In rooting out the weeds we would uproot the wheat as well, doing more damage to the good crop than leaving the weeds to grow. None of us are perfect, no group, or organisation is perfect. We have made mistakes and bad things do sometimes happen in our churches, and in ourselves, good and bad grow together so we can never get it completely right. Be warned of anyone who tells you they’ve got all the answers and those who selectively tell you who is good and, in their club, and who isn’t. Only God can make those decisions, we are not to judge others but to examine ourselves as we try to live good lives in God’s strength.
16th August 2023
Matthew 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
I sometimes meet Christians who tell me that if we express fear, we do not have faith. I have to be polite but also firm as I remind them that there is nothing wrong with being fearful, it is a God given emotion given to actually keep us in check, keep us safe, and stop us doing dangerous and reckless things. There is an important lesson we need to remember about prayer. When life’s storms hit, when life is difficult and painful, we can cry out to the Lord in our fear and pain, and the Lord will immediately answer that prayer and be there. Being afraid doesn’t mean that we don’t have faith. Many of our Bible characters and heroes had times of fear. There is nothing wrong with being afraid. Our Lord wants to hear us when we are afraid. He wants to hear from us any time about anything, so remember, it is okay to cry out in fear when life’s storm hits, it is okay to cry out in prayer. Cry out to the Lord, and He will answer. Take courage, Jesus says. It is I. Do not be afraid.
15th August 2023
Galatians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you still write letters? Maybe by email if not by hand. I still love hand writing letters and using old fashioned writing paper. In the New Testament St Paul wrote letters to the churches he had visited on his journeys. When you look at these letters he always begins with a greeting and ends with a blessing. What about us? Do we greet people, do we bless them? A friend told me that her daughter always says hello to people, asks them how they are, in shops, in the street, on the bus and she says how people’s demeanour changes because someone has greeted them, taken time to ask after them. A simple greeting to someone can completely change their day, make them feel appreciated, offer positiveness and encouragement. What a powerful thing we can do. I fully believe that when we offer blessing it will be returned to us. That’s not why we do it, but it is the wonderful consequence of greeting and blessing people wherever they are. Let me encourage you to greet people, to bless people, the simple phrase God bless as you say goodbye is powerful and encouraging. We are all God’s children and should greet each other in every circumstance and situation. May God bless you.
14th August 2023
Matthew 10:26 Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known.
I am quite frustrated and angry that even as lies and dishonesty are being uncovered nothing seems to be done about it. No one seems to be being reprimanded or punished, actually it seems like the dishonest ones are actually being rewarded. Sometimes the only grain of comfort I can get is that the Bible promises that evildoers' words and deeds will be revealed and judged in due time. Liars and cheaters will be found out. I must admit I would like to see it happening now, because it seems wrong that evildoers are doing so well when the good people are suffering and struggling. Of course we too will be exposed if we deceive, if we lie and cheat. We, as Christians, are to be emboldened to speak God's good news without fear. We need to challenge, to stand up for good, for justice, for right. To challenge those who do wrong and stand on the side of truth and righteousness because the secrets will come out, the cover ups will be exposed and we can trust God to do it.
13th August 2023
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Did you ever have a tricycle as a child? It has three wheels and as such it is stable for a child to learn to ride before they learn to balance on two. The word Tri means three and is also the beginning of Trinity, the word we use to explain God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are several examples of three also being one, the tricycle, three wheels, one bike. The egg, shell, white and yolk but one egg, the clover with 3 leaves but one plant, one me who is mother, wife and daughter. The trinity sign reflects this with three parts but all interlocked and made of one continual stroke. Trinity is a word we use to describe God. We worship ONE God. But as we grow as Christians we learn about God and we find it is easier to understand God when we think about God in three ways; as Father or parent, as Son our brother who experienced our human life and Spirit, the life-giving breath of Father and Son who lives within us and helps us. Three in one, one in three.
12th August 2023
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
When my boys were young, I would pray with them every night. We had favourite prayers and little books to help. From an early age most of us learned the Lord’s prayer in school, it is still used in some schools these days but sadly, not all. This family prayer is based on the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked for help and to teach them how to pray. Think about the first words of the Lord's Prayer? Our father. One way to understand God is to think of God as a father or parent. Jesus often speaks to God as Father as well as God and as such He encourages us to do the same. God takes care of us like a parent; watches over us and provides for us. For some who have been let down by a Father the term can be difficult, but if we see God as a parent, whether male or female, it is providing us with a view of God that enables us to feel protected, looked after, cared for just as a parent would do. As we become parents ourselves we begin to understand the joy and the responsibility of bringing up our children to be the best people they can be and God does the same with us as a wonderful, perfect parent of us, His children.
11th July 2023
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Often, we have to go through someone to get to the person we really need to speak to. Whether it be a PA, security personnel, a phone screening, or a junior before reaching the senior person. When we pray, we often finish our prayers in and through the name of the Son, Jesus Christ. We understand that Jesus Christ was God's Son and entirely of God. That Jesus came as both God and human, that He was born and lived on earth. He is like a friend or brother to us. He walked and lived among ordinary people. He listened to them, worked with them, healed them and helped them with their troubles. He took on Himself our wrongdoing and it is through Jesus, His crucifixion, His death and resurrection, that we are able to be part of God’s family, that we can tell God our feelings and thoughts, our troubles and joys. But this is only possible because of what Jesus has done for us, restoring our relationship with God. Because of this we pray through Jesus, we recognise it is His saving of us that allows us back into relationship with God.
10th August 2023
2 Corinthians 13:13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
We cannot see the wind but we can see the affects it has, the moving branches, the flying dirt and sand, the pressure on our faces and we can see the devastation when winds are gale force. After Jesus ascended to Heaven He sent the Holy Spirit, the wind or breath of God, the ruach, the third part of the Trinity. This side of God is the part we don't physically see, but we see it’s affects and we can feel it. Recently we celebrated Pentecost when God sent the Holy Spirit into the apostles and gave them the power and strength they needed to do God's work. This Holy Spirit took people who had been scared, who had hidden away, who had betrayed Jesus and turned them into people who were willing to give their lives for their faith, to be put in prison and tortured. They became healers, preachers, missionaries, people who shared the gospel everywhere they went in God’s strength. All because of the Holy Spirit coming upon them. The Holy Spirit is there for us to. To enable us to be missionaries, healers, people who share the gospel everywhere we go. But we must be willing to allow the Spirit into our lives, to work, to strengthen and encourage us every day.
9th August 2023
Psalms 54:4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
I recently watched a video about what people think about God. There were comments on white beards and old men, as well as pie in the sky, as well as something spiritual. For some God is their reason for living, the one who sustains them, their Lord. As Christians we have many ways of thinking about God, one of these is as Trinity, a triune characteristic or three ways of seeing God. Within the Trinity concept God can be seen as our parent, who takes care of us, looks after our welfare. As Jesus, the son, our saviour, our friend and brother who lives as both God and man. And as the Holy Spirit, the breath of life who gives us power and lives within us. It's easier to understand God when we think about these three parts. It is like riding a tricycle, while each of the three wheels are turning, taking us on an exciting ride through faith, we are still riding on one tricycle. We can see God and meet God in many different ways but He is still one God, our God who loves us unconditionally.
8th August 2023
2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.
I quite enjoy watching Formula 1, less so when one team dominates, but there are one or two drivers who always make it clear that winning is a team effort. They make it clear that they could not be on the podium as the winner without the team behind them. This is completely true, everyone who creates the car, sets everything up, reads and analyses data, looks after everyone, travels with them, everyone from the least to the top is vital in the success. Some who reach the heights with a good team have a far too important view of themselves and demand respect and money that they do not deserve. They become spoiled. We can be like this as Christians, we can easily forget that we need the team, friends, family, church, work etc to get us to the best part. Ultimately when we get too big for our boots and spoiled, we become self-confident, self-reliant and we forget all that God has done for us thinking we deserve the best because of how good we are. This is when it all goes wrong, when we forget how much we need God and make it all about us. We must not become so self-reliant that we forget God for that is when we are lost completely.
7th August 2023
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
We all look forward to a party or dinner, something special happening. Most of life is the ordinary, the mundane, the routine and the every day. We get on with going to work or school, doing the shopping, cooking, cleaning, putting one foot in front of the other. Within our lives there will be special occasions and events, birthdays, graduations, Christmases, weddings, baptisms, but around those is ordinary, daily life. In the church year we have our special festivals, days, events but from about June through the summer we have what is called ordinary time. It refers to the ordinal, the rituals and prayers of the church that are ordered and occur day by day, in other words ordered daily church life. We have church vestments in the green colour, the earthy colour, the colour of hope, of life, of what sustains us each passing day. As much as we love special times and parties, we can’t live like that every day, we need the ordinary to appreciate the special. So, each and every day remember the blessing of the ordinary, the day to day, the putting one foot in front of the other and thank God for that as it makes the special times even more special and very much appreciated.
6th August 2023
Ephesians 4:24 Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Over the years I have met folk who are one person on Sunday in church but are very different in the week and in the world. People who prescribe to God’s love on a Sunday but do not act upon it in their dealing with others in the week. We are not called to love and care for others once in a while, or as an exception to the rule, or as some kind of special religious duty on a Sunday, rather, this is to be our way of life, our daily pattern of behaviour. Love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, these are to motivate, guide and shape our lifestyle every day. The Bible tells us we are made in the Image of God, to reflect Him, that we are called to be like Him, to be imitators of the good, of the positive, of the fair and just ways; to be tolerant and accepting of the other. As Christians we are called to live not just for ourselves but as part of a community that looks after each other, that helps each other no matter our culture, race, gender, orientation, skin colour, religion. We need to understand that we all need and rely on each other to live well and that is every day not just on a Sunday or just when we are with other Christians.
5th August 2023
Galatians 5:22&23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
As Christians it can be hard to live as God intended because we have our human nature which can make us selfish and unpleasant. The Bible offers us plenty of examples of how we should live and behave. We are encouraged to follow His example, to act as He would in our own lives. We are reminded to get rid of the negative stuff, the bitterness, rage and anger, the fighting and insults, the cruelty and wickedness which hurts others and destroys trust. When we get angry, when we fight, when we ridicule and use bad language or insults, anything like that, we are not following God’s example of goodness but instead imitating the bad ways of sin and death. These are things we need to stop in our lives and then replace these with positive things. We need to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgive each other, just as we are forgiven. Kindness and compassion are necessary for a fair and just world. Forgiveness is vital in all relationships. We need to be people of peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. These are the fruits of the Spirit, these are how we should live as Christians in the world.
4th August 2023
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
I grew up with a TV series called Mission Impossible which then went on to become a series of films for Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. The point was always that the mission was going to be impossible for any normal person, but there was a special team of people who could somehow do the impossible. In the early church the mission given to the disciples by Jesus, was to go and make disciples of all nations, to spread the gospel. Even today we call this spreading of the gospel evangelism and mission. People who went abroad to tell people about Jesus were called Missionaries, the places set up to help the poor and in the slums were called missions. When Jesus ascended back to Heaven He left that mission to human beings, He then sent the Spirit to empower us to do that mission. We often see mission and evangelism as a mission impossible, we hear about declining church numbers and Christians and we wonder if there is any point to even trying. But we have been given strength, power, authority and ability to do God’s work because He is the one in control, not us. All we are called to do is sow the seed, share the love, be God’s presence on the Earth and if we do this God will do the rest.
3rd August 2023
Psalm 91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
I was thinking recently of how quickly science was able to respond to Covid 19 and produce a vaccine. It showed how, if we are really serious about dealing with something we can. Of course, Governments have to be on board, willing to spend money and willing to make change. As soon as money was to be spent justifiably, it was amazing how quickly companies could be set up and people given multi-million-pound contracts for nothing. Covid 19 was used to make rich richer and poor poorer, all under the cover of a serious pandemic. Covid 19 forced people into action, got things done. There is an old saying that where there’s a will there’s a way. If and when we have a will to act, things get done. The same happens in the church. When we want to change and move on, we can. When we want to share the gospel and show God’s love, we can. We just have to be willing, invested, prepared to make the effort and commitment. Sometimes that can be hard, but we don’t have to rely on ourselves, we have God’s Spirit, a Spirit of power and help, a Spirit who comforts and guides.
2nd August 2023
Philippians 3:14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me.
We talk about goals in our lives, we encourage our young people to have a goal in life to work towards. If I asked you, What’s your goal? What would you say? Perhaps you might even say you have achieved it, but usually when we achieve a goal, we then give ourselves another one. What are some of the things you would like to achieve in the next week or month or year. Once you have decided on these, make a note of them list them so you can remind yourself of them regularly. When we have a goal, we have something to aim for, strive for and it often prompts us think harder, pray harder and work harder to achieve it. God calls us to live our lives the best we can for Him, to move toward His goals, to bring others to find what we have and when we set our goals alongside God, and strive for them in His strength we will be able to achieve them and grow as people of God.
1st August 2023
Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Working with young people it seems that every voice tells them to pursue greatness, to boast, to journey towards success, money, celebrity and to make that their dream to strive for. Along the way to these futures, they and we find that our definitions of dreams and success differ from God’s. We worry ourselves striving for the label of extraordinary. We work too many extra, unnecessary and damaging hours for perfection. We cause ourselves such anxiety with all our strivings. We tell ourselves about all the other more important things than God that we think matter more. Healthy ambition starts with God. We need to start with the ambition to become more like God in word and deed, then to show grace to those closest to us and to those we may struggle with. Our hearts and minds need to be renewed with God’s definition of greatness, and replace the lies of unhealthy ambition with the truth of the Gospel and God’s true and beautiful ambition for us as His children.
31st July 2023
Proverbs 11:25 The one who appreciates and blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.
Sometimes I read verses like this and think, no way, this doesn’t seem to happen to me or others who are constantly helping and blessing others. In fact, it often seems like those who give the most to others suffer the most in return. Nurses who work so hard for others and can’t afford food, those who do volunteer work and are often verbally abused by those they try to help, food banks and community fridges unable to help everyone in need because there is just not enough to go round. The world and our country have become very selfish, so many are only concerned with themselves and will sell anyone down the river to gain more for themselves. The more folk who give and help, the more these are taken advantage of while the selfish and greedy just seem to take more. Come on God, this is just not good enough. I am sometimes quite disillusioned and wonder how I can change things. The only real and effective answer I have is to pray, to keep doing what is right, to keep blessing others and helping them in the hope that as we do this God is and will be working, things will change and God will use us to bring glory to Himself and to change our world for the better. We cannot give up, Lord help us not to.
30th July 2023
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
We are constantly being told that we all have too much. Our homes are stuffed with stuff. We buy more clothes, furniture, white goods, crockery, linen etc etc etc. Make do and mend is beginning to return but for years we have just thrown things away instead of repairing them. We tend to judge people’s standing by how much they have, how big a house and where it is, what sort of car, possessions are a status symbol, they matter in our society. When did we last appreciate that actually everything we have has come from someone else? We so easily forget that we have nothing of ourselves, we enter and leave this world with nothing, we owe it all to God. God is creator, God made the world and us and all that we have belongs ultimately to Him. It is really good for us to remember this. We need to be grateful, to show our appreciation to God for all that He has given us, but also to family and friends. It is too easy to believe we have earned and deserve everything through our own hard work instead of being grateful for all that God has freely given us. We deserve nothing of ourselves but our gracious God gives it to us anyway.
29th July 2023
1 John 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
I have often heard the phrase, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” This does not mean how many Bibles we may have in our home or if we have actually read them, or how many t-shirts we may have that are filled with Christian statements or how often we go to church. The term evidence here means what difference being a Christian has actually made in your life. What do people actually see and hear? We could talk to members of our family and ask them if we really act like a Christian at home? We could also talk to people at work or school and find out if they actually know that we are a Christian or if it is a surprise to them. We could look at our life, our contribution to society and community and see if there would actually be enough evidence to convict us? Our lives as Christians should clearly advertise the Gospel message. If we are truly Christian, then others should see Jesus in us, in everything we do and say. So, do we believe that there would be enough evidence to convict us of being a Christian? It's an interesting question that requires an honest answer. Can you and I honestly say that others see the Gospel being lived in our life? It is worth thinking about and if necessary, making the changes needed to become the truth.
28th July 2023
Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the humans should be alone; I will make them a helper fit for each other.”
One of the greatest joys I have as a priest is taking a wedding. Sharing in the special day of a couple who want to dedicate their lives to each other before God. One of the things people do not realise is the legal aspects of the service which can only be done by a registrar or a Church of England priest. Once the service is completed the couple have to take the signed and witnessed document to the registrar to get their Marriage Certificate. It is this legal document which allows a name change if desired, to apply for new passports, bank accounts etc. The choice to marry has become a lot more optional in society with many couple choosing to live together rather than marry. This is a choice everyone must make for themselves, but must make together. Commitment is not defined by marriage but it is certainly the case that when something is official and legal it is often easier to stand up for, to fight for than when there is nothing to hold people together. Marriage is making a commitment before God, making promises before God as to how we will live and respect the other. It means keeping promises and bringing a family together. It means examining our motives and ideas before God and making sure God is at the centre. Marriage probably isn’t for everyone and however hard we try sometimes it goes wrong, but it is a good, positive way to start building a life together.
27th July 2023
Luke 6 :12&13 Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.
When you have a difficult decision to make what do you do? Mull it over, weigh up pros and cons? Jesus prayed! There is a clear lesson here for us, in all decisions we should pray, for wisdom, to make the correct choice, to be open minded in what we decide. Jesus chose the 12 disciples based on His prayer and on God’s calling. Many of them would have been rejected by todays standards for top positions in an organisation. Their education, family background, previous experience would have been found lacking. They do say that if the 12 went through selection for the priesthood today only Judas would have been chosen! God does not choose us on the basis of our past experience, family background or education, He chooses us because He created us and loves us completely. He knows we all have the potential to do amazing things with Him on our side. Everyone of us have wonderful things to do for God if we will listen to His call and let Him show us the way. God is calling you and I just as He called those first Disciples, they went on to change the world so can you!
26th July 2023
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Much is said about our relationship with food. Diets are a huge money spinner; some people are helped but many are not. We have an obesity issue with our young people and in fairness I have never been small. In recent times I have discovered something about my relationship with food. As a child I was not allowed to leave the table unless my plate was cleared. Even if I was full up, not hungry, even unwell I had to finish everything on my plate. Because of this, even today I cannot leave food on plate without feeling guilty. I hate to waste food, not a bad thing, but I will still eat even if I am full up or not hungry so as to clear my plate. I became so conditioned as a child that even now it affects me. I find this same issue with some people’s relationship with God. Brought up to fear God, fear punishment, they become conditioned to seeing God as vengeful, angry, and live their life in fear of God rather than love of God. As a result, many of us feel constantly guilty and our relationship with God suffers. God does not want us to see Him that way, but rather as a loving parent who does not condemn but wants to forgive, to save, to love and to care for us if we will let Him. As always, the choice is ours.
25th July 2023
Malachi 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
As much as we would like to think we do, none of us know the standing of anyone else before God. That is between God and them! It sometimes seems to us that there are two groups of people in the world, good and evil, and we are in the good group, of course! Yet actually, there is both good and bad in all of us. We are all a mixture of good and bad and the bad needs to be burnt away, that will be painful. Just like the dross is burnt away from gold or silver to purify them so it will be from us. We need to recognise the seriousness of anything that leads us or others into sin. Sin comes from the human heart, which in Greek refers to the inner self, the mind and will. We cannot actually physically pluck out the inner self. So, the causes of sin and everything within us that causes sin will have to be burned away to leave what is pure before God. We will stumble, we will mess up, we will sin, but God does not give up on us, ever.
24th July 2023
Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
I am not much of a gardener; I don’t really know what are weeds and what are plants. Some weeds look quite pretty to me, until they wreak havoc across the garden. In Israel there is a plentiful weed that actually looks like wheat. The difference is only obvious when the plants mature and the ears appear. In an anxious attempt to get rid of the weeds sown to sabotage the wheat in this parable, the servants risk uprooting the wheat along with the weeds, thus losing the crop. The solution is to let both grow together until the harvest. It challenges us to ask ourselves if we are those who rush at a problem, want to dig it out immediately and don’t stop and think things through first. Often patience is needed rather than abrupt action, in reacting too quickly we can do more harm than good. In simple terms, the harvest is the end of the age, good and bad will grow together and God will make the final decision.
23rd July 2023
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I remember always being asked what do you want to be when you grow up? People often ask us what our plans are? So, what are your plans for the future? In the short term the summer, a holiday, but maybe next year, the future as regards family, study, job etc. There is only so much we can plan for, much of our plans are hopes, what we long for and desire; we then work towards these plans, what we can do to get there, and the longest journey begins with a first step. I am a great believer in not just plan A but B, C, D, E etc. I am a product of at least H by now. Life rarely takes us exactly where we planned to go, things change, we grow, we move on. I would not have pictured me here now, Priest and Chaplain, and I took several routes to get here. Within our own plans we often don’t let God’s plans surface. Yet we are reminded that it His plans that offer a good future, one of hope, prospering and protection. Even when things don’t seem to be working out as we would like God has it sorted, God will set us on the right path, the best path but we have to be willing to listen, to go and to let it happen. The struggle is always us trying to force God into our plans instead of letting Him guide and support us in His. There is nothing we can do about the past but learn from it, the present is here and now and ready for us to step into it with God by our side and the future is safe in God’s hands if we will allow it to be.
22nd July 2023
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
The word soil in Greek is “ge” from which we get geology and geography, it means earth. We are from soil or dust and to that soil and dust we return. These words we hear every Ash Wednesday from Genesis 3:19 where the bond between creator and created was broken. As soil humans can be compacted, pressed down by countless travelling feet until we become rock hard, impenetrable where nothing can grow. We can become choked by the world, it’s pressures and delights, develop a skin which outside looks fine to others but within is hard and tough. The good news is that there are cracks, the seed can sometimes get in, the water can seep through. Even the hardest heart can be softened by God. Jesus is not just describing different types of soil or circumstances of life. He is describing our inner geography. These are the various landscapes of the human heart. The tangle of competing desires, of how we live and relate to others and to God. Jesus’ own interpretation describes the consequences of each kind of life. He knows, He understands and He is with us through all the changing scenes of life.
21st July 2023
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Here many of us are, the end of another academic year, the beginning of a summer break and the prospect of exam results, a new term and school year, new classes, new schools, new universities, and colleges to come. As much as we try to be normal, the pandemic still casts its long tendrils into lives, it will for years to come. Experiences of everyone have been different, priorities have changed, and the value of life and quality life has been recognised again. Change is a part of life be it good or bad but the greatest assurance we have is that we never go through these changes alone. We make our journey with God right there beside us, if we let Him, it is our choice after all. We sometimes equate God’s presence with us as a guardian Angel, or as a friend who is just there with us. At times we do feel alone but we are not, we are never alone while God is with us and He is not going anywhere, even if we ignore Him, He will never ignore us. There is always someone who can help, there is always God in varying forms and presences in our lives, there is always support both practical and spiritual because God put us all here together to be God to one another. To be His physical presence for each other. We are never alone because God is with us.
20th July 2023
Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
For the last few years we have celebrated Pride week in school, raised the pride flag and focused on inclusivity during that week. Wearing a dog collar means that many of the students are warry of what I think, they see and hear so much negativity toward them by the church that they think I won’t understand. So, it surprises and pleases them when I am there, raising the flag and speaking about celebrating every single person. This year I spoke about pride in who we are, in how we treat and accept others. We stand under the flag in unity, believing that every person is created in the image of God and that God does not make mistakes. This Psalm reminds us that we were knit together in our mother’s womb and that God knows us there. There is no where we can go from His love, God is love and love is God! Love in any form is never wrong. We tend to bind God by our laws and traditions, try to put Him in a box of our own making, God does not fit in any of those boxes, He is not bound by our arbitrary laws and traditions but transcends them. I am aware that many people disagree with me, nevertheless I stand under that rainbow flag knowing God loves us all equally and I have no right to judge others who are walking the path they believe in and in God’s love I support them.
19th July 2023
1 John 1: 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
Over the years I have seen and heard of many “experiences” being described as full on, complete emersion and fully interactive. They are trying to tell us that every sense, every emotion, every feeling will be affected by what happens. In John’s first letter he is saying that is exactly what being a Christian is all about. Life in God through Jesus is a full on, totally immersive, fully interactive experience. What we hear, see, touch, taste, smell and feel is full life in Christ. We experience it and we pass it on, it touches us so deeply, so completely that we want to share it with others, we want to testify to that life in Christ. This opens the door to everyone being given the opportunity to find God for themselves and so bring everyone into a relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This full-on experience isn’t one day in the future, it is now, every moment of every day, everywhere we go, in homes, school, work, shops, with family, friends, everywhere; God is everywhere, and we experience Him everywhere. Being a Christian is a 24-hour experience, every day. God is not only with us but within us. Let us be fully immersed, fully interactive with Him and testify to it by both our words and our actions.
18th July 2023
Matthew 13:4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
We may not have ploughed a field or been farmers but we all recognise the different landscapes of the parable of the Sower. We know the beaten path of life, the path of prejudice, a path where not much grows, where life and opportunities are too quickly snatched away. We’ve stumbled through the rocky patches of life we know what it is like to live between a rock and hard place and how on the rocky ground life withers because you can’t put down any roots and there’s no security or stability and the sun scorches us. We have been scratched and cut by the thorns of life walking amongst the thorns of violence, fear, anger, and poverty. Thorns that wrap themselves around us and our family choking away dignity, security, trust. And we have planted our roots deep in the sacred soil of life that feeds and grows us to become a harvest, in one case, a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. We stand in that dark rich soil that nourishes life, love, and hope. That soil is given by God, is richly sown by God and blessed by Him.
17th July 2023
James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
How good is your decision making? How much do you let others influence you? I heard recently that Dolly Parton was asked by Elvis Presley’s manager to let him record “I Will Always Love You” Great you would think, but they wanted 50% of the royalties from the song forever, the song she wrote. People told her yes, go for it, can’t go wrong etc. She was unhappy, warry and decided against all the advice to say no. Then Whitney Houston recorded it, the royalties Dolly earned for her song allowed her to set up Dollywood and loads of charity work in the area. She had made the right choice and used the money wisely. It is so easy to be swayed by power, celebrity, confidence, yet if we have nagging doubts, they are worth listening to, examine the pros and cons, ask the awkward questions, ask God for wisdom. God gave us a conscience, He gave us gut feelings, He gave us gifts and talents to use for Him, not to allow the greedy to gain from what He has given us. The charity work of this one woman far outstrips most and because of her children read, have decent homes and do not go hungry. God has things for you to do, when others try to change your direction or take what is yours from God, pray, seek God, ask for wisdom, challenge and make sure God’s gifts are used for the right things.
16th July 2023
Matthew 10:40 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Do you have a mat out the front of your house? Perhaps you have one with welcome written on it or with paw prints, family names, flowers, it seems you can get anything. Usually, we see a mat like this outside the door to our home. A mat such as this usually has two purposes. It is a friendly reminder for people to wipe their shoes so that they won't track dirt or mud into our home. It is also placed outside our door as a sign to let people know that they are welcome in our home. What does the word "welcome" mean? It means to receive someone in a warm and friendly way. Are people always welcome in our homes? In some cultures when someone comes to your home, they must give you food and drink because you are a guest and they must make you welcome. Do we welcome people into our home if they’re not the same as us? Do we welcome people into our homes if they don't have as much money as we do? How about in our church? Do you think that we make everyone feel welcome in our church? Do we speak to those people who are visiting our church that we do not know? If someone comes to our church and they are not dressed the way we are dressed, not the same as us? Do we make sure that they are made to feel welcome? Jesus said, whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. If we turn that around, we will understand that if we do not welcome others into our homes and into our churches, it is the same as if we are refusing to welcome Jesus. We wouldn't do that, would we? Let's put the welcome mat out, and let's be sure that we mean it!
15th July 2023
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
When the photos come out of me as a child, I remember not really having a care in the world. I remember long hot summers, although many weren’t. I remember the simple joy of playing with friends, of going out with friends and being gone all day on bikes, at the park, in the fields, and nothing seemed to worry us. Sometimes I long for those simple days, less worries, more joys, the me that didn’t see threats round every corner, who did not worry about how I looked or what I wore. As life goes on and things change, we change, we become weighed down by so much in society and in life. Yet God never intended for us to be like that. That simple childhood joy and trust is what God wants for us. God reminds us of the peace He leaves with us, of the not letting our hearts be troubled or afraid, but living our best life, full of joy, not weighed down by things. Instead of seeing problems lets try to see opportunities, instead of letting worry overcome us lets try to let God’s peace wash over us and keep us rested and relaxed in Him.
14th July 2023
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
When the term body of Christ is used what do you think of? The bread and wine of Communion perhaps, the actual body of Jesus on the cross or yourself and others? St Paul teaches about us being the body of Christ here on earth. You and I, as Christians, are called to be the body of Christ on earth today. We are called to be Jesus hands and feet, to do as Jesus did, to be those who have compassion, who offer care and love for the other. We may not have the miraculous healing powers of Jesus Christ; but we shouldn’t underestimate how powerful our actions, our touch can be on others. When we hold a hand, offer an encouraging and heartfelt hug, feed the hungry, give hospitality when it is needed, these things matter so much. What we do for others can fulfil a longing, and can even bring spiritual and sometimes physical healing. As the body of Christ each of us is important, with a vital role to play for God. Be encouraged and allow yourself to be used to bring God’s love to everyone in whatever way God asks and equips you too.
13th July 2023
Matthew 10:9-10 Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts, no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.
How good are you at packing? I have to make lists and there is always too much. In this day and age, we are not good at travelling light. Airplane restrictions do mean we have to cut down on packing and I am in awe of those folk who just take a cabin bag! In Jesus time everyone travelled light, they had very little anyway, but Jesus tells them to not even take their purse, or money etc. All He wanted them to carry was His teaching, God’s love, in their hearts and minds, the stories of God’s work over the centuries, the Hebrew writings and teachings. Carry those and share them. When we share God’s love it comes from inside, our hearts, minds and not from all the stuff we have. Being genuine people is what makes the difference, us living well in the world. People don’t come to faith because of belongings and trappings, they come because they find in us honesty, love, compassion, empathy, care, integrity and that challenges them to find out why. We don’t need to rely on things, on possessions, but on the love and teachings God has put in our hearts and minds.
12th July 2023
John 14: 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
I remember being told a story of a person who said to His vicar, your sermons are like the meals I eat, I do not remember them all, but I know they have done me good. We cannot, as humans, remember everything we have read or learned, or been taught. I know some of my students’ taking exams wish they could remember everything. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to bring to remembrance those things we need when we need them. The Bible passage that comes to us when in a conversation or sharing with someone, the conscience that challenges our behaviour, our language; the voice inside that reminds us to visit someone or phone them, the remembering of dates that are important to those grieving, the names of those we have lost in prayer and so much more. This is the Spirit at work, reminding us of Jesus teaching, giving us wisdom, insight, understanding and continuing the teaching of God within us as we grow and learn as Christians. Jesus told His disciples that when the Spirit came, He would remind them, guide them, continue to speak to them in wisdom and love. That same Spirit is available to us, every day, all we need to do is recognise the Spirit within us, allow the Spirit to work and use us and invite the Spirit to do that each and every day.
11th July 2023
Matthew 10:39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Losing something is unsettling, especially something valuable. I remember losing a ring I had been given for Christmas, I was distraught. Losing a life is far, far worse, it totally destroys people, brings huge grief, and actually the term losing a life I find completely underplays the value of human life. In recent days we have lost 2 young children who were just having fun at an end of term tea party. Horrendous, awful, unbelievable and once life is over, it is gone, no return. The value of a human life cannot and must not be underestimated and yet many seem to find the loss of life for some, those different to us or from other countries, no real shock or sadness. That is totally shameful on our part. Life is everything, and finding true, full and eternal life in Jesus is vital for everyone. These words remind us that we need to give up our definition of the good life with the goal of personal success and find our true identity and purpose in Christ's service. That way life’s full and true value in Christ will never be underestimated or lost and will always be found in Christ.
10th July 2023
Romans 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Currently Wimbledon is on and it brings memories of past visits and long summers after exams watching the games and my favourite players. In a TV programme about top tennis players Martina Navratilova says sometimes you win when you shouldn’t because you forget how to lose. Imagine being so good at something that you forget how to get it wrong. How great it would be to be so good at being a Christian that we forget how to fail, how to sin. Yet Paul reminds us that even in our love of God we still do those things we don’t want to do and do not do the things we should do. Within us there is a constant battle, a human nature which trips us up, causes us to fail, to lose, even when we should not because we know God stands with us and in Him our future, out winning, is secure. Perhaps we need a little more faith in ourselves and in God to provide the strength we need to do well.
9th July 2023
Matthew 10:30 Even the hairs of your head are counted.
None of us knows exactly how many hairs we have on our head; in my husband’s case it is a lot less than it used to be. Many treatments are now available to prevent hair loss or to even restore it. Numbers of hairs can be estimated by machines and calculations but it is not an exact science. When we are told that even the hairs on our head are counted by God, it shows that God knows exactly how many hairs we have; that He counts them for each individual to show us just how valued we are before Him. Since God values us so highly, we can be assured that God will always stand up for us. It is sometimes very difficult to be assured of just how special we are, to appreciate our value to God and yet we are so important to Him, so valuable that He gave His son for us, to die in our place. God cares and God knows. To put it in terms we can relate to, God has our picture on His fridge. God knows everything about us, God loves us completely and utterly, unconditionally, we matter!
8th July 2023
Colossians 2:3 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
How easily are you fooled? Our education should have provided us with the ability to question and challenge and help us not to just accept what we are told, but that is not always the case. We are seeing a current trend in our politics and media of not telling the truth, of manipulating figures and facts to push an agenda. Those in authority, those with power, will do whatever they can to hold onto their power. If history has taught us anything about the manipulation of the media, the telling of lies, the promoting of policies to centre a target, to cause a distraction, then World War 2 is the perfect example. Once you persuade people that it is all the fault of one group, one religion, one type; once you drip feed the lies and falsehoods; once ordinary people are fooled into blame, the powerful can manipulate, hold onto and increase power, erode more and more human rights and things spiral rapidly toward dictatorships. We are all entitled to an opinion but it must be informed by facts and truth. We also need to accept that others are entitled to their opinion and we must respect that. Democracy and freedom are built on allowing difference and respecting the rights of all no matter who they are or where they are from. We are taught as Christians not to allow ourselves to be deluded or fooled by those who can appear very plausible but are actually very dangerous. We must make informed choices and decisions by checking facts, looking for the truth, understanding that people manipulate the truth to suit their own ends. Always ask yourself what someone has to gain by telling me this, that way you can begin to see through the empty deceit. The more informed we allow ourselves to be before God, the more we challenge and hold people to account, the better our communities and our country will be.
7th July 2023
Matthew 10:38 Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
We use the term cross in varying times of difficulty in life. We speak of our cross to bear over things which weigh us down but yet we feel are ours to deal with. Cross roads are those times in life when we face the choice of which direction to go. We cross from one place to another in life, sometimes to avoid things. Being cross with someone is to be angry at them, it comes from cross meaning to hinder or thwart. Jesus’ crucifixion gave us the symbol of the cross as an instrument of torture and death borne by Jesus to make Christians free again before God. Taking up our cross is anything we suffer or undertake for the sake of Christ. It could be persecution, aggression, illness, anger, extra work, extra expectation. Taking up our cross is not easy and yet we should not shrink from the difficult decisions, the sacrifice in service of God's kingdom, especially as God promises to be with us and strengthening us through it all. We take up our cross alongside Jesus taking up His cross for our sake.
6th July 2023
Proverbs 3:13 How blessed is the one who finds wisdom and gains understanding.
Do you have a favourite saying? My Grandad would say take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves, and many hands make light work. I still cross that bridge when I come to it, and when in Rome…. These are proverbs or sayings they learnt as children and passed onto us. When Jesus calls the 12 and sends them out into the mission field, he warns them they will face opposition and even violence. Many Rabbis or teachers used to teach their students by giving them Pearls of wisdom, verses, proverbs, to carry with them, reminding the students of the wider meaning. Jesus, as a rabbi or teacher, incorporated this method of teaching. Jesus used pearls of wisdom to give his disciples the tools they needed as they went to serve God. Jesus had instructed them to travel light and gives these nuggets of advice to take with them. Carrying and remembering these truths and acting accordingly is how the disciples and us today can face up to opposition and still share the gospel effectively.
5th July 2023
Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
The question of who we put first, God or family, is a really difficult one. This very question used to be asked at clergy selection conferences and many felt they were turned down for ministry because they said they put family before God. The God I have encountered and been blessed by would not, I think, force that choice. Yes, if family were endangering life, going completely against God’s word, leading us astray, then perhaps a choice needs to be made, but I believe that God gave us our families to care for us and us for them. Families are a gift from God. God chose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus family on earth. I believe here Jesus is saying that where Parents try to turn us from God, from our calling, then we do need to make a stand. We should love Him and give Him our highest loyalty, but we also need to remember that it is God who is the key to all our other relationships.
4th July 2023
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
When I was young my Nan would often say peace little one, especially if I was upset. Her quiet voice promoted that peace she was in fact praying for, just for me. Peace is often seen just as the absence of war, we want peace anywhere there is conflict, meaning that we want people to stop fighting, stop hurting each other, stop the destruction. Peace is also a state of mind and self. Some people just exude peace, their voice, their demeanour, how they walk and act, they are just peaceful people. Jesus left us His peace, He was a peaceful person, the only time we see His peace disturbed is when he overturns the tables in the Temple which had become a marketplace of dishonesty instead of a House of God. That peace was left for us by Jesus, that ability to walk in peace, to feel peaceful in heart and mind even when life is difficult, and to speak words of peace and assurance into every situation. The peace of God can be seen, perhaps, as the absence of war within us. The warring of our human nature against God’s good nature which we can struggle with daily. But, God’s peace is not as the world gives, it is a peace of heart and mind that allows us to know His love and presence in every situation no matter how hard. That is God’s peace, the peace Jesus left us with. May we know that peace and live with that peace and pass on that peace each day and not let our hearts be troubled or be afraid.
3rd July 2023
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
What do you carry with you? What is in your heart and mind? What verses, proverbs, memories, teaching, prayers do you hold in yourself. For some Rosary Beads help in remembering prayers, for others the Lord’s prayer is remembered, even by elderly people with Dementia. People have survived in prisons and solitary by knowing Bible verses and even preaching a sermon to themselves. We carry so much with us in ourselves but so often forget to use it, so often we invest in having things rather than what is inside us. Bible verses and proverbs, reminders, pearls of wisdom we will need and want to carry along with us as we meet difficult tests of our faith in our daily lives in the world. Reminders of faith, of promises, of Gods faithfulness, these are what we carry with us, not possessions but Gods love for us, Gods teaching, memories of His faithfulness and blessing. We carry Christ in our hearts and heads guiding, strengthening, encouraging us, through the good times and the bad.
2nd July 2023
Matthew 10:32. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Being labelled as someone’s friend or enemy can determine much of our future. If we sit with the cool kids, reject the poorer ones, deny who we mix with to maintain an heir of popularity, we deny not only those we should be caring for, but we also deny God who has asked us to treat everyone with respect and love. Peter denied Jesus three times, we may well deny Jesus several times a day, but if we deny our faith, our love of God, then we cannot stand honestly before God, He cannot defend us and our behaviour. In light of this reality, we should choose to acknowledge Jesus and his kingdom every day in all we say and all we do. We should also encourage others to do the same. We cannot be ashamed of what we believe. We must make a stand, nail our colours to the mast. As Jesus defends us before God, we must defend others, defend God’s presence and stand up for the truth. We need to be honest about who we are.
1st July 2023
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Following someone’s lead and mimicking or Imitating what they do leads to the development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. It allows for the transfer of information, our behaviours, customs, etc. between individuals and down through generations. Things our ancestors did we do, our religions and customs are heavily influenced by this. Behaviours such as fasting, baptising, taking communion, reading the Bible, prayer, festivals; we do these things because our ancestors have done them and although some things change with the times, we follow the traditions and cultures of our ancestors in faith. Sadly, some traditions are not good and do need change but if we think in terms of, does what I am doing or saying glorify God, then we can’t go far wrong. If we act as God would act, with love, compassion, honesty, integrity, justice and fairness; then we will keep all that is good and shed all that damages faith and loses sight of who God really is.
30th June 2023
Luke 8:44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
If someone we love dies or is seriously ill, or has a long-term illness, we and they long for someone to do something. Any medicine, any doctor, any treatment to return health, bring relief. In the Bible Jesus encounters a young daughter’s death and a woman desperate for healing. The woman has suffered as her life blood has been draining from her constantly for 12 years, but she believes in the power of Jesus the healer. ‘If I only touch his clothes, I will be made well…’ and the miracle happens. The moment she touches Jesus, her bleeding stops. Then there is the little girl. Jesus cuts through the commotion, takes her by the hand, and she gets up, healed. Here Jesus is so close, so close that people are touched both physically and spiritually. God responded to their human need. Sadly, our human bodies can’t always be physically healed, yet God is still wanting the best for us, providing medical help where we need it, support and care. We can pray for each other, offer help and support, and look to our Lord for ultimate healing when pain and suffering will be no more.
29th June 2023
Jeremiah 30:17a But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD.
We are not used to waiting for things to be fixed these days. We want it repaired instantly, someone to come out and fix the leak, the light, the computer, the car. I have had a couple of church wardens in the past who seemed to be able to fix anything with glue and duct tape. We also have become a society that throws away and replaces rather than get things mended. I have always kept a set of screw drivers close to hand and we have a good bag of tools under the stairs. I sometimes wonder if God has a set of divine screwdrivers and I think we can often see God as a divine handy man who can do a quick fix of a situation, a relationship, an illness, a job loss and prayer is like the speed dial we keep on our phone for our demand of God to fix it. God can and does fix things but in the right time, and they are not just about us but about family, friends, others who are affected by our mistakes. When we break things, make mistakes, cause hurt and pain, as much as God can fix things and can put things right, we must live with and accept the consequences of our actions and that we may need to play a part in the fixing of them. There is no quick fix with God, only proper repairs that take time and are done properly, God’s way.
28th June 2023
Psalm 143:3 when my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who knows my way.
When the boys were younger, they would go on a night hike with the scouts. In groups they would have a map, torch, check points and adults near just in case. The excitement of the start would slowly drain away and as the night wore on, energy levels would drop, tiredness crept in and forward movement became more and more difficult; they were weary, they really wanted to be in bed. Somehow, they would slowly get to their destination, usually with a bit of help from adults and by the time parents picked up the next morning they were shattered and weak and need of some TLC. In life we often get to a point where we are tired, faint, weary, in need of TLC and find it hard to move forward, to find our way. It is at our weakest that we feel God the nearest. He is always right there but when we are in our greatest need He is so close, supportive, holding us up and directing us the right and best way forward. It is God who knows our way, the best way.
27th June 2023
John 16:21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
What are your strongest memories, the things you will never forget? These are often either very happy times or very traumatic ones. The Graduation Day, Wedding Day, special anniversary or birthday, the birth of a child but also the death of a loved one, an accident or long illness, failure and hurt. These events leave an impression on us, they affect our thinking, our behaviour, our approach to life and people, out trust. Jesus speaks of joy through pain, at the time you have a baby the pain of 3 to 20 hours of labour disappears when the baby is put in your arms. Of course a traumatic birth or tragedy can and does affect the future for a family. The truth is that often the painful times are when we learn, we grow, become resilient and learn coping strategies. Jesus did not give up on His role of death, crucifixion, pain and torture; He had doubts, fears and He expressed those in the garden but in the context He saw the joy achieved through this which enabled all of humanity to find a way back to God. He saw the bigger picture, what would be achieved. Sometimes we need to look beyond, look at the bigger picture, see the possibilities of a better future achieved by difficulties and struggles now. Hang on in there, because God is right there hanging with you, giving you what you need to get through the difficult times and supporting you.
26th June 2023
Hebrews 13: 6 Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such things please God.
We all have people we struggle with, people we say we dislike, in some cases people even talk of hate. Yet to live in a civilised society we have a duty of care to everyone no matter how much we like them or not. No matter someone’s status, wealth, culture, skin colour, religion, gender etc they have the same rights as we do before God. We need to see all humans as equal, even when we disagree with them, are angry at them. It does not mean that we do not question and challenge behaviours and decisions, but we do so with respect. We must recognise the value of each and every human being, no matter who they are or where they are from. We have no right to look down on anyone, to be dismissive of someone who does not have our education or our economic status, or our family situation, or uses a food bank or needs help to survive. There but for the grace of God go any or all of us. When we are blessed with so much, and we are, we need to share what we have, be humble about our status, looking out for others as much as we do ourselves, if not more so. Within our places of work, our families, our social activities we need to serve others, make wise decisions, speak out and be courageous in our advocacy for others.
25th June 2023
Philippians 2:3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honour to others than to yourselves.
I wonder what your opinion is of migrants? The very language we use is inflammatory, the media tell stories to increase hatred and many have come to believe they are a threat to us. The truth is far less threatening for us but not for them. Societies round the world persecute and threaten ordinary people, fascist policies paint refugees who are forced to flee for their safety as migrants. A boat of 750 migrants was abandoned and capsized, only just over 100 were saved. These people had been maltreated, conned, were desperate but no one wanted to help, those who did and are fearing prosecution in their own countries. In our channel many have died, again we are told they are illegal, they don’t count, but they are humans who have no legal route to a country who supposedly is welcoming to those in need, those who are denied their freedom elsewhere. The stories painted are embellished to make us think badly and want it stopped, this is manipulation of the highest order, this is fascism hidden within a supposedly free press. Civilisation is now under threat because the people we reject and spurn grows and grows, the blaming of others grows, and the targets widen. Those who are wealthy believe they can dictate what and why we believe and act, this is dangerous and not what God intended. No one is more important than another because of wealth or skin colour. How dare we look down on others and treat them with anything but respect. One person’s life in no more important than another. Before God we are all created equal and trying to politicise people, degrade people, dehumanise people for our own ends is despicable, against God and in need of challenge.
24th June 2023
Mark10:16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
I was at a concert some years ago and the singer spoke of her best friend who she had recently lost and she spoke of how we should hug and hold those we love more than we do. How we need to appreciate those we love while we have them as we never know what tomorrow may bring. During the pandemic we craved physical contact and touch of those we love. It hurt not to be able to hug our children, our grandchildren, our friends. A very special and important way to connect with others was missing. In Jesus Christ, God shares fully in our sensual human experience. Jesus was embraced and sheltered in his mother’s womb, as we are. Jesus knows first-hand how important touch is for our wellbeing, how powerful it is. Time and again Jesus doesn’t only say something but also touches people, or lets people touch him. Holding another person is an expression of love, of care and compassion and it shows how valuable someone is to us. God has given us this wonderful blessing of touch and feel and we should use this to bless others and ourselves.
23rd June 2023
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans, desolate, alone: I will send the Holy Spirit to come upon you.
Life is not good when we are lonely. In life we make friends, people we relate to, have things in common with, have a coffee with. The term Paraclete, a word used for the Holy Spirit in Greek, also means friend. The Holy Spirit, among many other of His roles, is also a friend to us. Friends are people who support us and who hold us accountable, who have seen us at our best and at our worst, who are there for us before we even have to call them. Sometimes they live near us, sometimes a great distance away, and yet, when we need them, they are there. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in just this way: supportive of us when we need it; hang in there, you can do it, want to talk about it? But the Spirit also holds us accountable when we need that too; reminding us that we are about to really mess up! To take a step back, to think twice. A friend is someone who knows all about us but still loves us, the Spirit knows us completely, the best and worst, but still loves us and will always be our friend, offering support and challenge and He is always there, on our side if we allow Him to be.
22nd June 2023
Philippians 2:4 Look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.
75 years ago today the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury. That and other boats brought people from the Caribbean that we had invited to come and help us rebuild after the war. We invited them and promised them a wonderful future here. Move onto 2018 and we discover that the government had wrongly detained, denied rights and deported these people because Government promises were not kept, and immigration became a hot political agenda. The government had not issued promised passports, had taken and destroyed legal documents all to get rid of those it no longer wanted in society. Agreed compensation has still not been received by most of these people and we now discover that more than 400 were deported between 1950 and 1980 because they had long term health needs or mental health issues which we did not want to help with. Both are historic injustices with illegal action by the UK government. This is mistreatment of human beings, this is saying one human is more important or deserving than another because of skin colour or race, economic status or birthplace. How dare we put one life above another. God has clearly shown us that we are all equal and have no place above one another. We are called to look out for others not just ourselves, the question is do we do that and if not then we have to change.
21st June 2023
John 17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
When my husband and boys leave home I say to them, keep safe. I never take for granted that it will be that way and am keenly aware that we all need protection. Jesus understands this and prays for Protection for those of us in the world serving Him. “Holy Father, protect them…” He knew the disciples would face dangers. We know from church history that many of them, were martyred, tortured, imprisoned. The church has always been persecuted by ‘the world’. We also face difficulties through our profession of faith; we are not always able to choose the easy path; we are sometimes called to sacrifice our hopes and dreams and ambitions in the service of God. And Jesus prays for our protection in the midst of this. We need to remember that Jesus prays for our protection, that God is with us, guiding and leading the way ahead. Some of us may feel life is currently a treacherous and dark journey and we need to know the promise of God to be with us, the promise of His protection over us. Even now, Jesus is interceding for us, for each of us, praying for us, providing protection for us in the struggles of life that we face.
20th June 2023
Mark 1:41a Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him.
It is always awful and upsetting to see terrible things unfold around us and on the news. The recent death of two young people in Bournemouth, the stabbing of a three-year-old child, the London and Manchester bombings. Whenever we witness these images, we see family and friends, anxiously waiting for news about missing loved ones, we see people holding on to each other in their desperation and grief. Feeling someone’s presence with us, holding us, helps us make it through traumatic situations. During COVID-19 in hospitals, nurses and doctors described how heart-breaking it was for them to witness the isolation of their patients. To witness how much people craved touch. To witness how many people died without being cradled by a loved one, without having their hand held. God never intended us to face things alone, from the beginning God wanted humans to have company, to share in life’s wonders but also it’s bad times. God is relationship, Father, Son and Spirit, and we are created within relationship which is why we need each other and benefit from having others to share life with in relationship with each other and God.
19th June 2023
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
When did any of us last appreciate that everything we have has come from someone else? It is good for us to remember that we came into the world with nothing and therefore show our appreciation to God, family and friends for all that we have. We don’t really possess adequate language to express the appreciation we should have. We have been given far more than we deserve, more than we could ask for. When life is difficult, God is there, gently holding us, pursuing us, loving us back into His family time after time. It is so easy to forget to thank God because we simply do not appreciate what He has done for us. God shows us His love and faithfulness, His goodness and grace, His immense forgiveness and mercy to us every day in the midst of all our wrong doing. It is because of God’s love and appreciation for us that we can and should be thankful in all circumstances assured that He is working for the good of all.
18th June 2023
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will look up to the LORD our God.
Recently I have been working on next terms rota and themes for Collective Worship, used to be called Assemblies. The advisor who came in recommended that I try and place everything into up, in and out. In other words what we do for God, up, what we do for ourselves, in, and what we do for our community, out. This is a really good way of looking at life. If we start by looking up, at God, His teaching, His unconditional love, then from there we can make changes in ourselves and then be instrumental in making changes for others around us. It starts with God. Until we get our relationship in balance with Him, through Jesus, the rest never quite happens. Once we know our own faith, our own wonderful status before God, we can then make our lives better, learn, change and that in turn allows us to be better neighbours, better friends, better representatives of God in our community. Let me encourage you to look up to God, to let Him work in you and then to allow that to strengthen your work with others. Look up, look in and look out.
17th June 2023
Luke 18:15a Now they were bringing infants to him that he might touch them.
The first sensual experience we have as humans is while we are still in our mother’s womb, we are held secure, in contact with our mothers. Physical contact needs to continue right after birth. Skin-to-skin contact in the first hour helps to regulate babies’ temperature, heart rate, and breathing, and it helps them cry less. It also increases the mother’s relaxation hormones. A lack of touch, especially in the early years, can have devastating consequences; who can forget those orphaned infants exposed to the bleakest of conditions in eastern block institutions who exhibited impaired growth and cognitive development, as well as serious infections and attachment disorders. It is scientifically proven that touch is important for young children, and for the elderly, and we all benefit from touch, physically and mentally. Touch calms us down. Touch is good for body and soul. God has given us the ability to comfort one another through touch. To offer both physical and spiritual comfort. To encourage and bless each other through physical contact. May we use it wisely and well.
16th June 2023
Ephesians 3:16 I ask the Father in his great glory to counsel you through His Spirit that you may be strong inwardly through His Spirit.
We now recognise the growing need for Counselling, in fact there are not enough counsellors to fulfil the roles now created. Most secondary schools now have counsellors or links to them, for their pupils, particularly since Covid. For the Christian we too need counselling and this can point to the still small voice of God, to the wisdom of God, that will guide us toward the truth, if we will sit with it and are prepared to talk and listen. The counsellor, another name for the Holy Spirit, offers the peace that comes when we have settled on the correct decision and begun to walk in the right path. The best counsellors are people who listen, and because they are such great listeners, they move us to say things that express the depths of our hearts. And when we have expressed them and recognised them, there is often a clarity, healing and even a freedom. The Holy Spirit offers us that counselling, that listening, that freedom to express our feelings and thoughts out loud and to come to a way forward that is safe and wise. As counsellor He offers us help with our mental health, wisdom in the decisions we make and healing for those things which hold us back.
15th June 2023
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
In primary school I clearly remember a visit to Lullingstone Roman Villa. I was fascinated by the mosaics which we could get so close to. How tiny pieces of tile were used to create a picture, colour, features, representations. Considering how old these mosaics were they were clear and vibrant. I am still fascinated by the creation of larger pictures by using small, often broken, pieces, all different, to create the bigger picture. We often forget that as Christians we are a tiny part of the bigger picture, we are often broken and yet when we work together, mix our colours and shapes together we create a bigger, colourful, detailed picture. God takes us, our brokenness, our rough edges, our different colours and gifts and turns them into incredible, lasting things which inspire and last. I was at Lullingtone again last year and even more detail has been recovered, even more wonderful pictures because God keeps on using us, broken or not, different colours, different gifts and we are always valuable and useful to God in creating the bigger picture of God’s wonderful creation.
14th June 2023
Genesis 32:28 Then He said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Most of us have been given the gift of 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. These are the channels through which we experience and connect with the world, and those senses are something to be truly thankful for. Now which of our 5 senses, do you think, is the most important one? Apparently, TOUCH is often considered the most important of our senses. Our whole body is designed for the touchy-feely experience: the skin we’re in is our largest organ. Under every square inch of our skin, there are about 1,000 nerve endings each of these nerve endings is wired to our brain where we register what those nerve endings are picking up on: the pleasure of a hot bath or shower. A refreshing wind on a hot day. The comfy feel of our favourite sweater. But they also set off all the alarm bells in our brain, when we experience discomfort and pain. Throughout the Old Testament, God sees, God hears, God even smells –God’s physical touch is rare, but it happens in the story of God wrestling with Jacob. God uses senses to connect with creation, to connect with humanity. God gave us our senses to connect with nature and each other and we can use them to experience Him and to serve one another.
13th June 2023
John 16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the advocate to you. If I do not go away, he will not come.
We all go through life hoping we will never need a solicitor, accept maybe for house buying. For those who find themselves accused of wrongdoing a solicitor or advocate, is someone who intercedes on their behalf. They stand up for the person, defending them, presenting their case. In the Bible the Holy Spirit is referred to as an advocate reminding us that God is not only with us, but God is for us. In legal terms The Holy Spirit argues for the innocence of his client, us. Or if the client is guilty, he explains the circumstances and tries to shed light in a favourable way on the process to mitigate the penalty. He also tries to detect false testimony against us and tell the truth. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, praying with and for us even when we don’t know how to pray; standing in our place when we just can’t express ourselves. The Spirit is one who works on our behalf, seeking the best for us, steering us from danger, guiding us to safety. The Spirit is pulling for us, cheering for us, encouraging us. He defends us, stands up for us and tells us that we can stand tall and be accepted through Jesus. He reminds us that we are loved unconditionally and that we have been saved by God’s grace and are no longer under condemnation. The Holy Spirit is our advocate.
12th June 2023
James 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
As children grow, they are very impressionable and you can guarantee that if parents slip up with bad language or strange reactions, young children will repeat them for everyone to see. The one time you slip with a swear word, they pick it up, shout it out and in our shock, we laugh or get cross, making it even more sure of the reaction and attention children love. As humans we learn how to get a reaction, to get attention and we will use whatever means to provoke a reaction. As Christians we also like to get God’s attention, or the attention of church leaders and we will provoke that reaction by our words or actions. We make a point forcefully, we disagree deliberately and we become a very poor witness for our faith because of our own selfish behaviour. We are so easily led into jealousy, selfishness and disorder because instead of mimicking God we mimic the ways of the world. It is Jesus who is our example, who we should follow and live like, not the world.
11th June 2023
Galatians 6:9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
I work as a priest and Chaplain in the Diocese of Rochester and so whenever I am at diocesan events, I take the opportunity to visit the Cathedral. I enjoy visiting Cathedrals wherever we are, when we are away. I am particularly fond of Llandaff and of St David’s. All these Cathedrals are incredible pieces of engineering, created at times when we did not have the equipment or machinery to build such huge structures and yet they did. These places took years to build and more often than not those who began the work never got to see the completion which could be 150 or 200 years later. We want to see God’s completed work and yet more often than not we will not see it, only maybe when we reach Heaven. We are encouraged by Paul in this letter to the Galatians not to give up, not to grow weary in the work of God because the harvest will come and we will reap the benefits, the completions, the wonderful harvest of God but only if we do not give up our work for the Lord. Hang on in there, God will bless your years of service, even if you don’t always see it.
10th June 2023
Psalm 25:4 Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.
9th June 2023
Joshua 10:13 So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
I do like a nice clock. For our 30th wedding anniversary we had a lovely Mantle clock now ticking away on the window sill. I also have an old travel clock that I was given as a teen when I was going away a lot. Clocks mark the passage of time, they tick, seconds, minutes, hours go by and sometimes they chime or mark each hour with a noise. There is something very sure and steadfast about time, we cannot stop it, we make these odd compensations with leap years so we don’t lose time, we change our clocks twice a year to have summertime, and we all grow old with time and can never return to our youth or to the past. I find the ticking of a clock really reassuring, almost like a heartbeat, my husband though, cannot sleep with a ticking clock nearby. The Bible is full of references to time, the passage of time, the creation and movement of time by God. In the time of Joshua God stopped the Sun in the sky. His control over creation and time made clear and obvious. Even NASA cannot explain this gap of time from around this period in history and yet it is right there in the Bible. God is the God of time, He created it, He controls it.
8th June 2023
Ephesians 5:1 Follow God’s example, be imitators of God therefore, as dearly loved children.
The word Imitation comes from Latin imitation, meaning to copy. It is a behaviour whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behaviour. As little children each of us learned by imitating our parents and those around us. We imitated our mum’s and dads smile, yawn, laugh, expressions of sadness and anger. We learnt to talk by mimicking those around us, moving our mouths to form words. We didn’t consciously know we were doing it but we did and still do. There is a cycle of behaviour that can come from imitating those we live with, angry, volatile children will often come from homes where parents argue, are angry and volatile themselves. So much of who we are, particularly when we are young, comes from those we imitate, those we live with or are around us as we grow. As imitators of God, therefore, we need to follow His example of love, compassion, forgiveness, justice, and fairness, to offer that each other, to give these things freely as they have been freely given to us. That way our community, our homes and families, all will be better places where everyone can flourish.
7th June 2023
1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Hospitality is a gift, making folk feel welcome, offering a place of comfort, food and drink, good company. We need to be a hospitable church because we worship and serve a hospitable God who welcomes everyone. We need to respect the diversity that we have in the family of humanity, respect the diversity throughout our families, our town, our workplaces and friends, always working towards the glory of God in our midst. Our mission from God, is to glorify His name, and make sure that everyone knows about our God, our faith and our future. We are called to make disciples! We do not undertake this mission alone, we are promised the strength and resources of God so that we can share all that we have found in God, with others, and we can be hospitable to everyone who comes into our churches, into our lives and shine God’s light and love to them.
6th June 2023
Matthew 9:9 Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
When someone asks us to follow them it is usually to help us find the way somewhere. In the Bible the words follow me are two words which change lives, they give Levi hope and a future. Levi, also known as Matthew the Tax collector, had sold his Jewish soul by becoming a Roman tax collector. No one likes tax collectors, even today. The Jews, his own people, despised him for serving the Romans but Levi exploited his insider knowledge of his fellow Jews, knowing who could pay more and adding his large bonus onto their taxes. When Jesus came by one day, Levi would have expected more Jewish contempt. Instead, Jesus saw past what Levi was and invited him to discover God’s abundant, joyful, eternal life. Levi or Matthew, accepted Jesus’ invitation, he left everything behind in a simple, life-transforming step of faith. Following Jesus can transform us too! When we follow, we find the source of holiness, abundance, goodness and grace. We discover what it is to be completely free and forgiven, receiving and sharing his abundant love and blessings. Blessings that are quite simply too precious to keep to ourselves, so we pass on that message from Jesus to others, Follow Him.
5th June 2023
Isaiah 32:18 Then my people will live in a peaceful home, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places.
I love to get away for a few days, a good holiday is really refreshing, but I also really love going home again. As much as getting away from normality is refreshing and recuperating, getting home offers security, familiarity, comfort and ease. People use the phrase home is where the heart is, that as long as we feel we belong somewhere, there is home. Home can be the people, the place, the possessions, even the routine. The early church met in people’s homes, hospitality was shared, they shared all that God had given them because God was their real home, God gave them everything. God is our real home, the place we should always want to be, the place that provides security, safety and blessing, that allows us to be exactly who we are and who God created us to be. This is where our heart should be, at home with God, ready for the eternal home He has given us. It is great to have a holiday but even more special to come home where we should be, where we were created to be in secure dwellings and undisturbed resting places with God.
4th June 2023
Psalm 147:3 He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.
I love old books and I like the feel of holding a book in my hands, flicking through the pages and the words on the page. Having books on kindle or iPad is great but it just doesn’t feel the same. With age and use books can deteriorate, the spine break, pages become dog eared, ripped, even fall out. There is nothing more disappointing that turning over and finding a page missing in the story we are reading. There are some amazing Book binders who can fix old books, they somehow mend and strengthen the old pages with special paper, mix old leather with new to replace the damaged cover, re-stitch the pages and fix the spine. Something old, dogeared and damaged can somehow look beautiful and new again, the old is still there but now strengthened and enhanced. This is exactly what God does with us. He takes our old damaged, dogeared pages of life and fixes them, he re-stitches us, fixes our spines and rips so we become useful again; He enhances and strengthens us. God is a talented book binder, He changes lives, He changes people and takes the broken and makes them whole again.
3rd June 2023
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirt, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
I wonder if you ever had a comfort blanket or cuddly toy that you took everywhere with you. The dummy given to very young children to suck on is often called a comforter. We use the word comfort to illustrate what we offer to another when they are upset or grieving. What we look for when we need a shoulder to cry on. One who brings comfort is someone who will be there for the tears, offer the hug or cuddle, hold a hand, offer comfort to us in difficult and stressful times. Think for a moment about the second part of the word comfort, which is the word fort. A fort is something we associate with protection, a place built to defend its occupants from those who bring harm. A comforter is one who strengthens, who builds a fortress around us, who gives us courage when the world is tough. We all need a comforter, a strong presence, an encourager and one of the words used to describe the Holy Spirit is comforter. The Holy Spirit becomes a part of who we are, giving us courage, protection, comfort and confidence, and that sustains us in situations that we never thought we could make it through. He reminds us who Jesus is, what He did for us and all that He taught us.
2nd June 2023
Ephesians 1:7 In Jesus we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
The other day my husband came home with all the makings of afternoon tea. We went into the garden with sandwiches, scones, jam, cream, little cakes and tea. It was wonderful. We used to go once a year to the Ritz, as a treat, but it is now far too expensive. Taking Afternoon tea in the Ritz involved being very polite, careful, not slurping your tea and eating in a refined manner. We would always dress up and there was a standard expected from all who came. There were people turned away for not having a jacket and tie, for wearing trainers, not shoes. The expectation was very high. The expectation of heaven is very high; as humans we cannot be good enough, perfect enough, to get there in our own strength, and yet all that God has ever wanted is for us to be with Him in Heaven, so how are we made good enough? Jesus’ death on the cross when it was completely undeserved, Jesus’ perfection becomes our perfection, Jesus took our imperfection on himself so that we could be good enough to be with God in heaven. Because of Jesus we are not turned away, our sins are no longer a barrier to our life with God in Heaven. The high expectations of God are met through Jesus who freely invites us to feast with Him in Heaven.
1st June 2023
Matthew 27:45 My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
I grew up singing spirituals in school and at church. These songs were created by the enslaved Africans in the USA who expressed their suffering as slaves at the hands of their so called “Owners” through singing together as they worked. It also expressed their faith, their belief that God was with them and heard them in their suffering. It was a similar experience to that of the ancient community of Israel who when in slavery wrote their emotions to God and put them to music. These special spiritual songs offer a way to be sad without being alone because they are sung in community. They say it is okay to suffer, we know how you feel, we are suffering too, we all are, together. These songs linger in the painful places, they don’t depend on the hyperbole and excitement of praise, but can be slow, drawn out, waiting. The sadness of moaning is expressed in long notes and hums which give voice to pain, together. When Jesus cried out from the cross, He was speaking the words of His enslaved people, in pain He joins in community with those who experience such suffering. He shares that experience with us, in community.
31st May 2023
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.
What are you afraid of? We all have things which cause us fear and concern, that frighten us however hard we try to overcome it. Fear is a very powerful force, particularly fear of the unknown, the uncertain future. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were still fearful of what might happen to them, of the authorities, of punishment, even 50 days after the events of Holy Week. By now the fear was pretty hazy and unclear, yet still it had a cumulative effect on the disciples. Jesus broke through their fear with His love, His forgiveness, His generosity. This was in complete contrast with the mean, vindictive persecution of the chief priests and authorities. In the midst of their fear comes love, forgiveness and generosity from Jesus, He offers peace alongside the marks of the crucifixion; giving the Holy Spirit to fill their hearts with faith and love; offering forgiveness to give hope in a broken world. This forgiveness and freedom from fear is contagious, and from this appearance and reassurance hope spreads across the world, across the centuries to us and beyond.
30th May 2023
2 Corinthians 13: 11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Jesus is aware that, when he leaves, the disciples will be on their own without him until the Spirit comes. And they would not see Him physically again. Jesus was returning to the Father and the disciples would be left ‘in the world’. And ‘the world’ can be a scary place. There is a purpose to the disciples and us being in the world. Quite simply, there is a mission to be undertaken and we need to be in the world to undertake that mission, and to complete that mission, we must work together. Unity is absolutely crucial if we are to be effective in mission, so Jesus prays “Protect them so they may be one…” Our unity is an act of witness to the nature of God. We are to be one to reflect the one-ness of God. That oneness in three, the Trinity, contains diversity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one God but three separate persons, three separate functions, if you like, but all striving towards the same end. And so, in our unity, we actively celebrate our differences but always strive towards the same end together.
29th May 2023
1 Peter 5:9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by others who are in the world.
When we go through an experience, be it illness, grief, depression, rejection it is often those who have been through it who offer the invaluable advice and help. They speak in a way that we recognise, they speak of similar experiences, of marks left on them and of how they found a way through; Here is someone who understands, who has walked where I am walking, who have come out the other side. They show us that we are not the only one to walk this path, to experience this situation and we find that the lie that sin tells us, that no one understands, no one has been there, is really a lie and not worth our attention. We find that the isolation dictated to us does not need to be the way. These people are fellow travellers on the road. These folk give us hope, show us that other endings to the story are possible, they are the ones God sends to help us.
28th May 2023
John 14:16 I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever.
When words are translated from their original, we often don’t get all the meanings that are associated with it. In our Bible many words from Hebrew or Greek struggle to get translated in full for us. One such term is in describing the Holy Spirit. The word in Greek is Paraclete, but this word has multiple meanings. One of those meanings is Companion. This word is used in the New English version. The literal origin of the word companion is “one who eats bread with us”. There is something magical and wonderful about sharing a meal with a friend, it is often over a meal that barriers are broken down, that we come to know each other better. Think of Jesus, on the road to Emmaus, after the resurrection, how he was seemingly a stranger to them until He took the bread and broke it. The one who breaks bread with us, eats with us, shares our common, everyday life; that is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit that God sends to us, to bless us and fill us.
27th May 2023
Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age I am He, and I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and I will save.
I have always loved the poem Footprints, the expression of how when it looks like we face life lone, at the darkest times, that is, in fact, when God picks us up and carries us. We saw a human version of this when Kevin Sinfield picked up his friend Rob Burrows who has Motor Neurone disease and carried him over the line at the Leeds marathon. It is when someone is at their greatest need that a true friend will pick us up and keep us going. God is with us at all times, through the good and the bad, it is easy to see when things are going well, but when life is hard and difficult it can seem that we alone, God promises to always be there and He will always pick us up and carry us when we need it, give us a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on, support and love us through thick and thin. “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, when you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."
26th May 2023
Matthew 28:17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some still doubted.
Can you remember the last time you let someone down, or did wrong by somebody, and then were really worried about owning up to them about it? This feeling of anxiety as we contemplate their reaction and feelings towards us can cause huge stress. When the disciples met the resurrected Jesus, they all knew they had fled when He was arrested, had reacted selfishly and Peter had denied Jesus three times. These were His closest friends, and they abandoned Him when He needed them most. You might expect Jesus to be angry with them, maybe not willing to meet them again so soon, and yet as the risen Lord, meeting with the disciples and re-establishing their relationship is a priority; but how would Jesus respond to these deserters who still lacked faith? He responds with love and generosity. He does not rebuke them, but reassures them, and invites them into God’s mission. He has and continues to give Himself; He promises to be with them as they undertake this work. God’s love and generosity is for all of us, even though we fail, even though we let Him down, even though we are sinners. God still invites us to be part of His family and work even though we keep getting it wrong. All He asks of us is that we try and learn from Him day by day in our Christian lives.
25th May 2023
Matthew 7: 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Why do people knock on the door, or ring the bell? Sometimes it is a delivery, post, a parcel etc. Sometimes it is to say hello, to ask for something or to come to visit. I wonder who has knocked at your door recently? Jesus talked about seeking and finding but also of knocking and having the door opened to us. It is a message for anyone who wants to listen that God is listening, God is ready and willing to help, God is ready to open the door to anyone who is willing to knock on it. What do you need to talk to God about? What do you need to ask Him for? We can approach God about anything, help, wisdom, guidance, healing, provision of food, our struggles, needs and problems. Sometime when we knock on a door the person isn’t in and doesn’t answer, but God is always in and will always answer, we only need to knock and he will open the door to us immediately.
24th May 2023
John14:17b But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
When we leave friends or family, even for a brief period, we tend offer advice, or leave instructions and helps for them. When we leave the boys to look after the cat, we leave everything right in front of them and instructions as to when and how much to feed him. I think the routine goes to pot but at least the cat seems happy and well fed once we return. As Jesus is getting ready to leave the disciples, He tells them that if they love Him, they will keep His commandments and there is also an additional promise: The Father will give you an Advocate, to be with you forever. In other words, He is sending part of Himself, part of the Trinity, to help them and us in living our lives the best we can on Earth. Jesus tells them He is sending the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth who will remind them and us, accompany them and us, and help them and us as we seek to spread the Gospel. The promise to the disciples, and to us, is that in times of uncertainty, confusion, loss and grief, we will have the presence of a comforter, an advocate, a counsellor, a friend, a companion. A gift of God to us, who not only stands alongside us but, lives within in us. With Him we are never alone.
23rd May 2023
John 17:11b Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
Being a parent is a whole series of worrying moments, because our children are ‘in the world’ and ‘the world’ can be a scary place. This parenting image, gives a little glimpse into how Jesus was feeling as he prayed the prayer in John 17. Jesus had spent three years with his disciples. He had lived with them, taught them, encouraged them, chastised them, he had cared for them. They had laughed together, cried together, they had done ministry together, they knew each other intimately. And now the time had arrived when Jesus was about to leave them. He knew his destiny, death, resurrection and then He would ascend to heaven and He would be with the disciples no more. At the Ascension, Jesus went away. He was no longer in the world. He was no longer with his disciples. At the Ascension, Jesus returned to his Father and the disciples would see him no more. This leaving them meant He could now minister not only locally but on a global scale to all Christians everywhere. The world is a metaphor for all that is not of God. A world that does not know Him. Jesus spends time praying for them and us, aware of the dangers that lie ahead. “Holy Father, protect them…”
22nd May 2023
Proverbs 4:3 Depend on the Lord in whatever you do and He will direct your path.
People often speak about being on a path, heading in a certain direction. A Christian has a trifold path which they have to balance. That path is about others, self and God. Many would argue that God is first and therefore the only path but the Bible reminds us that in God eyes we are called to serve others. Jesus came to serve, and we are to be like Him. We also have a duty to ourselves, as children of God we can only serve God and others if we take care of ourselves. We can only serve God and others if we use the abilities and talents God has given us, if we work hard, if we are honest, if we look after our physical and mental health. Many who work for the good of others often neglect themselves in the process, that is not what God requires of us. God does not ask us to hurt ourselves in the path of helping others and serving others. His call is to serve others and Him by giving of our best, looking after ourselves properly and allowing others to minister to us, serve us, just as we serve them.
21st May 2023
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The media, our Politicians and many people around us are to be frank, economical with the truth. There is a lot said about truth being as a person sees it, so my truth may be different to yours. Actually, the factual truth is vital to our society, knowing our leaders, our law enforcement are telling the truth is vital to keep society functioning properly. Jesus reminds the law enforcers of His time that they have become slaves to sin, to wrongdoing and to meaningless activities for their own gain. They are reminded, as are we, that we need releasing from the power of wrongdoing in our lives and to become free. The only way a slave could be set free was if the master or his son released the slave, Jesus, sent by God His father, comes to set us free from sin, from death and hell. He comes as truth, with truth to set us free from the bad stuff that holds us back and makes us selfish and uncaring. We are all capable of ridicule, lies, manipulation, greed etc it is our sinful human nature at work and truth shines a light on that, Jesus’ truth shines a light and sets us free to accept who we are but also who we can be in Jesus, free from sin and set free by truth, the real truth of God.
20th May 2023
Isaiah 35: 10 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.
I am often told that laughing is good for you. I must admit when I have a good laugh it does seem to help. I am not a great fan of comedians because I find a lot of the current trend is to be rude and crass and I find many of them quite unpleasant. Real laughter is about good things, about the comedy in life which occurs every day and does bring real joy. Deep joy, it is often said, can be so deep that people can’t see it. Actually, deep joy bubbles up when we are happy, assured, comfortable and feel safe. With God Joy is about being safe in His unconditional love, knowing our future is secure in Him. A laughter that comes from the fun of life, of being with folk in security, in a welcoming and loving atmosphere. That joy is inside everyone, it is a God given emotion, but so often it is crowded out by life’s issues, by stress and worry. God never intended that for us, He wanted and wants His love to be the source of Joy in our lives every day. If you are struggling to find that joy, talk to God, talk to friends, to your vicar or pastor, let us help you find that joy that God wants for you.
19th May 2023
Ecclesiastes 4:8 Humans are always working and never satisfied.
A myth has circulated for years that says success produces life. The truth of Scripture states, Humans are always working and never satisfied. A recent Wimbledon tennis champion said "The thrill of victory lasts about fifteen minutes, then it’s back to normal and the next win.” Those who love money are never satisfied with the money they have. Have you ever asked yourself, why it is that we have more money than before and yet have less contentment? Too often we think that if we receive a certain promotion, or reach a certain status, or live in a certain area then we will be happy. Interestingly, those people who have reached that position still have not found the secret of a fulfilling life. Jesus reminded us that a thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. These things we are told we want in lives are thieves of our time, of our fulfilled lives. Jesus offers us life in all its fullness. He is the one that protects, cares for, energises and enables us to have that fulfilled life, infinitely and eternally different and better than the life we have now. To be a follower of Jesus, to know who he is and what he means, is to have a new vitality, a new meaning, a new energy, a new purpose, a new significance, a new outlook, a new hope, a new joy, a new fulfilled life.
18th May 2023
Matthew 26:26 Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
The word gospel means good news. The four gospels are the good news of Jesus, God’s saviour who come to rescue all humans. The hero, Jesus, suffers and dies but then He is raised from death, our hero, Jesus, is alive and well. As we read back through the Bible we can’t help but read it in light of that good news. It’s all about this coming Saviour who is going to pay the ultimate sacrifice. It’s all about Jesus, His suffering, His death, and His life-giving resurrection. When we’re frustrated, lost and discouraged that’s exactly what we need to focus on, the Bible, God’s redemption plan and how Jesus defeated death. Jesus knew we would need help and encouragement so we have the Bible, the gospels, but also we have the remembrance of Jesus death and resurrection in the last supper. The breaking of the bread reminds us of His death and resurrection every time we meet together and celebrate communion. In the breaking of the bread eyes are opened and we can recognise who He truly is. This is anamnesis, a remembering, acting out, recollecting our past to put our present and past into context.
17th May 2023
Isaiah 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
I have long known and experienced that singing is good for you. The upturn in community choirs and the work on singing and dementia is testimony to this. The evidence is there, singing relieves stress, boosts your immune system, helps to ward off illness, helps with breathing and lung capacity and it can increase pain threshold. In my own life at a couple of very scary times it was singing that got me through. Singing can help with grief and anxiety, it is good for mental health. The exiled were returning to their city and it was the cause of celebration, of singing. They were returning to their life as it should be, as God intended. Sometimes we can be exiled from normal life by stress and anxiety, by feelings of inadequacy or shame but God wants us to return to our lives as they should be, with singing and celebration. Why not try singing, try letting yourself sing out and release some of that stress and anxiety that holds you back.
16th May 2023
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
The shortest verse in the Bible and one of my favourites is John 11:35 Jesus wept. My father told the story of when he was in Sunday School and would announce the collection, the attendance and a Bible verse, this particular Sunday he said, 2 in class, tuppence collection, Jesus Wept. These two simple words, Jesus Wept, offer us the assurance that Jesus experienced the deep and raw emotions we do. In this simple expression He joined Himself to all of us who mourn, all of us who grieve, who cry and weep. Jesus has linked Himself to us throughout all time, with his arms wrapped around us as we weep. Those who mourn He calls us blessed, stands with us, God with us at our lowest point. The tears that come are God given and allow our bodies and souls to release our grief, to release emotions that can imprison us if we do not allow them to be expressed. God promises to wipe the tears from our eyes. God will comfort, God will return to us the joy of life and enable us to live with, and adapt to, life without those we love. God will stand with us at every point of our life, from the best to the worst and everywhere in between.
15th May 2023
Proverbs 16:2 You may believe you are doing right, but the Lord will judge your reasons.
I heard an anecdote where a man asked God why he never won the lottery, God’s reply was for starters you actually need to buy a ticket. Our ideas and plans tend to revolve around us and rarely come out as we expect. All of us are rarely a product of plan A in our lives, we are usually plan B or C or F or G. If I look back now, I am on about plan H. Life changes, interests and commitments change, the world changes, priorities change. We develop and priorities change and so our direction changes. Our potential is God given, our gifts and areas of interest are God given, like the early 20th century sprinter Eric Liddell who would not run on a Sunday, who was under pressure to give up running and become a missionary, he said when I run, I feel God’s pleasure. In other words, God gave me a gift and I need to use that, work at it and be the best I can for God. We have a choice with our gifts and talents, are they just for me, or for others and for God? Is potential for us just about the best job, the most money, the most power and status or is it about how I can serve others with the gifts and talents I have been given? God knows our reasons for the choice we make.
14th May 2023
Proverbs 16:1 People may make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true.
You have probably heard the phrase…. The best laid plans of mice and men, often just shortened to the best laid plans…. Said when things don’t happen as expected. This comes from a Robbie Burns poem and the line in full is.. The best laid plans of mice and men leave us nought but grief and pain. We are reminded that even the most careful planning doesn’t necessarily ensure success. In the poem it is the carefully well-constructed home of the mouse, which is destroyed and yet the mouse builds back, resilience. The destruction causes pain and grief, but the mouse does not give up and tries again. We make plans, we see a future, we look at our potential and we strive for that, but we can never be sure of success, so many factors can turn our plans upside down. The Bible tells us that when our plans are of God and for God, they will ultimately succeed but that success isn’t always what we think it should be because God’s plans are based on truth, on the bigger picture and on what is best for the world in which we live.
13th May 2023
Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.
The marginalised of this world, be it by gender, religion, culture, politics, poverty, life choices, age, skin colour are all judged unfairly, written off, disrespected. They experience no mercy, and they see little or no humility from those who marginalise them. We cannot speak of justice, mercy, humility and walking with God if we constantly marginalise others because they are not like us or do not fit into our ideas. Not one of us has more right to justice and fairness than another, not one of us deserves more mercy than another, and not one of us should be anything but humble in our attitude to life and what we achieve. All of us must be just and fair in our dealings with everyone, even those we struggle with and may even dislike. To be people of mercy, to show forgiveness where we can, to realise our own faults and to be people who are humble, who do not brag, who do not belittle others but recognise we are only who we are because of others who support us and teach us. Where we end up in life is not because we are more special than another, we do not deserve any more than another. Being Marginalised is cruel and not what God wants for any of us so we must do our part to stop anyone being marginalised.
12th May 2023
John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
When we look around the world today, there is a lot to be concerned about. There is a lot of unrest, a lot of tension, a lot of violence. Turn on the news on any given day, and you will find something discouraging, something to worry about, or something to get angry about. All of that is why I think that what Jesus did in the upper room is so very important. Remember that when he did this, it was at a very anxious and discouraged point in his ministry. The upper room was a very tense place. A fearful place. And a divided place. In other words, it was a real place. It is here Jesus did this very ordinary, yet extraordinary act. That is where Jesus got down on his hands and knees and washed the disciples feet. That is where Jesus taught them to love one another. And where he issued his new commandment that we should do the same. Love one another. When we see the trouble in our world, and are confronted with the latest disturbing news, what should we do? Love one another. When we have disagreements about what to do about all the challenges our world faces, what should we do? Love one another. When there are people who want to betray us, or deny knowing us, at our moment of deepest need, how should we respond? Love one another. When in doubt, Jesus seems to be teaching us to love one another. We can always do that with His help.
11th May 2023
John 10:10 "A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy"
Jesus often used the imagery of life around the people of the time drawing from a familiar scene. One of these images were the shepherds on a hillside keeping watch over their sheep. The job of the shepherd was to lead, protect, and feed the sheep. But, unfortunately, as in our day, there were thieves and robbers. They sought to take away the livelihood of Jewish shepherds. Likewise, there are thieves and robbers of our lives, our time. We’ve all heard people say that if only they could take that one special holiday, or retire in luxury, or have a dream fulfilled then they would be living. Many people have done these things yet they still remain empty. Try as we might, in the pursuit of a better life, It takes a bigger thrill, or a bigger event to bring another high. it never lasts. Eventually even workaholics learn that the satisfaction of one job completed is short lived. These thieves masquerade as givers of life, but actually they are dispensers of destruction, disease, and death. God wants us to have a quality of life, a good life, a full life and to not let others or things take that away from us. He offers us protection like the shepherds of old, stopping the thieves from taking and destroying our joy and our life.
10th May 2023
Exodus 34:7a A compassionate God maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.
Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. It is sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others, based on fairness, justice, and interdependence. The word "compassion" comes from Middle English, and means to suffer with. We have "feeling for another" feeling as they do, walking a mile in their shoes. It was a precursor to the word empathy. In common parlance, active compassion is the desire to alleviate the suffering of another. Compassion involves allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering, and experiencing the motivation to help alleviate and prevent it. This compassion and all that it entails is not just for God or for a new King, but for every individual. To be compassionate means not being selfish, not wanting revenge, being willing to forgive, being willing to listen to all sides of the story and being able to understand that we all make mistakes in life, none of us are perfect. We need to be challenged about our compassion, our forgiveness, our willingness to help others. Be challenged about selfishness and how we can only be a better place if we help each other and serve the common good.
9th May 2021
Galatians 3: 28b For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Joint heirs to the promises of God.
Children love making crowns, decorating them, wearing them and many were made and decorated leading up to the Coronation. King Charles III was crowned and took his place on the throne as son and heir of the previous monarch, the Queen. After Easter Jesus was preparing to take His rightful place with God after His death and resurrection, Jesus had made it clear that He was going to prepare a place for us in Heaven and that He is the way to the Father. The build up to the Coronation took time to prepare and get ready, the build up to Easter and then the ascension of Jesus to His rightful place took time. Charles has his role as an earthly King because he was born as a child of the Monarch, an heir to the throne. Jesus was born as God’s son, human and divine, so that we could all be born children of God, joint heirs of God the Father with Jesus. We are joint heirs with Christ to the promises of God, to eternal life. Our surname is not Windsor but Child of God, that is exactly who we are, joint Heirs with Jesus, Heavenward bound.
8th May 2023
Matthew 22:21 ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’
In the early church some people decided that they no longer needed to follow the rules of the land only God’s rules. They needed reminding that the rules of the land came from God’s rules and needed to be followed. We still live with those who believe that the rules do not apply to them, those who do not pay their tax, those who ignore the law as not being for the wealthy or powerful. We are called to live by the laws of our land, even when they need changing, and some do, urgently. We do have the right to pursue change, as Jesus did, by standing up for the poor, the needy, those treated unfairly, by peaceful protest and proper argument, by choosing our politicians more carefully and holding them to account. We are called to live and work within the parameters of legality and fairness as Jesus did. Write to our MP’s, use social media, speak out and protest, peacefully, as the law reacts badly to us it is brought into focus and examined. The question we must always ask ourselves is What Would Jesus Do? Or WWJD. We must act out of love, justice, fairness and righteousness just as Jesus did, and so make things better and fairer for everyone.
7th May 2023
Exodus 34:6 The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
It will not have escaped your attention that there has been a coronation. If you watched the service, you will have heard what is expected of the king, what he promised. All through were references to the service of his people. He will be given a Bible as a guide to wisdom and service of God. He will declare that people of all faiths will live freely. Key themes of his reign are to be prayer, service, grace, freedom, truth, blessing, gentleness and peace. The reading spoke of healing, deliverance, liberty and freedom. He was referred to as Thy servant Charles who will defend good, act in faithful service of God and for the common good of all and his reign is to be about justice not judgement. This is all common to faith, to God as He is presented in the Bible. A compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. A God who forgives, a God of justice but not of vengeful judgement. Compassion is often seen as a vulnerability, but I would argue it is an incredible strength. Having compassion allows us to see things from other angles, other sides. It allows us to realise that there but for the grace of God goes each of us.
6th May 2023
Luke 4:8 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.
Today is the Coronation of King Charles III. You may or may not be watching or listening. I had a good look through the order of service to see what is being said and done. What kept coming up was service, service of God and His people. The mention of allowing people of all faiths to live freely, key words that keep coming up are service, grace, freedom, truth, blessing, gentleness and peace. The gospel reading is about healing, deliverance, liberty and freedom and he is referred to as God’s servant Charles who will defend good, rule with justice not judgment, will serve faithfully and be united in service for the common good. These are real declarations and oaths of service to God and people. For a man of such privilege these promises must not be taken lightly and as the people he is promising to serve and defend we should pray for him but also remind him and all those who lead, who have privilege, that true leadership is service, service of God and people first and foremost.
5th May 2023
Matthew 20:26 Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
How do you measure success? These days it seems that position and wealth are the measurements we use. Parents long for their children to be successful, have a good job, to be top of the class, top of the exams tree, top of their chosen profession. We so easily pander to societies ideas of success instead of desiring that our children and ourselves be good people, people with morals, with compassion who treat others well; we should desire to be people who serve. All clergy in the C of E make promises about service but then all our leaders only come from certain colleges, and backgrounds and can often be a lot less of a servant and more of demanding service from others. Life should be about us making a difference, not by demanding it of others but by being part of it ourselves. We need to make a good difference for the poor, the needy, the immigrant, the disabled, the marginalised. The people who truly serve and should be rewarded are not those with OBE’s, MBE’s, Knighthoods, power and wealth, instead they are people who follow the example of Jesus and serve, they don’t do it for reward, they do it because God’s way is different, they find an incredible peace and satisfaction in serving others and giving instead of taking. However successful we become in the world's view, we must never forget those less fortunate, the ordinary people, the majority who live normal lives and who deserve so much more than they receive.
4th May 2023
Micah 8:8b To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
In Micah the relationship with God is summed up in three requirements. Firstly, do justly, justice is central to life. Justice, fairness, equity should apply to all and no one should escape justice when they have broken the rules made to keep us safe. Justice is also necessary in our relationships, our treatment of each other, our fairness in sports and games. Our honesty in how we react and treat others. The second also impacts on justice, we are to love mercy; to be merciful, find forgiveness. Let’s face it none of us really gets what we deserve. We are all guilty of manipulation, lies, distractions, influences, bad language and thought, bullying, upsetting, hurting, misleading……. None of us are perfect and we all deserve justice and punishment. God’s justice comes with mercy and so should ours. When we are angry and want revenge, justice is not served, there must be mercy, as we are shown mercy by others and by God, we need to show that mercy to others. Thirdly we are to walk humbly with God. Walking with someone means we are together; we support each other and listen. Walking with God is both amazing because God is treating us so well, but also demands us to be worthy of that; to be good people who are humble. Humility makes us those who are willing to help others, to show mercy, to seek justice for the right reasons and to admit our own faults and mistakes.
3rd May 2023
Hebrews 10:25 Do not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as the Day of the Lord draws near.
Recently I have been to a 75-year anniversary of an organisation I was involved in for years. It was amazing to see people who changed my life after many years, and really sad to find out that some had passed. There were many memories to hear about and messages from friends who could not be there. At the centre of this was the calling to bring God’s good news to young girls. Much was offered to boys 75 years ago but very little was offered to girls, as a result this organisation was born. It was this group who encouraged me to study, to teach and showed me that being a Christian was about fulness of life and was for girls as well as boys. These days it is a smaller event and centres around an activity centre but the story of Jesus is still central with prayer and Bible study along with teaching and testimony. We should never underestimate the power of the gospel, the power of love and being together in a Christian environment. We should never forget those who God has used to bless and teach us and be reminded that we too are used by God to bless and teach others. We will never know the impact we have had on people’s lives.
2nd May 2023
Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
When we are struggling and life gets on top of us, we need reminding of exactly who Jesus is. For the disciples on the Emmaus Road Jesus began to open their eyes to him, starting with the Old Testament. They thought the Messiah was going to be a political liberator but Jesus shows them this isn’t what the Messiah was going to do. He didn’t come to be victorious like a military leader, but to achieve victory another kind of way, through His own suffering. Just like our Messiah suffered so too Christians will suffer. God doesn’t promise us pain free lives. We will go through trial and darkness and sometimes feel alone. It’s actually pretty normal to go through times when we struggle to see Christ because of everything going on in our life, but God promises always to be there. They feel their hearts burn within them when Jesus speaks and the more we understand God’s word the more our hearts will burn for God. Once they and we understand how all of Scripture points to the Messiah needing to suffer and die and rise again it changes everything. They believe! Of course, the resurrection happened because that was the plan all along. As has often been said, we already know the ending and we win.
1st May 2023
Matthew 9: 29 He touched their eyes, and they were opened.
I have a number of blind friends and have taught some partially sighted students over the years. I am always blessed and amazed by their attitude to life. They are very dependent on feel and touch to interact with the world and their hearing is crucial. Many of them have incredible talents in music. There are inventions and gadgets to help with daily life and the audible formats on computers and phones have opened things up even more. There is also a metaphorical side to Jesus’ healing blindness, the blindness humans have towards God and towards others. The blindness we have when it comes to justice, honesty, racism, sexism, religion. Whenever we allow others to get away with violence, misogyny, injustice, lies, racism, homophobia, dishonesty, sexism we are complicit. If we do not stand up for others but walk past feigning ignorance, then we are allowing these things to go unchecked and acting as if we are blind. We cannot be people of God and be blind to the bad things of the world and allow them to go unchallenged.
30th April 2023
John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
How would you fill in the blank: Life is ______? Forrest Gump filled in the blank by saying: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get." F. Scott Peck began his bestselling book, The Road Less Travelled, by writing, "Life is difficult." Once, a salesman in one last final effort to get me to sign the dotted line said, "Life is not a dress rehearsal, you only get to live it once." Others have described our existence by filling in the blank with: a rat race, a bowl of cherries, amino acids, a series of choices, a pay check, the weekend, a party. Why is it that we reduce life to one thing. For many life is nothing more than the time spent between birth and death. The drudgery of existence. The boring monotony of the routine. The hope of having enough until the end. Have we bought a lie? Has life been stolen from us? The truth is that life is not found in pleasure, performance, possessions, position, or pursuits; it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus says time and time again that he is the giver of life, the author of life, the way, the truth and the life.
29th April 2023
Micah 6:8a He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
Requires is a strong word, it means essential, vital, indispensable, necessary, even compulsory. In the last months many of us have had the requirements of Lent and Easter, the things we need to do as part of our celebration and commemoration of these events. As each of us study we have the requirements of the curriculum, what we will need to know for exams, for any entry to university there will be the requirements of grades and certain personal traits, and there are always the requirements for jobs and applications. Being required to do things is part of life. It is vital to relationships as well, our relationship with our God, with our family and friends, requires certain things. God’s requiring of us to do things is not a heavy-handed restriction, but rather an insistence on things that make life better for everyone, justice, mercy and humility. Let’s face it if we all were properly just, were merciful to each other and were humble then this world would be a much better place for everyone.
28th April 2023
John 21: 12a Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In most houses it is a hurried affair with time being of the essence before work and school. When life is not a rush it can be a relaxed time with favourites and good company. I love breakfast on a day off, often hot croissant, butter, jam and there are the hotel stays where breakfast is Full English. Coming together around food is natural and enjoyable. You can be yourself, enjoy company and just be together. After losing Jesus the disciples go back to what they know, fishing, and Jesus meets them where they are for breakfast. A BBQ on the beach with fresh fish and bread. Coming together around food, being themselves and realising that once again Jesus is right there in the centre, enjoying their company and reminding them of the future. We meet together around food every time we take communion and Jesus is right there at the centre. We come together around food and can be ourselves with each other and with Jesus.
27th April 2023
Luke 24:19 About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.”
Sometimes we lose sight of who Jesus is, when life is difficult and problems seem insurmountable. Even the disciples and followers of Jesus lost hope after the crucifixion. They no longer saw Jesus as the “Messiah” or “Christ.” They lost faith. They were finding it too hard to believe. It seems too dark. Jesus is dead so He must have just been a prophet like the prophets of old who died. He can’t possibly be the Messiah who was supposed to come and liberate his people, Jesus is dead. When things get dark in our life, when we lose our jobs or a loved one dies or a tragedy happens, and our hearts don’t sense Christ, it’s easy to say, “Maybe he’s not God, maybe Jesus is not as powerful as I thought.” But they were wrong and so are we if we think that way. When we’re struggling, maybe fatigued or frustrated, and can’t see Jesus and can only think of everything wrong with our lives, we should pause and check our memories. Jesus has done good things for us and blessed us in the past. If He has been so good to us for years and years, why would He would stop now? When you can’t see Jesus, look to the Scriptures. When you can’t see what Jesus is doing in your life or can’t hear Him speaking to you, look to the Scriptures. Go to your Bible. See Him there. Hear Him there. As we read Scripture, the Holy Spirit works in us.
26th April 2023
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
There is a story told about the disciple, John. Legend has it, that he is the only one of the twelve disciples who died of old age. In his later years, when John had become old and frail, he was the only person still living who had actually walked with Jesus in his earthly ministry; and so, his church community held him in very high esteem. The story goes that whenever he was in good enough health to come to worship, they would invite him to come to the front of the gathered congregation, and share a word with them. And he would walk to the front, and look at the people gathered and say to them, “Children, love one another … love one another … love one another.” And he would return to his seat. Every time, the same message: Love one another. That, for John, was what he learned from Jesus. John obviously learned more than that. He wrote a gospel and several letters that are included in our New Testament. But what was most important was this simple command from Jesus to love another. Then, and now, this command to love one another can serve as our North Star, guiding us when we get lost or confused, and re-orienting us to the way in which we should live. And now, today, this is no less important than it has ever been. If John were here today, I suspect he would say the same thing to us. And if Jesus were here, wouldn’t he say the same? Love one another.
25th April 2023
Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honour.
The word Kind is not used too often these days, it seems to have developed a weak connotation and be associated with the leftie woke which I am proudly a part of. So, how kind are you? If you look at the last few days can you remember any kindness you have shown? Let it bless you as you remember it and let it encourage you to keep on being kind. There are some who look for recognition of their kindness, but for most of us kindness, just being kind, blesses us as well as the those we are kind to and makes the world a much better place to live in for all of us. Every one of us has the ability to be kind but many choose not to be. Many of our politicians seem to have forgotten kindness and see it as a weakness. Yet kindness brings life, righteousness and honour. That is pretty rewarding! We all need to think of ways we can show kindness and encourage others to do the same.
24th April 2023
Luke 24:15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.
Have you ever had that experience when you can’t see something and yet it’s right in front of you? We look in the fridge for something and just can’t see it, or the book we left on the side just an hour ago. How about when you look for God but can’t sense his presence? We look for him, and we’re told “he’s right there!” but we just can’t see him for ourselves. When we can’t see God or sense Christ’s presence what should we do? This is the place where some of Jesus’ followers found themselves the Sunday after his crucifixion. The last time they saw Jesus he was dead. They thought He was never coming back. They’re sad and depressed. They’ve heard word that Jesus’ body wasn’t in the tomb and that angels had told them Jesus is alive. They are not sure what to believe and just feel more confusion and darkness. It’s time for them to go home after Passover. These two friends are walking home from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. It’s about 7 miles. They’re talking about the crucifixion and empty tomb, Jesus himself comes up to them and begins to walk alongside them. They don’t recognise Him. God wants them and us to see Jesus in a different way. As the two travellers listen to Jesus, they begin to realise they’ve missed something. Jesus had come to liberate his people, but not as a mighty warrior, but as a sacrificial lamb. Now they and we are ready to see Him for who He really is.
23rd April 2023
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When things are difficult, nothing seems to be going well and we are under pressure we easily forget the basics of life that God loves us, sent His son to save us and commands us to love one another. No matter what else is going on in our lives, we can still love one another. At times, it won’t seem enough and we will want to do more but life is complicated; this world is complicated. And there are many times when we will be tempted to find another answer when the right and best answer is the one we already know that God is love and we must love one another. It is when we are tempted to find another answer that it is important to remember that in all the chaos, confusion, conflict, and unrest swirling around the last days of Jesus time on earth, remember how Jesus responded to all of that. He responded by loving those he was with, in the midst of this awful time He still loved. The lesson is so clear, when in doubt, love another. A simple command, but one that can guide us through whatever confusion and chaos we might experience in this world.
22nd April 2023
Job 2:13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Friendship is one of life’s most wonderful gifts. Today we often talk about making a friend for life. Someone who will always be in your circle, who you can pick up with at any time, even after a long gap. Someone who will have your back, support you, help you no matter what. 30 years ago today Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racially motivated attack in Eltham. I have heard his mum, Doreen Lawrence, speak on many occasions and something she has often commented on was those who sat with her, were just there, support, concern, compassion, empathy in those days and weeks after Stephen’s murder. People who did not comment, judge, ridicule or justify events, but were just there. Making meals for the family, washing up, doing the tasks that a grieving a family could not do. They were true friends who were just there for them. Jobs friends go to comfort him, they see how awful his situation is and they mourn with him, they weep, tear their clothes which was a traditional mourning ritual as well as sprinkling dust upon themselves. They identify with Job and his grief as his friends, but then they sit with him, they don’t comment, they don’t pontificate or offer their opinion, instead they sit with him. It is a phrase used a lot in my calling as a priest, to sit with those in grief, to sit with those who are sick, who are alone, who are hurting and lost. Do not worry about what needs to be said, or saying the wrong thing, but be a friend through bad and good. Sometimes doing practical things to help, stepping in and stepping up when we are needed. After all we are reminded in the Bible that a true friend is like a priceless treasure.
21st April 2023
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.
The story of Mary Magdalene on the first Easter morning is a wonderful one. Here is the first messenger of the gospel, go and tell and she does. Her journey to the tomb was one of despair, pain, hurt and yet she comes in the early morning to be near her Lord, His tomb. The stone is rolled away, no body, where is He? Her first thought is not to remember the teaching on the resurrection, or her brother’s own resurrection, in her sorrow she cannot muster anything but despair. She tells the disciples who come to look and go away again. She left alone in her grief asks who she thinks is a gardener where Jesus body is, in this moment everything changes, He uses her name, no one else speaks it like that, only Jesus. He is there, she holds on, never wanting to let go and His request is to let Him go, go and tell, let them all know what you know. Mary is the first to tell of Jesus resurrection, before the Disciples, she proclaims His rising, she is the first Evangelist. We too, are called, our name is spoken by the risen Christ, only He can speak it in such a way. We are called to go and tell, even if they don’t believe, even if they criticise or try to ruin our reputation, we are called to go and tell, as Mary did.
20th April 2023
Matthew 28:5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said He would.”
The season of Easter lasts 50 days, in that time the liturgy offers many Hallelujahs, Christ is Risen within our worship. It can be hard to hold onto that joy of Easter, quite often we move on very quickly from Joy back to normality. Easter joy can be quite illusive, much as Jesus was after the resurrection, once he was seen and spoken with, he was again gone, let loose to bring life. Easter is the centre of our faith, it is when the chains of death are broken, when we are no longer held prisoner to death and hell. It is the resurrection that should shape us as Christians, that empty tomb, the stone rolled away, the body gone and then the vision of Jesus, the meetings, the discussions, the dynamic has changed for the disciples, and it does for us. We are Easter People, the church gives 50 days for Easter, our whole lives should be Easter, shaped by the resurrection and eternal life. We are Easter People, and we need to live like it, even when it is hard, the hurt comes, the pressures build and life seems a real chore, we are still Easter People and Jesus resurrection makes a difference to every moment of every day. Hallelujah!
19th April 2023
John 20:19b Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!
How quickly Easter goes from our minds and we move on to the next festival. Just one week after the resurrection the Disciples were locked away, unable to function, not living in the resurrection power of Jesus. What about us? The locked places of our lives are always more about what is going on inside of us than around us. What are the closed places of your life? What keeps you in the tomb? Maybe, like the disciples, it is fear. Maybe it is questions, disbelief, or the conditions we place on our faith. Perhaps it is sorrow and loss. Maybe the wounds are so deep it does not seem worth the risk to step outside. For others it may be anger and resentment. Some seem unable or unwilling to open up to new ideas, possibilities, and change. Jesus is always ready to enter the locked places of our lives. Standing among us he offers peace and breathes new life into us. He doesn’t’t open the door for us but he gives us all we need so that we might open our doors to a new life, a new creation, a new way of being. This is happening all the time. Christ stands among his people saying, “Peace be with you,” breathing life into what looks lifeless making a resurrection difference in whatever circumstances we are in.
18th April 2023
Matthew 27:3-4 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realised that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man.”
I have a bit of a soft spot for the underdog. Knowing my own ability to mess up hugely, I sympathise when others do. I have a soft spot for Judas and think the church has treated him unfairly over the years. I am glad to say many now recognise there is more to his story than just condemnation and the remorse Judas showed is exactly what we are called to show when we recognise and admit we are wrong and have caused hurt and distress to others. I fully expect to see Judas in Heaven. Have you ever done something really bad and then regretted it afterwards? We all do it no matter how wonderful and wise we think we are. We need to challenge ourselves and ask ourselves why it is much better to own up than to keep quiet about what we have done. For Judas it was very much about forgiving himself. The judgement of others, the beliefs of leaders and people, traditions, may make us think we are not worthy of forgiveness, but Actually God is very clear that the penitent sinner is forgiven, no one is beyond God’s love. We need to accept God’s incredible love and forgiveness of us and make forgiveness of self a priority.
17th April 2023
Matthew 26:69-70 A servant girl came up to Peter and said,“ You were with Jesus the Galilean.” In front of everybody there, Peter denied it: “I don't know what you’re talking about.”
We all like to think that when push comes to shove we will stand up for what we believe in, we will defend a friend even if we might be put in harm’s way. When Jesus was arrested, then put on trial, it was his closest friends who let him down. Peter is accused of being with Jesus and he quite forcefully denies it, not just once but three times. His Lord, the one he promised to die for, in the face of accusation and fear for his own life he denies Jesus. Have you ever let your friends down? We all do it at some point, it may not be as awful as this, but life is a struggle. Eventually Peter gets to make it right with Jesus, when we let someone down, we need to say sorry and hope we can mend the relationship before it is too late. One of the chief messages and achievements of Easter is it offers us hope. Through Jesus death and resurrection, the hope of forgiveness, of eternal life is given to us. Our part in the story is to admit our wrongdoing, accept our faults and be forgiven by God. Jesus forgave Peter, Jesus forgives us, but we do need to admit our faults and say sorry.
16th April 2023
John 20:19 The Disciples were together; the door was locked and Jesus came among them.
We all have those days when we prefer to just stay in bed, pull the covers over our head, and close out the world. Some days it seems easier and safer to lock the doors of our house and avoid the circumstances and people of our lives. Sometimes we just want to run away, hide, and not deal with the reality of our lives. For some of 2020 and 2021 we had to do just that through Government imposed lockdown. But every time we shut the doors of our life, our mind, or our heart we imprison ourselves. For every person, event, or idea we lock out, regardless of the reason, we lock ourselves in. That’s what happened to the disciples after Jesus Crucifixion. The disciples are gathered in the house, the doors are locked with fear. They are in lockdown. A week later they are in the same place. It is the same house, the same walls, the same closed doors, the same locks. Nothing much has changed. Jesus’ tomb is open and empty but the disciples’ house is closed and the doors locked tight. The house has become their tomb. Jesus is on the loose and the disciples are bound in fear. The disciples have separated themselves and their lives from the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Their doors of faith have been closed. What about us? Where are we living? In the freedom and joy of resurrection or behind locked doors.
15th April 2023
Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
I get quite bashful about my birthday. I don’t make a fuss, I don’t tell people and apart from the family and I don’t expect any recognition. This comes from a place of disappointment. At the special birthdays in my life I have been quite let down. On these special occasions I have had to organise my own parties, cater them, set them up because no one else thought it was important enough. I have organised parties and events for others, for my family and make a fuss of them, but have not seen that myself. As a result, I play it down and hope that if I have no expectation then I won’t have any disappointment. It doesn’t really work. I know so many of us suffer from disappointment, feel let down by those we care for and love but also by organisations, societies, governments, even our religions and sometimes even God. Being let down is a human characteristic, because we are human we are flawed, because we are flawed, we forget, we make errors of judgement, we fail others. With God it is completely different, He is not human, is not flawed and is always in front, behind, next to, over and under us. We are completely surrounded by God’s love and even when we feel forgotten, we are encircled by the arms of God, and He does not forsake us or fail us or disappoint us.
14th April 2023
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
I wonder if you have been accused of something you did not do? In my life I have had it happen a few times, and it has meant the end of friendships and trust. I know someone who is currently being investigated by HMRC for the supposed underpayment of a few pounds tax, so far it has taken nearly a year and caused terrible stress and upset. In comparison to a Chancellor who has underpaid millions and been let off scot-free, or MP’s hiding millions off shore to avoid tax, it is very unfair to have someone having their life turned upside down for literally a few pounds, a common mistake that is made annually by many and by HMRC themselves. Being accused of something when you are not wealthy, when you cannot take on a huge organisation and are left vulnerable is an awful situation and one that is becoming more common in our country. God is not happy with the exploitation of the vulnerable, or the exploitation of the poor by the rich, or those who act illegally and get away with it because of their position or wealth. We are called to be honest and we must be so, unfortunately that does not guarantee we won’t be falsely accused, of course if we are honest the truth will out and we will be exonerated. God is on our side and He will always fight our corner.
13th April 2023
Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
This winter has been the coldest for me that I can remember. The reason being we live in a cold vicarage, single brick skin and with energy costs so high we have not had the heating on very much. Even now as the temperature is going up the vicarage is still cold, colder inside than out now. I feel the cold anyway and so I have spent 6 months being cold, it affects me both physically and mentally, the church is also cold with restricted heating finances. If I am cold, imagine the elderly, the disabled, the one parent families, the homeless who have spent a very cold winter and also faced huge food inflation and trying to look after themselves and families. Meanwhile our MP’s pocket more than our wages or benefits to pay for their heating bills and food bills. They have no reason to change things because they do not suffer the issues. This is the very reason God came to earth, to live as we do, to experience the problems we experience, to live as a normal human without privilege, without wealth, subject to poverty, discrimination, poor housing, lack of food, He understands because He lived as we do. Those who supposedly serve us need to experience things as we do or else nothing will ever change for the better of all.
12th April 2023
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
In the gospels the women came to anoint and bury Jesus and found an empty tomb. They ran to tell the disciples to announce the astounding news. It was a difficult time for everyone. A terrible time. Jesus crucified! The death of all their hopes and dreams, and the shame that they had run away, leaving him to suffer and die alone… except, of course, for his mother and few female friends. And yet in his final agony, Jesus was heard to say from the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” It was to be his final gesture of self-sacrificing love and service to us. A poet once wrote about the two arms of God: the right arm of Justice, and Justice must be served, and the left arm of Mercy, Mercy, that forgives. And when Jesus cries out on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” His Father is left no choice, for His Son has asked for mercy and for forgiveness for us all. In this act Jesus comes to stay. He comes to share his life with ours, not to teach us how to die and leave us, but how to live and love in this often sad and weary world. That is why the Father gives His only Son into our hands, that we might never be alone again, without his loving care. Jesus knows our aches and pains and all our sorrows too, our need to love and to be loved, to reach out and care for one another as he himself has always cared for us.
11th April 2023
Lamentations 3:22&23 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Sometimes we think and feel like God’s promised faithfulness has disappeared. On bad days we wonder where is God’s steadfast love today? Where are His never-ending mercies and yet we know that He is there, time and again He has been there for us and that doesn’t change on a bad day. In the words of the creed, we declare our belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who was crucified, died and was buried and He descended into hell. Holy Saturday is when Christ descends into hell, but on any given day of our life He is there breaking the bonds of death, and setting the captives free, being faithful. Holy Saturday is the day death and Hades trembled in fear and were defeated. At the presence of Christ, the trembling and quaking of Hades became the contractions that brought birth to our new life. The tomb of Holy Saturday became the womb of Easter Sunday. That is the promise hidden deep within every tomb. The promise of our God as Christ defeats death, wins back those in the depths of hell, destroys Satan’s power over death and clears our way to eternal life, knowing we will rise with Jesus as He rises from the tomb taking us with Him.
10th April 2023
Lamentations 3:7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.
Easter is not only a story about Jesus. It is a story about the deaths and losses of our lives. We have all been there. Some still are. On Holy Saturday the church is still empty and barren. There’s not much to say or see on this day. It is mostly a day of silence, sitting, and waiting. That’s how it is on the morning after you receive the news. That’s how it is the morning after you see the body. That’s how it is the morning after the burial. Every Good Friday is followed by a Holy Saturday. You wake up and realise that last night’s nightmare wasn’t just a bad dream. It is the reality and truth of today’s life. We are walled in and cannot escape. We are bound in chains. We call and cry for help but it seems our prayer is shut out. We are homeless. There is nothing but the tomb. We sit and wait in the hell of our life. So where is God? The only place He could be; in hell, with you and with me. That’s where the Lord’s steadfast love is on Holy Saturday. That’s where his never-ending mercies are today. That’s where the Lord’s great faithfulness is on the morning after. Holy Saturday is when Christ descends into the hell of our life, breaking the bonds of death, and setting the captives free. Holy Saturday is the day death and Hades’ tremble in fear, and regret ever having tried to take captive the author and creator of life.
9th April 2023 Easter Sunday
John 20:17 But go find my disciples and tell them, ‘I am risen and am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’
Easter is about love, about hope, about new life. Easter Eggs come from the new life aspect of faith, Jesus emerging from the tomb. Chocolate from the treats now eaten after abstinence during Lent. For Christians Easter is the key to their salvation. Easter became a major festival far earlier than Christmas. What is Easter about for you? A holiday, a chocolate feast, time for shopping, time for sleeping, some good TV? Does it even cross your radar? Our country revolves much of its holiday practices around Christian festivals. Many have tried to call them something different. For some this is the spring break and Easter eggs are just a different form of chocolate treat. For those who have a Christian faith we will have commemorated Palm Sunday and Jesus popularity, we then walk through Holy Week, Jesus arrest and crucifixion on Good Friday or God Friday, arriving at Easter Sunday and the celebration of His resurrection, His defeat of death. Whatever your religious outlook, this festival is important to millions and is a key celebration. May I encourage you to think a little deeper about where the traditions and ideas come from, why we have this holiday and deepen your respect for those who this is a key celebration of faith. Have a wonderful Easter, and enjoy the wonders that Easter offers you.
8th April 2023
John13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
There is always a lot going on in Holy Week, and a major part of it is having our sins forgiven. We hear the account of the Passover, the institution of the Lord’s Supper or Communion. We strip the altar bear, we get ready for the Stations of the Cross, reflecting on the cross and crucifixion, paying homage to our Lord’s cross, we reflect on the wilderness of Holy Saturday until we will gather on Sunday morning to celebrate the greatest miracle of them all. Resurrection. There is a lot going on and it would be easy to get distracted from what is at the heart of it all. LOVE, God’s love for us, which Jesus embodies. God’s freely given grace to us and our Lord’s commandment to share that love and grace with one another. If you want a picture of that love, an example of what it might look like, then picture the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, down on his hands and knees, washing feet, then sweating blood as he was praying in the garden, then being beaten, tortured, falsely accused and finally crucified so that we can find our way back to God again.
7th April 2023
John 13:4 Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
There was a lot going on that Passover night, it was not the tranquil, holy scene that we often see pictured on those famous paintings of the Last Supper. And it makes what Jesus did that night all the more remarkable. During supper, knowing all that was to come, Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet. That simple act was Jesus’ response to all the chaos and confusion and conflict swirling around him; all the danger, all the suffering that he knew was coming. The betrayal by Judas. The denial by Peter. The crowds shouting for him to be crucified. The religious and political leaders deriding him right up to his death. All of that was coming, and Jesus knew it. And his response to all of that was the simplest, most humble, least practical, most ordinary act of love and kindness that you could possibly imagine. And he did it, he says, to teach his disciples, and to teach us, what is more important than anything else in the world. He did it to teach us that at the end of the day, what really matters in this chaotic, crazy life is love. To love each other as Jesus loved us is all that really matters.
6th April 2023
JOHN 13:1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
On the first Maundy Thursday in the upper room, in the garden, on trial, and into Good Friday and the cross, we find out what it means for Jesus to love them and us to the end. Think about what it would have been like to be in the upper room with Jesus on that first Maundy Thursday. Jesus had entered Jerusalem in triumph, but then driven the moneychangers out of the Temple, and angered the chief priests and religious leaders in that holy city. They are looking for a way to kill Jesus. He knows it, and his disciples know it. They may have found a safe haven in that upper room, but there is no safety outside those four walls. In fact, Jesus is now preparing his disciples for his death, and even telling them that one of his disciples, Judas, would betray him. Just hours before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus has gathered his disciples together in this room. If we were there with him, we might wonder why. Why has he gathered us here? Is it to hide from danger? Is it to plan the next move? And what is the next move? Within 24 hours Jesus will have been crucified and these disciples completely lost. Surely this can’t be the end! As we move through the next few days we go from the lowest to the highest point and at times we too, will be lost, but we will find our way again as God’s plan comes to fruition in Jesus.
5th April 2023
John 20:15b&16 “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said.
Holy week is a time of reflection, a time to remember and observe various holy events. To remember Judas and his betrayal, Peter and his betrayal and how easy it is to be turned from the path we were adamant we would take no matter what. The only one who has not turned from His path is Jesus, through many engagements, knowledge of his future suffering, agony in the garden, betrayal, pain and suffering He still keeps going. Determined to do God’s will and so make the future right for all. When the cross comes, he is taunted, falsely accused, tortured and dies a traitor’s death. The promise has always been a resurrection and it comes on the Sunday. A grieving friend is looking for Him, in a tomb, but the body is gone. Does she dare hope in the resurrection or is it a cruel joke. Her Lord uses her name, and she realises it is Him. He is risen. That defeat of death opens the door to the resurrection and eternal life promised by God to His people all through their history. He calls her by name, just as He does each of us. As we walk through Holy week may we hear Jesus call our name and know His resurrection promise.
4th April 2023
John 3:17 God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, by Him, should be saved.
The Easter Story is about Grace. Grace is something which is freely given but totally undeserved. Humans are totally undeserving of God’s love but yet it is freely given. Our behaviour, our wrongdoing, our cruelty deserves punishment but God chooses to take that punishment on himself through His own Son Jesus. Wrongdoing, Evil, has to be punished by death, death must be defeated for humans to be put right with God. I love CS Lewis, a man with an enormous brain, an Oxford and Cambridge lecturer, who manages to explain God’s plan through Children’s books. In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the children, Edmund, succumbs to the evil lies of the White Witch, as a result he has to be punished by death; for him to be saved, someone else must freely die in his place. Aslan, the Lion, offers himself and is sacrificed and the White Witch now thinks she has won and can rule, her evil unhindered. Aslan rises from death and explains to the children about the deeper magic, that is that when someone without sin or wrongdoing offers themself freely in the place of another then death works backwards, is defeated, the price is paid. Our price is paid was paid in Jesus. His freely given offering of Himself defeats death and pays the price for all. This is grace!! We do not deserve what Christ has done but he has done it anyway, out of love. That is grace. Easter is grace for us, forgiveness, freedom from guilt. We do not deserve it but we are freely given it.
3rd April 2023
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
We are currently in Ramadan also in Lent and Holy Week, Passover and Easter this week. For all of us who have a religious faith it is part of our life, one does not happen without the other. Be it the daily prayers we partake in, or the special foods we eat or the fasting, the festivals we celebrate and how our faith is reflected in the way we live, how we treat others, the respect we show, the compassion and care we reflect. Life and faith sit in balance with each other. St Paul tells us faith is what we hope for rather than what we actually see. In other words, faith means a risk. Believing that God will provide as we need, will sort out the issues, will care for us in each situation, will provide the path, but having to step out in faith, in hope and often having to wait for the outcome of that step of faith. Within the Indiana Jones Last Crusade film, where they are seeking the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, they meet various challenges, one is the leap or step of faith. There is a huge chasm with apparently no way across, you step out and is there a bridge or will you just fall. Indiana Jones being a practical fellow throws some dust and sure enough there is a bridge, a safe crossing point. Do you argue that faith provided the bridge or that it was there all along and faith provided the way to see it. Either way faith was that something that prompted the action. The path is there, we need the faith to step out. Life and faith are intertwined. Faith asks for loyalty, and a belief and trust in God to stand by us at all times as we play our part. All of this allows us to separate our life from the selfish, unjust, uncompassionate world order that supports only the rich and powerful and seeks the better way for everyone. Through faith and by faith the heroes and heroines of our religions lived their lives, some we read their wonderful stories passed down over centuries, but most, like us, our stories will never be told and yet we are still those who live by faith, who pass on the baton to those who come after us, who work within our faith to change the world, to change people’s lives for the better.
2nd April 2023
Matthew 21:5 “Say to Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
In a few weeks King Charles will have his coronation and people will line the streets cheering and clapping and waving flags. Imagine you are going to have a visit from the new King. How would you react? Your neighbours, your street? There will be crowds that are lining the streets as he passes by, waving flags, making noise, and shouting. As the parade moves on down the street, the sound of the band playing and people shouting fades away in the distance. It is over. The celebration is over. That was very much like a scene that took place in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. King Jesus was coming to their city. People lined the streets. Some people walked in front of the king and some walked behind him, this King rode on the back of a small donkey. As he rode through the streets of the city, the crowds picked up anything they could find, branches from the trees, from the deliveries, from the market stalls; They waved palm branches, they shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!” They shouted, “Hosanna in the highest heaven!" Today is Palm Sunday. Today we celebrate the entry of King Jesus into Jerusalem. It was a day that marked the beginning of an incredible week. A week that would see Jesus cheered, then arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified. But as that week came to an end, another week began just as the previous week had begun...with a celebration.
1st April 2023
Matthew 15:27 She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’
In all societies there are groups of people who do not get on. The are cultures and religions that speak against each other and those who are condemned by others. The Jews and Gentiles were complete opposites. In the early church they disagreed on so much. Paul was clear that even the gentiles who did not know God, even they do know good from evil. Jesus’ mission is to seek the lost sheep of Israel, to bring the Jews back on track, to allow both Jew and Gentile to find their place in God’s kingdom and have Jesus as saviour. Jesus is for everyone, no matter their background, but there is an initial priority for God’s chosen people. It is actually a gentile woman, supposedly without faith, who actually shows more faith than the Jews who are God’s chosen ones. Jesus commission to His disciples was to go and make disciples of all nations, all people’s, cultures, genders, skin colours and so on. Being a Christian is not about being possessive of what we have for ourselves, but to be open in offering everything God offers us to others, no matter their background.
31st March 2023
Matthew 22:34 The Pharisees learned that Jesus had made the Sadducees look so foolish that they stopped trying to argue with him.
As Lent moves swiftly towards Easter we arrive at Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the week before Easter. Jesus’ persecutors finally moved into capture, torture and crucify Him. From being Son of David and hero, within a week it is crucify Him and zero! When you want to discredit someone, even the most gentle, caring healer, you twist and turn the outcomes of the good until your drip, drip of negativity fuels the fires of the fascist few who will act. Our own government manages to be exposed as liars, cheats, charlatans but with the complicit media is able to turn the fury onto the minority of innocent people rather than on themselves. Whilst pocketing huge amounts of money they scorn the poor and needy, they punish the ordinary people taking more and more away while giving themselves better tax breaks and loop holes, second jobs, huge expenses, subsidised food and drink, all which takes much needed money from the common public purse which should benefit all, not just the rich. Governments govern with our permission, our support, therefore if we do nothing then the fraud and dishonesty increases. Jesus was never prepared to just do nothing. He made a stand, He stood up for the poor, the needy, the migrant, the ordinary people, and He changed the world. What about us? Are we prepared to make a stand or just let it continue and be complicit.
30th March 2023
Luke 11:18a If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
When something does not go our way or does not fit our narrative, we will look for an excuse. Jesus was accused of being from the Devil because He did not fit the narrative of the spiritual leaders of the time. Jesus is realistic about the devil who has enough trouble winning against God so pretending to be good, doing good for people to bring them down is not his style. We cannot be half one thing and half another. We are either for God, believing, acting and working for good or we are not. If we are not for God, we’re against Him. Once we allow the Devil in, however small that might be, it gets bigger. The small lie soon grows, the small borrow and never return happens more frequently. The more we believe we are right, the more we believe others are wrong and the less compassion and love we have, the more dictatorial and possessive we become. Blessed are those who hear God’s word and keep it, not keep it sometimes, not keep it for a few moments, but keep God’s truth and honesty to the best of our ability every day, and do that in His strength. We all make mistakes, but as long as we try our best before God that is all He requires of us.
29th March 2023
Ephesians 1:22-23 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over the church, which is his body.
Did you know that going to church is good for you? It is also good for our children. Research shows that people who regularly attend church report stronger social support networks, they lead healthier and even longer lives. They find a better sense of self value and connect better with family and friends. Gratitude and forgiveness also feature highly in the benefits of going to church. In a very real and physical way, Church is literally good for your physical, spiritual and mental health. Going to church helps people live, it helps our sense of belonging and our sense of wellbeing. It allows us to express our feelings and emotions in a safe space. God’s intention from the beginning was that we should live in community, in relationship with one another and with Him. The word church means an assembly of people, people who come together, to be together, to share together. As we come together with God in church as the body of Christ, we grow stronger together.
28th March 2023
Matthew 4:1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil.
Life’s experiences will always range between the mountain top and the valley, often finding ourselves in desert places of difficult and barren times. Deserts are cold at night, incredibly hot in the day, harsh, sandy, constantly changing with high winds. In Bible times desert areas were not far from the towns and were places to be alone, to seek quiet and contemplation. Jesus goes into the desert after His baptism, to prepare for His ministry, to have time away. Here he is tempted and challenged. Early desert fathers and mothers copied this and lived in the desert as hermits, contemplating, developing wisdom and people went to them for advice and sat with them as they communed with God. Priests are sent away before their ordination to prepare, clergy are required to take regular retreats where they are quiet, contemplate, pray, reflect, spend time with God without the pressures of the world. Lent offers us a time to set ourselves apart, to pray more, read the Bible more, be with God and let Him challenge us, work in us and bless us. The devil will challenge us as he did Jesus, he will try to take this time from us, busy us, interrupt us but we must stand strong in God, remind ourselves of God’s provision and love for us, take time with God and grow in Him.
27th March 2023
John 6:5 Jesus looked up and saw a crowd of people coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough bread for all these people to eat?”
Food inflation has gone up again, now 18%, people cutting their shopping, getting so much less for our money, more basic ranges being offered but sell out so quickly. Our school children are hungry, £3 is all you are entitled to for a free meal and that gets about three pasta twists, some sauce, a lettuce leaf and an apple. Reforms have failed, government have cut funding, Food bank usage has increased massively but donations have dropped. Many who gave generously are now having to turn to them for help just to survive. Jesus has 5000 in need of food. How do you feed them? Five loaves and two fish are offered. Is this a catalyst to everyone sharing or is it a miraculous multiplication of food? Foodbanks are a manifestation of the sharing idea, those with more share with those who have less, of course many never share conserving all they have and increasing their own wealth. This story and others, shows that giving out of our lot means the lot of everyone is made better. Many other stories show that greed, selfishness, conserving assets for yourself only serves to weaken and destroy the lot of everyone. We may be okay, but many others are not and we must not be taken in by those who call the poor undeserving and their own problem. God does not see it that way and neither should we. All are precious, all are deserving and all should have enough to eat.
26th March 2023
John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.
In John’s Gospel the stories are a continuing revelation of who Jesus is. Part of what He does is challenge the norm, the status quo. He questions why some are rejected, ignored, blamed because they are different and why people will often follow leaders without question. We can so easily be those who reject people because they are not like us and do things differently. We do not want people to disrupt our normality. We look for someone to blame and being different makes blame easier. Blaming the migrant, the disabled, the young, the old, the poor, anyone but the rich and powerful who encourage us to blame everyone else but them. Jesus teaches us that we must offer love, care, concern, empathy, and understanding even though we find it hard. God calls us to challenge the norm. God calls us not to accept what society tells us to do or say without question. Leaders do not always get it right and will often act out of selfishness and gain. Being a leader is a huge responsibility fraught with trips and dangerous rewards so we are called to challenge through our honesty, our truth, our fairness and our sense of justice and righteousness given to us by God.
25th March 2023
John 8:6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.
Have you noticed how any politician answers instantaneously, without thought. They have set answers ready and even if they do not answer the actual question they fire out the point they want to make and just keep repeating it. Any question that is asked needs a proper reply and an actual answer. We all have time and we all need to take time. In the world 2 countries stand out as being able to sit with silence, to think before they act or speak, they are Japan and Finland. Notably the 2 worst countries at taking time, at sitting with silence are the USA and the UK. The need to fill the silence, to talk incessantly, to reply whether relevant or not, is, it seems, how we think life should be lived. Jesus was prepared to take time, even when others were pressuring Him, time to think about His answers before giving them, to actually answer the question asked. This is the example we need to follow. Do not let ourselves be rushed into a reply, do not rush others into a reply, listen to a question fully and then answer the question. It is far better to give a truthful, honest and relevant answer than to just fill the silence with hot air.
24th March 2023
John 4:7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’.
Have you noticed how direct Jesus is with people. Even people who others would avoid, not engage with or just ignore. Jesus jumps straight in. Jesus, a Jew asks a Samaritan for something and she is a woman, all the usual social norms are challenged. Jesus doesn’t make polite conversation but digs in and goes deeper. Jesus doesn’t play games. Doesn’t get side tracked. He knows, the Samaritan woman can’t hide. So, she begins to open up, but there are still issues; as a Jew, Jesus is part of a nation that despises and rejects her people, who will not accept any other way of doing things. When we talk to people do we just make polite conversation or look for what lies behind, what is really at the heart of someone’s need. We need to look deeper and ask what can we really do to help? Jesus offers more than just actual water. He offers a complete change of life and her reply is that He cannot be serious, can he? Who does He think He is, greater than our ancestor Jacob? There is something about this man, His honesty and directness, it brings people in. When we are honest, direct and look beyond the front, we too bring people in.
23rd March 2023
Exodus 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’
The Israelites, in Exodus, had been rescued from the Egyptians and slavery by God but they had constantly turned against Him and were still wandering in the desert. They had hardened their hearts against the very God who had constantly cared for them and not let them down, but time after time they moaned and groaned and put that relationship with God at risk. It is a constant story throughout the Old Testament. Our way rather than God’s way, we know better than God. It was not just the Israelites who thought like this but everyone through history and us as well. We honestly think we know better than God and when we constantly end up in a mess of our own making, who is still there to pick us up and care for us? God is! God kept fighting for His people even when they turned away, God keeps fighting for us even when we keep turning away. No matter how often we turn away God will always be there if we call to Him.
22nd March 2023
James 1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Do you like to talk? Perhaps you are someone who likes to talk about themselves constantly. There is a story of 2 Americans on a flight from east coast to west coast. One a very rich Texan who loved climbing mountains talked incessantly throughout the flight. He talked of his adventures, the views he had seen, the equipment he had, he talked and talked. The other man politely listened. As they arrived the Texan getting ready to get off said, oh by the way I forgot to ask your name. The man who had sat and listened for hours said Hi, I am Neil Armstrong. The first man to walk on the moon, did not big himself up, did not butt in, but listened. Yet had the Texan been willing to listen for just a moment he would have heard about going to the moon. It is so easy to get caught up in ourselves that we lose sight of others, their accomplishments, their contributions to our world. Every human has a part to play, for some it will be far more impressive than others, but all are needed to make our world work. Sometimes we need to just listen to others and maybe discover a treasure that we would otherwise have missed with all our talking.
21st March 2023
John 4:14b The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.
The huge growth in bottled and filtered water reminds us that water is not only necessary for life but is also a money spinner. So, when the Bible talks of life giving water, who wouldn’t want it? yes please, whether it be the resentful Israelites struggling with thirst in the desert in Exodus 17 or the Samaritan woman at the Well whose need is not actually physical but spiritual, or ourselves. It is Jesus asking for a drink, who starts the conversation, and finds a way in. She is a Samaritan and Jesus is trying to make clear that His living water, His mission, is for Jews and Samaritans, in fact it is for everyone who wants it. Even in the Samaritan woman’s vagueness Jesus sees clearly what she needs. Even in our vagueness God sees clearly what we need, what we are struggling to communicate. As Jesus talks to her, He reveals His knowledge of her and her dry life, she realises her need, and becomes a witness to Jesus, a messenger of His love, of His life giving water and she brings the people to Him.
20th March 2023
Proverbs 31:26-27 A mother opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the ways of her household, and is never idle.
Growing up with 2 sons we lived superhero’s, had the action figures, watched the films and built the Lego. Who are your favourite superhero’s? What attracts you to them? Webster's dictionary says they are exceptionally skilful or successful people often with superhuman powers. Superhero’s have certain things in common; they help people, they have special powers and skills, they are normal people with normal lives, they are available all the time and they stand up for good, right, justice and fairness. Jesus was a superhero, healing people, helping people, standing up for people against injustice and wrongdoing. His mum Mary was also a superhero, sticking by her son, dealing with him being persecuted, wrongly punished and watching Him die on the cross. All Mum’s are superhero’s, they juggle family, work, washing, cooking, cleaning, packed lunches, school runs, nursing, games, singing, smiling, sadness, joy, illness, they do it all. We are who we are because of our mums. Even when we shout at her, slam doors in her face, blame her, tell her we hate her, stay out to worry her, she still loves us. Our mum’s are superhero’s because they stick with us through thick and thin. Let’s try to appreciate them more every day and to thank all the women in our lives who have made a difference, cared for us, loved us, supported us and to thank God for them.
19th March 2023
John 19:27 Jesus said to the disciple “Here is your mother” and from that hour the disciple took Mary into his own home.
I am very aware that the plight of women in Afghanistan is just getting worse. Female doctors are not allowed to practice now but are also disappearing. They are seen as a threat because they are women who are educated and the men in this very patriarchal society will not allow this because their patriarchy is challenged. As we celebrate Mothering Sunday we need to be very appreciative of all women, our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, daughters, neighbours and friends. We are all children of someone even if we do not have children ourselves. We all like to be seen and heard and appreciated for who we are. The sad truth is that women and Mum’s are often not seen, it is far too easy, even in our supposedly modern society, to become invisible and taken for granted as a mum and as a woman. We need to be reminded that God sees you and I and all women, created equal. God values you and I and all women, as much as any other person. We also need to be reminded that God sees us all and when we disrespect women, mums, girls, God is not happy with us and would challenge that behaviour within us to change. Today, Mothering Sunday, allows us to show our Mums and all the amazing women and girls in our lives just how special they are and how much we appreciate them.
18th March 2023
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Yesterday was St Patrick’s Day. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland; this Saints day has been observed for over a thousand years. It is always in the season of Lent and has been the opportunity to take a day out from the austerity of Lent to celebrate, to dance and feast. Patrick was born in the late 4th century in Roman Britain. As a young boy he was kidnapped by Irish Pirates and taken into slavery where he grew up for the next 6 years. He managed to escape and find his way home and in the time as a slave and then as he returned home he found a growing faith in God. In his difficulties and troubles, he met with people who were calm, taking life a day at a time, a step at a time and seeking God’s wisdom and help. He was so impressed that he became a Christian and dedicated his life to serving God. Back in England he trained to become a priest and felt that his calling was to return to Ireland and work with the people he had met and those who had kidnapped him. The stories about Patrick show his true and honest nature. They also show his awareness of his surroundings and situations. His living day by day. His mindful nature. He learned and taught a lot about not worrying about tomorrow or next week or next year but accepting life as it is and living it well. It was not about storing up wealth on earth but in Heaven. Allowing God to use him to care for others, to show others love and compassion. The treasures of heaven are not wealth, gold, position or power, the treasures of heaven, of God, are people. Patrick realised this and spent his life being mindful of others.
17th March 2023
Psalm 1:3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Throughout the book of Psalms there is an emphasis on the joy and peace that comes from meditating on the Law. By the Law they do not mean rules and regulations but a much wider broader category. At its heart are the 10 commandments but also the context in which they were given, the theological history of Israel in the Pentateuch; the first 5 books of the Bible; and the rabbinical commentary and debate on these books and the developing traditions of Israel. It is this, God’s action, His story, the argument, the debate, God’s revelation to us, it is this that the Psalmist tells us to meditate on, ponder, think about and to sink our roots into and be nourished by. The soil is the place where the tree roots are nourished, move, grow, develop, and secure the tree. The Bible is our soil, the law, the history, the revelation is all in there and this is where we need to be securely rooted. These secure roots hold us in place when the storms come. The Psalms speak of difficult times that come to all of us. Our rootedness in God’s word gives us resilience. Roots are not just anchors of stability but living, growing things on a continuous journey to find nourishment. They follow the path that is best for them, where they will find water and nourishment.
16th March 2023
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.
I love the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I wonder if you have read it. It is very much a family favourite with young ones. The story is about a tiny egg on a leaf which hatches into a caterpillar on a Sunday morning, He eats and eats and eats, but is still hungry. The next Sunday he built a small house called a cocoon and stayed in there for more than two weeks. He nibbled a hole in the cocoon and pushed his way out. He was not a caterpillar anymore; he was now a beautiful butterfly. In John 3 we meet Nicodemus who came to Jesus late one night, because he was hungry. Unlike the caterpillar Nicodemus wasn't looking for a late-night snack; Nicodemus was hungry for spiritual food. He was hungry for the truth about the kingdom of God. He came to Jesus because he had questions and he knew that Jesus would have the answers. Nicodemus reminds me of the very hungry caterpillar. Jesus tells him we need to be born again, that means when the Spirit of God enters our heart and gives birth to a new spiritual life. This is life as a Christian with Jesus and that’s what it means to be born again. When the caterpillar came out of his cocoon, he was a new creation. A butterfly! That's the way it is when we are born again and let Jesus come into our hearts. He makes us a new creation! We are born again.
15th March 2023
Acts 17:26 From one human he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights says “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Every human is entitled to basic rights as a human regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, politics, opinion, origin, birth, property or any other status. Shamefully inequality is spreading across the world, expanding poverty, discrimination, division, intolerance and hate. Even climate change, pollution and loss of nature is a violation of all our basic rights because it changes the world order and impacts the most vulnerable, most of all. Abhorrent abuse against women and children, forced labour, trafficking, modern slavery, poverty, hunger, hate crime, imprisonment, torture and death, physical, mental and verbal abuse, all because someone is disabled, a child, transgender, LGBTQ+, female, a migrant, from a certain descent or culture, from a certain religion, of a certain colour of skin. The very sad fact is that we treat our pets better than we do the most vulnerable in society. Every human is created by God, all equal, all human and each one is of equal value and treasured by Him. No one is more or less worthy, no one has more or less rights than another. We need to respect differences and to understand that all are human and all are equal before God and thus treat each other well.
14th March 2023
John 4:27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman.
How do you feel when someone interrupts your conversation with someone else? I see it a lot in church, someone will interrupt others to speak to me, they think their cause is more important. It is not and we all need to be more patient with each other. Often the disciples interrupt Jesus conversations to try and force Him to follow usual rules or to triage people into levels of importance. Jesus has none of it. Anyone who needs Him will be seen and helped. Any meeting with Jesus is a meeting at the right time, God’s time, and is life changing and life giving. Jesus died for everyone. Everyone needs to meet Jesus and we are the way that happens. We are the introduction not the triage. Our conversations, our challenges to the norm. Our caring for society. These are catalysts for transformation, for change. The kind words, the simple deeds, the friendship and neighbourly behaviour, the challenge to injustice and unfairness, our being open and honest…..this is what changes people, what shares faith and brings people to God. We need to be relevant, challenging, and honest, just like Jesus was, so that every meeting will be a meeting in God’s time, in God’s way.
13th March 2023
Matthew 7:12 Treat all people the same way you would want them to treat you.
The Golden rule is an ethical principle of treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves. It exists in every religion in forms of wishing the best for the other, not doing or wishing harm on anyone, treating the other with respect. Even for those of no faith it is part of democracy, of mutual respect and basic human kindness. It is a reminder that our words and actions are capable of inflicting harm and immorality on our fellow humans. Within Christianity it ties into the Jewish law and the prophets which teach that if something would cause you harm then you do not do that to anyone else. It sits within the whole realm of relationships, how we relate to and interact with each other and ultimately with God our creator. From God comes the virtue of kindness which we should reflect to each other. God put himself into our place through Jesus and acted accordingly and so we put ourselves in the place of the other and act accordingly. A good test is to ask ourselves; how would we feel if it was us? Jesus put himself into our shoes, walked with us, gave himself for us, may we put ourselves into the shoes of others and walk with them, treating them with dignity, respect, kindness just as we would want others to do for us.
12th March 2023
Exodus 2:19 They said, ‘An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.’
Places of meeting were very important in the past, before the times of community halls, villages had places of meeting for everyone to come together and before we had running water in houses, there were wells and places where families had to go for water. There are still many of these places in our world where this is still happening and children die from dirty water because there are no proper fresh wells. In the Old Testament encountering someone at a well is very scriptural, Abraham’s servant meeting Rebekah at the well and introducing her to Isaac. In Genesis 24. Jacob meeting Rachel at the well in Genesis 29 and Moses meeting his wife at the well in Exodus 2. Wells are a source of life-giving water. We can survive far longer without food than water. Water refreshes, energises, gives life, it washes clean. Life as we know it cannot exist without water. Water is an image used in the Bible for life, an image of a God who provides for those who thirst with the literal water of life but also the spiritual water of life in Jesus. The need to be fed and watered is necessary for human life but also for heavenly life. God offers that life giving water to us.
11th March 2023
John 1:23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
When I talk about something I find that if I make a good point I can be dismissed as not really knowing what I am talking about. This old way, often used in politics, or by men with women, is to try to make the other person look stupid by attacking them, not actually making or justifying their actual argument. In Jesus time anyone who spoke up did need to justify who they were, the Pharisee’s would ask who they were to question or challenge them. They would ask if they were Elijah or a prophet. When John comes along challenging these leaders, their religious practice and preaching hellfire and brimstone, they are wanting to discredit him as quickly as they can. They ask who he is and the reply is from the prophet Isaiah, one calling in the wilderness, preparing the way, baptising, pointing toward the Messiah and to Jesus and pointing out that neither he or they are worthy. John knows his role; He knows who Jesus is. Do we know who Jesus really is? Do we know our role in pointing others to Jesus? Others will try to discredit us but we need to be secure in Knowing God and knowing exactly who Jesus.
10th March 2023
Matthew 11: 4 “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Has anyone ever asked you If you are the one they are expecting? I have often introduced myself as the vicar from the local church when I knock on a door for a visit. They don’t necessarily know me but I do hope the dog collar is a clue and that they are expecting me. John the Baptist is Jesus’ cousin, he has been pointing the way to Jesus, he baptised Jesus, he had seen and heard the miracles, heard the voice of God, preached his hellfire sermons in the desert and then ended up in prison. From this awful place he begins to question who Jesus is. John asks are you the one? Are you the answer to my prayers? Because right now from where he is sitting in a prison cell Jesus is not quite what he was expecting. Jesus warns us about our expectations, we have an idea about who Jesus or God should be. Like john we need reminding about those things we do actually know about God and His love for us, instead of our often unrealistic and unfounded expectations. We have our parts to play in the story of the gospel, just like John did, and we need to see God at work in each other and rely on what we know of God, not what we expect.
9th March 2023
Proverbs 24:27 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
As I left for school yesterday (Wednesday) morning, there big flakes of snow falling fast, much of the ground and parked vehicles had a good dollop of snow already deposited on them. The main roads were okay, slushy, wet and if we were sensible, they were safe. By the time I reached school the flakes became sleet and less frequent. The school grounds were well covered and the school road was difficult. School opened but later than usual. A few hours later I was on a train, by now the sleet was rain and little snow was even visible but the trains were a mess, messages about disruption and travellers leaving earlier. All this snow had been predicted, they were virtually spot on with the time of the snow and then the rain and yet some travel was just not ready for it. Roads had not been gritted, train tracks not cleared and gritted, disruption everywhere even though we knew it was coming. As humans we are very good at not taking notice of warnings, of not being prepared, of thinking we know better. Time and again God warned, God gave not just hints but clear prophecies, clear happenings, and clear outcomes, yet humans decided we knew better. Jesus came, fulfilled the prophecies, performed miracles, gave the teaching but humans knew better and we still think we do. If we can put aside the pride, be willing to listen and learn, see Jesus for who He is then we will always be prepared for whatever come our way.
8th March 2023
Matthew 17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
Sometimes we wonder what the purpose of things are. Why did that happen? Why does that make me feel like that? We may ask the same questions about Bible stories and events in Jesus’ life. The purpose of the transfiguration story for the disciples and us is that Jesus is seen in a more heavenly form, the disciples who were present could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus actually was. This dramatic change in appearance allows the disciples to behold Him in His true glory. They had only known Him in His human body, now they had a greater understanding of the deity of Christ, though they could not fully comprehend it. This offers them reassurance of exactly who He is after hearing the news of His coming death. Sometimes we need to see exactly who God is so we can keep going through the difficulties and troubles of this world.
7th March 2023
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
I have recently been trying to locate an old bank account. The bank was bought out and accounts transferred but somewhere along the way the details of the new account did not get to me. I am using a verified Bank account finder that our banks have to provide to the public. I have been asked all sorts of questions and as I commented, if I knew all the things you are asking me then my account would not actually be lost. Part of the issue is that when accounts are taken over we rely on the banks communicating with us but the communication can be lost in old addresses, changed names, a different way of access to before, no more statements or cheque books, a lack of effort on their part and ours. It is all so easy in our busy lives. The key is recognising that the account is lost, realising we need to find it. The key in life is recognising we are lost, that God has found us and is their waiting but we must seek Him. Whatever our change of address, name, age etc, He is right there but we can only see Him, meet Him when we recognise we are lost and allow Him to find us.
6th March 2023
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
God is perfect and just and good, but we humans are not. My life, your life is full of flaws; we make mistakes every day; we don’t live as God wants us to. And it’s not just our personal life; the world is full of injustice, things that aren’t right. People are taken advantage of; the poor don’t have enough to eat; the rich get richer and people suffer. Challenging these things, that is God’s righteousness. Seeking to grow more and more like Jesus in the way we live, and doing all we can to make the world a more just, a more righteous place, that is God’s righteousness that we need to seek. That’s the choice. Live for ourselves or live for God and his righteousness. We make that choice every time we pray the Lord’s prayer. We ask God to give us what we need for each day. We ask Him to look after our basic needs as we seek to manifest His kingdom on earth. In the current cost of living crisis and increasing ethical divide, either we can live for nothing other than our own survival; or we can ask the question, what kind of lifestyle most honours God, seeks His righteousness and then go after that.
5th March 2023
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
We all have days when we want to give up. I will often say out loud just stop the world I want to get off. Yet I usually manage to keep going, most of us do. When we feel like giving up, we might need reminding that God loves us and wants each one of us to live life to the full! God's plan for each of us is to bless us and not to harm us. If we're struggling in life, we need to carry on, not give up, there are better things to come! There are often things that demand our time and attention that we actually should leave behind; bad habits, unhealthy relationships, jobs that challenge our faith and practice. We must keep fighting for what is good and right, for justice and peace. We need to allow God to strengthen us to fight for our relationships, to fight for our children, fight for our health and don't give up! Be assured we are not alone and we are in the protective and strengthening hands of God. He will provide us with strength when we need it. He will renew our strength as we need it and we must not give up.
4th March 2023
Matthew 17:4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
We do like to keep good experiences and feelings in our lives. Take a picture, build a cairn, leave a mark, it makes us feel better. At this momentous occasion of seeing Jesus changed on the Mountain top Peter wants to put up shelters as a sign of God’s presence. Peter did not want to move on, he was expressing a wish to stay in that Holy place. Something we all like to do. Let’s put God in a box in this special place and keep things as they are. We desire to live off a special experience and lose sight of the reality before us which needs us to be Christians in the real world. The mountain top experience is over. What goes up must come down. God will bless us in these wonderful places but then we must return to normal life and use His blessing to make us better Christians in the real world. As we move further into Lent, we will be tempted to stay in those holy, mountain top places rather than join Jesus in His walk to Jerusalem and the cross.
3rd March 2023
Deuteronomy 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
These words come from the Shema, part of a daily Jewish prayer that speaks of remembering and teaching young people the right way to live. Within Judaism faith is passed on in families through the traditions being lived on a daily basis. During the Holocaust the millions of murdered Jews continued praying, observing the festivals in concentration and death camps even facing punishment and death. The persecution of a group of people because of what they believe or where the come from, the colour of skin or their accent is completely unacceptable and yet we see it daily in the UK. The inflammatory language around refugees and those escaping war and intolerance only to arrive here and be treated so appallingly. Ordinary people who can be turned to fascist beliefs by stoked newspaper reports and right-wing MP’s who curry favour with those who they do not properly represent but encourage them to see the other as the threat not the undemocratic ways of their government. We can make decisions to challenge hatred and prejudice or sit by and do nothing. We can speak out against religious, racial and identity-based persecution or just want a quiet life. We have a choice but if we don’t act we will lose our choice, if we allow others to lose their freedoms we will lose ours and there will be no one left to speak out for us. We are called to justice and fairness for all.
2nd March 2023
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
For those of you who do not know me I am a rugby fan, I have been a follower of Wales since a child, I played before women’s rugby became a norm and both my sons still play. Following Wales has had its ups and downs, currently we are in a down and people take great delight in telling me about Wales losing or not playing well. In the same way life has its ups and downs, times when we are on top, all is good and we seem to win, but then the times in the doldrums, when we seem to lose and everyone takes great delight in rubbing our noses in our failures. Christians fail, we get it wrong, we suffer at the hands of others and circumstances and people sure love to tell us when we fail. God though, sticks with us, supports us, does not rub our noses in it, but simply encourages us to keep faith with him, to let Him support us and find our way back to the right way. A true fan does not give up on their team, even when they are unsuccessful, God never gives up on us, whatever the circumstance, whatever the situation and whatever anyone else says to us.
1st March 2023
Luke 16:10 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Today is St David’s Day. St David is the patron saint of Wales and St David’s, in Pembrokeshire, is the smallest city in Britain. It is a wonderful place and well worth a visit. St David had a phrase, do the small things well. He believed that if we do the basics of faith well, the rest falls into place. Simply this means as Christians we need to pray, read the Bible and love one another. As we pray and read, God works within us, showing us how to live, how to change, how to be honest, fair and true. As we love one another things change, people grow and relationships develop. If everything we do is done out of love, done for God and for His kingdom then there is never any malice or hatred, never any judgement or criticism. Friends if we do the small things well, if we try to be like St David, God will make sure that the rest will all slot into place.
28th February 2023
Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.'
In the Church of England, we base our faith on Scripture, Tradition and Reason, a threefold approach which allows us to move forward as we learn more and understand more. When Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus at the Transfiguration, they represent the Law and the Prophets; the twofold basis for Jewish teaching and faith. God now makes it clear to everyone who will listen that the Law and the Prophets must give way to Jesus; the One who is the new and living way is replacing the old, He is the fulfilment of the Law and the countless prophecies in the Old Testament. Jesus will be seated at the right hand of God, He will be enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords, after His death and resurrection. His disciples and followers, are going to establish God’s kingdom on earth through Jesus. His teaching is in our scripture, our traditions grow from this and our reason comes through our education and learning, which allows us to interpret this for our current and future lives. But there is a warning for all of us, if we think we have all the answers for everyone then we are deluded. Only Jesus has and is the answer.
27th February 2023
Matthew 6:18b Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Are you good at giving things up? Some of us are no good at saying no and often end up being very busy people. Giving up certain food or fasting completely can be difficult but can also be beneficial if done properly. Lent is a time of giving up, certain foods, even certain joyful activities. In early times Lent involved a very strict fast. People did nothing that was enjoyable during Lent. Sundays were the only day when joy and song were permitted, but these songs and hymns had to be very solemn. No Gloria was sung or said. It still isn’t. It was a time of deep contemplation and prayer. However a person choses to fast or give things up, the most important part of Lent is the contemplation and prayer as we move forward to Easter, as we walk with Jesus towards the cross of Good Friday. On Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day we ate up all the fatty stuff, so as to have a very plain and simple diet in Lent. The word Shrove comes from Shrive, to confess sins. Then on Ash Wednesday as Lent began, ash was purified after burning, a cross marked on the forehead as a sign of repentance, forgiveness and remembering we are as Humans, created from Dust and we will return to dust. As we realise and reflect on our need for forgiveness Lent offers a time to pray, read, ponder and contemplate change as we move towards Easter.
26th February 2023
2 Peter 1:16a &18 But we were eyewitnesses of His majesty…..We ourselves heard the voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.
When something really good happens we enjoy it, when life is up and great, we want it to stay like that. We want to stay on holiday, at the party, at the wedding. We take pictures and make memories. We often call, these experiences Mountain top experiences. We do not forget those mountain top experiences, some of them, as Christians, we relish; those times we feel closer to God, the places we find security and want to stay there, but we must come down into the real world, we must bring the security and blessing with us and allow it to encourage us and bring blessing to others. The disciples never forgot what happened to them. John wrote in his gospel, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only”. Those who witnessed the mountain top bore witness to it to the other disciples and to countless millions of us down through the centuries. Friends, I encourage you to recall and remember those special times with God and allow them to bless you again and again, encourage you to keep going and assure you of God’s risen power and His unconditional love for you.
25th February 2023
Matthew 4:1a Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
I wonder how much you know about the season of Lent? It began on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 6 weeks, not including Sundays, that is 40 days leading up to Easter. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week. Lent is an old English word meaning 'lengthen'. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer or lengthen. It commemorates Jesus 40 days in the Desert after His baptism before his ministry commences. A Time of preparation. Priests still do this today, not for 40 days but for a short time they go on retreat to prepare themselves. Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray before beginning his work for God. He was tempted several times by Satan but was able to resist. Lent allows Christians to remember Jesus's fasting in the desert. It is a time of giving things up and a test of self-discipline. There are many foods that some Christians do not eat in Lent, such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. Some Christians give up something they really enjoy, such as cakes or chocolate. Some fast one day each week, some fast a meal every day, some fast in daylight hours. There is no prescriptive way of doing it. It is more about what a person believes God is asking of them. Whatever tradition we are from the challenge is to use our time in Lent wisely, to give up the bad habits of judging, arguing, criticising, and to try to establish new and better habits of compassion, peace, empathy. Perhaps an act of kindness each day, giving to charity, volunteering, write a poem or thought each day, phone someone each day. These are things we can all do, not just in Lent but at any time to make life better for everyone.
24th February 2023
Matthew 16:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
On Ash Wednesday I had an uneasy feeling. We read the passage in Matthew telling us not to show off when we fast , pray and give and then we put a big ash cross on our foreheads and walked around like that all day. The two things seem at cross purposes, please pardon the pun. I do find that the cross provokes questions, I am not in rags or making myself look in a terrible state, so I am as normal as I can be. This cross is not to show off but it is a reminder of sin. We are all sinners, no matter how hard we might try to claim otherwise. We are all hypocrites, I might not see you or you me behaving in that way publicly, but we all look down on others, criticise behind peoples backs, make judgements about others and their life, their faith and belief. We all judge so easily but that cross reminds us we too are sinners; we too are judged and we too need forgiveness. Through this lent may we make the effort to cast off the bad habits, the judging and criticising and endeavour to take up the better habits of encouragement, praise and care.
23rd February 2023
Matthew 17:5b “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Many of us speak about our future, what we want, where we will study, then live, children, grandchildren. We desire a future but we have no guarantees. Jesus clearly spoke out on several occasions about His future, that He would suffer, be killed, and be raised to life. That must have been difficult for His friends to hear. To give them a glimpse of who He really is Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain to pray. Physically going up makes us feel nearer to God, to Heaven. While praying, His personal appearance changed into a glorified form, and His clothing became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear, representing the Law and the Prophets with God’s literal word, Jesus. A cloud envelops them, a voice says, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen, whom I love; listen to Him!” You listen to Moses, you listen to Elijah, now listen to my Son, my word. The cloud lifted; all is back to normal. In this moment the disciples got a glimpse of the future, of Jesus glory, of who Jesus really is. Our real future is in God’s hands and He will and does take care of every moment if we let Him.
22nd February 2023
Genesis 3:19 From dust you came and to dust you shall return.
Today we begin Lent, this first day is Ash Wednesday where we recognise the wrong doing in our lives and are marked with an ash cross on our forehead as a symbol of our repentance and desire to change. Ash is a result of fire burning away impurities and leaving ash. The people of the Bible would wear sackcloth and cover themselves in ashes as a sign of their repentance, their turning from sin and desire to become better by taking away "burning" away the bad things in life. It is also a reminder that we were brought to life by God from the dust of the earth at creation. As we move through Lent, we recognise our need to turn from sin, our need for forgiveness, our need to be more prayerful, more faithful and less selfish. We walk with Christ as He heads towards Jerusalem and His death, we move from Christmas to Easter, from birth to death and then beyond to the resurrection. It may seem a long way off but day by day, step by step we walk with Christ.
21st February 2023
Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Today is Shrove Tuesday or in France Mardi Gras. On this day before Lent begins the tradition is to eat up all the fats so that Lent sees us have a minimal diet, a disciplined life of fasting, praying and getting ready for Easter. Eggs, fat and flour mixed up and cooked makes pancakes. Thus, it has become known as Pancake Day. The name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, the Tuesday we eat up all the fats. These days most people just enjoy pancakes but have no real idea of why we eat them. In schools the reason is sometimes told but so often Lent and its preparation for Easter is ignored. Traditions such as pancake races supposedly come from someone making pancakes, hearing the bells ring to call folk to church and running there with the pancake still in the pan. For Christians it is a mark of the liturgical season changing, now is a time to prepare, to live better, to give things up and be disciplined. It is an opportunity to walk forward towards Easter knowing that before victory comes torture and death and to be ready to walk with Jesus on this journey of eternal life through death.
20th February 2023
John 8:12 Jesus said, I am the light of the World, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John’s gospel contains these I am sayings, they use common recognised things in daily life to explain who Jesus is and why He has come. Darkness is difficult, not being able to see, feeling unsafe, it is the common narrative on bad things, under cover of darkness crime is committed. Light allows us to see clearly, it pervades into corners and small places, the torch app we use on our phones can shine under the bed or in a dark place so we can find something. Jesus speaks of being light because He shines in the dark places, His light shows the corruption and darkness of those who wish to operate in hidden places, those who would use cover of darkness to commit crime. We are also that light, we have the light of life because we follow Jesus, we are people who shine into dark places, hold people to account, challenge wrongdoing in others as well as in ourselves. If we are followers of Jesus then our own lives should be full of light, shining, full of compassion, honesty, integrity, and empathy. We show the love of God by being light in this dark world. Our behaviour matters because we are setting the tone, the example to others.
19th February 2023
Proverbs 17:28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
In places of work, families, clubs, wherever we meet together there is gossip. Someone who says “Did you know?” “Guess what?” “I’ve just heard that…” we listen intently as we are told something which may not actually be true, or maybe private or none of our business, and then we happily pass it on without concern for the harm we may do. To try and remedy this in myself I ask myself three questions about anything I say, firstly is it necessary? Then is it true? And finally, is it kind? So often gossip starts because we say things which are not necessary, we comment when it is none of our business and we can begin unnecessary rumours. So, if it’s not necessary to say something, don’t. Most importantly about anything we do say is that we need to know for certain it is true. We should never repeat lies or conjecture. If we are not sure we must check the truth of anything or remain quiet. Finally, we need what we say to be kind and good. If nothing we say about someone is good and kind then we should say nothing. Is it necessary, true and kind? if not, let’s keep silent.
18th February 2023
Matthew 5:14b A City built on a hill cannot be hidden.
I do love aerial photos of cities, you get a different perspective, but I also love the ones taken from space at night where you can see the light generated and so clearly visible. For years people have complained about the light pollution our cities create. It has become virtually impossible to see the stars when you live in or near a city. A city is not a place that you keep hidden, they are big, they stand out and if a city is built on a hill, it is clearly visible to everyone. A city at night, is a collection of lights. Street lights, buildings lit up, lights to frame a special building, lights to warn planes of tall buildings. Lights everywhere, clearly visible. A city shows off its presence, says look at me, I’m big and bold and here. We are called to be big and bold and here as Christians in our community. To live in truth and bring light. In many ways we are called to be light pollution like the big cities are, not so the heavens cannot be seen, but so God and His heavens can be seen, can be experienced because we become the light to the world who cannot be hidden.
17th February 2023
Luke 12:22b Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
Daily life gets on top of us sometimes. There are days, weeks even months when everything seems to be a struggle and we feel like we are just existing. Money troubles, illness, bereavement, job loss, rising energy bills, each can bring us low for short or long periods of time. There is no safeguard against this for anyone, and for those with wealth and security it can be easier to cope, but not always. Jesus never tells us that we, his followers, will have an easy ride. In fact, He clearly warns the opposite. Life will be tough at times! When Jesus asks us to trust God to provide and points us to the birds and the flowers; He’s not promising us that we will never have hardships. But He is promising us that the answer is to trust God with it, to let Him share the load, to provide for us, which means sorting out today, and leaving tomorrow for Him.
16th February 2023
Luke 10:27b Love your neighbour as you love yourself.
The question needs to be asked, just who is my neighbour? The person next door? The person I work with or friends? The word neighbour comes from old English meaning near dweller. In the Bible it means everyone we meet, work with, live with, play sport with, family, friends, everyone. We as humans must stand together with one another. Jesus tells us to love each other as we love our self, do we really try to do that? To do this effectively we need to spend time with others, understand them, know them. We know ourselves more and think about ourselves more than anyone else, so we need to apply that to others. We are being called to love, care for, respect our neighbour as we would ourselves. To treat others as we would want to be treated. It is all to easy to put our agenda, our comfort, our future above others, to step over someone rather than stand with them if it suits our agenda. We are selfish as humans; we will put me first. Helping the other is so easily lost once we have power and wealth, and we will do whatever it takes to maintain our status even when that means walking over others. This love of neighbour must cut across culture, religion, ethnicity, politics, gender and race. I may not agree with your political view, but I will stand with you on your right to hold that informed opinion. Divide and rule is the current ploy in much of society, misdirect people, make them fight amongst themselves, that way we maintain power. It is only when people stand together that things change and justice for all becomes achievable. As we love our neighbour may we stand together, support each other’s freedoms and rights and work for the good of all not just the few.
15th February 2023
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
We often use the phrase, in a perfect world, this wouldn’t happen. We don’t live in a perfect world, we live in a world full of sin and wrongdoing and because of that we have worry in our lives amongst other things. Worrying in perfect lives is unnecessary, not because we don’t have needs, but because the God who made the universe is our Father in heaven, who knows what we need, loves us dearly, and is more than capable of taking good care of us as we live in this imperfect world. Worrying doesn’t make things any better. We don’t live longer by worrying. If anything, too much anxiety probably shortens our life expectancy. It certainly makes us go grey faster. When we worry, we live as though the whole thing, the responsibility, rests on our shoulders alone. Behind this lies the bigger question of ambition. Our anxiety betrays our ambitions. Ambition is about what we’re living for. Most of us don’t live our life one day at a time with no purpose or direction. We all have things we’re aiming at, chasing after, hoping for. If our ambition is focussed on food, drink, clothing, that reduces us to little more than animals. Jesus says that if we are his people, if we know our God, then we will live for more than that.
14th February 2023
Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years."
I love looking at the stars. As a teenager I knew the constellations and followed them and read the myths associated with their formation. These days you can purchase a distant star as yours and hold a certificate saying it is yours and mapping it in the heavens. Early books of the Bible testify to the power of stars in the life of the ancient people. Job mentions three constellations: the Bear, Pleiades, and Orion. Childless Abram goes out at night and hears a promise from God that he will have many children, as numerous as the stars. Stars are said to “Sing together” and “shout for joy” in the Book of Job, and Psalm 147 tells us God names all the stars and determines their number. Clearly, the stars held meaning for the ancient people of God. God created the heavens and all the stars within it. We have the blessing of being able to see these stars and the light they give us in the night sky.
13th February 2023
Matthew 6:25a Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
In life some of us are worriers. We worry about food, clothes, homes, jobs, money etc. Although we are encouraged not to worry God also knows that we do. Jesus offers us help by pointing us toward a better understanding of ourselves and living for God. We quote helpful ideas about anxiety to each other but in reality, they do not magic away our worries. They do show us that anxiety is unavoidable because it is part of the human condition. At Creation we brought worry into the world by turning away from Gods complete provision for us. Just as we battle sin on a daily basis so we have to battle the worry that pushes its way into our lives. Jesus gives us a couple of practical examples from the natural world to encourage us in finding our provision in God. Birds are a good example when it comes to food and drink. They don’t sow, or reap, or gather in barns. They don’t worry where their next meal will come from. They are simply looked after by God. Which is not to say that God just drops the food into their beaks; they have to collect it, and they have to eat it. But what they don’t do, is worry about it. God cares for the birds, so how much more will he take care of us, his created and loved children. Flowers are transient. Here today, gone tomorrow. And yet, God clothes each of those flowers with the most exquisite beauty. If he does that, how much more will he make sure his dear children are clothed.
12th February 2023
Hebrews 13:5 Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
In this current Cost of living crisis so many people feel that no body cares. They are written off as lazy or feckless, told they should be able to live on 30p a day, told they should work harder and not have anything modern or technical. What a difference it makes when someone cares, what a difference it makes for hungry children when they are fed, for parents to be paid a fare wage, for rented property to actually be habitable, for the poor to be treated with respect and with compassion, for the elderly to be cared for and treated well. Just think how many people are suffering unimaginable pain today because they feel that no one cares for them. Many people feel that there is no one they can trust anymore. In fact, situations and relationships around us can change very rapidly, leaving us perplexed and uncertain about tomorrow and the future. People really do think “No one cares for me anymore”. In the midst of all the uncertainties and rejections we face, we can remember that God cares for His children and will never fail us. God cares for us and wants us to care for each other, to be His operatives, His hands and feet in looking after each other as God looks after us.
11th February 2023
Matthew 5:14b You are the light of the world.
At the time of Jesus, a lamp had olive oil in the back end, and then a wick of some kind that came out of the spout. Once it was lit it was put on a stand, up high, because the higher the lamps were put up the more light you could get in the room with less lamps, one lamp could actually do a lot when it was elevated. What Jesus says is, “Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a basket”. In other words, they don’t hide the lamp, or the light. What they do is they light the lamp and they put it on a stand so that the light illumines everything around it, which is exactly what we’re supposed to do as God’s light on this earth. Light is us revealing where God is. So, if we act in a way that is not consistent with the character of God, then we’re being darkness, not light. As the light of the world, we are God’s light in this dark world, challenging injustice, standing up for goodness and honesty, not judging others but showing them God’s love so the Holy Spirit can work in them and they can find God for themselves.
10th February 2023
John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
How are you with data or statistics, personally I believe they have a place but I don’t get excited about them and it is easy for me to get lost in trying to interpret them. Some people are just amazing with them and can interpret them easily and clearly to help us see the trends. Each year clergy have to enter statistics into the church of England data base. We give figures for Easter and Christmas services, October is used as the month where we send in our weekly and Sunday figures, we record those on the electoral role and certain events and services we do through the year. These statistics are interpreted by people in the church who decide how we are doing in attendance, mission, growth etc, and after Covid it has been useful to see that smaller churches have got back to pre-covid levels far quicker than bigger ones, and also to see that we now have at home congregations who watch streamed services. Although these things can be helpful the danger is we become a slave to them, having to grow in numbers or be considered a failure. That is never what God intended. God doesn’t measure our faith or love by numbers, we are called simply to love one another as He loved us. This is what matters to God.
9th February 2023
Job 15:11 Are the comforts of God too small for you?
There may be times when we feel life is unfair, we judge other’s situations by our standards and can think others are deserving of their suffering but we are not. The book of Job challenges us as to whether fairness from God is actually what we want. The undeserved grace and mercy we receive from God is much better for us than fairness! Eliphaz and Job’s “friends” hear Job’s words of explanation and understanding but do not accept them. When it comes to understanding God’s ways, Eliphaz thinks he’s got it nailed and no matter what evidence Job puts forward, he’s not about to let it get in the way of a good theory. Many of us behave like that. In fact, this so-called friend of job is incredibly cruel to poor suffering Job, repeating his point of view as the only right way. Job, he says, deserves his punishment, it is his fault and he needs to repent. This so-called friend piles even more suffering onto Job. Actually, it is the friend who is guilty, the friend who presumes he knows it all, even more than God. How often do we put ourselves into the place of God deciding who is right and wrong in our opinion. Later in Job’s story we find that Job receives not only comfort from God but also rich blessing. Eliphaz is the one who God is angry with because he did not speak the truth or help God’s child in his time of need.
8th February 2023
Matthew 5:13a You are the salt of the earth.
The Dead Sea is a fascinating place in Israel. You can't sink in the Dead Sea because of the amount of salt. Normal oceans are between, 6% and 8% salt. The Dead Sea is 36% salt. It's the lowest place on Earth, so all the water flows into it, it's literally the drain of the world. Nothing flows out of it because gravity has no place to take it. It's 1300 feet below sea level. It's so salty that you can't sink in it. To this day, they mine salt at the Dead Sea. There are multiple veins of salt and just one of those veins has enough salt in it to supply the entire world's population with salt for 60 years. For us, salt is reasonably cheap, However, in the first century, salt was one of the most valuable minerals on the planet. In fact, salt was so valuable that they paid people in salt. They called it a solarium. We take our word salary from it. Salt was the most valuable, most precious commodity, and Jesus says, “You are the salt of the world”. The equivalent today would be “You are the diamonds of the world”. For them and us this means we are really precious and valuable to God. Friends, You're a diamond. A priceless one!
7th February 2023
Luke 2:38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Have you noticed the days are slowly getting a little longer. Just a minute or so each day the light comes earlier and goes later. The beginning of February is a sort of turning point in the winter solstice towards the spring equinox; it’s the point at which we begin to turn from the cold and dark of winter towards the promise of spring. The odd flower begins to rear its head, signs of life just tickle the land. Just as nature provides us with seasons, our liturgical year offers us seasons, to help in our faith and in our experience. As we begin to move toward spring, we move also towards Easter, we turn from cradle to cross but also beyond, through the cross to the empty tomb. It is already visible, albeit dimly through the darkness still to come. The pin prick of light at the end of every tunnel that shows the way, getting bigger and bigger the nearer we get. Anna saw it in the Temple, she saw the redemption of the world would be so costly to God but also the only way He could bring us back to Him.
6th February 2023
3 john 1:2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
I do like many of the greetings used in science fiction films and stories. The Vulcan, live long and prosper and the Star Wars, may the force be with you. As Christians we may say bless you or may God be with you. There are often many parallels in the Christian story used in literature and films. In Star Wars the family name is Skywalker which means from the heavens. The name Luke, the one who brings Darth Vader back to good, means bringer of light. So, Luke Skywalker is the bringer of light from the heavens. The name Jesus means saviour, Christ means anointed one and is Greek for Messiah which means chosen one. So, Jesus is the chosen and anointed one who comes to save the world. Behind so many names or phrases lie a key message, one which we can miss if we do not look a little deeper. May God bless you. In other words, make you holy and look after you.
5th February 2023
John 14:27 I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
We are much more aware of Mental Health and Wellbeing. One of the areas we need to recognise is to be who we really are. Within each of us there is the me, the part we show to others, the front we often put up, the self we want others to know which is often an act. Then there is myself, who I am in the family, the son or daughter, the friend, the sibling, the parent, who we are has arisen out of how they see us, what they know about us and what is expected of us. Then there is I, the real me, the real you, the person who is alone with our thoughts and ideas, who has the struggles, the feelings, the desires, who have the doubts and who battle at times to believe in ourselves and what we can do. Often the bravado plays out so no one guesses how vulnerable we feel. The trouble is, the longer we play this role the harder our outer shell becomes and the harder it is to find the real person. We all meet those very hardnosed people who have no compassion, we see it daily on our TV screens with politicians who don’t flinch at terrible events who have no compassion or empathy. Society seems to tell us that we have to be hard and unflinching, to compromise our integrity and honesty to achieve. God created who we are, who we really are, all our foibles, strengths and weaknesses, talents and inabilities. None of us are perfect and we are human. Our verse speaks of peace, of not allowing ourselves to worry or be troubled because we have the blessing of others, people to share our experiences with, people to talk to, people to be real with about our feelings, anxieties, weaknesses and strengths. Being honest about how we feel, seeking help, just talking and speaking out our anxieties and feelings is the first step to allowing that peace to come in.
4th February 2023
1 John 4:4 Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world.
Star Wars is a huge franchise over numbers of years. We still have many figures the boys played with but I was surprised to find that the best selling figure is Darth Vader. As the journey from Anakin to Darth Vader happens one of the Jedi knights tell him “The most powerful thing you possess is your power of choice, the choices you make will determine your destiny.” As you know he makes several very bad choices and becomes evil. BUT hope is never lost, even at the darkest hour. The parallels to the Christian story are marked. It is about choice. The choice of God to create the world, the choice of humans to reject Him. The choice to send Jesus to save us, the choice of people as to whether they accept Him or not. We have the choice to follow the side of good and God or to choose the dark side. Anakin finally came back to good through his son, we have the choice of good every day through the Son who came. May we always choose life.
3rd February 2023
Luke 2; 30 & 31 For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations.
How good are you at recognising people? I admit to being a bit rubbish, especially if I haven’t seen someone for a while. It’s a little amazing to me that Simeon recognised the Messiah in the baby Jesus. Over his many years in the Temple he must have seen lots of babies, 40 days old, tiny and wrinkly, carried into the temple by devout parents. Yet, he knew what he was looking for, God had shown him. Even so he must have imagined something a little more exciting, a great teacher or a charismatic rebel all ready for changing God’s world? But here is a baby, brought to the Temple like so many before him. It is, I think, a mark of Simeon’s true wisdom and discipline, that he does not allow his ideas or his long waiting time to distract him from what God is actually doing. I wonder how many of God’s promises we don’t see fulfilled simply because we aren’t paying attention or because we don’t have eyes and hearts, like Simeon’s, prepared to see God at work in unexpected places. Or maybe we don’t see it because we are so wrapped up in waiting that we lose sight of God and don’t recognise Him at work.
2nd February 2023
Luke 2:34b “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel…and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Today, in the church, we celebrate Candlemas and there is an old tradition that today truly ends the Christmas season and by now everyone’s nativity scene should be taken down. This is because today we turn from the Christmas story towards Easter and Good Friday; from Jesus’ birth to Jesus’ death. Today is kind of a pivotal point for the new year, the day when we turn from cradle to cross; birth to death, and Jesus’ presentation at the Temple or Candlemas contains this pivot. At this point, as the infant Messiah is brought in, God’s promise has been fulfilled. A song of praise, light and glory follows but then changes as Jesus future is prophesied and His mother hears how He will suffer and what she will witness. Following Jesus is not just about Christmas; not just light and joy and celebration. It is also about the cross, remembering that following Jesus is also about sacrifice and faithfulness in the face of suffering. Candlemas is the day on which our candles are blessed, marked as signs of the light of Christ in the world to shine out and help us through the darkness yet to come.
1st February 2023
1 Peter 2:24 Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds we are healed.
I love the stories behind the items brought to the Repair Shop on BBC. Recently I saw an episode where a lady brought a micro mosaic cross which her father had worn in the war and which stopped a bullet that would have killed him. As a result, the cross was damaged and was broken in two. Quite literally the cross had saved his life. I also remember seeing a small pocket Bible in the Imperial War Museum with a bullet hole, that too, had saved the life of the soldier who carried it in his breast pocket. Quite literally the Bible had saved his life. We often speak of being saved by Jesus, but the context of these two actual situations where a cross and a Bible actually physically saved a life reminds us of the life saving gift of Jesus on the cross. The cross saved a soldier from the bullet, it saves us from death and eternal separation from God, the Bible saved a soldier from a bullet, it saves us from death and brings us life as we learn about our saviour.
31st January 2023
Luke 1:68 He has raised up a mighty saviour for us born of the house of His servant David.
The history of faith carries with it people expressing their praises, ideas and thoughts through song. The Psalms contain so many songs some even have a little musical direction, Song of Songs has love songs and poems. There are sad songs in Lamentations, and many individuals sing out their praises to God and their prophecies. The Benedictus in Luke 1 is one such song. Zechariah, unable to speak for some considerable time because he can’t see God at work, is released from his months of contemplation to praise God and prophesy the coming Saviour. He shouts from the rooftops about God’s faithfulness, of the covenant with Abraham now being fulfilled. He speaks of the coming saviour, of salvation and of the part his own son John will play in preparing the way. We, two thousand years on from this, are privileged to have seen these prophecies come true, we have seen the life, death and resurrection of the Saviour, we have the gospels, letters and the lives of so many saints who have gone before us. As we are saved through Christ, so we become saints who serve, we love and care for others because of what we have come to know, we are God’s hands and feet on this Earth, and we are set free through our Saviour Jesus to live life to its fullest through Him.
Apologies for being behind with posting these, internet connection was lost for a couple of days.
30th January 2023
Matthew 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
There are still too many people in our world living a life in darkness. Too many people still live without hope. Too many of us are consumed by the bad news and it is up to us as Christians to show others who are living in darkness how to find the light. If the people who walk in darkness are going to find the light of God, it is going to be through us. If we hide our light because we don’t want to upset people or answer their questions then they cannot find Jesus for themselves. Jesus clearly calls us to let our light shine for all to see, to share the good news, to share Jesus’ teaching and offer them hope and healing. He also calls us to be like salt, sprinkling into people’s lives the flavour of hope, the preservation of good things. He comes into our darkness, into our turmoil, conflict, chaos and despair and He shines out His love into the darkness, and the darkness, no matter how oppressive or overwhelming it seems, cannot overcome Jesus’ light. Jesus’ time on earth gave us a glimpse of this light and He promised that when He returned, the light would shine fully and completely. So, in the meantime, we can reflect that light.
29th January 2023
Luke 2:26 It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
Have you ever waited for something? Waited for a really long time for something you were really excited about and really wanted? Have you ever waited so long and so hard for something that you almost missed it when it finally arrived? So busy waiting, getting impatient that the real thing almost slipped under your radar. Or perhaps you waited for so long that your attention drifted away. Simeon was waiting to see the Messiah. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit promised it would happen before he died and we know he was an old man. His song sounds like someone who had been waiting a long time, someone filled with anticipation and now filled with long-awaited joy as he takes the infant Jesus into his arms and knows him to be the one, he has been waiting for. He has waited well. Sometimes we need to be patient, to wait well, not lose our focus and not lose our hope because when God makes a promise, He keeps it. He promised Simeon, it took a long time but it happened just as God had promised. Simeon had born witness to the arrival of the Messiah, the salvation of the world. That time had come for him and a new time began for us.
28th January 2023
Matthew 5: 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
When we get good news the first thing we want to do is tell someone, share it. As Christians we have the best good news there is in Jesus and the first thing we should want to do and we are called to do, is to share His love, proclaim the good news we have found, help struggling people find healing, peace and fulfilment. God loves us! God loves the world! Jesus came into the world to be its saviour, to offer us all hope and healing. Our world needs so much healing. Not just physical healing, but spiritual and mental healing too. Jesus invites us to come to Him, to repent, to change our direction and to follow him. And all of us who follow Jesus are told that we are the light of the world. We are reflecting God’s light, and we are to let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. We found Jesus because someone shared His love with us, pointed us in the right direction. Others will only find Him if we share His love with others and point them in the right direction.
27th January 2023
Deuteronomy 6:7 Teach these ways to your children and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. We remember the 6 million Jews, the half million Roma people, the quarter of a million disabled people who were murdered as part of the Nazi ‘s final solution. The promoting of hatred and persecution of a group of people to galvanise disillusioned people and thus gain more power and wealth for the ruling few. All done under the guise of nationalism. Yet here we are in 2023 calling people fleeing from persecution and murder illegal immigrants. The children rescued by amazing brave people and brought to this country would now be considered illegal immigrants. We are told that when good people do nothing evil flourishes, the ordinary people of Germany did nothing and evil flourished. Here in the UK as more and more ordinary people do nothing, evil flourishes. The poor get poorer, the rich get richer and those in the middle aspire to be richer and have their anger and disillusionment twisted towards the poor and the refugee. The promise of WW2 was we would not allow genocide to happen again, it has time and again. We said we would learn lessons about freedom and democracy and the protection of both, we haven’t. The Jews learnt from a young age what was right and wrong, so do we, and yet our attention can be so easily grabbed by persecution of others to supposedly save ourselves. We have a choice, to turn a blind eye and make excuses or to make a stand, to fight for the equality of all and to stand for justice and righteousness.
26th January 2023
Isaiah 6: 2b For those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
In this seemingly dark world sometimes we wonder where is the light? There is darkness in our world. There are still wars, shootings, hatred and division. There is still hunger, poverty, and homelessness. There is still darkness in our world and in our own lives, that health concern we have, for ourselves or a loved one. A struggling relationship, frustrations at work or school. Financial concerns that seem insurmountable, mental health issues, feeling low and lonely. There is still darkness in our world and we need to acknowledge that. Isaiah, was not afraid to acknowledge the darkness in his world. He describes living in deep darkness; civil war, complacency, poverty, arrogance, their leaders didn’t believe that they needed God’s help. If we close our eyes, tight, like the toddler who thinks because they cannot see you, you cannot see them, and we refuse to acknowledge the darkness, then we will see no need for the light, and we have no reason for hope. But there is reason for hope. And there is reason for joy because the light has dawned in the darkness through Jesus.
25th January 2023
Isaiah 9:2a The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
We tend to associate these words with Christmas and Christmas readings. This light does not only show itself through a baby in the manger at Christmas but that child, Jesus, grows up, and proclaims that the kingdom of heaven has come near, and He invites the disciples, the people and us to follow him. We are invited not just to hear this story, but we are invited into the story. We have an invitation to follow the light. Jesus is our light. He lights our way. And when we follow him, we never walk in darkness. No matter how dark things may seem in our life; Jesus still lights our way because He is the light of the world. No matter how dark the tunnel we are in there will always be a pin prick of light pointing us the right way.
24th January 2023
Matthew 9:14 Then John's disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Many of us look at others and wonder why they seem to get away with something we can’t. We ask why others don’t seem to face the issues we do and why rules and laws seem to apply to some more than others. During the pandemic it seemed that our politicians were getting away with doing things the rest of us were forbidden to do. Our motivation for doing things can be ritualistic, we do them because we have do, because traditions and authorities tell us to, where as in our Christian faith it should be about joy and love, out of desire and not duty. Each of us is an individual and God will call us each to His way. That means we will do things differently and at different times. It is not our goodness or service it is God’s goodness and service being worked through us. At this time Jesus disciples did not follow the same rules as the Pharisees and they wanted to know why. Another thing to criticise and judge, but Jesus is clear that things should happen when they are necessary and for the right reasons, not because it was always done this way or because we have to or because religious practices dictate it. We each need to examine before God why we do what we do and our judgement of others for doing things differently, some things will need to change others may not but that is God’s decision, not ours.
23rd January 2023
Philippians 1:6 I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
All journey’s have a beginning and an end with varying stops and starts throughout. Life’s journey begins with our birth and then continues until it is completed. Any journey we undertake will stop and start, there can traffic jams, hold ups, boring times and exciting ones, there can be rest stops, accidents, breakdowns, that little voice that calls are we there yet? Along the way we may well meet people, help people, share the load . We often say life is a rollercoaster with its ups and downs, twists and turns, sharp corners and gentle bends. However we look at it life is always moving forward, we age from the day we are born. Plans are made surprises happen, changes are needed, everyone of us has a history, a present and a future. Throughout all these twists and turns, changes, stops and starts God promises to carry on His work in us to completion. No matter what happens we face nothing alone, we have God on our side, and we have one another to help and share the load. God created families in which we grow and learn, are given support and love. The family of God is there to love and support us, help us grow and learn and we are part of that family.
22nd January 2023
John 1: 36 When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
John the Baptist is in no doubt that Jesus is the chosen one. He recognises that there is a new purpose, a greater power beyond his calling. He could have been precious about his disciples, wanting to keep them for himself, but instead he shows them the way forward is with Jesus. We can be precious about my church, my way of doing things, my position, my role and in doing so stop others finding their place, finding their role, even finding their faith. John was not lessened by what he gave up and neither are we. We are servants of a greater master, we are chosen, we are called, we are loved and precious for who we are. We are never alone and we are used by God in so many ways if we are willing to let Him use us, willing to see what God is doing and join in.
21st January 2023
John 1:39 a Jesus said to them “Come, and see.”
We all like to be invited to join a group or a party. In John’s Gospel there is an invitation for the first disciples and us to come and see, to find out more about Jesus. The followers of John the Baptist leave John's ministry to follow a new calling and purpose, the Messiah, they start from small, humble, beginnings, a brother brings his brother whose name is changed. Ministry grows, widens and is for everyone. There will always be new ways of doing things and of recognising God, and here a new section of society, those who are not Jews, are being welcomed and invited into God’s family without having to jump through hoops to join. We can be very good at making people jump through hoops to join the church, that was never what God intended. Instead, we should recognise and create a space for new members in God's family to feel drawn to. People meet Jesus through us, through our words and attitudes, our behaviour. Will what they see, hear and experience show Jesus or turn them away.
20th January 2023
1 Corinthians 1:5 For in Him you have been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.
We tend to think that Christians of the early church were somehow better than us, they had it sorted. When Paul writes his letter to the Corinthians church it is in a mess, no church is ever perfect, but Paul recognises their worthiness, telling them and us that we are not valued because of our potential, or what we do, but we are valued because God loves us, unconditionally, completely and utterly. We so easily focus on the future, and while we have potential, what and who we are right now is completely loved and valued by God and we need to remember that. Christ lives in us and we live in Christ. An amazing and wonderful relationship, but we are also part of something much bigger, a new family, a new way of being. God’s family is inclusive and we can learn from anyone at any age or stage of life. Every new person enriches and resources the community, one person does not have all the skills. We work together and we support each other.
19th January 2023
John 10:10 I have come that you might have life in all its fullness.
If I asked you if you live a full life, how would you reply? You might talk about work, being busy, never having time for self. A full life is not necessarily a busy one, it is a life of fulfilment, a life that balances work and rest, that brings joy and happiness, full of love and peace. This is the new type of life Jesus is referring to here. This full life is one that includes more than just self, more than just family, friend and community. It is a life of more than just the familiar. The fullness comes from knowing and embracing all people, those who are different from us, who have different traditions, customs, cultures and ideas. It is about being open minded and open hearted. Life is full of so much colour, so much sound, so many experiences but it is so easy to become blinkered, to not see, hear or experience the richness of life, to side-line ourselves into a singular black and white existence with no richness, diversity or fullness. Life should be a rich vein of experience where eyes are opened and dreams fulfilled, where life is full of hope, where community is promoted and valued, and each life is given dignity and value and where each of us flourishes. Full life includes the full spectrum of human experience, both sorrow and joy, both struggle and success because to really appreciate a full life we need all sides. May we open our eyes, minds and hearts to the rich full life around us as God intended.
18th January 2023
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Sometimes we think that all responsibility for mission and service of God lies with us. We seem to quite happily alleviate God of all responsibility as we become rather over confident of how the church should be run and organised. Yet the ultimate responsibility for mission does not sit with us, or the PCC, or the bishop or any committee or group, it lies with God first and foremost and God is always faithful. We need to be reminded that faith is a two-way relationship; God constantly has faith in us and does not give up on us at the first, second or any sign of failure, and we must continue to have faith in God even when we cannot see clearly or are finding life difficult. We are promised the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the ability and strength we need to share our faith with our family, friends, community and ultimately to the ends of the Earth.
17th January 2023
Romans 15:4 - For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Our traditions and learning have come through centuries of study, discussion, oral conversation and writing. People have recorded their experiences, their learning and study so that others might benefit. The scriptures, or Bible, have come from writings and traditions over many centuries and millennia. Some of this is in the form of laws, some is poetry and song, some is story and recollection, some is prophecy and some accounts of events. It is there to help us, there to establish the relationship of God to His people, there to encourage a cohesive and welcoming society. As with everything opinion will filter into writing. Even the most factual recollection will be influenced by opinion which is why accounts of events differ or are recalled with a differing importance. A doctor writing a gospel will do so differently from a fisherman but yet so many things align to open our eyes to a wider arch of the fundamental story. God creates a free people for a relationship, one which is lost by selfish behaviour and yet is never forgotten. God’s love of His people meant timely interventions and ultimately the sacrifice of His own son to restore that relationship. The scriptures show us that story, show us the human selfish condition and teach us how to live as better people. The scriptures offer hope and learning but through patience because we have opinions and those filter into our interpretation of God and His word. As we read the scriptures may we do so with an open mind, with patience and ready to learn and to be comforted.
16th January 2023
Isaiah 49:6b I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
When studying for ministry a lot is made of Missio Dei, God’s mission. In the Old Testament God's missional enterprises are made clear and we are invited to join in. Things move from the local to the global. Witnessing to Israel is not enough, we are all called and chosen to be a light to the world to the ends of the earth, to the whole of creation. God chooses people despite, and because of their background; anyone can be called, this is not just for the select few. We can be People who have been struggling, been waiting in vain, feeling stuck, facing uncertainty, seemingly with no voice but we are assured time and again that God knows us, named us and loved us from the very beginning to the very end. God recognises our effort and exhaustion, but still calls us. God is our strength, equipping us with specialist tools and gifts to be used as we need.
15th January 2023
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace that we have all been saved.
When I go out very early I used to get dressed in the dark, laying out clothes the night before. That has meant on occasions I have gone without my clergy collar or my cross, sometimes without my purse or money and sometimes without my keys. In an attempt not to disrupt anyone else or wake them to early I try to be quick and quiet. Usually all was well but if did manage to forget something it could mess up the rest of the day. It was also possible to be wearing odd socks but, thankfully, never odd shoes. Often in our attempts to be selfless we can cause more of a problem. In an attempt to help others we can forget the importance of our own presentation and readiness for work or activity. As with everything in life we need compromise. I moved my clothing etc ready for the next day into the bathroom where I can have the light on and not disturb anyone. Finding ways that help others and ourselves is vital to our way of living. God does not want us to sacrifice our own readiness and reliability because we are trying too hard to benefit others. God offers us not only fruits of the Spirit to show to others but also to ourselves. Being kind to self is so important because we are nicer people with others when we are nicer to ourselves. We love others far better when we love ourselves, we are more peaceful with others when we are peaceful ourselves. It is not selfish to take care of oneself, in fact it is vital if we are to minister effectively to others.
14th January 2023
Matthew 2:13 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
When people find Jesus and give their lives to Him things change, becoming a Christian means lives need to change, attitudes, ideas but all in God’s time. Once we find Him, we must learn to listen, to read and study the scriptures, read and understand the prophesies and learn to listen to God and where he wants us to go next. Joseph heard God tell him to flee for his family’s safety, The Magi heard God tell them not to go back to Herod and they returned home another way. People heard God time and again and changed their direction of travel. We also need to hear God and change our view and our direction of travel by listening to God. Lives change because of experiences; our lives should change because of our experiences; because of prayer, reading our Bible, coming together to worship and what we learn and know about God. The challenge of every meeting with God, every prayer, every study is where does God want us to go next? And are we willing to go?
13th January 2023
Matthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Throughout the Christmas story and beyond we meet people who have their eyes opened and their lives changed by the coming of Jesus the King. It can do the same for us. We can learn, realise, discover and change. The wise men, for example, studied scriptures, prophecies, stars, light and it set them on a course to find the King. Their arrival brought worship, treasure and gifts of a kingly and appropriate nature. Their arrival at Jesus nativity brings light, dawn light, star light, divine light just as had been prophesied. These Wise men, these kings left their home, their comfort, their wealth, their nice lives to find a King and bring Him gifts. It was that important to them. How important is Jesus Christ to us? Are we willing to give up our comfort, wealth, nice lives to find our King and do we bring gifts? Are we willing to learn, to read, to pray to seek God’s way in our lives, are we willing to have our eyes opened and our lives changed by Jesus?
12th January 2023
Isaiah 60: 6b And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
We often don’t realise that the prophecies that are in the Old Testament speak of what is to come, of Jesus coming and His death and resurrection. Isaiah 60 is one of my favourite prophecies about Jesus’ birth because it preserves and declares the teaching of inclusion. The Jews were very insular about who was included and who was excluded in their religion, God made it clear through His prophets and teachers that He wanted everyone to be included in His love and forgiveness, no matter where they were from or their religious tradition, their culture, gender, race, age or life choices. God is absolutely clear, all are welcome in God’s family. Contrary to what we might want to think and believe, religious leaders, followers, Christians of long standing or short, we are not the gate keepers or judges who decide who God accepts. He makes that decision, not us. God is a God of inclusion and we, as His people, must be the same.
11th January 2023
Psalm 72:4 May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.
I strongly believe that the prosperity of all people can only truly abound when every citizen is able to share in the blessings. When all share in the prosperity then all share in justice. In this Psalm, a prayer for the king, there are many images of flourishing and abundance, fruitful hills and drenched fields, these fill us with a longing for security and plenty for everyone. The king is painted as defender, protector and provider. Achieving justice for the afflicted, defending the vulnerable from oppression, rescuing children from poverty, these are the criteria which define true kingship and true leadership. If our elected leaders are not fulfilling these qualities then they must be challenged and their hearts changed. If our hearts desire God’s ways, they will desire justice for all, not just the wealthy; equality of all no matter their race, creed or gender, for all our children to be fed well and for no one to suffer because of where they were born in society. This is an urgent need, one which we are called to stand up for on a daily basis.
10th January 2023
Psalm 72: 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts.
Isaiah and Psalms clearly speak of the Kings who will come, Kings from a Gentile nation, not a Jewish one. The inclusion of everyone has been in God’s plan from early on, It was clearly there for those not Jewish in the Old Testament but the Jews had never included them. The Gentiles, as they were called, did not even know they were called Gentiles, hey were just not of the Jewish tradition. Inclusion was important to God, even in the Old Testament and as the early Christian faith develops, prophets, writers and St Paul speak of inclusion. In the early church Jews and Gentiles clashed on circumcision, traditions, rules on food and clothes. Early church leaders disagreed, but God’s inclusion of everyone is there, clearly, for all to see. Even today inclusion is much easier to talk about than it is to actually do because there is a huge cost to those we exclude and to us as it challenges our views and ideas. If God wants everyone included then who are we to do and say otherwise.
9th January 2023
Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.
Each year in the New Year we celebrate Epiphany, we celebrate it on the same day as the Orthodox church celebrates Christmas. We also use it as the day on which to take down our decorations. The term Epiphany means appearing, the coming of a divine being to the world. In the traditional Prayer Book it is called the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Epiphany is shorter and perhaps better for our understanding. We tend to use the word today to mean a sudden, unexpected realisation of something. We have “an Epiphany” moment. The festival we celebrate each year is the witnessing of Gentile Kings or Magi to the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. These men, not of the Jewish faith, journey from the ends of the known world to search for a king, they make a pilgrimage. We can make our own pilgrimage, maybe not across nations, but to church, in our worship, through our regular prayer. We can make a physical or spiritual pilgrimage. The question is do we want to make the effort.
8th January 2023
Isaiah 7.10 & 11 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."
How many times have I heard those words, “God loves a cheerful giver!” Usually when someone is trying to guilt me into giving to their cause. By making us feel we will score points with God we can be softened into giving. Let’s turn this on its head because God also loves a joyful and cheerful receiver. In the Old Testament God offers many promises and prophecies to His people. Ahaz is being promised peace by God, and is even offered the opportunity to receive a sign to reassure him to put his trust in God and not in human armies. He is very grumpy and with false religiousness turns down the generous offer made by God. A foolish choice! Instead, he put his trust in the King of Assyria’s armies to save his kingdom. It turned out to be the wrong choice, but God gave his sign anyway, because the choice is always ours to make. God promises Immanuel, God with us in Human form, given to save the world at great cost. We always have the choice as to whether we receive Jesus, whether we trust in Him and receive His joy and peace. We can put our trust in humans and armies and wealth or we can put our trust in Jesus. The choice is ours.
7th January 2023
Revelation 21:5 Behold, I am making all things new!
At this time of year lots of folks wish each other a Happy New Year. It is traditional, polite and a positive greeting. That little word, new, has huge implications. When we buy something new, we expect it to be pristine, perfect and undamaged. If it isn’t we return it and expect a replacement that is. We all love a new book without the crinkled pages, we like to have a new bottle of aftershave or perfume, a new pen and paper, new socks, new clothes, new furniture, a new car is something really special. New has so much promise attached to it! As we begin a new year it offers the opportunity to make a fresh start, it has promise and hope that things will be better, happier, easier and we will be better people. God’s promise of making all things new resonates with us because we desire that hope, that promise of better. We know we are not perfect, we make mistakes, we mess up, but the promise of new gives us hope, allows us to not give up our quest for better, but instead gives us a daily renewal, offers us a new start every time things go wrong. As you wish people a Happy New Year, be reminded that newness is available to us all every day, every moment of every day, from God who wants us to live as new, hopeful, happy people always.
6th January 2023
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
I received word today of the passing of an old friend. We had been in contact for more than 30 years but she never shared her terminal diagnosis with us because she didn’t want any of us to worry. In fact, all her preparations for her funeral have been so as not to inconvenience anyone. This is typical of her, you could always find food, support, sanctuary and love at any time in her home. She was one of life’s real angels. It is amazing how some people never make a fuss, always think of others and losing them from this world is difficult and very sad. God reminds us time and again that we are chosen, precious, fellow citizens with the saints; not because of anything we have done but because of God’s saving love for us. As God’s created beings we carry our creator within us, all humans carry God in them but some carry that imprint far more obviously than others. Some shine more with His love than others. We all have the option to be members of His household but sadly some still choose to remain strangers and aliens and not to let God be part of their lives.
5th January 2023
Isaiah 43:1 But now, says the Lord, who created you, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
At this time of year I go through the Christmas cards and check for any change of address or messages people have sent. Where the front can be used for a tag next year I cut them up ready and put with the Christmas stuff for next Christmas. I often find short messages from people just letting us know anything major or if they are in need. Sadly, I also find each year that some folk don’t send a card, maybe they moved and forgot to let us know, maybe things have changed. I only give up sending a card if we don’t hear for 3 years. With the postal issues this year I am still receiving late cards which help me know folk are still there. It is easy after many years to forget people, to think they are no longer want to hear from us, but it always saddens me when we no longer know where someone is or how they are. At some point we all lose contact with folk who may have been so important to us in the past. I hope not to forget anyone and I keep names and addresses in our book even when we no longer hear from them. I try not to forget, I try to be reminded when I use the book. Sadly, I am human. I am glad to say that God never forgets any of us, even if He doesn’t hear from us for a while, He doesn’t stop sending messages to us, He never forgets us even if we forget Him. God knows everyone of us and never forgets, so we can always make contact again, we can always turn back to Him.
4th January 2023
Matthew 2.18 A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.
In God’s incredible grace, the cost of sin is met, and we are invited to live differently, to live in new ways and have a secure future. But who actually pays? In our current political situation, it is the ordinary people who pay for the mistakes of the wealthy and powerful. We remember after Christmas that King Herod causes the little boys to pay in this awful narrative of a jealous King who will do anything to remain in power. He has power, the infants do not. Herod cannot accept the good news brought to him by the wise men, so the innocent ordinary children suffer at the hands of the powerful and wealthy King. As we look at our world, beautiful but marred by sin and injustice, who pays for the high levels of consumption and waste this festive season? We know it is the environment and the poorest members of our society, those who have least will always pick up the tab. As Christians we believe that Jesus offers us a different and deeper reality, where God in His gracious generosity breaks the cycle. In God’s grace, the cost is met, in full, in Jesus, and we are invited into new, impartial, honest and true ways of living.
3rd January 2023
Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as His children.
The process of taking everything down from Christmas has begun. Decorations and lights come down, the baubles come off the tree and they are boxed up for another year. The cards are taken down and either thrown away, recycled or turned into next year’s gift tags. For many years we have left something up throughout the year as a reminder that although we celebrate Christmas once a year it is central to our faith and it should impact on that faith all through our lives, every day. It might be some bells, a small tree, a few lights, a nativity representation, it could be anything but it reminds me that Christmas is part of every day. The events we read about over the Christmas period actually took place over a much longer period of time, the Angel’s visit was 9 months before, the wise men’s journey took months and months, Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for a considerable time after Jesus was born before fleeing as refugees to Egypt. The story we read and talk about over a few Christmas weeks actually took place over a long period of time. The prophecies came in centuries before the event and we continue with our celebration’s centuries later. Of course we take down our decorations because they make Christmas the special time it should be each year, but may we not forget to carry it in our hearts and lives every day as central to our faith and belief.
2nd January 2023.
2 Corinthians 4:8&9 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
When it snowed in December how did you react or feel? Overjoyed, excited, disappointed, worried? The folk I was with were concerned and worried, how to get home safely, their children were, of course, excited, but even those who were worried got stuck in, adapted and got themselves home. The human spirit is an amazing thing. These verses reflect that; in the early church Christians were often in terrible danger of prison, torture and death but they did not give up. They had a hope, a belief in God, in Jesus and were prepared to stick it out no matter the consequences. Of course, they had their moments of doubt, of question, we all do. John The Baptist, arguably Jesus biggest fan, gets put in prison and asks the question of Jesus are you the one we are waiting for? Gods promised one? Building our resilience, keeping going, doesn’t mean we don’t doubt, don’t want to give up, don’t struggle, but it does mean we develop the reserves to keep going in the difficult times. We look for and ask for help, we look for hope and we push on through. We take each day a step at a time, ask for help when it is needed and remember it is okay to have doubts and questions, it’s okay to get upset, to let off steam, it is okay not to be okay. From the very recognition of our situation comes more strength, more resilience to enable us to keep going.
1st January 2023. New Years Day.
Mark 2:4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.
At this time of New Year we are reminded how important our loved ones are to us. We will generally do anything for those we love, our family and friends, because we want what is best for them. The four friends of the paralysed man are so desperate for his healing that they break open the roof so that he can get to Jesus. This exciting but unorthodox entrance, is the beginning of a real drama. Jesus tells the paralysed man that his sins are forgiven, which brings anger from the religious folk because only God can forgive sins and no one can actually see if it is happening to the paralysed man or not. But telling him to get up and walk, that is vastly different. It is instantly obvious whether Jesus is a liar or genuine. Jesus is putting His reputation on the line because He knows the truth and is completely secure in it. This is a challenge to our discipleship as we move forward into 2023. We all need forgiveness from sins. But we must also stand up and be counted and be completely secure in our faith. We need to be bold in our claims about Jesus and to be prepared to back them up with evidence; and to go into 2023 knowing that our faith actually makes a difference in everyday life and that it does change things for good. May God bless you in this New Year!
31st December 2022. New Years Eve.
Psalm 31:14 I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, “You are my God! My future is in your hands”
As the end of 2022 approaches, I wonder how you feel? Sad that another year is over or excited for another new year to begin, maybe a bit of both. People begin to ask what resolutions we are going to make and I know that I am not going to make any at all. I learned years ago that resolutions end up just dragging me back down as I fail to keep them. I will still celebrate New Year and rejoice in God giving us yet another new start. On New Years eve many thousands of Christians will hold a watchnight service, which sees the old year out and the new year in with God, offering thanks for so much in the past year but also offering to God the opportunities of the coming year. The opportunity to reflect on the past that we did not know a year ago, and pray for the future to come and all its opportunities. To remember all those we have lost in this past year, all those we miss so much, all those blessings we have received and the celebrations we were able to have. And now we start again, not knowing what lies ahead but knowing who holds that future in His safe hands. Knowing we can trust God, who created us and loves us to death and beyond. I may not make any resolutions, that is a personal choice, but I will watch, wait, trust and hope in God for 2023.
30th December 2022
Luke 2:11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born for you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Over Christmas I have watched several versions of Dicken’s Christmas Carol. I love it as a story and it speaks very much about second chances and giving out of our riches to others. The contrast between this and the one found in Luke’s gospel, is that Dickens tells us how we should give to others, and that is incredibly important, but in Luke, we learn how essential it is to see ourselves at first, as receivers. Receivers of the saviour Jesus into our loves. That’s quite tough, we’d rather see ourselves as capable, self-sufficient, generous, caring givers who are doing our best as Christians. But the nativity, the good news of Jesus coming, is for poor, needy, empty people who open their hands to the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. We must first recognise that we are needy, poor, empty people who need to receive Jesus before we can give out to others. Christmas, literally means the mass, or sending out of Jesus into the world and that is done through us. As we receive Him so we can go out in His strength bringing Him to the world and giving to others out of the abundance we have been given by God.
29th December 2022
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”
Have you got the Christmas blues yet? That let down that comes after Christmas and before new year. We tend to build up huge events which can mean normal things can seem boring. Once the fun and excitement of presents and food is over, then what? When the Angels came to the Shepherds, announced Jesus birth and then praised God they remind us of the fact that Jesus birth means all humans have the opportunity to find peace and favour with God. The Good News of Christmas did not begin and end in the stable in Bethlehem. It was the beginning of a wonderful, all-encompassing true story that would continue for over two thousand years! Jesus came, in an unassuming and humble way, as a vulnerable new-born. God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus. After the meeting, life resumed as normal for the wise men, the humdrum life continued for the shepherds. Only Joseph and Mary witnessed a permanent change in their lives. Actual, normal life happens between the highpoints. Most of life is lived in the work-a-day reality. The Messiah has come and so we can enjoy the peace of God and peace with God. We can walk in His favour, His goodwill, His love, every day of our lives! We cannot live on the mountain top every day but these experiences do give us the encouragement and blessing to enable us to live out normal lives for Jesus each day.
28th December 2022
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
At Christmas each year we remember Jesus, who was not just an idea but an event in history, God came among us into the real life, the mundane, the pain, the suffering, the hurt, the joy. Fully human in a human world. This child, born weak and helpless, is God putting Himself at our mercy. Light and truth is not spread by anger, humiliation and beating people into submission; Light and truth lives and grows where humility, compassion, vulnerability, honesty and love flourish. Where there is hatred, anger, bullying, rhetoric, lies, brutishness, God is not there, not in that darkness; but He comes to shine a light through this child of light and love, this child of compassion and vulnerability, this child of grace and peace, this child born to be our saviour if we choose Him. This is why we celebrate this baby, why we remember Christmas, literally the mass of Christ, the sending out of Christ through us the people of God. As Jesus came to us on that first Christmas, so we are sent out to share the Christ we have found with all. This Baby born in Bethlehem is our Saviour. This baby is our redemption. This baby, the first Christmas present, is God’s gift to us all. Every baby is a symbol of new life, this baby, this child is the reason for our new life and our eternal life.
27th December 2022
Isaiah 9 we are told The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them his light shined.
We read in John’s Gospel about the Word, with God, was God from the very beginning. Jesus the Word made flesh who came from God and became one of us on that first Christmas. It was here that God sent His son to save us. This living word was part of creation, the light, the life, the divine discourse and reason, someone of God’s wisdom to be listened to and respected. God promises a light in the darkness. Someone who will fight for His people, someone who will live as human and divine, someone who will defeat death and sin, someone who will pay the necessary price for humankind’s wrongdoing and turning away from God. This someone, born of a virgin, called Jesus, will save his people from their sins. The great mystery of Christmas is that God who is love and truth, grace and peace is not some distant impersonal being standing apart from us and global events and personal tragedies that shape and affect our lives. No, in the birth of Jesus, God has come among us in his son. Giving flesh and form to these events in human life so we can not only feel His love, hear His truth, experience His grace and share His peace, but know these things are possible for us and available to us.
26th December 2022. Boxing Day.
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be Immanuel." Which means "God with us."
"What Child Is This?" What's the big deal with a child born in a manger over two thousand years ago? Why all the songs, carols, presents and bells? So far in 2022 135 and half million babies have been born. The most popular day for babies to make their entrance into this world is Tuesdays then Monday. Sunday is the slowest day, September the most popular month. So, Why is this baby, Jesus, born in Bethlehem approximately 2020 years ago, the Child that we celebrate every Christmas? 135 million babies born this year and we're singing about one child born over two thousand years ago, far away in the Middle East. Why do people make such a fuss about this one baby? We read in When Jesus Christ was born Matthew says, "This is it. This is the child. This is the child that will be God with us." The reason we make such a big deal about this child is because the child born in a manger over 2,000 years ago in a place called Bethlehem is God with us. Both Human and divine. He experiences everything we do. He understands what we go through, He opens the way back to God and defeats death.
25th December 2022. Christmas Day.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father.
Today you will open presents from family, friends and loved ones. We will receive gifts we love and some we are not so sure about. On Christmas Day every year there is one Perfect Gift. He was born a long time ago in a little town by the name of Bethlehem. This Perfect Gift had been predicted to come thousands of years before He arrived. Since His arrival this Gift has been opened by millions of people but yet many millions more have never opened it, never chosen to receive that gift. Have you opened the Perfect Gift? That Perfect Gift is Jesus. There is no sense in trying to be clever about it. We all try to get hints as to what is in the gifts that have our name on them. We all hope that at least one present under that tree is for us. We sing Carols about this wonderful gift every year and yet so many leave one lonely package under the tree. This gift from God for each of us has each of our names on it, the question is, are we going to leave it there, or open it?
24th December 2022 Christmas Eve
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Some of you will have spent many hours this Christmas season searching for the perfect gift. You will have browsed through store after store or web site after web site. You want it to be just right. Based on what the person you are giving the gift to needs, you want it to be, perfect. Maybe you have received the perfect gift. You have that memory of the time when someone surprised you with a gift you will never forget. As a child it may have been a toy that you just thought you had to have. I still have the Jasmin Bunny I was given as a 6-year-old, she has been my constant companion ever since. Here’s how it is supposed to work on a perfect Christmas morning. You get up on Christmas morning and you find packages underneath a tree. They are wrapped in colourful paper with ribbons and bows. A minor distraction when it comes time to open the gift. Up until that moment they are a mystery. You may shake them and listen closely to detect some telling sound that would give away the secret but gifts are meant to be opened. They are not a gift until they are received. God offers us the gift of Jesus but we have to receive Him and accept Him. If, this Christmas, you leave a package wrapped and unopened it will be useless. Don’t leave Jesus under the tree this Christmas.
23rd December 2022
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
How are your Christmas plans coming along? Are you ready? We do like to be ready for the family, the guests, plenty of food and gifts, expecting people at certain times. God did not wait until everyone was ready for his son to be born. God did not wait until the world was ready, or until Joseph was ready, or until Mary was ready. And that is a good thing, if He had we would still be waiting. God helped Joseph and Mary to become ready. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to help him find his way. The angel appeared to Mary and told her God’s plan. The angel addressed Joseph as “son of David,” reminding Joseph that God’s plan was always to bless the world through a descendent of David, and Joseph would be that descendent; but it is the last thing he expected. The angel told Joseph that Mary would bear a son, and that he should be named Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins.” That is literally what Jesus’ name means. And it is why he was born. To save us from our sins. To heal our broken world. God did not wait for everyone to be ready the first time and He is not going to wait for us to be ready before He comes again.
22nd December 2022
Matthew 2:13 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt."
How do you react to difficult news? Often we react very quickly before knowing the full story and that can completely wreck a viable situation where we have got the wrong end of the stick. Engaged to Mary, Joseph’s life had taken a very unexpected turn, in the blink of an eye, and he really wasn’t sure how to proceed. I suspect that most of us can relate to Joseph. Most of us have had something happen in our lives that took us off our planned route, and left us without a map or a clue about how to proceed. Life has a way of doing that, doesn’t it? What Joseph would later find out is that God had a plan for him the whole time. It wasn’t Joseph’s original plan, but this was much better. When life takes us on a detour, it is very comforting to remember that God has a plan, that God is still in control. And when we believe that, and trust God, there is no detour too great to cause us to lose our way. Christmas means, among many other things, that God is full of surprises and we must never jump in too quickly when we do not know the full story. Our world does not have to be orderly or predictable for God to enter it. He is there in every situation, ready to show us all we need to know to be part of His plan.
21st December 2022
Matthew 1:19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
When Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit, Joseph was completely blindsided. I suspect that nothing could have shocked him more. Joseph might well have been counting down the days to his wedding; he might have had the big day circled in his calendar. But then there came this curve ball from out of the blue, that completely upended his plans, and ultimately overturned his entire life. Hurt and confused by what Mary had seemingly done, Joseph planned to dismiss her quietly. He did this because he didn’t want to expose her to public disgrace. He cared for Mary, but now he could not have her as his wife. How could he, now that she was found to be pregnant? Think of how devastated Joseph must have been by this turn of events! All of his hopes and dreams; all the plans he had for his life, had suddenly disappeared. And the girl that he thought he knew and loved suddenly seemed to be somebody that he didn’t know at all. Joseph is a compassionate, caring man and even in the midst of something awful he does not want to punish someone or hurt them. Thankfully Joseph's fears are unfounded and in God's strength he becomes the earthly father of our Saviour Jesus.
20th December 2022
Isaiah 44:22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
We have had the usual round of Christmas adverts from the various stores. I particularly like Lidl Bear, partly because I am a huge fan of Teddy bears and very much appreciate the little girl missing her treasured bear, but also because of the story of redemption in those few moments. A bear who finds fame, suddenly has everything it seems, lives the life so many of us think we want and then realises he actually had everything he needed to begin with. He returns home on Christmas morning to the complete joy of his little girl. Sometimes we think that the glitter in front of us is all we want, we long for fame and fortune, and then we begin to realise it is not all it promises to be. We long for what we had, those we loved and who loved us, those who accepted us for who we are. We begin to realise our mistake and want to turn around and go back. Sometimes this is really hard to do, but with Jesus the opportunity for redemption is always there. We can always turn back, always find the way back with God who will be overjoyed that we have come back to Him.
19th December 2022
Matthew 1:18a This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.
The last Sunday of Advent is a time when we get an early Christmas present in our worship and in our scripture readings. Because the readings finally get around to the celebration at the heart of Christmas: the birth of Jesus. We finally get the Christmas story recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, not Luke’s. Luke’s story is told from Mary’s perspective. Matthew’s is told from Joseph’s perspective. Both stories are about the same miraculous birth, but they emphasise different things. Just as if any Mum were to tell the story of their child’s birth, they would tell different things from the Dad. Joseph’s side of the story teaches us about the miracle of Christmas. The surprise gift of Christmas. Joseph’s account reminds us that the birth of Jesus was completely unexpected. Not just for Mary, but for Joseph, and really for everyone. That first Christmas was a surprise in all sorts of ways. Advent calendars can make it seem like Christmas comes in a very orderly and predictable way. But the first Christmas was anything but orderly, and definitely not expected.
Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen the weary hands and make firm the feeble knees.
Sometimes when I read the Bible a verse will really jump out at me, this is one those. As I get older I find both the strength in my hands and the movement of my knees has deteriorated. I can’t always open the jars now; I find kneeling really hard and going up and down stairs is not as easy as it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am still fit and healthy but the gazelle like bounding up the stairs is definitely no longer happening. Here in Isaiah, we are reminded that God sees these weary hands and feeble knees and hears our prayers to strengthen them. When we need that extra strength, that extra energy God can and will step in. Sometimes the weariness and feebleness come from Spiritual and mental struggles, again God is there to strengthen us. This verse makes me smile, makes me realise that God’s word has so many things in it about normal people. Thank you, Lord.
17th December 2022
Matthew 8:16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
For many folk Jesus is seen as a good man, a miracle worker, a healer. Even those who don’t believe usually accept He did some amazing things. As Christians, if we accept Jesus as the Son of God, as part of the triune God who is responsible for creation and the natural world, then we understand how He was able to do miracles, to heal people. He has power over the very nature He created. Today we possess so much science that offers us miraculous healing. Things which wiped out huge numbers of people, now cured, operations unthought of even 20 years ago now happening. The things of today are the miracles of the past, as we move on in our God given intelligence, learning new things, developing new techniques and drugs, we turn miracles into ordinary life. We are so used to it we forget just how miraculous it is. God offers us physical and mental healing through medicines, medical professionals, science, the help of others. He is still a God of miracles, we are just very good at giving humans and science the credit. God provided the intelligence, the resources and the ability to develop these things and it is that which allows us to advance miracles of healing so regularly.
16th December 2022
Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
When I was in college, I often did a shift at the bar, as evenings went on folk would become more inebriated and then some would be very joyful and comedic, others would become quite maudlin. It was as if the alcohol made them dwell more on the difficulties in their lives than the joys. People I know who struggle with alcohol talk about drinking to forget but say that the more you drink the more your mind dwells on your problems. In recent years we have finally begun to take mental health seriously but the pandemic and cost of living crisis, the lack of money and huge bills mean people are in more need now than ever, both practically and mentally. As usual the Government help in these areas is non-existent, with schools and work places now funding their own with even less money. Forgetting our problems may bring some relief initially but they never go and nothing is really achieved. All I know is that God promises a peace, not all the answers or solutions, but a way of coping which allows us to stay the course and to think outside the box. God does not promise everything always perfect and wonderful, but He does promise, strength, peace, help and encouragement. He also gives us others to help, to listen, to support and we must never feel we cannot ask for help when we need it. God offers His help through others, just remember that knock on the door, that envelope, that delivery may be from God’s helpers, the angels of this work He has provided to help us.
15th December 2022
Luke 15:17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
Recently I was reminded of the Mazes we visited with the children. If you think of navigating a maze, to find the exit, we will take many wrong turns, sometimes even the same ones, but these wrong turns ultimately help us move through the maze and get to the exit. Similarly, in life, wrong turns can redirect us onto something greater, a better clearer path. It is also the case that those who experience hardship, struggles and wrong turns in life often develop more resiliency, more determination, and more courage. Making a wrong turn, facing failure, rarely means the end of something and often it can be the beginning of something new and often better, because it offers us the option to try again, to gain wisdom, to learn and progress. The prodigal son came to a realisation. He realised he could still have a place in his father’s estate where he would be better off than he was now. What he didn’t realise until he got home is that his father’s love is so unconditional that even in his failure he is still welcomed, still loved, still valued, he is not given up upon. However, much society may judge us by our perceived successes and failures, in God’s eyes we are loved and accepted for who we are. Navigating life’s maze means making mistakes, errors and failures, but we should not be afraid of these, but rather in God’s grace, use them as a springboard to find another way.
14th December 2022
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
The snow on Sunday night as I came home from church was both welcome, I love the snow, but also worrying, as I was travelling on quickly disappearing roads. When it came it came hard and fast, fortunately I was near enough to home, but others quickly became stranded on motor ways in Kent. I did not expect it, the weather I had seen suggested a little flutter maybe and also, we never get much snow this near to London. Many of us were surprised and caught unawares. How we react when things happen suddenly says a lot about us. Those who are always prepared, blanket, food and water in the car, those with nothing, those who kept on going and trying and those who stopped as soon as a little white stuff fluttered down. In faith we need to be prepared for anything, expect the unexpected as they say. At any time, Jesus could return, at any time there could be an emergency, someone who needs our help, a job that God wants us to do. Being a Christian is not a sit back and relax faith, but an action-based faith. We are called to help, to minister, to act for others and to share God’s love through practical loving ways. We may never know the consequences of all we do for others but God sees and encourages and supports, giving all we need to be people of practical faith, who are always ready and prepared.
13th December 2022
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my Lord for ever.
When we fail it can feel really uncomfortable or seem like a deeply personal setback. Have you ever looked on failure as a steppingstone to success through growth and opportunities to try again. While its challenging, failure is often inevitable, whether it comes as a missed deadline, a calculation error, an interview without a job offer or that wrong reaction which caused so much hurt. Knowing how to accept and appreciate failure can help us use it as a learning opportunity. We can see failure as not getting the desired outcome and the opposite of success, but our definition of success includes wealth and prosperity rather than happiness and wellbeing. Acknowledging the feelings associated with failure is an important step in gaining emotional intelligence and the ability to recognise the impact it has. Failures often lead to success because they allow us to test and try what doesn't work and to discover what does. As Christians we will need to learn and change as we grow in faith. Experiencing failure might be painful initially, but without it, we might well miss the many benefits it can bring. God knows we are not perfect and that we will fail, thankfully He accepts us as we are, failures and all, always ready to help when we call to Him.
12th December 2022
Matthew 12:34b For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
I wonder how many times you have been asked what’s in your heart? We are told that the words we speak reflect what is in our hearts. We can only pretend for so long with false smiles and trying to be nice, but eventually the Scrooge or Grinch inside will come out if it’s there. The real us is reflected in how we behave, how we speak to others. If we are foul mouthed constantly then we need to examine our hearts, if we are happy to ridicule, speak ill of or be nasty to others under the guise of fun or banter then we need to examine our hearts. I was always told; if you cannot say anything good then say nothing. What we say matters, by our very words we will be judged, if we lie, ridicule, make fun, criticise then we will have to face up to that before God. As is often said it is better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to open our mouths and remove any doubt. None of us are perfect, we will say the wrong thing sometimes, the problem is when we are doing it almost all the time because then it is what is in our heart that is fueling what we say and that needs to change.
10th December 2022
Isaiah 11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
People have often been forewarned of events, of what might happen if things don’t change. Right now, we are being warned of the terrible changes in our climate unless we change how we live and quickly. People were foretold of the coming Messiah, of Jesus being born, but people easily ignored many of the prophecies about the Messiah that did not fit with their way of thinking. Kings aren’t born in stables, only palaces, kings are rich, kings have power to destroy. Kings don’t serve. Kings don’t take an interest in the poor or challenge the status quo. Jesus does not fit into the picture they had made for themselves. Jesus often does not fit into the picture we draw for ourselves. We want the power, the authority, the riches, but not the servanthood, the ridicule, the challenge. As much as we spend Advent preparing for Xmas, we are also supposed to be preparing for his return. Making sure we don’t fall into the trap like those who forgot about the Messiah because of the time frame. We need to always be prepared, to live as Christians ready for Jesus both this Christmas and every day.
9th December 2022
Matthew 3:3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”’
What have you done to prepare for Christmas so far? Any trees up? Decorations? Presents bought? Presents packed? Have you been opening your Advent Calendar? As part of the preparation for Jesus first coming at Bethlehem, there were prophecies, His coming was foretold. Isaiah spoke of the virgin who would bear a son, and Him being from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, called Emmanuel. Micah spoke of Bethlehem as the place He would be born, Malachi spoke of the forerunner who would prepare the way. These are just a few. There are many more prophecies about His life, miracles, death and resurrection. These prophecies were given so people could get ready for the Messiah, for Jesus. We prepare for things when we know they are coming, people coming for dinner, packed lunches for school or work, doing homework, preparing for a baby to come, getting ready for a new job. Where possible we should always be prepared. As people got ready for the messiah, they prepared, unfortunately they also forgot when it took longer than they wanted.
8th December 2022
Luke 2:13,14 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
Around this time of year, I tend to get asked what my favourite Christmas carol is. I admit that each year I tend to find a carol will jump out at me, have a different message for me. I do love all the carols, certain one’s fit perfectly in certain services. This year the carol that is rattling round in my consciousness is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”. The carol picks up on the themes of war and peace which seem very relevant to the Ukraine situation and the lack of peace in so many places at present. It speaks of two thousand years of wrong, of man at war with man hears not the love song which the angels bring. The final verse reminds us of the age to come, an age of peace when all will finally hear and join in with the song of the angels. I wish I could rise over the strife in Ukraine and say oh hush the noise ye men of strife and hear the angels sing. We may not be able to physically do this but we can pray for it, we can raise the people who want nothing more than the strife to stop and for their freedom to be returned, raise them to the Lord. We can pray for the age of Gold to come and peace to be over all. If you get a chance to sing this carol this year please do look at the words and remember those whose Christmas is blighted by war.
7th December 2022
1 Peter 2:16a Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.
I recently went to see the London Production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Still my favourite childhood Story. I was reminded of how easy it is for us not to take responsibility for our actions and in doing so put others at risk. One of the four key children in the story succumbs to the charms of the evil White Witch and in doing so endangers his siblings and the kingdom. To redeem him a sacrifice has to be made, a sacrifice of huge magnitude which puts everyone at risk. The story is an allegory of God’s sacrifice to save us. We all make mistakes, we all try to cover up our faults but in both the story and in life it is the recognition of our wrongdoing, the taking responsibility, which allows the sacrifice made for us to redeem us. It is far too easy to pass the buck, to make excuses and to use our freedom in Christ as a cover up for evil. We must show proper respect for honesty, integrity, goodness and for everyone no matter who they are because God made His huge sacrifice for everyone, to offer everyone the opportunity to take responsibility and be redeemed.
6th December 2022
Matthew 5:14b People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
We have just put up our Christmas lights. We invested in new ones which use less electricity, have a timer and are bright. Lights are so different now, they can go outside without costing a fortune, they use so much less electricity and much more efficient. Even so, I have noticed that whereas lights have been left on all night in the past, now they are only on in the evening. People are saving electricity but still wanting to share the colours and light needed at this time of year. Light is so vital in the dark nights, folk going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark, the lights give some joy in dark times. Darkness can be a time of fear, of cold, of loneliness, but bright, sparkling, flashing lights serve to push away the darkness, to cut through and provide light, reassurance and encouragement. Jesus was called the Light of the world, the one who pushed away the darkness of evil, who shone a light on the fear and loneliness, who changed lives from darkness to light. Festivals of light are crucial to our faith and our world; we provide light in the darkness of winter.
4th December 2022
Luke 1:3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account.
Can you remember how you came to faith? Did you grow up in it or someone shared it with you, or you encountered something that made you question and seek answers? However it happened, part of what we do or should do is to look at what has been done, what is written and taught and grow as Christians. In this beginning of Luke’s gospel, Luke is clear about his aims in writing it, to give an orderly account of what Jesus did and said, to see the links to prophecies fulfilled in Jesus coming, to show the eyewitness accounts, to investigate and know the truth. These are good, honesty driven, reasons for sharing Luke’s experiences with others, with us. Over years of faith, I have changed my view on many things, God has had to open some very closed eyes and deaf ears, but He takes each one of us as we are and slowly shows us what needs to change in our lives. Although we may strive for perfection it is unattainable. We will never be completely right and when we judge others by our opinions and views we endanger their relationship with God who will change them in His time not ours. It is far too easy to think we know it all and have got it all right, sadly we will never get it all right and need to be as willing to change our views later in life as we were when we first found faith.
3rd December 2022
Matthew 24:42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
You may have noticed how colour is used in the Church of England. The altar cloths, falls and various covers change colour with the liturgical seasons of the year. Currently we are in Advent, the colour is purple, and it is what is known as a penitential season. We reflect on our wrongdoings and make changes. Purple is a colour that reflects repentance, self-denial, preparedness and fasting, but it also a royal colour reflecting the Kingship of Christ. Three of the Advent candles are purple and are lit to remind us of the Patriarchs, the Prophets and John The Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus. There is also a rose candle, not for Mary as many assume, but for Gaudete Sunday, The third Sunday where, like with Mothering Sunday in Lent, there is an uplifting time of Joy and celebration within the austerity of the season. The antiphon for this Sunday is Rejoice in the Lord always from Philippians and so rose pink represented the joy of the Lord. The final candle is white, in the centre of the wreath and lit on Christmas day when all the cloths and falls change to white and Gold for the Christmas season. White is a colour of purity and light, the holiness of God in the Christ born at Christmas.
2nd December 2022
2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of love and self-control.
Do you feel in control of your life or does it feel like life controls you? We actually do have the God given ability to control our lives, but what are our priorities? Working all the time often becomes a necessity, especially when the cost of living is so high, but it is not beneficial, neither to us or to those we love and support. I had a father who was always working, we saw little benefit money wise and our family relationship suffered terribly. Life needs to have balance. We need to ask ourselves what we do to keep our work in balance with other parts of our life? Do we have rest times, down times? If not why not? Even Jesus knew that all humans need time away, time to eat, time to rest. Do we take time to eat properly? Do we take time for ourselves in the business of life? No excuses, we must try making specific times in our day to rest, to enjoy simple things and to make sure we eat properly. Sometimes we have to re-evaluate our priorities, because I have known many families who would prefer to have someone at home with them and be hard up, than comfortable without their family member. Families and friends need us, value us and we must value ourselves before God.
1st December 2022
Matthew 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Advent is a time for looking both forwards and backwards. The term comes from the Latin, Adventus, which means coming. Jesus first came at Bethlehem but also spoke of coming back, of the great trumpet call, this is often called the second coming. During the late 4th early 5th centuries new Christians were prepared for Baptism at Epiphany with 40 days of preparation, including fasting and prayer. Preparing for baptism into the faith and preparing for Jesus’ return became combined into the festival of Advent. All Christians were expected to prepare for celebrating the nativity of Jesus, His first coming, but also to be prepared for His second coming. Advent is a penitential season, similar to Lent, where we examine our lives, seek forgiveness and make changes; when things are more austere in church, no flowers, the colour purple is used, the Gloria is not used and time is spent reflecting on one’s own preparedness. Today we focus much more on preparing for Christmas, on Jesus first coming, but Advent still contains the readings and teachings which remind us of His second coming and that we need always to be ready for His return.
30th November 2022
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
How can we renew our minds? Seems a strange idea and yet, what we see, hear and experience each day affects us and our minds. Sadly, much of what we witness in daily life is filled with negativity and awfulness. The constant negative news, the constant lies of politicians, the terrible plight of the hungry and poor demonised by right wing press. Instead, what we need are good and wholesome things to fill our minds with. Instead of death and destruction we need life and construction. It is often said that what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what is in our heart and mind. Think about what you say out loud to others, is it good and wholesome or is unpleasant and rude? There are no excuses, what we say about others matters and reflects on us. We must try to be more mindful of what we say because these words and actions show who we really are. Renewing our minds to wholesome and good things will change our perspective on life, it will change how we see others and it will enable us to be people of God who always seek for the truth, for the good of all and for the best outcomes in life.
29th November 2022
John 3:16 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.
Sometimes in life, we don’t recognise our own needs or problems and we don’t recognise our need for God. There are still so many in society who ignore God. Like the religious leaders, the soldiers, the other thief, at Jesus death, people called Jesus to “Save yourself! Prove who you are. Save us.” These people wanted a magic show; they wanted Jesus to “do what I want, for me, now”. “Do this and I will believe” they say. Jesus did exactly that time and again, but they still did not believe. These people and many of us want to escape our lives rather than have them put back together by God in a fantastic way we could never imagine. So, instead of letting God bless us and care for us we mock, we deride Jesus. And yet, the cross is the ultimate act of love, compassion and forgiveness by God as Christ joins with and aligns himself with us in the pain and suffering of this life. God loves us utterly, completely and unconditionally, He proves Himself constantly to us and offers forgiveness and saving every moment of every day. All we must do is believe.
28th November 2022
Ephesians 1:10 At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth.
The term remembering in the sense of bringing all the pieces together, putting the parts back again as one; is the opposite of dismembering; separation, pulling apart, tearing limb from limb. The thief on the cross wants to be remembered, put back together again, not to simply be thought about and the same goes for us. Just like the thief we want to be re-membered, to have the many pieces of our life put back together. Our cry to be remembered is also a recognition and confession of our dismemberment. We have been dismembered, because pieces have been scattered and lost. Sometimes through the circumstances of life; loss and grief, shattered dreams, disappointment, regret, failures, the death of a loved one. Our life becomes fragmented and broken. It can happen in all sorts of ordinary ways: anger and resentment, criticism, judgment, envy, comparison and competition, gossip, bad mouthing another, perfectionism, the need to be right or in control, busyness, excessive productivity and efficiency. If we look at our relationships, wherever there is strain, hurt and brokenness, the chances are that we are being dismembered, forgotten, torn apart. That is not the life God gave us. That is not God’s dream or hope for us. That’s not what it was like in the very beginning, on the day of our creation, when God looked at all of creation, us included, He declared, “It is very good.”
27th November 2022
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, our calendars do not start until Thursday this week, but with Christmas Day on a Sunday this year, this is the earliest the first Sunday of Advent can be. For the church this is the hinge of the year, the previous liturgical year is over and the new one begins. Unlike the New Year we celebrate on January 1st, this one does not have parties or celebrations because Advent is a Penitential season. Penitence is recognising and showing sorrow and remorse for our wrongdoing. It is part of the preparation for the Christmas season. It is about preparing oneself for the coming of Jesus; the first coming of Jesus at Bethlehem, but also the second coming when Christ returns and the New Heaven and New Earth are finally fulfilled as God intended them. Today we remember the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David: those who looked forward to God’s promised Messiah. We light a Purple candle and look forward with them to the coming Messiah.
26th November 2022
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
When I first started teaching, I would always go into school early, I still do it today. I love the school when it is quiet, no one is yet around and there is peacefulness. This allows me to get ready, be prepared, have everything ready to go but also be able to adapt should things change suddenly, which they can. During the pandemic I also found that time so valuable to walk the school and pray. I was pretty much confined to my office when everyone was in school, so being able to walk and pray before everyone came in made a huge difference. We are all different, we need those differences, but there is something about being prepared, being in a place before everything happens, being able to set ourselves for what is to come and offer up our best. It is the same for me in church, I am always there early to prepare the place but also myself. We all need to be ready before God, to spend time with Him not just together in church but also alone, in quietness and solitude. For some it is the journey to work, for others a quiet place in the home, for others even a cloakroom. Wherever we find our place we need a little time, time to be with God, time to prepare, time to be ready so that even when things change quickly, and they will, we can step up knowing we are ready and prepared because we have spent time with God.
25th November 2022
Philippians 1:2 I pray with joy because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now.
Have you heard the term Blue Sky thinking? It involves an individual or group of people looking at something with fresh eyes and not being bound by the usual constraints. Albert Einstein was a blue-sky thinker, often laughed at and disregarded, his thinking led to some of the greatest scientific discoveries and advances in society. Across time there have been many of these blue sky moments and times that have changed our world view, not least the Sun at the centre of the Universe, Newton discovering Gravity, the rights of women, or in recent years the World Wide Web. People thinking outside the box, having a clear vision not obstructed by societal norms, seeing the bigger picture, these have all changed things. The very fact that Christianity is a worldwide faith shows us how the early Christians had this clear vision and went for it. They travelled the world even though it was dangerous and took so long; they shared their faith, they opened eyes so that people heard about Jesus. This creative and imaginative force within us is given by God. He gave those first Christians a clear vision, He has given that to us throughout the ages and gives it to us now. God offers a clear vision if we are willing to look, grasp and strive for the best and not let clouds or problems stand in our way.
24th November 2022
Romans 12:2a Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed and changed by the renewing of your mind.
A recent report I read suggested that resilience has become one of those buzz words we band about but don’t really understand. It also suggested that parents are not that keen on this word or its implications for our young people. Instead let’s think about it as sticking with things and people through thick and thin. It is another way of looking at resilience, and it helps understand how we build our determination, our constancy and how we can develop our reactions to events and people in our lives. Across cultures we see people make promises to serve a country or people, promises to stick with someone until they have paid off a debt, promises to sponsor someone trying to clean up from drink and drugs. In our culture children have God parents who promise to help parents in the upbringing of their children and parents themselves make promises in how they will bring up their children. We have people in public life who make promises to serve their community but, and it is a big but, so often once these promises are made, they are forgotten very quickly and stickability is lost. We seem to have forgotten the importance of making a commitment and sticking to it, an example is the commitment of marriage which has declined as people say they don’t need to marry to be committed to each other but when things get tough it is far easier to walk away than try to work things out. Being held to our promises and commitments is the very heart of stickability and resilience. We are reminded not to conform to the pattern of this world, in other words not to break our promises just because other people do, not to abandon people during difficult times because other people do, not to take seriously our commitments and promises because all we see is people who lie to get themselves into power and then do whatever is needed to keep that power. God is the chief example of one who sticks with us no matter what, He fulfils His promises and commitments even when we turn away from ours.
23rd November 2022
Isaiah 49:16 Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”
We all know what it is like to be remembered and we know what it is like to be forgotten. Think of a time you were remembered, how it felt, a phone call, a letter, a visit, a gift, a surprise, recognising you. I bet it made you feel good. We all want to be remembered. It means that we matter, there is life, presence, and relationship in being remembered. We know how important remembering is. The Feast of All Saints, Remembrance Sunday, we remember those we love, who are forever a part of us and our lives. Compare that with a time when you were forgotten. What did that feel like? Someone forgot your birthday, or the anniversary of your wedding or the death of a loved one. In those moments we feel alone, abandoned, uncertain, afraid, wounded, maybe even angry. There is a sense of helplessness. We are no longer sure of our place and whether we even belong. No one wants to be forgotten, we want to be remembered. Jesus promises that remembrance. He will never forget us, we are inscribed on the palms of Jesus hands.
22nd November 2022
Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Many of the words in the Communion service speak into our relationship with God. The very act of Communion is anamnesis, a remembering through action of what Jesus did for us. Every time we participate in the life of Christ by living with mercy, compassion, forgiveness; every time we speak a word of hope and encouragement; every time we love without condition, expectation, or payment; every time we share our bread and live in communion with one another we participate in Christ’s remembering of our own lives, the lives of each other, and the life of the world. We “do this in remembrance of [Jesus].” In those moments we hear the promise of Jesus, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Why is that the promise given us on the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year? That promise is the hinge between the ending of this liturgical year and the beginning of the next. It stands between the crucifixion and the nativity. In Christ’s eyes we are never forgotten we are forever and always remembered. “Today you will be with me in paradise” is Jesus’ promise to each one of us, this day and every day.
21st November 2022
Matthew 23:37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
The few verses at the end of Matthew chapter 23 are called the Lament over Jerusalem. A lament is a passionate expression of grief or regret. A whole book in the Old Testament is called Lamentations. This sadness can be expressed through poetry, prose or song and allows an internal feeling to be expressed outwardly. What is so powerful here is that God, Jesus laments, God is sad, God is grieving over His people who have turned their back on Him. This Holy City, the very city that will become new has turned away from its creator. We tend to think of God as all powerful and all knowing but we rarely think of Him as sad, as grieving, yet we carry the very emotions He has as we were created in His image. God grieves when we turn away, when we do not share His love with others, when people ridicule all God has given to us out of love. As much as God grieves, He will never force us only wait for us to find Him again. Once the time for the New Jerusalem comes there will be no more waiting. Humans have a choice to make and when we turn from God it saddens His heart.
20th November 2022
Genesis 28:16 The Lord is here! He is in this place, and I didn't know it!
I wonder if you have ever had problems with your brother or sister, if you have any siblings. Quite often there can be sibling rivalry, one upmanship, the desire to be better or to be the favourite. In the Old Testament there are a number of stories where brothers go against each other, where tensions are high and favouritism causes real problems. It's becoming clear that Jacob, not Esau, is the son through whom God will make a nation and bless the world. But while out in the desert he has a dream. His dream of a ladder up to heaven with angels going up and down is a symbol of the fact that even with all his faults, he has a working and good relationship with God. Esau never finds this relationship. This dream serves to remind Jacob and us that earth and heaven are in fact close. They are not as far apart as we often think they are. The world can seem very ordinary sometimes, without much room for God, but Jacob’s ladder to heaven reminds us that the boundaries between earth and heaven are porous. There is two-way traffic as God involves himself in our world and we pray to Him in Heaven. Jacob called the place 'Bethel', meaning 'House of God'. He realises God was right there even though he did not know it. Sometimes we have this same experience, perhaps in the most ordinary of places. God is there, in every place, even though we might forget it.
19th November 2022
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promises, but is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The recent budget was once again a calculated reaction to a situation rather than sticking to the promises made by a government. Yes, we must change and adapt to circumstances but completely abandoning pledges because of a failure to look after their commitments, shows that promises are just a means to an end, power and wealth for the few. Sticking with a situation, a promise, a commitment is not easy, but it is vital to the ordering and running of our world. Being able to ride out the rough with the smooth is crucial in life because life is not one big positive experience. There are amazing parts to life but also the difficult and awful parts. We celebrate success, promotions and new life but we also meet illness, failure and death. As has been said in many a song and speech, life is a rollercoaster with many ups and downs. We must as both Christians and humans, take seriously the commitments we make, not just to get us what we want but because it is together that life is at its best and fairest, together we make a difference, together we support one another through the difficult times and celebrate with one another through the good times. The example we have is God who sticks with us through every moment, Jesus who even when we fail still fulfils His promises, who does not give up on us after a few days or weeks but sticks with us through thick and thin. The least we can do for one another is to stick with each other and to help each other whatever happens. This way we will all have a better life, and our community will be a better, stronger and more stable place for all.
18th November 2022
Genesis 20:2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
One of the shocking things about many Old Testament stories is the normality of women being treated as property. This appears normal in the ancient world, but in the Bible the way these stories are told usually show God's condemnation of this misogynistic behaviour. As much as Abraham is held up as a patriarch whose example should be followed, he is actually willing to prostitute his own wife to secure his own safety. Abraham willingly passes Sarah off as his sister so that the king Abimelech will take her into his house. Abraham shows no respect for Sarah’s honour and no regard at all for her safety. He also controls her by telling her it is a test of her loyalty to him for her to do this. Controlling and coercive behaviour. Not acceptable by anyone. Abraham is seen in a terrible light here. The wise statesman, powerful warrior and ancestor of all Israel is a terrible moral failure. God himself intervenes to save Sarah. This is an example of shameful behaviour the kind of which we're more sensitive about today, but still misogyny is rife, particularly in the church and in nationalist policies. In the New Testament, Paul doesn’t help much either, he does tell husbands to love their wives, as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it, but that is far to easy to wriggle out of. It also shows us that doing the right thing, having integrity requires morality and courage. Once we give into selfish behaviour, once we are corrupted in our morality towards others the consequences are terrible and not of God.
17th November 2022
Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
We are currently seeing people in need of a decent wage rise. Contrary to a government agenda, most public sector pay has been either frozen or given very small increases in the last 12 years. Some public sector workers have seen no rises in several years, all while the cost of living is rising. The government figures on inflation bear no resemblance to the price hike in energy, pasta, milk, bread, eggs and so on. People are expected to live on, by MP’s, 30p a day and be grateful. Meanwhile they claim for energy costs, food allowances etc up to £300,000 a year. Until someone has to live on next to nothing, cannot afford to heat their home or hot water, have a few pounds to buy food which is now 3 or 4 times what it was, none of us can judge or criticise those in this position. Millions in poverty, children in school hungry. We are so wrapped up in blaming them, a useful tool by those in charge, that we cannot see the blatant greed of the wealthy. God has been completely clear in the Bible, a fair wage for work. This is not a gift or at the whim of the wealthy, it is due, expected and should be given without complaint. Right now we need wages to rise and rise fairly in a wealthy country where the poor are getting poorer while the wealthy are increasing their wealth massively on a daily basis.
16th November 2022
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you to the nations.
Every so often I have to apply for a new DBS certificate. Because I work with Children and vulnerable adults I have to be cleared as not having anything in my background that might be a threat. In many ways it is intrusive but it is also necessary. We want our children, our vulnerable to be cared for and helped by those who are going to do their best for them. Over the years the completion of the form has become easier because things can be checked online. Every one of us has a footprint we leave upon this world. Our names, dates of birth and NI numbers etc clarify who we are and allows us to be seen for who we are in society. I am able to prove who I am and be verified by those who are trained to check everything. Before God we do not have to prove who we are, He created us, He knows exactly who we are even if we pretend to be otherwise. Before God we do not need a passport, a NI number, birth certificate because God already knows all those things about us. He knows the number of hairs on our heads, knew us before we were born, knows the tears we cry and carries us in His heart. Proof of who we are in God is completely covered in Jesus. We are His, we are loved, saved and kept in the Father heart of God by the death and resurrection of the Son, Jesus.
15th November 2022
Mark 9:2b There Jesus was transfigured before them.
Real life is a mixture of good and bad, often things are confusing and messy and we have to work hard often for little reward. Sometimes we hit a high, often called a mountain top experience where things are amazing, clear and wonderful but these happen rarely. Peter’s everyday experiences had caused him to try and turn Jesus away from His earthly mission. Jesus had condemned Peter and yet very soon after this Peter, along with James and John, is invited to join Jesus in the Mountain Top experience. They find themselves part of a glorious vision including Elijah and Moses which clearly validates Jesus as God’s chosen one, the Messiah who was to come. They had witnessed Jesus’ miracles, seen lives changed but now they were in the presence of God Himself. We are sometimes given 'mountain-top experiences' of our own, when God seems very near to us and the veil between earth and heaven is lifted. These experiences are precious, but they aren't the norm. When Peter, James and John came down the mountain they found anger, failure, confusion, messy daily life. The disciples are not able to help someone who needs healing. This is real day to day life; this is the life within which we minister. We will get frustrated, we will get it wrong, we will find it exhausting. Those mountain top experiences are there to encourage us, help us, strengthen us to cope with the difficulties of the valley in which we live each day.
14th November 2022
John 5:25 Very truly I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
What are you waiting for? At this time of year children are waiting for Christmas, getting more and more excited. We often “Can’t wait” for a holiday, a party, a visit, a special event. Jesus used this phrase the hour is coming. Something is coming but not yet. This was explained to me through the adage “pie in the sky when we die or steak on the plate while we wait”. Part of Christianity is patience, waiting for what is to come. The trouble with patience and waiting is that we can lose focus. We can get bored, wander off, get a bit lazy with life now, but God wants us to have life in all its fullness now, not just in the future in Heaven. There were also early Christians who were so caught up in going to Heaven they were no earthly good. It was all about the future and nothing got done in the here and now. Yes we are promised Heaven but we are also called to live life now, to share God’s love with others, to be helping others, caring, compassionate, forgiving, honest, just and fair. We are called to work for and serve God in our daily lives but also knowing the hour will come and we shall be heavenward bound.
13th November 2022
Mark 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
How are you perceived at home, at work, by others? Often, we are not seen in the same light by family as we are by others or at work. Jesus was attracting large crowds; they came to hear his teaching and often get fed and sometimes healed. When he went back to his own town, Nazareth, it was a different story: the people only saw the carpenter’s son who had grown up among them. Calling him the 'Mary’s son' indicated they doubted the legitimacy of Jesus' birth and so made this cruel insult. Joseph believed that Mary conceived 'by the Holy Spirit', as Christians do, but perhaps the townsfolk weren't so sure. They saw Jesus as getting above himself and so He was not able to perform any miracles there apart from a few healings. This seems quite shocking. We are used to thinking of Jesus being able to do anything. But Mark is quite clear: Jesus was limited in what he could do by the people's lack of faith in him. Let ‘s be very clear, there is no connection between the amount of faith we have and what God does for us. That idea is very cruel, especially if we are blamed for not having enough faith when we or a loved one are not healed or helped. But it clearly shows us there is a need for us to co-operate with God in everything we do. If we aren't receptive to God’s leading and open to his possibilities, we can limit what He can do with us and through us.
12th November 2022
1 John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
Unlike those who have fought in wars and those who still fight for our freedom and protection, we will probably never be asked to love others to the extent of giving up our lives for them. We are still called to show our love to others and for others, in all sorts of different ways. Others are those we meet at school and work, members of our family, our neighbours, our community, those in difficulty, the poor, the sick, the unloved and disregarded, in fact we are called to love everyone, even those who live on the other side of the world who it is so easy to forget. We show this love by the ways in which we help others in person and through organisations and charity work we support. At this time of remembrance, we recall and give thanks for those who have given up their lives to bring freedom to this country, and across the world, and as we do this let us also remember that Jesus willingly gave up His life to deal with the evil in our world and in our hearts, making us new again. Once that happens within us, we can, through love, go out and change the world and make it a more peaceful place by spreading His new life and growth.
11th November 2022
Psalm 105:8 He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.
Today we Remember those who gave their lives in service of their countries. Most of us will be wearing poppies. The reason we use a poppy to help us remember is that they were the first things to start growing again in the muddy fields of World War 1. The Poppy usually has three parts. The black bit in the middle of the poppy can represent all the terrible parts of war, the hate, the suffering, the pride, the anger, the violence, the desire for more power, more land and more money. All the bad bits of war come from the same place, out of the human heart; evil thoughts of anger, murder, immorality, theft, lies and slander. It is quite a disturbing thought that a war can begin with one man or one woman’s evil heart? They then share that evil idea with others, The idea then spreads to another person and another person until a nation is led into something awful, like a world war. The red part of the Poppy represents blood, the fact that many people gave their lives in wars so that we can live in a free country. The red part can also remind us of Jesus, also willing to lay down his life for everyone in the world, so that the problem of the blackness in our hearts could be sorted out, so that we can live free from evil. Love is much more powerful than evil. The red part of the poppy is much bigger than the black part. The green part of your poppy, the green leaf and stem reminds us of things that grow, that even in the depths of death and war new and beautiful things begin to grow. New life comes out of death. New life in Christ comes out of Jesus death on the cross. New life and democracies can come out of war.
10th November 2022
Luke 20:27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.
How good are you at riddles? Word puzzles, questions that make us think. Sometimes riddles are funny, sometimes not. What goes up when the rain comes down? An umbrella. What is full of holes but can still hold water? A sponge! Riddles have been around since before the time of Jesus. One day, Jesus was approached by a group of Sadducees, religious leaders, who tried to make Him look silly. However much we disagree with someone we should never try to make them look silly or treat them badly. They were trying to trick Jesus into agreeing that there was no life after death. They asked him to answer a riddle about the law of Moses, families, children, and who might be married to who in Heaven. It was a very tricky riddle, but Jesus knew exactly how to answer them. He didn’t fall into their trap. Jesus said, marriage and families as we know them are for people while they live on earth, but in Heaven things aren’t the same, they are so much better and people will never die again. They will live forever as the children of God. After Jesus answered their riddle so wisely, no one dared to ask him any more questions that day. Riddles are for fun, not to be nasty to people or to be unkind. Jesus promised us that if we love him and trust in him, we will live forever in Heaven with him. One last riddle for you; Why were the religious leaders called Sadducees? Since they didn’t believe in the resurrection or the happiness of Heaven, they were "Sad, you see!"
9th November 2022
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Like me, you have probably met those confident people who seem to have everything sorted, the self-confidence and self-assurance seems to ooze from them. I will let you into a secret. In nearly all those people it is bravado. They act this way to make everyone think they are totally self-assured. People with real self-assurance don’t need to act out a role, they just are, quietly, gently, no big show is needed. That self-assurance, composure, positiveness, poise and strength comes from an inner security rooted in peace, love and self-knowledge. In Colossians we are given the qualities which allow us to develop that self-assurance. Patience, forgiveness, love; of self and others; peace in decisions and life, thankfulness for all we have, wisdom and hope. Everything we do or say needs to be done to the best we can. This gives us faith in ourselves, our abilities, and talents, allows us to meet new challenges, overcome difficulties, learn and gain wisdom which in turn leads to self-assurance. But remember, self-assurance is not arrogance, it is forged from a willingness to learn, to gain insight, to exercise judgement in the knowledge and experience of life alongside the expertise of others. It enables us to look and see the world and our God given unique, special place in that world. This is self-assurance as God intended.
8th November 2022
Wisdom 3:1 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.
As well as the 66 books of the Bible, there are some intertestamental books called the Apocrypha. One such book is that of Wisdom, accredited to the very wise King Solomon. This verse is one of the most comforting and encouraging when we suffer death and grief. It reminds us that those we love and have lost are in God’s hands, what a place to be. Not only that, but they will also suffer no torment, none of the rigors that those who reject God and reject goodness will suffer. Hell is an odd concept in today’s world and yet it is the striking reminder that those who completely selfish, who reject the ways of God, who think and act totally for themselves will meet their end in the same suffering they put upon others. What keeps us safe in God’s hands is the recognition that we are sinners, we need help and that Jesus death on the cross provided, that defeat of death and evil in both our lives and our physical death. We place ourselves and those we love into the hands of God knowing He will keep them and ultimately us, safe and blessed.
7th November 2022
Luke 6:21Blessed are you who weep and mourn now, for you will laugh again.
When we grieve and mourn those we lose to death, there are many things that trouble our hearts. Perhaps we remember things we did or said that we deeply regret but can’t say sorry for. There might be things we left unsaid because we thought we had more time to say them. We might be hanging on to feelings of anger or bitterness towards someone we love dearly but who hurt us. We might just feel angry or confused about why they had to die. Only we and God know what’s in our hearts. And God, knowing what we need better than we know ourselves, holds out his hands so that we can place that person we have lost into those safe, loving hands. Placing someone into God’s hands may not be easy. We might only be able to do it gradually over a period of time. Our relationship with someone doesn’t end when they die. We carry it with us and it can change, grow and heal. We can grieve for their loss but also feel deep gratitude that our lives have been enriched because they were part of it. As we hold in our hearts those, we love but see no longer. Let us remember that those we love make us who we are and remain part of us forever. They may not be physically here anymore but they will always be within our heart and minds, our memories and experiences.
6th November 2022
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The bonds between the living and the dead are grounded in Christ’s resurrection, the source of all Christian living and hope. St. Paul reminds us that we are all mortal and perishable. Mortality is what we have in common with every human being and indeed with every other living thing, sentient or not. Jesus as a human being comes and transforms our mortal nature from the inside. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead allows death to be defeated and brings eternal life for all who die in Him. We do not know what it is to live beyond time, like God who holds all time, past, present, and future, and who simultaneously transcends all time. We do know, however, what it is to live in Christ: that is our present experience. As we commemorate those who have departed this life, we ask that they will be given rest “where sorrow and pain are no more” and we are reminded to not let our hearts be troubled or worried. Through Jesus we are not condemned but saved to eternal life.
5th November 2022
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, they will be called the sons and daughters of God.
Across our world more and more countries possess nuclear weapons. In recent days Russia has made noises about using them in their unjust war against Ukraine. In the UK we have had heated discussions for years about disarming verses deterrent. We spend huge amounts on nuclear weapons while people go hungry and homeless. Jesus public ministry was quite clear, the days of violence, injustice, war, and empire must and will come to an end. We, as Christians, are invited to welcome God’s reign of peace and live in God’s universal love and nonviolence from here on. Jesus says that God is a peacemaker, and since we are God’s sons and daughters, we are peacemakers too, not warmakers. We too, must practice peace and love of all just as God does. There are no exceptions, no justifications for warfare. Many folks would say these teachings are naïve, impractical, and idealistic. But as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.” Loving one’s enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival and is the key to the solution of the problems of our world.
4th November 2022
Luke 6:27 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
In the gospels we find the teaching of Jesus called the Beatitudes. These are the attitudes we should have in life each and every day. The attitudes which make us saints of God. The attitudes which enable us to understand the poor and hungry and not despise, judge and reject them. The attitude that is compassionate toward those who grieve, who struggle and are upset. The attitude that realises the mistreatment of ourselves and others is because of our faith. The attitude that accepts that truth, integrity and honesty can often get us into trouble when we question society and its treatment of people. The attitude that realises wealth and power is not what should drive us and is not what we should be striving for at the cost of others. Being a saint isn’t something we show off about or tell others about, we don’t actually recognise it in ourselves, but God does. We live as ordinary people in ordinary jobs who do what we do as Christians with honesty and integrity. We pray for others. We work with others, we bless people, we try to love our enemies, to give what and where we can. We may not work miracles like St Andrew, St Peter or St Paul, and yet we do work miracles, because of us hungry people are, someone has a home to live in, some will have new opportunities and we offer hope where there wasn’t any before. Our attitudes can and do change lives when we live as God asks of us.
3rd November 2022
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Before moving to Rochester Diocese, we lived in Upminster and the Parish of St Laurence. There had been a church on the site for more than 1400 years. Some of the present church is quite ancient and there is a very old crypt. There is some 500-year-old graffiti in the stone and wood work. Stories of ancient tombs and historic folk. I would often sit in that church and think, if these walls could speak, what stories of faith they could tell. All our churches have history, people who have worshipped in them for 50 or 100 or 200 or however many years. We see just a tiny part of some stories through the windows, plaques, tombs, furniture, plate etc. So many stories we will never know and yet we are here because others who came before us had vision, had faith and worked for the Lord without any real recognition. All these folk are who we think of on All saints. Yes, we remember the saints and martyrs recorded in our service books and lectionaries but we also remember those who were never recorded as saints or martyrs but yet served the Lord. As we look back, we will remember those saints we knew, their faith and service, those who taught us so much about faith and love. These are saints, and in the same way you and I, are also saints, as we share what we know and believe with the next generation.
2nd November 2022 All Souls Day
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Commemoration of The Faithful Departed, All Souls, came about because of a deep Christian instinct to honour the martyrs, and the saints and the Christian instinct to pray for the dead. Our bonds to one another are not severed by death but still remain. We are still tied to one another in the living Christ, and we believe that we can still help each other through prayer. In Christ, the veil separating this life from the next is quite permeable. The commemoration began to be observed first in monastic houses and then throughout the Western Church. It was set on November 2nd as something of an extension of All Saints on Nov 1st. On All Souls’ Day, we recall the countless numbers of not especially heroic, but rather ordinary Christian people who have lived before us, most of whose names in history are forgotten to all but God. For us, we hold before God those more recently passed who are especially dear to us, family members and friends. We remember those we love but see no longer, those who memory we treasure and whose presence we miss.
1st November 2022 All Saints Day
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and so easily entangles.
You and I may not see ourselves as saints but we are. The definition of sainthood I love the most is a saint is someone who the light shines through. It comes from the fact that saints of old were represented in stained glass windows where the light shone through. As a child of God, as a Christian, the light of Christ shines through us. Yes, sometimes the light gets a bit obscured by mistakes, by storms, by day to day living, by condensation, but that light of Christ shines through us when we live our lives for Him. That light shines through the prayer, the hospitality, the compassion, the friendliness, the charity, the hope, the love, the difference we make to others' lives, the welcome we offer to those we meet. We will never get a named saint’s day just for us as most of the old saints do, but we do get All Saints Day, a day where we celebrate each other and our faith. When we recognise for ourselves and show each other, just how important we are in God’s family and in God’s work. All Saints Day is for you, for all of us, we are saints, we are not perfect, we are not fully formed yet but we are those who are blessed before God as we serve Him.
31st October 2022
1 Corinthians 1:12 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today is Halloween, this is now celebrated in the UK with dressing up and Trick and Treating. As a festival it actually belongs to the church, to Christianity, as All Hallows' Eve. It falls on 31st October each year, and is the day before All Hallows' Day, known more commonly as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. The Church traditionally held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself. The name comes from the Old English word 'hallowed' meaning holy, but is now usually shortened to the more familiar word Hallowe'en. It has become synonymous with ghosts and ghouls because it was considered to be a thin place in time, that means a point in time where the gap between the world of the living and the dead is reduced. As that gap between the two worlds becomes permeable people believed that the dead could return to earth that evening thus giving rise to the idea of ghosts. Personally, I do not celebrate Hallowe’en and I encourage families with young children not to play with these representations of evil. I am saddened that society has pushed this into such a money spinner and encourages a devilish attitude instead of a respect towards those who have given their lives in the service of God. All Hallows remembers the saints and martyrs, it remembers those who have loved and served. That is who I will celebrate and remember and I encourage you to do the same.
30th October 2022
Mark 5:41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
During Covid we were much more aware of washing
hands, wearing masks, keeping our distance so as to not to spread disease. In
Jesus time there were certain traditions which meant those who were dead or
sick were considered unclean and so not to be touched. Jesus gets called on by
Jairus, whose little daughter is ill, but on the way there's a sick woman. Her
case is less urgent; bleeding for 12 years, and the girl is at the point of
death. The woman has been made ritually unclean by her condition, so she could
not attend the Temple and anyone who touched her became unclean as well,
therefore she sought to touch Jesus anonymously. Jesus does not ignore her and
she is healed. On arrival at Jairus' house, the daughter has died, mourning has
begun. Jesus takes the dead girl's hand, again ritually unclean, and He raises
her back to life. Jesus is not made unclean by contact with bleeding, instead,
he heals and cleans her. Jesus is not made unclean by contact with a dead body:
instead, He raises her to life. As Christians we sometimes seem to feel that
the best way of being holy is to keep away from anything that might compromise
or contaminate us. Jesus didn't do that.
He helped anyone who needed Him, no matter the issue, no matter the
urgency. For us, we too must help anyone who needs us, no matter the issue, no
matter the urgency.
29th October 2022
Luke 18:1 Jesus told them about their need to pray always and not lose heart.
How often do you pray? For some of us it is a constant, for many others it is only when in need. When we don’t pray, don’t have that community and relationship with God, we will depend on ourselves instead of depending on God’s grace. Unceasing prayer, praying always, is, in essence, continual dependence on and complete communion with the Father. To put it simply, for Christians, prayer should be like breathing. We do not have to think about how to breathe because we were created to breathe, as we are born, we breathe. That is why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when we are born into the family of God, where prayer is the normal, natural response, we should naturally pray always. Sadly, many of us hold our “spiritual breath” for long periods of time, thinking a few moments with God on a Sunday or a Thursday are sufficient to allow us to survive. But then the difficult times happen, we blame everything and everyone else, including God. The fact is that we should be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths, reading His word, being open to His Spirit, to be fully functional in our faith.
28th October 2022
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
I once heard a story about Queen Elizabeth II that she thought everywhere smelled of new paint. I also heard of all places that she visited redecorating just the rooms and corridors she would use and yes they would smell of new paint. Whenever anyone special visits we make sure that at least the public and seen places are clean, tidy, well presented and looking good. In our lives we tend to make the obvious places clean and tidy before God. Other’s see us in a certain acceptable way, we make sure they do, and hope that God sees that too. We want to keep our not so nice places out of God’s sight. We want our life to smell of new paint. God sees beyond the new paint, the clean places and the tidy parts to the real us. He sees the dark places, the dirty places, the untidy places and yet He still loves us. He just wants us to be honest, to show everything to him, to allow Him to work in all parts of our lives to make us the best we can be for Him.
27th October 2022
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
In the Bible we are told on many occasions to pray always or as it is also put, pray without ceasing. This can be confusing. Surely, it cannot mean we are to be in a head-bowed, eyes-closed posture all day long? Jesus is not teaching about non-stop talking to God, although we can be good at that, the endless shopping list of requests. Rather Jesus is teaching about an attitude of God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time, 24/7. Every waking moment should be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions, that is, of course, if we let him. In a worldly sense it is what we often refer to as our conscience. That which stops us doing bad things, reminds of the dangers we are in and encourages us to seek help. When our daily thoughts turn to worry, fear, discouragement, and anger, we should consciously and quickly turn every thought into prayer. Notice the link to not only telling God and asking God but also thanking God. As we go through the day, prayer should be our first response to every fearful situation, every anxious thought, and everything we do. It is not God bothering. God wants to be in complete community and consciousness with us every moment of every day.
26th October 2022
Romans 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
I find it really comforting and helpful when someone tells me I am being prayed for. I like to share with people when I am praying for them. The hymn writer Isaac Watts used to keep people’s names and needs in an envelope and lift these up to God regularly all through his life. We often have lists of people to pray for but so often these become long shopping lists of names where the reason has long been forgotten. The Holy Spirit, as part of the Trinity, lives within us and intercedes for us constantly. The Spirit knows our every need, our every thought and can pray for exactly what is needed each and every day. Even if you don’t know if others are praying for you, you can be assured and absolutely certain that the Spirit is praying for you. I will let you into a secret, even when we think others are not praying for us, they are. There are so many gifted prayer warriors who pray for each of us. Try to remember every day that The Spirit intercedes for you and others do as well. Know yourself prayed for, as you need it.
25th October 2022
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I have heard that we have a bumper crop of apples this year in the UK. The weather has been conducive to sweet, rich flavoured, juicy apples. Who doesn’t love an apple, from early years being cut up for a snack to biting into an apple as we get older. Fruit is vital to our diet, it provides vitamins, minerals, nutrients, healthy things for our body and helps with digestion. No wonder Paul talks of the fruit of the Spirit. These are things good for us, aiding our life, they are healthy, provide essential nutrients to life. When we live with love and joy, patience and gentleness the world is so much better for everyone. When we are self-controlled, peaceful, good and kind, it changes us, and it changes other people. That in turn changes our society. My prayer is that we have an abundant crop of these fruits of the Spirit, not just this year, but every year, every month, every week and every day.
24th October 2022
Exodus 20:4 Do not use God’s name for evil purposes. God’s names are not swear words.
I was sitting in a restaurant the other night, having a meal with family. All of a sudden, at the next table, a list of expletives rang out, loudly; included in the swear words was God and Jesus. People seem quite happy to use God’s name as a swear word, to include it with words that are rude, lazy, common and unnecessary if we have a good command of language. When we want to show our displeasure there are endless words that express anger, annoyance, disappointment, disagreement, without resorting to using what are Holy names, as an expletive. I often correct people in the street, if I hear bad language being used loudly or God’s name being used as a swear word, I ask people politely to mind their language. I get the very rare apology but usually I get a mouthful of abuse and told to go away in very unpleasant language and tone. It is a shame that we do not value our language enough, or respect the beliefs and views of others enough, to speak better to one another and to express our displeasure. If you would not say what you are saying with God in the room, then do not say it at all.
23rd October 2022
Luke 18:7 Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?
Sometimes people tell me that they don’t really need God but when they do, He will be there. It is easier for us to feel secure by presuming on; instead of depending on; God’s grace. We easily become satisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual ones. When study, promotion, and money produce impressive results, we can confuse our human success with God’s divine blessing. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help goes missing. Continual, persistent, prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of humility and dependence on God. We tend not to pray in the traditional way of hands together, eyes closed prayer but by making a bargain with God, if you do this for me I will….. we make promises we don’t keep. God does keep His promises and promises to grant justice, to help, to encourage and train us. God promises to increase our belief and faith, to strengthen us and never leave us. It is us who do not keep our promises, us who constantly ask and forget to say thank you, us who turn to God only when in desperate need; but God’s love for us is so amazing that even then He hears us and does not let us down.
22nd October 2022
Matthew 7: 2 God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.
We are very good at applying things to other people but not to ourselves. I find it interesting that those on large incomes with savings and financial interests happily judge anyone who is in a poorly paid job or needs help as scroungers and a drain on society. As they demand even bigger bonuses and wages, they don’t want those who are essential to society to be paid any more. Those who earn in excess of £80,000 a year and claim perhaps £200,000 in expenses believe a nurse should pay for their car parking and travel, be paid £16,000 a year and work 12-hour shifts. The arise of zero hours contracts to stop companies having to pay fair wages to people and fire them when they wish, which doesn’t apply to them in their well-paid, safe jobs. Sadly, the wealthy and those who consider themselves wealthy, apply very different rules to others than they do themselves. God judges them and us the same way we judge others. If we condemn the poor, cheat the worker, malign the sick then we to will be condemned, cheated and maligned. Out of His great gift to us we must give to others, freely, without judgement and with love.
21st October 2022
Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits and, in His word, I put my hope.
How good are you at waiting? Already we are heading at top speed towards Christmas and already the I can’t wait is being said. We become impatient for the next big thing, we almost forgo the precious time between now and then in our impatience. I have learnt over the years to not purchase the gifts being talked about now, as they will change in the next few weeks. In the Bible we are often told about waiting for God and waiting on God. Not rushing into everything but waiting for the right time and place. We like to hurry God, to make Him fit into our timeline instead of the other way round. God, of course, sees the bigger picture, the overall picture in time and space, and as such His timing is perfect. We would do well to follow His timing, to wait patiently, to listen, to hear and to respond in His timing, not ours.
20th October 2022
Luke 6:48 Be like the man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the water broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been built o sure foundations.
We have just been to Birling Gap on the south coast. We drove across the South Downs from Eastbourne via Beachy Head and then stopped at this point where the Seven Sisters starts along the South Coast. Coastal erosion here is so bad that the house on the cliff top, which a hundred years ago was over half a mile from the sea, will collapse into the sea within the next 18 months. Nothing can stop this erosion but it is made worse by our pollution and trying to build where we should not. We just don’t listen as humans. Even in the Bible we are told not to build on sand, or the house will fall flat, but to build on rock where the house will remain strong and safe. Foundations are vital in life, we need to be strong and sure, to have foundations which keep us safe when the erosions of life come. God is our foundation, He is our strength, protection and stay. If we build our lives securely with God then when the storms come, when we experience erosion and battering, we will stand firm!
19th October 2022
Matthew 10:8 As you go, proclaim the kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, give without expecting any return.
Helping or serving people is not about making money. In fact, society has called jobs that serve others a vocation or calling and by doing so have been able to always keep these people poorly paid. A vicar receives a basic stipend, an amount of money to enable them to serve their community without having to have a job to afford their basic expenses like food, heating, a place to live. Public servants, with the exception of our MP’s, are paid poorly and have to fight for even a reasonable pay rise, while those in government take home a huge salary alongside huge expenses, these expenses alone are often 10 times more than a nurses salary. We are called by God to be good neighbours and friends, to not do things because of what we will get in return, but in order for everyone in society to be able to live well. Helping people is necessary for all of us, we need those who look after us, transport us, provide food for us, offer comfort and advice. Society cannot function without public servants, as much as we should not look for reward, people do have to live, so paying people fairly is what is needed. A calling to help and serve others is not an excuse for poor pay or working conditions.
18th October 2022
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.
I find that some people talk in sound bites, they use a trendy phrase in the hope that they look impressive. What I have found over the years is that usually these people only have a surface knowledge of something but try to look good. It happens a lot in board rooms, people who talk in phrases to establish their credibility in something they know little about. The same is true of Christianity. There are people who talk in sound bites, express phrases that they have heard or read but know little about. The assumption that all Christians believe exactly the same thing when they do not, the assumption that all Christians are door mats, to be used and abused, the assumption that being a Christian is some fad that does not need careful and in-depth research, the current idea that we are all “woke” lefties against growth. Christianity has always been a rod to beat people with and it always will. Being a Christian means knowing God not just knowing about Him, understanding why we believe what we do, being able to express our faith in clear and deep terms. It is about honesty, integrity, love, hope, peace and assurance. Those are not just trendy words but clear expectation of the Christian faith. If you do not know what they mean, what their background is then please ask, look them up, know what the Bible clearly says.
17th October 2022
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Recently I came across a social media post that that listed off different people and their choices, and said after each one, love them. The whole point of the message was love people no matter who or what they are. It can’t be that simple, can it? We look for reasons to condemn, it is hard to love those we disagree with, but we manage it in families, in relationships because none of us can agree on everything. Jesus was persecuted because He did not follow the rules imposed by the leaders, the rich, the powerful who dictated the way people should live in order to keep them suppressed. When you begin to offer love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of judgement, peace instead of disquiet, you become a threat to the status quo. Jesus quite simply loved people, the poor, the sick, the prisoner, the child, the woman, the tax collector, the fisherman, the pharisee, the Sadducee, the priest, the Samaritan…… He loved everyone, even though they often hated him in return. We are called to love everyone, even if we struggle with their life choices, their sexuality, their gender, their race, their colour, their disability, whatever or whoever they are, we are, we all deserve to be loved and not judged. It is love that brings change, love that cannot be vanquished, love that defeats death and sin.
16th October 2022
Philippians 2:4 Do not look to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
The UK now has more than 14 million living in poverty and it is rising sharply. More and more children are now living in poverty, more than in the Victorian era. Children are going to school hungry, with empty lunch boxes. Children sharing 1 small sandwich between 4. Free school meals can only be accessed if you earn below £7000 a year. That is £136:60 a week, that is £19:23 a day to live on. Remember out of that there are the bills to pay, the travel cost to go to work. The fact that anyone can earn as little as that in today’s society is in itself appalling. Poverty affects physical health and mental health, every moment is a struggle. The cost of living has risen sharply, gas and electric has risen sharply, rents are rising sharply, one in 3 people who have never had to access a food bank before are now going there. Demand over the last 3 years has increased 128%. People going hungry is not something to boast about. We are all called to consider others, to look out for one another. That means no one should go hungry. No one should worry about feeding their family. All of us can help, play a part. Give generously to food banks, help where we can, look out for neighbours, the elderly, anyone who is struggling. If you are struggling, please ask for help. It always amazes me that those who give the most are those who have the least. Families who have struggled in the past, those who are doing just about okay will always give, while many of those with much more, more than they need, will give very little but make a big show of it.
15th October 2022
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
We celebrate Harvest because people have always thanked God for the food, the crops and seasons. This week is also the Jewish festival of Sukkot. They build shelters in their gardens and eat there, worship there and celebrate God’s provision of food when they were in the desert. We are now living in a country where two and half million people are using food banks. This is rising weekly. The Trussell Trust are seeing over 2000 extra people each week come to them. The same applies to the Independent Food Aid network who also run foodbanks. These foodbanks and community fridges are all run by volunteers. They provide food parcels for those in need. Contrary to what many politicians and media outlets would have you believe, going to a food bank is the last resort. The fact we even need foodbanks is an indictment on a rich nation like ours. Those who access foodbanks are people with long term health issues, single parents, but also nurses, Teaching Assistants, care workers, cleaners and huge amounts of people who have zero hours contracts. God created a world with enough for everyone but that only works when we are willing to share and value others.
14th October 2022
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Sometimes a funeral in church can be followed by a lengthy, slow drive to a cemetery for a family plot burial. Funeral cars travel slowly and can often have 8 or more cars following behind. I was brought up that if you see funeral cars, you do not pull out in front, or at any point in the cortege behind, you do not overtake and at lights and roundabouts you let the cortege through before pulling through the junction. The respect that was afforded to funerals is long gone. People will now happily pull out, try to force their way in, overtake, won’t let you through a junction and just walk out to cross the road in front of you. It is a real skill to drive a hearse slowly and try to keep everyone behind. The respect we should all offer is because this is a life that has finished on earth, as we all will one day. These are grieving families, as we all will and do experience. This is a situation where no one wants to be but everyone has to be at some points in their lives. The least any of us can offer is compassion, patience in waiting just a few moments for cars to pass through, not honk a horn or shout obscenities because the traffic is held for a few moments. None of us would like this behaviour towards us or our family so we need to be more respectful and compassionate towards others in these important moments of life.
13th October 2022
Luke 17:18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?
We don’t hear about Leprosy much these days. Now controllable by drugs, we understand how it is transmitted and lives can be lived pretty much normally. In Jesus time people were cast out from society, no treatment, to live a shortening and awful life outside the town or village. If a leper appeared to be healed, they were to go and show themselves to the priests to confirm their healing, to allow them to go back into normal life. Although Jesus is their healer, God is not given the glory, no one offers Jesus as the reason for their healing. Just one healed leper came back and praised God for what God had done. We must not forget to say thank you to God for the big things and the small things. The food in our cupboards, the home we have, the money we need, our job, family and holidays. There’s something about gratitude, about saying thank you that makes us appreciate life and the things around us far more. There’s something about getting a thank you from someone else that makes us feel good, deep inside. May we willingly give God the glory for all He does and thank Him for everything He so freely gives.
12th October 2022
Mark 11: 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Religion up until Jesus time had become about ritual, as long as you did the right thing at the right time, in the right way, all was well. If you then went and behaved monstrously well you’d done your bit so you were fine. Jesus explains that Christianity is about faith not ritual, about God’s grace, forgiveness and love and the expectation of the forgiveness, grace and love we should show to others. The early church moved, sometimes falteringly, from ritual to faith and forgiveness. Of course, ritual would never be gone, it aids us, guides us but the problem comes when ritual is what defines us and not our faith and the living out of that faith. We still practice ritual, through services, sacraments, liturgy etc but it is why we do it and how we behave as a result that matters. Our faith, our willingness to forgive, to practice what we preach, to live out our faith every day, that's what really matters.
11th October 2022
Luke 17:15&16a And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at Jesus feet, giving Him thanks.
I am sure most of you were brought up as I was to say please and thank you, to be well mannered. Yet so many people trample over others, get what they want and never say thank you. How often do we thank God? We are great are asking for things, often coming to God with a long shopping list of things we want and yet so often we forget to say thank you for all we have, for all we are, for everything God has given to us and done for us. A serious question we all need to answer is, what are we thankful for? Do we know that God has richly blessed us or do we believe that we are the ones who have provided for ourselves by our own hard work and influence. We pray for help, strength, healing, wisdom, patience, before a job interview, about family issues, and when they happen, we so easily forget that God has been part of the process and we completely forget to thank Him. All 10 lepers knew who to go to, who to ask for help, just as we do, regularly promising God that if He does this for us, we will……go to church regularly, pray every day, tell others, make a stand on things…. And then when all goes well, God blesses us, and we do not make good on our promises. May we learn to say thank you for everything, every day, to God and to others, it will make all our lives better.
10th October 2022
Mark 1:30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her.
Mark’s gospel is the shortest one and goes straight to telling of the beginning of Jesus' ministry, it starts quickly. Jesus gathers His disciples and starts to cast out demons and heal people. The impression given is of someone who may well be a huge public figure, but still has time for ordinary people. Peter’s (still called Simon at this point) mother-in-law is ill; Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to look after them (verse 31, ESV). There is a quiet and simple pastoral care in what He does. We might think she deserved some peace after being ill, but 'she got up and served them' this shows her recovery is instant, full health immediately restored, no half measures with Jesus. Her healing inspires others who need help to come to Jesus as well and that evening, the whole town gathers under His ministry. As Jesus helped and healed all these people he wants to help and heal us. Whether we are sick physically, mentally or spiritually; sad, lost, angry, hurt or just feel forgotten, Jesus is ready, willing and able to help and heal.
9th October 2022
Matthew 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet is Iota, it also has a meaning, something very very small. The term is used in Matthew to mean even the smallest part, smallest mark, the jot or tittle as we sometimes call them will be lost from God’s word. These were often very small marks above a letter which if forgotten or lost would change the meaning or sound of the letter and the word it made up. In early Christian times much argument was made about the Trinity based on small marks on a piece of paper. How easy it is to mislead someone if we forget a comma, an apostrophe. People often say something does not make an iota of difference, but actually even the smallest of things does matter, does make a difference. Our words, attitude, facial expression, actions, not doing something, not being somewhere… everything we do and say matters, even the smallest of things can change a situation. The good news from the Bible is that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, He does not change, even the smallest thing cannot change what Jesus did for us on the cross or His love for us every day. God is consistent, God does not change and God will never change in how He feels about us.
8th October 2022
1 Peter 4:10 As each of us has received gifts, we should use them to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Collecting food for Harvest, or collecting regularly for the foodbank, challenges us with our responsibilities to each other and to nature. As we give thanks to God for all He has given to us, we also promise to keep our environment safe for future harvests. It cannot be just about us, or about the rich landowners who look for profit, we must remember those who will come after us, our world was created for all, not just this generation. Harvest gifts remind us about how we use the things which God has given to us. We can use all God’s gifts wisely for our benefit and share them with others for their benefit, or we can abuse them, be completely selfish and justify our selfish actions to make ourselves feel good. Today and every day we each need to ask ourselves how we can use the gifts God has given us wisely, sensitively, compassionately and for the benefit of all and not just for ourselves or our rich paymasters.
7th October 2022
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
As a youngster I had plans, hopes and dreams for my future. I always wanted to work for God so that one came true, but I also wanted to write and record songs, sing in a pop group, travel the world and have enough money to be comfortable. Having these dreams is good for us, something to aim for, work towards, but also we must be open minded enough to allow our dreams to change when life changes and when things we don’t necessarily expect, happen. I did not expect to become seriously ill at 18 and lose musical ability, some physical ability and have to give some things up. Plans are all very well until the unexpected happens. Proverbs sees that the reason we often make our plans is for money, status, power or because we want the best for ourselves and sometimes for others too. Wisdom in Proverbs is like someone who instructs us, helps us, guides us. Wisdom comes with experience and learning. We are unwise if we chose to ignore the experiences of our past and the experiences of others who can guide us. The future is an unknown but we do not face it alone, we have God on our side, he holds both our hand and our future and we can trust Him to get it right.
6th October 2022
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
How much do you value your independence? We long, as young people, to be able to go out alone, to have our own money to spend, our own time to use as we want. When I visit care homes, I find folk talk of losing their independence. They have spent years making their own decisions, now someone else tells them when to eat, sleep, dress, wash, even go to the toilet. We spend so long fighting for independence only to lose it as we age. For some independence never really comes because of disability, illness, gender, culture and circumstances. Our independence allows us to learn, to develop, to pursue our own interests as we take responsibility for ourselves. God did not make us robots, but humans with minds, hearts, skills, abilities which allow us to be both independent but also be part of a community that values both the individual and the whole. Our independence gives us the opportunity to restore and encourage the independence of others. At a difficult time like this, with so many in need, pushed into poverty by poor economic decisions, with little independence; as we value and develop our independence, we can help others do the same by sharing a little of what we have with those who have very little.
5th October 2022
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God placed humans in the garden of Eden to work the land, to care for it and keep it safe.
Harvest festival falls in the time of the Christian calendar represented by the colour green; this is a really appropriate colour with all of its ecological and environmental connotations. As humans we all have an impact upon the natural world. We are all consumers or producers, so we are all links in a long chain of action which can either protect or destroy our world. God put humans into the Garden of Eden to look after it, to be caretakers or stewards. With our increasing technology we are able to change the substance of plants and animals so that they can resist disease or be more productive. However, this same technology also puts our world at risk. As we plough more and more into the ground, alter genetics to get bigger and better harvests, stop allowing the ground to rest regularly, we just prevent the ground from restoration and thus cause even more problems in the long term. As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to take of the natural world so it can take care of us.
4th October 2022
Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
The Bible contains many stories about wealth, mostly warnings against greed and about what we put in place of and before God in our lives. It seems that the more we have the more we desire. People long for fame and fortune, a bigger house, a better car, a top job… more, more, more. We become so focused on these things that we lose sight of God. The more something overtakes our life the more God is pushed out. There is nothing wrong with wanting good things, fair pay, better housing for ourselves but if they become our focus God is relegated to the back and we become selfish and often greedy at the expense of others. We need to put ourselves back on track, out God first because then it all falls into place. We need a change of mindset, to see God and His ideal for all to live well and fairly to be our focus. The top of society wants more and more to squirrel away and look where that is getting us right now, with more poverty and hunger than Victorian times. We need to make God our top priority, our first and more important treasure, the rest will then fall into place.
3rd October 2022
Romans 1:25 Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!
It is really important to celebrate harvest every year in a meaningful way. It is probably more important today because we need to be reminded of our dependence on food and God’s creation. We also need to be reminded about our responsibility to treat the world properly. We have the potential to do so much damage to our world and as we witness the ravages of climate change, we can see that we already have. Harvest offers us the opportunity to focus upon our environment, to thank God for it, and consider our responsibility to our environment. Whatever you think about climate change, no one can deny the terrible droughts, more and more land becoming desert, incredibly destructive storms and wild fires we now see almost every week. We have done terrible damage to God’s world and we need to commit ourselves to caring for God’s world in a much better way.
2nd October 2022
Genesis 8:22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.
At the beginning of October, we usually celebrate Harvest in our churches and schools. As we talk to people about Harvest, we discover that many of us are not clear about where our food comes from. Today most of us live in towns and our contact with the countryside is very little. I meet children regularly who have never been to a farm, never seen farm animals and have no idea that eggs come from hens or milk from cows. We don’t seem to know much about the seasons, farming or the agricultural calendar. Much of our food is processed and packaged, we don’t get it from the field and the farm, instead we get it from Tesco, Lidl, Sainsbury’s or some other supermarket or shop. We buy imported fruit and vegetables which are not in season in our own country. God gave us the seasons, the weather, the land to grow our food and yet we have so easily become divorced from this and so lost the importance of knowing about the very food we rely on to live.
1st October 2022
Acts 17:28 For in him we live and move and have our being.
Do you like to move, maybe to dance? Movement can help recentre us in our body and unlock our innate gifts. It can offer the peace to be who we are without worry and it isn’t forced or controlled. It provides a personal peace that loosens us and brings us back to the heartbeat of humanity, and that makes us the best peace mediator we can be. As we breathe, we can feel our posture, our body shape. We can change that shape, move our bodies into shapes of praise, worship, humility, service. We can use music to enhance this experience and to change the mood. But still, it is essential to breathe. Our breath is the centre of our life, breathed into us by the creator Himself. In Him we live and move and have our being. As God created us, he gave us life, breath and being. We can do all that we can do, we are sentient beings because God made us that way. May every breath remind us of that.
30th September 2022
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
When all is said and done, the gospel comes down to forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of each other. When we recognise our own frailty, our own need for forgiveness it helps us find our compassion, our empathy, and our own forgiveness for the frailty and cruelty of others. We recognise that we are all the same, all imperfect beings in need of saving grace and forgiveness. We cannot sincerely love the other or forgive another’s offenses if we see ourselves as separate from God and from each other. Our imperfect world offers precisely the conditions for the expression of these aspects of divine love; forgiveness, empathy and compassion. Without radical forgiveness, received by us and freely given by us, there can be no future. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We love because we are loved. We extend to others the grace so freely given to us by God.
29th September 2022
Luke 16:20 At the rich man’s gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores.
Often, we are told the names of characters in a story, in the Bible we are not told the rich man’s name, he was just called rich and he was mercilessly aware of the presence of poor Lazarus. Lazarus was in a desperate situation of poverty, open sores, dogs licking them, and in terrible hunger. Lazarus wasn’t even allowed to have the crumbs that fell from the gluttonous table of the rich man. Lazarus had a bad lot in this life, and many folks around us have a bad lot in life which is not their fault. On the other hand, the rich man has a good lot. Right now, many rich people have seen their already good lot improved even more by unfair tax breaks that reward wealth not work. At death, Lazarus goes to paradise, the rich man to Hades. That is not saying that rich people cannot go to heaven or that poor people will always go to Heaven. It is actually about how we treat each other and how we treat God. Is our wealth, possessions, jobs, homes etc so much more important to us than God? Are His ways ignored by us? If that is the case, then we cannot expect God’s help if we ignore Him.
28th September 2022
Luke 16:8a The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.
The dishonest steward or manager realises that no one will come to his aid because of his bad behaviour, so he makes a plan to change things. He calls on the people who owe money to the Master and negotiates reduced settlements. It makes him popular. We can imagine the results of this action; the debtors would be eternally grateful. If the manager shows up in a few weeks, and asks these debtors for a job, they will have a sense of obligation to him. The man will land on his feet. It was a stroke of genius to ingratiate himself to people who could help him out after his job loss. Jesus is not praising the manager for his morality but praising his decisive action. When this man discovered that his livelihood was threatened, he proved resourceful and clever. In his determination to provide for himself and his family, he took strong decisive actions in a crisis situation. Jesus advises that we too should take decisive action, especially about our spiritual lives. When we find ourselves drifting spiritually, when we find others in need, we must take action because our future depends on it.
27th September 2022
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Every couple of years as contracts are renewed, we get new phones. I take ages to learn how to do things, I am very slow at learning how it works and each time I do something I have to refer to the manual. Gareth on the other hand plays around and makes lots of mistakes as he learns how to do things only referring to the manual when he is desperate. When I was younger, I had a poster which said “If you want the World to work perfectly then follow the Makers instructions” Below this sentence was a person reading a Bible. We constantly hear about problems in our world, global warming is a huge issue and commentators ask what can we do? How did we get here? Is there anything we can do to stop this? Following the Makers (God) instructions would have stopped us getting to this point but it also offers us ways forward that we can use even now, but we think we know better! We play at things, test them, try them out and if we make a mess we don’t worry, we just go back or try something else; very occasionally, if we’re desperate, we turn to God, to His word and want an answer immediately. Being a God of grace, He has given us those answers in the Bible, His instructions on how to live and care for the world, He has given us the Bible, BUT, do we read it? The Bible is so important to our Christian Faith, it is special, Holy and should be treated as such, but it should also be read and used. We do not treat our Holy book as well as many other religions do and we often leave them gathering dust on the book shelf. God gave us the Bible to use so let me encourage you to read your Bible, find out what God has to say on everything from marriage to children, from music to poetry, from gardening to punishment and so on.
26th September 2022
Luke 16:23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Through stories and parables Jesus often explains to us the kingdom of God; in simple terms it is about loving God and loving our neighbour. Like many of the parables Jesus tells, He uses them to place a large mirror in front of us so that we can see ourselves clearly. He then stands next to us as we look in that mirror explaining what our life, our words, our thoughts, our behaviour and our hearts should be like. In Luke 16 the mirror is on the rich man and even though we may not be rich, there is a message for us. The riches and possessions of this world mean nothing to God and are worthless in eternity. One of the most poignant moments in the Queen’s funeral was the removal of the symbols of her power, crown, Orb, Sceptre, and their return to the people. They meant nothing in eternity. The rich man chose the riches of this life and his clothes and his comfort and ignored God and others. Lazarus didn’t have anything much in this life, But he had God, God had his back and so Lazarus had eternity. We have choice, it is ours to make and there is no one else to blame.
25th September 2022
1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Maybe it`s being a priest or because of my faith but whenever we go away we tend to visit the local cathedral or parish church. I love the sense of history HIS STORY that you find in each one and the stories of human struggle to erect and keep these places special! Coventry is one of these special places. You have the old ruins, bombed in World War 2 and the new Cathedral with it`s beautiful glass and tapestry. For me two things stand out; the cross of nails, two big nails had fallen into the shape of a cross during the bombing, and the words of forgiveness written underneath a wooden cross made from bomb damaged beams within the ruins. From the brutality of war time destruction came a sign of hope, a cross of nails. From the brutality of a Roman occupation came hope, held to a wooden cross by nails. From a battered, ruined Cathedral came a message of forgiveness. From a battered ruined body came a message of forgiveness and new life. When we think of symbols of love we tend to think of hearts, flowers and rings. Perhaps the most powerful signs of love are nails, a cross and a battered bruised body that died so we might live. If you ever get a chance to go to Coventry Cathedral, go and see the glory of new and old, the cross of nails and the message of forgiveness.
24th September 2022
Luke 16:11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
Hollywood movies often glorify the anti-hero. The ones where the star of the movie is the bad guy who is so lovable that the audience winds up pulling for him. They might lead a gang of cutthroat robbers but are such delightful characters that we hope they will escape their fate. We all know that it really is a bad thing to pull for the con men and the crooks We might expect it from Hollywood, but not from the Bible and surely not from Jesus. Jesus appears to be praising a dishonest manager. We are told, we cannot serve God and money. Don’t make money a bigger deal than it is. The wealth of this world is tainted and temporary, and is to be distinguished from the permanent treasure in heaven. Money is not an end in itself; it is a resource. And if we believe the message of stewardship in the Bible, all that we have belongs to God. We are indeed merely stewards, like the steward here, and we should not squander the Master’s resources, the Lord’s creation. We need to be trustworthy with little so that we can be trusted with much. God wants us to be shrewd with the wealth that He has entrusted to us, so that we serve God and His people in need.
23rd September 2022
Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
When the boys were young, we would try to get to the beach every year and just let them play. With all the constant warnings about the sun we bought them wetsuits. These gave sun protection, help when it was cold and gave extra buoyancy. Gwyn and I would often walked along the beach talking and enjoying all the lovely things we would find. When Gwyn was about five, he asked me about the waves, where all the holes go and what happens to the castles that have been built. I began to explain about the tides coming in and going out and after a while he said “So twice a day God sends the tides to wash the beach clean.” He has always had a knack for summing things up. That comment got me thinking, twice a day, what a lesson for us. I was brought up with the idea of keeping a short account with God, and doing that by morning and evening prayer, twice a day! Although we can pray at any time and in any place and let me encourage you to pray at any time; our real business with God needs to be done at the start and end of the day when we can deal with all the mess and rubbish we’ve accumulated. Just as God sends the tide twice a day to wash the beach so God will wash us clean when we come before Him and ask for His forgiveness. If you don’t already do this why not try and get into the habit of keeping a short account with God and letting Him wash you clean each day!
22nd September 2022
Luke 20: 46 Beware of those who like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets.
At the Queen’s funeral it was good to see that some very important people, as they may well see themselves, were further down the Cathedral than perhaps many expected. It was also amazing to see the Orb, Sceptre and Crown of the Queen returned to the people. In death all are equal. We take none of our power, status, wealth or authority with us. We see, so often, the richest and most powerful cling to power, cling to wealth by exploiting the poor, the widow, the orphan. In complete reversal to Robin Hood they rob the poor to keep the rich, rich. In many instances those who hold power are also rude and often proud, interesting that a former US president has said he would not have accepted the lower place given to the current President. I think that says it all. Too many now have a self-serving belief, that it is all about them and yet God is clear that those who mistreat others will pay the price. Those who cling to power will be forgotten, those who use what they have for others will be remembered. We are all equal in God’s sight. No one has the right to trample on another for selfish gain, BUT, those who get it good in this life will be expected to use the blessings they are given to help others, not just themselves.
21st September 2022
Luke 16:7b Take your bill and make it eight hundred. You are forgiven two hundred.
In Jesus teaching there are many lessons in forgiveness. Forgiveness of wrong doing, of hurt, of a debt. The dishonest steward, once caught out, forgives debts to curry favour with those who can help him out. He actually forgives things that he had no right to forgive. He forgives for all the wrong reasons; for personal gain and to compensate for past misconduct. But that’s the decisive action that he undertakes to save himself. We are all called to forgiveness. Called to forgive it all, to forgive it now, to forgive for any reason you want, or for no reason at all. But we need to forgive. There is no bad reason to forgive. As we extend the kind of grace God shows to us in every possible situation, to others, it can only put us more deeply in touch with God’s grace. The steward worked in the unrighteous currency of money. We are called to be good, decisive, active stewards in righteous currency. The currency of God’s kingdom, the currency of forgiveness.
20th September 2022
1 Timothy 2:2 I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all those in authority.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he exhorts us to pray, to offer prayers of supplication, intercession and thanksgiving for all Kings and those in high positions. We are invited to bring our leaders, our monarch, in fact, anyone in authority, to God. We are called to ask for wisdom, strength and guidance on their behalf. St. Paul understood that the political climate was important for the Early Church to thrive and for all individuals to live freely, peacefully and in accordance with God’s Word without consequences. Sometimes we may not feel like doing it, especially when those in leadership seem not to care, or seem to be more concerned about self than service. But right now, we have come together and we have prayed for our new King, his family, their grief and the funeral. We are called to carry on praying for the new king’s faith, to thank God for the wonderful faith of the late Queen. We are called to continue to pray for all who grieve and all who have died in the faith of Christ as Queen Elizabeth did.
19th September 2022
Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3) Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
How many loaves of bread do you get through in a day? In a week? I know many people who go to the supermarket each evening to pick up the dated bread cheaply because their families eat through loaves when they get up, come home, packed lunches etc. Some folk insist on a fresh loaf every day and will not eat day old bread. I also know people who will not throw bread away even if it is mouldy because they can cut the mould off and they will not waste food. Then there those who will only make their own bread, fresh, free from additives. Is this a reflection on life? There are those who get through as much as they can, those who start fresh every day, those who hang onto everything, never really starting a fresh and those who feel that only their style of life is correct, free from additives!! Perhaps a more mixed approach is better, we need to live life to the full, we need to start each day fresh and clean and not be hampered by the past or mould of life and we also need to learn from the past. We need to try and not pollute our life with the additives and distractions of life on earth today. Quite a tall order, but a balanced approach! Just as bread is the staple food, let’s remember that the Bible is the staple food of the Christian. All new priests are given a Bible because their ministry should be based on God’s word. We give new Christians and confirmands a Bible so that they will feed on God’s word and grow as Christians. Let me encourage you to read your Bible regularly and to try to lead a more balanced life, a full life, a fresh life, a life not in the past but learning lessons from the past and trying not to pollute our present or future.
18th September 2022
Deuteronomy 5:33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and thrive and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Currently people are queuing for many hours to pass the queen’s coffin as it lies in state. Many faith people are acting as Chaplains to the crowds as they queue. The stories coming out are ones of respect, caring for each other, sharing food and drink, helping each other and being polite and courteous. In 2019 the Queen spoke of the need to speak well of each other, to respect each other and our differing points of view, and to seek common ground. I think she would be proud of how people have respectfully come together and how they are behaving toward each other. Being courteous and polite to each other means being well mannered, well behaved, gracious, kind, considerate, thoughtful, respectful and offering a helping hand to those who need it. When we behave like this, things go well, and people thrive. For us all to thrive we rely on each other’s behaviour, respect, good manners, consideration and kindness. We all need each other to do well. Sometimes that means being the voice of reason or stepping up in a difficult situation, seeing the bigger picture and standing for the good of all. For our society to thrive it is vital to be polite, to be respectful of each other, to make sure everyone is treated fairly and well.
17th September 2022
2 Corinthians 5:17 When anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.
What’s in a name? We used to have a cat called Casper. Traditionally Casper is the name of one of the Three Kings and it means wealthy one or treasurer. Both our sons names were chosen because of their meanings, one means God rescues and one means fair and great. My husbands name means gentle one and my own name means youthful one. ( I’m hanging on to this as I get older) Names are very important, many a poor child has found themselves on the end of playground jokes because of their name and many of us shorten or use a middle name because we dislike our given Christian name. In the Bible Simon has his name changed to Peter, the rock on which God will build His church and throughout history many people took a “Christian” name when they were converted to the Christian faith. This was a name that meant something and marked the change in their life. From this came the term Christian name. Now we call it a first name. Do you know what your name means? The internet can help or name books. Perhaps your parents chose your name for you because of what it meant. The good news is we all have a name that does mean something, a name that means we belong to Christ. We are covered by Christ, we take on his nature, before God we become as Christ. He stands with us and we take the family name of Christian, follower of Christ, saved by Him ! So what’s in a name – our future is !
16th September 2022
Luke 22: 34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
We are all aware of Peter’s denial, we hear it every Easter, we read the anger in his replies and the terrible guilt and sorrow when he hears the rooster crow just as Jesus said. What we tend to forget is that we all do it, we all make mistakes, we all break promises to each other and to God, we all deny Jesus in some way or another and often we are too blind to see what we have done or accept our fault. One of the most amazing things about God is His love for us which means we get not just second or third chances but multiple chances. When we recognise our faults and admit we have failed or done wrong, when we are sorry for these mistakes, then we are forgiven completely, and we continue with God as if nothing has happened. We are restored. We may have to do some apologising and restoring to others when our mistakes impact on them, but with God we are forgiven, and He gives us chance after chance. Peter went on to become head of the early church, he stood up for His Lord and did eventually die for His faith, crucified upside down. May we recognise when we make mistakes, be willing to admit our faults, apologise, make amends and know God’s forgiveness no matter how many times it happens.
15th September 2022
John 20:25 Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.
Many of us worry about scars, marks on our body from injury, or from accident. We worry that people can see something, a vulnerability and we buy products to cover them. Many women stop wearing bikini’s after having children because they are embarrassed by their stretch marks. The demand for perfection in magazines and celebrity has left our society believing scars are not to be visible and are an embarrassment. Yet, scars are actually a visible sign of what we have survived, what we have given. Scars show the incredible ability of our bodies to recover and mend but the scar it leaves is a reminder of what we have come through. Jesus scars were an identifying mark of his death on the cross. Only He could bear those scars, they were His proof of His sacrifice, of His death and then of His resurrection. Our beloved queen quoted from pilgrim’s Progress when she said “My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder." Our scars are marks of survival, of love, of what we have been through, of the battles we have fought and we should be proud of them, not hide them away.
14th September 2022
1 Kings 3:19 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
I have often wondered what makes a good judge. Many television representations do little to make them seem good honest people. Donald Trump’s manipulation of The USA Supreme Court Judges has shown how people can be appointed not on their merit but on their willingness to agree with and support a certain political view. In the Bible judgement is God’s domain but He enables leaders to become judges, not because they can be manipulated, but because they have His heart. The key is quite simply discernment between good and evil. In fairness we have developed a considerable grey area in between the two, where we offer possible excuses, mitigation and can be open to manipulation. No human is perfect, none of us can be completely right so here we are offered a way forward, an understanding heart. We cannot decide someone’s right or wrongness without understanding, without experience, without the compassion and empathy within us, these are put there by our compassionate and empathetic Father God. May we pray for that understanding heart that gives us true discernment.
13th September 2022
Proverbs 21:3 To be just and fair is more desirable and acceptable to God than any sacrifice.
Sometimes life can be really difficult, everything that can go wrong does, people who you thought were friends or at least would be helpful drop you right in it. Everything you do seems to lead to something else extra you had not planned for, the cost of food is now such that every penny must be counted and things gone without. At the beginning of a new term things are always busier, there are always more costs for families, the routines have been got out of and now need developing again. Everyone is getting tired quickly, the darker nights are on their way and the people who had helped have disappeared. I seriously wonder at the strength some people have to keep going. I know several teachers who have come back to work with extra supplies, food for hungry children, stationery, even clothes for pupils they know will not be able to afford them. How dare we as a society allow this to happen. How dare we blame the children and their parents. How dare we use our ability to do well to call others inadequate and blame them. God counts the hairs on every head, no matter their status, God wipes every tear no matter the age or skin colour, God sent His son for every human no matter their ability to pay or not. Any society that allows its citizens to go cold, hungry and homeless is not as God requires. Things need to change and we, however small, can play a part in that if we so choose.
12th September 2022
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the broken hearted and grieving, He saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Queen Elizabeth dedicated almost her entire adult life to our nation and commonwealth. She treated everyone with the utmost respect, even when they didn't deserve it, during the course of her duties and her private life. Even if we are not huge royalists, even though most of us never actually met her, she has been a constant in the majority of all our lives. Her death in itself may bring us to different levels sadness, but what it does do for all of us is remind us of those we have lost, those particularly lost in Covid, those we could not grieve for properly, those whose funerals we could not attend or even, in the early days, actually have. This offers us a time to grieve, to grieve for our Queen but also for our own loved ones who we miss, whose memory we treasure whose presence we miss. It is often said that the death of someone else who may not even be that close to us, or of a pet, can bring to the surface the loss and grief of the past. As we grieve our Queen, let us take the opportunity to grieve those other losses of the past and be kind to ourselves.
11th September 2022
1 Corinthians 16: 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Friends, we now live in a very momentous but sombre time; The longest reigning monarch has died. The Elizabethan era has come to an end. A new monarch, a King, now reigns. This first Sunday of our period of national mourning falls on September 11th or, as Americans call it, 9-11. 21 years ago, in 2001, the world experienced acute pain, shock and grief in those horrific terrorist attacks. Our Queen wrote a letter of condolence to the relatives of the victims of 9-11, she wrote: “Nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.” These words seem particularly appropriate on this 9-11. Grief is the price we pay for love. The Queen, throughout her remarkable reign, had a steadfast and natural faith which sustained her and she said that “Christ’s example helps me see the value in doing small things with great love.” Even in grief may we see the value of doing the small things with great love.
10th September 2022
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
We are now in an official period of mourning for our Queen. The term mourning means the state of being in deep grief. We mourn over a profound loss, such as the death of a loved one or a terrible accident. We also mourn over our own sins or mistakes, those things we get wrong. We mourn for the purity of heart we once had or for a future where our bad choices mean our best future is destroyed. Mourning is part of our being human. It is the way our hearts respond when something we deeply value has been taken from us. Mourning can also be a way to show our recognition that we have dishonoured God and His morality. Mourning is painful but can help us realign our hearts and minds with the heart of God. Mourning is a familiar theme in the Bible. Ezra mourned over the sins of his people. Nehemiah mourned at the news that his beloved Jerusalem lay in ruins. We mourn the death of our Queen but we mourn knowing we have eternal hope, knowing Her faith assured her, as it assures us, of eternal life, that death is not the end for those who are in Christ. So even as we mourn we are blessed and we are comforted by our Saviour and Lord.
9th September 2022
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Today we mourn the loss of our dear Queen. The majority of this country have known only her as their monarch. Only a few short months ago we were celebrating her platinum jubilee and we saw the love and respect that people had for her. One of her most endearing qualities was her faith in God. She promised to dedicate and devote herself to her people and asked God to help her keep this promise. On each pound coin you will find Elizabeth II by Grace of God, queen, defender of the faith, written there. By the grace of God, she has defended the faith, our faith. She said that Jesus Christ was the inspiration and anchor in her life. She spoke of Jesus as a role model of reconciliation and forgiveness who stretched out His hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ’s example taught her to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none. Queen Elizabeth was never quiet about her Faith. Her example to us is one inspired by God, may we know that strength of faith and devotion to God’s people and to the service of all.
8th September 2022
Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
As a teenager I loved singing the worship song based on this verse; Be bold, be strong, for the Lord thy God is with you! It speaks of not being afraid and not being dismayed, but yet at times we are afraid, we are dismayed, worried and concerned, we struggle with our confidence. God knows our feelings and emotions and how they affect us. He knows we fear pain, death, loss of money, job, family, home etc. God does not ask us not to acknowledge that fear and despondency; He asks only that when we are afraid and fearful, we allow His boldness, His strength, to settle in and on us. He asks us to offer up how we feel to Him and let Him take the strain. In God’s strength we can and do face anything. We find an ability within that enables us to cope and often to come out the other side stronger people. There is nothing wrong with being afraid but we need to let God in to stand with us and give us His strength.
7th September 2022
Luke 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?
We are currently talking a lot about the cost-of-living crisis. The cost of our bills, our food, our petrol, our clothing has gone up hugely. We are all beginning to evaluate the cost of things much more and decide if we can actually afford them. Cost is so much more than monetary value. As a child I wanted a puppy, I was sat down and told about cost of the puppy, it’s food, the vet, taking it for walks, keeping it clean, chews, toys and so on. It was made clear the cost was too much. In everything we have to decide what the true cost is and if it is worth it. Everything in life has a cost emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually as well as monetary. As we consider the cost of anything we have to consider the short- and long-term cost. If something costa us everything, is it worth it? Following Jesus has a cost. God is very clear that we should count the cost of being a disciple, we must decide whether we are prepared to pay it. Things are easy to say, not easy to do. Jesus was prepared to pay the price, to pay the full cost for us on the cross. The question is, are we prepared to count the cost and give our lives for Jesus.
6th September 2022
Psalm 115:1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
All of us at sometime like to bask in some glory. The winning run, chair of the committee, solo in the choir, a bonus, a promotion, saving someone, having a book published etc. We like to be given some credit for our hard work because life is difficult enough without some positive pats on the back to keep us going. Sadly, for some, they become hooked on that feeling and the adrenaline rush it brings and they can even desperately set themselves up to be heroes so they receive more and more acclamation. This verse in Psalms reminds us that we actually deserve none of the glory, it is only God himself who deserves glory! It is this glorious God who loves us, is faithful to us, who saves us. The wonder of this glorious God is that He also encourages us, pats us on the back and says to us, well done. Although God deserves the glory, He still offers us, undeserving as we are, glory and majesty because we are so precious to Him.
5th September 2022
1 Corinthians 6:11 You were washed, you were sanctified, you were made new and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Over the summer my Chaplain’s office has been redecorated. The cracks and holes in the walls now fresh and clean, the flooring replaced, a new sink and taps and a new radiator. I may, at last, not be so cold this winter. It was like walking into a new space, it smelled new and fresh, it was brighter and I was so pleased. Words like clean and new are used in the Bible, they describe taking our old, cracked and damaged lives and transforming them into fresh, clean and new lives which stand out and which reflect God’s glory and transformative power. We have become a throwaway society, if old or slightly damaged, cracked and dirty we throw it away and get a new one. No repairs or redecorations, no cleaning up, no transforming it. God does not throw us away, He does not look at damage, cracks, dirt or problems and He does not throw us away. Instead, He loves us, heals us, cleans us up and makes us new again. We become a fresher, cleaner, happier version of ourselves. The great news is that unlike my office which will not receive another makeover for many years, we can receive a makeover every day, God is willing and able to always clean us up, repair the damage and make us new again.
4th September 2022
Isaiah 40:21 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
After 2 years of Covid, lockdowns, huge deaths, long covid, fear and worry, it has been hard to adjust. We forewent holidays, rest times, exams, public interaction and this allowed things to change in ways we could not imagine and left the wonderful of excuse of covid to prevent a return to normality. Job losses, working from home, social distancing, not meeting people, websites still having excuses as to why they’re slower, not offering the benefits of the past or the options we are used to. Meanwhile the cost of everything is rising and wages are not. There is no respite, we Lerch from one thing to the next and the hard work and savings of years are now gone. That retirement we saved for, gone, that home we saved to buy, gone, that holiday we saved for, out of reach. We are tired and low. Yet God promises strength, that nothing is beyond our ability to cope and that we go through none of this alone. God reminds us to rest in Him. To trust Him. To let Him take the strain. To rise again and soar in His strength. It may seem difficult to do, but be encouraged, we have a God who keeps His promises.
3rd September 2022
Ecclesiasticus 10:12 The beginning of pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its maker.
As I see the front page of many papers, I am conscious of the constant drip about migrants crossing the channel. BUT, did you know that of all these migrants the papers tell us about every day, only a few in every hundred are actually illegal and not actually entitled to asylum. Our press has become a voice for the right wing, populist, Britain first government. Those who try to hold them to account are removed, truth and honesty have been replaced with fake news and even our precious BBC, who had a reputation for honesty and impartiality, is now just an arm of the government who has replaced all the senior people with govt appointments who act as puppets for a governmental voice. Friends, we are in dangerous times, our very democracy is under threat. The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord…… to forsake the poor, the vulnerable, to forsake justice, honesty and integrity. We must decide who we stand with? God and His ways or the ways of this land and its treatment of those most in need. We are called to choose who we serve. I hope and pray we will choose to serve God by inviting the poor, the migrant, the refugee, the disabled, the vulnerable to a fairer life because we will no longer accept the ways which reward only the rich and powerful. I stand with God and I hope you do to.
2nd September 2022
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who has nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of truth with precision.
We all want to be the best friend, parent, child; the best at our job, the best we can be. We all come up short. The time we forgot the changing bag for the baby, said the wrong thing to a friend, made the wrong decision, forgot that anniversary. We are not perfect, humans just aren’t, we have inherited the imperfections of all humans but all God wants from us is to do our best, to try. No human is perfect, only Jesus ever fulfilled that role and in doing so allowed us, with our imperfections, to be loved and accepted by God. God is only ever asking us to do our best. As long as we try, as long as we offer ourselves to His service, God will always be with us, on our side, blessing us. As long as we try our best, we have nothing to be ashamed of. God’s word is full of encouragement, full of forgiveness and love, full of help and advice. As long as we try our best, pray and ask God for His help, that is all that is required of us. God will do the rest.
1st September 2022
Ecclesiastes 3:16 I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
The balance of our society has become in favour of the rich and powerful minority at the cost of the ever-growing majority who are treated like the serfs once were by their land owners. We have returned to Victorian poverty. Hungry children, more and more work for less pay, higher costs while not being given higher wages. Whilst the few take their places at the top table, we are expected not just to sit lower down but rather to wait on those at the top, pick up their scraps and be grateful for it. I cannot understand how energy companies can pay billions to shareholders, millions to chief executives in bonuses and salaries, take huge profits and then say the consumer must pay more. Meanwhile these rich powerful people claim they can’t afford to pay their workers fairly. We are told it’s the fault of the poor, the migrant, the person on benefits, anyone but the rich who are quickly getting richer. Did you know that during covid and this last year we have created more billionaires in this country than anywhere else. All created off the need and suffering of the ordinary people. God believes in equality, fairness and justice for all, not just the few, but for everyone. The question is, do we believe this and are we willing to do what we can as Christians, to achieve it?
31st August 2022
Luke 14:11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Currently we have a lot of people who have such high self-importance they believe they are entitled to the place of honour. Most of us would not want to make more of ourselves than we are. Also right now, we are looking at poor and vulnerable people who cannot feed their family, heat water, wash their clothes, cook food, buy food, heat their homes if they can even afford a place to live. I do not know all your circumstances but I do know statistics would suggest there will be people reading this who are struggling, people in your street, in our community who are at their Wits end. I do not pretend to be a politician but I do know that MP’s are not moved into doing something for us because they have their bills paid for them, they can claim their heating and not just for one home but for a second if they have it. They can eat in subsidised restaurants, claim for their phones, all their travel, cleaners, computers, food costs, hotel bills. The list of expenses they can claim is endless. We do not have that option. If it does not affect them personally, they will do nothing. God, though, is quite clear that this behaviour, this treatment of the poor and vulnerable is not acceptable and Just as they watched Jesus closely to see what he did, people watch us. If we are willing to let the poor suffer, to ignore the disabled and vulnerable, to make excuses for the rich, for the government, then others will do them same.
30th August 2022
Genesis 27:14 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
When you think about God working among us you might share my amazement at how often things go wrong and yet God's will is still achieved. The human side of life is messy! God's purposes are ultimately accomplished, but not without significant delay and hurt. In this family, an important patriarchal family in the Jewish faith. Each parent stakes a claim for a favourite child and then Esau flippantly sells his birth right to his brother. There is very little to admire in how the characters behave. Isaac ignores the prophecy and intends to give Esau, his favourite son, the blessing of the firstborn. Esau, having sold his birth right, goes back on his oath. Rebekah, devises a plot to deceive her husband and Jacob implements it. This family unit is in conflict and completely breaks down. We can easily look at all the players in the picture and see how they're all to blame, and yet God uses these imperfect people to work through His plan anyway. Sometimes we write ourselves or others off because of our imperfect, human failings, and yet God chooses us and uses us. God never counts us out so we should never count ourselves out.
29th August 2022
Luke 14:7 Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, so he told them a parable.
Have you ever been invited to a special event or party where celebrities are, where money is no object and only those who have certain contacts, money, influence are ever invited. This has never happened to me and I expect not you either. If you watch red carpet events there are certain people who automatically demand the most attention. Others who are ignored and overlooked because they are not currently as valuable. Sadly, the fans exacerbate this issue cheering for some and not others. It seems the more popular you are, the more popular you become. The more money you have the more you seem to get. The more celebrity you have the more you receive. Here is a lesson in human relationships and pecking order where we must decide whose side we are on. Do we look to the rich and celebrity and dismiss the poor as irrelevant? God says the poor, the disabled, the vulnerable are the treasures to be cared for, celebrated and given the places of honour. As Christians we have a duty to stand up for those in need, to fight the corner of the poor, disabled, elderly and vulnerable.
28th August 2022
Mark 3:2 They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
One of the simplest and yet most difficult things we are called to do as Christians is to love each other. To do this we must see each other! Really look and see one another. We must notice the people who are easy to overlook as we go about our busy life. Would Jesus have been really loving if he had asked those that he healed on the sabbath to come back tomorrow when it wasn’t the Sabbath and then I will heal you. He didn’t do that. He reacted out of love. So, we also must act out of this love when we are living out our faith on a daily basis. God encourages us to use our gifts to make life better for other people. The Spirit will prompt us to live with justice, mercy, kindness, and love? Ask yourself each day, is there something I can do that will make it easier for someone else to fully participate in life as God intended them to. What do we need to change to make things more accessible for all of God’s children? How do we take what we hear and experience in worship on Sunday mornings and live it out the rest of the week? Jesus kept his eyes open to see the people in need and the problems in society that needed to be called out. We need to see each other. To see need and to do something, to keep our eyes open and to call out those things in society which hurt and damage people.
27th August 2022
Luke 13:13 When Jesus laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
Many Bible stories about Jesus contain healing, sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual or mental, sometimes relational. Many of us would identify with the people who need to be healed. Most of us would love to be healed from something. Maybe a relationship that has left us feeling broken. Maybe our life isn’t what we hoped it would be. Maybe we are grieving the death of someone and that emptiness inside us is too much. Maybe we are angry at things beyond our control and we can’t let go of our anger. Maybe our body is no longer allowing us to do things we used to enjoy and is failing physically. If we think about it, every one of us would like healing. Everyone would like to have their need acknowledged and their brokenness restored. My belief is that healing comes in many forms and at different times. Sometimes we will live with things, but strength to cope is freely given. Sometimes we have to lean into the issue and let God take the strain. Sometimes time is a necessary part of that healing. However it happens, and it does happen every day, my hope is that when we are healed, we will react as many of those Jesus healed reacted. They praised God and they told everyone all about it.
26th August 2022
Matthew 25:45 “What you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Covid and now the Cost-of-Living crisis has shown that the flourishing of the very few has been at the expense and suffering of the majority of others. When any one of us diminishes the humanity of another, we dismiss and diminish the image of God which each human bears. While this suffering and hardship continues, while we turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to those suffering around us, when we continue to allow those in authority to act with impunity to the detriment of those struggling, this is to disregard the warning of Jesus: “What you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” The flourishing of some cannot be at the expense and suffering of others. As we see God in each other we must pay attention; look out for people who are struggling, listen out for quiet pleas for help and offer support and care where we are able. We can campaign, petition and vote in favour of packages and measures that help those disproportionately affected by the crisis. We can reach out to our local MP and engage with them. We can go to the local Citizens Advice branch, CAP centre or foodbank, find out the local needs and campaign for them to be addressed. We can also pray. Pray for our neighbours and our communities, for compassion and empathy, kindness and generosity. And remember, whatever any of us do for the least of these, we are doing for Jesus.
25th August 2022
1 Peter 4:9 Be generous with the different things God gave you, sharing them around so that everyone can benefit.
It is good to be pleased or even a little proud of ourselves when we do well. When people speak well of us and our actions, it is to be accepted as a compliment and a blessing to us. One of my pleasures is when I am told I am generous. We try as a family to give of our time, our money and our talents to help others, we do have two priests in the family after all. But, for all of us where we have enough, others do not, and so it is good to help where we can. We do not do it for the recognition as none of us should, but sometimes a little positive encouragement gives us the strength to continue. We see that the little we are doing makes a difference. Each of us has been given gifts by God, gifts or abilities which mean we can help others if we share them freely. Gifts and abilities are given by God that we can all have a better life by sharing together. Where there is need, we can step in and cover and the same can be there for us. Sometimes we need reminding what our gifts are, a beneficial activity is to look at yourself and write down your gifts. Then it is good to think how we are sharing those gifts with others to help them. It can also help to look at how we have benefitted from the gifts of others. Of course, we may discover that we are a little mean with what we have and perhaps the challenge then is to give more freely, knowing we will also be freely given to by others in Christ.
24th August 2022
Luke 13:11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
Here we meet up with someone who needs physical healing, bent over for 18 years, unable to stand up straight. She did not ask to be healed, but tried to blend in with the crowd so as not to draw attention to herself. Even when everyone else ignored her Jesus saw her, Jesus noticed her. This is one of my favourite things about Jesus, He sees people. He sees this woman who most people probably ignored firstly because she was a woman and also because she has a physical disability. Some people are invisible, even today disabled people are not seen or are purposely ignored. This is also true of children, the elderly and women. But just as Jesus saw her, Jesus sees you, your situation, your need; Jesus sees you and wants to do whatever is necessary to help you, heal you, care for you. With some simple words and a touch of his hands, Jesus heals the woman. She is able to stand up for the first time in years and the first thing she does is praise God. Her life is forever changed because Jesus saw her. Our lives are forever changed because Jesus sees us. May we praise God for all He does for us.
23rd August 2022
Luke 13:14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”
In many of the stories about Jesus there features a Religious Person or leader of the time. It is very easy for us to see these people as the bad guys of the story. They speak out what they know to be true, in this instance that anyone can be healed any other day of the week except on the Sabbath because the law says they cannot work on the Sabbath. These people are often faithful people who live by the Torah and have studied the scriptures and worked hard to live in the correct way. But meeting Jesus they are told that they are wrong, what humiliation at being corrected. We could easily call these people vicar, Sunday School teacher, PCC member, choir member, person in the congregation. This person is us. This person is me and you. I am a rule follower. I love knowing what I am expected to do so I can do it. And I am very hard on myself when I cannot meet those expectations. Churches are places and people with rules. These are the ways we govern ourselves and what makes everything work in our churches. Many of our rules are unwritten and are just the way we do things. Jesus isn’t instructing us to throw out all the rules, but Jesus is encouraging us to think about the rules that govern our lives. Are they fair, correct, just and loving? A Sabbath day makes good sense as our bodies need rest and time to worship and renew. But healing someone cannot be put off until tomorrow. God works through us now whatever day of the week.
22nd August 2022
Romans 15:7 Therefore, accept and welcome one another as Christ welcomes you.
How welcoming are you? Do you make people feel
at ease in your home, in your church, in your workplace? Or would you much
rather people did not invade your places? I expect many of us would say,
depends on the person or people. Being people of welcome was crucial in the
early church. Even they had issues, should Christianity just be for Jews or
Gentiles as well. Even those first church leaders had to be reminded by God and
each other that everyone was welcome. The example of Jesus was that He welcomed
everyone. His followers were from every walk of life, every gender, every level
of society and He made it clear that all were equal in His group and that this
should permeate all of society. Unfortunately, the way of imperfect humans,
particularly males, have made sure society is not welcoming of everybody, that
levels of wealth and power are maintained and that many are made very unwelcome
if they do not fit into the set pattern they have made. We all fall into that
trap, avoiding the homeless, not helping the foodbanks because we hear, via a
bias press and government, that these people are just scroungers. Jesus
welcomed everyone, no if’s no buts. We too must welcome anyone into our
churches, welcome the poor and needy as much as the wealthy and powerful. We
need to open our minds and hearts to everyone no matter who they are or what
their background is for that is the way of Christianity as Jesus taught it.
21st August 2022
Ecclesiastes 1:2 Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. Don't count on being remembered.
We all go through a time when we want to be remembered. We would like a place in history, our name on something or in the history books. It gives a sense of immortality; our body may have gone but our name lives on. If you were asked who are your favourite names from history, we can all real a few off but in the context of the many millions who have lived it is a relatively small pool to pick from. It is true that most things in life are forgotten, before the web the phrase todays news, tomorrows fish and chip wrapper was often used as the papers are onto something else the following day. We all want someone to remember us and it is fair to say that we do live on in other’s memories of us, but those memories are only for one or two generations. It seems cynical but so little of life and history is really remembered and it is fair to say that the history we remember is always written by the victors and so will not be the full and honest truth. The memories we hold of others and they of us, should be good ones, it is right to strive to be remembered as good, honest, caring, loving people. Even if the world does not really remember us for long, God does remember us. God knows us, by name, he knows the number of hairs on our head and sees all those tears we cry. When everyone else has long forgotten us, God has and will not. God never forgets us.
20th August 2022
Jeremiah 2:31 Young women don't forget their jewellery, do they? Brides don't show up without their veils, do they? But my people forget me. Day after day after day they never give me a thought.
How forgetful are you? I am really good at putting something down and forgetting where I put it. I don’t always remember conversations until I am reminded and I really struggle with learning names and faces these days. If I really need to make sure I remember something I write myself notes, even send myself emails as a reminder. I love making lists where I can clearly see what I need to do next. The point being made here is that actually we are good as human beings at remembering the things that are important to us, the things that matter in our lives. We tend not to forget to pick our children up from school, or the doctor’s appointment, or where our jewellery and valuables are. We tend not to forget meals out, concert tickets, our own birthdays, our own phone numbers and emails. The problem is we are good at forgetting those things not important to us, so in the case of God He does not have the importance in our lives that He should have. We tend to put more and more in front of God until He just drops off the end of the list and is no longer important to us. We need to be reminded to put God top of the list again, to make our relationship with Him important and to restore the daily communication with Him. God needs to be in our heads and in our thinking, in our hearts and our understanding, in our eyes and our looking, in our mouths and in our speaking. God should be in every part of our lives and not forgotten. (phrases from the Book of Hours in public domain)
19th August 2022
Proverbs 10:28 The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.
Don’t you just love straight talk, no if’s or buts, if we do this this will happen. I grew up in a home where strict rules were enforced, and you went against them at your peril. The Old Testament is quite often straight talking about the consequences of actions. Life was simpler, language less confusing and right and wrong were very black and white. People understood the rules and laws and kept them knowing that if they didn’t punishment was severe. Much of the Old Testament makes the choice of following God very black and white. The prospect of being righteous is joy, in other words if you are a good, righteous, honest person you will find joy. The antithesis of this is that if you are wicked, you will suffer. The consequences of wickedness, lawlessness, dishonesty, lies, fraud, abuse and the like, is death. Sometimes it seems this punishment is a long time coming and there are a few of our present leaders who certainly have and are behaving wickedly, they will get their comeuppance. They will not have the prospect of Joy because their behaviour is damaging and against God’s ways. We all make mistakes, and the wonder of God is forgiveness, BUT we must recognise our wrongdoing, apologise and make amends for it. We do that because we recognise God and His impact on our lives, and in doing so, we are forgiven and find joy. If we choose wickedness the path to suffering is very easy and downhill all the way.
18th August 2022
Proverbs 15:22 Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed.
My husband says the best piece of advice his father ever gave him was to get on and marry me. For once he took his father’s advice and we have been married for 29 years. We can all be very funny about advice, particularly when we are young, thinking we know better, thinking that older people know nothing, but good advice can be blessing that stops us making stupid errors and saving us pain. When we make plans to do work on our homes, we listen to those who are experts, we get plans drawn up and we decide if it is possible or not. When we study for qualifications, we listen to those who know, we study and learn, we follow their guidance. As we grow up, we become who we are often because of our upbringing and the values our parents have passed onto us. Those who have experienced life longer, who have become experts in their field, who have made the poor choices and want to share how to avoid them with others, these are people we should listen to, take good counsel from and so succeed. I do like the fact that when we are told to honour our parents, they are also told not to exasperate us. The listening to advice is so valuable and when it is our turn to give it, the way we give it, the way we offer our pearls of wisdom matters.
17th August 2022
Psalm 57:4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts, men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
The Psalms are great for summing up how we might feel at times. They have these wonderful verses about how everything seems to be going wrong, then followed up with expressions of gratitude and praise for God because even in the midst of dark times He is there. I love this verse comparing our difficult times to being in with lions and ravenous beasts, sharp teeth and swords. We get the picture, this is serious, people in with lions don’t survive, spears, arrows and swords wreak havoc and bring death. This is a deep dark situation where there seems to be no hope and yet verse after verse of despair is followed by verses of praise and recognition of God’s care and presence even in this terrible time. The battle between being in the depths and trusting God is a hard one and can be a daily one for many. Life can be cruel, unfair, debasing and yet God promises we are not alone, He stands with us, understand us and will not let us down. The lions might be near and hungry, the spears and arrows raining down, the swords sharpened and ready and yet the protection of God stands between us and them, day after day. May we spare a moment even in the dark times to thank God for His goodness to us.
16th August 2022
Ephesians 4:25 Put away all dishonesty and speak truthfully to all, for we are all part of one body.
Think of a time when you lied or cheated, why did you do it? What makes us lie to someone, bend the truth, act dishonestly? Whenever we speak to anyone it should be in a truthful, loving & caring way because that is what God demands of us as Christians and as His children. Just think about how you feel when you discover that someone has lied to you. You feel betrayed, you feel cheated, you wonder why and you no longer have trust in the person who has lied to you. If you feel like that when someone lies to you, you now know how others will feel if you lie to them, so why do we do it? We really do struggle with our human nature; we think that covering up our mistakes and errors through lies will actually make people think better of us and yet we can clearly see just how badly it damages people’s opinion of us. As humans we are caught in this balancing act where we do what we don’t want to do and don’t do what we want and ought to do. St Paul spoke a lot about this in his letter to the Romans. The response is to let the Holy Spirit enable us to stand firm in truth and honesty, to let Him prompt us when we are tempted to lie and to recognise, we are all part of God’s family and none of us deserve to be lied to by another.
15th August 2022
Judges 6:13a “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about.
On the occasions when I have asked God some awkward questions I was not as polite about it as Gideon was here. He politely challenges God about why they are in such a mess and why hasn’t the God who did all the wonderful things of the past do something wonderful now. Many of us think this if we are honest. We look at stories in the Bible, of miracles, healings, battles, callings, visitations and we ask why not me, why not now? We feel we want to hear a loud bombing voice or see a river split open to reveal dry land, or have food delivered from the skies or hear a donkey talk or a man live in the belly of a whale for three days. We tell God that if He did some of these things now people would believe, being a Christian would be easier. But then I am pointed to Jesus, His story, the miracles, healings, water to wine, food for 5000, defeat of death and did they all come flocking? Did they all believe? The answer is no. You can offer all the proof in the world to people but many will not believe even then. When I ask God awkward questions, I don’t often get straight answers but I do get reminders, points in my life when time and again God has stepped in, in the right way at the right time. Gideon is reminded of God at work and goes on to do wonderful things for God, may it be the same for us.
14th August 2022
Philippians 4: 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is virtuous, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
I grew up with the term “selective memory”. The choice someone made to remember or forget something as it suited their needs. Current politics and journalism seem to thrive on this, forgetting to hold people to account, forgetting to observe laws, forgetting to honour promises and pledges when it suits them to do so. The term selective is a polite way of saying choice. People making an active, purposeful choice to forget a promise, break a law, abdicate responsibility, all to further their own lifestyle. Remembering and honouring things is crucial to our learning lessons, retaining knowledge and building upon it, and keeping the promises and commitments we have made. The term virtue is an old word, not used much now, probably because of what it means; behaving to the highest moral standards. Yet it is exactly what we need to do right now in our country and communities. Philippians calls us to think on or dwell on things which are good, virtuous, true, honourable, right and pure. Imagine if everyone only focussed on these positive things. With so much goodness, integrity and honesty in the world there would be no poverty, no one would be homeless, money would be equally shared, and leaders would not operate from selfish gain. We cannot change the world overnight, but the change starts with us, we can make a difference today, each day, we can effect change if we live as people of virtue, of goodness with the highest moral standards.
13th August 2022
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever lives honestly will live securely, but whoever lives dishonestly will be found out.
Would you describe yourself as honest? Perhaps more to the point would others describe you as honest? I consider honesty to be really important in life and have brought my children up to be honest, admit their mistakes, accept that we get things wrong and fess up when we make a mistake. Sadly, public life does not seem to worry about honesty any more. It has become acceptable to lie, to make excuses, to blame everyone else in order not to have to face the consequences of their actions. It seems that people aren’t energised to demand honesty from public figures any more. It seems that if you can get away with being dishonest people seem to admire you and not hold you to account. We need a reality check. Dishonesty in any part of life means a person is willing to lie, to cheat, to do anything to get their own way and keep their position. When it comes to honesty you cannot separate public and private life. If you are dishonest in one thing you will be dishonest in everything. It does seem that however much we try to hide our discretions; we will be found out. It may take a while but it will be revealed for all to see and hear. The question is whether we are willing to hold people to account and to hold ourselves to account. The best way to live before God is to remember that old saying, honesty is the best policy and if we stick to that and encourage others to do the same, this world will be a better, safer place. Remember that honesty and trust are linked, if we are not honest people will not trust us.
12th August 2022
Genesis 20:2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Being female and a priest means I experience some prejudice and sexist treatment. For me one of the most shocking and exasperating things about many of the Old Testament stories is how routinely women are treated as property and maltreated by those who are supposed to care for them and are in fact God’s chosen people. Sadly, and very wrongly, this treatment of women was normal in the ancient world, but sometimes, not as much as we should, we do find God's condemnation of this behaviour. Abraham, a hero in the three main religions, is willing to prostitute his wife for his own safety, passing her off as his sister so that Abimelech will take her into his house. Abraham shows absolutely no respect for her honour and no regard for her safety. He also practices coercive behaviour by telling her it is a test of her loyalty to him, and this man is offered as an example? I really struggle with this, as do most women. Abraham actually doesn't come out of this story well. The supposed wise statesman and proclaimed ancestor of all Israel is a terrible moral failure. Thank goodness God himself intervenes to save the situation. This is an example of shameful behaviour that we're more sensitive about today, but still not dealing with enough. It clearly shows that doing the right thing will often require moral and even physical courage. If we let ourselves be corrupted by fear, by sexism, by selfish gain, the consequences will be terrible.
11th August 2022
Zechariah 8: 4 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares.
We tend to be disrespectful of old age in the west. Instead of caring for our elderly we seem to prefer to either put them in a home or buy in care for them in their own homes. It is partly selfish but also is due to our own business and not being able to care for those who need it and work and look after our own families etc. The older generation give so much in bringing up their children and then often act as free childcare for grandchildren, the least we can do is care for them when they need it. I know this is hard, I have faced it myself, trying to help aging and ill parents while trying to do two jobs to keep the family fed and watered and having to live a distance away. This verse in Zechariah places our elderly in the streets of new Jerusalem, walking, with their canes, a sign of old age, sitting together in the squares. Here is respect, here are folk enjoying being together in God’s place and the verse after tells us that also in those streets will be children playing and having fun. No fear, no worries, no negative issues, just enjoying life. God wants us all, young and old, to enjoy our lives, to be cared for without fear or worry and if that is what God wants for us, that is what we should want for each other.
10th August 2022
Luke 10:13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
We tend to think that seeing is believing. We want evidence to prove something. If we see it then we can believe it is true. As I have got older, I have become more cynical and less trusting of being told things. Too many promises not kept, too many agreements broken, too many negative experiences. When I work with young people in volunteer placements some are brilliant at giving me evidence of their attendance and what they have done and achieved. Others just presume that telling me they attended for several months with no way of validating this is going to be acceptable. To achieve things in life we have to have evidence, certificates, references, documents. Sadly, even then some people are not convinced. Here in Luke even though miracles have been seen, people healed in front of their eyes, clever and factual argument made, prophecies fulfilled, these people of the city of Chorazin will not believe. These people witnessed the mighty power of God in their streets for the better part of three years. Yet, it seemed to make no difference in their lives. We can experience the power of God, day in and day out, we can be shown the evidence of God working and still we do not believe. There are too many Godincidences in life to think there is no God. The evidence is all around us, the question is whether we chose to believe our eyes, our ears, our hearts and minds or not.
9th August 2022
Psalm 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.
A recent piece of research concluded that victim blaming has become a common response in the UK, rather than being compassionate and empathetic we have become people who blame the refugees for needing to leave their country, blame the person hurt in an accident for just being there, blame those attacked and raped because it makes us feel safer if we can find a reason. Blame everyone else instead of looking to ourselves. St Augustine said “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.” We should be angry, not at the person suffering but those who allow and cause this suffering. We should also channel that anger into courage to make a stand, to challenge the status Quo and to make those responsible accept their responsibility and if necessary, their punishment. Paul Boateng has recently quoted this quote in his work with the church on racism, he encourages us all to make a stand, to not let it be just words, but action. Step up in the fight against racism, step up in the fight against violence, poverty, fair wages, sexism, honesty and truth. We are right to be angry when things are wrong and we must then channel this anger, be courageous and demand things change for the betterment of all.
8th August 2022
Galatians 3:28 In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal.
I long for a society where there is perfect equality between races, classes, gender, abilities, careers, rich and poor. Many tell me I am too idealistic, but I don’t think so. If you long for something and believe in it, you will strive toward it. You don’t stop until you get there and even then, you keep working to maintain it. I find as a woman in the priesthood I am often attacked by those who believe only men can be priests. We have just seen the rights of women over their bodies go backwards because of extreme and mainly male views. We have politicians in this country playing with Conversion Therapy and using their power to affect the rights of others. There is not equality and the large steps we had taken are very quickly being eroded in the cause of keeping certain people in power and finding someone to blame. The diversity of humans was understood by Jesus, by leaders of the early church who were then replaced by figures who asserted male dominance within religion. Their take on things gave us centuries of inequality and this continues. Every person has the right to find God and love their way. God is unconditional with His love and so should we. When we use archaic beliefs and practices to prevent freedom then we are not living in God’s image. Not one of us has the right to treat any other human being other than as an equal and I and many others, with God on our side, will keep fighting for that until it happens.
7th August 2022
2 Corinthians 8:7,13 See that you also excel in this grace of giving…Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be full equality in diversity.
How good are you at giving? Some people love to give, small gifts, tokens of appreciation, anything to bring someone else pleasure. Others cannot even be bothered to remember special occasions let alone give a card or gift. A friend of mine told me how her husband never remembered her birthday or Christmas etc. She would defend him as being too busy, I would suggest he did not think enough of her. Giving is a grace, that means it not deserved but freely given anyway. We give because others give to us, we know how it makes others feel and how it makes us feel. Giving costs so little and offers so very much. Research by the Trussell Trust who run many foodbanks, has found that those who give most are those who have the least. Their understanding of need, often of being helped themselves, means they are more likely to give even when they are hard pressed because they know what that food really means. They have also found that the wealthiest are the least likely to give, they keep their wealth for themselves. Our ability to give is inside us, often it has been lost by selfishness and greed. We stop giving because we believe we will be richer. The very act of giving makes us so much richer as people, as caring, empathetic and loving humans. If you’re not usually a giver, try it and see what happens. You will be a blessing to others and you will also be richly blessed.
6th August 2022
Romans 8:38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor even the powers of hell can keep us from God’s love.
Are you someone who relishes new beginnings or someone who struggles with endings? Maybe a bit of both? As things change, a new place of work, a new school, a new group of people, we all face worries and concerns? The future can be daunting, and we are not sure of what to expect, but also, we are aware that life is fragile and things can change very quickly for all of us. The one surety we have in everything is God’s love for us. When Paul was finding things difficult, he stepped out and wrote to the Christians in Rome about their futures and their worries. He shared the difficulties life can bring but then declared that nothing can separate us from God’s love and to reinforce his point he lists these things. Life or death can’t separate us, angels or rulers can’t do it, the present or the future can’t do it and the powers of hell cannot separate us from God’s love. So, as you face the future, it’s changes, its uncertainties, be secure in the knowledge that nothing, nothing at all, can separate us from the God’s love.
5th August 2022
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
We all love to come first, from the sports days of our youth, to exams, to sports, to competitions, to queues, we just love being or going first. Of course, if there is a first there is always a last as well as a second, third, fourth etc. The further back we are the more we dislike it and coming last, we hate it, we are competitive as humans and see some sort of embarrassment and shame in coming last. Yet coming last offers the opportunity of improvement, it challenges us to examine our priorities and our gifts. If we are regularly last in something, perhaps it is not our strength. These comforting words about God being the first and the last I often read at funerals. They offer the hope of all of us that beyond life here is a future with God who is the first and last. It puts everything in perspective, at our beginnings and endings God was there first, in triumphs and failures, God was and is there first. In God’s presence at both beginnings and endings, as well as everywhere in between lies hope, encouragement and strength. There is no where we can ever go or be that God is not right there with us.
4th August 2022
Luke 10: 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
We like to do, to be busy, be active, make something, cook something, clean something. As we keep busy, we feel like we have justified our existence and our role. This doing part of our nature is driven by our personality and our thinking. On the other hand we are also beings. Being comes from our soul and heart. Being is very much a spiritual thing. But neither is more important, and both are necessary for how we live our lives. The doing part of us relates to the world, our place in it as our worth is calculated by what we do, our productivity. It tends to occupy our minds daily as to where we want to go in the future, how to achieve this and who to work with to get there quicker. Being is about the moment we are in, realising our potential in that moment, that situation. Being fully present in that moment. Allowing our heart, our soul, our spiritual self to experience everything around us and our place in it at that moment. In Mary and Martha, we see one who is doing and one who is being. Both are needed and both are essential to life. I can’t just be and not feed my family, clean the house, do the washing but I also can’t just do those things and experience the fullness of life and who I am. We are Human beings; we do because there is need. The way we do will be affected by our being, seeing things either as a chore or as a blessing to others. We need a balance, time to just be, to be free to experience fullness of life here and now and time to do the things that will help ourselves and others, achieve goals and a future.
3rd August 2022
Acts 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.
Recently a friend of mine has begun playing bingo, he has a friend who finds it difficult to go out and socialise and they have found going to bingo helps with this. A lot of people in the community find bingo a place to come together, enjoy each other’s company and play together. The atmosphere is supportive and people clap when someone wins. For those who are lonely, older, find it hard to socialise, this offers a safe place in which to meet others and feel supported. This got me thinking about church. I am not suggesting we play bingo although I know places that have it as a church social activity; but it is the atmosphere, the support which makes me think. If a group of random people can come together over a game and be supportive of each other then so can a group of people who come together to worship God. When we meet together in church, we should make sure everyone is welcome and everyone feels safe. We should all be applauding one another when people do well and supporting each other in difficult times. There should be no levels of acceptance for one and not another. No pulling people down for doing well and no judging of others. This community spirit of playing bingo together should be in our churches when we worship together.
2nd August 2022
Colossians 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
We all love to celebrate, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, exam results, new job, anything we can celebrate and congratulate one another on. It is part of our humanity that we want to celebrate good things. We want to say well done, offer praise, offer support and be part of that positive experience. These celebrations allow us to celebrate the goodness of life and that gives us a resilience to keep going in the barren times, in the difficult times. We now have life celebrants who take funerals that celebrate life. The word celebrate means to come together for a significant and happy event. The term is also used for the celebration of communion. The priest is termed as a celebrant. The logical deduction here is that communion is a coming together for a significant and happy event. It is significant because it is a memorial of Jesus final meal with His disciples which He told us to do together. It is also happy because although it commemorates Jesus’ death, it also celebrates His defeat of death for us, the eternal life given to us, and we remember these in the act of sharing Communion together. The act of celebration whether through Communion or a party or any type of celebration is testament to God’s creation of us as positive, celebratory beings.
1st August 2022
Genesis 18:32 “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Every now and again, if you have credit cards, you will receive a letter telling you they are going to change their agreement with you. No negotiation, just we are changing this rate or now making a charge, or cutting the time you have to pay and you have to accept it or you can cancel your account. I find it really annoying and I think it is wrong that I cannot do the same to them, that I cannot renegotiate. This always reminds me of when Abraham negotiates with God. It is something we think God will not accept from us and yet Abraham does it because Abraham has a covenant relationship with God. He plays on God’s forgiving, caring nature and God says He will not destroy the city if Abraham can find 10 good people. Sadly, Abraham fails even to find 10 good people. We all try to negotiate with God, I will do this if you will do that. Sadly, as with Abraham, the promises we make mean nothing. People do not keep their promises to God and often don’t have any intention of doing so even when they make them. Almost in the very next breath they renege on them. Promises to God are so often made with fingers crossed behind our backs because we have no intention of doing what we say. This is now so common in our world, political leaders making promises they never keep, making claims which are untrue. God’s love for us is complete and utter, unconditional, there is no negotiation needed. His ways are also not negotiable because they are true, pure, good and holy. It us who must change not God.
31st July 2022
Acts 10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
In clubs and societies there can be rules about who can join. There are many men only clubs in London, many in universities and colleges. As much as we claim to be an equal society, we are not. There are still very few disabled people, women, black people, in positions of power and authority.
In the beginning of the early Church, the new believers faced a problem, should the followers of Jesus be Jews only, or should Gentiles to be included as well? Jews kept themselves separate and did not visit or eat with Gentiles. Gentiles on the other hand were attracted to Jewish religious ways.
Peter's vision of the sheet from heaven containing clean and unclean animals was sign to him that in God's kingdom the old barriers were to be got rid of. Both Jew and Gentile could be brothers and sisters in Christ, all could receive the Holy Spirit and all could be equal. Christians still worry about associating with the 'wrong' people or going to the 'wrong' places. There can be a sense that to be really holy, we have to avoid getting our hands dirty by avoiding people who don't share our faith or our opinions. This is the complete opposite of what Jesus did, or what Peter was shown by God. We are called to mix with people who aren't like us, and to share the love of Jesus with everyone, no matter who they are. Being a Christian is not an exclusive club, God wants it to be completely inclusive and only by sharing His love with everyone can this happen.
30th July 2022
Nehemiah 4:17 Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each laboured on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.
Although the trend is now not to test for covid regularly, we still do it in school if someone comes down with it on staff. Over the course of the pandemic, we saw the tests improve, easier to administer, quicker to get a result and more accurate. I do think we should still be providing tests for people as the figures can never be accurate when many cannot afford to test and feel like they have been told it’s all over anyway. Recent increases in numbers have led many to wear masks again, including me. I mix with so many folks that I think wearing a mask for their and my protection is sensible. The protection of self and others is a Biblical principle. As the people rebuilt the wall there were those attacking them, trying to stop them, so they worked with protection for themselves and each other. Life for Christians can be difficult, the abuse we may encounter is usually vocal but in many places the abuse is physical, attacks, destruction of property and violence. We are encouraged to protect ourselves and others. To stand up against those who would hurt us. God knows our situation; He encourages us to look after ourselves and others. It does not mean acting aggressively but rather reacting in love. Stepping away where needed. Speaking truth gently in love. Labouring together and looking after one another as we serve Him.
29th July 2022
Leviticus 19:32 God said: Show respect and compassion to the aged; honour the presence of an elder; fear your God.
I was brought up to respect my elders and betters. I am not sure about the better’s part as I believe in equality, but respect for those older and wiser is a good thing. I must admit as I become one of the older and I hope wiser, I don’t seem to get that respect. Perhaps the societal change means we no longer respect age or life experience as we should. No one is saying that just because someone is older, they must be respected and yet if they have lived longer, experienced more, been through far more than we have, we should respect their knowledge and learning and be welcoming of their advice. It is true that some folks try to play the older and wiser card to their advantage but mostly we share with others because we do not want them to have the pain or hurt we have encountered by diverting them from making similar mistakes. God’s teaching is very much about respecting the more senior among us, respecting those who have given their lives to serving God and helping us. Respect is given, not because God says but because it is earned, earned by a lived life, by experience, by faith. We may not always agree or wish to follow the advice given but that should never prevent us from respecting those who give it.
28th July 2022
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The word compassion is often condemned as a snowflake term these days. Those in top jobs consider compassion to be a weakness and people who rise to the top often do so because of their hard nose attitude which has no time for compassion. It is good to ask ourselves if we are compassionate, if we are concerned for others and look upon them with understanding and not judgement or condemnation. Compassion invokes feeling, concern, sympathy for another when things are difficult for them. Because it is less common in its use these days, we might need to remind ourselves why compassion is important and that it does have a link to forgiveness. Compassion motivates people to relieve the mental, physical and emotion pains of others, it is linked to justice, fairness, sympathy and empathy. If someone is not challenged by these things, then they will lack compassion and the judgements they make will show that. God’s compassion for us means He does everything to help us, stands with us, supports us, strengthens us when we need it. God’s compassion also drives His forgiveness of us as humans. Compassion is a trait our world needs more than ever and it is one we can offer in God’s love and strength.
27th July 2022
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is a faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him.
How good are you at keeping promises? We make promises and vows throughout our lives, as parents and God parents, when we marry, legally when we purchase a home. An old word for promise is covenant. A covenant often has things that must be done by the recipient to validate the covenant. God makes many covenants with His people, with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and the New Covenant through Jesus. Time and again God’s promises are put to the test, covenants are broken, not by God, but by humans as they quickly forget their part when life is good and then come rushing back when life is bad. The final Covenant is through Jesus, where all the other promises are completely honoured and kept by God and offering humans the opportunity to have eternal life not by anything they can do or earn, but through the free gift of Jesus life on the cross, the defeat of death and punishment and eternal life with God. The promises are always kept by our faithful God, it is us who struggle to keep ours. Where can you see God’s faithfulness to us as humans? If you ever struggle think of all that we have from God, then count your blessings. God’s faithfulness is immeasurable, but it helps to recognise it and remember every day just how faithful God has been to us and will continue to be to us.
26th July 2022
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
We are so much better at recognising mental health needs now. Young people are aware how their mental health is as important as their physical health. We are learning that things we harbour within us are often the key to helping ourselves move on. When we carry something for a long time it will affect us. Finding peace through forgiveness is vital. That forgiveness may be what we are looking for from another or it may be something we need to offer ourselves. Being forgiven when we have done wrong is a really freeing experience. That ideal parental love which, recognising the wrong, gives a punishment and offers forgiveness, is vital to our stability and mental health as we grow up. We learn that actions have consequences but we also learn that forgiveness is possible. As others forgive us, we learn the value of forgiving others. The idea of restorative justice is not that someone is not punished but that they meet with their injured parties and see the damage they have done and then look for a way forward. Being forgiven is a wonderful experience but so is forgiving others. We tend to be less ready to forgive than be forgiven. In God eyes if we recognise our wrongdoing, He will forgive and cleanse us. Perhaps we need to be a little more forgiving of others and a little more willing to offer forgiveness as it is offered to us by God.
25th July 2022
Matthew 27:3-4 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realised that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man.”
All of us get things wrong in life. For many of
us the saying; there but for the grace of God go, I is quite apt. Have you ever
done something really bad and then regretted it? The fact of regretting shows
your remorse. Many today, who are charged and convicted of terrible crimes, never
show remorse, are never sorry or even accept they did wrong. When we do wrong
it is best to own up not to keep quiet. As some of our current politicians are
finding things from their past keep popping up, things they wanted to keep
quiet. If they had been open from the beginning and sorry, these things would
not trouble them now. It is the hiding of our wrongdoing, the unwillingness to
recognise and admit the problem that causes us problems. For Judas he
recognised what an awful thing he did, he tried to return the pay off, the
damage was done and yet it needed to be done for Jesus to be arrested and
executed. Judas found his remorse was eating away at him. The good news for us
is that forgiveness is freely offered by God when we are sorry, when we show
remorse. In recognising and owning our mistake God can work in forgiveness for
us and in helping those we have hurt by our words or actions. You have heard
the old saying confession is good for the soul; our soul, our spiritual side,
can be forgiven and wiped clean when we confess our sins and wrongdoing and
accept our failures and then try to change.
24th July 2022
Colossians 4:9b He is coming to you with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.
Have you ever been described as faithful? What do you think that means? If someone is faithful, they are loyal and steadfast, is that you? Onesimus was a slave who had robbed his master Philemon, and fled to Rome, where he could hide. In Rome Onesimus come across St Paul who was in prison. This encounter led Onesimus to become a follower of Jesus and he became a real friend to Paul. Paul sent him back to his master, no longer as a slave but as a co-worker in the gospel of Christ. The name Onesimus means helpful, useful and profitable. To smooth the return Paul writes a letter to Philemon pleading for Philemon to forgive and work alongside Onesimus. Paul speaks of his faithfulness, of him as a brother and as one of them. Paul was in two minds about sending Onesimus back because he wanted him to stay with him as a faithful, hardworking friend. This is a real turn around, a conversion of someone mistreated by being in slavery, doing wrong but then becoming the faithful servant of God that he was always meant to be. God believes in second chances. Onesimus had this gift of faithfulness, loyalty, stickability. His story asks us the question, what could we do to be more faithful? Perhaps we can think this over, produce some ideas and then try to put them into practice.
23rd July 2022
Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Do you like having people round? Having a party or a meal, providing food and drink? The hospitality we offer serves others, opens homes and places to people, feeds people and without expecting to be paid back. Hospitality is that joyful welcoming of others into our group, home, church and welcoming them with love, providing for the physical as well as the spiritual. We make a choice when we have people round, do I carry on doing the practical or do I stop for a while to actually be with the people as well as look after them. Do we wash up while the guests are there or socialise and do it later? Do we expect a return invite, or to be spoken well of by others because of our hospitality? Do we prepare as much as we can beforehand so we can spend as much time with people as possible? Hospitality is as much about spending time together with people as providing for their physical needs. Why do we invite people round? How do we actually treat others? Hospitality is not just the provision of food, water, practical things, it is also about spending time with people. Making people feel welcome, feeling at home in our home, at home in our church. It is about making someone feel at ease. Cared about as well as cared for. God calls us to open our homes to others, to share what we have and reminds us that when we do, we never know just how important and special those who come into our homes may be.
22nd July 2022
Ruth 1:20 Do not call me Naomi, she replied. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.
Over the years I have met children and adults with the most wonderful names. Names that reflect God’s grace and favour, names that reflect beauty and peace, names that are positive and joyous. Naming your child is a privilege parents are given. We often try to name them after a family member, a favourite name we like, a certain meaning. In some traditions Babies are named after the first thing a parent sees, or from the first word on a page in their Holy book. We named our children from our Welsh heritage, family traditions and our faith. In the story of Ruth, Naomi wants to change her name to Mara, meaning bitter, because her life has changed for the worse. A name is important and we were sure to choose names with good, encouraging meanings. In some traditions where girls are not valued when born, they are often given names of shame. Groups and charities that work with these children when they are literally thrown out of their families, are able to change their names on a new record and so thy give them beautiful names like Precious, Grace, Favour and Joy. In that change these girls find their value, a new life and a new family. In the early church when people became Christians they took a Christian name, a name that reflected the new family and love they found in God. I had the privilege of baptising a Muslim lady into the Christian faith and she took a Christian name to reflect her new faith and her new family. Names are important so may we choose them and use them with care and respect.
21st July 2022
Genesis 22:12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him.”
In modern society being unable to have children has seen remarkable advances in science. It is still a problem and affects lives but in comparison to Bible times there is no shame in this issue, and much can be done. We understand the complexities of the human body far better. The story of an elderly Abraham and Sarah having a child, Isaac, promised by God as Abraham is declared father of the nations, is one of great hope until Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son. This is a struggle for any of us. Child sacrifice is unthinkable, how could Abraham even contemplate this? Child sacrifice was actually a common religious practice among the surrounding nations in Abraham’s time. So, here is the crux of the matter; God makes it clear he does not desire human sacrifice, we meet the God who is not like other gods. We have a revelation of the true God, He does not require the death of children to be satisfied. Our God is not like that. The only death that will be needed is that of God himself, through His son. Abraham has a real faith in God, he does not always do well in his actions, but in his willingness, he meets the one true God and discovers His true nature of love and forgiveness. In the most testing of times we learn who we really are, who we really trust and just how faithful we are. These times also show God as He really is, how faithful and loving He is and how He works in amazing and creative ways.
20th July 2022
Deuteronomy 4:7 What other people are so blessed as to have their God next to them the way the Lord our God is with us?
July means we are at the end of another school year. Students finish a year group, move on up, some move on to new schools or other places. The effects of the pandemic are still casting a long shadow in education. Things have changed, some things have returned, and some things have gone for good. Staff and student experiences of this past and previous years will all be different. Through life we meet changes daily. Most of the time we don’t even think about them, different weather, different topics and studies, different food, different people. Big changes happen year on year. We meet subtle changes, immediate changes and slow changes as we grow. The greatest assurance we have is that we never go through these changes alone. All our endings and beginnings, all our journeys happen with God right there with us, if we want Him to be. We have a choice, even though He is right there we can choose to ignore Him. That is our freedom. We sometimes equate God’s presence with us to a guardian Angel, someone who is with us, looking after us. At times we may feel alone but we are not, we have help. It is often only later that we look back and see God’s hand at work and His presence right there with us. Some call this luck, some call it coincidence, I call it God and Godincidences. There is always help when you need it. No judgement, no strings, just support for you from God and from His people who he sends to each of us for support. Do not ever feel you need to cope alone. God’s presence is there with you, day by day. It is a promise made time and again in the Bible, through Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. We are never alone, God is with each of us, wherever we go.
19th July 2022
1 Peter 4:9&10a Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling, use whatever gift you have received to serve others.
In this chapter Hospitality is listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit. We all acknowledge the practical side of hospitality, but there is more. We have a choice to make. It can be a choice about duty or about spending time with someone. What or who do we make a priority. Do we prioritise our guests, friends, our family? Time is precious, we do not know our future, Covid has reinforced the fragility of life. Everyone has physical needs, but we can be so caught up in these that we forget too just be with someone. We want others to see us as busy, hardworking, but we can be too busy to have time for others, but hey, as long as we look important that is what matters. No it isn’t. It is so easy for us to do this, to justify all we do for God but not actually spend time being with Him. To make life all about doing when it is also about being? We need to be a real friend, a fellow labourer, someone others feel at ease with? We need to make the right choice here, not allow ourselves to be so busy that we neglect just spending time with Jesus. It is so easy to think being busy for God is the most important thing, but actually to be able to be busy for God we must also spend time with Him, listening, learning, growing and becoming better people.
18th July 2022
Genesis 18:5a Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way.
The story of Abraham and the three visitors is one of the main stories on Hospitality in the OT. It is also the first visual of the Trinity in the Bible. It is this very story that Rublev’s icon of the Trinity is based around; the Hospitality of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you look at the Icon there is a place for us, it draws us in. God invites us into Himself. Hospitality is a gift from God to us and something we are all called to offer to one another. At the time of Abraham people who came through their settlement or village were fed and cared for. They knew that travellers would struggle, would need food and water, somewhere to stay. The word Hospitality means love of the stranger. God’s people were encouraged to welcome the stranger and care for them practically, with food, water, rest etc. Many really successful study groups, youth groups and prayer meetings happen around food. Alpha operates around a meal together before studying and learning. All the successful youth groups I have been involved in have been set around food, together. We learn that the physical needs of people are as important as the spiritual. That God wants to supply our physical needs as well as the Spiritual ones. As God freely gives to us so we are encouraged to freely give to others.
17th July 2022
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a blessing.
You may have heard the recent highlighted stories of the many thousands of women forced to give up their babies because they were not married. They had no choice in the matter. The government forced it on them and the hospital staff who did this treated these already traumatised women appallingly, shaming them and physically hurting them even more. If you have seen the film Philomena you get a real sense of how terrible this is for women, how it affects them throughout their lives, the grief they have never been able to express. As much as societal rules are important, we really do get it so wrong sometimes. Forcing women to give up their child because they were not married is just evil, persecutory and not of God. It is human interpretation, usually by men, that has made these decisions and forced them upon supposedly free people. Children are a gift from God, women have the right to not have children or refuse to have a child caused by rape or incest, or that will damage their own life. To take someone’s child by force because someone does not agree with their lifestyle or their choices is not a justified power, only an opinionated, judgemental, attitude not of God.
16th July 2022
Roman 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Much is currently made of the cost-of-living crisis and rightly so. People who are hard workers are being priced out of the food market, people on benefits cannot feed themselves or their families, more children are living in poverty than in the Victorian era, children arrive in school hungry and teachers are feeding them out of their own pockets. Wage increases don’t touch the sides and only those in high management or company bosses and politicians are able to afford anything and don’t have to worry. We have to do something about this and our politicians must start to listen and experience life in the real world. I also believe we have a cost of dying crisis. People have experienced considerable loss from Covid; lives have been treated as cheap and unimportant by government and the wealthy, leaving dying as an end with no future. In the Christian faith the cost of dying has been paid through Jesus own death on the cross and is therefore assured. The lack of people wanting to find this assurance is a testament to us not sharing our faith, not telling others about the cost of dying and not being willing to speak up about our faith. Knowing Jesus is a matter of life and death and everyone deserves to be told about it and to have the opportunity to find it for themselves.
15th July 2022
Psalm 37:7a Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not worry yourself over the one who prospers.
The last couple of years have seen us experience many awful things. If we can see any positives from this dreadful time, it has been the realisation we need a better work life balance. People have found spending less time travelling, more time with family, working from home has been good for them. The pace of life for many slowed during the pandemic and many of us realised we were chasing our tails prior to this and that we had become a nation of people who work too much. God speaks a great deal about patience, about not dwelling on things but rather allowing God’s blessing to be upon us. It is easy to become too busy, to hide away in meeting after meeting, stay late at work just to finish, to travel further away for a better job, always striving for better, for more and in fact losing out on the wonderful things we already have because we are just to busy to enjoy them. It is also easy to become busy with things that don’t matter, that just take our time and offer no blessing or encouragement to us. Sometimes we link business with importance, if we are busy, we must be doing well, we must be important because people want us to do things. In reality people will always ask busy people to do things because they know it will get done. God wants us to have a healthy work life balance and have patience and take time for ourselves. Living life at a slower, less busy pace is the way to do that.
14th July 2022
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
The term intercessor has gone out of fashion. Someone who stands with us and intercedes, or makes an argument on our behalf. It has been used mostly to do with the church and prayer. The idea of intercessory prayer is that the people of the church pray on behalf of others in the congregation, locality or world who need their prayers. It is an act of a corporate body, people taking responsibility for each other. We are also told that when Jesus ascended in to Heaven, he went to intercede on our behalf at the right-hand side of God. Not only that, Romans tells us that the Holy Spirit also intercedes on our behalf. Just think for a moment, at times we have lots of people, Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf. That is amazing and powerful and I think explains why we don’t end up in as much trouble as we could if it was just us. We must never underestimate the power of prayer, our prayers as individuals, as the corporate body of Christ, as interceded for us by Jesus and the Spirit. We can go to God about anything, anyone and know that we do not pray alone.
13th July 2022
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
I wonder what you think of the current Conservative leadership election? I must admit to feeling somewhat disappointed by the level of person putting themselves forward. Some very worrying language about grabbing power, not much said about honesty and integrity and virtually nothing about helping those most in need in the current Cost of living crisis. It shows a huge disconnect between these folk, mainly very rich, and the normal person like you and me. I am not in favour of one party or another, I do identify with proper socialism because Jesus was a socialist. I support truth, honesty and justice and want to see some real changes in policies and politics in general. Jesus came as a servant, to serve everyone, to seek and save the lost. A king, Son of God, a supreme being who did not and does not demand payment, favour or fortune to care for people. He does not write a manifesto of pledges to get votes and then not stick to them, He does not promise the earth and then make excuses as to why He cannot give it. All Jesus promises are true, are kept completely and no one suffers under them. True leadership lies in service, something all our current leaders have forgotten and, in their desire to grab power and wealth for themselves, they have forgotten that being a leader is a job only for those willing to give everything, including their life, for those they are called to serve.
12th July 2022
Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
When we disagree with someone or just don’t like them, we can be careless with our language and speak badly of others, using unpleasant language. The Bible warns us not to be unpleasant when speaking about others. In this verse Jesus says that a derogatory term used to put people down has no place in our language. The term he warns against is Raca, it means empty headed and was an offensive term that showed contempt for another. But it is quite clear that when we are angry with others, when we slander them or call people foolish, we are breaking God’s rules and laws and we are endangering our own eternity. How we treat another, how we speak to others matters, the old saying about sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me is simply not true. Names really damage people, get into their psyche, make people question themselves and do untold damage. We must not get into the name calling just because we want to be right or want to hurt others. We will not all agree but we can all respect each other and nor resort to names to try and score a point.
11th July 2022
Luke 14: 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited and made excuses will get a taste of my banquet.
As a teacher of many years, I have heard so many excuses over why homework was not done. The dog ate it, my mum didn’t put it in my bag, my baby sister ripped it up, I didn’t think I had to do it and so on. In 99.9% of cases, it is a lie, an excuse for not doing something and hoping to get away with it. Currently making excuses seems the norm in public life. Instead of being honest, admitting when something has not worked or we got it wrong, instead excuses are made, covering up in order not to appear careless or stupid. It seems now that no one tells the truth, and when we do, people just don’t believe it. Promises made to win elections are not kept with excuses as to why. Lies about events and people’s involvement in them are told and when caught out excuses are made. There are no excuses with God. We are told to show our love and faith by our deeds and actions, to be truthful and to be honest. When we mess up, we should confess up! We cannot make excuses, lie and be dishonest and then expect God to sort it out. God desires honest people who not only speak the truth but act on it. People who don’t just talk the talk but also walk the walk. No excuses, be honest.
10th July 2022
Genesis 16:13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Having taught RE for years, when teaching about Islam I would teach on the pilgrimage, the Hajj. One of things that always struck me was the running of Hagar to find water for her son in the desert. The story of Hagar is a domestic tragedy caused by Abraham who loses trust in God’s promise of a son. With his patience wearing thin and with Sarah's encouragement he takes matters into his own hands, something we all do. Sadly, the human behaviour causes a family battle where only God can protect the lives of Hagar and her son Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah do not trust their God enough, they try to force an issue and end up with an unholy mess. If we are given a promise from God, the fulfilment of that promise will be within the perfect plan, in His time and His way. This can be a problem for church leaders and for Christians who can be expected to achieve things now. Waiting can be hard, but it is far better than the temptation to cut corners in God’s plan, making an unholy mess, which only God can sort out. It is Hagar who is blessed, she has suffered at the hands of God’s people and God tells her He has seen her, he knows she has been badly treated and He will bless her. It is a reminder that whatever we go through, when we are treated badly by God’s people, God sees us, He sees us with compassion, He will bless us, and as He stepped in and delivered Hagar, He will step in and deliver us.
9th July 2022
Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
The political events of the last few days have shown us how quickly things can change and move on and that nothing we may plan for ourselves is ever certain. What are you plans for the future? You will have some short-term plans for the summer, for the autumn, but what about long term? Your career or profession, moving home, family etc. Only so much can be planned that will come to fruition. Much of what we look for in our future is hoped for. We look where we want to go and then work on how we get there. The longest journey starts with the smallest step. I have a poster that says “if plan didn’t work there are 25 more letters” Most of us are products, not of plan A or even B, but often of plan C, D, even J, or L. Life rarely takes us exactly where we want to go and things change as we grow and move on. I am a trained PE teacher who then ran a music department, who then became a priest, a chaplain and many other things besides. 14 or 15 year-old me would not have pictured me here, now. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray is a saying from a Burn’s poem. It is true. The good news is that God’s plans for us are one’s promising a good future and promising hope fulfilled. Even when things seem not to be working out as we planned, we can be assured that God has it sorted. God will return us to the best place for us. The struggle will always be trying to force God into our plans instead of letting God’s great plans for us secure our future. There is nothing we can do about the past, it is over, we can learn it’s lessons, but we cannot change the events. The present is who we are now, the future is safe in God’s hands if we let it be. Can we say with St Paul I know who holds the future and he’ll guide me with his hand and as I face each tomorrow I will trust the God of miracles. Let me encourage us all to trust God and let plan A, B, G, L, P happen because it will be a good future and a great hope.
8th July 2022
Colossians 1:16 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.
I love the light evenings, warm, often sunny, pleasant to sit out and the day somehow seems longer. Instead of feeling like the day is over before it’s begun as I do in winter, instead there seems more opportunity, more time to do things, more time to be with those we love. The garden is so much more alive, the tweeting and playful behaviour of the garden birds, neighbourhood cats strolling across the lawn or laying in the evening sun. Life somehow feels more peaceful, less rushed and there seems more time to be yourself. The wonders of how the worlds seasons work, how light and darkness change, how this affects our life and our well-being. God has given us so many simple pleasures which we take for granted. Instead of appreciating the good things we moan about the bad things and see little good because we have little appreciation of just what God has given to us. These light evenings and good weather really are simple blessings from God, ones we should appreciate and take advantage of, ones that are freely given to us and ones we should be thankful for.
7th July 2022
Matthew 10 :24 No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master, each is to be treated with equality.
Over centuries we have run countries organisations etc with a view that the leader, CEO, president etc are most important and give them the power. They in turn do with that power what they wish. Often it is used to dictate to people what they can and can’t do. The recent Supreme Court ruling in USA to overturn the rights of women in abortion is one such issue. No one should have that much power and no one has the right to dictate to another human what they can and cannot do. We are equal, everyone from the homeless to the CEO not only deserves respect and care but in God eyes when we do not respect one another as equals we are going against Jesus’ teaching. We have rules and laws, based around God’s ways but over centuries we have watered these down, re written them and given too few rich people the power whilst treating the poor, disabled, sick and old as those who are lower than ourselves and we have been coerced into believing they are the cause of our problems instead of seeing that those with the power are the cause of our problems. Democracy is fragile, those who get power from it will always try to change things so they can remain in power, we saw Donald Trump try to fix an election and incite riot to try and keep himself as president. We are currently watching a prime minister erode our rights so he can dictate to us and remain in power. This is dangerous and the road to fascism. God has clearly shown us that we are equal, that power must be kept in check and used for the good of all not just the rich and powerful. We must all respect each other no matter who we are or what we believe.
6th July 2022
Ezra 8:21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
We talk of going on a journey, in the car, on a plane, on a train, going on holiday or to do something. A special Christian journey is also called a pilgrimage, often undertaken together with others to make a spiritual journey and connection. Journeying often involves preparation, planning, mapping and knowing where it is you are going. Life is also often referred to as a journey, from beginning to end. On parts of that journey we travel with family, sometimes we travel alone and if we are Christians we travel always with God. When we leave on a journey we always pray for safety, for protection. The best way to journey is together, to have support, encouragement, help and company. In this verse they fast and pray for a safe journey, for all of them and all they have with them. On any journey there will be challenges, questions, obstacles, good days and bad days. Alone there is no one to pick up the slack, to keep us going but together we find a corporate strength, a camaraderie and God’s people being God’s presence to one another. The journey of life will have its good days and bad days, but we never travel alone as God is with us in every moment. We journey with one another, with God and with confidence that He will keep us safe.
5th July 2022
Hebrews 4:12 I have carried your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
How well do you know your Bible? How well can you explain your faith? In following our faith there is a lesson to be learned on travelling light from a knowledge perspective. We need to know what and why we believe. Know what the Bible says as we may not always have access to it. Richard Wurmbrand was a Christian imprisoned for his faith, mainly kept in solitary confinement because he would talk about God. He had nothing other than what was in his mind and his heart. Every day he would preach himself a sermon. No Bible or google, no congregation, nothing. Yet he knew his faith, his Bible, his belief, his God and could speak clearly about it. Can we? Do we know enough of our Bibles, our books, our teaching to manage without them if we needed to? Wurmbrand asked himself: Now the test had come. I was alone, would I continue to love Him?” Wurmbrand did continue to love God and God honoured that. We see time and again how well the followers of Jesus did with just Jesus, speaking about Him, speaking in God’s name; relying on what they knew. God forbid that we will never need to, but with things as they are and the erosion of our human rights and beliefs, huge erosion in a fair and just world, we need to know our faith in our hearts and minds, know who we believe in, why we believe and be able to share that freely with others.
4th July 2022
Luke 10:4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.
Most of will go on our first proper holiday since the pandemic this summer and the preparations will be in full swing. Clothes put aside, cases out, purchases made and lists written. Packing for one or two weeks, we need to consider the weather and we may or may not have luggage restrictions. In Luke 70 newly appointed followers are sent out by Jesus and are to take no purse or bag or sandals, that’s not just travelling light, that’s travelling with nothing at all. Not even with a 20p and hanky that cubs were encouraged to carry everywhere. These days we have our travelling necessities, must have a passport, medication, money and cards, and at least a spare pair of undies! It is true, we all pack too much, come back with unused clothes, but it’s a holiday, a special treat. The point here is about our dependence on God, not on ourselves or our world. We can all freely spout forth about God will provide, especially to the poor and those currently finding life a real struggle to buy food for their families etc. And as we tell others God will provide, we still want our salaries, pensions, pay increases; to pay the mortgage, to put food on the table, to heat and light our homes. The truth is the labourer does deserve to be paid, and to be paid fairly and properly. Equal pay, no differing rules for top fat cats and politicians. As the work is done, the correct and fair payment must be made.
3rd July 2022
Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign Lord gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed as a deer to run up the hills and mountains.
It is both amazing and wonderful that the current number one single, Running up That Hill, is from my youth. The current popularity of Kate Bush reflects the teenagers of the late 70’ and 80’s who had her posters over their walls. Parents hated her, teens loved her because she was different, her music was ethereal and powerful, her vocals often gymnastic and haunting and she used interpretive dance. A current Netflix series has used this track to help a young person deal with isolation, grief and problems in their life, and has made this song a world-wide hit. A classic line and the sub title for the song is, if I only could, I’d make a deal with God. We all try to make those deals, if you do this for me God, I will give more to charity, I will go to church, I will pray, I will be a better person, and so it goes on. We try to arm twist God, the creator of the universe, into doing what we want, never mind anyone or anything else. God answers prayers, the evidence is around us time and again, but He answers with a knowledge of exactly how our prayers will affect everything and everyone else. Habakkuk tried to understand God’s ways and does a fairly good job but he also realises that in everything that happens God gives us strength to cope, to deal with situations and that He makes us sure footed to run up those hills, with no problem.
2nd July 2022
Mark 3:21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Sometimes even the best of families falls out. We can get so angry that we may even question the sanity of members of our families. It is easier to blame others than look at ourselves. We don’t know a huge amount of detail about Jesus family, mother Mary, dad Joseph and it seems some younger siblings. Here in Mark these siblings suggest Jesus is out of His mind, on top of this some of the scribes accuse Him of being possessed. Jesus reminds them all that calling God and His works evil will result in condemnation. Everyone has the chance to change their mind about God but without this change ultimately, we are condemned. If we cannot see good as good but rather call it evil, we cannot stand with God. Conflict with family is painful and difficult but we learn from this encounter that sometimes we might have to go against our family to be faithful to Jesus. Sometimes traditions and beliefs are not of God and we have to make a stand and sometimes that stand can mean a high price, a high cost to us. What does become clear is that our family extends, grows bigger when we become part of the family of God.
1st July 2022
Romans 15:4 Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience, perseverance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.
Currently there is a rover named Perseverance on the Mars surface. Its job is to collect data, photos and samples, maybe return to earth one day. The rover got its name in a competition where a 14-year-old student explained that all previous rovers had names that reflected human qualities, he felt one of the most important qualities was missing, Perseverance. Humans can adapt to differing situations no matter how harsh. Humans who have set out to explore the earth and now space, overcoming huge setbacks on the way. Humans who have the capacity not to give up but somehow find a way. That is perseverance. If we can persevere in these explorations then we can persevere in our relationships, our daily lives. We are not perfect; we make mistakes and this can upset and hurt others. We need to stick at it, not give up. Our hope comes through patience, perseverance, and encouragement, through following the example of Jesus who persevered the worst of all things in order to help humans find their way back into relationship with God. If Jesus had given up, if God had given up this world would not exist. If goodness, compassion, care and love are lost because we give up then all the good will drain from our world and evil will prevail. In God’s strength we need to persevere, even when it seems impossible, even in the depths of despair may we never give up because God never gives up on us.
30th June 2022
Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for humans to be alone. I will make companions for them.”
Throughout our lives we make many journeys. From simple journeys to the shops, to long journeys across continents. We make journeys on our own and with others. Life itself is a journey from birth to death and then beyond. Journeys are much better, and more fulfilling when we make them with others. Journeying alone means never having anyone to share things with, to help us in difficult times, to encourage us when we are down. Life’s journey can be made with family, partners, friends and best of all with God. Each day, each situation, each obstacle, each path, each event all met with God’s help and strength. Dictionaries tell us that the word Journey means a set of experiences that someone has over a period of time, especially when they change the person in some way. Our Journey with God is a set of experiences that change us if we let them. Our journey is not meant to be a lonely one, but to be a journey together, supported, cared for, loved, encouraged and strengthened. God never intended for humans to be alone, that’s why he created a companion, someone to stand with, journey with and support us. May I encourage you to journey together, to be the companion and have the companionship God made for you and as you journey together, journey with God.
29th June 2022
Luke 8: 29 Many times evil had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demons into solitary places.
Imagine being so strong that you cannot be bound by chains or shackles because you can just break them. Imagine being so overcome that the real world no longer appears real to you. Imagine if the demons, real or metaphorical, had completely taken over your mind and no one could help. Jesus helps people just like this. The real demons even beg Jesus not to send them into the abyss. The abyss in Scripture is where Satan and demons live. Funny that the demons themselves did not want to go home. Even they did not want to go back to Satan. That says something. The demons are transferred into the swine which causes the pigs to act in a self-destructive way and run into the lake and drown. We need to realise that Demons, real or metaphorical, sin, evil, lies, fraud, manipulation, maltreatment all cause self-destruction. When the local people return they find the formerly possessed man, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind. Jesus has changed him, healed him. Jesus has power over all demons be they real or metaphorical. But Jesus does not force anyone to accept Him. Neither must we. Here all Jesus requires of this man is that he tells his story. Tells what God has done for him. We may not have real demons that need dispatching but we all have parts of our lives that need healing and changing and Jesus willingly does that for us, asking only that we tell our story of His love for us, to others.
28th June 2022
1Timothy 5:1 Do not speak angrily to an older person but speak with them as if they were your parent, with respect.
In our world we have found ways of treating people appallingly because of their race, gender, skin colour, economic status, age, life choices etc. We have looked at another, envisaged a threat and then looked for ways to humiliate and destroy them. We remove their dignity by taking their name, their clothes, shaving their heads, shackling them, beating them, torturing them, removing their ability to attend to personal hygiene, locking them up and even sometimes murdering them. The holocaust is an example of when the dignity of a whole race was stripped away. The same for black people who spent centuries in slavery because of their skin colour. Women who have and still are oppressed. Out treatment of those with Aids when it was first discovered, the treatment of LGBTQ+ people world wide, persecuted and blamed. The considered norm, established by the rich and powerful, strips anyone who is different of their human rights and their dignity. All to maintain the status quo, all to put the blame on someone else so they can retain power. If you think things are better now, you only need to see the current Government policy on sending people to Rwanda. Populist leaders always pick on someone else to blame. In complete contrast the Bible is clear that we must treat everyone with dignity and respect. Be they young or old, male or female, black or white, rich or poor, everyone is worthy of dignity and respect. God shows us all dignity and respect, no exceptions, the least we can do is treat everyone with dignity and respect whoever they may be.
27th June 2022
Luke 9:48b For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.
It seems as everyone today wants their fifteen minutes of fame and inevitably that fifteen minutes is never enough. We have succumbed to the belief that once we are a celebrity, once we have money, once we have a better and bigger house and car, once we are the top dog and in a senior role all will better, all will just fall into place. Many of us set out with the strongest belief that power, money, celebrity will allow us to make the world better for everyone. The path to self-preservation is littered with good intentions. Once we have the money, the celebrity, the power we very quickly forget our aims and then begin to feel entitled and then we will do anything to maintain our current position or improve it. In doing so all our good intentions are lost and we begin to betray ourselves and others. In God’s kingdom true greatness comes from service, from care of the other, from looking after others and putting them first. From protecting the weak and vulnerable. True greatness before God is the opposite of the world view. It is hard to stand against the world view but that is exactly what we are called to do as Christians, in God’s strength.
26th June 2022
Luke 8:27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time, this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
We all meet new and different people on a regular basis. Some are very interesting, some lost, some hurt, some loud, some full of joy. Jesus met people from every possible background. On one occasion Jesus meets a man possessed with demons. This man has suffered for a long time at the hand of these demons. He had been taken away from his family. He wore no clothes because The demons had taken away his dignity and his name. He did not live in a house but in the tombs and contact with the dead rendered a Jew ceremonially unclean. The demons that possessed the man begged Jesus not to torment them because they had no power in Jesus’ presence. Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out of the man, and gave him his dignity, his name and his life back. We can have an impact on all the people we meet. We can treat everyone with dignity, we can make sure we always value people enough to learn, use and remember their name properly. We can see the need they may have and help them either ourselves or find someone who can. We can pray for everyone we meet and show God’s love by our treatment of them. Every person we meet is equally valuable and equally special. In God’s strength we must treat everyone we meet as Jesus would treat them.
25th June 2022
Luke 8:39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
How do you feel about sharing your faith? What if someone asks you a question you don’t know how to answer? What if you get into a “sticky” situation and you need to confront a major problem? What if someone brings up an “embarrassing” past, something we just don’t talk about in polite company? What if we or someone becomes angry? We all experienced similar emotions which make us feel inadequate in telling people about Jesus. It can be uncomfortable and push us well beyond our comfort zone. I also think that we make sharing our faith too hard at times. Yes, we need to share the Gospel. The Good News. But, not everyone has been so gifted as to be an evangelist. Our example is Jesus, he sees someone’s need and deals with it. Once he does this People just want to talk about Him and what he has done. If we help people, care for them, share in their needs and desires then we share Jesus’ love and people want to talk about that love and care and about what God can do. Be a friend, be a neighbour, help people, be kind, be you and just let Jesus share Himself through you.
24th June 2022
John 10:10b I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
There has always been a contradiction in the Christian faith, some believe in life in all it’s fullness while others believe that life is to be suffered and struggled with until we go to Heaven. I was given a phrase that summed this up, Life is steak on the plate while we wait, not pie in the sky when we die. I was recently at a seminar, the title led us to believe it was about life being lived to the full, actually it was completely against that. Someone was using a three-century old book to tell us we should not watch TV, not go on social media, give all our money to the church and the poor, not have anything that brings joy into our lives and spend out time suffering. No holidays, no attending concerts or football matches, nothing that is fun. This is very much the puritan ideal. The Bible has verses that do challenge our way of life, of course we need to live differently but these verses are outnumbered by those that speak of joy, living life to the full, a God of love who wants the best for us not just in heaven but very much while we live on earth. Needless to say, I and others left the seminar as when asked for our opinions they were just dismissed as wrong and we were treated with disrespect. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but everyone must also respect the opinion of others and listen with respect. I will always believe that God intends us to live life to the full here on Earth and not just wait for heaven.
23rd June 2022
Psalm 8:3&4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
I sometimes wonder what it was that drove the great explorers of the past to risk their lives to venture across rugged and inhospitable country? Willing to go into the unknown, to go where no one else had gone. These people wanted to know what was out there beyond what was known, waiting to be discovered. They wanted to find that land, the lake, the different people. Today with nearly all the world now discovered we have gone on to explore space. We want to reach other planets and solar systems and see if there is anyone else out there. Some of us seem to have the drive to want to conquer more and more mysteries. But there are some mysteries that will always be a mystery. God is one of them. We can’t physically touch Him, we can’t say how big He is because we don’t know what or how to measure that. If I wanted to take a photo of God I don’t know where to point the camera. I can’t knock on his door and have morning tea with God at his home. We can’t imagine what God is like because we always end up using human pictures, giving God human qualities so that He makes sense to our small human minds. We can’t think like God because if we could we would be able to understand why a young mother had to die, why thousands of people die in earthquakes, die of starvation, why some are severely disabled. Why so many died in the pandemic and are still dying. We are not God, we cannot understand God, we cannot understand why and what, but we can know God, know His love, know His care of us and know we are loved. God is a mystery we can believe in without understanding fully, because if we did then there would be no need for faith.
22nd June 2022
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
We have recently experienced a heat wave. A few days of excessive heat, over 30 degrees, a muggy close atmosphere which has made life difficult, especially for the elderly and those with medical conditions. We do like to moan about the weather and it is never just right, always too hot, too cold, too wet, too foggy. We never seem to be content with what we are given. Let’s face it, we cannot control the weather, we cannot make it sunny or rainy, we cannot move the clouds away or lift the fog, it is all wrapped up in nature or creation and it is not in our control; as much we would desire it to be. Being content in life, in our family, in our achievements is important. We are reminded that we are so valuable to God, that the creatures of earth are taken care of by God and so will we. Not just taken care of but blessed abundantly. It has become to easy to always want more and not be content with what we have. We see our value in life by what we have, what we earn, what we own. Before God our value is not measured in these things. We have so much, may we learn some contentment and complain a lot less about all we have been freely given.
21st June 2022
Luke 8:8 The seed that fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.
In the Monty Python film The Life of Brian, they ask ….what did the Romans ever do for us? Of course, the list of the good things keeps increasing as the realisation dawns. Sometimes as Christians we ask What has God ever done for us? As we reflect on this, we begin to see just how much He has done for us. How God has changed our life? Those wrongs and issues we once had that we no longer carry because God has dealt with them. Just how different we have been made by Jesus’ love for us. The prayers God has answered, the weights on us that He has lifted. The strength given to us in difficult times. The comfort God offers in times of grief and the abundant provision when times are tough. Jesus has replaced our hopelessness with hope. We can share that hope and joy with others because we recognise just how much God has actually done for us. We need to understand that telling others what God has done for us, inviting someone to know God for themselves can have eternal consequences. Heaven and hell hang in the balance. But we don’t do this alone. Jesus says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” We will never do this alone and the business of sharing Jesus with others is too serious for us not to do it.
20th June 2022
1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
The older I become, the less my birthday matters to me. I would rather not be thinking about getting older and talking about my age makes me feel older physically. I also think that over the years birthdays have often been disappointing, people forget or don’t bother, the hints we drop are ignored and even buying a card gets lost in the business of everything. So, we decide that it is better not to bother, it’s less disappointing and upsetting. The important things in life often lose their joy or significance as time goes on and the same is true in our faith. Much of our vigour and enthusiasm for our faith in its early stages subsides over time, as we find stuff doesn’t happen as quickly as we want, we don’t get the results in mission we thought we might, we get disappointed and upset and the longer we are involved in something, the less special it becomes. The wonderful news that we need to hear and believe is that God’s love and enthusiasm for us never fades, never diminishes, never loses its enthusiasm and is as strong and endless as it ever was or ever will be.
19th June 2022
Mark 4:8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.
I am not a gardener but I do understand how we get our grain from the soil. In the Bible one of the most well-known stories is a gardening one, the parable or story of the Sower. The message is clear, some folk will respond to the ways of God and some will not. People can be rigid; they can be shallow and they can be easily swayed and pulled away. It clearly explains to us why sharing the gospel is difficult and why we seem to see so few come to God. I have often wondered about the idea of some people being “good soil” and others bad. Are some of us more likely to become Christians because of our nature or nurture? Because there is such loss of seed this story can seem pretty miserable. If people are who they are and are the kind of people who aren’t interested in God or religion, is that just too bad for them? Should we assess people to see if they are more perceptive and only direct our effort there? One thing is very clear about God, He does not give up on anyone. He does not only love those who may be more likely to love Him back, He loves everyone no matter who they are. God is a divine gardener who will cultivate the soil of everyone, who will soften hard soil, enrich poor or shallow soil and remove the choking weeds. We are called to work with God, to share His good news with everyone and not to decide who we think is more likely to respond. We share His love with everyone, no matter who they are or how they react.
18th June 2022
2 Corinthians 1:13 For we communicate nothing else to you than what you can read and understand.
Our new car has a satnav built in. The problem I am finding is there is no go button. I have been used to putting in a location and then press go and it finds it. On this one I can’t seem to find how to make it go. Once I put in the post code it just whirrs around saying searching and nothing happens. I can’t find a button to tell it to find the route. I have accidently done it by pressing various on-screen buttons but cannot find a go or start button. I like things simple, tell something to start or go and it does it. No go button, no start button, what am I supposed to do? Perhaps there is another word for go or start but not that my knowledge of language suggests. I do wonder that the more we integrate into cars, phones, computers etc the less clear exactly what you have to do becomes. I often cannot close things on my computer because the close cross is off the screen. I sometimes can’t answer a call because the answer button is just not there. Perhaps I am a dinosaur in a digital age and just do not see things clearly. But I don’t think I am the whole problem. I think things have become too crowded, too much information which we cannot digest in the time we have. In life we need clear instructions, when to start and stop, clear ways to close things, clear information displayed obviously and well. God has always wanted us to understand, to be clear about His love for us and how He offers it to all of us. God never offers us things we cannot understand and is clear in His love for us. We don’t need a Satnav for God, just ears to hear and Bibles to read and listen to.
17th June 2022
Psalm 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
When children say wow or awesome, they have seen something wonderful, something that really challenges them. We don’t often talk about the mystery and awesomeness of God any more these days. We have tried to become more logical and scientific about God. We have tried to put God into a box we can cope with. We now tend to think about God as a bigger and more powerful version of ourselves. We have fashioned God after our own likeness. As humans, we can’t even begin to imagine what God is like. We are restricted to describing God within the limits of our understanding and so we can only express what God is like in the vaguest of terms. We have to accept the mystery of God, the only God who is far bigger and greater than we could ever imagine, who existed before this world was made, who doesn’t need us to exist but created us and loves us anyway. We know that God has revealed himself as a God who cares, a personal God who wants to have a relationship with his people. From the very first pages of the Bible, we hear of a God who is powerful and great, He creates the earth with just words. We also hear about a God who wants to be close to his people. He loves the people whom he made so much that he even sent his own Son into the world to save them from the wickedness that had taken over the world. This God, our God, majestic, awesome, eternal, powerful but also creator and the one who loves us conditionally. If that does not deserve a wow, then nothing does.
16th June 2022
Ephesians 1:17 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
Seeing with the eyes of our heart seems a strange idea. Our heart is an organ, inside the body. It pumps blood around and keeps us alive. The idea of seeing with it seems odd. Of course, we do talk about our heart linked to love, to hurt, heart or head ruling our decisions, so we have some notion of the heart as more than just an organ. The heart was and is considered central to our life and can be linked to our compassion, to feelings of empathy and love. Seeing with the eyes of our heart is seeing as God sees. Not seeing something for its use to us, or its value in our collection, or even its beauty as qualified by humankind. Instead, it is seeing things as God made them, seeing people as important, loved, valued in their own right. God’s love for all people is unconditional as ours should be. We should not look at people for what they can give us, or whether we like them or not, what religion or culture they are from, but see each as created equally and loved unconditionally by God. Seeing with the eyes of the heart looks past blemishes and imperfections, it looks past monetary value or selfish gain, it looks beyond what we can get out of someone or something and looks with love, compassion and empathy to the intrinsic, God given, beauty and creation. We are all valued and loved by God for who we are, when we see others in that way, God’s way, we are seeing with the eyes of our Heart.
Apologies for 15th not being available.
14th June 2022
2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Recently we celebrated Pentecost, the pouring of the Holy Spirit on his disciples and the church. Jesus said that He and the Father would send the Spirit to remind us of the truth of God's promises, to guide us, to encourage us and sustain us when the going gets tough. There is nothing more personal than the Spirit of God. It was once suggested to me that the Holy Spirit was a bit like having a conjoined twin. Affectively two live as one, joined in major organs, depending on each for life. We need the Spirit to live, we depend on the Spirit for so much of our life, energy and strength. Once we sever that link with the Spirit, we are no longer at one with God, we are no longer strong and in touch. We become weakened and lose faith. Having God close to us, closer than a brother, we are told, is necessary for faith, for mission, for knowledge and understanding. Having the Spirit is not an optional extra but a necessary basic, crucial part of our life of faith. It is He who reminds us of our teaching, of God’s word, of Jesus love and death for us, of God’s creation of us. It is the Spirit who acts as advocate, comforter, power provider, strengthener and keeps us in God’s ways.
13th June 2022
John 16:15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me that He will make known to you.
Each year we celebrate the Trinity, on Trinity Sunday. It is a theological doctrine basic to the Christian faith. The early Christians started talking about a Triune God. Not to make God more logical and understandable to human ways of thinking. In fact, the idea of the Trinity intensified the mystery of God. They clearly saw and experienced a Jesus who had a unique relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They saw and experienced that the Holy Spirit had a unique relationship with the Father and the Son. Against all the odds and opposition, the Church maintained that Jesus Christ is true God, equal with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is God, equal with the Father and the Son, each with a role to play and each interdependent on the other. The doctrine of the Trinity is not an attempt by the church to unravel the mystery around God. In fact, it deepens the mystery. It doesn’t tell us everything about what God is and who he is. In fact, it raises more questions than it gives. But it does tell us some important things about God, things that are life changing; God is our heavenly Father who made us, takes cares of us and calls us His dear children. God is Jesus Christ who gave His life on the cross to re-establish our relationship with God and reveals the way to God and to eternal life. God is the Holy Spirit in us giving us faith in God and guiding us in our daily walk as a Christian.
12th June 2022
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour was revealed, He saved us.
I came across a homeless person recently whose sign said “Seeking Human Kindness”. He was admitting in that statement that he knew he was dependent on people’s kindness but also challenging anyone who walked past without even acknowledging him was not showing human kindness. So much of our lives are about doing for what we can get back. It is no longer kindness that prompts us but rather what we can gain from a situation. If a camera was near by recording all who gave to this man you can guarantee they would be queuing up to drop large notes into his box as visibly as possible so they can be seen to be doing good, but it is all for show. Real kindness happens quietly, without a fuss, without desire for gain. Organisations like The Salvation Army help anyone in need without expecting anything in return. The foodbanks offer help and support to needy people and families and expect nothing in return. God offers to us a freely given love, kindness and compassion, not for what He can get out of it but because He loves us unconditionally, no if’s or but’s. We are all seeking human kindness, we all have that kindness within us it is just that some of us have become so self-absorbed and self-centred that we have lost sight of kindness as something to be treasured and freely given to everyone we meet.
11th June 2022
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
In order to give and keep on giving, to be consistent, to be honest and truthful, to serve the common good, we also need to receive, to replenishment; as we give, we need to be refilled. This refilling is often referred to as the well of faith from which we draw or the fountain of faith which pours into and onto us. We need to draw deeply from this well and be soaked in this fountain to replenish us, so we cannot only keep going, but do so with strength and energy. God doesn’t just want us to cope and survive but to live a full life, a life of rich, powerful faith. The Holy Spirit is that well and that fountain that keeps refilling us, replenishing us if we draw from Him. At Pentecost we remember and celebrate the coming of The Holy Spirit, but He did not just come once and that was it, no, the coming of the Holy Spirit is ongoing, on filling, a well, a fountain, overflowing and spilling out to refresh us and enable us to do what God calls on us to do. As with everything of God He will not force us. The Spirit is ours if we want to receive Him, freely offered and freely given to enable us to live our best life.
10th June 2022
John 14:12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
Can you imagine greater works than those of Jesus? Difficult and yet we are told we will see them and be part of them. Love and service for the common good of all are these greater works. Offering our self in service, staying the course, being faithful, showing love and service. These things matter. Our treatment of the other, seeing others above ourselves, is part of our mission as Christians. In doing these greater works the other part of mission follows. We are able to share Jesus’ love with others through our behaviour, our care, our service, we point others to Christ. This service, this sharing of love, this being faithful to our calling, is not easy. So, God provides us with the help and strength we need. As Jesus returns to the Father to pray for us, He sends the Holy Spirit. The Spirit that was there at Creation, the Spirit which allows our faith to become global. Our Power Source, our strength, our encourager, our comforter, our advocate comes upon us and enables us to do the necessary service, to show the Father to the world, to do His works, to show His love and to set an example for others to follow and find Jesus.
9th June 2022
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are living in a time of uncertainty and challenge. Things are happening that we did not think could or would happen again. A war in Europe, cost of living crisis, more and more children and adults now living in poverty, people in public life being openly dishonest and not being challenged for doing it. We need change, we need refreshing, we need strength and help, we need power and understanding, all these come from God, given freely to us through the Holy Spirit, we only have to be open, to ask and to receive. The Platinum Jubilee has reminded us of a monarch who took an oath to serve justly and mercifully. Who has spoken openly of service which demands sacrifice. As we serve God and pray for change and offer ourselves to be part of that change, we too will have to make sacrifices. Each of us has a personal accountability before God. Each of us will have to answer for our actions, our service or lack of it, our faithfulness or lack of it, our care of all or lack of it. Jesus is our true and first example of this, after that come others of faith who we can be encouraged by, and you and I, we are also people of faith that others can be encouraged by. Our faith, our service enabled through the Holy Spirit, our example in Christ is our mission to others. Our standing for our faith through the Strength given day after day by the ever-replenishing, overflowing Holy Spirit.
8th June 2022
Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship, and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
If I asked you what were the gods of current society, I wonder what you would say? Money, fame, power, celebrity status? The things people currently worship are things which they see as enabling them to rise to the top. Humans have always worshipped something, usually for their own protection, to provide rain or sun, crops, food, blessing of some kind. Even in our history we can see those who worshipped multiple Gods of differing traditions in order to hedge their bets about who might provide what they wanted. In Roman and Greek societies there were lots of gods, for different things, and people worshipped as they had need. So much choice was there that they even had altars to the unknown God, just in case they had missed someone out. St Paul meets this in the Athens as he preaches Jesus, and calls them religious because they have so many gods. He uses this to speak about the true God, the one God, the creator. This place of discussion wanted to hear about this God and some came to believe. As we see so many worship at the feet of money, celebrity, power, as we hear about those who are “spiritual” but not religious, as we watch people fight for a more certain future and then find it never fulfils, we are in the position to proclaim God, creator, the one true God and to proclaim Christ, saviour and Lord. We can share what we know with others and challenge them to find a real and lasting future in God.
7th June 2022
2 Corinthians 12:9 ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’
Our society tends to look upon weakness critically. We see any vulnerability as a reason to shun people, ignore them and actually often discount them. The way we treat the disabled, the elderly, the child, the sick shows we only rate strength; strength and power as it is dictated by those who rule. Not showing weakness is a key part of many societies and has led to much pressure on ordinary people to somehow be superhuman. We all know that challenges will come our way, most of us do not have money and influence to throw at dealing with them and so often we will just not be able to cope. In contrast God offers us His grace, His strength, His power so that even in our weakness we are able to overcome, to stand firm. In all that we face and go through, however difficult and painful, His grace is sufficient to see us through. Our feelings of weakness give us an opportunity to trust Him. As we trust in Him, we discover that He is all we need. It may seem the complete opposite to what we expect or to what we are taught, but it is in our weakness, when we are not self-sufficient and arrogant about our own abilities that God can and will work.
6th June 2022
Psalm 136:25 He gives food to every living creature. His love endures forever.
Throughout life I have often been amazed and blessed by the power of food, home cooked meals, simple provisions but given in love. As a teenager our youth group would bring and share food each Sunday afternoon and it was wonderful, often after church we would go round someone’s house with a couple of loaves of bread and eat toast. In youth groups I have run since that time I have always had food available, toast, jam, peanut butter, biscuits, muffins and so on. We even went through a phase of everyone wanting noodles. Just that simple sharing of food has always given a community, a care for each as we come together and ultimately it simply says we care, we love you and that means physically as well as Spiritually and Mentally. Food is currently even more expensive, children are suffering, so many more now in food poverty. Basic food given to everyone says we care. The work of foodbanks has increased massively but also donations are down because everyone is struggling more. Enabling people to eat is a basic, no one should be unable to feed their family, no child should go hungry any day and yet they do. Food is given out of love for the other, God has given food for all out of His love for us, may we do whatever we can to share that with anyone and everyone whoever they may be.
5th June 2022
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Have you ever really looked at a pound coin? When you do, you will find Elizabeth II by Grace of God, Queen, defender of the faith, written on it. It is written Latin but that is what it means. Today we celebrate her 70 years as our Queen, who by the grace of God, defends our faith. She has said that Jesus Christ is the inspiration and anchor in her life. She has spoken of Jesus as a role model of reconciliation and forgiveness who stretched out His hands in love, acceptance and healing and that Christ’s example has taught her to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none. The Queen is not quiet about her Faith. Earlier this week David Suchet was asked if it was wise for the queen to be so out spoken about her faith, he replied yes because the basic message of Christianity is love, and she leads with love and brings us all together. Much has been said and seen about her loyalty, her service and how we can see God through her example. What about you and I, are we an example for others to see Jesus? Are we faithful to our vocation and calling, do we clearly speak out about our faith? Do we allow our God light to shine out and bring glory to Him? I hope and pray that we will.
4th June 2022
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Currently we are rewiring my husbands home office. We are attempting to make it more energy efficient and easy to switch things on and off. Being a Tech lover there is a lot of equipment and a lot of wiring. The room has had to be emptied, current wiring sorted out and a collapsed bookcase removed. Several boxes of books have been moved and things we thought we had lost been discovered. It has been a hard day so far and there is more to come in the next few days. This work is time consuming but it will be worth it. Now it seems endless, in the end it will be beneficial. This is very much like our daily life, things need rewiring, sorting, and broken things removed. When we begin to clean ourselves out, we discover things we had forgotten, we are reminded of how much clutter we have allowed to build up and although at the time it feels endless and seems time consuming, in the end it will be beneficial, it will be worth it. Sometime we need a clear out, we need a good rewire to become more efficient, it may seem hard but it is worth it. As we ask God to clean our hearts and renew us, may we be willing to experience the uncomfortable so as to become better and more efficient.
3rd June 2022
Micah 6:8 What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The current situation with migrants and the cruel misinformation used to whip up hysteria against them is a blot on our country, it’s press and its politicians. The Bible and Jesus teaching is so clear on this issue, far clearer than on other things, and yet we seem to ignore what we are clearly told. Our attitude to the other, the migrant, the refugee, the poor, the suffering, the sick, the wrongly accused should be as that of Jesus who served them, healed them, cared for them, gave to them, loved them and never turned them away. This is our calling, how can we call ourselves followers of Christ and then refuse to help the poor, refuse to house the refugee, turn away the migrant, place children into poverty, push more and more people to use foodbanks. These challenges face us every day and we have a choice, we can see the right way, God’s way, we can know what we should do, the Spirit will prompt us, Jesus will pray for us, we make a choice. Every time we turn a blind eye, every time we justify the poor treatment of others, the loss of rights, every time we support those who benefit themselves, we are not doing God’s will. We are not working for the good of all, we are not fulfilling our calling to be holy, our calling to do what God requires of us.
2nd June 2022
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus said to them, “With humans’ things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
When we pray the language we use is both certain and conditional. When we pray, we can be certain that God will do what is right and best because He sees eternally, His vision is eternal, whereas our vision is mortal and so very restricted. God sees the bigger picture and Jesus shows us that although the best and most effective way for the world’s Christians to live would be in unity, God will not force us into this. We are always given a choice and often we do not choose to work with others. Let’s face it, some of those who have led us in History, and even today, have taken great pains to redefine faith to suit their own ideas, to preserve their position. Time and again the Bible shows those with power will take advantage of those below them. There are always those who will blatantly use others to get what they want, that which benefits them. When God’s people step in and step up to stop this happening, these leaders will abuse, complain and try everything to punish and remove anyone working for the good of all. Sounds familiar doesn’t it. It goes on every day, around us but that is not the right way, that is not God’s way. God will always do what is right for all, but this right way coming to fruition can be conditional on how we behave, how we play our part, whether we are willing to step in and step up in Jesus’ name.
1st June 2022
John 17:20b &21a I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
When you pray what do you pray for? How do you pray? Often, we pray lists of requests, sometimes for the healing and blessing of others. Jesus’ prayers were often about how to pray and prayers for His disciples and followers. Not long before His arrest and crucifixion He prays what is called the High Priestly prayer. Some have also suggested this prayer is like a living will. Jesus intercedes for the church before His father, the very role He is going to take when he ascends to Heaven. The role He now plays for us at God’s side, interceding on our behalf, praying for us. His prayer is about the unity of His followers, the unity of the church. Jesus the High Priest, part of this role is to intercede on behalf of others. In the OT the priests offered sacrifices, in the temple, on behalf of the people. Our priest, mediator and sacrifice, the Lamb of God, prays for us, for our glory, for our unity and for our blessing. This is a good example for us of how to pray. To pray for others, for unity, for their glory and blessing.
31st May 2022
2Chronicles 2:6a But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him?
Covid has revealed to us many negative things, but it has also shown us that Jesus and His kingdom is not confined to a church building. As we could not meet together in person, we found Jesus in neighbours delivering food, over computer screens, on the phone, through letters and cards, on walks for exercise, in music we listened to, books we read and in silence, gardens and homes. Jesus was right in Hospitals, on iPad screens and phones as people suffered and sometimes died. Jesus was with us wherever we were. At all times and in all places as the BCP puts it. As Jesus worked in all places, we were reminded God is not Cathedral bound, not church building bound. We were reminded that where two or three are gathered, Jesus is right there, where food is eaten, bread blessed and eaten Jesus was and is right there. As we have returned to our buildings, Jesus has not left the communities, He is still there as well as in the church. I thank God that we have rediscovered His presence in every part of life, that church buildings are not just where we meet Jesus, where we worship God, but that God is everywhere. We serve, worship, bless and are blessed in every corner of our life, wherever we are, in whatever we do.
30th May 2022
John 17:18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
Sometimes I get asked why we need to be saved? Also, once we are saved what difference does that make to our life on Earth? My simple answer is that humans are saved to live their lives for God. This means striving to live a good Holy life to the best of our ability. We are called, as Christians to be Holy through the word Jesus, the Bible and the Holy Spirit in us. Let’s be completely honest, living a good life is a struggle. We are human and we get things wrong. When we do get things wrong, we must take responsibility for our wrongdoing. Be honest, some of us can be very opinionated, make decisions that get forced on others and we are all aware of decisions made in church history which have caused upset, pain, discrimination and abuse. Things which have been done in the name of God which instead of promoting unity actually promote division. This is not what Jesus came to save us for. We live on a daily basis; we face that battle of good versus evil. It is our faith that enables us to make better decisions, our prayers, the Holy Spirit in us; these help us in daily living while we strive here on Earth to live our best life for God, working always to do what is right.
29th May 2022
Psalm 18:28 For You light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
A recent conversation with someone reminded me of the expression “darkest hour”. There are many phrases which use this expression such as the darkest hour being just before dawn, or Britain’s darkest hour in the second world war. That darkest hour is the point at which we feel we have hit rock bottom, there is nowhere further we can go but we cannot see a way out either. We use the term dark to reiterate the loneliness, the lostness, the not being able to find our way because things are seemingly so bad. I like to think that nothing can ever get that bad and yet my experiences with people show me that it can. Sometimes the darkness is so overwhelming, so invading, so encompassing that we can see no way out. Time and again God tells us that He is the light in the darkness, that He will illumine the darkness, that He will always be the light in the darkness. Sometimes the dark seems impenetrable but there is always a glimmer of light, a way forward and God is always there, we are never alone.
28th May 2022
Mark 3:25 If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart.
Sometimes our families make us feel unhappy, even betrayed. They oppose a choice we make or a profession we chose. In our struggle to do what is best for those we love our judgement can be clouded. Jesus faced opposition from his family. They even seem to suggest He has serious mental health issues and almost seemed to agree with the scribes that he was 'possessed’. Jesus response is that if someone curses the Holy Spirit; by deliberately calling what God is doing evil; they cannot find forgiveness. Continuing to believe that good is evil inevitably puts people outside the will of God. This did not mean Jesus' family could not be forgiven, many people who were originally hostile to Jesus changed their minds about him and became disciples. There is always room for forgiveness when we recognise our sin. Jesus' conflict with his family must have been painful. But we can learn from this. Firstly, we occasionally might need to go against what our families and our communities believe and value to be faithful to Jesus. In some cultures, this is much harder than it is in the West, and we should be aware of this. Secondly, when Jesus says that 'whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother' (verse 35) far from excluding his family, he is extending it. Bringing in the outcast and the excluded, drawing the boundaries of God’s family ever wider.
26th May 2022
Revelation 21:5a The One who was sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!”
We often wish that God would make the messages we’re meant to hear a bit more obvious, louder, clearer, write it across the sky, put up spot lights, spell it out in jet lines across the sky, even a few fireworks, Lord. Working out what God is saying can be difficult, unclear. But sometimes in the Bible it could not be clearer. God says exactly what He means and we still don’t get it. He says to us; a new commandment, a new heaven and a new earth. a new all-encompassing removal of distinctions between what is holy and what is wicked and evil, a new removal of the peculiarities we use to decide who’s in and who’s out. New stuff, new things are lovely, fresh, without blemish but new can be scary and challenging. New can quickly upset our deeply held beliefs and precious traditions. If this new is right then has what I have been doing all this time wrong? Our deeply held beliefs come from our upbringing, our learning, our family and we assume they are correct, but sometimes as society changes, things happen, people betray our trust, we begin to see that God’s new is necessary because we never get it all right. God is perfect, we are not. God’s ways are not subject to the influences of money, power, gender and colour. God wants to renew us, renew our faith and belief, renew our understanding, it is up to us whether we are prepared to see, listen and change or hang onto our safe and not always good traditions and ideas.
25th May 2022
Acts 9:3&4 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Most of us have an event or events in our lives which make us stop and think, revaluate life and make changes. These experiences are often called a 'Damascus Road experience’ after the complete change that happened to Paul on this road. Aggressively opposed to the gospel of Jesus, Paul, Saul as he was then, meets the God and Jesus Christ, realising how very wrong he has been. The effect on Paul is immense, physical blindness to echo his thus far spiritual blindness. He fasts for several days. He cannot function and seems lost until a brave follower of Jesus steps in. This type of conversion is unusual and rare. Paul does not suddenly start believing in God in an instant, he begins to believe in Jesus, his physical and spiritual eyes are opened to a new way of living and as he learns and grows his life changes completely. As Saul he never expected what happened on the Damascus Road and we just assume that each day is much as the next and that our lives are in control. Sometimes God breaks in and does something completely different, turns our lives around, and we are more often than not, ill prepared for this huge life change. God will work, the question is whether we are willing to be changed in whatever way God choses for us.
24th May 2022
Psalm 34:17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles.
This psalm says that God sees the good people, hears prayers, gets close to the hurting and helps the crushed. God promises to be right there and yet I hear people say, “not in my experience”. So my reply is always, who sent the friend, the family member to help? Who sent that message, who provided that job, finance, help? These are what I call Godincidences, we tend to call the coincidences because then we don’t have to explain them or admit what lies behind them. Yet time and time again God steps in, through someone or something, often quietly without fanfare or fuss and then we just shrug it off as a coincidence. A famous poem by Helen Steiner Rice says God has not promised skies always blue, sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain, but God has promised strength for each day, rest, light in the darkness, grace in the trials, help, sympathy and endless love. God does not promise to prevent the difficulties, many of which we humans bring on ourselves, but He does promise to stand with us, provide the necessary help and support through others, through events and happenings, through our own developed and growing resilience. Let me encourage you to see the coincidences as Godincidences. To recognise the help of others and things given to you. To be an encourager and helper of others and be part of God’s promise to others as you support and help them.
23rd May 2022
Acts 6:12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
Stories of conflict happen everywhere and every day. The Bible is very honest and realistic about human nature. In the early church believers fell out. The leaders of the new Church, the Apostles, spoke Aramaic, but in Jerusalem there were many Jews from all over the Roman Empire who spoke Greek. It was extremely hard to make sure both groups were treated equally and fairly, but right at the beginning of the Church we can see a concern for justice. 'It's not fair' was the cry of one group. 'It's not right' was the cry of another. While some accepted the message of the Apostles, others did not. Out-argued by Stephen and overwhelmed by the 'great wonders and signs' he performed, they resorted to making up the kind of story that would get him into serious trouble. Stephen's character meant that he was trusted to keep the peace between quarrelsome groups of people. He must have been patient, sympathetic and willing to listen. But he also knew when to hold firm in the face of accusations that were very dangerous. Very often, conflict shows us how strong we really are. Sometimes we might need to bend and compromise. At other times there's no room for negotiation. We may not be in danger of being stoned but we may find people treat us unfairly and poorly when we stand up for justice and fairness.
22nd May 2022
John 5:6 Jesus asked the man by the pool, “Do you want to get well?”
Sometimes life can appear to be stagnant. Every day we are waiting, watching, hoping; not much changes. We are unable to access the deep well of life within us. Life appears to always be over there, bubbling up outside of us, in that magic pool of water like in this story. Sometimes people believe something like this pool of water which has healing properties and can change lives, but it can be regimes, medicines, structures and often it’s too much effort, and we end up living lives that never change because we see it as all happening somewhere else to someone else. These empty promises of life changing exercise or miracle cures; when we pay up, these are an illusion. They convince us that our life is nothing more than our circumstances, that a better life is to be found outside ourselves. We are tricked into believing that as soon as circumstances change, life will be perfect. As soon as this or that happens everything will be better, I’ll be happy, my problems will go away, I’ll be satisfied and all will be well. So, we put our life on hold and are trapped. When Jesus asks do we want to change, be well, be better, do we make excuses or do we say yes? We are more than the circumstances of our life. Jesus meets us where we are and speaks words of life. Jesus doesn’t change our circumstances. He changes us. Our circumstances become more manageable and we engage with them in a different way. Life is no longer stagnant and we find life in all its fulness.
21st May 2022
Matthew 13:45 the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.
How are you with mysteries? Do you like good clear factual things or are you happy with a bit of mystery, where things might not be clearly black and white? The writer Richard Rohr call us to recognise humble knowing, realising that we do not and cannot know all about God, reality and ourselves. Jesus regularly allowed mystery and multiple possibilities in His teaching. Many of Jesus’ sayings did not always offer perfect clarity, meaning that our understanding cannot always be black and white. Over years of translating, reading and studying the Scriptures, some humans became certain they had the one and only interpretation of Jesus words or God’s intent, and then ignored many of the other real, wonderful and helpful interpretations. Often the most powerful and wealthiest voices were the ones to prevail and so we have had centuries of poor treatment for women, children and other cultures. Jesus taught that our ultimate future eternity, which he calls “the kingdom”, is always like something. Jesus uses simile and metaphor to invite us to further reflect and deepen our understanding, so as not to impose a single understanding or truth. Jesus teaches us through parables, stories, sayings, and even riddles. For those who like clear facts and a correct and one and only way, this can present a problem. When studying theology many lecturers cannot cope with alternative ideas and thoughts even if they are justified and evidenced. True faith, healthy faith is always unassuming about its own holiness and knowledge. Real faith knows that it does not know everything and may be wrong sometimes. This true biblical notion of faith, which balances knowing with not knowing, is rather rare today, especially among people who have come to believe that faith is being certain all the time; when the truth is actually the opposite. Anyone of us who really knows also knows that they we don’t really know at all. Both politics and religion are filled with people clinging to their certainties. This makes caring and compassionate conversations largely impossible because there's no humility. There’s no openness to difference and thus no respect of the other.
20th May 2022
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
There is excellent research which reveals that pets help with Mental Health, with resting, with relaxing. When we stroke a cat or fuss a dog, it causes a reaction within us which relaxes us, calms us and quietens our body. It is the rest and digest system, controlling heart rate and breathing, it is called the parasympathetic nerve. The way our body works is amazing, complex and wonderful. Not surprising as God created it. We have actions and reactions which enable us to cope, to build resilience, to enable us to deal with difficult times. It is the opposite of the fight or flight system which we are much more aware of. God’s intention for us has always been to people of peace and not fear or pain. But because we are human and have strayed from God’s intentions, we were also provided with systems which help us, protect us, allow us to cope with the difficulties of life. Sometimes we need help to access these things within us, having a cat or dog, a pet we can stroke or fuss is one of these ways. Being able to feel at peace, being able to calm our bodies and minds, these allow us to rest and recuperate better, just as God intended.
19th May 2022
Psalm 119:14 I rejoice in following your ways, O Lord, as one rejoices in great riches.
Have you ever noticed how the giggles and gurgles of a baby attract people? People will just appear when they hear these wonderful sounds, and faces turn to joy with broad smiles and giggles of their own. What is it about babies which endue this attraction? Perhaps it is the gift of new life, here is a new life which hasn’t yet been sullied by the world. The needs of this little one are modest and their joy at the simplest things in life take us back to a simpler time in our lives when the world presented only excitement and possibilities. As we grow older, we lose that simple joy of life, it is harder and harder for the smiles of others to bring us joy, we are dragged down by life and things which once made us smile no longer inspire that within us. It is as if, as we grow older, we lose appreciation for life, we allow other things to crowd in and we desire more and more and believe we are entitled to things rather than appreciate everything we have been given. God’s love of us offers us joy, peace, life in all its fulness, it is us who become bored with the joy of life and dampen so much of the wonder God has given us. We need to look again at the wonder of life, of God’s love and be drawn into the appreciation and joy that the sound of a baby’s giggles brings us.
18th May 2022
John 13: 5 Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
If someone offered to wash your feet you would probably find that odd, if it was your boss or a senior figure you would probably think it was to do with getting something from you. We seem to always question why someone would do something menial if they don’t have to. What drives people to work with the homeless, the food banks, charities, shop for neighbours, cook meals and make scrubs for NHS staff? Service drives them. They want to give back, they want to care for the other because their compassion, empathy, respect and care manifests itself in service. People often do vocational jobs because they want to serve others, often these roles are poorly paid and abused because they are vocational and so seen as a cheap resource. These people are often neglected, verbally and physically abused, misrepresented and undervalued by society. Service is not being a servant or slave as in typical British history, it is not a lowly position looked down upon by wealthy powerful people with no understanding of true compassion and empathy. Service and servant hood is about how we treat each other, how we respect and care for all humans. Public service is service of the public, the other, not of self. Service is not seen as cool or exciting but without it the world collapses, just as we are seeing now. Jesus, a respected leader and teacher, the Son of God, gets down on His knees and washes feet. The job of a slave or servant, why? To show that nothing is too menial, nothing is beneath anyone, no matter who they are, when it comes to caring for each other. Life is not all about “me”, “you” as individuals but rather our part in the community that looks after everyone with equal respect and due regard.
17th May 2022
Hebrews 4:13 And none of us is hidden from God’s sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of God, to whom we must all give account.
I put a lot of store by honesty, not lying to cover mistakes, trying to divert attention elsewhere, using money and power to infiltrate and rewrite truth to advantage. All this means I am currently horrified by this country’s politics and politicians. I do not vote for any one party, I am interested in what is done for people, particularly the poor, the disadvantaged, those who suffer most. To watch the rich, get richer day upon day, those in poverty grow daily, to watch the lies and manipulation of the press, to watch the diversionary tactics of those in leadership is shocking. Once there was integrity where those who lied or misled, resigned or were sacked, now lying and breaking laws seems to be a badge of honour in politics. If you or I did what they are doing we would have a criminal record and no longer be able to apply for many jobs. Those voted in as MP’s are public servants, sadly, they neither serve or wish the public to know what they are really doing. Of course, there are exceptions, but sadly even news coverage, interviews on the supposedly unbiased BBC do not tell us the whole truth. For God, honesty and truth are central. God knows the real truth. God’s forgiveness is available for all of us, but we have to recognise our wrongdoing, admit our faults, be honest and truthful and not try to manipulate others and situations to cover our mistakes. We will have to give an account of what we do, may we recognise the value and crucialness of truth in life.
15th May 2022
Matthew 6:4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
I wonder if you have ever won an award? Perhaps at school, or as an employee or perhaps even an award from the Queen. Winning something shows you are appreciated, you have been recognised for something you have done, someone thinks enough of you to speak up and put you forward. I do find that many awards are about who you know rather than what you do and of course most of us will never win anything because we are not famous or well-known enough for anyone to be bothered about what we do. In contrast God is bothered about everything we do and everything we say. God sees what we do in secret, what others don’t see, He knows all we do and He puts us forward for awards every day. God awards us with love, joy and peace. God gave us Jesus, His son, to award us with eternal life. God wants us to know we are appreciated, seen, loved and supported every day. With God it is not about who we know around us, or how famous or wealthy we are. With God it is about our quiet daily service, those things we do without thought of reward or thanks. It is only God who truly sees what we give, truly sees our attitude and reason for doing things. It is God who knows our heart and mind, God who knows who we really are, God who knows what we do and why we do it. God awards us eternal life every single day.
14th May 2022
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Recent articles suggest that young people don’t have a problem with science and religion and don’t pit one against the other. Those first words of the Bible in Genesis are so famous: in the beginning, God created. The chapter describes, as a word picture, every part of creation being carefully and wonderfully made to fulfil their purpose, and God saw that it was good every time. If we read these words as a science paper, we lessen it’s value and intent. Genesis 1 is not an alternative to the Big Bang theory. It is a radical theological statement that our world is what it is because a loving creator God envisioned it to be so. Other creation stories such as the Babylonian story, say the world was fashioned out of a violent conflict between gods, who then made Human beings to be their slaves. Whole cultures have been founded on the belief that the world was built from murder and enslavement. Ours is built on God who made the world out of love, and blessed the humans He created with so much. Our world was made good, perfect and beautiful for us to enjoy and we weren’t and still aren't entitled to spoil it. People were and are created to be blessed and be a blessing. God saw what He made and it was good. Is he pleased with what he sees today? Some of it, maybe, but not all; and that's where we His people, are called to witness to His better way.
13th May 2022
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
We live in a world filled with voices and with noise, that encroach on all of us. Some of those voices carry a message of deep meaning and life, but many of them don’t. Many of the voices we hear today tell us we should only be concerned for ourselves, to live for the moment and our immediate needs. These voices have encouraged us to strip our forests and world, neglect the poor, be selfish and to live for all the pleasure, power and wealth that we can gather at the expense of other people. Some of these worldly voices encourage terrible suffering and misery. These worldly voices have contributed to a world where the powerful enjoy great wealth and privilege, while the poor and the vulnerable suffer in silence, because no one listens to them. Their voices are drowned out by the rich and powerful, the spreading of rumours, lies and doubts about their real needs. But, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, speaks with God’s voice, sharing with us a very different message. The voice of God tells us that wealth and power are temporary, that only love is endless. That true and lasting happiness and eternal life can come to us through commitment and self-sacrifice. The voice of God is a voice of love and friendship and community that includes all. Our advanced civilisation, our high standard of living, our advances in travel and communication have all come at a cost, that is our ability to feel, to build strong relationships and to hear the voice of God. The voice of our God can be heard all around us if we listen. It is the voice of compassion and forgiveness, the voice of reason and understanding, the voice of love and life. If the voices we hear are selfish, hurtful, bring fear or death they are not the voice of God.
12th May 2022
Acts 9:40 Peter knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes and sat up.
How good is your hearing? I often talk about my husband and sons having selective hearing, they only hear what they want to hear. I think that goes for all of us, particularly when listening to God. As Christian disciples, we are called to listen to the voice of God when He speaks to us, that voice that calls us to follow, to act, to be. But, what does this voice sound like? Is it one voice or many? Is it loud or is it a soft voice? How do we recognise the voice of God? In the Old Testament, Abraham and Noah heard the voice of God, strong and compelling, Job heard the voice of God from the whirlwind. Moses heard the voice of God from the burning bush. Elijah heard the still small voice of God. All heard the voice of God and they listened to it, they allowed themselves to be led to a new situation. They discover a new way of living, a new hope and deeper meaning. In Acts, we’re told that the voice of God spoke to Tabitha, though Peter. Tabitha was literally called out of death and darkness into the light. The language and voices of the modern world are not languages of love and peace and community. The voice of God is and can help us to discover hope and deeper meaning in our lives. We must listen carefully for the voice of God speaking to us; speaking from the whirlwind, the burning bush, the Bible, speaking through disciples and all the saints, speaking through the people of our church, speaking in our hearts. It can be a loud voice or a softly spoken voice, it can be one voice or many, it can be a voice that comes from within or a voice from another place or person. I pray that we will listen and respond to God’s voice when He speaks to us.
11th May 2022
Luke 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
We all like to be given important, large , works to do, where we give of our best and more. We want things to be successful, to be at there best and that, of course, reflects hugely on us. But what happens in the small things, when we only have seemingly insignificant and unimportant things to do, things that are often unnoticed, in these seemingly small things we quickly lose heart, get fed up and do not put the energy and effort into the small things that we do so readily into the big things. To be faithful, honest people of integrity we need to be faith in the small things so as to learn to be faithful in the big things. Whatever our political view I do believe that many of our politicians have never been bothered by small things, only the glittery, big important things which advance their careers. Because of this they do not understand real life, real difficulties, real struggles and have no respect for those on the periphery. Being faithful in the ordinary everyday of helping others, friendship, care, companionship, hard work, family relationships, charity work, just being a good neighbour and keeping our promises, this makes us people of integrity, honesty and respect. People who are faithful in the small become those who are faithful in the big things and make a real difference. Faithfulness requires integrity and integrity is tested and developed in the small things.
10th May 2022
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
I sometimes find everything seems to come at once. Suddenly everyone wants meetings in the same week, something happens to the house and the car, several bills all come at once, visits need to be made and then a long-awaited appointment. I sometimes catch myself wishing that things could just be better spaced apart. It’s no one’s fault, no one does it on purpose, it just that the business of life can just encroach. The danger when we are so busy is that simple and important things get side-lined and we are weakened because of that, when we really need to be at our strongest. The Bible reminds us regularly that we have no guarantee of tomorrow or the future and that our time is precious and in worldly terms, short. How we use our lives is important, we must never forget to pray, to read the Bible, to spend time with God, to be good neighbours and yet when we are busy it is these things we tend to push aside. If we do not have time to spend with God then when we really are lost and things must change. Never be too busy to pray, never be too busy to communicate with God. In Him we live, we move and have our being.
9th May 2022
Luke 5:9 For Peter and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.
In our experiences we are told about the laws of nature. Things that can happen and things which can’t. The natural laws of our world seem to dictate certain things happening in a certain way, often at a certain time. The more we discover, the more we realise that nature has the ability or adapt, to change, to accommodate its surroundings. The natural world has built within it the desire to survive. These adaptations take time, they are not instant. So, when a young teacher arrives on the scene and completely rewrites the laws of nature in an instant, there is obviously something different and special about Him. Miracles are often seen as things which defy the laws of nature, curing illness, restoring life, catching a huge haul of fish where there were none only moments before. These miracles cause people to question, they cause intrigue and suspicion, but they also cause faith and belief. When you witness something miraculous, either you will look for a myriad of excuses to ignore it or you will find faith bubble up within you. In the case of the first disciples the faith came, they wanted to learn from this man, to follow Him and to bring others to that faith. We may not witness miraculous catches of fish, but we do witness changed lives, forgiveness, peace, healing of minds and souls. We may not call them miracles in today’s world, but they are and they bring faith and belief.
8th May 2022
John 21:7b As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
I often talk about the character of Peter because Jesus uses him even when he messes up. He provides us with hope. Peter originally lived in Capernaum at the northwest end of the Sea of Galilee where he and his brother Andrew were in partnership as fishermen with two other brothers, James and John, both sons of Zebedee. Peter was a passionate type of person, often speaking and acting before thinking. He could be hasty or rash, even capable of anger and denial. Out fishing, because he doesn’t know what else to do after Jesus’ resurrection and appearances, Peter hears John tell him it is Jesus on the shore, he puts some clothes on and jumps into the water in his haste to get to, and see his Lord again. Peter wanted to be on good terms with Jesus again, to be forgiven, to start again. It is the same for us. We will often return to what we know when times are difficult or when we are unsure. In these places we feel in control, we are comfortable, but we long to be with Jesus again, to be forgiven, to start again. The amazing thing is that even in those comfortable places, those daily mundane places, God shows up, Jesus is right there just waiting for us to invite Him back into our lives.
7th May 2022
2 Cor 5: 19 God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Forgiving someone is probably one of the hardest things we will ever do. Accepting an apology, putting another’s actions into perspective, simply accepting that we all get it wrong sometimes and none of us are more than a step or two away from doing something stupid, damaging and life changing to ourselves and others. There are many stories of forgiveness in the Bible and in society and many stories of unforgiveness and revenge. Forgiveness is not forgetting, and it is not releasing someone from the consequences of their actions, but it restores, to the hurt and wounded, their life. An amazing example of forgiveness has happened in Rwanda where Hutu and Tutsis tribes committed horrific genocide in their fight to eradicate the other. Some 8 years on these tribes are working together, developing relationships and offering forgiveness. It is a powerful story. Forgiveness is never easy, but it is the process of allowing yourself to be at peace with someone who has caused you pain and with life in general. Forgiveness offers you the willingness to let go of negativity, anger, stress and thoughts of revenge towards others. We do not lose the affect it has on us but forgiveness offers the opportunity of peace and liberty. Those we forgive have to live with the consequences of their actions. New life with Jesus takes the old and gives the new. It shows God’s loving and free forgiveness of us in our guilt. The toxic anger we hold when we do not forgive damages us, sucks out our energy, our time, causes us to lose perspective and rids us of a peaceful, happy life. Forgiveness gives us back control, puts life into perspective, gives clarity of mind and thought and allows us to become more compassionate and empathetic people. Because forgiveness is so hard, we do not need to do it alone, God forgives us and gives us the strength to forgive others.
6th May 2022
Mark 1:17&18 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Are you a breakfast person? Cereal, toast, porridge maybe? If we are on holiday, we will have full English breakfast or sometimes kedgeree or kippers. Sometimes in our busy world people have breakfast meetings. As Jesus prepares the disciples for His Ascension, He calls them to breakfast, on the shore, a Bar B Q of fish and bread. You may now realise that we have been here before, Jesus on the shore, the brothers and partners, not yet disciples, a night of no fish, then catching an abundance of fish on Jesus’ instruction; it is exactly where Jesus called those first disciples. Now they are at a difficult, lonely, low and seemingly insurmountable time, so the Disciples go back to what they know. Going fishing is something they can do that has normality and comfort. We do the same. We take comfort in what we know, in what is natural and easy to us, and just like with the disciples Jesus meets us exactly where we are and invites us to come and eat with Him.
5th May 2022
Matthew 21:38 But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours!’
Have you ever just said to someone, you are wrong! I know I did it to my father once and suffered for daring to challenge him. Yet, when things are wrong, we need to speak up and be clear. On many occasions Jesus does not hold back. He often tells the chief priests and Pharisees that they are wrong, He is holding them to account for what they have done and for what they will ultimately do to Him. In the story of the Tenants in the vineyard we need to think where we would place ourselves in the story. As the hard-working servants or are we more like the tenants? These tenants reject the son, steal and kill for their own profit. Okay, we may not go to the extremes used here, but we are capable of openly denying Jesus through our words and actions, behaving much more like the Pharisees than the faithful servants. Jesus is once again challenging the utter hypocrisy of those who supposedly led the people in their faith and were supposed to represent God to them. Their actions and words were the total opposite of What God had wanted for His people but human nature, selfishness, power, wealth and self-aggrandisement had long replaced God as their priority. Jesus offered them and offers us redemption, forgiveness and love, it is our choice what we do with it.
4th May 2022
John 21:9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
They say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, spending it with Jesus would really make it so. In fact any meal, any moment we spend with Jesus makes it special. We are invited every day to be with Jesus, as we are, where we are and that never changes. Spending time with Jesus whether at breakfast or in the car, or on a walk, or in the garden, means allowing God, through His Spirit, to lead us forward and remind us of those spiritual milestones of the past. Those things which made us who we are today. Jesus would often remind the disciples of how far they had come, where He first called them, how they had grown and this strengthened and encouraged them. God wants that for us, He will remind us when we first responded to His invitation; He will bring back those lessons and breakthroughs of the past that we need to remember. God reminds us of how our story with Jesus began, what we have done with Him and for Him, who we are in Him, what we have learned along the way, how we are forgiven and loved. He will encourage and strengthen us daily if we will just take the time to be with Him. The question is, will we take our invitation or not?
3rd May 2022
Luke 24: 30 When Jesus was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
Have you noticed how after Easter, the church and we as Christians, tend to experience a “post-Easter decline.” The big celebration of Easter Sunday, the Alleluias and Easter eggs, finished for another year. The very first Sunday after Easter is even called, “low Sunday”. It can be really hard to muster the same level of energy we had two or three weeks ago. Like the disciples, we have returned to our everyday lives. Business as usual. But we are reminded that God is right there, too. God is in every part of our lives, the highs and lows and the normal every day. On the shore the disciples have recognised him as their Lord, the one who appeared in locked rooms and showed them His wounds, and now He’s going about a mundane morning task of cooking breakfast as if everything is just the same. Here we find the beautiful understanding of God about us and our lives. Sometimes life with Christ looks like the dead raised, mountains of transfiguring light, feeding the five thousand with last night’s leftovers. But more often than not, it is as simple as breakfast. It is the mundane daily life and work mingled with a little miracle. Life is the mundane and the miracle side by side, routine and wonder, ordinary and sensational mixed together as we serve our Lord.
2nd May 2022
Luke 12:11b &12 Do not worry about what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
When I was younger and spoken to by certain people, a nervous quiet voice always received a very loud, “well, speak up child!” People often ask someone to speak up if they are hard of hearing or if a place is noisy. Here in Luke we are being told to speak up about what we believe and what we know of God and His love for us. What anyone says and does matters, particularly if the two do not match up. In recent days we have seen people question Christian beliefs as expressed by politicians because their treatment of others would not substantiate their words and behaviour. Within the last week I received a twitter message from someone I have never met asking how I can call myself a Christian because I disagreed with them over the current policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. If I had supported the policy then I could accept the accusation but as a Christian I cannot support such inhumane behaviour. Sometimes we worry about what we will say if someone asks about our faith or about God. We think people are out to trick us and make us look stupid and occasionally that might be true, but mostly people ask because they see something they are interested in and are just making an innocent enquiry. We are told, by Jesus, that we don’t need to worry as the Holy Spirit will provide the necessary words to us. All we need to do is speak from our hearts, from our genuine experience and people will hear and see God at work, they will feel God’s love. Sincerity speaks louder than anything else and as we are sincere about our faith we are called to speak up and share God’s love with everyone.
1st May 2022
Luke 16:30 The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham! If someone goes to them from the dead, they would believe and change their hearts and lives.’
Recent figures from the ONS show that inequality has risen massively. Currently prices are rising and salaries are stagnating, accept at the top. The richest in our world are making money hand over fist while ordinary people are struggling to even feed themselves, let alone heat their homes. The Bible and Jesus teaching have many warning stories about inequality and caring for the poor. Jesus tells us to pay attention, while there is still time. As we sit in our decent homes with full fridges, central heating, all the creature comforts we need, it is easy to not pay attention to the needs of others, even those right on our doorstep. In Jesus teaching the rich man wants to warn his family to change their ways and priorities and, not actually learning his lesson, wants the poor man to do the job for him. The evidence has been right there all along, it is right there for us in the prophets, in the Bible, in Jesus, but we make our choices based on how good life is now. But, as the chickens come home to roost, we say “If only I had known? If someone had told me and I had realised” But all the information is there, we have been told time and time again, it is written in History. The choice is, and always will be, ours. Sadly, we think we know best and often do not listen to history, prophets, the Holy Spirit, Jesus or God. This teaching should make us feel uncomfortable, challenge us about all that we have in the here and now against those who are poor and go without. Our calling is to use what we have more effectively and more honestly. It is not the having that precludes us from God, it is the attitude that puts all we have before God, thinking we need all this stuff to be happy and fulfilled rather than God.
30th April 2022
John 20:22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."
After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were in hiding. Not sure of the reaction of authorities, fearful of their future they hid away behind locked doors. We all have locked doors in our lives. Things we don’t want to own up to, things we want to hide from, things which keep us stuck in a rut. What are the doors that are locked in your life? What are the things that have kept you stuck in the same place? Don’t judge them as good or bad, right or wrong. It’s just where you and I are at that time in our lives and it’s always the place Christ shows up for us. The walls and the locked doors of the house where the disciples hid could not keep Jesus out. And the walls and locked doors of our house will not keep Him out. Jesus steps into the midst of our house, through the locked doors, and breathes peace, life, hope, courage and strength into us. He gives us the Holy Spirit; and that breath of peace, of Spirit is the key that unlocks the door. Friends, take a deep breath, take it all in, let Jesus fill and enliven you. Let Him give you the hope, courage, and strength you need to unlock and open the doors of your life, and proclaim the risen Christ.
29th April 2022
John 20:25 But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Most of us like to look at others and their mistakes and be critical, it makes us feel better about ourselves. We tend, in the church, to be hard on doubting Thomas for his initial reaction to Jesus’ resurrection, we criticise his desire for proof, but this initial reaction is not the whole story of Thomas. He brought the gospel of Christ to India. He died a martyr after he was run through with five spears by five soldiers. That doesn’t sound much like a doubter, does it? It actually sounds like someone who grew and changed, someone for whom the resurrection of Christ was real, someone for whom the empty tomb made a difference. It just took a little time, as it does for most of us. It did not matter that Thomas struggled to begin with, we all do, but it would have been a huge tragedy if Thomas and the other disciples had refused to unlock the doors of their hiding place and go and share Jesus’ resurrection with the world. We all have rough times, times when we get it wrong, when we want to hide away but in God’s strength we keep going, we come out of hiding and we proclaim the risen Jesus.
28th April 2022
Proverbs 22:24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered.
When we are faced with any decision in life, we try to make the best choice, sometimes we get it wrong. As we determine our choice, we weigh up our options but these decisions cause stress, we are fearful of getting it wrong. The more we regret, the more our brain remembers the wrong choices and drives up our stress levels each time making it harder. All choices have consequences. The choice to allow the Trojan horse into Troy allowed Greece to win the war. The choice of NASA to go ahead with the Challenger launch in 1986 when they knew there were problems with the O ring and seal resulted in the death of seven astronauts. The choices we make may not seem as vital as these but all our choices actually change the course of our lives. One of the major choices we make is the company we keep, the people we mix with, those we call friends. The friend who promises but never does, who only takes and never gives, who looks after self only, who leads you into trouble then leaves you to clear up the mess. These are not real friends. The company we keep matters. Friends will shape our lives and they can impact on our ability to learn, to change and to achieve. The Bible warns us time and again to be careful about our friends. To not mix with the hot tempered, the liar, the user, the betrayer, the dishonest for they will only drag us down. Choose wisely who you call friend, take time to weigh it up, to get to know and thus never regret who we choose to be our friends.
27th April 2022
John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!
We like to deal in facts, things we can prove, that others can’t question. These facts make us feel safe and confident. The fact of the empty tomb is the starting point for the resurrection story of Jesus. Whatever facts you and I wake up with each day are simply the starting point for our story of resurrection. What is your starting place? Whatever your life is today, whatever your circumstances are, that’s the starting point for your story of resurrection. So, if you’re dealing with deep loneliness, sorrow, and loss, that’s your starting point. That’s the room which Christ enters. If you are locked in a house of fear, confusion, or darkness, that’s your starting point and the place in which Jesus stands. If illness, old age, disability, or uncertainty are facts of your life, that’s your starting point and the place in which Jesus shows up. If you feel lost, betrayed, disappointed, overwhelmed, that’s your starting point and the house Jesus enters. If joy, gratitude, and celebration are the facts of your life today, that’s the starting point for your story of resurrection. All those things I just described and a thousand others are the many ways the doors of our house get locked. Whatever it might be for you, it is just the starting point.
26th April
Luke 6:36&37 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
How would people describe you? What words would they use? Merciful? Forgiving? Caring? Or would it be words like Judgemental, condemnatory, unforgiving? The Bible speaks time and again about our collective responsibility to live as people of mercy and forgiveness, without condemnation and judgement of others. The current plan to send people to Rwanda instead of providing proper channels for those seeking asylum shows that many have lost their mercy, their compassion in favour of a popularist policy at the cost of people’s freedom and human rights. We want others to treat us with mercy, compassion and forgiveness, the least we can do is treat others in that way no matter who they are or the colour of their skin. We will try to justify our mistreatment of others, but there is no justification! Those who live within a religious order and community all work for each other, supporting each other practically and spiritually. The life of the individual is inextricable from the group who hold everything in common. The kingdom of God is one of interdependence, just as the Trinity functions each with a role of their own but interdependent on the other. We do not make this Christian journey alone. But it is important to remember that this good life is dependent on us not condemning, not judging but giving freely to others. We need to take a look at ourselves and must also recognise when we are at fault ourselves, when we have falsely accused or unfairly judged, gossiped or condemned others and accept our shame when we rebel and act selfishly towards others. In asking God’s forgiveness and compassion of ourselves we must then offer that forgiveness and compassion freely to others. We cannot receive what we are not willing to give.
25th April 2022
John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
As we move on after Easter, has It changed our lives? Is our life any different? What difference has the empty tomb made in our lives? When we look at the world it looks pretty much the same as before. If the resurrection is such a big deal, such a life changing event, why are we still stuck in the same place as always? The disciples took a while, they hid in a locked room for a while before things changed for them. It's easy to be critical of the disciples being stuck in the same place. But we really need to look at our own lives and ask why isn’t my life different after Easter? Why do I get stuck in the same place? We know Christ’s resurrection happened and that the fact of the empty tomb is a life changing event. The resurrection does make a difference in our lives; but it can take time to happen. Resurrection living takes time. It’s something that we grow into, a process. By the grace of God, we evolve into resurrected people through our relationships and the circumstances of our lives. It’s not always easy and some days are just plain hard. Sometimes we come to Easter Sunday and the empty tomb expecting to wake up on Monday to a whole new life and world. But I am guessing that you awoke on Easter Monday to the same life and world you had on Good Friday. That is not because the resurrection didn’t happen, we know it did; It’s because it takes time. Easter is a starting point and Jesus is right there with us as we move on, grow and become resurrection people.
24th April 2022
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
We all have people we like and people we dislike. We tend to mix with those we like and stay away from those we dislike and we tend to pray for those we like. That’s normal, surely? Jesus words on this very subject in Matthew reflect back to the laws written in Deuteronomy and take them further. There were plenty of religious followers who had declared they had fulfilled these laws and kept these commands; they loved their neighbour but they hated their enemy; Jesus challenges this belief and corruption by telling us to love our neighbours and also to pray for our enemies. The expectation here is that we should aim to be as God and Jesus are, that is perfect in our dealings with everyone. We know that this is impossible for us, we can never be Holy or perfect but we can live as close to this as possible through Jesus and God’s strength in us. We can have the Holy Spirit within us guiding and prompting us, allowing us to pray for those we struggle with, those we might consider to be our enemies. Something I was told years ago by a wise vicar was you do not have to like everyone, love them yes, but you do not have to like them. Families are the best example of this. We can struggle with liking some family members but we love them because they are family. It is not easy and we need help with this and God is right there to offer that help with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It probably makes you recoil at the thought of loving someone who hurts you, but we have to try. God gives us His strength to love those we find difficult. Jesus love for us took Him to the cross, even though we treated Him as an enemy. We can be hard to love yet we expect God and others to love us, the least we can do is to pray for others, even those who we see as our enemies, in God’s strength.
23rd April 2022
John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
What are your favourite journeys? Perhaps after the past weeks of terrible queues at Dover and problems at airports you might struggle with journeys at all. Whenever I go away, as much as I love the journey to my destination and the holiday itself, it is the journey home that I love. I long to get home and sometimes struggle with journey’s home, especially if the traffic is bad. Returning home is special, the place where our loved ones are, where our history is, where we grew up, places that hold memories. The places we have called home will always remain special, the home of childhood, the home of study, the home of marriage and new family. Home is more than a place we live, it is where we are, who we are, where we can be our real selves with those we love. In the Bible our ultimate home is presented to us as Heaven and our time on earth is our journey towards that home. The difference is that we speak of returning home here on earth, whereas we do not return to Heaven, it is our ultimate home that we will go to, be welcome in and where we will live forever with God, in peace, with no more crying, hurt, pain, illness or grief. We are pilgrims on a journey to Heaven. A journey to home.
22nd April 2022
Luke 19:40 “I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if they keep quiet, the very stones will cry out.”
How do you respond to criticism? Research suggests that we tend to hear, remember and respond to criticism far more than we do to positive things. Criticism tends to nor away at us. Jesus is once again criticised by the Pharisees, a common occurrence, but His reply to them and us is that if we do not get involved in the now, in God’s work in the here and now, someone else will, even creation will shout out if we do not, and we will miss out! The crowds naively milled around their possible Messiah. They had no idea of what was to come. But the stones did. All creation knew of the utter transformation that was to come, all creation knew that the Creator had entered His creation as a human, to rescue it from death. We need to allow our hearts to enter into the now of every day and rejoice for all we have seen of Jesus in your life and the lives of others. We rejoice in our Lord today, because tomorrow is coming and tomorrow is hard, but hard tomorrows are always coming. As we experience the joy of heaven and fill ourselves with the wonder of Jesus. If we take time to fill ourselves with the joy of Heaven now, we will have the sustenance to weather us through the difficult tomorrows.
21st April 2022
Luke 19:38a Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
I don’t know about you, but I am often far too quick to rush to the next thing. I often deny myself to enter the now, because I’m too busy thinking about tomorrow. To busy thinking about the what next, the what to do, the what needs to be done. Sometimes we can all be so busy preparing for tomorrow that we have forgotten what it means to be with Jesus today. So busy with the future we forget the present and the joy of now, now is the only certainty. Now, today, is a gift which is why we call it the present. For all of us, it is easy to rush into what is to come, we know the story of Jesus, we know that the days that lie ahead in Easter are ones that lead to the most awful grief before the most glorious hope. Those who had seen Jesus doing wonderful things, His followers and disciples, they were surrendering their cloaks, raising their voices and waving palm branches, they have so much to teach us. They remind us to enter into the now. The now of Palm Sunday, the now of rejoicing, the now of hope that fills our hearts with such anticipation they could burst with the joy and wonder of heaven. This is because as Christians we have seen with our own eyes and lived with our own lives the wonder and love of Jesus.
20th April 2022
Psalm 66:19 But God always listens; He will always attend to the voice of my prayer.
Sometimes people just don’t listen. You try to explain a situation or the background to something and they just don’t want to know. Sadly, I had a recent experience with an out of hours GP who had not read my E- consult form, had no desire to listen to my symptoms and wanted me out of the door as soon as possible. I take persuading to go to the doctor as I don’t like to waste their time and usually think a few days, couple of weeks and all is well. I had to stand my ground with the doctor and even then, he decided to send me back to my own GP. Listening to people is so vitally important. It makes us feel valued, it allows things to be put in context and often the answer to the problem lies in the background information. As a teenager I loved the character of Garfield and I had a poster in my room which said Teddy Bears are really good listeners. I would always talk to my teddy bears because they would always listen and never interrupt. Now I am not suggesting God is a big teddy bear, but just like those teddy bears who would listen intently so does God. God hears our worries and concerns, He listens to everything we need and want to say, He pays attention to us, He knows what is going on but will always listen to us whether we are angry, upset, confused, hurt, lost or whatever. He is never too busy to listen, never helping others so much that He does not have time for us. We are so important to God and everything we need to say God hears us and holds us.
19th April 2022
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
The simple truth is that none of us know another person completely and no one knows us completely. Only we experience all the events and things of our lives, only we know exactly how we feel about something or someone. We are all entitled to the guarded places in our lives where the hurts of the past and the sadness’s of our past reside. These are very precious places which belong only to us, they make us who we are, we carry them with us into everything we do and everything we become. These guarded places will explain a great deal about who we are and how we react. Carrying these things means we can have a deeper respect and understanding of actions and consequences, but also it can mean we carry more anger and bitterness. The only one who knows us better than we know ourselves is God, He knows those deep guarded places, He knows how we feel about everything we come across and why we react the way we do. Being entitled to our guarded places can make us fearful of the future and make us guarded towards others. We need to share with God how we feel, not because He does not know us but because we can share our deepest things with Him in complete safety and security thus allowing Him to work in our guarded and precious places in ways which are the best for us.
18th April 2022
Deuteronomy 30: 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
How good are you at choosing? This shampoo or that one, those vegetables or some others, which coffee, which tea and so on. Many times, the Bible speaks about making a choice. The choice of life or death, the choice of following God or not. The choice of a selfish life or an unselfish life and the consequences. The choice we make affects how we behave; listening to God or listening to self, choosing a blessing or a curse, choosing the whole world and losing our very self. We live in the world; our challenge is not to be of it. To not let ourselves be enticed by the promises and gains of this world and in doing so lose our very soul. The choice for us is stark, Heaven or Hell. We cannot know God or His love if we follow the ways of the world, if we listen to the worldly voices of gain, selfish ambition and me first. Following God’s way is not easy and may well involve suffering; being a disciple, a Christian, comes at a price. The world says that suffering and success cannot exist together, faith says they can. What might that mean? Does our attitude need to change? Does our routine need to change? Less TV, phone, computer, reading, radio etc and more prayer? Less money spent on me and more on giving to others? Speaking up when others suffer unjustly, even if I suffer too? These are hard choices but ones we need to make before God.
17th April 2022 Easter Sunday
Acts 10:39&40 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear.
How do you feel today? Are you overjoyed and amazed or is this just another Sunday, another Easter Day? Usually as we arrive at Easter Sunday, we feel some joy and amazement. And yet, even today we encounter comments from people telling us that dead people do not come back to life. But, over two thousand years of faithful Christians and the hundreds of witnesses that were there when Easter happened, they would beg to differ. So why are we amazed? Jesus has risen from the dead, of course that is amazing and yet isn’t it exactly what He said He would do? Go back and look, time and again Jesus speaks of His death and resurrection and explains why, but the disciples and followers and we just do not take it in. God’s promises are made to us and we often cannot see them, we are not prepared when they happen. We are so good at putting our trust in human things but not in the things of God. When Peter explained the resurrection to Cornelius, He spoke of witnesses, those who had experienced, seen and heard Jesus working in their lives. That is exactly who we are, people who know and experience Jesus’ resurrection in our lives and live every day as Easter people. Are we living as an Easter Christian, sure of God’s risen power in our life every day? Or is it all too much, it has been a difficult year or so after all, but, but, but…. We can always make excuses, but today is the fulfilment of our faith, of our destiny and so it should make a huge difference in our lives. Take time to think of the all the incredible and amazing things God has done in your life. Today is Easter Day so; Rejoice for Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
16th April 2022
Isaiah 54:8 For a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you says the Lord, your Redeemer.
Holy Saturday is a mournful day even though we know what tomorrow will bring. There is emptiness, loneliness, waiting, nothingness. We are held in a type of stasis as the story enfolds. In our churches the altar has been stripped bare and the tabernacle is empty. In first century Jerusalem the disciples were hiding away in fear, feeling alone and disappointed, much as perhaps we do today. As we look back over our Lenten journey, do we feel we have accomplished all that we set out to do on Ash Wednesday? Are there things we want and can carry from our Lenten experience into the future? Today can be a day which holds us back, we can become stuck in a Good Friday and Easter Saturday frame of mind and not allow the events of Easter Sunday to fill us and enable us for the future. There is nothing we have to do or be today, we sit between the now and the not yet. Perhaps today can be a quiet day where we let go of everything, our plans and goals and just wait, bask in the silence, wait expectantly for what is to come, embrace the emptiness and open the space up for the fulness that is to come. As we stand on the edge of a new dawn, a new life, a new hope, we can think about what we might still need to let die, to let go so we can grow. Is there anything holding us back from the blessing and joy tomorrow will bring? Is there anything we are still clinging to? Today offers the opportunity to empty ourselves of all that holds us back and in that empty space wait patiently for the joy and blessing of Easter to come flooding in and fill the space to overflowing.
15th April 2022
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
By Good Friday the abundant hope of Palm Sunday has completely drained away. Crushed with suffering, a beaten and scarred man is carrying a cross to be crucified in a shameful public place. Now we see Jesus despised and rejected and the prophecy of Isaiah makes sense. He has borne our iniquities, our sins and wrongdoing. He has taken it all on Himself! From our turning away from God in the Garden of Eden, our wrongdoing all through History, our wrongdoing even now, all of it is put upon Jesus, on the cross. As we turn away to our own selfish ways, the Son of God dies; alone, rejected, in front of His mother and friends, alongside two criminals who, at least, have actually done something wrong. Even in His own death forgiveness and love are given to those around Him. He does not stop giving, even until the physical death comes. Today we contemplate the cross. We follow the journey of Jesus through the streets to Golgotha. We put ourselves in the crowd, onlookers, trying to imagine how it would have felt. We can focus on the cross and begin to realise the difference it has made to our life. As we recognise the horror of what is happening, we are still given comfort by our Saviour, this sacrifice is made for us, out of love for us and every human being.
14th April 2022
John 13: 27b & 30 Jesus said to Judas, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
As the disciples celebrate the Passover, The Last Supper, with Jesus; He knows the darkness in Judas’ heart and what is about to happen. You might expect Judas not to be welcome and yet Jesus does not throw Judas out of the gathering or try to talk him out of what he is about to do, instead He eats with Judas and tells him to go and do it quickly. As the bread is handed to Judas the darkness abounds, the tension grows, the world is now darker and scarier. If one of the chosen disciples can get so lost what hope is there for us? Thankfully there is always a chance, second, third, fourth and more chances. Jesus knows exactly what lies in our hearts, He does not turn us away but welcomes us back again and again. We always have a choice; we do not have to stay in the darkness of our bad choices, we do not have to choose despair and lose hope. All our shame, all our bad choices, however we feel; alone, guilty, hopeless, if we can just admit to our failures, we can find healing and forgiveness and this is essential for our growth. Our God conscience will show us how to improve, help us develop humility and make us desire to serve God better. There is always hope with Jesus, always a way back if we are willing to take it but we must recognise our sin and try to change. All Jesus asks is that we try, He will do the rest.
13th April 2022
Matthew 26:14b & 15 Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver.
As Holy week continues, we get deeper into the story and the darkness becomes overwhelming. Wednesday of Holy Week is also called Spy Wednesday, the day Judas went to the authorities to betray Jesus for money. He has made the decision, set the wheels in motion but then without any compunction says “Surely not I” to the accusation of betrayal by Jesus. How often do we do the same? Excuse our own bad behaviour, step away from any blame, make out our innocence and inside we feel sad, alone and lost. Guilt begins to flourish in our hearts and we get eaten away in our souls. For Judas, he could not live with himself and what he had done, and yet in that very act of realising his wrongdoing he would have found God’s love even if he could not find love for himself. Jesus still calls Judas’s friend, even in the act of betrayal. Jesus still calls us friend even in our own acts of betrayal and wrongdoing. God’s love is always there if we can but see it and hold onto it even when our love for ourselves is weak and distant. God never gives up on us, we should never give up on ourselves. We need to examine the things which eat away at us and learn what needs to be done or said to get rid of these feelings? There will be times when we have done and said wrong things that we have not dealt with and need to forgive ourselves for. Self-forgiveness is vital in our relationships with God and one another. We need to be secure in God’s love for us and ask help in securing His love and forgiveness within ourselves.
12th April 2022
Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
I love the beach, love to walk along through the different landscapes. Last week I was on a very windy beach at Porthcawl and beaches can be very different dependent on where they are. Sand dunes, shingle, sand, rock pools and in some places, you will find blocks of reeds. On a still day the reeds will stand straight and tall but on a windy day they sway and bend low, but they do not break. It is quite a beautiful sight and for us it provides a lesson. In a world of absolutes and fast reactions, bending and accommodating is not seen as a good thing. Yet, as we see Jesus about to enter His time of terrible suffering in that first Easter, this image of a bending reed is a symbol of hope. Jesus bends to the will of those who want to hurt Him. He does not lash out, He does not fight and in the end, He controls the outcome, accepting what is forced upon Him to gain the ultimate victory over death for us. Bending is seen as weakness in our world but the lesson for us is that bending is needed to get us where we need to be with God in control. Think about situations you will be facing and how you can bend with God’s will to allow the best outcome. As we walk with Jesus through this Holy week may we see how Jesus bends with the situation and learn from His example, noticing how He does not retaliate or argue but allows the situation to happen for God’s ultimate triumph.
11th April 2022
Mark 14: 3b A woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.
As Holy Week begins Jesus is in the house of Simon the Leper. A woman, we believe to be Mary, breaks an alabaster jar of beautiful expensive perfume and anoints Jesus. This brings a reaction of anger and disgust from onlookers because they just do not understand what is happening. People will always jump to conclusions because they do not know all the facts and here the people just did not understand Jesus because they applied their flawed, imperfect and earthly standards to Him. Jesus welcomed the people they would throw out, He pushed people’s ideas and thoughts beyond the comfortable, He saw things through God’s eyes and not the worlds. This is why it went from Hosanna to Crucify in just a few days. The simple, beautiful action of anointing Him is praised by Jesus and is imortalised in the Bible just as He said it would be. Here we are reading her story and wondering what we would do if Jesus was in our house, at our table today? Would we be shooing the woman away or would we be the one anointing Jesus? We need to ask ourselves if we had been there what would our reaction have been? Would we have seen it as a waste or been embarrassed or angry? Jesus provokes strong feelings in everyone. Mary followed her heart, not her head, she stepped out of the shadows and spoke up for her Lord? Are we willing to do the same?
10th April 2022
Luke 11:29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
Do you know the story of Jonah and the whale? Jonah was sent by God to tell the people of Nineveh to change their ways, he did not want to go because he thought God was being too soft on bad people. In the New Testament mention of Jonah Jesus is using harsh words about people and their behaviour, what are we to make of this? If we look around us, we see evil everywhere and even we sometimes think; is the world really worth saving? We, like Jonah, would rather run the opposite way than tell people about their sin and wrongdoing. The world has always had good and bad, light and dark, and we have a part to play in spreading the light and the good; but, we would all like to see a huge bold, unavoidable, flashing sign telling everyone what is wrong and how to change it. Then we all want reassurance that everything is not lost, that we still have a chance. The great news is that we know the world was worth saving and that God sent Jesus for just that purpose; and that sign we want; it is a huge wooden cross, occupied by an innocent man who is unjustly crucified so that we still have that chance. Not just us, but everyone, even the people we do not like or find difficult, even those who do not agree with us or see life differently, He died for them too. He dies that we might be forgiven, He defeated death so we might live forever.
9th April 2022
Matthew 6:8 Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
As a teacher, even when writing on the board, I would know exactly who was misbehaving behind me and usually what they were doing. I had a father who knew exactly what I was up to even when I thought he could not see me; it is almost as if he had eyes in the back of his head as well the front. Parents are often good at knowing when their children are up to mischief. Knowing what is going on, even when not seeing it, is a talent or skill we develop with experience over time. As God is omnipresent, He has eyes everywhere at all times in all situations so He must know what is going on and yet in the Lord’s Prayer we are told to pray asking for food, forgiveness and deliverance, and we are also told that God knows what we need anyway. So why bother asking? Can’t God just step in when we need something? Why do I need to ask? Life would be much easier if God just did it all for me, no effort on my part. We can communicate with God without spoken words, God does know our needs but expressing them, realising our needs and asking for help builds and deepens our relationship with God, it draws us closer, it builds a bridge between here and there. The Lord’s prayer is one of integrity and honesty that demands forgiveness from us to others if we desire God’s forgiveness for ourselves. There are many forms of prayer and we can experiment to see which helps us draw closer to God.
8th April 2022
Matthew 16: 18&19a Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
I have been very blessed to have been to Rome, to the Vatican City and to visit St Peter’s Basilica. It is a stunning, wonderful and uplifting place to visit. You feel close to God and get a real sense of His presence. Not very far from the entrance is a statue of St. Peter holding the keys to the kingdom; the toes on the right foot have been worn smooth by the years of people reaching out to touch and receive a blessing; you are naturally drawn to it and reach out for the rock. Peter is a character who draws us to him, and Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the Messiah was one of his virtuous moments. But, you do not need to look far to find the many mistakes he made including his terrible denial; his lowest moment. And yet Jesus builds His church on this rock, Peter or Cephas means rock. Jesus gives him the keys to the kingdom. He is the first leader of the church. The lesson here is that we are not called to be perfect, but to be faithful. We will make mistakes, run away, deny our faith, say the wrong thing, hurt ourselves and others, but God’s love and mercy keeps us, blesses us and uses us anyway. We reach out to Peter in solidarity, we gain hope from what God did with this imperfect human and trust God to do the same in us. Peter was the first leader of the church who cared for the flock entrusted to Him by Jesus. We will all have our good Peter moments and bad ones too, but like Peter we have the opportunities of forgiveness, unconditional love, growth and service.
7th April 2022
Matthew 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
We are all in relationships of one type or another all our lives and that means we rub up against each other and things can become difficult or even explosive. Families, friendships, marriages can all end up being spoiled because as humans we all get angry. Be honest, who hasn’t held a grudge, judged others, been angry with someone. We all have things in our lives which need to be forgiven and healed, as well as things which need to be concluded and fixed. We are all subject to wounding by others and we have all dished out a few wounds ourselves. This cuts deep; how can we ever find all those people we have hurt in some way and apologise? How can we be expected to even remember them all, let alone be able to find them and sort the issue out? We, quite simply, cannot. People will be long gone from our lives, we cannot find them all or remember them all, so to make amends we start with ourselves. Can we begin to let go of the pain we have? Begin to allow God’s healing of our wounds? We need to give these things over to God, pray them out to Him. As we do this, we will begin to have the capacity to forgive others, to realise that each of us does exactly what we judge others for, and this begins a change in ourselves and in others because as we change, it radiates outward and touches others as well.
6th April 2022
Luke 5:31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
It is the sick who need a doctor, we seek the expertise and treatment of a doctor when we are unwell. We realise our need and do something about it. Jesus came for sinners, for everyone who recognised they were in need of help! Jesus called a Tax collector to be a disciple. They were the lowest of the low, so the onlookers criticised Him for the company He kept. Jesus was a light in a dark world, He still is today. Jesus said to Levi, also called Matthew, Follow Me! This was not about following Him along a physical path as such, but following Jesus completely in every part of life; it involves complete surrender and it is scary. Yes, Jesus will lead the way but it will be difficult, it will require everything we can give, it will not be straight or easy. Levi does not hesitate, he gets up, leaves everything and follows Jesus. This is bold, prompted and energised by the Holy Spirit. What about us? Do we get up and follow? Often, we procrastinate; can I do it later God? I will follow when I have more time, when the family have left home, when I retire, but not right now as life is too busy. Jesus is calling us right now. What is our response? Our heart says yes, our head says no, it’s too uncertain, I am not quite sure, I can’t take the risk. The call to us is the same as it was to Levi, Follow me! Are we ready to accept this call? Are we ready to accept that as the sick need a doctor so we need Jesus? Having someone to follow when you don’t know the way is comforting and helpful. Jesus is the one who says follow me, we decide whether we will follow or not.
5th April 2022
Exodus 1:11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
When you see pictures of people in small boats crossing the channel, what do you see? What do you think? Do you look down on them, see them as scroungers coming to take our jobs, our homes? Why do we see them differently from Ukrainian refugees? Injustice and unfairness start with our thoughts and then our words. It starts when we look at another human and see them as less than us, we see less worthy, less entitled to love, compassion, dignity, we make them less human because they are not us. Once we think these things and then vocalise them, share them on social media, actions follow. Our “taking back of our country” has turned us from a country of welcome and compassion to one of xenophobia and fascism. Leaders who see a way to manipulate our fears by turning us against our neighbour, while keeping themselves in power and hiding the real truth. Lying, drip feeding lies so that it becomes a fake truth which promoted even more fear and suspicion. The people of Israel experienced this, from welcome and honoured guests in Egypt they quickly became slaves, perceived as a threat, manipulated by fear and lies they were turned upon. They were seen as less than the national people and so were maltreated. We must not let our thoughts be manipulated by fear, by lies and by those who would scapegoat the “other” so as to remain powerful and popular.
4th April 2022
Deuteronomy 10: 13 Observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good and the good of all.
I get very cross when I see people who have broken the law get away with it. I especially find the fact that money and power seem to get a person out of being prosecuted a really difficult thing to cope with. No one is above the law! We have laws to preserve our freedoms and to allow us to live in safety. Laws are supposed to stop injustice, unfairness, the oppression of people. Laws should allow us all to flourish, but the law cannot deliver this just, fair society alone. The law makes it possible but only when the underlying attitude is a good one. What lies behind laws are the need to care for the poor, to help the stranger in need, to not allow the powerful and wealthy to become so dominant that everyone else suffers. We must treat each other well, not because the law says so but because every human is made in the image of God and every human is loved equally and unconditionally by God. Our response to God’s unconditional love for us must be a love for our neighbour, a concern for their wellbeing, their needs both physical and spiritual. In loving and serving God we love and serve our neighbour whether down the street, on the street, refugee, homeless, sick, black, white, rich, poor, male, female, child or adult; everyone a child of God.
3rd April 2022
Leviticus 25:10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.
This year we celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The term Jubilee comes from the Old Testament. As the people came to the Promised Land there was the importance of work and law, BUT also the importance of resting regularly, 1 in 7 days for the people and 1 in 7 years for the land and then after 7 x 7, 49 years, Jubilee, the 50th year, saw the writing off of debt, the return of land to the original owners, a resetting of the economic and social clock every 50 years. This was a way of starting afresh when mistakes have been made and starting a better future with lessons learned. It also encouraged the redistribution of wealth, so all had enough and no one horded wealth whilst others starved. We use Jubilee to celebrate 50 or more years of someone or something. Very quickly the writing off of debt, redistribution of wealth and return of land were forgotten. Those with are not going to give it back, their wealth means power, power to maintain their wealth and keep others down. As we celebrate 70 years of our Queen, perhaps we can be involved in more of the true meaning of Jubilee, of not hoarding our wealth while others starve, of returning things to their rightful owners, of not allowing our wealthy to dictate laws which favour only them. We can act in the way of Jubilee and remind others of its true meaning.
2nd April 2022
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.
Esther was a brave woman when women were not allowed to do anything. She was prepared to step out in faith, supported by the prayers and fasting of the Jews. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament there are supplementary texts which show Esther and her family petitioning God for the opportunity for Esther to speak to the King about the treatment of the Jews. In doing this she is risking her life and yet as she prays and asks, it happens and she receives; the opportunity opens up to her. Jesus also tells us that we should ask and receive as well as seek and knock. He uses the illustration of parents and children to get His point across. If we, as parents, will do the best for our children, how much more will God, our Heavenly Father, do the best for us. Esther knew she could not do her task alone, she needed God, she needed support, so, she asked for help and received it. God has our best interests at heart, so we need to ask, seek and knock knowing and believing that the best will always be done for us. Esther had the prayer support of her people, we have the prayer support of family, friends and church people. I have often heard prayer support described as a wrapping around, surrounding and supporting the other. May that be our experience.
1st April 2022
Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
There is an old quote that timing is everything. Jesus has been threatened and yet He continues to come into Jerusalem, He even proclaims that the time, His time has come. This is a time critical event and a time critical response. Repentance, turning from sin, needs to be done while the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Noah had experienced a time limited offer with the flood, he had listened to God, he acted built the ark, took his family and was saved. The mark of this story is the rainbow. Even today with all we have people still stop and stare at a rainbow, they still take photos and share them on social media. Even today people notice a rainbow and recognise it as a sign in the sky. As the beautiful colours spread across the sky, we marvel in this beautiful expression of God’s promise to never again destroy His creation. We live in a fallen world; we are daily attacked by the sin around us and we cannot be in total control of all that happens. BUT, God is in control and only He can give us the meaning and purpose to our lives through Jesus. We can only have this forgiveness, this meaning and purpose when we repent and believe the good news. Try to recall the last time you saw a Rainbow and how it made you feel, let that help you to remember some of the promises of God.
31st March 2022
1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and rest well, just as we told you.
I am currently looking forward to a few days off and away to a hotel. These breaks were not possible during the first year or so of the pandemic and I really missed those few days change and rest. Getting away to somewhere different, sleeping in a bed someone else makes, eating food someone else cooks and just visiting places and resting makes a real difference. We become so overrun in daily life that it becomes like a treadmill that never stops and we just keep going becoming more and more weary and struggling to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Being able to physically stop, to not have to deal with everything but instead rest and do some mindless or different activities just for fun is great for our physical and mental health. We need to do things for fun, for enjoyment. We need to expand our horizons and our experiences; we need to experience something other than work and home. God is generous with everything, and He is generous in telling us to take time, to rest and recuperate. Humans were never created to just keep going, but were created to balance living with resting. We are to both serve others and enjoy our God given life. God gave us life as a gift and He wants us to enjoy it.
30th March 2022
2 Samuel 8:15 David ruled over all of Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly.
Everyone of us, particularly as children, have said time and again, “It’s not fair!” When I would say it as a child my father would reply, “life’s not fair”, and as much as I did not want to hear that, it is true. We have created a world where life for the majority is not fair! While the few become richer and more powerful, the majority do not. Recent reports have said that we are now in a worse situation for the average person than since just after the end of World War 2, and there was still rationing then!!! More people now live in poverty, rely on foodbanks, can’t afford household bills or to feed or clothe their families. This is simply not fair. It has been created by the wealthy and powerful who have no worries and thus no empathy for anyone else, they are not interested in anyone but themselves. Wealth is not shared but gathered by the few, unfairly lining their pockets with the hard work of the ordinary people. Even though we celebrate mothering Sunday the position of mother’s women and girls has worsened. Just look at the leaders of the nations and see just one woman in a sea of men, Afghan girls forbidden access to schools. LGBTQ+ people are still barred from certain places and roles because of who they love, people starving to death even though there is more than enough food for all. The wealthy and powerful dictate their own way and as a result the world is an increasingly unfair place. King David’s rule was often categorised by his fairness and equity to all his people whether rich or poor, male or female. Being fair starts with us and our attitude to others, if we are selfish, care little for others and are only interested in lining our own pockets, then fairness can never be achieved. We need a vision of fairness, respect for every human being, the desire for everyone to be equal and live equitably. Our words, our actions, need to be fair, right and true through out our life so we fight for a fairer society where everyone has enough and is treated equally.
29th March 2022
Luke 13: 19 The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.
Sometimes we all get to the stage where we think, what is the point. I have been giving to the food bank for years and there are now even more people having to use them or I have been writing to my MP over important issues and nothing seems to change. Sometimes we feel as if we are just getting nowhere, like walking through treacle my grandad used to say. Jesus tells many parables about the little things which go on to do amazing big things. The little seed which grows into a huge bush which then becomes food and shelter for birds and creatures. At the time of Jesus there were 12 disciples and various followers, yet they became a worldwide religion. From the small acorn the mighty oak grows. Nothing we do for God is pointless. Everything we say, we do, we work on, has value, and is used by God. We may never the results, but God uses us. You may never see the person serving as a doctor or nurse because of something you did or said. You may never know about the child you sponsored who became a social worker, engineer, carer etc. Be encouraged, nothing you or I do for God is wasted. He uses it all and it all brings glory to Him, so please do not give up and try to always remember there is always a point and God has it in hand.
28th March 2022
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
One of the most difficult things about grief is the blame we place on ourselves or that others unjustly place on us. We all believe we could have or should have done more for someone or their family, we are plagued by thinking we should have visited more, phoned more, send cards or flowers regularly, and sometimes families in grief will lash out and say why didn’t you… It is a painful time. What we need to remember is that often people do not want us there constantly, they may well not tell us the severity of their condition, they may want peace and quiet and often even their families do not know exactly how they feel or what they want because the person may not want to upset them. All we can ever do for someone is our best to love them, pray for them, offer them help without pushing too hard, accept that they may not want to see us or speak on the phone to us and realise that just because we think we haven’t done enough, that is not necessarily true. We are not perfect; we cannot do everything, and we are not responsible for other people’s actions or reactions. As long as we have tried our best, we can be secure in the knowledge that God has ministered to them through us and be comforted in our grief.
27th March 2022
John 19:25b Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Mothering Sunday can be a special day for some and very difficult for others. For those who are not Mum’s, for whatever reason, for those who have lost their Mum’s bless you. One thing all of us have in common is we are all children. Children like to be watched and seen by their parents and family. I expect many of you spend a lot of time saying Mum, Dad, come and see this, watch what I can do, look at me… and they watch and look and see and they love it. They love you. Women, girls and Mum’s actually don’t get seen. They are often invisible. In many places girls never become visible at all, stopped from going to school or working because they are female. Mum’s become invisible to their families, their children, husbands, partners. They become just a pair of hands to fix this, tie that, open this, wash that, clean up, feed me, get my, change me, take me, find the, shop, cook, provide and are taken for granted. Women, girls and mums get lost in a role given to them by society who rather than treasure and value them, criticise them, make them out to be weak, and keep women in the invisible place they want them. I am sad to say that the role of girls, women and Mum’s has been dictated by a male dominated society since time began. Mum’s, girls, women, aunts, cousins, God sees you and all you do and just how wonderful and valuable you are. God made the equality of everyone completely clear to us and yet so many of us have been disrespectful and have lessened the role of women, of Mum’s, of girls and made them invisible. Being female, being a mum is not being second class, we are special and were created by God to play our part in an equal society. That society has taken that specialness away. In God’s eyes we are special, we are loved, we are valued and appreciated.
26th March 2022
Luke 13:2 “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no!
No matter how hard we try part of us always thinks that perhaps someone who is hurt or suffers deserves it for some reason. We like to try and justify bad things happening. Sadly, in our imperfect world, bad things happen and they happen to everyone whether good or bad. We live in a fallen world, that means that all of the world, creation, life, governments, people are impacted by bad as well as good. It means there is disease, there are those who defraud and cheat under cover of authority, there are incurable illnesses, there is war, famine, storms, droughts, pandemics and people suffer whether they are good or bad. The pandemic has seen many NHS workers give their lives treating covid patients. We are seeing men women and children being slaughtered in war because of lies and manipulation by the powerful. We want to see the wicked suffer not the innocent, we want to see the liars and cheaters punished and not the truthful. Those who suffer are no more sinners than anyone else and we need to recognise that. We need to accept that if we want something done to make things right, to challenge wrongdoing and unfairness then we have to play our part and not just expect it to change because we pray. Yes, we must pray and our prayers do change things but our action, our willingness to challenge and stand for justice, that has an impact too. God calls us not only to pray for a solution but to be part of that solution. May we be Christians of prayer and of action!
25th March 2022
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all equal in Christ Jesus.
There is a wonderful book, also now a film, called The Shack. It explores God in some diverse ways, meeting someone in desperate need in ways that are different but completely needed by him. One of the most wonderful parts is when the central character meets God; expecting, as we all do, a bearded white grandad figure, she is actually a black woman standing by the sink in the kitchen. Within black, feminist theology God can be seen as the sacred black feminine, the God who is with and for black women because she is a black woman who stands for black women in a society where currently they exist below white men, black men and white women in the established pecking order of society and, very sadly, the church which lowers women and black women to the bottom of the pile. Seeing God as our gender, our race, our class, declares that we are all sacred, we all matter, we are all equal before God. Of course, the majority of males do not give any credence to this type of theology as it challenges their superiority and both male dominated church and society will never allow anything that takes away it’s usual and accepted traditions and power base, even when they maybe wrong. You and I may struggle with God as a black woman, but perhaps if we see God as our gender, our age, our class, our colour, we may find more confidence in our God given equal place in both society and church.
24th March 2022
Romans 14:10 But why do you judge your brother? or why do you look down upon another? for we will all answer for this behaviour before Christ.
We have all heard that old comment about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand them a little, sadly it has become a joke by adding that you are a mile away and have their shoes so what can they do. I know people like to be funny, but in doing that here you take away the importance of realising how people’s situations and experiences affect how they live and how they respond. If I know someone has a background of abuse, I will make allowances in relationships and reactions, if I know someone has been seriously Ill, I will make allowances as to their responses and reactions, If I know someone has been let down time and again then I understand why they are loathed to trust and so enable trust to happen. We are all products of our upbringing, our experiences and often we react to a situation because of those past experiences. If we are once again just written off or treated badly, it is not surprising when we become negative over things. We will all answer before God for our behaviour, for how we treat others, for not giving others the benefit of the doubt which God gives to us daily. We must always hold the thought in our mind and heart that the reaction we see, may well be because what we have had said or done has touched a nerve or opened an old wound. A little less self and a little more of God’s love will change their world, and ours for the better.
23rd March 2022
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
There are a plethora of books and stories about people being forced to live alone, Robinson Crusoe, Life of Pi, Cast Away, Moon to name a few. The common theme across all of them is the desire to find someone else, to find companionship and friendship again. These stories present us with a realisation that human’s need each other and that we often take this companionship for granted. Right at the beginning of the Bible God says it is not good for humans to be alone. We are not designed to be alone and because we are all different, all unique, we need each other’s gifts, talents, strengths and abilities to enable our world to function. The idea of the one body, many parts is a Biblical picture of this. We cannot all be hands, or feet, or noses, or mouths etc. We need to appreciate that in life we cannot all be nurses, teachers, bus drivers, engineers, care workers, shop assistants….. but we all need all these folk and we each have a skill set which makes us a part of this necessary whole. From the most senior to the most junior, no one has the right to look down on anyone else’s skills, talents and abilities. Each of us has a God given part to play and each of us is needed to make that work. Remove one small seemingly insignificant part from an engine and it stops working. Put the wrong size cog in a machine and it causes damage and loss of function. Each of us have a vital role to play in life, in family, in friendships, in society. Archbishop Desmond Tutu would often speak of Ubuntu, which translated means I am because we are! A way of living where only in terms of other people does the individual become conscious of their own being, gifts, abilities and their responsibility to others.
22nd March 2022
Luke 13:31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."
Whenever we journey from one place to another we pass through places, we travel up and down, sometimes we are held up and sometimes we move swiftly. The Gospel readings during Lent follow the physical journey of Jesus starting at the Jordan river, as he moves through Galilee and Judea on his way to Jerusalem. Jesus passed through Galilee, the territory of Herod. He was warned by the Pharisees that he should leave because he was in danger of being killed. But Jesus had no intention of leaving. He kept doing what he does, healing and teaching. He knew He had nothing to fear because the final act hadn’t started yet. Jesus had seen this story unfold from the beginning. For hundreds of years, he had watched as his prophets made this journey only to meet their end in Jerusalem. Any epic journey does not end on the fringes, the climactic scene for Jesus isn’t going happen out there in the provinces. It will end in Jerusalem. During Lent, we travel with Jesus along His chosen path. We know what is going to happen, God has written the script and we are following Jesus as He gives all to save us.
21st March 2022
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Currently we are seeing the results of powerful people never being told no! As a result, they believe they are always right and that anything they do is okay. The result is war, unnecessary death and suffering. People who were free are now dictated to. What is being done to others in Ukraine is not something Putin would want done to him but as he is safe, protected and has no compassion or empathy, it does not affect him. If he were living a normal life, if he were not protected, if he had to offer his own life and not that of soldiers or ordinary people, he would behave very differently. The results of absolute power, wealth and status which are completely protected and unchallenged mean that reality is lost and the desire to take and keep and gain more takes over. In normal life, where we work alongside each other, live alongside each other; respect, compassion and empathy demand that we treat others as we would like and expect to be treated. If I am rude, selfish and greedy then others will find it hard to treat me well but many will try anyway. Why should anyone be nice to me if I cannot be kind or civil to them, and yet so many are kind, caring, respectful of others even when they are maltreated. Jesus is the chief example of this, and our world only works if we look after each other as God commanded of us. It speaks volumes that every world religion has a version of the golden rule within their teaching. The need to ally ourselves with how others think and feel, allows us to realise the need for all humans to be treated with respect, compassion and empathy, just as we would like to be treated. Let us never become so cut off from reality that we lose our empathy, our compassion and respect for others as well as ourselves.
20th March 2022
Esther 4:17 Remember, Lord, reveal yourself in the time of distress.
In the story of Esther, time and again the willfully evil man seems to triumph. His wicked plans make him powerful and wealthy and seem to always work even though they are evil. The prayers of Esther, her family and her people seem to go unheard and unnoticed. Esther takes risks to do what she believes is right before God. In the midst of what seems insurmountable the prayers are heard and are being answered, but God’s ways are not ours and His answers often come unexpectedly and differently to what we expect. Esther cries out, remember, Lord, reveal yourself, do something! Many of our prayers will be like this one, particularly with regard to current events in Ukraine. As the willfully evil leader pushes to make himself more powerful, wealthier at a cost to everyone but himself. He is seemingly succeeding and all we can do is cry out, Remember, Lord, reveal yourself in this time of war and do something!!!! We cry out, we pray and we must keep doing so, keep helping where we can, doing what we can and knowing that our prayers are not in vain, they are being and will be both heard and answered. We must not give up! Esther’s world changes in the light of prayer and so will ours. Be encouraged, do not give up, keep praying and know God is hearing, God is doing and God is answering.
19th March 2022
1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
The trouble with lending things to people, or letting then use something of yours is that often it is not returned to you as it was. I was always brought up to leave a place as you found it or return something in the condition it was lent to you. Day after day in school I have to put chairs back because classes move them and don’t put them back. In church often the piano, the screen or chairs are moved to accommodate a group but then not put back, just left. I don’t think it is necessarily done on purpose but I think people just don’t respect other people’s property anymore. The pristine book, lent to a friend that is returned dog eared and with a coffee stain, the borrowed tools returned rusted and damaged, the mower returned now emptied of petrol. There is little regard for other people’s belonging’s, perhaps a consequence of our throw away society. We are all guilty of it, we are all good at not returning God’s creation to what it was, but rather our lack of respect means damage to land, sea, animals, birds and fish as well as humanity; particularly the poor. We are just not respectful enough of what God has given to us to look after. We have been asked and blessed by God to be His stewards and caretakers of our planet, of our gifts and talents; instead we have purged, ruined and spoilt our world, all for our own gain and greed. We really must change our habits and ask God’s forgiveness as we learn to respect and return God’s blessing to Him as we found it.
18th March 2022
Luke 13:34b How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
There are many images of God and Jesus in the Bible, one of the least remembered is that of the mother hen caring for her wayward chicks. God is like a mother hen and we are like chicks in need of gathering. Chicks move swiftly in whatever direction strikes them as interesting at that moment in time. They are totally random in their movements; they are the essence of free will. Most parents, aunts and uncles and family members can relate to a mother hen. When kids are toddlers, it is a constant battle to keep up with them as they run in every direction, on a playground, in a park or at the shops. As they become young adults, we try as best as we can to keep track of them. Like a mother hen, we run in circles trying to gather them in, circles that grow wider and wider until we can no longer keep up with them. We have our moments of lament, as our chicks stop listening and go astray. But no matter where they go or how far they may drift, we are still prepared to step in front of them and spread our wings to protect our loved ones against any danger. Jesus is our mother hen, gathering us to Him. And when danger appears, He will protect His chicks. It is a very moving image. A maternal side to Jesus we don’t discuss very often. A mother hen is not the fighter who always emerges victorious, she can only stand in front of the danger, spread her wings, and offer herself out of complete love, in defense of her young. Jesus spreads His wings on a cross and offers Himself out of love, to save His children. Like a mother hen would do.
17th March 2022
Galatians 5:9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.
I am not a regular bread maker but have done so on may occasions. I do like seeing the dough rise and doubling in size, it is almost magical, but it is a chemical reaction caused by yeast. The importance of yeast in bread cannot be stressed enough. On one occasion I used some old dried yeast as I was unable to get any fresh. I mixed it and worked the dough and left it to prove, it did not double in size, it did not even grow at all and I was left with a solid brick like texture with no air inside, both heavy and hard. When yeast is fresh and new you only need a small amount to work through the dough. It reacts and releases the bubbles into the dough causing it to expand, to grow and be light and full of air. This makes it wonderful to eat. Only a small amount of yeast is needed to make a difference. We often feel we are too small, insignificant and that we cannot make a difference, but, like yeast, if we are fresh and full of God then we can make a difference. We can sow love, compassion, joy and peace in every situation, but we need to have it working in us to spread it to those around us. Daily prayer and Bible reading keep our faith fresh and our relationship with God strong, this will make a difference everywhere we go in life.
16th March 2022
Luke 13:22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
We all like heroic stories, difficult journeys, adversity waiting at every turn, its why film makers make them. Stories like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter have become ever popular. Each has an epic quality, usually starting humbly but building over time as the hero travels to the climactic finale where good vanquishes evil. On Ash Wednesday, we began a six-week spiritual and liturgical journey, Lent. We are early on in this journey but it is a familiar path and we know exactly where we are headed. Waiting for us at the end is the climactic finale of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is an epic story; one we know well. We’ve read the book. We’ve seen the Hollywood movies. Along this path lies pain, suffering and death. In a classic heroic epic, our hero would be driven by anger, perhaps revenge, and settling scores on their journey to the final battle. Jesus has seen how his prophets were ignored and killed. He knows what his enemies have planned for him, but there is no anger, no attack, no revenge. Instead, Jesus laments, He is broken by the brokenness of the world and seeks only to bring healing and love to all. Our Hero will die on the cross on Good Friday but He will also rise again on Easter Sunday after breaking the hold of death on all of us who choose to follow Him.
15th March 2022
Psalm 42:9 Deep calls to deep in the thunder of your waterfalls, all your breakers and waves have gone over me.
I have always loved the sea, standing and watching waves break on sand or shingle, when it is stormy, you can see the power of the waves. I will happily attempt to swim in the sea even when it is windy and the breakers are high. I have been tossed about, got a few scrapes and bruises and even been sunk down quite violently, coming up spluttering for air. We cannot control these waves even if we would like to think we can, but the fact we have lifeboats all round the coast, proves that water, sea, breakers and waves cannot be controlled and can damage boats and ships as well as tow people into danger by the undercurrents. At times life is like this, breakers and waves come over us, the seem to flatten us, sink us, we seemed to be towed out into danger by life’s undercurrents, and we wonder, where is God? I have, over the years, learnt that God is the lifebelt, the wetsuit, the buoyancy aid that keeps us afloat and always returns us to the surface and the shore. Within God’s beautiful creation is power, within the creative is also the ability for destruction. We cannot tame God or nature and creation but we can hold onto God and allow Him to raise us from the deep time and again.
14th March 2022
Luke 4:1&2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil.
We all have wilderness times, times when we seem to be in the desert and we feel dragged down and struggling with life. Problems seem harder to cope with than normal. As with so many things in life Jesus knows how we feel and has been through it Himself. In the desert, Satan tempted Jesus to doubt himself and who he was. He tempted Jesus to abandon the love and calling from God. The devil tempted him with food, popularity, and power. He made it seem that everything would have been easier for Jesus if he’d just give in and take what Satan offered him. We know that Jesus did not give in. Jesus relied on God’s word to stand up to these temptations. So often we feel that it would be easier to give in and take what is offered. We are tempted, these temptations often urge us to try to take the easy way out of a hard situation. Just a little lie, no one will know, just declare more on my expenses that I spent, no one will know. Why spend money on something I want when I can just take it? Why be nice to someone I don’t like when it’s easier to just be mean to them instead? Why do our chores if we can get away with not doing them? Why? Because we know that it is the right thing to do and it is what God asks of us. God will help us resist temptation if we ask Him, and just like Jesus, we can rely on his word, the Bible, to give us the power to make wise choices and do the right thing.
13th March 2022
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of humans, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Do you remember the times when your children, or you, stamped their foot and shouted “it’s not fair”. They couldn’t have their favourite ice cream, or TV programme. They could not go and play at a friends house or spend their pocket money. For me, it was me, as the girl, expected to wash up after meals while my brother always disappeared and did nothing. Even as we grow up, we might not stamp the foot but we still think “it’s not fair” when we don’t get an interview, or the job, when the bills go up and our pay doesn’t, when liars and cheats just keep getting away with things and we know we would be prosecuted and punished for, when our government behaves in a totally selfish manner and is not held to account by the very processes supposed to protect our democracy. “It’s not fair” we think or say out loud. Sadly, unfairness is a huge part of life, it is actually more common now than fairness. When we express this deep feeling of unfairness it is as if something within us harks back to when things were fair, when everyone was equal, except that has not been case since humans turned their back on God at Creation. Deep within us, as created beings, there is a longing for that fairness, for that equality that was God’s intention for us and for our world. It is the same inner desire that sees the unjust war in Ukraine and wants punishment for the aggressor and safety for the people who have done nothing to cause this. It is the same inner desire that sees the children starve in Africa or die from dirty water because they do not have access to all that we have, and we want to help. Life in our world is not fair, God did not create it that way, we created the unfairness and it us who can do something about it if we are willing.
12th March 2022
Luke 3:22b And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
We all like to have things confirmed, that we are at the right address, we are on the right road, we are good at our job and so on. Even Jesus had confirmation of His calling firstly at His Baptism and then as He is led into the desert or wilderness for 40 days. At the moment of his baptism, Jesus experienced the confirmation of His calling; the Holy Spirit had descended upon him and God the Father had proclaimed His love for His Son. After that, Jesus is led into the desert to prepare for his life of ministry. The Holy Spirit can also lead us into solitary places with the purposes of making us rest and prepare for greater events to come and to contemplate and pray, to seek God. It is why those who are being ordained go on retreat before ordination. It gives time to listen and be quiet. All of us have this time of Lent to do the same. Giving things up allows a person to concentrate more upon God and to seek the way forward. It is a giving up of Earthly things so we can concentrate on our relationship with God and our calling. Jesus took 40 days; time apart to prepare for His earthly mission. Let us take the forty days of Lent to re-dedicate our lives to God. Take quiet times to read our Bibles, learn what it says about things. Giving up things so we can grow closer to God, preparing us for the mission set before us. Use this Lent to prepare, to learn, to be challenged, to seek, serve and follow Jesus.
11th March 2022
Genesis 3: 17b Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
I was reading an article recently about our “Broken World”. This piece was showing how we actually have more than enough food for everyone, more than enough living space for everyone and how the inequalities of nations, people and cultures have caused the catastrophic affects we are seeing. The greed of the few has caused an incredible imbalance in nature and resources, leaving much of the poorer world even more damaged and broken. It is now undeniable that climate change is happening, and we are the main cause. Where did this brokenness happen? It might be a simple story but in Genesis we are shown the human desires for power and control, the want to decide their own morals and practices and the desire to excerpt power over each other as a sign of success. This rebellion against the truth and harmony of a life with God, a life of equality for everyone, where everyone has enough, took us from abundance to hard work, from equality to dominance of the few over the rest, to broken relationships with God and with one another and all this has had a devastating impact on the world, on creation, on animals and plants who never had a choice. This brokenness, of the world and us, is exactly what Jesus came for. He took the brokenness of humanity upon Himself, on a cross, so that the relationship could be restored. This option is still available but is regularly tossed aside in Humanities belief in its superiority and greed. For those of us who chose God’s way we do what we can, in God’s name, to change what we can, but it starts with us, with you and me and our relationship first with God and then with one another.
10th March 2022
Luke 4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Do you ever think about that little word if? It is a word that even though it is very small can cause enormous fallout. When Jesus is tempted by Satan, he uses the if word every time he tries to tempt Jesus. That little word if, casts doubt, it makes you wonder if you are right, self-confidence is lost. We have all experienced that. Jesus is very clear in His rebuttal, it is written, no ifs no buts, it is written or it is said. We also see how Satan even uses words from the Bible to tempt Jesus. That shows us that words out of context are very dangerous and we need to know what the Bible says. If Satan does this type of temptation to Jesus, he is going to do it to us. And we can say, it is written…. We don’t have to know chapter and verse, just know what God said, what Jesus said and speak it out. It is written we must not lie, steal, judge, hurt, get angry, dishonour, abuse strangers, cheat, abuse our bodies…. Remember, when Jesus was tempted, he turned to Scripture to help him resist Satan. You and I should do the same thing. It isn't a sin to be tempted, Jesus himself was tempted. It is only sin if we then do what we are tempted to do even though we know it is wrong.
9th March 2022
Matthew 6:27 Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?
My husband often tells the same jokes over again, particularly when we move parishes. As I have heard them so many times I don’t really laugh anymore, and as they come round again people might politely smile or nod, but they don’t laugh at the same jokes, they want something new. Let’s turn this on its head. We don’t laugh at the same jokes when they are repeated but we do cry at the same issues, when they are repeated, we get angry at the same problems when they are repeated, we bristle at the same people who have been rubbing us the wrong way for years. What’s the difference? We do like to harp on about things, we do like to have things to worry about and argue about, but actually worrying over the same things just expends energy and changes nothing. Not worrying is hard, we have been doing it all our lives, but we cannot add time or blessing to our lives through worry, actually we may well be shortening our lives through worry. Sometimes we can actively change things but the effort is too much and we do rather like to have something to worry about, to tell people we are struggling with. The message from God is clear, we must commit these things to Him, do what we can to change it and begin to move on from the same old, same old.
8th March 2022
Philippians 4:7 And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds keeping them safe in union with Christ Jesus.
Just one tap in the wrong place and suddenly you can’t find something on the computer, your TV is on some random channel or different operating system, your alarm doesn’t do off, the house alarm does go off when you are there, the washing machine just stops, the lights go out, the hoover blows rather than sucks…… one little tap or finger in the wrong place and chaos happens. This shows us that even the littlest of things that we see as unimportant can actually have a huge effect. Sometime called the butterfly effect, it shows us that even the smallest of actions or words have consequences. That criticism, that not turning up, that missing an appointment, that phone call we didn’t take, that look of anger to a stranger, that laughter at an inappropriate time, that not listening to someone, that being preoccupied when working or driving. So many little things which can have an enormous effect. We are told so many times in the Bible to guard ourselves, our hearts and minds, against these distractions and little things. What might seem small to us can have a catastrophic effect on others as well as ourselves. It is so easy for bad things to happen when we are distracted, when we do not guard ourselves against the things in life sent to trip us up. We need to keep our hearts and minds on and in Jesus where they guarded and protected.
7th March 2022
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
I am going to ask you a rather strange question. In life are you like potatoes, eggs, or coffee beans? I ask because this is all about how we respond to life and its’ problems. If you place each of these in boiling water the reaction is very different. A hard, unyielding potato will become soft and weak in the boiling water. A soft fragile egg with a thin shell will become hard and strong in the boiling water and coffee beans will take the water and create something new, a pleasant cup of coffee. As we face issues in life, we can react in anyone of these ways, we can yield to it and go soft, or we can harden to it and become unyielding, or we can allow it to work on us and change us into something new. It is easy to put up the walls and protect ourselves when things go wrong or to just let it happen, but it is far more beneficial and useful if we can adapt, use the adversity to change us and let us be more creative as we come out the other side. It is the old idea of leaning into those things we struggle with, allow ourselves to be changed and shaped instead of losing ourselves or becoming hard. God created us with the ability to change, to try new things and to adapt to our surroundings.
6th March 2022
Jeremiah 9:23 Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches.
Do you watch The Apprentice? I must admit I have a love, hate relationship with it, but it is easy to get drawn in. I find some of the people very difficult to like, their behaviour is so self-centered, blame is on everyone but them, no willingness to accept when they are wrong and constant arrogance. There is a real sense of self belief which a person has to have to be involved in this programme. They are incessant talkers who state the obvious. When they come up against the real professionals, they really do look silly. The skills they say they have in spades, seem to be very sadly lacking. What I find so sad is that these arrogant selfish attributes are now valued over truth, honesty, respect, humility and compassion in our society. But God is looking for these good attributes in us, He longs for us to work together, to lift each other up, to be truthful, compassionate and encouragers of each other. Why do we lap these programmes up? Do we like to watch others doing what we can’t get away with? We really need more programmes that show the compassion, the humility, the honesty and how that enables people to progress in life without being loud, aggressive show offs.
5th March 2022
Philippians 2: 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death; even death on a cross!
Much of life is a journey, going from A to B, B to C and so on. Just like with any journey we want to go the fastest route, to get to the end, and we are not always ready to make the necessary preparations. As with physical journeys we can get diverted, road closures, hold ups, we have to turn back on ourselves or change direction. All of this challenges us, but it also helps us develop resilience and prepares us for our goal. Jesus’ preparation for His goal took Him through birth as a human, family life, humility, servanthood, persecution, trial, lies and maltreatment to arrive at the cross and death. This was an incredibly difficult journey and death was not the ultimate goal. Beyond death and the defeat of it was eternal life in Heaven, not just for Jesus but for all His followers. That was the goal. To get to this point took huge amounts of patience, tolerance, respect, compassion and learning; He was taken to the limits of His being in preparation for the cross and in preparation for defeating death. As we prepare for Easter, we have the 6 weeks of Lent, from Shrove Tuesday and giving things up, through Ash Wednesday where we admit our faults and desire to change. We go through tests and trials as well as good days like Mothering Sunday. We arrive at Palm Sunday and experience the celebration and rush of support and on through Holy Week; despair, rejection, loss, betrayal and finally to the cross. It is a journey of pain, of hurt and of learning. It prepares us for the coming season of Easter. A recognition of the defeat of Death and the reality of eternal life in Jesus. Lent offers us the opportunities to give up things that drag us down, to spend more time with God, learning to become better people who are prepared for the changing directions of life. In this journey towards Easter may we desire to learn, to improve and to look towards the goal with God given strength and hope.
4th March 2022
Isaiah 44:21 I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. Always remember, you are not forgotten. Not by God.
How good are you at forgetting? I find as I get older, I forget a lot of things very quickly. In life many organisations and politicians want us to forget things very quickly. We are constantly being gaslighted into believing that the situation has changed and there is nothing to see here, so move on folks. Research suggests that that for most things we forget in 3 to 6 months. In the current climate our political leaders are really hoping we will forget the illegal parties, the illegal contracts, the huge death toll, the loss of our freedoms and signs are this is already happening. By kicking things into the long grass, always being told to wait for reports that are never released, we begin to forget. If we are okay and have what we need and are comfortable we very quickly forget about those who do not, those who are hungry, homeless, cold, lonely and those who getting richer at the expense of those who are poor and of us. We all have selective memory when it comes to ourselves, God does not. He remembers our selfishness, our disregard of the poor and needy and the plain greed many of us exhibit. We must not forget the wrong doing, the lies and the fraud, we must not forget the disregard for others and we must challenge those who think they can get away with it because God won’t disregard it and neither must we.
3rd March 2022
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
The way we dress tends to reflect what we going to do or where we are going. We all have smart clothes, casual clothes, clothes for the gym or a run, clothes for the beach, clothes for bad weather….. our attire can often be an indication of our activity. Armour is a covering used to protect a person, animal, vehicle or object from physical injury in a potentially harmful situation such as a battle. Early armour was made from leather, skins, wadding and wooden shields. But the working of metal gave rise to helmets, chain mail and plate metal coverings. The point was to clothe oneself against harm. Today armour comes in the form of Kevlar vests, flak jackets and polycarbonate shields. The point is still effective protection for the body. St Paul used this practical idea to help us understand about protecting ourselves spiritually and mentally as well as physically. As we have seen over the pandemic mental health and wellbeing have suffered. Paul offers us a pointed strategy to protect ourselves by putting on the armour of God. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. These are the tools of protection for our everyday living. Truth, honesty, right living, people of peace and faith who know the promises of God and know His protection and presence with us. In an ideal, perfect world this would not be necessary, but our world is far from perfect so we need all the help and protection we can get. When the slings and arrows of life come at us, when we are shot down with words, lies and broken promises, when we are struck by insults and social media trolling; the armour of God is there to protect us, to allow us to be who we are and give us the courage to keep going and to ask for help when we need it.
2nd March 2022
Luke 17:3b If there is repentance then you must forgive.
I note on many TV shows these days, the words “can you forgive me” are used quite a lot. So often this results in everyone being happy and friends again but the reality is far from this. Forgiving someone takes a huge amount of emotional energy and is usually tied up with feelings of hurt and betrayal. We don’t just get over these. Once trust is lost, we struggle to trust again. Yet the Bible is very clear that we must forgive, even if the offence is repeated. God is so free with His forgiveness to us that we must do the same. But there is always something tied to forgiveness, that is repentance, being sorry, being remorseful and recognising what we have done. Just as we must recognise our sin when we go to God for forgiveness, those who come to us must also be remorseful, recognise their wrong. Being sorry can be mimicked, people can lie about their remorsefulness, but in most cases, we can usually see the genuine reaction and that they are going to try and not do it again if they are truly sorry. God forgives us when we truly repent, we must forgive others and we are able to do this, not in our own strength, but in God’s.
1st March 2022
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to prepare for His ministry.
The Church year is filled with different festivals and seasons. Today is Shrove Tuesday, or pancake day. Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, will begin the Christian season of Lent. Lent is an old English word meaning 'lengthen', because Lent is observed in the spring, when the days begin to get longer or lengthen. Lent is the period of forty days, not including Sundays, which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar, traditionally a time of fasting and reflection as we journey towards Easter. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, and begins with Ash Wednesday. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert after His baptism. Shrove Tuesday was traditionally the last chance to use up the foods, eggs, milk and fats, Christians would not be eating during Lent. These ingredients with some flour make pancakes. On Ash Wednesday many Christian churches will hold services during which Christians are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes, which is a sign of repentance. Ash is what is left after a fire consumes everything and is therefore pure. The Ash is often made from burning the Palm crosses from the previous year. Many people give up things like sugar, biscuits, chocolate etc for Lent. But we can also give up other things which help us concentrate more fully on God. Less TV, phone use, social media etc less spending on ourselves and more giving to those in need; with more time to pray and be with God. May Lent be a blessed time for you as you journey towards Easter.
28th February 2022
Luke 17:2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around your neck than to cause anyone to stumble and do wrong.
We all do things we shouldn’t do; it is a fact of life. Sometimes things overtake us and we react and in doing so cause upset or someone else to stray. We are told here that this is one of the worst things we can do, lead someone else into sin or evil. Temptation is something we don’t take seriously these days, instead we use it as a term for something a little naughty and nothing to worry about. In positions of leadership people carry much responsibility and part of that is not causing those they manage or lead to do wrong. Unfortunately, it has become almost a badge of honour to see how much they can now get away with passing the buck to juniors rather than as it should be, the buck stops at the top. We are all responsible for our actions and words and if we lead others astray, we are responsible before God. We will answer for our actions and words not only for ourselves but for those we tempt and encourage to stray from God’s path of truth and honesty.
27th February 2022
Psalm 139:13 For you O Lord, created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I was recently struck by something that seemed incredibly cruel and yet was part of life for centuries. All stillborn babies were not allowed to be buried on consecrated ground because they had not been baptised and therefore were condemned to limbo or hell. No records were kept of these children. Sometime the rules of the church really do shock me. Perhaps they shouldn’t by now, especially as women played no part in establishing those rules and therefore were the ones who suffered the most by them. Because a 5th Century leader, Augustine, declared that the unbaptised could not go to Heaven, with no evidence for this idea, we spent the next 14 centuries believing that even if we had a place in Heaven our unbaptised children did not. It is only in the last 40 years that things have begun to change, that the grief and trauma have been recognised and we are now encouraged to have memories, burials and cremations. Sadly, a great deal of what leaders in the past and even now do, is to rule by fear. To make people obey by fearing for their family, their future and their eternity. This is not what Jesus does, it is not what God does, but it is what men particularly have rewritten and interpreted for their own ends to make the rest of us submissive. God’s rules are about love, compassion, fairness and justice. No one is to be left in pain or grief, to be treated improperly because of their gender, to be brutally ridiculed for medical conditions or disabilities. Personally, I have had enough of bullies and those who rule by fear and particularly those who say God behaves like that. They are liars and fraudsters, cruel and unfeeling, they do not represent God. The truth is that God loves, God’s love is unconditional and everlasting, God’s love does not depend on our behaviour but on our accepting Him as our saviour and friend. I am secure in the knowledge that there are no babies in limbo or hell, but all are safely with God in Heaven.
26th February 2022
James 4:10 Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up.
Did you know there was a humility day? There seems to be a day for everything now. In both Greek and Roman times humility was considered a weakness, something for children and slaves. For Greeks and Romans, it was important to show off, to shout about their achievements and power. This arrogance is something recent world leaders have adopted, not admitting when they are wrong, not correcting their faults or wrongdoing, not listening to advisors, totally fixated on themselves and their power, deliberately misleading by declaring and repeating something good to deflect from the wrong doing and arrogance. No humility! The change came in Roman times with a man allowing Himself to become vulnerable and humble, He preached love, compassion, peace and equality for all. It took Him to the cross because it challenged the status quo. His humility challenged us to be humble, to show humility and to recognise the need and equality of all. Being humble is the biggest strength we can have. Only in humility are we willing to listen to others and formulate plans in the interests of all, not just for ourselves or those with power and wealth. Many of our leaders and public servants seem to have forgotten that with great power and wealth comes great responsibility.
25th February 2022
Luke 10:40a But Martha was distracted from Jesus with other things.
When the boys were younger, we lived fairly near a small group of shops, including the paper shop as it was known, it had sweets and comics! We would often walk to the shop and it could be quite a time-consuming trip because young children have a wonderful fascination for the world. We would stop and examine every interesting stone, little flowers, moss, something someone had dropped, a shiny wrapper that would catch attention. It could be only a couple of steps before the next thing caught their attention. That is until they saw a friend, then all attention would be taken, little voices shouted out names and little legs would run as fast as possible to get to their friend. It was a joyous moment and the excitement was palpable. Our life is often like this, we journey along distracted by the things around us, we find something to take our attention, then something else and every shiny thing takes our attention away from what we are supposed to be doing and where we are going. At some point, when we are vaguely on track, the voice of God breaks through, calling our name, excited and so wanting to see us and be with us, and when we hear and see we at last have our attention fully focused on Him and we run and we shout out and the excitement is palpable. God is always waiting, always ready but we are so distracted, we allow so much to crowd our mind and stop us from being with Him. He is always waiting; we need to be less distracted and more focused on Him.
24th February 2022
Hebrews 6:1a Therefore let us leave the simple doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity in faith.
However much I try I always struggle with anything new on the computer. When they change the layout, add something, display something differently it can take me ages to grasp it and sometimes I never really do. I often end up do things one by one even though I can apparently move things in much bigger amounts, and yet I cannot seem to find the way and no one is able to spend the time showing me how. It is an issue I had with my parents and videos then CD’s and any new phones. As we grow older, we take so much longer to process and understand information. We cannot start doing things quickly and we need help in our understanding. That help needs to be patiently given and more often than not be repeated. I will often write down processes in order so I can do them and then keep them nearby. Within faith much the same applies. We never stop learning or experiencing God and often the things we hear, see or experience will take along time to sink in, to become part of normal everyday happenings that do not need to be such a huge task for our brains. Learning and trusting God’s unconditional love for us takes along time, it is affected by our relationships with imperfect humans whose treatment of us affects how we see ourselves and how God sees us. I often write down key verses or find little cards or pictures which remind of that love and put them where I will see them regularly, reminding me just how much I am loved. If it helps, why don’t you do the same or whatever helps you to learn, grow and deepen your faith.
23rd February 2022
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?
I am someone who likes to give, I will happily give gifts, buy things for people but I am not good at letting others buy gifts for me. My son’s will sometimes appear with a small gift for me, something they have seen that they know I will like. When they do that, I am really touched, it means an awful lot that they firstly know what I like but also that they have thought of me and taken time to buy something for me. Knowing that others think of us is something so special to us. To know that people love us, care for us enough to appreciate what we like and to want to give to us is fantastic for our self-esteem and our self-respect. Being treasured by others is just wonderful. Being treasured by God is simply an amazing and true fact. God thinks so highly of us that He knows all about us, our foibles, our mistakes, our brilliance and our failure and yet He loves us completely and utterly. He gives to us every day, offers us love, care, protection and blessing. God knows what we need and gives it to us. Sadly, humans are very good at turning away things that are good for them by being obstinate, by refusing to see what is right in front of them. Yet God wants to give, to keep giving to us and so it is up to us to choose to accept those gifts and not turn them away.
22nd February 2022
James 2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” and he was called a friend of God.
I have often been told that a true friend knows all about you and still loves you. We all have friends of some sort or another, some of us are blessed with a best friends, old friends and family who are also friends. Many married couples speak of their spouse as their best friend. With friends we talk, chat, confide, often sharing our deepest thoughts and ideas as well as our fears and worries. We do that because friends listen, don’t judge and offer advice and support. St. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish, Carmelite Nun spoke about prayer as an intimate sharing between friends. Just as we would spend time with a friend, sharing things, so we share everything with God through prayer. We are able to speak to Him about all our needs, difficulties, worries and challenges. We can share our successes and triumphs, we ask can ask for advice and seek guidance; we can share our hurt and grief, our anger and hurt; all with our intimate friend and Lord, all with the one who loves us unconditionally, God. God does know all about us, all the things we try to hide from everyone, God knows, and God still loves us. He is our deepest, longest and most true friend, our Lord and saviour because He loves us, unconditionally.
21st February 2022
Luke 6:24 But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get. ( From The Message Bible)
How self-opinionated are you? Do you think you are pretty good, done okay for yourself, would like more but deserve your successes? Jesus, calls us out of our complacency and away from the safety and security of our successes and says that the reign of God, here and now, is about more than just our own accomplishments. In fact, these very accomplishments might just be our undoing. There’s trouble ahead when we live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests. Our task is to be true, not popular. God does not take kindly to half-heartedness. We are not called to maintain the status quo, or protect institutions and empires built by humans. Our well off, full, comfortable lives are not bringing God in to the world but rather pushing Him away as unnecessary. We are challenged to look at our lives and our world with new eyes. To clarify our values and examine what are the things in life that we will take a stand for in relation to faithful living. We are challenged to change our relationships and reverse the social, economic, and political injustices that surround us so that we might live the best we can in the Kingdom of God here and now.
20th February 2022
Mark 4:39 Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
I wonder if Storm Eunice from last Friday will have a place in our history like the hurricane that wasn’t going to happen in 1987. I remember that weather forecast, the night that followed, the very dangerous trip to school the next day and the state of the school after several of the roof skylights had been ripped off. My parent’s garden was never the same, we lost all three trees and were fortunate none of them came down on the house. Because these events are quite rare when they happen, they are newsworthy and become part of the collective memory. Villages and towns round the country remember their floods, the power cuts and damage to possessions and property. Of course we remember, these events get into our memory because they are powerful, they cause damage and hurt those things we value. We tend to remember the bad things in life because they leave scars on us. We often find scars unattractive and we cover them and can be embarrassed by them and yet scars tell a story, the speak of our survival, of our ability to get through the worst and still be standing and living. Jesus scars are the wounds of love, they came from His willingness to die for us, to bear the worst punishment humans could devise so we could have life, life that is full but can also have difficulties and problems. We may collect scars both physical and mental during our life, but these scars are marks of victory, of survival and they make us who we are, God’s chosen and loved children.
19th February 2022
Luke 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
In all performance management, line managers are trained, not always well, to give a positive first and then a negative, they are supposed to balance the good and the bad. These are the “roses and thorns,” which remind us that within any day, any life, there is beauty and blessing as well as prickly thorns that might take us by surprise. We are told in Luke that our blessings are the poor, the hungry, the weeping and those who are excluded and persecuted, because blessing here is about our relationship with our creator. To be “blessed,” means living in the presence of God, not necessarily being free from struggle, but to live as God’s Kingdom demands us to. Jesus is on our level, telling us the truth of our lives, and confronting us with our responsibility to be a part of God’s kingdom with how we respond to what is happening around us and in the world. God calls us to be a part of the kingdom that Christ modelled. Jesus who attended to the very real needs of the poor and suffering. Jesus who acted with love and compassion in a powerful ministry of presence and healing, and who calls his disciples and us to do the same. We can reach out to those who are hungry. We can offer comfort to those who weep, we can stand up for the abused and downtrodden if we choose to.
18th February 2022
Deuteronomy 5: 12 Observe the Sabbath keeping it holy, resting, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
Half Terms are always really welcome in schools. Staff are usually tired and beginning to run out of steam so a few days break is exactly what they need. I am always aware of some who do not take their break, who use the time to catch up on work, or start new work and really do not get a recharge to their physical or mental needs. I get really cross when I hear government and media say teachers have long holidays and short days, it is completely untrue. Most teachers work very long days, over the weekend and come in during holiday times as well as preparing for the new term. Most teachers work a good 75 hours a week, some even more. Preparation, marking, planning alongside actual classroom teaching. I am concerned about the push for longer days and shorter holidays for pupils and teachers who already need the modest amount of time they actually take off. God is a massive fan of work life balance, of people taking time for themselves and looking after their mental health and wellbeing as well as their physical health. God did not design us to be consistently working, no breaks, no time off. As soon as we live like that, we become ill, drained and very tired. No one should criticise others about their workload, especially when they work a lot less for a lot more money and see themselves as superior. There are so many people who work so hard, we should be appreciating them, encouraging them and thanking them just as God does.
17th February 2022
Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A family member is a real jigsaw fan. As soon as they receive one, it is opened and completed as soon as possible. At Christmas one of their presents was a jigsaw, received with great excitement and completed before lunch; except that they could not finish it as there were three pieces missing, all blue sky. This particular jigsaw company gives a helpline you can ring and report any problems. Very quickly after Christmas a whole new bag of pieces arrived. So, the choice was, sort through and find the pieces needed to complete the first one or start again from scratch. An interesting choice. Do we fill in the gaps once we find the pieces or do we start again? The Christian faith is about starting again, realising that we cannot just look for, find and fill in the missing pieces, especially as our lives are so disorganised and damaged, but that we need to start afresh, make a complete change or turn around and begin again to construct a better life. The old word for this is repentance, turning around and starting again. Needless to say, our family member decided to do the whole thing again, from scratch, because they love jigsaw puzzles. Because we love God we need to start afresh, to rebuild and work towards a complete life built around and with God.
16th February 2022
Joshua 1:8 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.
From an early age we learn to read, we absorb and take on board huge amounts of information and hopefully retain huge amounts of it. As we grow and go to school, we learn more, study subjects and eventually are tested to see how much we have learned and retained. We learn to read around subjects, do research and projects. We study some things in more depth as we look to our future and careers, we begin to become experienced and even sometimes experts in our field. We learn through both study and experience, so it is not surprising that to learn about faith, about God and Jesus, we need to study and experience the Bible and faith. We can use study notes, be part of church groups, use reading plans, look on the internet. We have sermons and teaching and so can tap into many things which improve our knowledge and interaction with the Bible and with our faith. It is far too easy to become a Christian then never look at Bible and Church history, or our Church and faith background and as such never really understand what and why we believe. We are called to study the scriptures, to keep them on our lips, to meditate on them and to learn about our faith and traditions. It is only then that we can grow as Christians and understand how we should live and serve God; what it is we believe and be able to share that faith and belief with others.
15th February 2022
Luke 5:30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Human beings love to criticise; look at them, we say, look what that person is doing or saying, can you believe that? And so it goes on. By criticising others, we make ourselves feel better, it gives us a sense of superiority whether we deserve it or not. In picking out the faults of others and exposing them we deflect attention away from ourselves and onto others. We misdirect people “nothing to see here… look over there”. This is a huge tactic of the present government, redirect attention away from their faults and mistakes by comments, actions and general underhand misbehaviour. This type of criticism and underhand tactics happened to Jesus. He was constantly criticised for being with unholy people, strict, pious religious leaders constantly referred to how He behaved, who he mixed with, what His disciples did and spoke. These pious religious leaders were desperately trying to misdirect people away from their dishonest practices and powerful status towards Jesus. Jesus simply points out that only the sick need a doctor. Every one of us needs help, needs Jesus and Jesus came for everyone, but many never accept that, or recognise their need of Him. Instead, they rely on their status, religiosity, piety and reputation and would rather point the finger at others, at Jesus or God than look at themselves honestly and accept their need of Him. We all need to recognise our need of Jesus and be honest to ourselves and others without pointing the finger.
14th February 2022
Luke 5:10b Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
Do you have any special hobbies or talents you like to participate in? Do you play sports, or cook or sew, or have a group that you’re a part of? What would you do if someone told you that you had to give up that thing you really enjoy doing? You would be sad, right? But what if they told you that by letting go of that one hobby you love, you would be able to do something amazing? Something that will change people and change history. It might be hard to imagine what could be better than your favourite thing, but following Jesus is even better. Jesus was gathering His group of friends, His disciples. Some of the disciples Jesus chose were fishermen. Jesus came and found them working, and He told them to follow Him. He told them He would make them fish for people! They didn’t ask Jesus to wait for a three-week notice period, they didn’t even question what Jesus meant about fishing for people. These fishermen were so inspired they left their fishing gear and their careers, and went with Jesus immediately. We need to put Jesus in the top spot of our lives. We might need to be willing to let go of some things, so that we can serve Him wholeheartedly. And as the disciples found out, it is completely worth it!
13th February 2022
Luke 2:22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
People still bring their children to our churches for Christening or Baptism. Jesus was also part of a similar event at the Temple. Forty days after Jesus’ birth, He was presented in the Temple as was the law of His religion, Judaism. This event was a time of comings and goings. Mary and Joseph came to bring their son, Jesus came into the world to save us; but elderly Simeon finally had permission to go because; in his past the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would see the Lord’s Messiah before he died. On this day Simeon was aware of the Holy Spirit nudging him to go to the temple and when he saw Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, he knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for all these years. This is how the Holy Spirit works, nudging us, leading us, directing us if we are willing to listen, to see, to recognise. Here is a strange and holy meeting of a young couple come to fulfil their religious duty and an old man who is something of a mystic as well as an old lady who lives in the temple. All of them belong in this one story. That is the gift of buildings like the temple, like our Cathedrals, like our Churches; they are big enough and prayed-in enough for there to be room for all who come, for whatever reason, and they can and do bring together the most unlikely people in God’s story. We are part of this story.
12th February 2022
Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
In recent years we have finally acknowledged that as human beings we have struggles and we sometimes need help with our mental health and wellbeing. The still upper lip approach has succeeded in damaging millions who needed to be heard and offered help. Humans have the ability to communicate, we have speech and hearing as well as touch. Sometimes we need to talk, to offload, sometimes we need to listen and sometimes we need to have our hand held or to hold another’s hand. In all cases we need to be humble, gentle, patient and bearing with one another in love. We stand together to be strong, in support and in hope. When someone needs to talk, they need to know they are safe, respected, cared for and are going to be accepted without judgement and with compassion and empathy. When we listen, we need to be patient, caring, empathetic and compassionate, treating the other as we would like to be treated. All of us need to remember that everyone has struggles and need’s help sometimes, that will make seeking help a little easier. If we are self-aware of the need for help, we can also offer help and signpost others to that help. As God’s children we are encouraged and expected by God to look after ourselves and each other. Never be worried or frightened to ask for help because we all need help sometimes.
11th February 2022
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
A good marker for anything in life is how we feel if someone does something to us or those we love. Think about how you feel when someone is rude to you or your family and friends; or when someone lies to you, hurts you or your loved ones, disrespects you, takes something that belongs to you, cheats you…. That feeling that reaction we have, is exactly how the other person feels if we do those things to them. The more we do or say anything, the easier that behaviour becomes. If we are unkind, disrespectful, if we lie or cheat, the more we do it, the easier it becomes. We damage our moral compass. The more good we do, the better we treat others, the more honest we are, the easier it is to become like that all the time. Jesus reminds us that those we care for and who care for us, will want what is best for us and do right by us, we in turn, should always do the best for them, for others. We make a choice to be selfish, arrogant, rude, unpleasant, hurtful or we choose to be kind, helpful, encouraging, and caring. Quite simply we do or say to others what we would be happy to have done or said to us. We must allow ourselves to be dragged down into unfairness, anger and hurt but rather be lifted up to kindness, be people of honesty and integrity, encourage and strengthen just as we would like for ourselves. It is simple courtesy, simple good manners, simple honest and good living and it is how Christians should behave and we hope and pray that everyone would behave this way and make life better for all.
10th February 2022
Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, I will teach you and make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.
In recent years there has been an educational leaning towards mastery. The problem being, as is common with educational policy, that no one could really define exactly what this was. It has gone out of fashion as quickly as it came in. If you look at a definition for mastery it talks of being proficient, of knowing something so well that you can apply it correctly and accurately to everything. You are, in effect, an expert. One thing to remember about an expert, they do not know everything, no one can. We are encouraged as Christians to become proficient in our faith, to learn and know it well so that we can apply it correctly. As we pass on the faith and the Word, we encourage, teach, engage in study and prayer and in doing so we become more proficient. A word of warning, there are many Christians who really do believe they are experts, that they know it all and that they are never wrong. We are warned about these people in the Bible. Anyone who believes they know it all is dangerous. The Christian faith can never be mastered by us because we are human and therefore fallible, but we can learn, grow, and become more proficient as we pray, read the Bible, study together and listen to teaching and preaching. We all start learning the basics, then we grow and learn more and become better and wiser people of faith.
9th February 2022
Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Do you like to know what is going to happen, to make plans, to set things in place for the future? The disciples called by Jesus didn’t know every detail of what life in future would look like. They didn’t know this teacher was going to die in a few years, or that almost every one of them would die for their faith in Him. But they knew that following Jesus was the most important thing that they could do. They were willing to take the risk, to set aside their other priorities, and to spend time with the Jesus while they could. They knew it was better and more meaningful than anything else they would do. Life with Jesus is better than anything else we can do or even imagine. Following Him isn’t always easy, but it brings us true love, joy, peace and eternal life. Jesus promises to be with us and to provide for us. He uses us to share His love and good news. Sometimes we might need to make sacrifices. If our job wants us to do something that goes against God’s rules or hurts our family, we might have to challenge this or even change job. If something in our life is taking up so much time and attention that it takes the place of prayer and worship, it might be time to set that aside. Sometimes our priorities need to change, just as they did for the disciples. So, let me encourage you to trust Him. Trust in His word, and be ready to serve Him, whatever the future may hold, whatever it might take, because I promise you it is worth it!
8th February 2022
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The winter Olympics is currently taking place, I love to watch the incredible skill and ability needed to propel oneself at 75 miles an hour down a bobsleigh track, or ski with twists and turns at high speed, doing incredible aerial tricks on snowboards, it is just breath taking. These people have spent years, often had accidents and falls and yet they compete with such grace and ability. They are hurtling down a track, in ski jumping without any hand control, toward a huge ramp which propels them into the air, and yet they are in control, they have incredible ability and self-control as well as endless training and practice. Life can sometimes seem like we are hurtling towards a ramp that will propel us into the air and we do not know where we will land or if we will land safely. Life is full of the bumps and turns that are not easy to navigate and yet we can cope. We too, have ability, self-confidence, training, grace, all given to us by God and even more, we have God upholding us, we will land safely, not always where we wanted, but God will keep hold of us, strengthen us, keep us in the right way. It is a bit like that steadying hand on the bike when we learn to ride that is ready to keep us upright, that hand ready to grab the toddler as they learn to walk, scooping them up before they fall. God is right there upholding us with His hand.
7th February 2022
Exodus 19;17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Where do you meet with God? At home, in the park, the garden, in church; it could be anywhere. Churches, Cathedrals, temples can often be a place of encounter with God; sometimes this can be one to one, sometimes it can be mediated through meeting with other people. Our sacred buildings offer a safe space to genuinely listen to people’s stories. To say your story is my story, my story is your story, and to respond in the most appropriate way. Can I encourage you to think about how you can help to sustain our sacred spaces as a place of encounter with God? When you come into church, do you enter expecting the unexpected? As you look around, do you expect that maybe the people there could be a means of God’s blessing for you by their care, compassion and ministry to you? What can you do to help keep churches open as a place of encounter with God? How can we be God to our visitors? In these places we will tell the Christian story, the good news, so that everyone who come to us might find the Christian faith and have an encounter with God. We can also consciously ask God to meet us where we are and see how God leads us to help ourselves and others.
6th February 2022
Exodus 27:20 Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.
As a child I was afraid of the dark, I don’t really know why, but I needed to have light when I went to sleep. For this reason, while I was a child, we kept the landing light on. As I grew up this was turned off and I had to learn to cope. Once I lived on my own and then had a family, I have always kept a light on at night, it brings comfort, security, and safety. One of things I love about our churches and Cathedrals are the everlasting lights which shine. Usually, a seven-day candle or sometimes in another form. It shines as a reminder and sign of God’s constant presence. If I arrive in church on a cold dark morning or evening, there is always this light, shining in the sanctuary, over where we keep the reserved bread and wine. In Judaism this light is called Ner Tamid or eternal light or flame. We tend to call it a Sanctuary Lamp or light. Moses was commanded to keep the lamps burning at Ark of the Covenant and to continue this practice as a sign that God was there, constantly. It is no accident that the presence of God is marked by light, Jesus is the light of the world, light brings security, comfort, and safety and that is exactly what God gives to us. We don’t need a symbol to tell us God is present with us always, but especially in the dark times it is good for us to be reminded.
5th February 2022
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
When we visit a church or the Cathedral who do we expect to see there? Often there are helpers, guides or staff who can show us things or guide us round the wonders of the building. In the Temple Jesus was brought to as a baby, there were others there. Anna was an elderly widow, someone who found a home in a sacred space after she was widowed as a young woman. The temple is where she belongs, where she has found a home. Her life was one of prayer and seeking God’s way. She was aware of God’s Spirit and allowed herself to be nudged by the Spirit. As she is led, she finds the baby in the arms of a spiritual man who is blessing His parents, and at once she knows this ordinary looking baby is actually someone very special. We too can be led by and nudged by the Spirit into special situations where we can be God’s representatives, offering support, encouragement and wisdom. Where we can see God at work and be witnesses to His mission. Like anyone in God’s story we need to be aware of God working, of His Spirit moving and leading us wherever we are.
4th February 2022
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Each Sunday we celebrate Communion, also called the Eucharist or Mass. We take the bread and wine as symbols of Jesus broken body and shed blood. This meal is a remembrance of the last supper shared with His disciples and given to us as a symbol and a remembrance. We symbolically eat and drink together as family. This communion meal is a microcosm of our faith and belief. In this one small meal we hold all that God did from the beginning and all that He did in the sending of Jesus for us. It encapsulates all God’s love and Jesus’ teaching and life; as we eat and drink together, we are one, we are equal in dignity, we all eat of the same divine food, and Jesus still and always “eats with sinners.” Jesus ate the last meal with one who was going to betray Him, one who was going to deny Him and others who would run away in fear but He still ate with them and He still loved them and He still went to the cross for them and us. Our table is a table of welcome, welcome to all who want to come, no one is denied because we are all sinners and Jesus is there for every one of us. We have no right to judge another, to deny another because Jesus does not deny us.
3rd February 2022
1 John 4:16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
We speak a lot about love in Christianity but we are not always good at it. The teaching we receive about love speaks of God as love and as much as we speak of loving God, I would suggest that we need to learn to let God love us. Karl Rahner, a Jesuit priest and theologian, speaks of the entire history of the universe being the history of the outpouring of God’s love. We are reminded that grace is God giving Himself to us in love. God created the world, the universe and us in order to give Himself away to us in love. All that we and creation has ever been invited to do is accept this gift of love, not to earn it, buy it or beg for it, but just accept it. Regrettably, in our human interaction, we have forgotten that we only need to receive it. Being loved, accepting that love disarms us, brushes away our ego, breaks down our defences, and then opens us not only to God, but to ourselves. Of course, when we have to face ourselves, we are at our most uncomfortable. God is shouting and whispering, “I love you, just let me love you.” All that God asks of us is to receive His love. That is our role, our goal in life which allows us to live life to the full in God’s love.
2nd February 2022
2 Peter 1:19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
I have, over the years, been involved in some productions, I have also had drama groups associated with church and who use the church halls for rehearsing and shows. We have lighting around the halls, especially for productions. One of those lights is a spotlight. This powerful and direct light is used to shine on a specific place and person. They become the centre of attention, of action and the spotlight makes sure we know it and give our attention to it. At this moment the person is under direct scrutiny, if they misspeak or mess up then everyone will know. It is also the case that as they move the spotlight will follow them, to keep them in the prime place. For that time, they cannot escape the light that is upon them, exposing all their actions, words and behaviours. We are all followed by our actions and behaviours, we are all under scrutiny and social media has meant that people doing ordinary things can become objects of attention because of their actions, language, dress and mistakes. The spotlight of media attention can mean we are exposed to cruelty and vitriol as well as popularity. Our lives have always been under God’s spotlight. We have always been and will always be the centre of His attention. The difference is that God knows we will mess up, make mistakes, stumble, fall, say things we regret but He still loves us unconditionally. He still asks us to do things for Him even when we have failed before. God never gives up on us, He knows all about us and still loves us completely and utterly.
1st February 2022
Luke 4:43 But Jesus said, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns and people, because that is why I was sent."
We all have our comfort zones, where we feel safe, appreciated, loved and secure. Jesus had places where they did appreciate Him and respected Him, but He had a calling, to tell everyone He could about the gospel. This meant going to places he was not welcome or respected, going where He was not safe but going in God’s strength. We like our comfort zones, we want to be safe and secure but we too have to step out of them. We, too, have a calling, we are asked to go where we are needed, where we will do good, where we can help. That may for some mean moving away, abroad, doing new things, training, working in different fields, or it might mean just stepping into a new role in church, in work, in life. It may mean the courage to make a call to someone who God has laid on your heart, it might mean prayers for those we struggle with, it may mean doing things differently, Whatever it means for us we are promised God’s strength and support. We never go anywhere alone and even if those we go to do not appreciate us, are disrespectful or even hurtful, we are still called to go and we are given all that we need to do God’s work. If we need our ultimate comfort zone, our truest safe place then that is in God, through Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
31st January 2022
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We have heard a great deal about levelling up in the last few years. The promise that areas of poverty will be given more, that poorer people will be helped more and treated more fairly, that those at the top will do what they can to help those struggling….. we are not seeing it yet that’s for sure, just a lot of empty rhetoric and empty unfulfilled promises. Within our society we have those who see themselves as superior to others by their birth, education, job, wealth, status etc. There are those who like to be the centre of attention and hold court, you find this at parties and dinner parties. There are certain foods which I believe should be served at parties but which some avoid because of how they are eaten and the mess they can cause. Great levelling foods are spaghetti bolognaise, noodles, doughnuts, meringue, ribs and unpeeled prawns or shrimp; anything that is difficult to eat without making a mess. As soon as mess happens to everyone it breaks the ice. Messy food is a great leveller and once people are levelled then discussion and decision is much fairer and more honest. If the boss has sauce on their lapel, they cannot criticise you for have crumbs down your front. No one is better than any other. This is just as it should be, all equal, no one should lord it over anyone else or force their opinion by rank or privilege. True democracy is honest, levelled opinion and discussion which takes into account everyone and their needs, where all opinions matter and honest true consensus found.
30th January 2022
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, His beauty, created in His image and through Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We have quite an obsession with physical attributes and beauty, we have defined who fits into these characteristics and who does not. Often those who are not of the correct size or height, who do not wear certain clothes or enhancing products are condemned, often bullied and looked down upon. I was reminded that God does not see us in this way, in God we were all created beautiful, wonderful, with a combination of gifts and talents that only we have. I tried to bring my sons up in positivity, reminding them of how wonderful they are, reminding them about their kindness and compassion, encouraging them to see themselves and others through different eyes than the world sees. As we look at those we love, those we know, how do we see them? Do we see their kindness, their compassion and empathy, their strong values, their honesty etc and do we tell them? Or do we see their looks, their hair cut, their clothes, their job and judge them by these things. God looks at each of us with total joy and absolute love. He looks at our heart, who we truly are, who He created us to be. He created us to be beautiful, complete, wonderful, and caring and even though we mess up sometimes that does not change. We are seen through the creators’ eyes, through Jesus’ love, and we are beautiful. May we not only begin to see ourselves as God sees us but also begin to see others in that way and show them the appreciation and love that God shows us.
29th January 2022
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is.
Life is constantly changing, the recent pandemic has meant we have had to find new ways of doing things, new ways of meeting, working, being family, teaching, doing church, playing games, exercising, visiting, giving birth, having treatment…… the list is endless. As humans we are not fond of change. We like things to remain the same as it provides security, familiarity, and routine. For some change is a good thing and there are things we are now doing which have improved our quality of life, as well as things which we now know we must do better in our society. We have also witnessed where we are failing, where we have not learned lessons and have actually made life worse for some. Change is necessary but not mandatory. I like that old saying that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If things work well and are doing a good job then we need not rush to change them, but where there is need, where things clearly are not working, then change is necessary and must happen. Sadly, especially where the status quo is concerned there are those whose vested interest is not served by change and therefore they will obstruct as much as possible with lies, diversions and supposed enquiries. If, as God intended, we were always looking out for the common good of all then we would never stand in the way of change if it meant a better life for everyone. Unfortunately, once people have influence, wealth, power, the good of all quickly becomes the good of themselves and their circle. We may not be able to institute huge change, but we can be catalysts for change, we can be God’s hands, feet and mouths in this world. We can stand up for the good of all and make our voices count. We can write letters and emails, be positive forces on social media and live our lives for the common good, setting an example of God’s intended life of fairness and justice for all.
28th January 2022
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Last year the school suffered a cyber-attack. It is much more common than people think. We discovered several more schools in our area, as well as hospitals, businesses and councils who had all been targeted. The attack meant we lost everything, all lesson plans, work, projects, photos, letters, the compilation of years of work and school life was wiped out. The recommendation was not to pay the ransom as in cases where it had been paid nothing was restored and in fact systems were then completely useless because of the traces left. This attack was orchestrated in other parts of the world and is being dealt with by task forces from many different countries. Once the attack was discovered everything was closed down, machines wiped, nothing could be saved. We had to begin again, from scratch, rebuilding our plans, structures, policies, lessons, calendars, strategies……. Things that were in place for the new term had to be done all over again and the summer break, so needed by weary worn staff during the pandemic was spent, not recuperating, and resting, but rebuilding and rewriting everything. This process will go on every term of this school year as we discover more that needs to be done. We were all really upset, and I know I cried a few times. It was only when I spoke to someone in the autumn that they reminded me that we needed to grieve what had happened. Things we had created, given much of our lives to, had been stolen from us. We were hurt, violated, cheated and we had suffered great loss. We tend to only think of grief when we lose people, but there is also grief when parts of our lives are taken, when that which we have worked for is taken from us. Anything we lose or is taken from us has to be acknowledged and grieved for so we can begin to rebuild. We don’t get over these difficulties and loses but we adapt to them, we learn to live with them, and we begin to rebuild as we are able to acknowledge our loss.
27th January 2022
Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Do you get frustrated when things that are supposed to happen, don’t? I sometimes catch these consumer programmes where experts tell you that legally a company must do this or do that and yet nothing is done and these people have no way of actually dealing with the law breakers. Even these so-called experts don’t seem able to force large companies or powerful people to obey the law. I find this frustrating and very annoying; if the law says, then why it is not being followed and enforced? Why can some people, get away with everything when ordinary folks like us would be found out and punished? The law may be on our side, officially, and yet we don’t seem to be properly protected. I believe in justice, fairness for all, as God requires of us, and yet so many with power, money, high positions and status seem to do what they like with no consequences. At times all we can do is pray and even that can seem to be ineffective. Yet God is quite clear that He will and is doing something. Patience is not a strong point for many of us but we need to cling to and trust that God will and is changing things, in the right time and the right way. Faith is the risk we have to take as we trust God to do what is right.
26th January 2022
1 Corinthians 6:12a We think we have the right to do anything and have everything, but not everything is beneficial for us.
A recent big family birthday tea had a huge, very chocolatey cake at the centre. It had been chosen and asked for. Everything was chocolate, including several favourite chocolate bars and sweets adorning the outside. In all honesty when I had a piece it was actually too much. It looked fantastic, it was a brilliant design and make but it was just too much chocolate when we came to eat it, well for the older ones amongst us. I had to eat round a great deal of the chocolate cream and icing layers as well as huge pom poms of chocolate icing. Life can be like this, we long for things, thinking they will be wonderful, everything we want and desire and then when it comes our way it is all just too much. Too much attention, too much power, too many decisions, too much responsibility, too much sweetness which in the end clags us up, causes us issues with our digestion, slows us up and is too much indulgence which we try to work round. Remember those old sayings “too much of a good thing” and “it’s too good to be true”. Sometimes we just want too much and we cannot see the consequences of our desire. God has never promised us everything we desire or want; He has promised everything that we need. He knows that too much is bad for us and that we need things over time, as we can cope with them so we are not overwhelmed. We can rely on God to not give us too much, too soon, but all that we need as and when we need it.
25th January 2022
Galatians 6:1&2 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught out, we should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ.
How do you decide on a best or close friend? We often hear the term “friend for life” these days, but what does that entail? Being a real friend is something deep, something special. It is a bond that continues no matter what. One of the problems with us as humans is that we make mistakes, we get angry and annoyed, we misread a situation, we make bad decisions so do we then abandon a friend because of an argument, a petty squabble, a misunderstanding or a difference of opinion? A true friend, they say, knows all about you and still loves you. Jesus is a prime example of this. When Peter denies Him Jesus not only forgives him but calls him to a senior role in the early church. When James and John seek the top jobs, Jesus reminds them about honesty, friendship and servanthood, continuing to bless them. Jesus does not shun the tax collector, his betrayer, those who turn away in fear. Jesus loved each one for who they were, He stuck with them, and they stuck with each other even at the bleakest of times. Our job is to stick with family and friends, to hang on it there come hell or high water, to persevere through the bad as well as the good. Family and friends will say and do things that hurt us, and we will say and do things that will hurt them. We must weigh up what is more important, People or things and events. It is to easy to hold grudges, to become bitter and angry over little things and in doing so lose the love and support of those who are important to us. People matter, lives matter, relationships matter. We all have faults, and we all need forgiveness and we all need friends and family more than anything else. May we stick with each other and carry one another’s burdens.
24th January 2022
1 Peter 3: 16 Have a good, clear conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame.
At some point in life, we all get falsely accused of something. From the child accused of stealing another’s pencil or ruler, to the adult accused of breaking a confidence, to those accused of crimes they did not commit. The outcome of false accusations or blaming others is a loss of trust. No matter that the accusation is false, it places doubt in the mind of others about our integrity. We all let things slip sometimes, we all tend to blame others if we think they had a reason but often we do not check our facts, we do not look from their side, we do not allow ourselves to walk in the shoes of others. If we do lie, cheat, break confidence etc then yes, we deserve to be challenged and exposed for what we are but when those accusations are false and unjustified, we become embarrassed, even haunted and begin to doubt ourselves and our own integrity. Of all the false accusations ever brought Jesus’ ones were the most dishonest and untrue. The man who healed, spoke only the truth, challenged the dishonesty and lies of leaders had to brought down. Those with so much to lose, their status, power, wealth and authority, they could not allow this honest and truthful man to continue and so His downfall was plotted, lies, fraud, false testimony was given in order to destroy His legitimacy. Not only was He false accused but ultimately, He was killed to try and keep Him down. Those with a lot to lose, will always suppress the truth when it damages them. We must never compromise the truth, never allow others to be falsely accused and always stand for truth, justice and mercy. In God we stand vindicated and we stand in truth.
23rd January 2022
2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
Real fear is an emotion most of us never really experience. When I read and hear stories of those so desperate that thy risk their lives and their families to escape persecution and imprisonment, I realise that we will never know that kind of fear. We live in a democracy, increasingly being attacked, but we are still free to believe as we wish, we are protected by laws and characteristics and yet on a daily basis people are harassed, ridiculed even physically harmed because of their life choices, the colour of their skin, their religion, their upbringing, their income or lack of it. Whether we agree with someone or not we should always defend their right to their ideals and choices, and we must stand against any persecution, any harm that others may wish to inflict on them. The minute we walk by and ignore maltreatment and persecution then we become complicit in it, we are saying it is acceptable when our very faith says it is not. Being protected from harm, from evil is a basic human value and right. It is in our rule of law and in our faith. We are called upon to promote mutual respect and mutual flourishing. In Jesus time and all through history there have been wicked people who would seek to harm others for their own selfish pleasure and gain. Around us right now are those who seek to exploit, to damage and harm others for their own personal profit and desire. As Christians we learn and live as those who desire the flourishing of all and the exploitation of none. We should be aspiring to make sure all are free; all are protected and all are treated fairly. It is not an easy calling, but it starts with us in God’s strength, God’s faithfulness, God’s protection for us and for all.
22nd January 2022
Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
When people left our school, my first Head Teacher used to talk about an invisible thread which attached them to us and if they ever needed to come back, they should follow that thread back to the school. This is a similar idea to that of a Homing pigeon, they can find their way back to where they belong, no matter where they are released from. Within us God has given the Holy Spirit who is in effect our Homing device. As humans we are not perfect, we make errors of judgement, we make mistakes, we drift away and sometimes lose our focus and yet within us lies this moral compass, this homing device of the Spirit that guides us back, leads us back into the fold. We are ultimately the sons and daughters of God, created by Him and as such we carry Him within us. No matter how lost we get, how far we stray, how distant we become, there is always a way back, always a connection, always the Holy Spirit as our Homing Device, prompting us, directing us and leading us back to God.
21st January 2022
1 John 4:16 - We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
The prime minister Margaret Thatcher was renowned and ridiculed for adopting the use of the Royal We, in other words referring to herself as we rather than I. It was done to give her authority, to try and make her like the Queen and therefore making her appear to be far more important than she actually was. In contrast, Jesus did not operate as an independent I of power and authority but actually put himself in the context of God the Father and The Holy Spirit, as part of the Trinity. The whole of the Bible is based around the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit, all present at Creation, all part of the whole. In the Icon, Trinity, Rublev places all three around a table, each facing each and drawing us to sit with them around the table. It is an Icon of relationship and it is a relationship that doesn’t not keep us out but actively invites us in. God is Love, we are told that many times in the Bible, and love is completely built around relationship. Once we begin to recognise that we are part of a relationship with God, Father, Son and Spirit and with one another; we begin to understand that our life is not about I any more but is very much about we. Not the Royal We, but the we that means we are never alone, we never cope alone, we never have to rely on our own strength or ability but always have God, Father, Son and Spirit on our side. We stand together as Christians, support each other and share that love of Christ among us.
20th January 2022
Hebrews 4:9&10 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their work, just as God did from his.
Most of us love going out for a meal. Someone else cooks for us, serves us, cleans up after us so we can sit and chat and just enjoy being. Meanwhile around us people are working, cooking, serving, clearing and cleaning, busy and on the go. This is quite a useful metaphor for life. Some folks are able to just sit and be while life goes on around them at full pace and more. In the past, and even today, this was what Monks and Nuns did in monastic life. They stepped away from life and concentrated on being and praying. It is what contemplatives have done and still do, take a step back and remain distant and quiet while all else goes on at speed, some even choosing to live in deserts and deserted places. Most of us cannot just stop and be, while all else continues, but yet we all need to take time out sometimes, a retreat, a holiday, a few days away from the rat race of life. For most of us we are so involved in daily life, we work, raise our families, shop, clean, wash….. we can so easily just keep going and not stop and not take time to step back and just be; but we need to! Even God took a day of rest, even Jesus stepped aside and rested. So, we need to give ourselves time, time to step away, time to rest, time to pray and contemplate. This way our lives can remain in balance and in God where they belong.
19th January 2022
Luke 12:7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
When I watch programmes from times past, I think about the people that lived then, their life, their faith, their treatment of and by others and I wonder about the part they played in history and how most of them would never be remembered or even known about. Programmes like Who Do You Think You Are have encouraged people to discover more about their family history and many websites now offer access to old records, but we still, will never really know who these people were or what they were like. The wonder of God, our creator, is that He has known each one. God has loved and cared for each one, He has counted the hairs on each head, He has seen the good and the bad of each one. God has been the stalwart and guide of many and the challenge and judge of many. We may wonder how can God can see and know it all, but He does and has and will always see every moment, even the smallest, the most insignificant act. He hears and has heard and will always hear every prayer, every utterance, every cry of joy and despair. God has always and will always know and love us. We must decide if we will always know and love Him.
18th January 2022
1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
As a child I really disliked going to a new club or group. Where I was known and was settled, I was fine, but the thought of meeting new people who might judge me, not talk to me even laugh at me was something I dreaded. You may be surprised to know I still struggle with it. We all have issues we struggle with and put in place ways to deal with them. God is aware of these struggles; He is aware when we take that deep breath and make ourselves do something we dislike or struggle with. I can imagine the humanness of Jesus meant that at times He was struggling with what He had to do, what He had to face. Having to face the derision and hate of the very people He had healed and helped and cared for. There are times you can see Jesus’ struggle with His role, with His mission, not least in the garden, in prayer, sweating drops of blood as He contemplates the awfulness of the next few days, of the essentialness of what He has to do. The public set ups, mistrials, trumped up charges, flogging, crucifixion, death, descent to hell and His eventual defeat of death and return to life. In that Garden He shows His dread but also speaks His willingness to do God’s will, not His own. God’s promise to us is that we are never alone, that He goes with us into every situation and provides the strength we need to deal with every situation we will ever face. It also shows us clearly that Jesus has been there before us, knows what we face and how we feel and stands with us each and every day.
17th January 2022
Luke 11: 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness.
In classical study the eyes were often seen as the window of the soul. Even as far back as Cicero and picked up by Shakespeare. It is not a literal expression but more metaphorical as in the sense of the mind’s eye, our knowing and consciousness. This is exactly the point here in Luke. If we direct out thoughts, our consciousness to something, our actions and life choices will direct us towards achieving that. Our life’s direction is determined by our consciousness. So healthy eyes mean a healthy mind where our whole self will focus and work towards good. To have that healthy eye we need to direct ourselves towards good, to prayer, reading the Bible, going to church, communion, living with justice, fairness and mercy. This way we shine as a lamp or light to others. God is our lamp, our direction setter who leads us through life, particularly in the dark times. It is only through God that we find a healthy life, a healthy mind. Sadly, the human consciousness is often selfish, self-centred, unhealthy, polluted by greed and envy. But God leads us toward light, towards goodness and sets our mind and heart on healthy things.
16th January 2022
Psalm 8:5 You have made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honour.
Have you ever wondered why am I here? Why me? Why now? As we grow up, we realise that humans are not all we are given to believe we are as children. We soon learn that many people still die of starvation, of simple curable diseases, are still imprisoned and tortured for being different or wanting a better life. Somehow only a minority ever get power and wealth and often they live selfishly with no regard for others. A seemingly bleak picture. And yet we have the blessing of hope. Hope that we can make things better, hope that even as we mess up, we can start again. Life has the possibility of not only first and second chances but constant chances of a fresh start. Every moment of every day offers the opportunity to start again. When the sentence come out wrong, we apologise and start again, when the relationship turns sour, we apologise and start again. As Humans God has made us special and thinks about us all the time. We are on God’s mind. We are incredible, special and crowned with glory and honour and we need to know that and believe it. Because we are Human, we will make mistakes, we can be very selfish and foolish people, but God cares and offers us a fresh start, not just once or twice but as often as we need it. May we take that fresh start every day and as often as we need it.
15th January 2022
Psalm 56:8 You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book, O Lord.
The older I have become the more I appreciate the ability to cry. At times when I am hurt physically or mentally, when life gets too much, when I need to let off steam then crying offers me and all of us a way to let our bodies release the pressure. Society has often criticised crying, particularly amongst men, but actually much recent research clearly shows that tears, crying, allows us to release so much stress from within and allows the processes of healing to begin and work in our lives. If we are honest, who doesn’t feel better after a good cry. I was really encouraged and blessed to discover that St Ephrem the Syrian understood this healing, cleansing blessing of crying centuries ago. He was a prominent Christian theologian and writer, born in the 4th century, who is also recognised as one of the earliest hymn writers in Eastern Christianity. Ephrem spoke of our eyes as two baptismal fonts, that release tears; just as Baptismal water cleans, heals and renews life so our eyes provide tears that cleanse, heal and renew life within us. These tears are also seen, valued and collected by God who will never allow us to cry alone.
14th January 2022
Isaiah 43:1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Do you ever think you are untouchable; nothing can get to you? I did a lot more when I was younger but life experience has taught me that the sorrows and losses of life, the struggles and difficulties of life, touch us all. At some level our existence, identity, and value are not limited to time and space. We are more than our biological existence; we know ourselves as God’s beloved and this comes through the gift of baptism. Baptism does not eliminate our difficulties, fix our problems, take away the pain, or change the circumstances of our lives. Instead, it changes us and offers us a way through those difficulties, sorrows, problems, and circumstances and ultimately, a way through death. Baptism transcends our biological existence and offers us a vision of life as it might be. Through baptism we no longer live according to the biological laws of nature but by relationship with God, who through the Prophet Isaiah says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine”. When we pass through the waters of sorrow and difficulty God is with us; when we walk through the fire of loss and ruination we are not burned. To know this, to trust this, to experience this is the gift of baptism and baptism always takes place at the border of life as it is and life as it might be.
13th January 2022
Genesis 2:8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the humans he had formed.
Many of the stories we tell our children or even read to them come in different versions. Even the Bible comes in different versions. So, it is not strange that stories in the Bible sometimes come in different versions. Genesis chapter 2 offers us a different version of the creation story which complements Genesis 1. This time the focus is not on the majestic planning and construction of the universe, but dwells more on the human world. The first man, Adam, is formed from the earth, but he's more than just another creature. It is only humans that God breathes life-giving breath into. Eve shares in this. As Matthew Henry wrote, ‘The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, or he her, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him. ` This is clear thinking theology about the equality of Humans be they male or female. In this story we meet the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. From this place come the rivers that water the earth and give life. What happens here in Eden, the choices made, flow out from it into the lives of all throughout history. This is not just the creation story, the story of Adam and Eve, it is our story. We are all created to live in harmony with God, with one another and with nature. Our constant desire for knowledge, supremacy, power, wealth and eternity has brought us disharmony with God and each other and our beautiful natural world now under threat. In God’s strength we have the ability to change our story, to rewrite a better version, to restore harmony but we must want to do that.
12th January 2022
Psalm 19:12-13 Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I know it all; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
When I began teaching, we had blackboards, if you were really lucky you had a board that moved round so you did not have to wipe it after every lesson and could leave work up for longer. We used chalk to write, draw etc and then this could be wiped away at the end of a lesson. The term a clean slate picks up on this and the old way of children learning by using a slate and chalk to work; I say old but in some countries of the world this is still the way children learn if they get the chance of education. Unlike our screens, computers and exercise books, once the slate or board was wiped that was it, no getting it back, no recycle bin or deleted folder. Once wiped the slate was clean and no evidence of the past, good or bad, could be found. So, when the Bible uses this term to speak of God’s forgiveness, the meaning is clear. Our past is not only forgiven but forgotten, wiped away. No evidence of the mistakes are kept, they are gone. There is no deleted folder with God, no recycle bin that drags out the past, instead our sin, our wrongdoing, our mistakes, and imperfections are wiped clean away to be seen no more and to be judged no more.
11th January 2022
Psalm 145:14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.
How have the New Year resolutions been going? I must admit that many folks I talk to have already given up or pretty much forgotten what they had planned to change in the New Year. Can you remember what resolutions you made? Have you been able to keep any? We often start something with such great resolve, this time it will be different, this time I will not give up, this time I am determined…… time moves on and we fall away so quickly. I freely admit that I don’t do resolutions anymore, I have learnt that each day offers me the opportunity to change, each situation offers me the opportunity to stop, apologise if necessary and start again. The New Year does offer us an excellent time to revaluate our lives and make changes but so does every day, every week, every month. There is never a point when we cannot change our lives for the better. There is never an time when God says no more. When things are tough, or we fail once, twice and so on we often feel we need to quit, to give up and yet God never quits on us, never gives up on us, never stops loving and forgiving us. In fact, as this Psalm reminds us, when we are struggling God’s hand is right there offering support, help, comfort and strength. Just because we did not manage to keep our resolutions on the second day or fourth day, just because we haven’t managed to keep them every day does not mean we have to give up. Achieving 20% is better than none, achieving 50% is better again, we won’t get it all right, all the time, but our willingness to try, to reach out for God’s hand is what counts. If you are struggling, don’t quit, just ask and God and He will give you a hand.
10th January 2022
Luke 3:22 You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.
At this time of year, we celebrate Jesus Baptism at the Jordan River. Jesus’ baptism is the border between the wilderness and the promised land; the border between life as survival and a life that is thriving; the border between sin and forgiveness; the border between death and life. We all stand on that border at multiple points in our lives. Some of us stand there now. Some of us experience that border as a place of loss, fear, pain. For others it is a place of joy, hope, and healing. In reality it is both at the same time. The only reason we can stand at the border of baptism is because Jesus stood there first. We stand on the very same border on which His baptism took place. As He was baptized, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. And the voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus’ baptism is for our sake and salvation. His baptism makes ours possible. Physically we are baptized only once. Yet throughout our life we return to the waters of baptism through living our baptismal vows; belief in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, reading and studying the Bible, taking Communion, loving our neighbour as ourselves; striving for justice, peace, and dignity for every human being because that is how God has treated us and how could we do any less for any other of His children.
9th January 2022
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father with whom there is no variation or shadow of change.
I am not one for just going shopping, my mum has often despaired with me not wanting to go hunting for clothes, house goods, shoes etc. I really struggle with the queues, and the business of places, especially at sale time. I finally braved the Shopping Centre after the schools had gone back and it wasn’t too bad, but after walking round twice, dropping into some stores all I bought were Tea Spoons. There really wasn’t anything for me and I found the sale prices, if they existed, were really not money saving. I left thinking, that’s why I don’t go to these places, there is nothing there for me. What did strike me was how many shop units were empty and how many shops no longer exist, they have gone due to covid and money pressures. Things which existed for a long-time, high-street names, businesses we know and love have gone, nothing, as they say, lasts forever. I would never have believed Woolworth could go, it was a staple of my childhood and yet it has been gone many years. This uncertainty, this inconsistency shows us that when we have something special, we should value and treasure it because we will mourn it when it is gone. We need to appreciate what we have, value it, treat it with respect and realise that there is only ever one certainty in our lives and that is God. As the hymn says; He changes not, His compassions they fail not, as He has been He forever will be. Great is God’s faithfulness. Constant, never changing, never closing up, never running out of time or money, never disappearing from our lives. With God there is no variation, no shadow of change.
8th January 2022
Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.
I love the end of a book or story where everything resolves and understanding comes. At the end of the Bible, in Revelation, we are shown many things to help us. In Chapter 21 we are shown a vision that is as relevant today as it was when it was first written. It does not show us being taken from the Earth up to heaven, as many of us picture it. Instead, it shows a New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven to Earth. This new city doesn’t have a temple or church for God to be present in, because His presence is everywhere in this new city. There is no need of a sun or moon because the light of Christ irradiates everything from within. The gates are never closed, and all peoples are welcome to accept the treasures and gifts that life here offers as each of them brings the joys and blessings they can offer to the city. At the centre, from God’s own throne, a river of life flows out. Along the banks grows the Tree of Life. Here we see a picture of the original creation story and God says “Behold! I’m making all things new!” We see this as a vision of the future and yet it is actually an insight into present life to be had on Earth. God’s intention has never been about us struggling until we escape Earth and go to heaven. But rather about God coming down to us, to dwell among us. Emanuel, God with us. God was never a distant, terrifying monstrous puppeteer waiting to wreak retribution at the end of time. God was always and still is about coming to us, being among us here and now, making life worth living, joyous and full right now. The river of life flows now, the tree of life blossoms right now and we do not have to wait until Heaven, the fruit is available now and we are invited by God to come and be part of it, right now.
7th January 2022
Isaiah 1:4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
How many games have you played over the holiday? Christmas has always been a time to play games, they are often given as presents and family time offers the opportunity to play together. Card games, board games, games of hiding and seeking out; We always played hunt the thimble on Christmas afternoon, singing an old song louder or softer as someone got nearer or further away. As I had loved it, so my sons did. Games allow us to share together in fun, the feelings of achievement but also learning how to lose. I find many children these days who have never learned to lose, who have always been allowed to win games and become angry when they didn’t. Games are part of our life learning, how to cope with winning and losing, how to cooperate, how to work together and how to live by rules. It has become easy to forget God, to forget goodness and honesty, to become estranged from the reality of life with God. As we get older many of us stop playing games, yet they are a valuable and fun exercise, worth remembering and worth doing together. Perhaps the games of this past holiday need to stay out, to be used more regularly and enjoyed with those we love on a regular basis. To enjoy and share but also to remind us of how sometimes we will win but often we will lose and we need to accept that, learn from it and grow into better people who live as God intended us to.
6th January 2022
Isaiah 60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Do you like to travel? Many of us have had to curtail our holidays and trips in the last 2 years. We are introduced to travellers in the Epiphany which we celebrate today, 6th January. Wise men, Kings or Magi refer to astronomers who served in royal courts throughout the ancient near eastern world. By the 1st Century AD, Magi were more broadly known as men who studied sacred writings, signs and stars and associated with the Parthian Empire located to the east of Palestine, present-day Iran. They would have studied Hebrew Scriptures among the many sacred writings they studied in their pursuit of wisdom. These Magi travel because of the sign of a regal star and in a moment of weakness towards the end of their trip, allow themselves to be side-tracked, because logically, a king would be born in a palace, so they take their eyes off the prize, off the star, and go to Herod. We are very good at taking our eyes off the prize, of second guessing ourselves and God. Jesus is given gifts of great value, gifts fit for a king and priest are given in an act of worship. All three gifts are linked to Jesus’ life and ministry. What about us, what gift can we bring? In the beautiful carol Christina Rosetti reminds us that If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet what I can I give him, give my heart. We may not have Gold, Frankincense or Myrrh but we do have our hearts and they belong to Jesus.
5th January 2022
Amos 5:8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, the LORD is his name.
When I sing with young children a firm favourite is Twinkle, Twinkle, little star, it features in many nativities and all young children can open and close their fingers as a twinkling star. The simplicity of it hides the question of what a star is? Links it to a precious stone and places them in the sky above us. I love a starry night; but light pollution means we just don’t see many stars in our towns and cities. As a teenager I would follow the path of the stars through the year as the seasons changed and could identify many of the constellations. I loved the Greek and Roman legends behind the constellations and bought endless books as well as visiting the then London planetarium many times. As telescopes have got larger and better, we now see more, understand more and have discovered so many stars that they have numbers and letters now not names. You can even purchase a star and have your name logged in the international register of stars. Stars are amazing, from the simplicity we see to the incredible science and physics behind each one. The Bible also speaks of stars, their importance, their creation and their messages. They feature as guides, as signs, as light in the darkness. They declare God’s glory and handiwork. The pole star has guided explorers and travellers for centuries and the faces of children have lit up at seeing the shapes in the stars above them. The joy of stars is realising that they were created as part of God’s landscape, as a blessing from God for us. Look and see the glory of the King, reflected in the Heavens, and shine as stars in the world.
4th January 2022
Romans 15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Since I started working in schools’ things have changed massively. Particularly the security measures. To enter a school, certain rooms or offices you have to enter pass codes, swipe a card, negotiate various levels of security. At clubs, some restaurants, hotels you will often encounter bouncers or security guards. We have become a very security conscience society because some have taken advantage of the rules we used to have which often depended on people’s goodwill. We have also become very security conscience in churches with working alone policies, not leaving churches open and clear protocols because of those who cannot be trusted. Sadly, we have got to a point where we have become bouncers and security guards as to who comes to church and who belongs in or out of God’s family and heaven. We have developed protocols and ways which mean we decide who is suitable for the Christian life. We decide who Jesus would seek out or talk to and we seem to have forgotten that God welcomes everyone, that Jesus spent His time with outcasts, poor, sick, prisoners, even thieves and fraudsters. We like to place conditions on people finding faith and coming to church, we set our rules and standards instead of applying God’s rules and standards. Of course, we need security, safety and protections but we also need compassion and care, forgiveness and help. If Jesus was here, He would welcome everyone with open arms and we must do the same.
3rd January 2022
Job 14:1 Humans born on Earth have but a short time to live and are easily caught up in trouble.
As we begin another year, I become increasingly aware of my age, of my past and of what remains. God has put us in a world of transitory things where everything changes and nothing remains the same. The things of childhood become treasured memories, things can hold an attachment, people come and go in our lives and constancy only occurs in a few places. The most important of these being God. This changing landscape should help us appreciate that everything we have is a gift. It does not actually belong to us; we didn’t create it and we certainly do not deserve it. We begin to appreciate that it will not last, but while we breathe it in, while we live within it, we can enjoy it, and know that it is another moment of God, another rich moment of life. Life’s rich tapestry is a gift from God to be enjoyed, appreciated, shared with others and the opportunity to make sure everyone experiences the best life they can, as God intended for them as well as for us. Our time on earth is comparatively short compared to the world and the universe but it is to be treasured and used for good, the good of all.
Apologies, no internet since New Year.
1st January 2022 New Years Day
1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us in hope.
We begin 2022 today. A year ago, many of us thought we would see the back of covid in 2021 and we had hope to return to normal life. Sadly, that did not happen. So, this New Year’s Day what is our hope for this coming year? Our Christmas has yet again been overshadowed with Covid, extra restrictions which although not as rigid as perhaps thought, have caused folk to cut much of their lifestyle in order to see family in safety. Extra quick builds are going up in Hospital car parks to treat the further increase in patients while more and more staff are off sick with the new variant. Trust has been further eroded, selfishness has increased, particularly in the those with have more, poverty is rising, more people accessed food banks over Christmas than ever before and we face huge price rises particularly in our energy bills. 2022 does not seem to be as hopeful as we might wish. But, as long as we are here, we have hope, we look to the past and see terrible times that we came through, where God was with us and saw us through; we see possibilities, a future, ways forward and it is these we must cling to, search out and encourage. After all we go into 2022 with the God of the past the present and the future on our side, with promised hope, with Christ as our Saviour and with a future that is certain in Heaven through Jesus.
31st December 2021
1 Peter 4:9 Show hospitality and welcome to one another without grumbling.
Do you have a welcome mat? One that says welcome as people enter your home? Welcome is a manner of greeting, an exclamation, a salutation that makes people feel at ease. It comes from the old English, Wilcuma, which means a guest who brings pleasure. How welcoming are we? Do we show our happiness when someone comes round, or we meet up somewhere? Or are we good at being very mute about someone’s presence? Know we are welcome somewhere means we are so much more relaxed, happy, involved than if we are made to feel unwelcome. In many cultures of the world welcoming someone to your home means feeding them. You are offered a chocolate or piece of cake and the guest may well have had to get a loan to buy it but giving your guest hospitality is so important that it must be done. Peter is very clear about welcoming, hospitality and welcome without grumbling, he goes on to tell us it is also about service, love and using all God has given us to make sure the other we are welcoming flourishes. Over Christmas we show much hospitality to family and friends. Do we do it without grumbling? DO we serve others out of joy at having them in our homes, do we love others so they can flourish and feel valued? It is often said you can measure a home and family by the welcome they offer. May it be said of us that we show hospitality and welcome to all who come to us.
30th December 2021
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
I find this week between Christmas and New Year a nothing time. We seem to be neither one or the other, the events of Christmas have come and gone and the New Year is yet to come but is also not hear yet. It is often a time of spending, clearing up, annual leave, visiting friends and family. Late nights and late mornings, where grey and wet days sit. This week, between the two, has been referred to as the hinge of the year or the bookend of the year. Seemingly the unimportant bit and yet crucial to holding everything together which lies between. We experience the backend of the past year and the front part of the new year. Much hinges on this time. Our experiences and levels of thankfulness for the past year which then lead us into our expectations for the coming year. We may be sad to see a year end, and may have good memories to treasure, or we may be glad for the passing of the year, hoping for better to come, regrets and losses which we want to leave behind. These days that lie between offer a time of reflection, a time to review the past and set goals for the future, an opportunity to look for the now and the not yet, as the Bible puts it. The now is our preparation for the not yet, our mirrored life, our partial life until that time we are fully known and fully seen.
29th December 2021
Romans 15:13 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.
I expect you, like everyone else have watched quite a lot of TV over Christmas, a lot of Christmassy films, a lot of Christmas specials, a lot of repeats. Depending on what you watch depends on whether you get a feel-good programme, about redemption and changing life or something that reflects the loud, boozy side of Christmas where people just drink, use bad language and have a huge hangover. As much as I enjoy a drink, I have never seen the appeal of being out of control and saying or doing things which could be offensive or dangerous. It is not about enjoying life, real joy and real fun does not need anything to make it feel better, or make it supposedly good. All that is happening when we need something to allow us to release ourselves is we are trying to forget, trying to erase the bad memories, trying to be what we are not. Real joy and fun does not need anything to make it happen, no stimulants which leave you in a stupor or at risk, these provide only a few moments of pleasure and forgetfulness only to feel more awful afterwards. Real joy, real fun and pleasure come from knowing Jesus, knowing we are loved and saved, knowing we have the best of life to come and knowing that our lives should be lived so that everyone can flourish and find the real joy for themselves.
28th December 2021
John 1:11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.
One of the greatest human failings is that we believe that we are the centre of everything and we replace God with anything and everything we can find. The time of Christmas becomes partymas, foodmas, telemas, moneymas, presentmas…. Anything but Jesus Christ to fill the gap. You would think we, as humans, would have noticed by now that when God, when Jesus is not the centre of everything; when He is left out; everything is out of sync, out of step, off kilter. We try and fill the gap with everything but Jesus, with everything but God, because we just won’t accept God, we want there to be another reason, one we can control, one we, as humans, are at the centre of. That is why the world is in such a mess, we try everything but God and it just hasn’t worked. The great news of Christmas is that God never gives up, Jesus came that first Christmas to make it all okay, to offer the way back to God. That is what Christmas is really about. Jesus, the first present, given to the world if only they would accept Him. As always, the choice is ours. May we all know God’s first and greatest present for ourselves.
27th December 2021
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This baby we meet at Christmas, who is he exactly? The Prophets told everyone, time and again that the messiah was coming. The one who would save us from Sin, corruption, evil, wrongdoing. He would announce peace and bring good news. This baby is the appointed heir, the one with whom and through whom the world and the universe were created. This baby will reflect God’s glory all through His life, death and resurrection. This child is the exact imprint of God’s very being who sustains all things by His powerful word. If we have not quite got it yet, Jesus is God! Part of the Trinity. Jesus is God’s word. Remember God spoke and the world was created. God’s word is Jesus. God’s word created life, created everything. Jesus is also the light in the darkness. The hope, the future for all, who came but was not accepted. Came to change lives, came to bring light and hope but was turned away. Not wanted. Rejected. But even in that rejection He makes the space for those who want to, to become God’s people, God’s children, cared for and loved by the father. This is the Baby we meet at Christmas. How? By this Word becoming flesh, becoming human, God becomes human, lives as we do, experiences what we experience, understands exactly what the world is like, how people and society behave, what is accepted and what is not. He experiences it, lives it and changes it for us. He is full of truth, He is truth. This is the Baby we meet, Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the son, God incarnate. Born in a pauper’s stable, born with a mission and a message for the world.
26th December 2021 Boxing Day
Acts 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Boxing day seems a strange name for the day after Christmas. It comes from an old tradition of those who were in service, or delivered regularly to a family, or were assistants to the family, errand boys, postmen etc being given a Christmas box, a bonus for their work. It could be monetary or a gift. Servants who had served faithfully over Christmas were often given the day off and sent home to their families with boxes of food and gifts. It was also the day that the rich would give gifts and food to the poor in the form of a Christmas box. Within the church it is the feast of Stephen, as in the carol Good King Wenceslas who looks out on the Feast of Stephen. He then goes out and helps the poor in the depths of winter. Within churches there would be alms boxes, these collected donations from the people and these would be opened and distributed to the poor on St Stephens Day, the day after Christmas. St Stephen was one of the first Church Deacons and the first Christian Martyr. He was the one who took the role of distributing money to the poor in the early church. He was an honest, upright man who spoke well and preached the gospel with power and great results. As a result, he was falsely accused of blasphemy and other accusations and was dragged into the street and stoned to death, this was witnessed with glee by Saul who was to become St Paul. Representations of St Stephen show rocks and stones on his shoulders and head.
25th December 2021 Christmas Day
Luke 2:6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And so, we arrive at Christmas Day. The Prophets told us, told everyone, time and again that the Messiah was coming. The one who would save us from Sin, corruption, evil, wrongdoing. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">He would announce peace and bring good news. We are told that this baby is the appointed heir, the one with whom and through whom the world and the universe was created. This baby will reflect God’s glory all through His life, death and resurrection. This child is the exact imprint of God’s very being who sustains all things by His powerful word. If we have not quite got it yet, Jesus is God! Part of the Trinity. Jesus is God’s word. Remember God spoke and the world was created. God’s word is Jesus; God’s word created life, created everything. Jesus is also the light in the darkness. The hope, the future for all, who came but was not accepted. Came to change lives, came to bring light and hope but was turned away. Not wanted. Rejected. Even in that rejection He makes the space for those who want to, to become God’s people, God’s children, cared for and loved by the father. God becomes human, lives as we do, experiences what we experience, understands exactly what the world is like, how people and society behave, what is accepted and what is not. He experiences it, lives it and changes it for us. He is full of truth, He is truth. This is the Baby we meet today. This Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son, God incarnate. Born in a pauper’s stable, born with a mission and a message for the world.</span>
24th December 2021
Luke 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The Eve of Christmas always holds so much excitement and anticipation. Children are eager to get to Christmas morning but not so eager to go to bed. Many parents find themselves hastily wrapping gifts at midnight and beyond hoping little eyes won’t see them. Many will spend it in the Pub or with friends and many of us will go to Midnight Mass and welcome Christmas Morning with the first communion of Christmas. I have always loved being able to say the first Happy Christmas as Midnight comes. We wait and prepare, we buy and we wrap, we sing and we celebrate in the weeks before, all leading up to this special day. The world celebrates Christmas but not always for the reason of its name, Christ Mass, the birth and gift of Christ. For many the season of Christmas has become just a winter festival, a season of gifts and lights, and the religious part of it has long been forgotten. Yet, I am encouraged hearing people on TV talking of going to midnight Mass, of family traditions which make Christmas about family, about love and care and compassion. As I drive home after Midnight Mass, every year, my mind always turns to the Angels and the Shepherds. I look to the sky, often dark and cold but bright with stars, I hope that I might just catch a glimpse of an Angel choir and once more I am transported to that first Christmas Eve, that first gift of a baby, born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. May the joy, peace and love of Christmas be yours today and tomorrow.
23rd December 2021
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them.
The lowly, poor shepherds have been visited by Angels. They have experienced a vision; it has challenged them to go and see the new king. Had this been you or me would we have hurried to see this baby? It seems odd to us that God would choose to tell poor lowly shepherds about Jesus’ birth when Jesus was a king. These shepherds were the lowest in society, often ostracised and treated with contempt, and yet God tells them of the birth. The message here is that no one is off God’s radar. Everyone, no matter their status, position, influence or opinion is beyond God’s love or saving grace. Jesus was born not just for the rich and powerful, not just for the influencers or status seekers. Jesus was born as God made human for everyone. Both shepherds and kings came to see Jesus. As Christmas approaches, we need to examine what’s important to us this Christmas? We need to remember that Jesus came for all and perhaps offer some help to those who cannot celebrate Christmas because they are homeless, poor, hungry and ostracised by society. There are plenty of organisations who will care for these folk if we can just spare a moment, some money and maybe some time to help all who Jesus came to save and share the true meaning of Christmas.
22nd December 2021
1 Thessalonians 5:5 For you are all children of light and children of day. We are not children of night nor of darkness.
We are at the shortest days of the year right now. The darkest, dankest times when life seems dark and light seems in short supply. For the people of the past, they needed a way of encouragement to hang on in there during these difficult times. There were festivals during the year to help people chart a course and in the middle of winter people celebrated the nativity of the sun, the rebirth of the sun as the days began to get a little lighter. The Sun god, Sol Invictus, has become known as the winter solstice. As the Christian faith began to spread worldwide, the nativity of the Sun, the celebration of rebirth tied in with the Nativity of the Son, the rebirth of light in the world. The discussions of when Christmas was celebrated, early December or later December or even early January, finally became December 25th, the festival of rebirth of light gave the time to celebrate Jesus birth and became accepted worldwide. We don’t know the exact date but the church settled it into a position when light was needed, when nativity was central and December 25th is the day we celebrate Christmas. The other dates played their part as well, early December provided the celebration of St Nicholas and January 6th became the celebration of the Epiphany. As you see the Christmas lights all around, remember at the darkest of times is when we really appreciate the light. Enjoy the lights, look for those longer days as they begin to creep in as the new Year comes in. Let the light shine in and appreciate the light of the world.
21st December 2021
Matthew 2:11 The wise men bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Christmas and the surrounding weeks present us with many stories. We find several in the carols that we sing and as a result we tend to place the events of several weeks and months into a few days. The Magi or Kings are often set in church at a distance from the nativity scene and move slowly towards the stable until arriving at Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th. These Kings were set out on their journey a long time before this, they were prompted by the appearance of a star, the sign for a birth of a King. They spent long months travelling, thinking, preparing for someone special. Why is this baby so special that Magi/Kings come to see him? For the Magi, any regal arrival portrayed in the sky meant this one was incredibly special, this one was more than just an ordinary King because the sign of a star only happened very, very rarely. These Kings do not come empty handed, they bring gifts, gifts with a message of their own. In Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh they show Jesus to be King, Priest and one who will die for His people. These gifts were thoughtful, personal, appropriate. I wonder, what will you give to others this Christmas?
20th December 2021
2 Corinthians 4:8&9 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.
I love rivers, ever since learning about them for O Level Geography and who doesn’t remember Oxbow lakes; we can learn some lessons from nature, particularly from rivers, about determination and resilience. Rivers make their way through cracks, slowly eroding, changing and adjusting so as to find a way through. As we navigate the river of life, we will each meet obstacles, hurdles, difficulties that seem to block our path. The rocks of tragedy and despair, the fallen trees of redundancy, the bends of family life, the silt of illness. How we overcome them and work our way through is based on resilience. Resilience is how we recharge or recover, not necessarily how we endure. When we cannot process and rest a while our minds weaken, our health is eroded. Each time we meet rocks or branches we need to try but then to recharge and recover before we try again. Picture if you can the Grand Canyon or the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon, the strength, resilience and power of the rivers over thousands of years has eroded away rock and mountain, what was once flat land is now cavernous, deep canyon. It has been slow and steady work. Times of rest and recharge. To build our resilience we need to be open, to explore new paths and ways, to rest between difficulties and recharge our capacity to cope before stepping out again. If we again look at nature, now in winter the seemingly lifeless gardens and trees and yet life is there, underground, resting, recharging ready for spring and the release of life and growth again. This is resilience and resilience takes time. Resilience is a quality we can learn and strengthen within us. We are helped by others, by safe spaces, by rest. We need to have others who can help us in times of need, real friends and family, a support network for those twists and turns in life. St Paul is telling the Corinthians this very information. That though sometimes we may be down, we are never out. We have friends, supports, helpers who can and will sit with us and listen. We all need help sometimes. So, set up your support network if you haven’t got one, strengthen it when you can. Be a good friend. Give yourself and others space to grow, space to explore, space to rest and recharge. We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.
19th December 2021
Luke 2:11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, Christ the Lord.
When the angel speaks of Jesus, he speaks of a “saviour” that is “Christ the Lord”. This tells us immediately about the identity of Jesus. ‘Christ’ is a Greek word and is the equivalent of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’. Both words mean ‘the anointed one’ or ‘Lord’ which is a title that is used for God in the Old Testament. Those hearing this message would know that. This baby will be a saviour, not in a political or military sense, but he will save his people from sin and death. This is a saviour who will change lives, attitudes, behaviours. A great company of angels then appear and sing praises to God. This Glory to God in the Highest is now known as the Gloria in Excelsis and is sung in churches across the world. Twenty first century Christmas has become about presents and food and drink. A festival the world enjoys even if it does not believe. Yet the message in all the Christmas story is one of the Christ, the Messiah, being for everyone. No one has more right or more claim to the promises of Jesus than anyone else. Everyone has equal claim to Christmas, but it is up to us what we do about it. Jesus came the first Christmas to offer us life, life in all its fulness. He was the first Christmas gift, and we have given gifts ever since. We give because we love and care for friends and family, we celebrate the joy associated with giving gifts to each other. May we remember those who cannot celebrate and give as we do, Jesus came for everyone, including them, and may we not forget those in difficulty at Christmas and do something to make their Christmas a little brighter and happier. Spare a thought and maybe a simple card or gift for an elderly neighbour, a single parent who may live nearby and would really be blessed by you keeping an eye on them this Christmas.
18th December 2021
Luke 2:15b The Shepherds said to one another Lets go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
In Luke’s Gospel, shepherds are the first to hear about the birth of Jesus. Being a shepherd in first century Palestine was not a privileged position in society. They were poor, lived outside and were left alone by townspeople. The Jewish leaders often criticised shepherds because the nature of their work meant they could not always keep to religious rules like strict Sabbath observance. The Angels coming first to the poor, lowly shepherds shows that the message of Jesus was for all people, even those considered to be insignificant or poor or marginalised. Do we allow Christmas to just be about presents, parties and food or do we allow the real spirit of Christmas to make us kind, caring and compassionate? To make sure no one is left out. Organisations who work all year round to help the marginalised, the homeless, the poor work even harder at Christmas to help. You will have seen the adverts for organisations such as the Salvation Army, Crisis and the like. One of the ways we can help is to give to them. They can at least provide food, clothes, a bed, a warm gathering place, gifts for poor children. This is the least we can do. What did the shepherds do? They didn’t just sit there and say well that was nice, pass the drink. They got up and went to find the baby. It challenged them into action. May it be the same for us.
17th December 2021
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Would you describe yourself as a trusting person? I know I am a lot less trusting now than many years ago when I thought no one would really want to hurt to me or do wrong by me. Even though that trust has been betrayed at times, there are still things I put my trust in. I trust my family, who get it wrong sometimes, but have my best interests at heart. I trust my doctor who has always been wonderful. I trust the vaccines I have had to keep me protected. I trust my car to get me from A to B.
Who and what do you put your trust in? My ultimate trust lies with God, with Jesus. Although I have moaned at times, I can honestly say that time and again God has not let me down. That does not mean everything is rosy, but rather that whatever is going on I can trust God to provide the strength, wisdom, confidence and ability to get me through. We all need to think about what and who we trust, how we protect ourselves from harm and how we keep going in the difficult times. Ultimately our trust is in the name of the Lord our God.
16th December 2021
Ecclesiastes 9:10a Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
At this time of year, I get told by people that this is a busy time of year for me. They say things like you must be busy, how many carols have you had to sing? When will you take a break or even, you look tired. The truth is I am busy and tired but I love singing carols and celebrating the season, even if it is several times a day. That is my calling. To put it into context though, my tiredness is nothing compared to the NHS workers who are trying to fulfil a prime ministers’ whims with less people, less money and less protection than they need. My business is nothing to the workers trying to help those on the streets, hungry families with no money for presents let alone food or hot water. My business is part of my life, I know that at particular times in my ministry I will be working at full stretch but I prepare for these times, I have experience and resources at my disposal. I will get my post-Christmas break and will not have to worry about feeding my family. For me the joy of this time of year is tinged with sadness for those who live in poverty, those who are homeless, children who will go without. I wish I could change this, I know you do to. So, let us play our part, give where we can, offer support and help where we can, encourage the workers with love and support, kind words and practical support for those who need it. We are never too busy to spare a thought or help someone else. However you do it, do it in the name of the Lord and make sure everyone has a better Christmas in some way or another.
15th December 2021
2 Corinthians 3:4&5 Such is the confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God.
Have you noticed how some people just ooze confidence. They speak up and out even if they are not that well informed. They can make others feel intimidated just by their presence. This confidence is often bravado, a recognition that if we act in a certain way and are confident in that, others will just accept us. Many interview techniques are about confidence, answering with confidence even if you are not clear on the question. Like most things in life, we need a balance. It is good to have confidence in the right things but not to be so overconfident in ourselves that we neglect to learn, to grow and to change when necessary. Our real confidence should come from who we are in God. Recognising that even though we are not perfect, that we do not know all the answers, we are children of a God who does. That confidence comes from our relationship with Jesus. When we accept Jesus for who he is, what He has done for us, we can be confident that we are accepted and forgiven by God and as such be confident in our future with God. Even if we are not confident in ourselves, we can be confident and certain in God and that is not just bravado but absolute reality and truth.
14th December 2021
Daniel 12:8 Daniel heard, but did not understand. So he said, “My lord, I am curious, what shall be the outcome of these things”.
Being a lover of cats, I struggle with the old phrase, curiosity killed the cat, but I do get the sentiment behind it; particularly when a nosy cat gets stung by a bee or topples the Christmas tree that must be explored. Being curious helps our learning and our progress in life. If we were not curious, we would never open our post, or unwrap a present, or go into a strange or different place. Of course, some of us are more curious than others and that maybe reflected in the job we do or the hobbies we enjoy. Most of us want to know why something happens, what caused a situation, or what the result of our actions or the actions of others might be. Sometimes we just don’t get it, we look for answers and they don’t come. Daniel just could not see the wood for the trees and so he asks the obvious question, what will be the outcome? It is okay to ask the obvious question, it is okay to ask God what is happening and why. It is okay to be curious about life, about the future, about what is happening; but we must always remember that curiosity can get us into trouble if we go too far. Questions are good and need answers, but curiosity is not the same as being nosey.
13th December 2021
Luke 3:11 Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.
Advent is not only a season for waiting. It is also a time of preparation – a time of looking for the coming of the Lord, for the fulfilment of God’s promised restoration, for the peace that overcomes all violence, and for that perfect love that casts out fear. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. He was sent into difficult, complicated times, not unlike we are experiencing presently. John’s message was simple: repent; turn your lives around; turn back to God. For John, repentance was not about beating ourselves up for things done or left undone; to repent meant total transformation, a transformation that bears fruit. John the Baptist calls the people who venture into the desert, a brood of vipers, yet they do not turn and run. Instead, they listen; you must bear fruit, he says, do not rely on your ancestry, your tradition, or your history. This is about preparing for the One who is to come. When John finished preaching, they asked what they should do and John doesn’t ask the people to change the world, but rather to change themselves. He doesn’t tell them to leave their lives and stay with him or start a revolution; he tells the crowds who come to him to consider sharing what they have with the cold and hungry. He told the tax collectors to be honest and fair. The soldiers, he told to act with integrity, avoiding abuse of their power. Go home, John tells them. Go home to your families, your neighbours, your jobs, your friends. Go home and live your lives as deeply and as generously as you can right now. Do what the Lord requires of you and do it now. Be generous now; Be merciful now; Do justice now.
12th December 2021
Zephaniah 3:8 Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!
This Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete,” when translated from Latin, means “rejoice”. We know that Advent is a season of waiting and today we are called to be joyful as we await the coming of Jesus Christ. God, through Zephaniah, offers us glimpses of a hopeful future and calls us to rejoice with all our heart. We are reminded of the ways God has delivered us, is delivering us, and will deliver us in the future. St. Paul, strongly urges us to rejoice in the Lord always. We have been experiencing tough times recently. With the suffering, loss, uncertainty, and state of our beautiful and broken world and a pandemic. So, how can we hear these words and rejoice? In our minds, joy tends to overlap with happiness. Happiness is often connected with what is happening to us and around us. Happiness usually lasts for just a short time. When we are discouraged and afraid, rejoicing in the Lord can be a hard sell. But the truth is that joy is not usually inspired by happy circumstances. Real joy, unlike happiness, lasts, no matter what the challenges. It lies deep within us, within our hearts and minds and souls. It is God given and God inspired. We will sing together over Christmas, Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
11th December 2021
Acts 17: 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears and we would like to know what they mean.
One of things I love about children is the questions. Yes, it can be wearing at times, but the thirst for knowledge is wonderful. I have a family of men who love to take things apart to find out how they work, they are not so keen on the putting back together. I love the curious minds in school that want to know why something happened. I personally love to know the story behind the story, and I particularly love to find out the background to songs and hymns and why they were written. We have in built desire to learn, to want to know why and that has led to human’s discovering so many amazing things. Our brain is not capable of understanding everything, but it is capable of learning, of being challenged by new ideas, of being changed when we learn new things and are willing to listen to new thinking. It is not our job to know all the answers, but it is God’s. It is our job to listen, to learn, to ask questions and to be willing to listen to the answers, even if we disagree, but then it is our job to let those answers inform out thinking, our living and our faith.
10th December 2021
Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Waiting for an exciting event is difficult, much more so in children, but if we are honest, none of us like to wait. On a positive note, waiting is a time to look around and recognise that all is not as it should be or could be. Waiting is the time when we can lean into these feelings of longing, that not all is right, and that there is something better to come. Waiting gives time to prepare and get ready. As a blessing for us, waiting is a time to dream; it is a time to imagine. When we wait, though it seems that death and suffering run rampant and unrestrained through our world, we dream of being comforted. We dream of being reunited with loved ones. We dream of a time when God is going to make everything alright. To echo the words of Jeremiah, we dream of a time when God’s promise is fulfilled, and all will live in safety and will flourish. We dream of a day when God will execute justice and righteousness throughout the land. Advent offers us this waiting time and reminds us that our dreams are not pie in the sky but assured by faith, by belief, by hope and secured by the promises of God and the salvation of Jesus.
9th December 2021
Daniel 7:9a As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
The Old Testament refers to “Ancient One” or “Ancient of Days” which are other names for God. It also refers to “one like a Son of man” who comes “on the clouds of heaven” this is Jesus. Already in the Old Testament we have an early vision of at least two persons of the Holy Trinity, God the Father and God the Son. The Spirit is also mentioned clearly in Creation and beyond. Jesus’ favourite form of self-reference in the Gospels is “Son of Man.” The one who receives all authority at the final judgment. This is Christ, our King and saviour. In identifying Himself as Son of Man Jesus is clearly showing us that even though He is God, he is the Ancient One, He is also human, very much a human who lived as we did, who experienced our fears and emotions and therefore knows exactly what we go through each and every day. Jesus, for a time, forgoes the power, kingship, knowledge and understanding of being the Ancient of Days to become a human and experience life as an ordinary human, even experiencing more than most of us do, the taunting and ridicule of Satan, the painful, suffering and relinquishing of life to defeat death and so make humans once more perfect in the sight of God. Jesus Christ, fully human and fully God.
8th December 2021
Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
In the coming weeks of Advent, we will hear of the prophets who came to prepare the way for Jesus, especially John the Baptiser. We will hear a message of repentance and of a baptism of fire. And of course, we will hear of Mary and Elizabeth. The task before us is to read and hear these stories in the spirit of Advent. It is a time to stop and to hesitate. It is a time to dig into the discomfort and seeming incongruities Scripture presents to us. It is a time to linger with questions rather than rush to answers. These moments of delay or disruption create space to feel. In these coming weeks leading up to Christmas, may we all pause and look around. May we notice those things which are and those things we wish would be. Certainly, we believe in Christmas and the theologies of Incarnation and of God’s presence with us. But we also believe in the not-yet. We hold onto those feelings of discomfort and of doubt. We believe in Christmas, but let us also believe in Advent. What does it mean to believe in Advent? To believe in Advent is to believe in waiting. And may our waiting be full of dreams for a better world, full of God’s justice and love made present to all.
7th December 2021
Revelation 1:18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
We all knows that the Church is facing various forms of persecution across the world, some blatant, some subtle, in almost every country of the world. There are few places on the globe where the political powers are even a little sympathetic to the Church, usually because it benefits them. This can lead us to feeling that history is out of control, and question God’s power as King. It’s helpful to remember, however, that this phenomenon is nothing new. St. Augustine, on his deathbed in AD 430, heard the Vandals were besieging his beloved city of Hippo, and it looked like Latin Christian civilization was going to be completely and violently destroyed. More recently, many believers met their ends in the Cristeros rebellion in Mexico (1926-29) or the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) under conditions where it was not at all clear the Church would survive at all. Yet these saints and martyrs did not give up their confidence that “The LORD is king! Revelation 1:5-8: is about the end of history and the return of Christ the King. It refers to Jesus as Son of David and King over the House of David, which was to rule the whole earth. This covenant promised that they and we will become “a royal priesthood.” Israel rejected God’s covenant but it is granted to all those of us who join themselves to Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega.
6th December 2021
John 18:36a Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world.
John’s gospel is a great reminder to us all about the nature of Jesus kingdom and his kingship. It is not of this world. That does not mean it is not in this world. The Kingdom of Christ is very much in this world. Its visible in us the Church. Things everyone take for granted like the hospital, the university, and “human rights” came squarely out of the cultural heritage of the Church. Even the welfare state, the care of the poor, education all have religious roots in the church. As Christians, we distinguish the Church Triumphant (the saints in heaven) from the Church Militant (us struggling here below). But the heart of the Church, and the Kingdom, is with the Church Triumphant, the future to which we are joined by faith and the sacraments. Our world, our country is a long way from the “Kingdom of Christ.” Political involvement is a duty of the Christian, as we fight for holiness, for communion with God, for the salvation of souls, and eternal life. As we share Christ the king with all through our care of the other, giving of our time, out of our abundance to make sure all have enough to flourish and find Jesus for themselves.
5th December 2021
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Another of the names used for Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. This term is used in Revelation, the prophetic end book of the Bible which refers to the end of times. The term sets Jesus as being Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, in other words the beginning of everything, putting Jesus as in the beginning with God at creation. Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, in other words the end. This sets Jesus as being there at the end of times just as He was at the beginning of times. Just as the beginning and end letters of the Greek alphabet encapsulate all that lies within them, so it is with Jesus who has been there throughout all times from the beginning to the end. There is one other thing to note about the letter Omega, it represents a constant, Jesus is our constant, always with us, never giving up on us, always available to us. Jesus’ role as Son of God, as part of the Trinity, as part of creation and the constant throughout everything, sets Him as first and last, as Creator, King and Saviour.
4th December 2021
Ecclesiastes 1:8 No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
The word discover means to make known, to make available and visible. In law discovery is a vital part of the process of the story behind the story. There is a TV channel called Discovery which started life as a channel for education and discovery but seems to have lost its way now, the longest serving of the Space Shuttles was called Discovery and of course there is the up-market Range Rover discovery just in case the ordinary Land Rover was not enough for us. Being curious, wanting to learn and find things out for ourselves is what has led to the great discoveries which have changed lives, people such as Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Thomas Edison, James Watt, Edwin Hubble and so on. This desire for discovery is built into our nature. God gave us brains with which to learn, to discover, to create and make. In the world of religion and faith the discovery is in finding God for ourselves through Hope, believing in the good which is to come, discovering God within us through our abilities and gifts which come from God via the Holy Spirit. We discover God works within us as we learn new things about ourselves and our world and uses our discoveries to works all things together for good, the good of all. May we be people of discovery, people who want to learn and help each other and our world through the discoveries that God offers us every day.
3rd December 2021
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
At this time of year days are very short and it gets dark early and the light of morning gets later and later. We see Christmas lights appear, ever earlier, to make the days seem brighter and bring some well needed light into our lives. So, when Jesus uses the term Light of the World, He is declaring that He is cutting through the darkness of the world and making things bright and well-lit once again, that way the works of darkness can no longer hide. The term light of the world is rooted in Jesus’ relationship with His Father. Jesus speaks from God and for God and as God. Apart from Jesus, apart from God, we live in darkness. We have a limited capacity to understand who we are or what we see in the world. The light of Christ, is the brightness of God shining into our human soul and then out through us. Life can be okay on earth, but not fully complete or worthwhile without Jesus. We are all created with a God shaped hole in our heart which means we long for and crave our Creator, our Father. It is only through our relationship with our Saviour Jesus, that the dark parts of our hearts become bright again. It is only through Jesus that we become bright and whole, no longer living in the shadows or the darkness.
2nd December 2021
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
As we begin to listen to the readings of Advent and Christmas, we discover that there are many names used for Jesus. The most famous of the Advent hymns is O come, O come, Immanuel. Immanuel is a name used for Jesus that means God with us. The whole point of Jesus coming was to restore the relationship between God and humans which had been severed. God’s plan, which runs like a gold thread through the Old Testament, was to become one with His people again by becoming one of them, in other words God with us humans. This name of Immanuel, also Emmanuel in Greek, was used in the Old Testament, in the prophecies of Isaiah and then in the gospels. It reinforced the presence of God with His people to call Him Immanuel. When Jesus was born all doubt about Isaiah's prophecy being fulfilled, was gone. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophet's words because he was fully man yet still fully God. He came to live in Israel with his people, as Isaiah had foretold. The name Jesus, or Yeshua in Hebrew, means the LORD is salvation. Jesus the Saviour came so God was with His people once again.
1st December 2021
Daniel 2:23b Now you have enabled me to understand what I requested from you. For you have enabled me to understand the king's dilemma.
Every now and again we face a moral dilemma. Should I do this or not, should I support this or not, should I help this situation or not. We can feel guilty for not helping or supporting but also, we can know inside that perhaps we should not be involved in something because we are uncomfortable, or it breaks the moral code we live by. People asking for help in the form of money can be an issue like this. A big organisation we know we can trust is one thing, but individuals who send a letter, an email, or approach us in the street is another. We are currently experiencing huge amounts of scams, people making huge amounts of money by pretending to want a relationship, have a terrible illness and no medical cover, promises of paying it all back several times over if you lend them money and so on. We all think we won’t fall for it but many of us do. That compassion and empathy within us can tug at the heart strings and also the scammers are hoping for the greed we often feel to kick in as well when we think we could earn a nice lump sum. Our goodness, compassion and empathy come from God, from our creator, sadly Satan has also sown evil, greed, lies and cheating within us and therefore knowing what to do is difficult. It is okay to say no when we are not sure, when the little voice within says, just hold on, this is not quite right. The uncomfortable feeling we can get is our gut working, it is our sense of right and wrong at work and worth listening to. If we are not sure, it is good to look at it again, examine the situation and if it seems immoral in any way, if it is not what a Christian would be involved in then best to steer clear.
30th November 2021
John 6:8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.
Today is November 30th and is St Andrew’s Day. St Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and of any church bearing his name, like ours. Bible references to Andrew show him to be the quieter, more thoughtful brother of Peter who is often in the background but yet is the one who quietly gets on with the job of being a disciple, bringing his own brother to Jesus, bringing the boy with the packed lunch which goes on to feed 5000. Andrew is one who does not rush into things but thinks things through, he develops wisdom and self-confidence as he follows Jesus. He is allowed to be himself and grow into who God made him. It can’t have been easy with strong, brash Peter as your brother, but Andrew learns to be his own person, to be the person God called him to be. Andrew goes on to take the gospel far and wide, his influence in Scotland made him their Patron Saint and ultimately, he was martyred for his faith insisting that his cross of execution could not be the same as Jesus because he was not worthy. The flag of Scotland portrays the Saltire, the X shaped cross on which Andrew died. May we be willing to develop our wisdom and understanding, to listen and to learn and then have the confidence to speak up for God in the right way at the right time.
29th November 2021
Psalm 25: 2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies’ triumph over me.
Imagine being part of that first generation of Jesus’ followers who experienced His teaching and miracles first hand, saw Him die and also saw Him rise again. Jesus promised these folk that He would return. But now, people are dying, and understandably, the church is a bit confused. Awkward questions are being asked by the community in Thessaloniki. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is about precisely this issue. Jesus was expected to have come back before this generation passed away. Now, people are dying, and the community is concerned about the place those who have passed will have in the coming kingdom. When is Jesus coming back? Was Jesus wrong? Is Jesus coming back at all? Has Jesus left us alone with our death and our suffering, and what enemy seems more triumphant than death? Wasn’t Jesus supposed to come by now? Wasn’t He supposed to come and save us? Paul’s response to the Thessalonians is both theological and pastoral. Paul addresses the community’s fear about those who have already died, affirming that they will experience resurrection and have a place in the coming kingdom of God. He also acknowledges those feelings of grief, helplessness, and powerlessness that accompany that feeling that God has forgotten them. Paul declares that we need to wait with faith. Acknowledging that the waiting is not pointless, but to believe that the waiting will be worth it. Paul is waiting to see this community again and his faith influences the way that he waits to be reunited. Paul reaches for the joy of Christian connection through faith as well as naming the fact that he misses his friends.
28th November 2021
Jeremiah 33:6 I will bring health and healing; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the season where we are looking; in everyday life as well as liturgically; toward Christmas. But as we move forward there are some other things we must think about. We must set this season in the context of Jesus’ triumphant return and the prophecy from Jeremiah which signals the coming of the fulfilment of God’s promise when all shall live in peace and justice. This era of justice and flourishing for all has not yet come to pass, we can all see that. The coming Messiah was meant to usher in this age of peace on earth, end to war, and an end to the woes of humanity. But Jesus clearly says that the time has not yet come, this will happen at the second coming when there will be difficult, painful times, when the Son of Man returns and that will be in the future. Here we are, approaching another Christmas, nearly two thousand years later, and the second coming of Jesus has not yet happened. But to be seasonal, let us, in this season of waiting, hold off from that immediate jump to make sense of it and try and explain it. Instead, let us be patient. Let us lean into the discomfort that the second coming brings us, remembering and trusting that God knows what He is doing and use this advent as a time to remind us of our secure future with Him.
27th November 2021
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
This week has seen
the American Tradition of Thanksgiving. We don’t tend to celebrate here, but
being thankful is something we can all benefit from. The tradition of telling
everyone around the table what you are thankful for before you eat seems like a
great tradition and worth doing whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not. It
is good every day to recognise the things we have been blessed with, but when
times are difficult, when we are feeling down or struggling then remembering
the good things and giving thanks for them is really beneficial to our well
bring and mental health. We become so expectant and entitled that we forget
that actually we came into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing so
everything we ever have is a blessing, something to be thankful for. The more
we recognise this and are thankful the more appreciative we are of life and the
more we want to share with those who are less fortunate than we are. So whether
you celebrated Thanks giving or not, make sure you thank God for the abundant
blessings He has given you
26th November 2021
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
We celebrate new year each year as December ends and January comes round again. We make resolutions and hope for things to be better. It is a time of hope and promise. The new church year begins with the beginning of Advent, the preparation time before Christmas. Depending on which day December 25th falls on, means Advent can begin in the last few days of November, as it is this year. The churches year, called the liturgical year, begins with Advent, a time of preparation, of self-examination. We tend to see Advent as the preparation for Christmas and the coming of Christ, that is part of it, but it is also a preparation for Jesus return as foretold by the Bible. The term means arrival and coming, taking from the Latin. The arrival of Jesus at the nativity and the coming of Jesus as eternity dawns and God’s plan finally comes to its conclusion. It has existed since about the fifth century and included fasting as usually observed in Lent. One of my favourite traditions is the advent candle marked up for each day with a different name for Jesus. It is only lit for about half an hour but it is to encourage prayer and thought about who Jesus is and to make sure we are prepared for His return. As we start Advent in this coming week, may we remember what Christ has done and what He will do when He comes again.
25th November 2021
Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
What kind of Christian are you? One of those who think Christianity is for the elite, impenetrable for all but the few? Or are you the sort of Christian without much real spiritual discipline at all? Don’t bother studying the Bible or reading and learning about faith. Both are tempting ideas about faith but neither will do! In the church some still cling to an idea of a cultural Christian, the occasional attender, who are tentative, often conservative, very supportive, but uncomfortable with a full commitment to faith. It is a traditional Anglican view point; a large feature of cathedral ministry and it covers a multitude of sins. But it is not a substitute for the reality of faith, which-like it or not, calls all of us out from where we are: sheep, goats, lukewarm, hot or cold, to make a full and complete commitment to God. As Augustine said “To love God and the world equally is to live neither for God nor the world”, We cannot hedge our bets. We need to love God first and foremost then from that full commitment to Him comes our deep love for the world that causes us to want to share the love we have found with everyone.
24th November 2021
Mark 8:29b Peter answered him, You are the Messiah.
How’s your balance? Do you feel balanced, happy, on point? No sooner has Peter expressed his conviction of Jesus as the Son of God than Jesus completely knocks him and the others completely off balance with what discipleship entails for them. At the first hurdle Peter is labelled an opposer. As we seek to serve Jesus, declare His glory and share His good news there appear to be plenty of things to knock us off balance. But in the same few verses Jesus offers ways to keep us balanced. Humility and love to keep us standing and Two feet to keep us walking along the straight road and leading us on through to Heaven. There are those of us who want to approach faith through our brains and through argument and then there are those who disregard the dogma and teaching altogether and are guided only by their feelings or intuitions. The challenge is to find the balance. Those doctrines which reveal the radical nature of God’s love, but also that experience of God is not an idea to be understood or an argument to be won. God is love, we love Him and he loves us. There is a risk that we don’t listen and learn, that we neglect reading and study, that we forget sound argument and solid ideas. There is also a risk that we forget the personal love of Jesus and the servant attitude we seek to imitate. The gospel of Christ is Himself. If we keep these things in balance then we cannot be knocked off course.
23rd November 2021
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
If nothing else Cop 26 was an example of looking at the bigger picture. Examining the danger to our world now but in the future and across all lands and seas. Our selfishness and short-term values as human beings have left many in the world already suffering the consequences and it will only get worse. Our willingness to look at the bigger picture affects how we think, act, work and live. Being willing to see how what we do as individuals in the context of others and the world, gives us a bigger and better perspective. We can begin to see beyond money, possessions, success to how we as individuals affect others. We have running water in our homes, proper toilets and so we easily forget those across the world who have neither. Those who walk miles for dirty drinking water, those whose lack of sanitation causes illness and disease. Because it is not “our personal problem” we forget, we carry on because we are okay. The bigger picture reminds us that others are dying because they cannot access the basic of life. Everything we do, read, study, think etc has a context, it can open our eyes to the bigger picture. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians is being encouraging, faithful, helpful and yet he writes from prison. Even in a small room he is able to see the bigger picture, to remind others of the God given resilience, strength and hope needed to keep going, to value what we have and to share it with others. Whatever is true, right, lovely etc, think on those things and see the bigger picture.
22nd November 2021
Jeremiah 32:40 God says I will make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from them.
A friend of mine recently spoke to me of their desire to see true disability rights actioned in this country. By this they meant that they could call the station and book for the ramp to access the train but more often than not they arrive to find no one to action it. They can complain but nothing can legally be done. The will to really change things is not there. Accessibility in shops, museums, parks, transport etc is still not imperative, there are still excuses that can be made and accepted while disabled people are excluded. This goes for many in our society who are excluded because of disability but also gender, skin colour, religious belief, life choices, orientation and so the list goes on. God does not exclude anyone from His love, His care. We often exclude ourselves by our own behaviour and choice, but God never turns away from us. He has made an everlasting covenant or promise to never turn away. The nature of God and so our nature as His creation, His children should be to never turn others away. To never abandon those who are disabled or different, to never judge another by our own standards. We can make a difference if we treat everyone as chosen and precious before God because that is exactly what they are.
21st November 2021
Matthew 8:5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.
How is your resilience? In recent times many outspoken MP’s and commentators have been quite rude about our young people and even called them snowflake generation. As someone who is working with young people, I can tell you that is wrong. As we move on, still living with the affects of the pandemic and its ongoing clutches, it is young people who are coming back stronger. They are looking forward, being positive while many of us are struggling and in affect grieving over these lost couple of years and lost lives and ways of life. The reason for this, I believe, is the spring of youth but as we have adapted in schools, we have created an environment where asking for help is okay. We have provided counsellors and pastoral workers so if someone needs to talk, seek help, then they can, no shame, no worry. Just having that support gives strength and encouragement to move on. We need to give ourselves this opportunity. To be reminded that it is okay to ask for help, to seek out a counsellor, mental health first aider, a doctor; whoever can help us and not be embarrassed to do so. People in the Bible came to God for help, to Jesus for help. It is okay to need to help and God gave us each other and people trained in areas so we can access that help for ourselves. If you need help, please ask for it. Resilience is built when we have support and learn strategies to help us cope and build back better and stronger.
20th November 2021
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
We all wish for more time, if only there were more hours in the day, more days in the week, more months in the year. And yet if there were we would only fill them and wish for more. Time management is one of those things often asked for in Job interviews. Can you fit everything we want into the time we are giving you and can you do it well? We are seeing increasing demands on people in their work and home life and our human resilience means we try, we try our best to do more and more in less and less time. Time is precious, if we have learnt nothing more over the pandemic it should be that life is precious and we do not know how long we will be on the earth. Many lives have been cut short and these have not just been older people. The Bible tells us that there is a time for everything under heaven. We are encouraged by God to use our time wisely because He knows that there are so many things in life that can distract us from what truly matters. We must not waste our time so that we look back with regret, we simply do not know what tomorrow holds! How we spend our time is far more important than how we spend our money. We have time but we have to chose to use it properly, to give time to what matters, to what God calls us to do. In respecting time and our use of it we will gain a heart of wisdom.
19th November 2021
1 Samuel 16: 7b For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
If you were asked to describe yourself, what would you say? Perhaps it would be what you do, who you are, your role, your hobbies and so on. I wonder, would you use words such as fallible, vulnerable, restless or perhaps angry, open, fearful? If we are honest with ourselves many of us have worries and concerns and hide parts of our lives from others and from God. Being a Christian can be costly, it can demand of us a willingness to be vulnerable, to accept our weaknesses and not hide them, to accept our brokenness and that Jesus is the one to heal that, maybe through counsellors or doctors. We are all in need of God’s grace, thankfully He offers it in abundance. We can often condemn others, because it helps us feel better about ourselves. If we look strong and opiniated we can hide our weaknesses from others and look powerful. God’s grace is not about strength or power, it is about weaknesses, needs, fallibility. Our need to control others and situations rises out of selfishness and not out of service, compassion, empathy or love. As we walk the way of the cross, our example is Jesus, and we should be able to describe ourselves in ways that reflect Him.
18th November 2021
Galatians 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
How are you at disagreeing? I have met many folks who are convinced their job is to disagree with everything no matter what it is. Disagreement is not necessarily a bad thing; we need to know all the pros and cons of anything to make good decisions and by thinking deeply about our attitudes and behaviour we can nurture understanding and respect between people who disagree. If we recognise ourselves as the body of Christ with differing gifts, abilities and talents, all God given, then we can be open to each other, honest with each other without any hidden agendas. What is in both heart and mind needs to be shared gently and lovingly so that conversations can be had about difficult things without folk feeling embarrassed or hurt. In this way we can learn together, flourish together, grow together. We can be faithful to the Bible and to Tradition by reasoning, listening to differing perspectives, differing lived experiences, and valuing them with the same value we place on our own ideas. Together does not mean in full agreement, but it accepts the other as a fellow child of God who is just as valued and loved by God as we are.
17th November 2021
Romans 15:7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
Across our world and in our neighbourhood are communities of Christians. These communities are, hopefully, held together in the love of Christ. We are all different, God made us that way and these many differences are God given gifts that can enable us to flourish and create mutual respect for each other. But they can also damage the image of Christ that we are called to show all through our life together. The quality of our relationships is devalued by certain behaviours. We need to address these to live as better Christians. We need to accept that we have prejudices and ignorance’s. We all see things differently, but our way is not necessarily the right way. We need to recognise our own hypocrisy in pointing out others faults but ignoring our own. We need to pay attention to and call out those in power so as to drive out fear and speak up for all. We are called to welcome and love people as they are, unconditionally. That means seeing Jesus in the stranger who walks into church, in the homeless, in those who have to use foodbanks, in the shop worker and delivery driver, in everyone. If we can reflect Christ in these ways, we can bring others to know Him because they see Him in us as one who accepts folk just as they are.
16th November 2021
Romans 12:10 Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another.
At the end of the sermon on the Mount, a discourse on how followers of Jesus should live, the people who hear Him are astounded by His authority and teaching. Are we? Do we recognise Jesus’ authority and does our teaching about Jesus have authority? The Church of England says the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation, but we also learn from history, nature and sciences. The Bible is the source for Jesus’ teaching, rooted in His time and place. We are to use the Bible to reason our ideas, to learn and to set these into the context of our traditions. The church teaches that there is no fear in love and that marriage is the ideal commitment for sexuality and family. It also recognises that there are many voices in the church, and some different interpretations of Scripture. The Church of England tradition is marriage between a man and woman, but it also supports same sex civil partnerships. Clergy cannot yet do same sex weddings although Church in Wales is now allowing blessings. The ideal is lifelong union, seen as marriage, but it also recognises and accepts committed relationships. The church also teaches that Sex is also about Joy, given as a gift from God, to be a blessing to both and bring them closer. There are many issues currently being discussed over relationships, but one thing is clear, the abiding view of God, of Jesus, is love and respect for each other and not judging one another because our view maybe different to another.
15th November 2021
Mark 8:36 Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not!
At the time of Jesus, becoming a disciple required an unwavering commitment to submit to the rabbi’s authority, living every day with Him in close proximity. This meant that every day was full of opportunities to learn new things about God, to study, to discuss, to grow. We may not be those first disciples but we still need to recognise who Jesus is; the Messiah, the Son of God, our saviour and Lord, and then submit to His authority by obeying His commands and living as He lived; learning new things about God every day through prayer and the Bible. We have a choice, to live our life all about worldly gain, the wealth, power, fame etc or all about Jesus’ ways, being a servant of others, loving and caring for them. We must decide what really matters to us, and if our eternity with God is what we desire. If we are ashamed of God, of Jesus, then we cannot expect Him to be anything but ashamed of us. If we deny self, take up our cross and follow Him then we will see the bigger picture, we won’t be blinded by worldly things and we won’t become a stumbling block to God’s mission.
14th November 2021
Mark 13:8a For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.
What do you do with your poppy after Remembrance Sunday? Do you throw it away? Or keep it for next year? Does it go in a drawer until you come across it in a few months’ time? Perhaps you have a very particular place for it? The Poppy is a symbol of our remembering. So, what will you and I do with our remembering after today? Today there are many acts of remembrance, but what happens on Monday, and the next day and the next? Will we put our remembering away in a drawer until next year, when we will get it out again and remember for a few days once again? For some of us the remembering is more personal, because we are grieving what has happened to a family member, a colleague, a friend, a parent, a child. That isn’t something we can switch in and out of for one day a year. How we remember and what we do with our remembering, matters. What we do once today is over, matters. Because if we just put our remembering, along with our poppies, to one side, to forget until next year, then we have not remembered rightly today. Remembering rightly is about how we live and what changes because of what all these service personnel did for us as a community, as a nation. Right remembering, means we must remind ourselves of the facts of wars and conflicts, past and present, and remember with sorrow, pride, gratitude, wonder. Remember those who gave their lives. Remember that behind each name we remember is a family, colleagues, a group of friends, a community, a nation that is different because of that one person and their sacrifice. We will remember them.
13th November 2021
Matthew 16:24 If anyone would follow me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
As Christians we are called to live every day in such a way that it is apparent to everyone that we have died to ourselves, to our selfish ways and ambitions, and live lives for God. It is what is meant by taking up our cross and following Jesus. Yet as soon as something unfair happens we instinctively want to get even. But we have died to that, haven’t we? We have prayed “not my will but yours be done.” So, hopefully as we become more like Jesus we will humbly submit our will to God’s will, and we will respond to difficult things in kindness and humility. Will we always do it right first time? No, but life is a journey. God knows we are fighting the habits of a lifetime and He is patient with us as we learn to walk the right path. Nevertheless, we are called daily to take up our cross. It is good for us to remember that many Christians still bear the cross of persecution, imprisonment and death for their faith. Something we can’t even imagine. Taking up our cross is much simpler and easier than theirs.
12th November 2021
1 Corinthians 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For most of history we have been contented to make temporary patches to cover the holes and problems in society which in fact have served to maintain the very structures that created the holes to begin with. This way of life disempowers those on the margins, it always has. Now it has caught up with us as well. Those we have supported are now turning in on us. We are called by God our creator to love our neighbour and that is the very foundation for re-establishing and reclaiming the common good for all. The common good has fallen into cultural, political and even religious neglect, while we have put ourselves first and others second. The commitment to the common good of all dates to the very beginnings of our faith and is rooted in both the Old and New Testaments. Presently our western civilizations appear to be in a state of spiritual emergency. For Christianity to be effective in its re-establishment with the common good, it must create a universal hope that both brings peace to and unshackles the human soul. The mystery and blessing of the poor is this: that they are Jesus, and what you and I do for them we do for Him. The common good of all provides a larger moral perspective, living for the good of everyone not just ourselves. It ties into the current climate change emergency and the need to change for the good of all now and in the future. This must challenge us to deepen our faith, to reach deeper into our relationship with God and to work tirelessly for the good of all and the good of the Earth God gave to us to sustain us.
11th November 2021
Matthew 6:10 Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
As we follow Jesus, we should start to look and be more and more like him; and as we look more like him, we look less like the world. As we deny ourselves it means we say “No” to ourselves and “Yes” to God, to humbly submit our will to God. It means we go through life repeating the words that Jesus said the night before he died in the garden, he said to God his Father, “Not my will but yours be done.” It is what millions of Christians pray in the Lord’s Prayer. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Becoming more like Jesus, St Paul tells us, is imitating Him, putting Him on like an actor takes on a role and becomes that character through study, learning, following, using the same language and attitude to become like them. We often speak of good role models, those we should look to as an example of how to live. Jesus is our chief role model and as we become more like Him we should become good role models as Christians for other people to look to.
10th November 2021
Ephesians 1:18 I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people.
How good are you at learning new skills? I wonder if you enjoyed your time at school and felt you learnt well and valued that learning? Learning is very much a lifelong process but the majority of what we learn is learnt in our early years. Our young brains are hotwired to soak up as much as we are willing to let it. We are very much independent people, with strengths and weaknesses. We learn through life whether we actively chose to or not, we are challenged, we grow and we learn to support others and they us. Paul encouraged all the places he visited with His letters, he tried to show them the value of learning, of growing in faith and in supporting each other through life. As each person made their independent choice to follow God Paul prays for them to receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation and that they would be enlightened. He knew that as we all grow as Christians we need to learn, to value that learning and to become wise and enlightened in our faith. How we grow as Christians depends very much on how willing we are to learn, to pray, to listen and to grow. We are independent people but we also need to be team players in our community and society. God never gives us more than we can handle, we need to be willing to learn each day, to value our learning, our opportunities, to allow ourselves to become wise and enlightened and to share this given learning with others as a valued gift from God.
9th November 2021
Mark 8: 32b So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
As humans we have times when we are at our worst and times when we are at our best. Peter is a disciple we see at his worst and his best. His moment of glory, declaring who Jesus was, one of his worst moments, Peter tells Jesus that what He is saying about having to die is wrong. In other words, Jesus, I Peter, know better than you or God do. Peter has his moment of seeing things from a basic human and selfish point of view, we all do that. We think as Peter did, come on Jesus we are fine as we are, let’s just keep doing what we are doing, nothing rash. Jesus words to Peter might seem very harsh, but at this moment Peter is acting like the opposition and by promoting the status quo is actually thwarting the very mission Jesus came to fulfil. If Jesus does not fulfil His mission, then Peter and all the disciples and all the believers through history and us today and those to come would have no access to God, no forgiveness, no salvation. As Jesus reminds Peter; you are thinking in earthly terms not heavenly ones. Peter is not seeing the bigger picture at this moment, how often is that the same for us. Peter goes on to make an ever-bigger error when He denies Jesus, but is he lost? No! He is forgiven, loved, blessed and given the job of leading the earthly church. Just like Peter we can be forgiven, blessed and given a new mission. God never gives up on us, even at our worst.
8th November 2021
James 3:13 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.
We like to think about life and living well, we don’t like to think about death or dying. Jesus shows us how to die. We have been given life and then Jesus demonstrates how we are to give it up and give it away. For most of us, this is an idea that runs contrary to all that we want to believe. Yet, Jesus makes it absolutely clear that God is not about giving us all we want, all the creature comforts. What God does care about are matters of the heart. Jesus makes it clear that if you want to have a deeply meaningful life that truly matters, you are going to have to hand over your ideas and mistaken priorities. Quite frankly, following Jesus means living a very counter-cultural life and letting go of the intense narcissistic focus on self, that runs rampant in our culture. Christianity is more about loving than being loved, more about working to understand than being understood, and more about forgiving than being forgiven. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The life that Jesus speaks about is not something we can buy or earn. Like love and grace, it is a gift and can only be freely given away. The deep truth Jesus is trying to tell us is that only when you give your life away for the sake of others, only through serving, loving and caring for others, do you really discover life, life that truly matters. When we are able to finally let go of the ego, the cult of false self, that part of ourselves which believes we are in charge, or self-sufficient, then we finally begin to live a life that truly matters.
7th November 2021
Acts 7:56 Look! he said. I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!
When someone speaks of Heaven, we often think of it as an ethereal place somewhere out there, that brings some comfort in times of loss. Jesus himself speaks about heaven. He calls it “my Father’s house”. Heaven is the place we identify as where God lives and yet we are also told that God is everywhere, He is omnipresent. So, what of Heaven, perhaps it helps to think of it as that place where God’s glory dwells. Our human nature is such that we need a place, a physical identification that we can point to. In the Bible we are, from time to time, given a glimpse into heaven where God is worshipped day and night by the heavenly hosts and the saints who have passed from this world into glory, His father’s house. This is what Stephen sees as he is stoned to death in Acts 7, Jesus waiting to welcome him home to His father’s house, Heaven. Jesus in His teaching, also has in mind the new heavens and the new earth that those who are in Christ will enjoy for all eternity as told in Revelation 21. A wonderful place with ample room for all his people, for everyone who has and will ever live if they choose God and Jesus. When talking about heaven people are accustomed to speaking of pearly gates, streets of gold, and mansions on hills; we also speak often of no more sin, sickness, or death. We long for these things, but we also need to see “God with us” as the most treasured feature of Heaven. He is what makes heaven, heaven. He is what makes paradise, paradise. Just as in the first creation, we will again walk with God in the cool of the evening. We will enjoy unbroken, unhindered, non-restricted fellowship with God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, forever.
6th November 2021
John 16:33 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.
Most of us choose religion and come to believe important things deeply because we believe they are good for us, in all honesty we like a religion that makes us feel good. We like a faith that fits our comfortable, recreational life styles. We tend to like a faith in which we can participate when we choose to participate and that does not demand too much from us. We want to follow a strong God who heals us, provides wealth and success, guarantees our security, leads our sports teams to victory, and keeps us happy. When Jesus speaks about suffering it is not something we want to hear. When we are offered a life of suffering versus a life free from suffering, you can bet your bottom dollar we are going to go for the one that is pain free! So, this is where we must be very honest about the Christian life. Nobody’s life is ever going to be pain free or free from suffering and Christianity is not about living an easier life, with a personal Genie type God to give us everything we want. It is about following Jesus, allowing Him to share the load, to give us the strength we need to cope with life’s ups and downs and knowing we will never face anything alone. When we are finally able to let go of self, to let go of our worry, to let go of our anxiety, to let go of our need to control, then we discover that God is already in that place, walking with us and holding us in love. It is then that we discover what the cross really means.
5th November 2021
John 14: 1 Do not be worried and upset, Believe in God; believe also in me.
These comforting and hopeful words which are so familiar to us are made as an imperative in the Greek, a command that we are given to act upon. When our hearts are anxious, when our hearts are troubled with the cares that come with living in this world, we need to hear the command of our Saviour saying, do not be worried and upset. There is substance to this command. There is weight behind it! You and I might say to one another, “don’t worry”, or “be happy”, but there is little substance in platitudes we just say. We might respond to encouragement like that saying, but why shouldn’t I worry? Or, why should I be happy? Jesus gives us a clear reason. He directs our attention to God, our Father and urges us to take comfort in Him! To believe in the God who created you, the God of Abraham and the patriarchs, the God who cared for His people again and again, who blessed people and kept them safe and helped them in times of trouble, a God of miracles and of complete love for His people. There is no greater reason to not worry or be troubled, than to remember the God who made us and the love that He has for us in Christ Jesus. This is where Jesus directs our attention. “Believe in God”, He says. And “believe also in me”, the one He sent, the promised Messiah, who came to save us through the cross. So, when we are troubled, worried and struggling we are to turn to God, tell Him everything we feel, we think, we need and place our trust in Him to be the strength, support, comfort and protector we need.
4th November 2021
Mark 8:31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.
Over the years there have been huge numbers of books written about Christian Discipleship. Discipleship is currently a big thing in the church, they want people to become disciples rather than followers or church goers. In his book Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote “When Christ calls (someone) He bids (them) come and die.” These words, and many like them, cut straight to the nitty gritty of what discipleship and following Jesus is all about. Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Impetuous, impulsive Peter gets all excited and confesses that Jesus is the long-promised Messiah. Jesus next few words are hard to hear. He will need to suffer, be tried and found guilty by the high priests, be killed, and after three days rise again. Peter’s reaction is to step back and reprimand Jesus, his words shatter the attraction of following this long-expected Messiah, not what any of them or us want. Leaders don’t suffer and die. This is simply ridiculous. Who in their right mind chooses to suffer and die, and who in their right mind wants to follow a leader who is on this ludicrous path. Jesus doesn’t hide what following him really means. Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead, He says. You’re not in the driver’s seat, I am. Don’t run from suffering, but embrace it. If any of you want to follow me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Self-sacrifice is the way to true discipleship.
3rd November 2021
John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, Where I am going you cannot come.
Picture, if you can, Jesus in the upper room with his disciples. He had walked with them for over three years. He taught them many things. He performed miracles before their eyes, and in the sight of others. They believed that he was the Christ, the Saviour of the world, and they expected him to remain with them forever. But now he is talking about going away. The disciples were really troubled by these words. The thought of their Master going away. You can imagine the questions; Why does he need to leave? Where does he plan to go? Will we see him again? And how will we possibly get along in this world without him? These are feelings and thoughts we also experience. As always Jesus brings comfort and reassurance to his disciples and to us. Jesus, at times, was troubled in His spirit, after all He knew what was coming, the agony, death, battle with Satan and then the resurrection; He knew that we could not go through these things but He could, on our behalf. Even with the weight of the world on His shoulders Jesus still comforts His disciples and offers them and us words of hope. Don’t worry, don’t be upset, God the Father and I have got this, believe in God, believe in me and your future is assured, not just in the distance but now, today, your future is assured and we will be with you through everything, every day, every hour, every moment, you will never have to cope alone if you just believe.
2nd November 2021
John 6:40 This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.
Today, 2nd Nov, is All Souls Day also called The Commemoration of The Faithful Departed. It is the day in the church year when we remember those of our family and friends who have departed this life and are with God. As such it is also a day when we are confronted with our own mortality, as well as with the great hope we have in Christ bringing us to our future in Heaven along with those who have died. Recalling the death of our loved ones we are confronted with a perhaps startling reality, that we too shall die. That our life has bounds marked by birth and also by death. There was a time when we were not and there will come a time when we are not again. In the deaths of our loved ones, we come to see our own death before we die. As those who have come to know, or are coming to know, the reality of our existence, we are taught by Scripture to number our days, that we may gain wisdom. And so, we are called to serve God in our own generation, as our loved ones did in theirs and to which their lives bear witness. It is to the tremendous reality of resurrected life, that Christ will bring with and in Himself all the faithful departed including us. So let us rejoice, even as we remember our loved ones and face various trials in our life, and let us pray for those of our loved ones who have departed this life in faith, and for ourselves as well, and thank God that the good work which God did begin in them, and has begun in us, may be completed unto the day of Jesus Christ.
1st November 2021
1 Corinthians 1:2 To those who have been blessed in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I wonder what comes into you head when you hear the word Saint? Our Cathedrals and old churches have statues of them in various niches and many churches have them in the stained glass. We can read about their exploits and good deeds which have caused them to be remembered. The disciples are addressed as saints, as are the writers of many of the Bible’s books. There are Patron Saints for every manner of things. Countries have them, St. George is England’s, St. David is Wales’. St Andrew for Scotland and St Patrick for Ireland. Every kind of activity and craft has a patron Saint, for example St. Amand who is the patron saint of bartenders, brewers, innkeepers, merchants, vine growers and vintners. St. Clare of Assisi who is the patron saint of theatre performers, embroiderers, gilders, laundry workers, goldsmiths. Christians worldwide recognise more than ten thousand saints, so there are many that you and I have never heard of, but they are still Saints, recognised for all they have done. Today, November 1st, is All Saints Day, a special day when the Church commemorates all those saints, men and women from history, who were ordinary people and were extraordinary in the life God gave them. We have the opportunity to be saints too, to be people who serve God in the ordinary each and every day and in doing so, do extraordinary things through God’s strength. So, just like the Saints in our Stained-Glass windows and picture books, brush up your saintly halo and be an ordinary person doing extraordinary things for God.
31st October 2021
John 6:58 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.
At times Jesus loses followers because His teaching is difficult; even many of his disciples turned their backs and no longer went about with him. What about us? Do we stay when teaching is hard and takes us out of our comfort zone or do we just give up? Sometimes the crowds couldn’t wrap their heads around what Jesus was saying, they struggled with his very life giving them eternal life, that it was His sacrifice of flesh and blood that would secure their salvation in Heaven. From our side of the resurrection, we can understand Jesus’ words as speaking about his death on the cross and his resurrection on the third day; we can understand that his words are about the way his very flesh and blood opened the pathway of salvation for all people; but even with this knowledge, we can find his teaching hard, we can find it provocative, words that turn our world upside down. The crowds of His day often did not believe, they did not find the gift of faith. This question lingers for us today; do we also want to abandon Jesus because his teaching is just too hard to bear, too radical, to life-changing, to all-encompassing? His desire for us, and for the whole world; is to experience the very life of God in the midst of this broken world; His desire for us is to be restored to a right relationship with the Father and with one another; His desire for us is take in his body and blood so that our lives might be transformed, so that we might commune with God, and experience His eternal and abundant life. Is that too hard for us? Is it just too difficult to follow Jesus, to do things differently to the world, to think differently and act differently? To stand up and challenge when things are wrong? That is a question only we can answer.
30th October 2021
Genesis 3:23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.
When we speak of the human condition we tend to lean toward the idea of original sin, we forget that actually humans were created originally good and perfect. It was Augustine who pushed this idea of original sin even though it never appears in the Bible. His teaching was that all humans were born into Sin because Adam and Eve turned away from God by eating the forbidden fruit and were then cast out from the garden and perfection. We tend, these days, to see sin or wrongdoing as personal choice and personal responsibility. The idea of original sin was something passed onto us from Adam and Eve, not something we actually did. It has its value because we recognise that everyone is frail, vulnerable and imperfect, but it also devalued the goodness we all have inbuilt in us. This idea of original sin should make us more compassionate, more forgiving and self-accepting of ourselves and our imperfections and I believe that Augustine meant the doctrine to be a compassionate one, but in fact it led us away from our ability to trust, we became negative instead of positive and it became a problem to be solved which has kept us imprisoned in an idea that we can’t seem to escape from. We became entangled with the doctrine of original sin when actually we need to be freed with the doctrine of Original Goodness. At the beginning we were made perfect in God’s image, created to reflect God’s goodness in us. We are innately good! When we accept this about ourselves it puts everything else into perspective. When we start from a point of goodness then we are compassionate, forgiving, positive people. We are generous in our life; we trust and see the innate goodness in others as well as ourselves. Our faith in God should never be based on fear and punishment but on the positive vision God had and still has for us.
29th October 2021
Psalm 30:8 Weeping may last for the night time but joy comes with morning.
Why does everything seem so much worse in the night time. I remember when we were up with very young ill children the daylight brought a comfort, a clarity. Most attacks take place in the darkness and in the dark of night life doesn’t seem to make sense. The night is a time of vulnerability, of questions, and of wrestling with life and we all know that old saying about the darkest hour being just before dawn. Our world orbits around day time living, even though we have all night shops and jobs, day time is still the main living time where we establish who we are, gain recognition and approval; it’s safe and predictable. Daytime life is the life we create for ourselves. The problem is that daytime life keeps us stuck on the treadmill of always having to re-create our lives. Somehow, we can never quite get there. It seems that which we most desire is always just out of reach. It means we keep doing the same old things and yet expect a different result and that is the definition of Insanity according to Einstein. This life will always be less than the life God intends and desires for us. Here’s the irony. This very life we create for ourselves often becomes the very thing that take us into the darkness because it is not of God. We keep doing the same old thing but nothing changes. We’re so exhausted we can’t muster the energy to re-create our life one more time. We have everything we want, everything is fine, but something is lacking. There lies our darkness. We cannot be part of the kingdom of God without being born again into God’s ways. No matter how successful daytime life appears to be it will always be incomplete, fragile, and transitory because It’s the life we have created for ourselves and is not of God.
28th October 2021
John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.
In the age of constant media, social media, 24/7 connectivity via the internet, information is constantly at our fingerprints. We see news from across the world just moments after it happens. There is information and offered wisdom concerning just about any question, any problem or any issue. Want to know the best investments to make, there are a hundred-thousand experts giving you contradicting advice; the same for being happy, parenting, studying, vitamins to take, self-help etc. Supposed experts are a dime a dozen as we search for wisdom and advice. This search and thirst for knowledge and wisdom isn’t new, in every generation of human history, people have looked for guidance and wisdom. This was just as true in Jesus’ day, a fact we see from the great crowds who followed him, often hanging on his every word. Many of them were happy to simply benefit from his miracles, whether it was healing, or being miraculously fed. Many people today see Jesus as just a great teacher who provides excellent wisdom and truths about life, the universe and morality. In fact, there are even atheists and non-Christians who see value in the teachings of Jesus, trying to harmonize him with other religious teaching or with general moral teachings. Jesus, however isn’t just a teacher, He pushes the boundaries of the crowds’, disciples and our comfort level, His words are more than just good advice, or food for the soul. Jesus is the bread of life, the living water, the one and only who gave His life for ours. He is the one who has the words of eternal life.
27th October 2021
Matthew 8:24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
When Jesus calmed the storm, if Peter or any of the disciples had been millionaires what good would that money have done to save them. If John had the wisdom of Solomon, what would it have done to save him? Sometimes, all the resources we have at our disposal cannot deal with certain storms in our lives. Certain problems we encounter cannot be solved with our experience, wisdom, money, the services we can buy, and so on. For the unbeliever, when they get to a point in life where every means to get a cure, or a job, and or a better life fails, in despair, they are easily driven to break down, even suicide. But for the Christian we shall never run out of hope, because if everything fails, we have faith at our disposal. Faith enables us to tap God’s supernatural power to overcome any storm that will rear its ugly head in our lives. ‘Jesus calms the storm’ teaches us to apply faith in our lives, especially, against the problems we are powerless to overcome. I do find it odd that Jesus would sleep while the disciples were struggling. In fact it makes me a little cross. Why is God not noticing when they and I am in trouble? Well, Jesus knew how they felt, just as He knows exactly how you and I feel. He also knew that the storm would not overtake them, but He calmed it in order to calm them and to reinforce exactly who He was. God’s son, omnipotent, omnipresent and powerful. God is never asleep in our storms, He is right there, but we need to reach out, to let Him work, to either calm the storm or to calm us and strengthen us to face the storm and ride it out.
26th October 2021
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life in all its fullness.
Just recently medical professionals and religious leaders have warned peers against backing a fresh attempt to relax the law on assisted dying. A new bill to enable terminally ill adults to legally seek assistance to end their lives has been debated by the House of Lords. Campaigners say a change in the law would give them greater control over how and when they die. But opponents argue a change in the law would threaten vulnerable people. The proposed new law would enable adults who are of sound mind and have six months or less to live to be provided with life-ending medication. The person wanting to end their life would have to sign a declaration approved by two doctors, which is signed off by the High Court. However, a group of 1,689 current and retired doctors, pharmacists and medical students has urged peers to reject it. In an open letter to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, they say a change in the law would "threaten society's ability to safeguard vulnerable patients from abuse," and "undermine the trust the public places in physicians". "It would send a clear message to our frail, elderly and disabled patients about the value that society places on them as people," they added. Jesus Christ calls his followers to compassion. But compassion must not be drawn too narrowly. It must extend beyond those who want the law to provide help to end their lives, to the whole of society; especially those who might be put at risk. Our choices affect other people. The common good demands that our choices, our rights and our freedoms must be balanced with those of others, especially those who may not be so easily heard. We know that the sad truth is that not all people are perfect, not all families are happy, not everyone is kind and compassionate. No amount of safeguards can perfect the human heart, no amount of regulation can make a relative kinder or a doctor infallible. No amount of reassurance can make a vulnerable or disabled person feel equally safe, equally valued, if the law is changed in this way.
25th October 2021
Isaiah 48:17b I am the Lord your God, who teaches you, who leads you in the way you should go.
I have been watching the Cycling World Championships this week. These athletes are quite incredible, it seems to us that they just go round and round in circles, sometimes play cat and mouse, sometimes just follow, other times break away. There are tactics being used dependent on whether you are a sprinter or more of a long-term hard worker. Sometimes it all goes incredibly well but other times it can go wrong in a flash and someone can crash out. I think this is a good metaphor for our Christian lives. Daily life can often seem like going round and round in circles, like playing cat and mouse with events and people. We might spend a long time following someone and sometimes we can break away from everyone else and go for it. We can sometimes be Christian Sprinters, all or nothing, do it quickly, go out hard and fast, others of us can be those who are in it for the long term, steady life while others stream back and fore around us. Life for us can go really well for periods of time, we keep well, healthy, on track and everything seems fine and then it can all go wrong in the blink of an eye. We can seem to crash or be brought down by events or people. We go up and down in life, we have good days and bad days, we have slow and fast times and sometimes we win through and other times get left behind. The great news is that God is our constant guide, with us in every moment whether good or bad, whether fast or slow. To carry the analogy one step further think in terms of s tandem and Jesus is in the front seat with us behind. As long as we allow him to lead, to push us on we will always make it to the end and we shall always be rewarded, blessed and encouraged for living our best life for the Lord.
24th October 2021
Psalm 56:5 All day long they distort my words and actions; all their thoughts are against me for their evil gain.
I have recently been in the situation where I was unable to attend the funeral of a friend. Not because I had other commitments but because of certain other events, no friends were allow to attend. This happened as a knee jerk reaction to other things which took place and these overtook an event that should have been the opportunity for friends and family to celebrate the life of someone who made a difference to many lives. So often things can be hijacked by other situations, people, events or political gains. In recent times we have seen people misrepresented, mis quoted and used to promote lies and misinformation. It is part of the human condition, using and misusing others for personal gain. For those of us who live honestly and with integrity, who seek to do the best for others, it is frustrating and upsetting when we are misrepresented, used and mistreated for someone else’s personal gain. So, it may not surprise you to find that God has been misrepresented many times, even by His supposedly own people. Abraham misrepresented his wife Sarah as his sister to protect himself instead of trusting God, Isaiah, Jeremiah and other Biblical books are full of those false prophets who misrepresent God to get personal gain. Stories of Kings who only employed people who agreed with them and did not tell them God’s truth. We see these things happening today, people surround themselves with yes people, pay for lies rather than truth and treat anyone who is honest and truthful with contempt and remove them. This behaviour exists in society but also in churches and in the hierarchy of our institutions. We are called to be people of integrity, we must look to God and His ways and not allow ourselves to be hijacked by politics, self-promotion or aggrandisement. If you have been misrepresented, I am sorry, stand firm, challenge their treatment of you and keep standing in honesty and truth because God is on your side.
23rd October 2021
John 3:2a One night Nicodemus went to see Jesus.
The use of night time in the Bible is often about darkness, hiding in the shadows, doing wrong things, not wanting to declare openly a belief in God or Jesus. It is also a way of categorising us into people of the day time and people of the night. We begin to realise that we can be one thing in the day, confident at work, with family, reputation and then another at night, in the darkness, worried, not sleeping, full of questions and concerns. By day Nicodemus knows who he is. He has an identity, a Pharisee. He has a status as a leader of the Jews. He knows and applies the law. People listen to and follow him. He has a place in society with security and power. He fits into this world. By night it is different. Nicodemus is misplaced and muddled. He cannot see or recognise. He’s living in the dark. His work, actions, reputation, and place in religious society do not provide constancy or answers. He’s faltering in the dark. The certainty of Daytime has given way to questions and uncertainty. By day he keeps the Pharisaic beliefs. By night his life comes up empty. He’s searching for something the daytime life cannot give him. We all know what this is like. We live daytime lives and we live night-time lives. By day all is well. We live with a sense of purpose, identity and security. But by night everything is different and hidden. We stumble through the darkness, grasping for something to hold, searching for answers and explanations for the events and purpose of our life. Nicodemus comes to Jesus to seek the way; this is exactly what we need to do. Come to Jesus, be honest and ask Him to help us be born again each day.
22nd October 2021
Matthew 8:26 Jesus replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
Sometimes we refer to difficult times in life as storms, it could refer to any undesirable thing we face in our lives such as temptations, persecution, marital problems, disease, unemployment, infertility, poverty, debt and any other thing that we meet and see as a problem in our life. The story of Jesus calming the storm reminds us as Christians that God has a solution for all the storms of life. During this storm on the lake, some of the disciples, being fishermen, applied their years of experience and their strength in an attempt to save their boat and their lives, but the storm triumphed over them and their efforts did not pay off. It was only then that they called on Jesus and Jesus spoke, “Peace be still.” and there was calm. His disciples were gripped with wonder because, for them, it was impossible to overcome such a storm and they were wondering how Jesus was able to command away a storm of this magnitude that had outdone their wisdom, experience, and strength. Self-reliance didn’t work. This is a lesson for us. Jesus knew very well that they had a terrible storm on their hands, yet he remained sleeping until they called upon Him for help, and then he responded. The event of Jesus sleeping during the storm is a picture of God’s response towards the storms in our lives. Though He knows and sees our situations, He will not force Himself on us, we must call upon Him for Him to step in and help us. We must recognise our need for God and ask Him to step into our lives each and every day.
21st October 2021
Romans 12: 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed and changed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; His good, pleasing and perfect will.
I have asked several people recently if they are ready to change, I also ask it of myself regularly. We are being challenged by St Paul here to not conform but to change and renew our minds. So, what are some things we can change? We can change our relationships, making sure we are surrounded by those who support us, strong, positive people there for us in both bad and good times. Each day we need to make meaningful connections, a sense of accomplishment that we have achieved something today. All of us need to learn from past experience, we band this phrase around but very often we just don’t learn from the past, but yet we can see where we did cope, where we didn’t and what strategies we used to help ourselves and others. All through life we need to strengthen and develop new skills, be lifelong learners in our Christian life and within life in general. We also need to participate, to do things for ourselves and others, hobbies, taking a walk in God’s amazing world, playing sport, gentler as we get older, or supporting others, and we need to sleep well, to allow ourselves quiet, restful time where worry is handed over to God and we rest awhile. The biggest tool for us to grasp is Hope. Hope keeps us going in the darkness of times, it is crucial to our life and to change. We must never ignore when things need changing, we need to figure out a way forward, be proactive and when we need help to never be worried about asking for help. If we are struggling then be reminded that we are not alone, we have our strong relationships, we have places to go, we have God who will point us to people who can and will help us. As we do not conform to this world then we do not allow it to dictate to us, to tell us who we are, to drag us into the often vileness of social media and cause us to lose hope and heart. We can be transformed, changed, by the renewing of our mind, by allowing the elasticity of the incredible brain God gave us, to create new pathways, new ways of thinking and doing, and the blessing that we can do this every day, as we start a new day and all through the day. Step by step, day by day, we can change things and God is right there providing us with the strength we need.
20th October 2021
Colossians 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
The events of the last few days, the murder of an MP, have prompted people to take to social media about how we speak to one another, how we become aggressive towards those who disagree with us and instead of listening to one another resort to insults and rudeness. The ability to debate has been in our education system for along time, but in recent times it has seen insults, banter and supposed humour replace the presenting of an argument and the willingness of folk to listen and reason what they hearing. Our politics have become politics of insult, of ignoring questions and honest comment in favour of making the questioner look small and stupid. We cannot ask why this kind of behaviour is prevalent in society without looking at our politicians, our leaders whose poor example is watched and reported on and thus becomes acceptable. The Bible reminds us time and again that the way we act, the way we talk, our attitude must be considerate, wholesome and peaceful towards everyone, even if we disagree, even if our ideas are worlds apart. The French author Voltaire, said “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” in an attempt to calm things in his society and to support the principle of freedom of speech. It seems we no longer want to defend the rights of others to speak out if their opinion is different to our own, but we cannot be right all the time; growing up and learning teaches us to respect each other, to respect that others might have better ideas or answers than we have. We all, no matter who we are, must calm our tongues, speak in peace and consideration of each other and not fan the flames of aggression, anger, slander or malice. Only then will society be a better place for us all to live together.
19th October 2021
Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Have you noticed that some people can never be pleased or helped? You try everything, make exceptions, alter things, accommodate them and they are never pleased, never say thank you, never appreciate the effort and just keep criticising. In trying to help them you often upset others or make others feel they are not as important. The trouble is we try our best to be good people, to help others and we can be taken advantage of. I was told when I was younger that being kind, generous and caring to others does not mean being a door mat for them. Jesus stood up to those who used His Temple as a place of iniquity, it is okay to get to a point where you can no longer keep allowing certain people to dictate to you and gobble up your time. It does not stop us praying for them, being kind and helping them as we would any other person, but it does mean we no longer allow them to dictate to us, hurt us or demoralise us. We need to do this because we need to look after ourselves, our wellbeing and mental health, and because we have God’s love for the other person, we have to show them, honestly and kindly, that their constant abuse of us is not acceptable.
18th October 2021
Ezekiel 18:4a Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the parents as well as the soul of the child is mine.
I have noticed the costumes and pumpkins in the shops, the big bags of sweets and the colourful buckets and cauldrons to collect the sweets in. As October marches on we will arrive at Halloween. This year it falls on a Sunday, the last day of the half term break. Because it falls on a Sunday, we are going to be marking three days in one. It is All Hallows eve (Halloween) on the 31st, All Saints Day Monday 1st and All Souls Day on Tuesday 2nd. The eve of All Saints was always considered to be a thin time, a time when the gap between Earth and Heaven became thin enough for souls to move between the two worlds, it is why Halloween is linked to ghouls and ghosts and witches etc. The 1st sees us celebrate all the Saints, all those who have gone before in the life of Christ and all those of us still on Earth serving the Lord. Then on the 2nd we remember those we have lost, those we love yet see no longer because they have died. In the space of three days, we celebrate life, death and a half way house of unpleasantness and wickedness. Halloween is a human invention, a myth born out of wanting an explanation for that which could not be explained at the time. A desire to tinker with evil and wickedness and prove that it is not really harmful or bad. We currently let our children approach strangers for sweets, dressed in costumes, when every other day we tell then to not accept sweets from strangers and not to go near them. It may seem like a bit of harmless fun but actually it opens the door to evil and bad things because none of us is immune from the pull of evil and sin. At the vicarage we never give sweets or encourage this practice. We pray for those who pass our door and for all children who are learning that things of evil are fun to play with, that God will guard their souls and protect these little ones from harm.
17th October 2021
Jeremiah 22:3b do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
I expect, like me, you were saddened and probably angry at the report of how the Government initially handled the pandemic and the many unnecessary deaths and mishandling of events. It is almost like a burial of their heads in the sand, a blinkered approach which was not going to change no matter what, and with no acceptance of their failure. The huge loss of life, the treatment of the elderly, the stranger, the bereaved and those who were working to help these people was unashamedly disrespectful of the sanctity of life. Time and again we are told in the Bible that life is sacred, special and that taking life is the prerogative of no one. Those in positions of power have a role of protection and care of their citizens and when they do not do all they can to protect them they are not respecting the sanctity of life and therefore, not worthy of their position. As humans we are capable of mistakes, forgiveness is available and the Bible is clear, when we are wrong, we need to apologise, recognise our errors and change our approach. I have not heard an apology; I have not seen a recognition of error and certainly no willingness to change. Instead, we have witnessed even crueller treatment of the stranger, orphan and widow as well as still seeing higher daily death rates and an NHS pushed to beyond its limits and blamed for something it had no power to change. Our role has to be that of those who do follow God’s teaching, who do not mistreat anyone and do our utmost to prevent any loss of life where we can. The least we can do is remind those in power of their obligation to care for all and to listen, learn and make the necessary changes for the good of all.
16th October 2021
Job 12:9 Who among beasts and birds, bushes and fish does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
However we look at creation, whether we accept scientific explanations or spiritual ones, there is no doubt that creation gave us the world we live in and has enabled us to live and grow and develop. Sadly, it is also now very clear that we have so mistreated creation that it may well reap its revenge on us if we do not change our ways. St Francis of Assisi was a hermit who lived within creation, within nature and saw God within it. He preached not only to humans but to animals. We are now also recognising that getting into nature and creation is hugely beneficial to our mental health. Walking in forests and trees, alongside the sea, camping out, even just going to the local park, it all helps with how we feel as humans. Just getting away from the voices, the pressures, the rat race and into God’s creation brings a balm to the soul, a joy to the heart, a peace to the mind. It is much harder to live the life of a hermit these days, to be in and of nature, but some still make that choice. We all do have the opportunity to take time, to go on a retreat or chose to step away from life for a few days. To take the opportunity of letting God guide our time, speak to our minds and hearts, not rush but take time and literally smell the roses. A new appreciation of daylight and darkness, sunrise and sunset; what happens to plants and flowers, the changes in nature and how fresh the air is. We have chosen, through our life styles, to separate ourselves from the natural world. We have paid for this in losing our spiritual side, our ability to contemplate and see things differently. Spirituality and faith are blessed, enhanced, strengthened when we ground ourselves in God’s creation, when we appreciate how much God has given us and how poorly we have treated it. Being in God’s creation, having that channel between us and God opened and cleared in the peace of creation allows us to realign, revitalise, reappreciate who God is and what He has done for us.
15th October 2021
Deuteronomy 15:7 If any among you becomes poor, in any land or community, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against them.
On the 16thand 17th of October we have both World Food Day and Child Poverty Day. It is somewhat shocking that in the 21st Century with all it’s advancements that we still have to be reminded of child poverty and food poverty across the world. At present about 2.4 billion people do not have access to decent nutritious food and many are starving to death daily. This is just over a quarter of the world’s population. We mustn’t be complacent here in the UK where 5 million, just over 9%, of our own population are going hungry on a regular basis. 4.3 million children live in poverty, that is 31% of the children in the UK. So, in a class of 30 between 9 and 10 of those children are in poverty. You and I are probably safe, well fed, have enough to heat our homes, eat well, clothe ourselves and have some nice things. For so many this is not the case. More children are now living in poverty than in the time of Queen Victoria. A shocking indictment on our world and on our country and it’s leaders. As Christians we cannot sit by and just accept this as the norm. We cannot just allow things to get worse for the majority while the privileged few benefit. God is so clear in the Bible that no one should be hungry, no one left without basic food and clothes and a roof over their head. In fact, all religions are common in their approach to the poor, that all of us who can give to others must do so. It is only when we share that all will have enough. Sadly, the human view is generally that if I am okay then I just need to dig in and keep myself in a reasonable state and let everyone else deal with the less well off. It is a clever leadership ploy to give just enough to those with enough that they will be happy and not want to upset the apple cart by fighting for others. We should not need a Child Poverty Day or a World Food Day but we have them because we do not follow God’s plan and God’s clear teaching on how we treat each other and how valuable and unique every human being is no matter who they are or where they are from.
14th October 2021
Colossians 3:17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done to your best and more in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks.
Over the years I have met many children who were not expected to do well, to even function in society and yet time and again I have seen them surpass expectation because family and friends have never given up Hope and worked for the best outcomes. It is far too easy to take the easy option, to accept something rather than challenge it and make a difference. As we enter a winter of difficulties and problems, we need to know that 5 million people in this country are living in food poverty, that can only worsen with the removal of the Universal Credit uplift, rising gas prices and rising food prices. This situation does not inspire or exceed hope and it certainly doesn’t positively surpass expectations but, as we look forward, we have a choice to make. I will be honest and say it looks hard and difficult and I wonder if anything I do will make a difference but my very faith, my very belief in a God who surpasses all my expectations and constantly renews my hope is that I can make a difference. All of us can do something because lots of somethings soon mount up. We have the possibilities of giving time and talents, of contacting Local Councillors and MP’s not just once but regularly. We have the opportunities to give out of what we have and share with those less fortunate, even help at a food bank or community fridge, a night shelter or debt counselling. We can donate to organisations who will make life better for others and we can be a good neighbour and friend to those we know whose life might be difficult right now. It might seem a lot to ask but God will always give us the strength we need to do these things. Our Hope is in God who made everything and therefore can enable us to work for change. Do not give up, tap into God’s hope, into Gods love and strength and that way you will be able to exceed in hope and surpass expectation.
13th October 2021
Romans 15:2 Let each of us think well of others, for their good, to build them up.
I have often heard people ask if someone is a team player, it is even asked in interviews these days. The question being asked is whether a person is concerned for themselves or will work with others for the good of everyone. We live in quite a selfish society today, yes, we saw glimpses of goodness in the pandemic, but with a government who promote me first, selfishness, leave the weak and protect yourself etc we are now finding people just don’t want to help others, don’t want to put themselves out to help someone in need. We have made things about ourselves first. There is nothing wrong with looking after ourselves and our family but if we do so to the exclusion of all else, we become selfish, blinded to the needs of others, we accept standards for others that we would not accept for ourselves. It is too easy to be selfish and yet time and again the Bible tells to share, to think well of others and to build each other up. It is as simple as the language we use, if it is derogatory or negative it only serves to hurt and upset others, but the simple manners we were taught as children, to say please and thank you, makes everyone's lives better. To be willing to go that extra mile when someone is in need, that is our calling as Christians who serve each other in God’s family.
12th October 2021
Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
We will not forget 2020 in a hurry, COVID-19 wreaked havoc upon the health and economic well-being of all people across the world and this will continue for years to come. It emphasised the inequalities that exist between countries and continents and within counties themselves. The poor and marginalised have been far more affected by the impact of the virus. Alongside this racism and racial injustice has been seen throughout the world. We watched in horror at the killing of George Floyd and witnessed the officer’s brutality and lack of action from those around him who became complicit by their failure to stop him. This clearly showed us that racism is still prevalent and accepted even in countries who claim to be multicultural and multifaith. We have a history of slave trafficking from Africa, racial stereotyping according to skin colour, and we still use this for discrimination and inequality in our communities and our world. In Jesus time and the early church people were branded by their nationality, their gender, their freedom or slavery, yet the teaching of the early church is clear, in Christ there are no distinctions. It is not enough for us as Christians not to be racist; we must actively stand against it, and clearly oppose racial injustice. This is not easy, but no one ever said following Jesus was easy. Despite our call to behave as if we are all one in Christ, no distinctions, the deep inequalities that exist between people of different colours, cultures and ethnicities continues. But we must make a stand, hard as it might be, because when we do nothing we are complicit in allowing it to continue and that does not honour God or our calling in Christ.
11th October 2021
Genesis 2: 15 Then the Lord God took humans and put them into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and take care of it.
St Francis of Assisi is a saint most people know of and usually talk of him having something to do with animals. There are many statues, pictures and representation of Francis surrounded by animals. Francis lived a frugal lifestyle, tried not to overuse commodities so as to look after creation properly, even then Francis saw a danger in our overuse of resources. He and his followers lived a simple life and saw God in everything. The popular hymn All Creatures of our God and King is the hymn attributed to Francis and all through Earth, it’s creatures, rivers, lakes, wind, clouds, sun, moon, fire and even death are exhorted to praise their creator. He addresses all these as brother, sister, mother and friend. Each is shown in its unique place and glory before God. Francis did not see humans as superior to the rest of creation, he saw us those given the blessing and responsibility of caring for it, being stewards of God’s creation not aggressive rulers who take all we want, who asset strip creation and then want to walk away. We are finally waking up to how much we rely on the eco systems of the world and how we have damaged our world because of our selfishness. Living a simple life is not easy but it is possible, it does not have to mean becoming Tom and Barbara in the Good Life, or wearing sacks and living in a commune. It means being careful, not over indulging, recycling, reusing, avoiding damaging products and being ethical with investments and endorsements. Treating God’s creation as our friend, brother, sister and mother.
10th October 2021
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
The fruit of the spirit is quite simply what we are called to be. As we come together in church and in faith we learn as followers of Christ as we grow in these fruits and develop them. Sadly, not everyone finds a welcoming safe caring church when they try and join us. Certain things seem to make us unwilling and reluctant to welcome folk. Yet we are clearly called to live well together, to accept one another, to do our best to welcome everyone; to love, to care and be inclusive of all. As we welcome people, we should enable them to speak up when they are ready and if they so wish. Within the family of God everything should be confidential, no gossip, our churches must be safe spaces, where we recognise that we all learn differently and have individual relationships with God. The fruits of the Spirit call us to listen to God and each other, to speak in love, to be patient with each other and faithful to each other as we grow and learn together. This means we need to listen well, pay attention, not interrupt, notice feelings, and definitely not judge. The term Disciple means learner and we learn by a combination of seeing and doing, hearing and feeling, asking questions and telling our stories. The world got lost by turning away from God, but God never turned away from the world, He sent Jesus to save us all, He gave us hope. We are all imperfect, complicated and lead messy lives. There are many voices, many people but one church which must bear fruit together.
9th October 2021
Acts 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
The gift of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost offered the ability to communicate across barriers and boundaries, people heard the gospel in their own languages, the Holy Spirit was and is for everyone just as Jesus was and is for everyone, just as God was and is for everyone. The Holy Spirit enables God’s intended equity, equality, unity and flourishing across all cultures, ethnicities, genders, nations, peoples, young and old, rich and poor, anyone and everyone. As Christians we are charged to build an inclusive kingdom of God from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, to stand before the throne and before the Lamb Revelation tells us. We as the body of Christ need to understand that we are all the body of Christ. This is central to our social justice, and how we offer mercy, equity and righteousness. Racism of any kind is a sin; it is against God. It is born out of our denial that all humans are created equal in God’s own image and that in Jesus we are all one and all equal. Slavery still exists in our society, people are still treated differently because of their skin colour, gender, disability and economic status. This should have no place in our churches, in our society or in our life. We have, in the past, weaponised the Bible to justify slavery, to treat others as lesser than ourselves and assert our own white Christian superiority, even picturing Jesus as blonde, blue eyed and very white. When the Spirt came at Pentecost it enabled the disciples to bridge and transcend ethnic and cultural differences, this same Holy Spirt enables us to do the same. Much work remains for us to overcome racism in our context and in the culture of racial inequality that has long been accepted by too many in our society and in the Church. The question is are we willing to be part of that work and change things for the good and flourishing of all?
8th October 2021
Deuteronomy 5: 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to me and keep all my commands, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
We don’t seem to talk about respect much these days. Respect is defined as a deep admiration for others because of their qualities as a person, we hold them with esteem and have due regard for their feelings and rights. Respect carries with it courtesy and politeness. Treating everyone with respect no matter where or when we meet them, who they are, their background, ethnicity, gender, disability or life choice. We may not always agree with someone, but we should respect them as a fellow human and treat them well. Working on the streets with the homeless found me speaking to a university graduate for whom things had gone wrong, he spoke of the verbal abuse, the kicking and hitting from people and having liquids thrown over him. He then spoke of the dignity and respect that the volunteers showed him and how that had helped him. None of us has the right to judge someone else’s situation and certainly we have no right to abuse or condemn because someone is different. God has always desired that we follow His ways so that everyone is respected and treated equally well. He tells us that if we do that then all will be well for us and our families. God’s way means everyone is cared for, everyone looks after each other and all of us would be respected and esteemed by each other. We have forgotten that if everyone is treated well then everyone wins, everyone benefits, everyone has a better-quality life. Life in it’s fullness for all has always been God’s plan, God’s intention for all, but we have a choice whether we follow that plan or not.
7th October 2021
Galatians 5:13 But do not let freedom become an excuse for letting your selfish nature control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another.
I heard the story of a man today who works 6 days a week, paid minimum wage which is so low he receives Universal Credit. By the time he and his family pay bills, rent, food, transport, clothes and shoes etc there is nothing left. On Wed 6th October the Government took £20 a week away from him and thousands like him saying it will force people into work, he is working, his fuel payments are up, food is going up, he will pay extra National Insurance. He and so many are going to suffer terribly, will be turning to food banks and will live in more poverty this winter. More than half the people who use foodbanks are in work; nurses, labourers, carers, students, apprentices, working but not able to afford to live. What an indictment on our society. The governing classes of this country have used their freedom to force and hold down others so they can maintain their power and wealth. Taking from the poorest to supposedly balance the books whilst paying vast sums to the rich for mythical supplies and work. This is not the world God created or intended. God’s way is about fairness and justice for all, about love of our fellow people prompting us to serve them not take from them. The money that the wealthy throw away on trifles and expensive brands would feed poor families for weeks. We must, as Christians, fight for the rights of the poor and downtrodden, challenge our governments and be selfless rather than selfish. That is what God requires from us as we serve one another in love.
6th October 2021
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Compassion is something most of us want to have. But it isn’t something that can be taught, you can’t just buy it from Amazon. Compassion has to be felt it comes from inside, sometimes it happens without us even realising it is there. We can’t produce what isn’t there, but we can create a lifestyle where it can flourish. A start is being open to others, allowing them to get close. This is fairly easy with the people that you already feel love for and want to be close to, but we need an openness to everyone. Those we work with, those we see around us, people in our church or local clubs. As we are more open, then we become more open and it grows. Our capacity to understand and accept difference deepens. We can begin to accept everyone with open arms not because we have been told to, but because we realise that we are all deserving of love and compassion. We are all God’s creatures and we are all equally deserving of love and compassion. This in turn opens us to the poor and homeless, the sick and dying, and prompts us to help where we can. When we choose to be compassionate, we are allowing the compassionate nature of God to flow in and through us. Compassion is within us, in our hearts because a compassionate God created us but we are not forced to release or develop this compassion. As with all life and how we live, we are given freedom to choose. If we choose to open ourselves, to practice God’s compassion in our lives then we will be compassionate people and make a difference.
5th October 2021
Matthew 11:2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples.
When we think about Jesus who do we think He is? In Matthew Jesus’ identity is as an unexpected Messiah, as the fulfiller of Isaiah’s prophecy and as God’s wisdom. Jesus was regularly rejected by the Jews, especially their leaders, because they had their own misconceptions about the Messiah that was to come and Jesus completely failed to meet these. Even John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus’ coming and who baptized Jesus in the Jordan, has his own expectation of Jesus as the Messiah. John was in prison and sent his disciples to Jesus asking him if he was the one who was to come, the Messiah, or was there another. John had expected the Messiah to come with fire, brimstone, with a winnowing fork in hand to exercise judgement just as Isaiah had prophesied. Jesus’ answer to John are His works as a healer, preacher and teacher. This answer shows that His messianic identity is defined by signs that include healing the sick and preaching the good news. He was a Messiah who came to judge but also came to have compassion and mercy for all. What do we expect of our Messiah? Who do we think Jesus is? To grow in our faith, we need to know who Jesus is and what He means to us and for us.
4th October 2021
James 5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
The story of the poor being oppressed by the rich is as old as time itself. Once people have money, they exercise power over those who do not. James of Jerusalem was encouraging his oppressed members to have patience in their sufferings. In fairness, this was quite demanding for them, why should they wait? Why should they suffer? These were the poor Christians oppressed by the rich but James was encouraging them to patiently wait for the coming of the Lord. To look o the future and the Hope of God’s promises. He gave them and us, two examples of how to do this: first the farmer who patiently waits for his harvest, even though it takes time to grow and mature, second the example of the prophets like Job who had given them examples of patience and endurance in times of suffering. Despite the disasters he faced, and the lack of his friends support, Job kept his faith and did not abandon his trust in God. As a result, the Lord finally brought about the restoration of Job’s life, as He will ours. James message is given to strengthen their hearts to keep the faith, patiently waiting for the coming of the Lord and not grumbling to their fellow Christians. The term suffering probably refers to a broad category of all different kinds of suffering. In our society today, people are suffering. You and I may well be suffering. Can we learn the lessons of patience from the Harvest and the example of job to help us deal with our own suffering? Can we be an example of suffering well to those around us? In God’s strength we can.
3rd October 2021
Isaiah 35: 10a The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing to Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
Isaiah is a prophet who speaks about the day of God’s glory when there will be rejoicing, gladness, blossoming, and shouts of joy. Sounds good doesn’t it. Isaiah says the people will experience a sense of renewal, and he assures them that their salvation includes being saved from their enemies and their restoration to their place in God’s kingdom. Isaiah is clear there is no place for fear in God’s coming kingdom. God will restore all those who are in need: the blind, the deaf, the lame and the mute. The chosen people who rejected God’s way and suffered the consequences of judgement and alienation still have hope and will again be the objects of God’s undeserved favour. God provides a way for them and for us, which has the qualities of holiness and joy. The people who walk in this way are described as the redeemed of the Lord who will come with singing into Zion, the Holy City. The place where God brings full liberty and freedom to all His people. The words of Isaiah served as an encouragement to the people to never give up, they are the same for us. Encouragement not to give up, to keep serving and working for others. To walk daily with God in holiness and joy.
2nd October 2021
Psalm 146:6 Praise the Lord who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps His promise forever.
The psalms are expressions of anguish, questioning and challenge but they are also expressions of faith and great joy in praising God. How do you express your feelings of joy and praise? Can you say with the Psalmist, Praise the Lord? We don’t know who wrote this particular psalm or when it was written; but we can see that with confidence, the psalmist proclaims that God Almighty is the one who keeps His promises forever and who will always respond to the needy by; giving justice to the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom to the prisoners, eyesight to the blind, lifting up the humble, caring for the stranger, sustaining the orphan and widow, and loving the righteous. The psalmist may well have experienced or witnessed all of these occurrences and we experience them as well. We can see them in our own lives as we serve God and His people, but also we see it in the lives of others who serve God. The psalmist expressed faith and great joy in praising God through writing this psalm, but how do you express your faith, your joy? Through prayer, action, writing, worship. We are all different and express things differently, but most importantly we need to recognise our joy and faith and express them in praise of Our God.
1st October 2021
Romans 12:6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them for His glory.
Some years ago, I heard the then Bishop of Southwark talking to Children. He explained the shape of his Mitre as a symbolic flame of the Spirit placed upon his head when He was made Bishop. Then he also referred to it as a type of Spirit sorting hat, as in Harry Potter, where the Spirit blesses the person with the gifts, they need for the life they are living. These gifts are given within our personalities, our talents. Yes, when necessary, any gift can be given to any person at any time, but we tend to have gifts that are innate to us. We need to cherish and celebrate these gifts in others as well as ourselves. We need to accept our gifts and not long for the gifts of others and use all of them for the common good. I have witnessed miraculous healing, but I also witness the gift of healing in every nurse, doctor, carer every day. I have witnessed incredible discernment and see it every day in people who just know what to say or do at the right time. I see wisdom, faith, prophecy, understanding, service, care, creativity, strength, gentleness, compassion…….. being shown every day around us, by us, by others. I am so grateful for the encouragers, for the listeners, for the fixers, the cooks and cleaners, the prayer warriors, the Sowers and the reapers, the carers, the wise, the knowledgeable, the poets and writers, the artists, the teachers and preachers. There are so many wonderful gifts and we need to cultivate them in our lives so we can work together as the body of Christ and make things better for everyone. We need to be willing to let the Spirit into our lives. We need to be willing to be faithful in allowing God to work in whatever way He chooses and be the conduit for the gifts God has given as we let the Holy Spirit gift us in whatever way is necessary.
30th September 2021
Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
As Christ’s body on Earth, we need a presence, a power, a guide, an enabler, and that is God’s Spirit living within us. Just as Mary became God bearer in having Jesus, we become God bearers as we bring God to everyone we meet. The challenge is for us to always act and speak as bearers of God. We cannot do it all, so thank God that there are millions of us to help one another, to cover the gaps we leave. We are much better God bearers when we do it together as God’s family, God’s church. Pentecost celebrates the birth of this church, of this God bearing Community of Christians. We are in Communion with God and with each other and that is utterly amazing. When we talk about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost, we tend to like the comforter, counsellor parts of the Spirit and not the wind or the flames. We like the quiet, slow and subtle working of the Spirit……we want to see things change, people come and churches grow but we want it “our way”. Trouble is the Holy Spirit can be loud, bold, raucous, obvious and signs and wonders can and do happen. The Spirit can be both a thunderstorm and a gentle breeze. There is both a terrifying power and gentle peace and nurture. This powerful Spirit is available and bearable because of Jesus. Don’t forget Jesus had his wild side, He had harsh words for those who treated others with contempt and profited from God’s laws. He cleared the temple; He raised the dead but He also showed love and compassion beyond our imaginings. Jesus is both the beauty and the terror of God and is the outpouring of God’s love in restoring us to Himself. God comes in three parts and we need them all to be God bearers on earth.
29th September 2021
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
We all hear things incorrectly sometimes; we all know the joys of Chinese Whispers and the final message bearing no resemblance to the original. The first time I heard the hymn There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, I thought it was There’s a wildness in God’s mercy. I quickly discovered my mistake but sometimes I am not so sure that I was wrong. Wildness is extravagant, exuberant, abundant, challenging and sometimes uncontrollable. God’s mercy is all those things but wildness, extravagance, exuberance, abundance, challenging and sometimes seemingly uncontrollable is very much the Holy Spirit. I am a big fan of CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and the character of Aslan. Descriptions of this Lion who represents God, talk of Him being both frightening and beautiful. A being who can eradicate life with one swipe but who also gently picks up the needy and holds them protectively. The depth of power is frightening, the wielding of that power can also be gentle and fair. We are rightly fearful of the unknown and of power wielded incorrectly and perhaps that prevents us from understanding and accepting the Holy Spirit of the New Testament. After Jesus crucifixion the disciples were scared and fearful for their own lives, they needed something to allow them to step up and step out to do what Jesus had asked them to….enter the Holy Spirit. We too need something to help us, empower us…..enter the Holy Spirit. Christians become the active body of Christ on earth through the Holy Spirit. The outpouring is powerful, it is unpredictable, insuppressible, formidable and fairly messy. Incredible things happen and that might have been okay for the early church we think, but it’s a bit too wild for us now. But people who are seeking God are naturally drawn to the power because if this God is real then He must be powerful, and we will see that power at work.
28th September 2021
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Have you ever been on a pilgrimage? You may have watched the ones on TV at Easter. Go back to Jesus’ time and thousands upon thousands of faithful pilgrims would travel “up” to Jerusalem to the holiest of holy sites on earth. They would arrive in the Holy City with very little and the Roman imperial money in their pockets had to be exchanged for Tyrian coins, at a very high rate of exchange, which then could be used to purchase animals for sacrifice. On the first day of the Passover festival, thousands of pilgrims would purchase their oxen, their paschal lambs, their pigeons, and doves and bring them to be sacrificed. For hours animals would be sacrificed to remember Israel’s liberation from Egypt. There were various areas where certain people were allowed depending on gender, religion and status. And then there was the Court of Gentiles where everyone else was allowed to stand and watch the religious ones allowed enter. Anyone was welcome here, but between the Court of Gentiles was a wall separating the Gentiles from everyone else, and inscribed above that wall was a warning that any Gentiles that entered would be killed. You could call this a wall of hostility. We all put up walls of hostility which stop people finding the God they set out to find on their pilgrimage. The Apostle Paul talks about how Jesus tore down the “dividing wall of hostility” and truly called us all to be one, together, no matter who we were or where we came from. No longer strangers or aliens but citizens with the saints. May we be those who tear down walls for everyone to come to God, to be pilgrims on a journey who find God who is waiting for them.
27th September 2021
John 2:15 So he made a whip of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
I love a good fair or bazaar, look for the bargains, help out a good cause. For many of our churches and community groups this is one of the main ways of funding things. In Jesus time people came to the Temple, not to support the work but to do what they were told was expected of them. The message of the religious elite in that day, propped up by the Romans, was built and communicated in the very structure and system of the Temple. God was at the centre, and only certain people could come close to the centre. Only certain money could be used so huge profits were made. There were all sorts of merchants selling overpriced food and cheap souvenirs. It was not really a holy, spiritual place. It had turned into a unholy bazaar. A shopping mall. Very far from its original intent. Jesus is going to do something about it. He drove all of them out of the Temple, the sheep and the cattle, poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. He told them to stop making God’s house a marketplace! A place of robbery! For it is a place of prayer! Jesus occupied the Temple because the people who believed they were in charge had rewritten the script and were now excessively involved in injustice. The Temple had become a private enterprise. A big welcome to those who towed the line, paid the money, followed the protocols, but not inviting, nor inclusive to others who didn't, which was what God had always intended. Jesus is stating very clearly that God rejects and is angry at the exclusion of anyone from Him and His love, that no one can be forced to pay to meet Him. Perhaps we might overturn a few tables today, when we do not justify and excuse the injustice, the poverty, unfairness. When we call out those in leadership for their mistakes and stand up for everyone. We must not stop challenging, praying, working until everyone is included and treated equally and fairly.
26th September 2021
Ephesians 4: 16 The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love.
As a young person I played a game called Consequences. A group of people each have a scenario in their head writing their story line by line but each time folding over the paper and passing onto someone else so they cannot see. The final line is….. and the consequence was…. the final scenario is filled in. The story could be amusing, confusing or strange, but there was always a consequence, always an outcome based on the actions and events leading up to it. Everything we do and say has consequences. When we lie, it gets bigger, harder to cover up and it has consequences not just for us but for others. There are consequences to the flippant comments, to peer pressure and being forced to do something just to be accepted. There are consequences to carrying weapons, to hanging around with the wrong crowd, consequences when people are stolen from, abused, attacked, defrauded and lied to. There are consequences when we overwork, don’t take care of ourselves or our world and we are seeing that now. Being honest people, who speak the truth, deal in the truth and live truth we are aware of consequences and we help each other and live as people of God, people who care, who are patient, humble, gentle and forgiving. This is basic to our core human needs and the balance of God’s created order. Being someone of truth and integrity, who can be trusted, who keeps their word, these are the people the world needs, our country needs and our community needs. People will see and recognise honesty and truth and people will recognise something of God within us.
25th September 2021
Matthew 14:29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
I like to paddle, in a stream, a river, the sea. It is lovely to take off shoes and socks and feel the water on my feet and legs. If you are in a boat, you might dip your feet in over the side but you don’t step into the water as you do not know the depth and you will just sink unless you swim. Peter is invited by Jesus to come out onto the water and walk on it. Jesus invites, come, trust me, I will look after you. The impossible happens. People have tried to recreate this, tried to prove it is possible but they always have to use technology or cheat to do it. There is a lovely version of this story in the film The Shack, well worth watching as it challenges many of our ideas about God and make us think. As long as Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he is safe, he walks on the water. From this we deduce that the impossible can happen when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and He invites us to come. As soon as Peter takes his eyes from Jesus and lets everything else crowd in, he begins to fall, to drop down into the waters where Jesus’ hand reaches out and lifts him back up again. God is God of the possible and the impossible and we can be a part of that when we keep our eyes fixed on Him and follow Him. But we can also be assured that even when we begin to fall, to let everything crowd in on us, He is always there to reach out and restore us.
24th September 2021
Luke 10:40 Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
If you have siblings, how alike are you? Often siblings can be almost the antithesis of each other as well as sharing certain traits. In the gospels we meet a family close to Jesus, sisters Mary and Martha with their brother Lazarus who Jesus brought to life again. Mary and Martha were quite different in their attitude to Jesus. Martha was the hostess, cooking, cleaning, attending to His every need. Mary was much more contemplative, preferring to spend time with Jesus, listening and learning. Often, we are almost forced to take sides, who was right, who was wrong? Both sisters are icons in the scriptural world; Martha of the traditional female role as set out by males; Mary more of an icon of feminism, contemplative, disciple like, much more of the independence women have fought for, not dictated to by males. As such we can identify with either or both. We can be like Martha, feeling hard done by, that it is not fair. We can be like Mary, spending time with Jesus, listening, learning. We may feel a little cross that Jesus seems to side with Mary and not Martha, that He doesn’t tell Mary to help a little. In the form of service, it is Martha who is the example, in the form discipleship it is Mary. When their brother dies and Jesus finally arrives it is Martha who confronts Jesus, she is strong, bold with spiritual insight. Here are two sisters, both followers of Jesus, is one right and one wrong? No, certainly not. They are two sides of the same coin. We are to love God with heart, soul and mind and love neighbour as self. That means we need both contemplation and listening as well as action and service. The rules of God’s Kingdom are not those of society; equality, injustice, fairness are things we still need to fight for. We must be people of prayer, contemplation and listening but we must also be people of action and service. Life is not either/or but both. If God is at the centre, if God is priority all the rest will fall into place.
23rd September 2021
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
Have you visited The Shard in London, if not it is well worth a visit. It has 11,000 glass panels, 44 lifts, 306 flights of stairs and took three and a half years to build. Within its construction plans it had to have a deconstruction plan as it is made of so much glass. It is an amazing building. In the Bible the Temple built by Solomon was an amazing building, ornate, costly and magnificent. It took seven years to build and then the second Temple, after the exile, reconstructed and expanded by Herod, took twenty years to build. In the Old Testament the Temple is used as a visual aid to proclaim that what is to come from God is so much more. The prophet Haggai speaks God’s message of the final piece of the covenant to come, Jesus, the Messiah, God encourages His discouraged people to stay strong. As we move to the New Testament Jesus speaks of himself metaphorically as the Temple, He will be destroyed but rise again in three days. The people of the time took it literally, they knew how long it had taken Solomon to build the Temple so how can one man, not even a worldly king, possibly do it in three days. Impossible! Buildings are important to humans; they are signs of power and wealth. They are also signs of God’s presence; we have put God in a box so to speak. Jesus comes as the living temple, with us all day, every day, by His Spirit. His death and resurrection are the key, His rebuilding in three days. His living presence who walks alongside us day by day; but can also be a stumbling block to those more concerned with worldly trappings. Jesus is the living Temple, the cornerstone on whom we build our lives, the sure foundation to our lives as Temples of God here on earth.
22nd September 2021
Hebrews 1:3 Our world was spoken into being and is maintained by His power.
If I asked you to describe ordinary daily life, what would you say; We eat, sleep, work etc. Once in a routine we easily allow the wonders of our life and world and of God to be lost, because it has all become ordinary, everyday experiences. As we grow up, we lose that childlike quality that looks with awe and wonder at everything. Our ordinary lives are daily miracles, the healing of a cut finger, the food grown in our fields and gardens, the flowers and trees around us lining our paths and replacing CO2 with oxygen, the ability to communicate by speech, the ability to taste, hear, touch, see and smell, the fact we can travel so far in amazing machines. So much that we see as just ordinary life is a miracle, is a blessing obtained by people’s hard work, discovery and God’s gifts. God is everywhere, in everything we do, see and experience; as creator God He is in everything, including us, however ordinary it may appear. Ordinary is only ordinary because we have made it so, actually it is given, it is offered, it is blessed and it becomes a way of life that we just expect instead of appreciate. We need to see God in the ordinary, thank God for the ordinary, for our food, our work, friends, family, homes, gardens, parks, education and so it goes on. If we see God in the ordinary it will no longer be ordinary, instead we will see the blessing, the wonder, the miracles given by God to us and for us every day.
21st September 2021
Psalm 16:3 As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones, the heroes in whom is all my delight.
Do you like the superhero movies of recent years? Marvel or DC, Batman, Superman, Wonder woman, The Flash etc. These are all comic book heroes who find a way to save the world one way or another, often at personal cost to themselves. We have a fascination with Superheroes, they fight for Good, they succeed against the odds, they may have their flaws but somehow, they come through and save the world. We love the ideas of superpowers, something miraculous and wonderful and we, of course, would always use them for Good if we had them. We have had a longstanding joke in the vicarage from when the boys were small that my husband’s alter ego is “clergyman”. Joking aside, we can all actually be superheroes. We are Superheroes because we are in God, of God and we fight daily for good in His Strength. We can and do turn up into situations and perform incredible acts by being kind, by loving and caring for our neighbour, offering a helping hand, listening, doing and being God’s presence in all situations. We might not have x-ray vision, but we do have eyes which can see needs and help. We may not be able to fly but we can arrive in people’s lives just when we are needed. We might not be able to stop a speeding bullet, please do not even try, but we can stop or deflect a bullet of hurt or harm directed at someone. The desire to do good, to do the right thing, to live as God desires us to, makes us superheroes. So chose your name, your badge, your cape and serve God as you fight for good and God every day.
20th September 2021
Psalm 38:4 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
I enjoy a glass of wine with a meal as many of us do. I have favourites that I buy because I like them. For a while I fell into the trap of being told what I should like and what I should not. Being told what was the right price to pay for “good wine” always more expensive than others of course. As a result, I drank some unpleasant and tasteless wines which cost too much! I have now come to a point where I buy and drink wine that I like. I have my taste just as you have yours. Some wine snobs I know criticize and ridicule my choices but I have learnt what suits my palate and now I enjoy my wine far more. Funnily enough I have experienced a similar thing in churches. Just as there are wine snobs there are also church snobs. People who like to tell others what they should and shouldn’t do, how they should worship, pray, what books to read, what is good and what is bad, in their opinion of course, but sadly that opinion is one they consider to be expert. As an older and wiser Christian, I now realise that the only input I or you need on our Christian life is from God and His word, with help and advice from those with no hidden agenda and are called to be teachers and leaders. We are all different, with differing palettes so we all find churches and faith groups which allow us to grow and learn and become the people God desires us to be, not what the church snobs want us to be. The breadth of the C of E means we can worship in a way we find comfortable, read books which help us, pray and communicate with God in the way that works best for each of us and Him. Instead of forcing others to do things the same as we do, we need to encourage them to find what works for them, what tastes best to them and to find and enjoy God in that way.
19th September 2021
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the ways you should go; I will counsel you with my eyes upon you.
In my younger days I was a walker, exploring places like the Lake District, using maps to find, safe and hidden paths, rivers, roads, villages and places of interest. I love maps, so much information in a flat one-dimensional picture. But you need to learn how to read a map, I learnt for Duke of Edinburgh awards and as part of my Geography O Level. You learn what the symbols mean, the lines as they curve or are close or far apart, how to distinguish roads and rivers, crossings, forests, terrain, hills, mountains and so on. A map is of little use to someone who cannot read it. For hundreds of years ordinary people were reliant on those who could read to tell them what things meant, what books and texts said. This depended on those who could read telling the truth and being reliable. In churches those in the congregation were reliant on the priest to decipher and explain the Bible to them. Like a map can be confusing and unreadable if you do not know its language so it is with the Bible and church. Even today we have our own language and symbols which are not clear to those who are not from a church background. We are very good at using church speak, images which are unclear to the new, offering a code which the ordinary person struggles to decipher. God never intended for anyone to be left out, cut out, turned away because they did not understand the cues or the language. The gospel message is basically simple, God loves us, sent His son Jesus to die for us so we could be forgiven and made whole again. It is us who have complicated it all, it is us who need to change our language and attitude to allow everyone to understand and grasp God’s love for them.
18th September 2021
Acts 1: 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
Saints are ordinary people who let the love of God shine through them. Each of our nations of Great Britain has a patron saint and November 30th is St Andrew’s Day in Scotland, but as well as being patron saint of Scotland Andrew is also patron saint of Russia, and of Sicily, Greece, Romania, Amalfi, and Luqa (Malta); and patron saint of Army Rangers, mariners, fishermen, fishmongers, rope-makers, singers and performers, sore throats, spinsters, maidens, old maids and women wishing to become mothers. Quite a lot of areas covered here. Andrew receives only a tiny mention in the Book of Acts, listed as one of the witnesses of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, going onto preach the Gospel in Greece, Asia Minor and in Scythia, along the Black Sea as far as the Volga and Kiev. This is how he became the patron saint of Romania and Russia. Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at Patras but he did not die in the same way as Jesus; Andrew was bound, not nailed, to an X-shaped cross, now commonly known as a "Saint Andrew's Cross" or Saltire which became the national flag of Scotland. Andrew considered himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross that Christ was. We are not worthy to be given all that Jesus offers us and yet it is freely given to each of us. Like Andrew we need to serve Jesus as best we can, let God’s light shine through us and always give the credit and glory to God.
17th September 2021
John 1:40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
As the vicar of St Andrews, I have a soft spot for Andrew. We know that he was a son of Jonah, or John; that he was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, and that both he and his brother Simon Peter were fishermen, hence the tradition that Jesus called them by saying that He will make them "fishers of men". Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him to follow Jesus. The name "Andrew" comes from the Greek and means valour and brave. He was brave enough to follow John the Baptist who was a rebel, he was brave enough to give up his job and livelihood to follow Jesus, facing opposition from the Jewish authorities almost every day. Through the Holy Spirit, Andrew recognised Jesus as the Messiah, and very quickly introduced him to his brother Peter. For the rest of their lives the two brothers were Disciples of Christ. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. This is the challenge for us: if we recognise Jesus as Saviour, do we do all we can to introduce our relatives, friends and neighbours to Jesus? Are we fishers of men, women and children? Without Andrew, no Peter, without you or me well who knows who might never hear about Jesus. God does and wants to use you and I to share His love with all. Andrew went on to do many amazing things for God, many of which we are not aware of, but exist in the history of the early church. You and I will also go on to do amazing things that will exist in the history of the church but only if we let God work within us.
16th September 2021
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
It is always great for our self-confidence when we are chosen to do something, chosen for a promotion or new job, chosen as a representative. It means people have a high opinion of us. How much more wonderful to know we are chosen by God whoever we are. Jesus who chose the poor, the broken, the sinful; Jesus who healed and transformed lives; Jesus who excluded no one; Jesus who assures us there is a room for us in his Father’s house; Jesus characterised by love, forgiveness, and welcome. Jesus chose us to die for and then sends His Holy Spirit so we can share this chosen love of God with everyone. This Holy Spirit is not some formless, invisible, floating essence. It is God’s Spirit present in our life. In our choseness we are given the Spirit to enable and strengthen us. The Spirit challenges and supports us to live as Christians and live our lives as Jesus commanded through our thoughts, words, and actions. We feel the Spirit as the restlessness of our hearts, challenging, calling, provoking a response in real daily life situations. As we live as chosen people, with the Spirit within us, we are the ones who make God’s life present and tangible here on earth We are the ones who give flesh to Jesus’ words. You and I are the presence of God filled with the Spirit of God. We are the chosen hands and feet of God in the power of the Spirit, we offer love and affirm life. When our heart breaks for the pain of the world, when we reach out in compassion, when we weep over another’s loss that is the Spirit working. When we offer or seek forgiveness, when we refuse to judge, when we offer mercy and not condemnation that is the Spirit at work. When we speak words of hope, hold another’s needs and concerns as important as our own, when we pray for another, the Spirit is at work. The Spirit in us strengthens us to sit at the bedside of another, to care for the sick and dying, to console the bereaved. Each of us has that promised Holy Spirit within us but as chosen people we also have a choice; whether we allow the Spirit to work in us, or keep Him unused and hidden away.
15th September 2021
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
We often ask young people what they want to do with their lives, we also look at own lives and think about what we have done with them. What we refer to as life is actually our life situation. We are alive whether we are young or old, women or men, black or white, rich or poor, it is our situation that we actually live in and change through the things we do. Our life situation is our past, present and future. Things from our past will always affect us, for good or bad, will strengthen and weaken us. How we live in the present will be affected by our past. As we live, we keep going, we have hope, it focuses us on the future and the possibilities in front of us. Hope is definitely God given. Of course, the focusing on the past and the future can become so dominant in our mind that we look there instead of right here and now and so we can become unhappy with our present life situation. As with so much in God’s gift of life, we need to find a balance. It is good for us to focus on the value of life and being alive and less on our current situation. Life, life in its fullness is now, not yesterday or next week, but now, that’s we call it the present, it is a present, a gift which is ours to do with as we wish. The past and the future are the stuff of our mind, right now is reality. The present is the narrow moment of time we are presently in, it is the narrow gate of now that leads to real life. Our life situation may be difficult, with issues and problems but right now is it an issue? Not tomorrow, next week or next month but right now. When we are full of problems, there is no room for anything new, no room for a solution. Whenever we can we need to make room, create space, so that we can find real life in its fullness because that is what God desires for us.
14th September 2021
As we look back, we often speak of life before the pandemic, which we call normal, and then there is life during and now with the pandemic; the new normal. It has completely changed how we are with one another, how we see life, and we are reassessing what is important. The pandemic has been a pivotal moment. It’s one of those threshold moments that calls into question everything: priorities and values, the way we live and relate to one another, the things that truly matter, where we want to invest our time and energy, how we want to be in this world and what we want from life. Pivotal moments are when life gets truly real. They hold before us questions about who we are, who we want to be, what we’ve done, and whether our life matters and makes a difference. When Jesus came to these pivotal moments in His life He didn’t isolate or close in on himself. He didn’t get angry or resentful. He didn’t resist or fight back, run away or try to escape. He didn’t complain or deny the reality of what was happening. Instead, Jesus faces up to His life. He’s in touch with his humanity. He feels, He grieves, He weeps, He gathers with his friends and He prays. This is the example we need to follow in our lives. Take our cue from Jesus, come together and pray, feel, weep, grieve, laugh and stand together and we move forward together.
13th September 2021
John 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
We follow Jesus’ example of prayer each week as we pray the lord’s prayer but in other places His prayers are different. In John 17 the prayer is a bit rambling and confusing. Moving back and forth, folding in on itself; as much about Him as it is the disciples. But quite simply Jesus asks three things of his Father: that God would enable the disciples to be one with Jesus, that God would protect them from evil and that God would purify them in the truth. The rest of the prayer is Jesus working through what’s happening. Have you had those kinds of conversations? Where we are thinking out loud, wrestling with life, making statements, asking questions. The conversation goes in all sorts of directions. It circles back on itself. It’s anything but straight forward. We’re listening to ourselves as we talk and trying to get clarity and come to terms with what’s happening to us and within us. Sometimes these are conversations with a friend. Other times they are prayers to God. Jesus’ prayer isn’t so different from the way you and I have prayed at times. Threads of grief, trying to get some clarity, what we have done and what is coming next. Moments of life and death. These are the things we pray about, that we need to pray about with God, being honest, open with questions, choices and struggles which change our life. Here is Jesus standing in solidarity with us and our humanity, working out his life with God just as we do.
12th September 2021
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.
I wonder if you are a fan of bridges? I particularly love the little stone ones in places like the Lake District, but also the feats of engineering Like the Clifton Suspension Bridge or the beauty of Tower Bridge. Whether we pay much attention to them or not they are vital to our lives. Bridges offer us a safe connection between two sides, shortening journey’s considerably, provide a link to places nearby but effectively cut off. Of course, particularly in the past, they could also provide a way into a city or land for the enemy and we saw many bridges destroyed in the wars to give protection. These were then rebuilt as places healed and recovered. Bridges work by keeping tension and compression in balance, opposing forces which give incredible strength when held in tension, this tension is like a constant battle. As a teenager, Jesus was presented to me as a bridge, someone who came to bridge the gap between Humans and God, whose death on the cross spanned the gap that we could not get over by ourselves. In building this bridge God opened the way to all humanity to achieve holiness, to become part of the family of God again, to find freedom from the enemy and this bridge also works in tension. Bridges of any sort are beautiful but very hard to build, the bridge of Jesus is beautiful but cost so much in its construction. Jesus came and lived as one of us, experiencing all that we experience and then was falsely accused and murdered on a cross so that we might live. This incredibly high price was what Jesus was willing to pay for us to be able to once more have full and free access to God. That tension continues, every day, the battle between good and evil, held in tension by Jesus on the cross and allowing us access to the eternal life God has always desired for us.
11th September 2021
John 14:16 “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus says. “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate.”
When someone leaves or moves away, we are sad, we don’t want them to go, we find it difficult and upsetting. Jesus’s disciples were bewildered when He told them, He was going away. How could they who witnessed His miracles and learned from His teaching be better off without Him? But Jesus promised them that Him leaving meant the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would come to be with them. The advocate who represents us, helps us, defends and protects us. When we accept God’s offer of new life, we are given this gift of His Spirit living within us. From this Spirit we receive so much: He challenges sin, He brings us comfort when we ache, strength to bear hardships, wisdom to understand God’s teaching, hope and faith to believe, love to share. This Advocate will teach us everything, remind us of all that He said and taught. We all need an Advocate, the Spirit within us. We all need to be reminded, especially when the future is uncertain, when life has been turned upside down, and we’re afraid or overwhelmed. We need to be reminded when we’re angry or frustrated. We need to be reminded when we are sad and grieving. We need to be reminded when we’re busy, successful, and self-sufficient. We need to be reminded when we’re lost and don’t know the way. We need to be reminded when we feel like an orphan, alone and lonely, on our own, having to look out and fend for ourselves. None of us get through life alone. We need God’s reminding, God’s support, God’s Spirit to be our advocate, our comforter. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus says. “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate.”
10th September 2021
Matthew 25:18 But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.
Are you an Ostridge? You may not look like one but some of us are very good at burying our heads in the sand. In fact, we are very good at burying the very things God has given us to use for His glory. We say, I'm going to play it safe! I won’t use this just in case I get it wrong, or get laughed at or use it wrongly or get embarrassed. We think I’m not really good enough, there are others better than me. Don’t let fear keep you from developing your talents and gifts. We often play it safe because of fear, fear which leads to self-doubt, self-pity and self-consciousness. We cannot please God by playing it safe. We must take risks in life. If everything is safe in life you don't need any faith! Doing nothing is inexcusable. God would rather have us try to serve him and totally blow it, than do nothing. I'd rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed. What matters is the effort, trying! Trying to make your life count, trying to make an impact with your life, trying to do something significant that is going to outlast you. It's not whether you reach it or not, it's the effort that counts. But doing nothing is inexcusable. Sadly, we think we are nothing special; thinking I'm not going to do anything; I'll let the pros do it; they have more than me, since I only have a little, I'll just bury it. We decide we are not going to make any attempt in ministry with our life. I love being a Christian, it excites me, I do what I do because I want everyone to find this fantastic God that I have found. I want to heal the worlds ills, save the planet, help the poor and make the rich realise they can do so much good with all they have got. Most of all I want to see every Christian alive and excited by what God has given them and yet so often I see sad Christians, the fizz, the sparkle has gone out of their life. The Christian life is not a relationship any more, it's become a routine. There is no joy like it used to be. Their spiritual life has gone flat. Why? Because they are sitting on the side-lines, they are not in the game, spectating and not participating. These folks have buried their talents. It is so wrong to waste our life. I sometimes shudder to think of some of the excuses I will try to give when God asks, excuses as to why I made no attempt to get involved in helping other people and serving others. Those excuses will seem pretty inadequate at that point. Don’t sit on the side-lines, take what you have and use it. Go for it, you might get it wrong, I regularly get it wrong, but God would far rather we try and mess up than not try at all.
9th September 2021
Romans 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us.
There are three things we can do with our life: we can waste it, we can spend it, or we can invest it. There are plenty of things to spend it or waste it on, your hobbies, on acquiring certain possessions, the high life, partying, or you can invest it. Jesus taught that the greatest use of your life is to invest it in that which outlasts it. The parable of the talents gives us principles for investing our life. We invest our lives because everything we have belongs to God. God made it all. We really own nothing. We didn't come into this world with anything and we’re not going to take anything out of this world. What we have we simply get to use for 60, 70, 80, 90 years. It's God's. We just get to use it. God made us to manage his resources. God has entrusted some things to us to use. God has given each of us some talents. We all have God given talents. Talents are abilities, resources, skills or opportunities, all of the things that God has given us. Anything that God has trusted us with; our children, our job, our home, our family, our voice, our love, our cooking, our writing, our sport, our garden, our encouragement….. everything can be considered a talent. Everybody gets something. There is no such thing as a person with no talents. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. We are all unique. God has given each of us gifts, talents, skills, abilities, experiences, personality traits, temperaments, all to make each of us who we are. You and I are unique. There's nobody else like you in the world. You are so special and He made you for a purpose. God expects us to use these gifts. God has made an investment in our life and one day God is going to ask us, "What did you do with what I gave you?" The greater the privilege we have, the greater the responsibility we have to use everything for God’s glory. God’s challenge to you and to me is to use what we have been given. He stands alongside us, gives us the strength and helps us overcome the fear. It’s not always easy BUT As we use what we’ve got for God watch what happens. Little becomes more and more when we put it in God’s hands. By the things we do, the words we say, the love we give, the things we challenge, we can and do change our world for the better.
8th September 2021
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
What are your priorities in life? Do you care about others across the world? Are you constantly looking for more money, bigger and better cars and houses, better more expensive holidays? As Christians, although we must do the best for our families and loved ones, our selfishness is not what God needs from us. Instead, God needs us to care, to be compassionate and empathetic, to act, to challenge unfairness and make a difference not just for ourselves but for others, particularly the less fortunate. If our life is all about worldly gain, the wealth, power, fame etc and that is all that matters to us, then in reality our eternity is lost. If we are ashamed of God, of Jesus, of our faith, then we cannot expect Him to be anything but ashamed of us. If we deny ourself, take up our cross and follow Him then we will see God’s purpose, God’s priorities and we won’t be blinded by worldly things and we won’t become a stumbling block to other people or to God’s mission. But, be encouraged, even though we fail, sometimes spectacularly, we are still used by God. We may mess up but if we recognise this and are sorry, looking to change, then God will still use us, bless us and work with us, even though we get it wrong. God will change our priorities if we let Him. God never gives up on us, we should never give up on God or each other.
7th September 2021
Matthew 6:10 May your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When I was younger, I was often told to look more deeply into things and to expand my thought processes. This is often called looking at the Bigger Picture. As Christians, how do we do this? As we follow Jesus, we start to “look” more and more like him; and as we look more like him, we look less like the world. We learn to deny ourselves which mean we say “No” to ourselves and “Yes” to God. We humbly submit our will to God. It is what millions of Christians pray in the Lord’s Prayer every day, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Every day we are to live in such a way that it is apparent to everyone that we have died to ourselves, to our selfish ways and ambitions, and now live for God. So, when something unfair happens and instinctively we want to get even, we have as Christians, died to that “right,” we have prayed “not my will but yours be done.” Hopefully, as we become more like Jesus, we will humbly submit our will to God’s will, and we will respond in each situation in kindness and humility. We will not always do it right first time; but life is a journey. God is patient and knows we are fighting the habits of a lifetime as we learn to walk the right path. We are called daily to take up our cross whatever that might be. As we become a disciple of Jesus, we seek to live every day with Him, recognising who Jesus is, as messiah, as the Son of God and then follow Him in living as He lived and learn new things about God every day.
6th September 2021
Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.
In our world, even today, people are still enslaved, some because of rules and laws, some hidden away, some quite legally in unjust systems. More and more of us find ourselves in a place of being enslaved, not in the form of slave labour but our slavery is often self-constructed, self-imposed, and therefore far more difficult to detect or overcome. We have become enslaved to notions of success, and therefore put few limits on our work. We are enslaved to ideas about our children or grandchildren having every opportunity possible, and therefore schedule them into frenetic lives and wonder why they have a hard time focusing and sleeping. We are enslaved to the belief that the only thing that will bring contentment is more; more money, more space in our homes, bigger homes, more cars, more things to put on our resumes or in our closets, more, more, more. Such levels of wanting more don't permit time for anything but work, at the job, at home, working even during our so-called leisure time. This is the slavery we call success, and the rat race we call life. How much quality time do we spend together with family or friends? We are so busy working to make a better life that we miss out on actually living it. God desires more for us, but it is quality, quality of life. God wants all of us to have life in all its fullness, abundant life. Where we look at all the Lord’s provides and are thankful, we appreciate all of creation, we spiritually soak in it, marvel at it and really enjoy it.
5th September 2021
Mark 8:33 But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”
I expect, just like me and everyone else you have good days and bad days, times when we are good Christians and times when we really aren’t. The disciple Peter is the perfect example of just this and as such is also a real encouragement to us in our messy lives. In one of his moments of glory, Peter declares exactly who Jesus is, not long after in one of his worst moments, Peter tells Jesus that He is wrong…. In other words, Jesus, I know better than you and God do. Peter, just like we do, is seeing things from a basic human and selfish point of view. Jesus we are fine as we are, no change needed, let’s just keep doing what we are doing. We all recognise this attitude in ourself sometimes? When we act like this, we are actually thwarting the very mission Jesus came to fulfil. If Jesus does not fulfill His mission of the cross then Peter, all the disciples, all the believers through history, Christians today and those who are yet to come would have no access to God, no forgiveness, no salvation. God’s mission is for everyone, we must not be a stumbling block to this. As Jesus reminds Peter, he is thinking in earthly terms not heavenly ones. Peter is not seeing the bigger picture; do we see the bigger picture? We must learn to think in heavenly terms, not earthly ones so that we aid God’s mission and not thwart it.
4th September 2021
Mark 6:31 There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, “Let us come away and rest a while.”
I wonder if you need to come away and rest a while! Maybe you are exhausted, work, family, commitments, the coming and going, no time to even eat. The pandemic has reached further and further into our lives, for longer and longer and we struggle. Testing, mask wearing, distancing, do we, don’t we, it is exhausting, confusing, frustrating; we need to come away and rest a while. The key thing about rest is that it gives us a chance to step back and stand apart from all the things that usually drive us and consume us. This is so we can once again find God's presence, love, wisdom and blessing, experience a sense of contentment, peace and rest. We cannot just keep going or our bodies will pull the plug somehow. Jesus knows first-hand how difficult this is to do, but also how vitally important it is that we rest. Before we can do the Lord’s work and help others, we need to be rested and grounded, breathing Him in. How good are you at caring for yourself, at coming back to Jesus for a while to be recharged? Out of this resting and recharging comes a new healing, increased sensitivity and compassion for life; an ability to be with people in a way that is not possible when we are tired and exhausted and short tempered. We must be deliberate, make ourselves find time for rest. We must regularly make time to come away and rest a while.
3rd September 2021
Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on human rules they have been taught.
Traditional pharisaic Judaism believed that humans were made unholy by what they put in their bodies. Jesus taught that it is what is in the human heart that matters, that makes humans unholy. In a time when hand washing and sanitising is a high priority we can sympathise with the idea of not washing hands but not everyone does the same thing, not everyone prioritises hand washing the way we might. Isaiah reminds us how easy it is to honour God with words lips, but not with our hearts. In other words, many of us are hypocrites, abandoning the commandments of God in favour of human traditions. This leads to empty worship practices; a misrepresentation of tradition in order to avoid God’s law, deliberate and selfish interpretations of traditions and teaching. The only way to not be a hypocrite is to have a heart for God. What is the state of our human heart? Whatever our practices, whichever traditions we do or don’t uphold, these are not the things that ready us for God’s kingdom. Unlike food that simply passes through our digestive system, that which comes from the heart affects the whole person. It is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions can come. The heart is understood here as the centre of human will, rationality, and desire. It is the place from which all our intentions come, both bad but also good. Evil things come from a desire to take, to grasp, to own, to devour. The corruption of the human heart is rooted in desire, want and greed. We can become insatiable consumers: of things, of pleasure, of people, even of our own energy. What is in our heart matters. If they are cold and hard, unfeeling and sarcastic then God’s desires are not in us. If they are full of selfishness then we are not of God’s kingdom. May our prayer be; Lord make my heart to be like yours.
2nd September 2021
Galatians 5:1. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free, no longer to be subject to a yoke of slavery.
Nelson Mandela spent many years in prison for fighting for the freedom of black people in South Africa. Amongst other things he said that “For me to be really free I must live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Mandela realised that only when everyone was free to live in their way would everyone be free. Our own freedom of expression, lifestyle, religion, personality depends on others also being free to express themselves, their lifestyle, religion, personality. The freedom of all depends on the common good of all. Across our world so many are still oppressed, girls forced into slavery and prostitution because of family debt in India and Nepal, domestic workers treated as slaves and not paid along with child trafficking, begging and prostitution in places like Tanzania. Even in the UK we have domestic slavery that we can’t seem to combat effectively. There is a circle of slavery; no schooling, education, no knowledge of rights, therefore others have power over you and they exploit it. This is why people will sell everything to pay unscrupulous traders and people smugglers to sail them into Europe and across the channel to the UK, believing they will at last be free. The freedom that we take for granted, others never even have. We are currently more polarised and fragmented in society than ever. The quest for individual rights and profits, complete selfishness above all else has meant the loss of community trust and the working together of all to gain freedom for everybody. The result is weaker local institutions and communities which become marginalised and identity politics divides allowing the selfish to gain even more power and thus squash the freedoms of others. Our freedom was paid for in Christ, we were to no longer be slaves but to be free, and that was all of us no matter who we are. God’s love of us means freedom, freedom for everyone.
1st September 2021
Psalm 19:8 The laws of the Lord are right, and those who obey them flourish.
In recent years we have used the term flourishing a lot more. Flourishing means someone reaching their full potential, being allowed, encouraged and facilitated to become the best they can be throughout their life. For this to happen each person needs certain basic things, we call these Human Rights. Across the world there is agreement as to what these are but even so they are regularly not implemented, even here in the UK. Each human being has the right to life, liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, a good education and work prospects, adequate living standards, a home and food, freedom of belief and religion, justice, fairness and dignity. As human beings if we desire these rights for ourselves, we must also desire them for others, for everyone regardless of who they are, where they are from, what they believe, the colour of their skin, their culture and nationality. Human Rights can only work if everyone takes part. If I demand one rule for me and different for others then I am not an advocate of Human Rights, I am just selfish. All rights come with responsibilities, as each of us demands our rights we must also fulfil our responsibilities. As I demand my right to life and liberty then I am responsible for making sure that others gain their life and liberty. If I demand good a good education for myself and my family then I have the responsibility to fight for a good education for everyone here in this country and across the world. If I demand fairness and justice for myself then I am responsible for treating others fairly and with justice and demanding our government and governments across the world treat their citizens with Justice and fairness. God asks of us that we treat others as we are treated by Him. As Christians we must always fight for the rights of others as well as ourselves because only then will all be able to flourish as God intended us to.
31st August 2021
Ephesians 4:28 Let no one steal, but rather let them labour, doing honest work, so that they may have something to share with anyone in need.
Do you like shopping? Are you someone who likes to stroll round the shops, looking and buying? Are you an armchair shopper, looking at websites and ordering things to your door? Are you a bargain hunter, looking for the best deals or do just like to treat yourself? I am not a great shopper, I just go and get what I need, although I will have a good look in the sales, as I like a bargain. I was thinking how we can treat our Christian faith in the same way as shopping. We can be Christians who stroll around our faith, looking and applying our faith in different situations. We can also people who are armchair Christians, read a book, look at a service on You Tube, have a comfortable form of Christianity that never really steps out into the world. We can be bargain hunting Christians, looking for a church or a service we like, that doesn’t challenge us, that is cheaper and costs less to us as a person in the changes we need to make to our lives before God. I have met many Christians who regularly move churches because they want to be a Christian in their own way rather than God’s way. When they are challenged or asked for commitment they move on, find somewhere else. Christianity is a form of living that means we look to abide by the teachings of Jesus, the ways of God and so we will be challenged, we will need to change, we will need to pay the costs associated with being honest, true, caring people who want to expand the family of God to everyone. We need to be active Christians, people who pray, people who read the Bible, people who challenge wrong doing, people who fight for the rights of everyone. That means we can’t be armchair Christians, we can’t be cheap Christians, we can’t be Christians who just wander from place to place without commitment. As a Christian we are God’s representatives on earth, His hands and feet, we are the ones who can and must make a difference.
30th August 2021
Colossians 3:13 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a grievance against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.
Friendship is one of life’s blessings. We like the company of friends, to go out together, share experiences. We choose our friends so they are people sensitive to our ways and ideas. They are people we can trust and share things with, people we can talk to about things. And yet friendships sometimes suffer or are lost because of events, moves, disagreements and life changes. A recent survey on friendship asked the question about the difference between Christian and non-Christian friends, the same word kept coming up, forgiveness. Christian friends are more willing to listen, more willing to understand and to forgive. There is understanding from Christians that just as they need forgiveness, recognising their own imperfections, others need that forgiveness to. The human condition is that we are not perfect, we do make mistakes, we do say things we shouldn’t and sometimes do stupid things. Jesus speaks a lot about forgiveness, some of His last words from the cross are asking forgiveness for those who crucified Him, asking forgiveness for all of humankind as we do things we shouldn’t. Jesus own example was to forgive, He forgave Peter for his betrayal and gave him the role of leading the church. He forgave the disciples for abandoning Him and equipped them to continue spreading the gospel. We are forgiven on a daily basis as we confess our sins to God, as we recognise our imperfections and strive in God’s strength to do better. As Christians we are called to forgive as we are forgiven, it is good to hear that people are seeing that forgiveness being practiced by Christian friends. May we be good Christian friends.
29th August 2021
Genesis1:31a God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
From an ostensibly privileged white British perspective, I have sat with the very serious issue of what Jesus actually means for those at the margins of our society: the poor, the suffering, those that are mistreated and oppressed in our world? Contemplative Richard Rohr says, “God loves things by becoming them.” Quite simply this is the Incarnation, the great Mystery of the universe that God is not just present in us because He created us, but He also became one of us in Jesus. If God is present in each of us and became one of us then everyone of us is holy, loved and special. The asylum seekers and refugees at our borders, the disabled person, the transgender person, the gay person, the incarcerated person, the Muslim person, the black person, the women and children, all are equal and loved by God and all should be treated with respect, with parity and equity. What I believe and understand is that we are all loved, we all belong, and that no one is a mistake or a problem to be solved or a public policy to be fixed, or a threat to be rejected. Each and every human being is a holy part of God’s creation and we need to remember that everything God created He saw that it was very good. If we can believe that we are all loved just as we are and that everything and everyone else is equally loved just as they are, then we finally recognise the reality of the goodness of all creation and accept all our brothers and sisters equally and without qualification.
28th August 2021
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
I like to watch the documentaries of Louis Theroux. He gets to the heart of the matter and has a way of getting people to open up. I recently saw a follow up to one he did with a Baptist Church group in the USA. Both programmes unsettled me because of the vile behaviour and language used against anyone who does not believe exactly as they do. They very much fit into cult status rather than Christian status and they are led by one man who has no accountability and is surrounded by bodyguards and has great wealth. Their vile judgement is against anyone of race, ethnicity, origin, tribe, sexual orientation, pro-choice etc but these distinctions actually have very little meaning in a cosmos created with original goodness and universally shared dignity. Many of us have spent our lives trying to fight racism, sexism, gender, sexual identity bias, racial and cultural stigmas. We all struggle with the -isms of society longing for true justice to flow like rivers. Our intentions are good, but our efforts can often be clouded by presumptions such that if our western culture would just include others and their ways, all would be well for everyone. This is not true. Jesus makes it quite clear that everyone and everything was included in the very beginning. It is us who have constructed the hierarchies, the values, the supposedly right culture, the political systems and allegiances. For these people of the Baptist Cult, they have weaponised the Bible to justify hatred, persecution, bad language, suppression, even extermination in the belief that all but them are destined to hellfire and need to be helped on their way as soon as possible. It is so awful to see Jesus being used in this way, to equate their doctrine with the true God of love who sends His son that all may be saved. God made us all, as we are and who we are, we have no right to decide who is of God and who is not, nor do we have the right to decide that we are always right and others are wrong. We are all God’s children, created in His image.
27th August 2021
Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.
Sometimes we are convinced that at some point others will find out that we are not who they think we are. We live divided lives. Jesus has been dealing with division from the beginning. He has healed People, cleansed people, enabled the lame to walk and the blind to see. Within all these situations there is division. Each person’s life is not their own, we all live with inner turmoil, with division, disconnected from community and family, all that gives identity. Illnesses can point to inner conflict both physically and spiritually. This division and inner conflict is a major part of today’s world and each of our lives. Just think, a marriage becomes divided and ends in divorce. The product of nations being divided offers us the vitriolic politics we are seeing, and in some places even civil war. A divided economy has given us and many places poverty, poor health and injustice. Once the community is divided it becomes individualistic and tribal, prejudice and aggression abound, anonymous persecution happens through social media. Humanity divided makes sure the few prosper at the cost of the rest. You and I know what it is like to live divided lives, when our outsides and our insides don’t match up? We are one person at work another at home. We act one way with certain people and a different way with other people. We have that phone voice and our other voice. Life gets divided into pieces and behaviour, beliefs, and ethics change depending on where we are and who we are with. Work life, family life, prayer life, personal life, social life. We’re a bunch of pieces like an unmade jigsaw. We are forever trying to put the jigsaw pieces of our lives together into the perfect picture on the front of the box. Jesus provides unity, wholeness, as part of the Trinity. He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He puts our divided lives back together. Jesus offers the best and right image of what life could and should look like on the front of the box. Jesus wants to put that jigsaw together. There is nothing about our lives that cannot be put back together by the love God in Jesus.
26th August 2021
Luke 24: 30/31 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
Do you recognise people by their actions or certain words and phrases? We all have quirks that we do and say and make us recognisable for who we are. In the Bible it is when an unrecognised Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it, that they finally recognise Him because of the same gestures He did at their last meal together. Jesus gives the disciples two ways to find him. He opens up the scriptures for them and he breaks bread with them. The good news for us is that Jesus has given us those same two ways to open our eyes to his presence: opening up the scriptures and the breaking of the bread. We are people of word and sacrament. People of the Book and People of the Mass/Communion. We are called to Jesus by the central acts of our worship, by reading God’s word, hearing the word preached and then as we meet around the Lord’s table breaking bread together. In the meeting together and breaking bread together the early church had a source of confidence and power. The encounters with the risen Lord Jesus moved the disciples from despair to hope. It does the same for us today. It is that encounter with the risen Jesus that opens our eyes to the truth, to the love of God for us, to the promised saviour set out before us in the Bible, the Holy Book, that we should be reading, studying and learning. It is the opening of our eyes in the breaking of bread together, the symbol of our redemption, the re-enactment of what Jesus did for us that first Easter, in the meal He left for us to celebrate together. The early Christians clearly felt the Holy Spirit burn within them and if we want to walk with Jesus like the early disciples, we must open the scriptures and break the bread and allow the Holy Spirit to ignite and burn within us, opening our eyes to God’s purpose and plan because that is how Jesus blesses us, uses us, inspires us and ultimately brings us home to him.
25th August 2021
Luke 24:15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them.
Have you ever been driving somewhere, and you realize you’ve gone to work instead of the Supermarket, for example? I have a tendency to do it at our junction of the A2. My internal map sends me to the old, expected place instead of to the other one. We are, after all, creatures of habit. So it is in our Christian life, we can be heading in one direction and end up in another. The disciples found this to be true, they thought they were going to one place and ended up in a totally other place, literally and spiritually. Two disciples are walking on a road to a village called Emmaus, just after the women have told them about the empty tomb. They are deep in conversation with each other, they are sad, confused and discussing all the happenings with Jesus, the crucifixion, and the empty tomb. A stranger walks up to them and asks what they’re talking about. They don’t recognise Him. They tell the stranger all about how they hoped Jesus was going to redeem Israel but now He’s been killed, and the tomb was empty, and they went to check it out and Jesus wasn’t there. You can almost here the rambling. They just can’t see for looking. They don’t recognise Jesus on the road. Jesus needs to reveal himself to them in a new, unexpected, way to shake the disciples out of their old way of thinking. Just as we sometimes need to see Jesus differently to change our perspective on life, to shake us out of old ways of thinking! These disciples had a map they expected the Messiah to follow, a map that had been given to them by history and tradition. A map that included their saviour being a king and conqueror, freeing Israel from its Roman occupiers, and since that didn’t happen, they believe they’ve reached the end of the road. They had been expecting the journey would end with a conquering hero. The old way of thinking is keeping them from getting to the new place Jesus wants them to go. Jesus questions them, He challenges their foolishness, and their understanding of all the scriptures shows them! He does the same for us. They and we sometimes need a very clear history lesson so we can remember exactly who Jesus is and go in the right direction.
24th August 2021
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.
Recently I was given a favourite book published in the year of my birth, making it even more special. We all have books that are special to us for a number of reasons. Within all religions there are Holy Texts, books which hold the teaching of that belief and are studied and held with esteem and reverence. Why do we read and study? It builds mental capacity, it makes sense of our world, we learn new things, we improve our life prospects and future career options. Studying increases our confidence, our self-esteem and it reduces the stress and anxiety of exams and interviews. A number of job recruitment agencies offer reasons people should study, they suggest it helps us figure out where our passions and skills lie, qualifies our learning, fulfils our ambitions, makes life worthwhile and makes us more rounded people. Imagine if we begin to apply all that about studying to our Holy books; you can see why Joshua tells us to study the law, learn it, meditate on it and so be strong and courageous. If you carry the Holy words inside you, you carry God with you! The words of our Holy Book, the Bible, gives confidence, increases self-esteem, widens our horizons, makes sense of our world, reveals our passions and interests and improves our life completely. The Bible is key to our Christian life, to growing closer to God, to living more like Jesus, to being the people God intended us to be. We need to read it, study it and carry it within us and in doing so we will carry God with us.
23rd August 2021
John 19: 25 Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
In the churches calendar Mothering Sunday acknowledges all women in the church in their motherly role of caring for others and we of course look to Mary, Jesus own mother, as our example. There are many images of Mary in mourning, and pointing the way to her Son. Mary is present at the foot the Cross, not only as a loving mother, but also as a disciple who follows her Lord to the hour of His death. Suffering is not something that attracts us. It is hard to stand firm when those we love are suffering, not just physically, but spiritually, especially for a mother who is watching her son die. This is saying something very profound about love and suffering. We cannot forget that Mary is not just a mother, she is a Jewish mother, she knows that her role is not only to be a loving mother for her children, but also their teacher. She is also a disciple that follows her son to the cross. She is giving her spiritual sons and daughters, us, the example of a witness who follows the Master’s footsteps and lives in constant prayer. Prayers are important when you have to see your loved one suffering and you cannot do anything to stop it. Through Prayer we offer our pain to God. How often is it that all we can do is pray. It may seem little but it is actually vital, a gift and a blessing, never to be underestimated. Mary is our example of one who stands up for Her son, in love, prayer and witness no matter the cost. If we are willing to stand with Mary at the foot of the cross, we too become sons and daughters of Mary, part of this new family of God who witness Jesus’ cross and resurrection, who look after each other as family.
22nd August 2021
2 Samuel 6:14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might.
When was the last time you danced? Strictly Come Dancing has brought a popularity to dancing for all ages and is one of the BBC’s most popular shows. The celebrities who take on this challenge all speak of falling in love with dancing, of the physical and mental benefits it has. We tend to lose the dancing as we grow older and we no longer live the nightlife we used to. Yet dancing is so beneficial we really ought to try and do it, even if only in our own kitchen or living room, even if only when we hoover or dust, yes that is a thing. Dancing features in the Bible, people danced before God, as an expression of their love, in celebration of what God did and just out of pure joy. Dancing was seen as a form of worship because to dance you use your whole body, your mind, your heart, your soul and your breath. In dancing you completely give yourself to the activity and so to the one you dance in honour of. When you watch people dance, they are so focussed, so totally invested in what they are doing because it is a total mind and body experience. Far from the thoughts of the past that all music and dancing was of the Devil, it is rather a Biblical and God given expression that we can use. Using our bodies for worship is not a new thing, in the Bible people danced, raised hands, fell prostrate, stood, moved, knelt and so on. Yes, we may feel too old for some of these things but we do them not for others but for ourselves and God. Why not dance round the kitchen, why not listen to music and move with the beat, why not move your body in praise and worship of God in many of the things you do around the home? No one else needs to see, it will do you good, it will bless God and it will improve your wellbeing.
21st August 2021
Ephesians 5:1 Be imitators of God as His beloved children.
Being a Christian or follower of Jesus is such an amazing and wonderful experience that we cannot and should not keep it to ourselves. We have great, amazing, life changing news and we should readily share it with others. We are all called to reflect the love of Jesus to our local community, to our friends, families and neighbours, as we introduce people to Jesus and help them discover God’s love for themselves. We are called to be imitators of God, to be like Him in our lifestyle. We need to reflect the love of Jesus to the world so that others will be inspired to come to know him for themselves. If you remember the 9/11 tragedy in the USA we saw the images of people streaming out of the Twin Towers but you will also remember the Fire Officers who were running into the burning buildings to save people. A wonderful metaphor for what Jesus has done for us; Jesus rushes into the burning building of sin and death by dying on the cross for us. Through Jesus Christ, we are free to live and that is a life changing gift we need to share with others. It is not enough for us to show one random act of kindness and then think we’ve done our bit. It is not enough for us to be nice to someone to their face and then join in the gossip about them behind their back. We are to be full of God, of Jesus, full of grace and truth all the time: consistent in our words, actions and behaviour with others, whether face-to-face, through social media, or e-mail and so on. We are the only Bible some people will ever read, we are the hands, feet and voice of Jesus on Earth, so it is up to us to share the love of Jesus with everyone, to share the Good News we have been given and not keep it to ourselves.
20th August 2021
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
What was the last gift you were given? We all like a present, that special gift given on a birthday or Christmas, it says we matter, we are important and special, someone thinks so much of us that they want to give us something to show their love. When it comes to gifts Jesus Christ is the most incredible and wonderful gift that God could ever give to the world to show His love for us. God becoming human flesh and living among us is the ultimate gift of love and hope for us as human beings. The news that God does not leave us alone in our mess but is willing and able to leave heaven and get his hands dirty here on earth, WOW! God doesn’t just watch from a distance, doesn’t just impassively sit and watch us, but we are so special, so important that He loves us enough, to come down here and get fully engaged in every aspect of our life, quite utterly astonishing! God cares so much about us that he wants to be involved in every aspect of our life: all the good, all the bad, all the hopes, all the fears, everything! In Jesus, God is amongst his people in a way that he never had been before; actually living in physical, human form, and personally becoming one with his people in the most incredible way so that he could experience everything that you and I experience. The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us. A simple truth that can transform our lives. God became human so that he could experience what we experience and so he could identify with us in how we live our life, empathise with our struggles and give us the strength and support we need to live well, every day with Him right by our side.
19th August 2021
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
As children we love the idea of treasure, finding the treasure chest left by pirates. I remember borrowing some of my mum’s jewellery to place in a tin or box, drawing a treasure map and pretending to find it. Treasure is a romantic idea we play with because it means wealth, it means no more worries for the future, no working, no struggling, it offers us security in this world. As we grow older the treasure chest we longed to find is replaced by the treasure of better paid jobs, cars, houses, lottery wins, windfalls, anything to make life easier for us, and to gain it we are often willing to spend on the never, never, putting off the reckoning to the future, sometime. The Bible has a different view on treasure because it sees the affect it has upon us. The Bible knows that what we treasure we hold dear, it is where our heart is, it is the most important thing to us. It is why we have such phrases as put your heart and soul into something, that is the heart of the matter etc. The Bible calls us not to treasure money, wealth and possessions but to treasure people, family, friends and God. In other words, our hearts should be in our relationships. Someone once told me that their partner loved his car so much that when there had been an accident, he was not concerned about her but only about the damage to his precious car. He treasured the car more than the person he was supposed to love. Knowing the value of something and appreciating it is a good thing but placing that above life, above relationships, above God means we can never be fulfilled, never be truly happy and never put our heart and soul into our relationships with family, friends or God. We need to examine our priorities and learn where our treasure really is and then treat those treasures; family, friends and God, with the value, love and respect they deserve.
18th August 2021
Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of Mary, born under the law.
A great deal of nonsense has attached itself to the figure of Mary over the centuries. She sums up the ambivalence of a Church which took 600 years, to declare officially that women had souls, and at least 600 years to begin to take seriously the theology of Jesus being both fully human and fully God, the incarnation, God with us in human form. Mary, his mother, is an ordinary human being like the rest of us, her humanity is not a matter of shame, to try and be explained away by male dominated theology. The very point of Mary is that she is indeed human; for if Mary wasn’t human then neither was Jesus, and if Jesus was not born human then we are not saved. Mary’s existence as a human physical woman has been problematic. Mary’s virginity, her motherhood and just being a woman, have been used down the centuries to limit options for all women. Even today in the 21<sup>st</sup> century there’s still a bias response against women in many fields of life. We still live in a world where senior politicians can openly be little women in parliament, in the press and get away with it. We still live in a culture which thinks it can tell women (and men too, for that matter) what to eat, how to look, how to behave. Mary is and has the vision of a better world where the hungry are fed and the powerless enabled, where wealth and influence are equally distributed, where women have parity and equity and nobody is made more perfectly in the image of God than anyone else, whoever they are. Mary has been treated poorly and ignorantly throughout history and yet she is central to the Christian story and a wonderful example to us. Mary said yes to God and miracles happened. If we say yes to God then God will use us, ordinary human beings like Mary, and miracles will happen.
17th August 2021
Luke 1:52 God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.
At my primary school, we had weekly hymn practice with music teacher Mrs. Brookes. She had a profound impact on me and my love of music. Her favourite hymn, because of her Welsh background, was Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah (Not Redeemer but Jehovah!) which we sang week after week, always followed by: When a knight won his spurs in the stories of old. This hymn goes on to describe some of the clichés of chivalry. Knights are gallant and bold and they kill dragons. As a person who defines as being Welsh, I’ve always rather enjoyed the fact that the book of Revelation contains dragons, and red dragons at that. In our very science based and factual modern society we can no longer afford to believe in romantic visions of the past, but there is still a role for faith in the constant earthly battle between good and evil. Mary, the mother of Jesus, helps us to root that battle, and our faith, firmly in the real world instead of a world of fantasy. Her song or hymn, the Magnificat, is a rallying cry for the transformation of the world. This young woman, whose whole place in society is marginal because of her gender and an unexpected pregnancy, sings with absolute confidence of a God who confounds expectation. Mary names the dragons of her own day, and of ours: poverty, power imbalance, injustice, hunger, pride and speaks of God’s utter commitment to their destruction. Mary’s song is not a wistful ‘if only the Kingdom were like this’; it is a profound and radical call to put our faith into action, to challenge and change and to build the Kingdom of God here on Earth.
16th August 2021
Philippians 3: 20 But we are citizens heaven through our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you ever think about Heaven? Is it a word you band about as you say heaven’s above or for heaven’s sake? Jesus calls heaven “my Father’s house”, a place we identify where God dwells and yet we know God is everywhere, He is omnipresent, but heaven is that place where His glory dwells. In the Bible we are sometimes given a glimpse into heaven where God is worshipped day and night by the heavenly hosts and the saints who have passed from this world into glory. Jesus refers to this place as “my Father’s house”. This is what Stephen sees as he is stoned in Acts 7, Jesus waiting to welcome him home to His father’s house, Heaven. When talking about heaven people are accustomed to speaking of paradise, pearly gates, streets of gold, and mansions on hills. We speak of no more sin, sickness, or death, and it is true that we long for these things, but it is being with Father God that is the most precious part of Heavenly life. He is what makes heaven, heaven. He is what makes paradise, paradise. The promise of Heaven is for all of us if we chose to take it. The promise of eternal life with Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit forever. This is such a comfort for us, such an encouragement and blessing because what we actually deserve is to be cast from the presence of God into utter darkness and eternal hell; but God made a place for us in heaven through Jesus’ resurrection to new life. So, we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation belonging to God because of Jesus who made for us an eternal place in Heaven.
15th August 2021
John 14:2 My Father’s house has many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Picture Jesus in the upper room with his disciples. He had been with them for over three years. He taught them many things. He performed miracles before their eyes. They believed that he was the Christ, the Saviour of the world, and they expected him to remain with them forever. But now he is talking about going away. The disciples were troubled at these words. They were bothered at the thought of their Master going away. After all, they expected him to remain forever! They thought to themselves, why does he need to leave? Where does he plan to go? Will we see him again? And how will we possibly get along in this world without him? Jesus brings comfort to his disciples. That is what John chapter 14 is all about. Jesus is comforting his disciples concerning his departure, but he also comforts you and I who live now in this difficult unprecedented time. Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Or “Do not be worried and upset, Believe in God; believe also in me.” We know that he himself was troubled in spirit, and yet, even with the weight of the world upon His shoulders, He gives himself to the task of comforting his disciples and also us. These words are an imperative in the Greek, a command and something that we are to do. When our hearts are anxious, when our hearts are troubled with the cares that come with living in this world, we need to hear the command of our Saviour saying, “let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me.” There is substance to this command, it is not a platitude but a direction to creator God who made us, cares for us and has our future in His hands.
14th August 2021
John 1: 43 Jesus went to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’
We all like an invitation, to be invited to a party or a big wedding, that special event or celebration, an invitation out for dinner, to the theatre etc. Of course, any invitation we receive needs a response, an RSVP from us, will we choose to go or not? This verse and it it’s context passage from John’s Gospel is one of invitation: the invitation to follow me, the invitation to come and see and the invitation to experience God’s promises. All of these invitations require a response. Will we follow, will we come and see for ourselves, will we allow ourselves to experience God’s promises? We are invited to become a disciple and join the Christian family. This invitation to follow is open to all, all of the time and it requires a response, a choice to follow or not, we have the choice to come and see for ourselves. A choice to cut through all the rubbish, the arguments and the false truths to come and see Jesus, find that Jesus is all we need, and that God will do the rest. God’s promises are for everyone, whoever they are, whatever their background, culture, gender, race or sexuality. God, through Jesus, is available to everyone who wants to follow Him, but we must be willing to both respond to the invitations given to us and offer these invitations to others so they can also respond.
13th August 2021
John 8:32 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
One of the things that has bothered me during the Pandemic is those who have decided it is not real or is some conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists have been around forever. Those who would rather believe something because it offers a simpler idea. For many the theories they believe are not really harmful or worrying. But when affects people’s health, when it prevents those in need from taking a vaccine that will save their lives, when it means not using technology that can help and instead end up very ill or unable to communicate it is dangerous. At Jesus time there were conspiracy theorists as well. People who believed Jesus was a political activist, someone who was subverting the true way of the people. Jesus was actually the truth teller, the one who was preaching a simpler life based around God where all the demands of their religion was what was actually leading people astray. The conspiracy then, as also exists today, are those who will do everything to maintain their power and authority by leading people astray, by bending the truth, stretching reality so as to dictate the situation. Truth is important, it is vital, how can we trust anyone if we are being lied to. It is always good to check things out, to not take things at face value. Jesus never stopped people from questioning Him, from challenging, from seeking the truth. Jesus taught us to seek the truth and that the truth will set us free. There is no conspiracy in faith, no conspiracy to fool us or mislead us, only truth and honesty and those bring us true freedom.
12th August 2021
2 Corinthians 9:6 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
As a young person I was often told that there were givers and takers in the world. Those who will give and give, even though they are taken for granted and often abused; and those who will take, take everything they can get their hands on and don’t care who they trample on to get it. I expect you have met both kinds. Most of us probably sit somewhere in the middle. As Christians we are called to be givers, to offer to others out of our blessings, to give our time and energy to support people, pray for people, help where we can. We follow the example of Jesus and the disciples, the teachings of the early church and try to be the best of ourselves we can be before God. BUT, we also need to take. Take energy and love, support and help from one another and from God. Jesus took time to be with God, to be refreshed and blessed by Him, so must we. We need to take from the fellowship of Sunday worship and Bible study, from sermons and thoughts, from Books and programmes. We need to take things that bless us, encourage us and help us, these in turn enable us to give out to others because our store is never bare. We never run out of love, compassion, empathy etc because we are taking from God’s endless, unconditional love to enable us to give on out to others. Our form of taking is not selfish, not aggressive, not egotistical or for our own aggrandisement, but instead it is for replenishing, strengthening, enabling and ultimately giving to others. We need to be givers but also takers from the abundance of God’s love and provision for us.
11th August 2021
Matthew 5:37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
How good are you at communication? Are you one of those who can get your point across easily or do you struggle to show and tell others what you mean. Sometimes we allow our emotions to get the better of us and instead of communicating clearly, we are not able to be clear what we mean. In saying that we do need to own our thoughts and feelings because they are God given. Once we decide to communicate our message, to act, we need to be clear in what we are saying and doing, clear in our message and follow through with what we are trying to say. Clarity in thought and communication is vital. Jesus is quite clear in His message to us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. In other words, we must be completely honest, truthful and clear in our dealings with others. It is so easy to be dragged down or drawn into making compromises to make ourselves look good. To manipulate a situation or information to make sure we come out well or get a promotion, or to keep certain contacts or friends. We often think we will never compromise our beliefs, never let others down, always stand up for those in need until opportunities present themselves and we believe that if we take the opportunity now, even if it means a compromise, a small lie, a grey area, it will be okay, we justify it because we think we can work from the inside and change things. That never happens. Once we compromise, we cannot then re-establish our credentials, once we sell our soul to achieve something, we no longer hold the higher ground and our power to help others is lost. Honesty and integrity are the key to being the best people we can be as Christians in this world. Jesus did not compromise His message for anyone or anything, neither must we.
10th August 2021
Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the human from the dust of the ground and breathed into their nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living creature.
I’m only human after all, is a line from the Rag and Bone man song, Human. It is an experience we can all relate to and because we are human, we get hurt, we feel pain, we get our hearts broken, we cry, we experience both love and loss. We experience disappointment and agony. Through all the sad and difficult times in our lives we experience feelings of anger, disappointment, sadness, loss and stages of grief. Each time we hit another low it is compounded by previous experiences of difficulties and loss. Because we are human, and we equate strength with not allowing ourselves to grieve or feel, we also try to escape the stages of grief and pain that we actually need to go through. We want to get back to normal as quickly as possible and as a result we never really recover fully, we just cope and we can only cope for so long before we crumble. All traditions and religions respect the need for us to take time, to not run from difficulty or hurt but to allow it to teach us, to change us, to make us better people. It is not about getting over things but rather learning to live with them, allowing them to become part of us and our lives. No human will ever escape loss, pain, hardship, grief or death but we can share in it, learn from it, live with it and become better people, more empathetic people, more caring people because of it. This is God’s love and grace at work in us, we are human, but we were created human by Father God and He is always with us, supporting, encouraging and strengthening us in our human lives.
9th August 2021
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
When our boys were younger, we would often visit family in Dorset and they had some wonderful walks nearby and a small river. Amongst other things we would play pooh sticks on one of the bridges. Pooh Sticks is a game Pooh, Piglet and their friends would play where you drop a stick over one side of the bridge then go to the other to see whose would come through first. The boys and their cousins would love to play and carefully chose sticks for the race, not too long, not too short, no bits sticking out, a slightly pointy end and so on. It is such a simple game and yet brought such delight to small children. Pooh discovers the game by accident, dropping a fir cone in the river and watching it float away. So much in life is quite simple and yet we complicate it. So many people have tried to take this game and add new rules and change how it is played but it is quite simple, a game for friends to play on a hot sunny day Pooh says. We, as humans, are very good at complicating things, at inventing new rules to make ourselves superior, to try and give ourselves an advantage. The same is true in faith and being a Christian. Over the centuries humans have tried to change the rules, expand the ideas, give advantage to some rather than others and yet it is quite clear that faith begins with Jesus. Yes, there are things to be done once we find faith but becoming a Christian is simple, we believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour. No if’s or buts, if we believe Jesus died for us on the cross and rose again defeating death, then we are Christians and no one can take that from us or complicate it. God never intended for life or faith to be complicated, He made it simple for us, it is us who have complicated faith and in doing so have often made it unattractive to others.
8th August 2021
Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand will save me.
Unable to take our usual holiday this year, we as many, opted for the seaside on the south coast. Pebbly beach, good waves, lovely view but an incredibly windy few days that we were there. I was determined to go into the sea, I put on my wetsuit and trainers for the water and dutifully tried to get into the water. I would get into about the tops of my legs and then was knocked over by the wind and waves, getting up was really difficult and in the end, I found myself sitting in the surf, being pounded by the waves. The situation was just too difficult to overcome so I decided to go with it, to sit and allow the waves to crash over me, to push me up the beach, I would straighten myself after each wave and move back down before the next wave came. It was hard work; it was a little battering at times and when I removed my wetsuit, I had a lot of small stones and grit stuck to my body as well as a few bruises. As I sat there in the water it struck me that this is what life is like. We step into each day with our protection on and sometimes we don’t get far before we are battered to the ground, we might keep trying and are constantly pushed back. We can keep pushing and sometimes in God’s strength we may well break through, but we also can lean into it. Accept the situation and see how best to remain safely within it. We can sit in or lean into each wave that comes, it will knock us, it will deposit stones and grit into our lives but it will also wash over us and we can we straighten ourselves and prepare for the next wave. It is good to know that not every day is like this, eventually the wind slowed and the waves became smaller and it was easy to navigate into the sea, but sometimes we will have days, even longer periods when things will seem rough and hard and almost insurmountable, we can keep fighting and maybe make it through, or we can lean into the situation, protected by God’s care and enabled by God’s strength and we will be able to make it through the difficulties, maybe with a few bumps and bruises to show for it, but we will be okay and we will be better people because of it.
7th August 2021
Isaiah 43:1b Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
How important is your name? Does it have a special meaning, is it a family name, is it unique… whatever it is, it is your name, you are identified by that name. As Mary Magdalene went to the garden on that first Easter morning, she cried, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Mary didn’t recognise the risen Jesus at first. She thought he was the gardener, the tears in her eyes, the lack of sleep and she was not expecting to see Jesus. Jesus was transformed that morning. God had taken death and transformed it into life, into hope. Jesus speaks to Mary and simply says, “Mary.” Jesus calls Mary Magdalene by name. “Mary.” And it is only in hearing her name spoken that Mary is able to conceive the possibility of resurrection. It is only in hearing her name called that Mary is able to understand that here in the garden, Jesus is alive. This transformation of both Jesus and Mary is a transformation we too can experience. That hearing our name called by Jesus, by God changes our lives. It is personal, God knows us by name, we are His and He knows us. Jesus’ resurrection teaches us to believe in things that seem impossible. It tells us that what we see is not all that there is. It holds before us the hope of new life, abundant life, spring life; whereas before all we could see was winter, fear, and death. Most especially, and most importantly, the transformation of Jesus resurrection encourages us, compels us, to roll the stone away and step out of the tombs of our lives, as our name is spoken, so that we can embrace new possibilities. So that we can be filled with hope. So that we can live the resurrection life of change. We can step, run, or even leap, out of the tombs of our lives, and we can live: freely, fully, abundantly. That’s God’s hope for us. That’s God’s dream for us. That’s God’s promise for us. Jesus was raised, so that we, too, will be raised. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” May we, with Mary, with the disciples, also see the Lord alive and live the life of resurrection ourselves, today, tomorrow, and always.
6th August 2021
Zechariah 9:9 This took place to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'
A clergy colleague I know got a phone call from a parishioner asking what time Holy Commotion was on Sunday. Commotion, not usually unless we go back to Palm Sunday. Now imagine you’re one of the disciples, and Jesus tells you to go ahead into the village to fetch a donkey and her colt and bring them back to him. What would go through your mind? Why me? Why this? But he sends the disciples on this mission, and he gives them a backup plan in case anyone starts to question. God always give us more than we need. Everything seems very arbitrary and chaotic, giving up a donkey is giving up an essential part of your working life, your economic security; but even a donkey gets to be used by God. God uses everyone and everything. Yet even as things can seem so arbitrary and chaotic, God is doing something through these characters. God is also doing something amazing through each one of us, despite the fact that we’re afraid, that we have a pretty mundane existence and don’t think we have much to offer, even when we feel that following Jesus might cost us too much. God is still calling us to serve, to be used by him. This verse is really the centre-piece of the text here. There’s a comforting word of hope: Jesus is the king of their prophecies, but He is not on a mighty steed with a sword but is gentle and on a donkey. The disciples go where Jesus directed them and did as they were commanded, they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and He sat on them. There is a celebration of this gentle king’s arrival. They shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” the one who will save Israel. He has authority over heaven and earth. The crowd doesn’t quite get it, but we do. When we see this man, we see who God truly is, the gentle King, the One who loved us so much that He laid down His own life for us. Jesus not only shows us what true royalty looks like, and what true power is, but reveals God the Father to be this way.
5th August 2021
1 Corinthians 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Some years ago I heard the then Bishop of Southwark talking to Children. He explained the shape of his Mitre as a symbolic flame of the Spirit placed upon his head when He was made Bishop. Then he also referred to it as a type of Spirit sorting hat, as in Harry Potter, where the Spirit blesses the person with the gifts they need for the life they are living. These gifts are given within our personalities, our talents. Yes, when necessary, any gift can be given to any person at any time, but we tend to have gifts that are innate to us. We need to cherish and celebrate these gifts in others as well as ourselves. We need to accept our gifts and not long for the gifts of others and use all of them for the common good. We become God bearers as we bring God to everyone we meet. The challenge is for us to always act and speak as bearers of God but we cannot do it all, so God, in His wisdom, has given millions of us to help one another, to cover the gaps we leave. We are much better God bearers when we do it together as God’s family, God’s church. I have witnessed miraculous healing, but I also witness the gift of healing in every nurse, doctor and carer every day. I have witnessed incredible discernment and see it every day in people who just know what to say or do at the right time. I see wisdom, faith, prophecy, understanding, service, care, creativity, strength, gentleness, compassion…….. being shown every day around us, by us, by others. I am so grateful for the encouragers, for the listeners, for the fixers, the cooks and cleaners, the prayer warriors, the sowers and the reapers, the carers, the wise, the knowledgeable, the poets and writers, the artists, the teachers and preachers. There are so many wonderful gifts and we need to cultivate them in our lives so we can work together as the body of Christ and make things better for everyone. We all need to be willing to let the powerful, exuberant, wild, energetic Holy Spirit into our lives. To not be fearful but faithful as we open ourselves to a different Spirit than just the one we like. We need to be willing, to be faithful in allowing God to work in whatever way He chooses and be the conduit for that as we let the Holy Spirit gift us in whatever way is necessary.
4th August 2021
John 2:11a. This, the first of his signs, turning water into wine, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee.
How do we expect Jesus or God to act for us? There’s a problem we want to be fixed so we tell Jesus and expect Him to sort it out so the party or life can continue just as before. But is that it? Is all we want just more of the same? Just fix this problem Jesus and let me go on with the same old life like before? Sometimes all we want is Jesus to show up, wave the divine wand, and make it all better. But that’s not who Jesus is and that’s not what the gospel or Christianity are about. Jesus turning water into wine is about new life, and transformation. There is a wedding, two people coming together to create and live a new life, to grow and change together in a future of possibilities. Running out of wine is not a problem to be fixed, but the beginning of something new. A calling and invitation into a new and deeper life. Nobody likes to run out of wine or out of anything, but sometimes it’s necessary for our progress, wisdom and change, and that can be difficult and painful. In life if we run out wine, literally or metaphorically, life is empty, colourless, tasteless. Nothing seems to be happening, or maybe we still have some wine but it’s turned sour. What parts of our life are dry and empty today? In what ways has life become sour or colourless and tasteless? I’m not actually talking about actual wine. I am talking about the wine of faith, hope and love, the wine of integrity, honesty and justice, the wine of peace, joy, forgiveness and mercy, the wine of friendship, relationships and family, the wine of generosity, patience and belief, the wine of truth, strength and self-respect, the wine of prayer, social action and welcome for all. When the wine gives out and life is dying on the vine, we no longer feel empowered. Every prayer we make is telling Jesus about where the wine has run out. We tell Him the situation and leaves it to Him to deal with giving us new possibilities, the way to a new life, a way of hope. When we pray, we are offering to God the need, the rest is up to Him.
3rd August 2021
Nehemiah 8:3 Ezra read the word of God aloud from daybreak until noon in the presence of the people.
From Friday 1 September 1939, the BBC changed its religious programming to meet the wartime needs of our people. C.S. Lewis, began to present broadcasts that would take the word of God and apply it to the circumstances of the nation. These talks would become the basis of C.S. Lewis’s classic, Mere Christianity, well worth a read. The impact of these talks was widespread: At a time of crisis, a nation was captivated by the reading of God’s Word and the explanation of what God’s Word meant for their lives. The story of Nehemiah speaks of a similar moment in Israel’s history. The people had been exiled because of their selfishness but by the grace of God the people returned to their land, and began to rebuild; part of this was a new listening to God’s word. Christians are known as the people of the book, but we not only need to read the Bible but hear it and act upon it. The people came together to hear God’s word read aloud. God spoke to His people, revealed who He was, and how to live, they rediscovered the gift of God’s Word. At this crucial moment in Israel’s history, the nation was transformed by hearing God’s Word. It is the same for us now. We could see our nation transformed, if we hear God’s Word and act upon it. At moments like this in our nation’s history, when there is great uncertainty, where there is fear, when people are looking for answers and there are many competing voices, we must listen and hear what God has to say. As individuals, as a church, as members of our nation we can make a difference. We need to do more than just read and hear the Word of God; we need to understand God’s Word, it’s relevance for today and then respond, Recognise the wrong that has been done, be sorry for the mess we have created and turn to God to help us. As we gather together as Christians and we hear God’s Word to us, we need to respond with prayer, with change, with a willingness to do whatever is needed to help make this nation be what God intended. That change starts with us.
2nd August 2021
Isaiah 43:2 As you pass through the deep waters, I will be with you, and they shall not overwhelm you.
A White House official died unexpectedly in 1917, another person seeking uplift hurried to the White House to tell President Woodrow Wilson that he would like to "take the deceased's place." The President answered, "If it's all right with the undertaker, it's all right with me." No one can take the place of someone else in their death. And we don't have to. Jesus did it once and for all, for all of us. But no one can take the place of someone else in their life either. And when we experience a loss in our lives and have to go on living ourselves, we experience every emotion we know in that grief: anger, love, fear, hope, insecurity, abandonment — you name it, and we all have our losses. They come in many different forms. They come as separation, children leaving home, moving, conflict, job change, retirement, ageing, disappointment. And these are all experiences in which we feel real grief, and all our strong emotions rise up in us and flow over us like the deep waters that Isaiah talks about going through. And we wonder: If we start to cry, will we ever stop? Or will the flood tide take us with it. We hold back and hide our grief because we imagine that once we begin to really feel it, we won't be able to bear it. Many people hide their grief for years, and it gnaws away at them from the inside. Then comes the torrent: 2 months later, 5 years later, 20 years later. But eventually our grief catches up with us, and we know that it did happen, and there was nothing we could do about it. When Jesus comes to find his friend, Lazarus is dead Jesus looked at those people He loved and saw their suffering, He felt all the same things you and I feel when someone we love dies. And He wept. The people said: "See how He loved him." But others said: "If He loved him so much, why didn't He save him from this death?" And that's the question we all ask in that situation: If God loves us, why did He let this happen? Why didn't He get here sooner? And why wasn't our love enough to save this person? Do we really think the Lord doesn’t know all of that? Not a sparrow falls without the Lord knowing it. He knows the number of all our days, and He is there. That doesn't mean things don't go wrong or that there will not be evil that effects our lives and deaths but He has also assured us that before it even happens, He has already overcome all of it and is able to bring good out of all of it for those who love Him. He is there before and during and after. We have to go through these deep waters and let go of the bad grief before we can enter into the good grief. After the pain and guilt and anger, then there is an awakening, a morning when you remember the good memories that bless and finally no longer burn. It is not that we have got over it but that we have learned to live with it, to accommodate it in our lives. This loss, whatever it is, should teach us to appreciate far more what we have for we never know when life may change for any of us.
1st August 2021
John 20:19 The Disciples were together; the door was locked and Jesus came among them.
We all have those days when we prefer to just stay in bed, pull the covers over our head, and close out the world. Some days it seems easier and safer to lock the doors of our house and avoid the circumstances and people of our lives. Sometimes we just want to run away, hide, and not deal with the reality of our lives. For some of 202 and 2021 we have had to do just that through Government imposed lockdown. But every time we shut the doors of our life, our mind, or our heart we imprison ourselves. For every person, event, or idea we lock out, regardless of the reason, we lock ourselves in. That’s what happened to the disciples after Jesus Crucifixion. The disciples are gathered in the house, the doors are locked with fear. They are in lockdown. A week later they are in the same place. It is the same house, the same walls, the same closed doors, the same locks. Nothing much has changed. Jesus’ tomb is open and empty but the disciples’ house is closed and the doors locked tight. The house has become their tomb. Jesus is on the loose and the disciples are bound in fear. The disciples have separated themselves and their lives from the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Their doors of faith have been closed. They have shut their eyes to the reality that life is now different. All this, and it has been only one week. what about us? Where are we living? In the freedom and joy of resurrection or behind locked doors. The locked places of our lives are always more about what is going on inside of us than around us. What are the closed places of your life? What keeps you in the tomb? Maybe, like the disciples, it is fear. Maybe it is questions, disbelief, or the conditions we place on our faith. Perhaps it is sorrow and loss. Maybe the wounds are so deep it does not seem worth the risk to step outside. For others it may be anger and resentment. Some seem unable or unwilling to open up to new ideas, possibilities, and change. Jesus is always ready to enter the locked places of our lives. Standing among us he offers peace and breathes new life into us. He doesn’t open the door for us but he gives us all we need so that we might open our doors to a new life, a new creation, a new way of being. This is happening all the time. Christ stands among his people saying, “Peace be with you,” breathing life into what looks lifeless making a resurrection difference in whatever circumstances we are in.
31st July 2021
Matthew 22:1 The kingdom of Heaven is like a King who prepared a wedding banquet for His child.
When were you last invited to a big event? Wedding, 21st, 18th, Silver Wedding, Golden Wedding, Baptism, Christmas or New Year party? It’s a big thing, it matters to people, it matters that you are invited, someone invited you¼ but sometimes we are so busy that we may have to apologise. That can be really sad for them and you. I remember being devastated because the person mainly responsible for me being a priest today couldn’t be at my wedding. If you read novels set in the 17th and 18th century a big party at the manor was something everyone went to and it was the talk of the village or estate and there was a dress code, everyone dressed up and came together to celebrate. Heaven, through Jesus, invites us to a very special party. Eternal life in peace and joy. Question is do we chose not to go, do we forget, do we make excuses, are we too busy, do we want to go and if we do, do we follow the dress code? The Pharisees, religious leaders of the time, were challenged as to their behaviour as they chose not to follow the Covenant God had made with them. They knew all the promises of God but chose to turn away from Him. A useful aide-mémoire for us about What God does is the hymn Praise my Soul, which says that through Jesus we are Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven and this leads to the ultimate wedding banquet, the party we are invited to in Heaven. So, we are all invited, do we go? Do we make excuses? Too busy, not gifted, poor, needy, unwell, tired, too old, too young, family to care for, job to do, don’t like this way, that way, the church doesn’t need me, I’m not sure a party is a good idea, God didn’t mean it that way, etc, etc. With God there are no bystanders, the character of God affects all of us, everyone, one way or another. There is a dress code, but it isn’t anything other than clean clothes. Only clean clothes are necessary at Heaven’s party, clothes made clean through Jesus’ death on the cross. But we have to make that choice and decide to follow the dress code. It is our choice whether we accept the invite and whether we follow the dress code. I hope and pray that you do.
30th July 2021
Matthew 18:21 Peter asked Jesus “How many times must I forgive those who sin against me? Up to 7 times?”
Not being able to forgive is a stumbling block and we pay a terrible price for it. It creates baggage in our lives which holds us back and can cause us to stumble, and yet, we do it all the time. We carry unforgiveness around with us and it tinges everything we think, say or do. More than that, it keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be. Life is just better when there’s less baggage. That’s why we need forgiveness in our lives. When we forgive we are not justifying another person’s actions, we are not saying that what they did was OK. We are simply letting go of the baggage that is holding us back. Forgiveness is not waiting on the passage of time. Time does not heal hurtful wounds, in fact over time people who haven’t forgiven become hardened and distant. Forgiveness is not denying you’re hurt because we are and if we don’t deal with it causes infection and pain. Forgiveness is about accepting we are hurt and dealing with it in a Godly way. Just because we forgive someone doesn’t mean we have to trust them. Forgiveness is a choice we make. Trust is something a person earns through wise choices and actions. Perhaps the most difficult thing Jesus calls us to do is to forgive and yet it is absolutely essential for our lives and our well being. Sometimes what has happened is just too horrific and forgiveness seems impossible, at that point we ask God to give us the grace to forgive, in time, when we are ready and to let Him do what is needed within us to offer grace to those who have so deeply hurt us. We never have to face forgiveness alone but we do need to deal with it in some way for our health and well-being, so that another life is not damaged unnecessarily.
29th July 2021
Matthew 18:15 If you brother or sister sins against you, go and show them the issue between the two of you.
They estimate that in today’s society one out of every five people has an anger management problem. Anger related violence is the reason stated for 22% of divorces. Road rage seems to be increasing exponentially. How do we handle Conflict? Disagreement? Anger? Hurt? Human beings are not very good at dealing with these things. “They’re not my friend any more” “They said this” “They did that” It happens through school, and we carry on as adults and keep doing it. Sadly, If you do something that really annoys me and I throw a custard pie at you everyone else will find that far more funny than if we sit down reasonably, sort our problem out, and become best of friends again. Stories about how people handle things badly are treated as much funnier and appear all over social media and YouTube than stories about people handling relationships well, but the reality is that conflict is corrosive. Conflict causes damage and Some damage cannot be repaired. In churches we like to finger wag, to turn away those who do not agree with us and we are not good at conflict. We need to change our perspective, our prism and realise that actually things may need to change, just move the prism slightly and the colours are different. The problem is that far too often we read the bible with a pair of scissors or the loose-leaf edition. We cut out the bits we want to keep and throw the rest away. We read things out of context. Jesu tells us we should never set a limit on our forgiveness, God doesn’t, neither must we. The point isn’t about finger wagging and telling people off it’s about restoring relationships. The thing we most commonly do, but is the worst possible thing we can do when someone has upset us; is we go and tell EVERYONE else about it. We talk to the entire community, bar the one person we should talk to. Everyone hears about the terrible thing so and so did, or at least about the terrible feud that lies between me and so and so. It is all just made worse. So, we are clearly told, don’t go and talk to everyone else. Just go privately and talk to that one person. After all it may be a misunderstanding. Or they may have perfectly good reasons for what they did, which if you heard would make perfect sense. Or they may have not understood how much it would hurt you. They may just say sorry. Jesus’s language is all about reconciliation. We are all flawed. We may need to change our view, to move the prism so that we see differently, we may need to change our perspective, to compromise BUT the purpose is always forgiveness and reconciliation. It is about building bridges and not walls, loving neighbour as self, living honourably, not quarrelling or being jealous but being like Jesus. It is not easy but we need to try our best, in God’s strength.
28th July 2021
Nehemiah 3:10 The Joy of the Lord is your strength.
You may have the heard the idea that the internet was invented for cat videos. I do find myself enjoying the things cats get up to, just as I enjoy the things my own cat does. These cute, sweet and mad things cats do somehow make us feel better, make us smile and laugh, get the chemicals in our bodies, that make us feel good, working. It is actually true that the more we smile and laugh the more we want to smile and laugh. As the dopamine is released in smiling and laughing, we feel better and want to laugh and smile more. There is real values in taking pleasure in the simple things we have like smiling and laughing with loved ones, over little things; who doesn’t smile at new babies, kittens, puppies, at children having fun, at other people enjoying themselves. We can be so caught up in life that we no longer see and appreciate the simple things in life that make us smile and laugh. As we grow up and older, we easily lose our awe and love of life, we take for granted the fun things, we smile and laugh less as we are caught up in the pressures of life, work, family etc. God’s intention has always been for us to have joy in our lives. He has always wanted us to know happiness and joy, laughter and fun. It may be that we need to learn to smile more, laugh more, to look again with wonder and awe at the world around us. We might need to watch a few cat videos or see a few new babies or children playing; get out the old photos, remind ourselves of the treasured memories, allow ourselves to laugh and smile more and because we do, we will find ourselves smiling and laughing more and find strength in the joy of the Lord.
27th July 2021
Romans 7:15 What I want to do I don’t do and what I don’t want to do, I do.
I recently heard an interview with a top, now retired, sports person. They spoke about the selfish streak needed to be a top sports person these days and how it conflicted with their own desire to be a kind supportive person in daily life. Our Christian teaching encourages us to be a kind people, to be supportive and helpful to others and yet we all have a selfish streak. The part of us that doesn’t want to share, that wants to keep what we have earned for ourselves, that wants a better life with a nicer home, better holidays, more meals out etc. This creates a tension and means we are constantly performing a balancing act in daily life. St Paul understands this with his comment on doing what I don’t want to do and not doing what I want to do. Even for St Paul it was a struggle to be the person he should be in Jesus. This balancing act we live is how to be the kind, loving, supportive person we are called to be whilst also taking care of ourself. If we look at Jesus, He regularly took time for Himself, time to pray, to be with God, to rejuvenate. This is not selfishness but self-care. If we keep giving then eventually the well will run dry and there will be no more for us to give and we will be dry and lost and damaged. Therefore, we must keep replenishing the well of our soul, keep ourselves well cared for, making sure we leave time for ourselves and God.
26th July 2021
Acts 2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
We all hear things incorrectly sometimes, the first time I heard the hymn There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, I thought it was There’s a wildness in God’s mercy. I discovered my mistake but sometimes I am not so sure that I was wrong. Wildness is extravagant, exuberant, abundant, challenging and sometimes uncontrollable. God’s mercy is all those things but this wildness, extravagance, exuberance, abundance, challenging and sometimes seemingly uncontrollable is very much the style of the Holy Spirit. I am a big fan of CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and the character of Aslan. Descriptions of this Lion who represents God, talk of Him being both frightening and beautiful. A being who can eradicate life with one swipe but who also gently picks up the needy and holds them protectively. The depth of power is frightening, the wielding of that power can also be gentle and fair. We are rightly fearful of the unknown and of power wielded incorrectly and perhaps that prevents us from understanding and accepting the Holy Spirit of the New Testament. In the early church the coming of the Spirit was tied into the Jewish festival of Shavuot, 50 days after Passover, Pentecost is Greek for 50 and is 50 days after Easter, its colour is Red, picking up the tongues of fire, and celebrates the outpouring of the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. It was and still is the birth of the church on earth without the presence of physical Jesus, humans become the active body of Christ on earth through the Holy Spirit. The outpouring is powerful, it is unpredictable, insuppressible, formidable and fairly messy. Incredible things happen and that might have been okay for the early church we think, but it’s a bit too wild for us now. We tend to like the comforter, counsellor parts of the Spirit and not the wind or the flames. We like the quiet, slow and subtle working of the Spirit……we want to see things change, people come and churches grow but we want it “our way”. Trouble is the Holy Spirit can be loud, bold, raucous, obvious and signs and wonders can and do happen. The Spirit can be both a thunderstorm and a gentle breeze. There is both a terrifying power and gentle peace and nurture. This powerful Spirit is available and bearable because of God’s love.
25th July 2021
Luke 1:29 She asked herself what this greeting could mean.
Mary heard from the angel those powerful words: “The Lord is with you” and “asked herself what this greeting could mean” Mary is a woman of contemplation, of deep thought. After the visitors came to see Jesus, Mary treasured all the things and pondered them in her heart. When Joseph and Mary took the baby to the temple, Mary wondered about what Simeon and Anna said about Jesus. When the 12-year-old boy Jesus was found in the Temple Mary stored up all these things in her heart. Mary is constantly portrayed as wondering and pondering in her heart. We call this contemplation which is a prayer of the heart. In contemplation there is a movement from the head; the thinking unit, to the heart; the feeling centre. Contemporary neurobiology suggests that besides the brain and the spine, there are at least two spots where there is a concentration network of neurons: near the heart and closer to the large intestines. Therefore, it is not by chance that we identify the heart and the gut as centres of a deeper form of knowing. This knowing is at an affective level, it is intuitive, it is awareness, and it is transformative. The Bible tells us this about the heart and the gut long before neurobiology said it was fact. We are invited, as Christians, to imitate Mary in her attitude of listening to the movement of God by pondering in our hearts the situations of life. Contemplation will allow us to move nearer to God and His wonder, it will allow us to move closer towards ourselves and humility and it will allow us to move towards others in compassion. That in turn will bring others to God. This is the core of our Christian life: God, others and self.
24th July 2021
Isaiah 40:29 God gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
In the summer months we often put up a gazebo in the garden to provide shade as we spend more time out there. Currently we are experiencing quick flash storms with heavy rain. As I went outside, I noticed that the gazebo had collapsed on one side, the heavy rain had pooled in an area and the weight became just too much for the frame joints underneath and the fixing bolts sheered. Only 2 of them broke but it was enough for one side of the frame to cave in as a result. Sometimes things just can’t cope with heavy and quick pressure, sometimes the joints in some places are a little weak and need tightening, sometimes it is the proverbial straw that breaks the camels back and we cave in under the pressure. Life has its ups and downs; it has its pressures and we can never know what is round the corner for any of us. Now, to fix the gazebo we needed a couple of longish bolts and nuts, the right size, which fed through the holes and tightened up. Suddenly it was all back up and happy, supported, the right shape, providing the shade we need. We were able to fix it quickly and effectively with what we had in our house tool kit. As humans literal nuts and bolts are not what we need, but the nuts and bolts of our faith is what we need. Part of our Christian tool kit for coping with life. A simple and basic knowledge of what God has done, is doing and will do for us each and every day. A belief that He desires the best for us in all circumstances and a knowledge that God will never let us down or leave us to face anything alone. For the times when the pressure is raised, if we constantly make sure that our basics are kept tight and strong then in times of pressure, we will be able to stand straight and tall in God’s strength.
23rd July 2021
Acts 12:1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.
Stories from the early church show that early Christians were heavily persecuted. Peter was put in prison by Herod who was murdering and imprisoning people linked with the Church because it would please his citizens. Herod put extra guards on Peter because he wanted to make a display of Peter’s captivity to demonstrate his power. Herod desired the praise of others, he liked being flattered and wielding power. He liked to show off and his guidance was self-interest. This attitude is one that has persisted in kings, governments, dictatorships, across the ages. But alongside there has also been those who witness truth to expose it. We know that respect, honesty, and truth will produce a better outcome for everyone than pleasing the popular vote and yet we so often strive to please others, forgo our high standards so as to gain their support. Peter, on this occasion, is freed from captivity by an Angel. He had been commissioned by Jesus to care for His people, to build His church, to hold the Keys of the Kingdom. As Peter does strive to do as Jesus has called him, he incurs Herod’s wrath, as do many other disciples and followers; yet the early church grows quickly despite the persecution. They make a stand for their Lord and things happen. We don’t see that type of persecution in the UK, but across the world many do. People are still imprisoned, brutally punished, even killed for believing in Jesus. Yet even where persecution is virtually non-existent, we would still rather seek the approval of colleagues, neighbours and friends than do what is right and stand up for our faith. Being a Christian is not a popularity contest, people will comment, say unpleasant things, even be rude and aggressive, but God calls us to make a stand for what is right not what is popular.
22nd July 2021
James 3:9 With our tongue we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. (Part 2)
Imago Dei is the belief that we are all made in God’s image, the image of the creator God, and therefore all life is valuable and is not something you can destroy on a whim, and yet we still see genocide, terrorism, exploitation in our modern world. We praise God with the same tongue that we use to vilify other people. The image of God is broken in us as Human Beings, we reflect God, we represent God, and we reflect and represent humans back to God. We were created to reflect God’s Goodness, His glory, His character, to represent Him to the world and we have a duty to do that accurately. If we reflect God’s glory to the world then we fill the world with it. It is a relational creative, we are relational creatures made to reflect the original. It makes us spiritual people, reflecting the light that comes from God. We have God’s glory in us and we reflect it outwards. We cannot create our own glory or light, our sense of worth comes from outside, from the face of God, the face of love; we have this image of God in us and we either bring life by reflecting it or death by not. If we know our worth and value then we serve the other not ourselves, if God is the source of our glory, then we will serve the other, If our value is our job, our education then we work too hard, we overdo it, we overthink, we protect it no matter what, it becomes so important that it becomes more than God to us and therefore the image of God is broken in us. We trample on it and we trample on others. Jesus is the perfect image of God, so He is the example of how we should live as Christians, transformed into His likeness, attracted to the heart of God, to the centre of our image. We have to allow Jesus to transform us and if we do not believe or accept who we are in God then we can never be transformed. God fixes us as we gaze on Jesus, and we stop trampling on others. Jesus was poor, tortured, falsely accused, beaten, trampled on and yet He is the only perfect image of God, and He saves us, He loves us so much. As Christ is perfect, His representation of God is perfect and in that He turns us back to God, to the image of God, and if we are back being the image of God, we will treat others better.
21st July 2021
Wisdom of Solomon 2:23 God made man to be the image of His own eternity. (Part one)
Every human bears the image of God, when we get hurt or damaged, when we ridicule another person or they us, we are doing that to God. We all belong to the one race, the Human race. Within that we might belong to a culture or a country or a religion, but we are all human and all humans deserve respect and tolerance. God can see humans and they can see God, a bit like an angled mirror, we reflect God on earth to each other and we reflect the world to God. How we treat the world and others has to be affected by this, as I look at you and you look at me we see God in each other, it is why we exist and therefore we need to value all people and creation. Every human reflects God no matter what their past is. We are valuable, we are treasured and sometimes we need reassurance we have dignity, we have value, we have worth, we have rights and that’s no joke. Each one of us is valuable to God. The Bible tells us that the way treat people who come across our path, who we interact with is so important, we must treat everyone with dignity, with worth. We cannot trample on other people’s rights, human rights come from the Bible, from God, and we are accountable for our treatment of others. God says, in Genesis, that humans are made in our image and Martin Luther King Jr was quite clear because we are made in the image of God, that means we all have human rights. The secular society loses the value of human rights because it does not see humans as made in God’s image. It is being made in God’s image that gives us a value. If we do not accept that then the reason, the morals, the capacity disappears. Are we worthy of protection, are new born babies worthy of protection, are the senile, the elderly, those with mental illnesses worthy of protection? Suddenly they lose their value, their rights and that is how we ended up with slavery and poverty, we left the sick and poor to die because we saw them as worthless, and that is happening again today around us. That is not right, we must treat people with reverence, with sacredness, with grace, with gentleness and respect; just as God treats us.
20th July 2021
Matthew 17:2 He was transfigured, His face shone like the sun and His clothes as white as the light.
The story of the Transfiguration is a strange one, it looks both forward and backwards, it is a 360 degree story that reaches into everything. The presence of Moses and Elijah reminds us that Jesus came from the Jewish faith. It says clearly to Jesus followers that the God of the Old Testament is o longer veiled and distant, and that we God’s people, no longer need to approach God in fear or with our guard up. We can come to God just as we are. The story is also about power and radiance, about Jesus being the Light of the World, who is now literally illuminated in front of them. It brings to life in a very physical sense His statement that He was a light to the Gentiles and to the people of Israel. To you and I, to everyone. He is changed and we are changed by God, by Jesus and so are able to shine His light into the dark corners of the world. We are the light of Christ, here and now. Jesus is physically and spiritually illuminated and transformed, so that He with power and authority can enter the chaos of this world. The very first thing He does after this power and authority is shown is to heal a boy who is demon possessed, who has been overwhelmed by the chaos of this world. Jesus uses His power and authority to change things, to do good, to heal. If we are going to follow in that path of Christ, we need to allow ourselves to be transformed and then we need to get out into the chaos and disorder of the world and work for God’s healing. Work to do good, to change things. Our efforts don’t necessarily need to be dramatic, but we must try on a daily basis to make a difference. Jesus’ faith allowed Him to see the world and its people as God sees them. Our faith allows us to see the world and its people the way God sees them. To achieve this, we need to ask God to transform us from within, to illuminate and transfigure us so that we can point people to a better future. As we increase in holiness, we become the sort of people who can bring real and lasting healing. We don’t need to become superheroes, just ordinary transfigured Christians
19th July 2021
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; we are God’s field, God’s building.
None of us ever really knows the impact that we make on the world, we may never see all the people whose lives are different because of us. But just as an encouragement, there are stories that we sometimes learn that make us realise the difference we can make. If we go back about 65 years something happened in history that changed the world. A small black boy went to work with his desperately poor and neglected mother to a Johannesburg hospital where she worked as a cleaner. She was very much a lower grade of citizen and treated badly. The boy was quite sensitive and very saddened by the way his mother was treated and was angry at a system that was so prejudiced and full of injustice that treated his mother in such an appalling way. That day a tall man in clerical clothes came into the hospital, approached his mother, smiled, greeted her and asked her how she was. He took off his hat and gently bowed toward her in respect. This man was Trevor Huddleston, a white English priest who had gone to work in South Africa because he was appalled at the injustice of Apartheid. The young boy had never seen a white man before, let alone any man who smiled and spoke to his mother with respect and care. In this moment the boy decided that he wanted to know more about this man and the God he served. That young boy is who we now know as Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In that moment, in that simple act of respect and care, Trevor Huddleston made a difference, changed a life, just be being a good Christian. He did not talk about his faith, he was respectful, showed the care and love of God through his simple actions toward someone considered lowly and poor. The cleric changed the world for this young boy, for his mother, and through them the world was made a better place through the work of Desmond Tutu. The cleric did this out of the faith and love he had as a Christian, seeking to serve God. He saw people through God’s eyes. If we are willing to live as Christians who see others through God’s eyes, we will always give respect, love, care, compassion, to whoever we meet and because of the way we treat them they will want to know about this God that we serve.
18th July 2021
Luke 2:22b They took him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.
When a child is born in this Country, we have to register the birth, give the child a name and identity which will allow them to function in society. As a member of society that child has obligations as it grows; to obey the laws of the land and to pay taxes into the common pot to keep society functioning for everyone. Our laws are here to allow everyone to flourish and live safely. Yes, sometimes they need to change and we may well fight, as legally as we can, for change to happen. At the time of Jesus, the people lived under the occupation of the Romans but under the law of Moses, the Jewish law. This gave them clear obligations for every child born into their society. They had to be circumcised, if a boy, then presented at the Temple and offerings made to God. As Jesus is brought into the Temple for these offerings to be made, He becomes part of God’s chosen people. In the Temple are not only thankful parents in Mary and Joseph, but also Simeon and Anna, prophets, people of great faith who held onto the promises of God over many years, and in this moment, they see these promises fulfilled in Jesus. They were both where God wanted them that day, they had listened to God’s voice, do we? Are we in touch enough with God to hear when He calls, to go where we are sent. Simeon and Anna heard God because they listened, believed God’s promises even when they were a long time coming and praised God for what they saw in front of them. May we listen, believe His promises and praise God just as they did.
17th July 2021
Isaiah1:17 Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
How we live matters, what we say and do matters. We leave an impression on daily life and on everyone else we meet and every situation we are in. We are called to be just and fair to everyone, to allow every Human being to flourish and reach their potential. If we are just and fair then we will make sure that everyone, whatever their skin colour, gender, culture, religious belief, life choice, disability and age we treat with dignity and respect. None of us should disrespect anyone else, or disrespect nature or creation. If we do then we are guilty of disrespecting God. Being Just and fair doesn’t only mean that we share what we have, but that we restore to others what is rightfully theirs. Building a just and fair world is playing our part in bringing God’s kingdom to earth. This is not easy, when you are shrugged off as a child, or a woman, or old, or disabled, or black and so it goes on. The society we live within will always fight to keep itself as it is because those who maintain the status quo do so because it suits them. We can and must work to restore creation, to protect it, to work for justice and fairness for all. If we do not speak up, if we walk past and accept the mistreatment of others, if we do not make a stand then we are saying that we accept the unfair treatment of others by our very silence. How we live matters, what we say and do matters, God has called us to justice and fairness, if we ignore that call we ignore God and that is exactly how we have got into the mess we are in.
16th July 2021
Isaiah 44;21a I created you, you are my people; I will not forget you.
Much of the structure of our year and our life revolves around remembering through common events, celebrations, holidays (from Holy days) etc. Memory is a record of our personal and community experiences. Memory makes us who we are, it is our Data Collection Point if you like. We acquire, store, retain and then retrieve information or memories. As a priest I visit care homes and hospitals and often meet people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia their memories are of mixed up or only from long ago but one thing always amazes and blesses me; when I start saying the Lord’s Prayer they join in, they know it, it is memory of comfort and help, a remembrance that God is there too. Whatever happens to our human memories, God does not forget us. So many times, in the Bible, we are told that God created us, loves us and will never forsake us. Our memories, good or bad, make us who we are, they make us people who either become angry, aggressive and ungrateful or people who realise that we face nothing alone and that whatever happens we are cared for by God. People who count their blessings even when life is tough. People who will always help others and share God’s love. Yes there are memories we would like to forget, there are memories we treasure and keep blessing us. Whatever our experiences God is there and God will never forget us.
15th July 2021
Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my wrongdoing, and cleanse me from my sins.
There is an old word we do not use much these days, Penitence, it is linked to repentance and means the feeling of sorrow and regret at something you have done wrong, asking for forgiveness and trying to change your ways. We are not a very penitent people these days, which is why the word has probably been lost. Presently we are more like to brazen out our mistakes than to admit them and try to change. The word sorry is used freely, without real meaning, and with no intention to change. It is also used as an excuse to pass the blame; I am sorry if you…… The key to penitence is recognising the fault, to accept that we have done wrong, to understand that we are not perfect and we all make mistakes. It is common to play the blame game, right back in Genesis, Adam blamed Eve, she blamed the serpent, in the Old Testament thy had a scapegoat, an animal to carry away all their wrongdoing. Our current society is very much about blaming others, finding excuses because we do not want to admit our faults. We hide our shame through bravado and confidence when what we all need to do is recognise we are wrong and admit it. Be remorseful, recognise things have consequences, look to change and rectify the wrong and know that when we are sorry, we can be forgiven. Wherever we turn in life, in religion, it is wrongdoing that puts a divide, a wedge, between God and humans and between humans. We have the opportunity every day to change that. We can recognise our wrongdoing, be penitent, admit it, be truly sorry and try to rectify it. In doing this we can be forgiven, we can be cleansed and renewed. As this happens to us, we can forgive others. We can show the compassion shown to us by God, to others around us. We can forgive others because we have been forgiven.
14th July 2021
Luke 11:36 If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.
I love the longer summer days, light late into the evening, travelling to work in day light, it lifts our spirits, makes us feel better. Did you know that all humans glow? Especially our faces. It is linked to metabolism and body clocks, the glow is less than we can see with the naked eye, but we actually omit light. We need light to see, we us the language of light in our conversations, being enlightened, seeing clearly, shining out etc. Light is a key in all religions with festivals and celebrations around light and it triumphing over darkness, and the key role it plays in our lives. God is referred to as light in all religions and there is so much teaching about making things visible, seeing things clearly and finding truth as we expose darkness. God called for there to be light in the very beginning of our earthly story and Jesus came as the light of the world. As created beings we reflect the light of our creator, of our faith. We don’t hide light we use it to guide us, to enlighten us. Light dispels darkness; within darkness bad things occur because people can hide their evil intentions. The light in us means we can choose to look, see and ignore bad things or to look, see and expose bad things, fighting for good, for justice. Put symbolically we need, as our reading tells us, to be full of light. We need to shine in the darkness and expose the bad, to speak up and out. There is a difference between looking and seeing, we can look and ignore, shrug it off, walk past or we can really see a need, the unfairness, injustice and act as we shine a light on that which needs exposing. We have light within us, we can use it for good, to dispel the darkness, to sow light and goodness. May we shine as lights in the world.
13th July 2021
Romans 8:39 nothing can separate us form the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
At school we are heading for summer break, it marks the end of another school year and we will move onto new groups, new classes, new places and new education experiences. Some will have spent their whole first year in secondary school without face-to-face assemblies, events and social mixing; experiencing teaching through computer screens and bubbles. The pandemic has changed all our lives and we have had to learn to cope with change, with new challenges and situations, but whatever has happened life still moves on, we get older, we grow up, we change experiences, jobs and locations all through our lives. Moving can be scary, leaving what we know, stepping into something new and different is not easy. The wonder of faith and belief is that we go into none of these things alone. Romans makes it completely clear to us that God is on our side and that nothing can separate us from Him. Nothing can take God’s love away from us; we are told that no one, however powerful, nothing, however awful, can separate us from God. Therefore, as we step into the future, whatever it may hold, God is right there with us, God goes to! Oh Yes, we can choose to slip away, to think we have no need of Him or need His help, but He never loses sight of us. He never gives up on us, even if we give up on Him. His hand is always ready to take hold of us again if we choose to. All faith is a choice, God does not force Himself on us, and even when we choose to go it alone, He is still there, ready, willing and able to step in if we only but ask. Let me encourage you to put your hand into God’s hand and let Him guide you, bless you and protect you as you move on into the future with Him.
12th July 2021
Genesis 12:1 The Lord said to Abram go from your country take your people and your household to a land I will show you.
The character of Abram who becomes Abraham as he follows God is fascinating. The change of name, the lack of a son rectified in old age by God, his treatment of his wife to save his own skin, but this fascinating story is the beginning of the narrative of the people of Israel. As Abram learns about God and His calling he leaves his own city of Ur of the Chaldeans, these days southern Iraq, and journeys to somewhere new. God tells Abram that this new land will be given to his descendants, this relationship is a new a chapter in God’s relationship with His created beings and created world. He becomes more visible, more accessible. Abraham, a human like us, will make many mistakes, some of which are incredibly costly, but he will ultimately remain faithful to his calling, and God will keep His promises, a real encouragement for us as humans. Abraham was called to move to a new place, it is a call that has challenged Christians over the centuries. We can be happy and settled where we are but we may also sense that God is calling us to go somewhere else. For Abraham the call happened when he was an old man, a reminder that God uses all of us at all times in our lives. We feel secure when we know a place, its landscape and the deep relationships we have built there. With Abraham his entire household went with him, we may well not have that blessing, but God will enable and provide and bless in all necessary ways if we go. Moving from what we know to what we don’t know is never easy or simple but when we can take others with us the road is easier. Sometimes God calls us to go on a journey, it may be in our mind and spirit or physically, but when God calls are we willing to go as Abraham was?
11th July 2021
Job 2: 13 They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
It is often said that a true friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you. A true friend understands that we are not perfect just as they are not perfect and they stand alongside us no matter what. Proverbs actually tells us that a true friend is like a treasure. In the story of Job, he goes through utter hell, life is at its worst for him with everything that can go wrong, going wrong. His friends come to offer support and they just sit with him in his grief, no platitudes, no excuses, no comparing their experiences, they simply sit and suffer with him. It is actually when they start to talk that things get worse. The most important thing here is that they just be with him, just being there is crucial. People often ask me what they should do when a friend is suffering, grieving, hurting, going through illness or bereavement. I always say just be there for them. Be around, make a cuppa, make them something to eat, sit with them, just be there. We will never know how much we help others by just being there, let me assure you that it means so much more to people than we can ever know. Be there for friends, for family; be a good friend, be a treasure given by God to those who need it.
10th July 2021
Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word`.
We often hear about having good role models, someone we look up to, who we want to be like, they are not perfect but they live and behave in ways we admire and respect. We try to emulate these people because they are the best they can be and we desire to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. The danger is that we admire the wrong things about others, their money, status, celebrity and power. True role models show us the qualities of truth, honesty, empathy and compassion for others. Jesus’ mother Mary shows us so many incredible qualities worth emulating. Mary has complete belief in her God doing the best for her people. She exhibits faith and trust, determination, honesty, faithfulness, truth and such compassion and love. She is so humble even when she is asked to be the bearer of God’s Son Jesus, exhibiting faith, virtue, patience, endurance and ultimately terrible grief at Jesus’ crucifixion but it does not stop her always seeking the best way. Mary had a choice and she could have said no! We have a choice, a choice to strive to be better people, to always look for the best in others and ourselves. We have a choice to follow a way of honesty, integrity, virtue, compassion, faithfulness…. To strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. Mary is an example to all of us, an example that we can emulate in our behaviour, our attitudes, patience and determination. Mary is one of many excellent role models for us, in emulating them and being the best version of ourselves that we can be, we too, can be role models for others.
9th July 2021
1 Samuel 8:9 Now then, listen to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
Do you sometimes look at society, at its leaders and just wonder why? We look at someone and think that anyone else would be an improvement and when anyone else arrives we soon realise they are even worse. In the early times of nation Israel, they followed charismatic leaders in times of crisis. We still do that today. As they became larger and more settled nation they wanted more structure, organisation, and surprisingly, bureaucracy to establish themselves. They even told God they wanted a King to rule over them instead of Him. OUCH. It is the point where they and we stop trusting God because we decide we can do better ourselves or with worldly ways which must be better than God’s, right? They wanted a king so they could be like other nations with a visible ruler and a great military leader. Samuel is told by God to accept the demand but to warn them of what will happen. Have your king but do not take them too seriously, they are only human too. We often take ourselves too seriously, believing in ourselves rather than in God. Our daily actions do not come from prayer and listening to God, but from what we want to do and what leaders tell us is the best for us. The proof lies In the 2,000 years of Christianity so far where we have been totally complicit with injustice; slavery, racism, gender bias and the degradation of our society. We just do not believe and trust what we cannot see or prove. Well, what leaders tell us we can see or prove. So, we bow down to lesser kings; charismatic leaders, institutions, nations, wars, ideologies, politicians, celebrities etc. that we can see, even though they let us down time and again and do not serve us well. Any human appointed over others will be tempted to exercise their power for the benefit of themselves not the people. This is not service or true leadership.
8th July 2021
Matthew 5:45 He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
When it rains a lot we say, well we need the rain don’t we, but secretly, or maybe not so secretly, we want our summer, our sun. Last year, when we really needed it in lockdown, the weather was good. Currently a couple of good hot weeks are all we have had and we have been experiencing a lot of rain. We want to be outside, we can only really holiday in the UK this year, so we want beach weather. I don’t think that is unreasonable under current circumstances. With the price of hotels who need to catch up, going away and being shut in because of rain is a real waste of time and money. I don’t pretend to have the answers, I don’t pretend to be happy about the weather and the summer, but I do know that getting away for just a few days is vital, is very much needed and will do all of us the power of good. We have often holidayed at home when money was tight, but we never really got a break. Housework still got done, mum still cooked, people still rang and clergy can’t ignore that. You go for days out but it takes so long to get there and then come home, the few hours in the middle does little to help. I really hope the weather will improve, that we will see hot days in July and August and that we can enjoy the beach. If it doesn’t improve I and many will need to change our mindset so as not to be too disappointed and appreciate the getting away, the doing something different. Remember, God doesn’t choose to make our weather one thing or another. We are not being blessed or punished differently. The weather works for and against all on this world, good or bad. We, as selfish humans have caused a great deal of the changes in our environment by our careless attitude and behaviour. We must look after our world if we want it to look after us.
7th July 2021
Mark 6:7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
Jesus sent out the disciples, giving them specific instructions: Go two by two, take a staff, no food, no satchel, no money. Wear sandals, stay in the first house you enter, shake the dust off your feet when no welcome. The disciples followed the instructions and amazing things happened. People were healed, brought wellbeing and wholeness. The instruction to go two by two comes from Israel’s teaching that at least two witnesses were needed to establish the truth of a matter, in this case, they gave authenticity to Jesus’ ministry. There is the challenge that we are to trust God for our needs. That as followers we are not after people’s money, and that we need to travel light to show the urgency of our mission. For everything we do we must trust God, we must not be looking for what we can get out of something and mission is always going to be urgent. A clear message here is worth and value are not determined by what you have. Believers come in all shapes and sizes. God gives us all we need. By going out to share the gospel we receive as well as give. Our hospitality in church is wonderful and it ours to give, but we also need to receive the hospitality of others as we share Jesus, this is relationship evangelism. For each mission we undertake Jesus will give us the necessary instructions and supply our needs. The Bible is full of instructions that we should follow and promises from God to be fulfilled, but If we do not read and know our Bible we cannot tap into that. What marks us out as His true disciples is that we love one another. Wouldn’t it be great if we gave that instruction the most attention? Let our power be stripped away as God’s authority and power is all we need, given and received through Love.
6th July 2021
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
How can somebody you grew up with, somebody whose habits and idiosyncrasies often get on your nerves, suddenly start acting as though they were somebody? Just who do they think they are? If Jesus can just be dismissed as a local lad, so can we, and we can also dismiss others as just locals who may be God’s very blessing for us. It seems we are a lot more infatuated with impressive strangers than we are with the people we already know all too well. Because we know them. In Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, he could only heal a few people. Why? Because they didn’t believe he could be a healer. They could not accept one of their own as being somehow greater than they were, even if it meant foregoing the healing He gave. Trusting Jesus means seeing yourself in need of Him. Knowing you need Him creates trust in Him. Jesus, His love, His healing needs to be received as well as offered. Pride can prevent us from allowing Jesus to heal us, bless us and provide for us. We don’t want to admit our faith, our belief, it can be embarrassing. Even though Jesus is unable to really do God’s work in Nazareth, He keeps teaching, keeps showing the disciples the way forward. He does the same for us. He does not give up on any of us. He keeps giving are we willing to receive? We may find being a Christian in our homes and families difficult because they know us well, but we are still called to share the gospel, to be witnesses and friends, people who love one another whatever our differences. May we be people of love who share Jesus in everything we do and say, who are prepared to both give and receive.
5th July 2021
Acts 8:20 May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money.
The stoning of Stephen in chapter 7 of Acts marks the beginning of the first great persecution of the early Church, in which the man, who later becomes the Apostle Paul, played a leading role. This persecution led to a scattering of the believers which in turn led to the spreading of the gospel. Someone who heard the gospel was Simon, a sorcerer in Samaria, who subsequently believed and was baptised. But then he tried to buy the ability to receive and then pass on the Holy Spirit, naturally the Apostles condemned him. What seems to have happened is that the giving of the Spirit in the early church was often accompanied by blissful, supernatural experiences that were visual and impressive. Simon saw himself as a fellow-practitioner, and proposed a transaction in the same way that a magician might buy a trick from a colleague. The Apostles are very clear: that's not how God works. Simon is rebuked, things are explained and Simon realising his mistake is sorry and repentant. It's easy to condemn him, but we ought to learn from him as well. He was applying the world's methodology to the Church, as though they worked in the same way. No one had yet explained this was not how God does things. Many churches and church leaders are prone to this: the right techniques for leadership or church growth are drawn from the worlds of business or marketing that they think will solve the Church's problems. These are people who have had the ways of God shown clearly to them and yet easily forget that God's kingdom is quite different. Yet we try to impose successful worldly ways on God’s perfect spiritual ways, what happens is wealthy, dictatorial leaders rise up who hurt and destroy the holiness of God; who are not held to account and damage Jesus place in the world. Nothing good happens unless our hearts are right, unless we are centred in the will of God, unless we learn His perfect ways and live in them. God’s ways are not ours and we must not try to impose our worldly ways on His kingdom.
4th July 2021
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
The author Somerset Maugham once said that Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. Just because something is old or traditional does not make it right. We live in a society that provides itself on traditional values, that is until those traditions do not suit the narrative. We have been jailed by many of our traditions and instead of being a guide they have become a straight-jacket. The reasons we still have gender inequality, very poor LGBTQ+ rights, slavery, dictatorships, poverty and inequality is because we use tradition as a weapon to hold back change, to maintain a status Quo. The point of tradition is to embed the good, the holy, the blessed into our lives, our hearts and minds. Our laws are based on good traditions but also have been manipulated to reflect the desires of those in charge. We have law that forbids the killing of another and yet this country hung those it found guilty until the mid-sixties, some countries still allow capital punishment, yet it is against the law of our traditions. It is only 54 years since homosexuality was decriminalised, it was only last year a black man was pinned by his neck to the ground by a white policeman and died. Our traditions have often been a jail not a guide and in some cases we have finally begun to see change, but it is slow and regulated by those with a vested interest in keeping the traditions as they were. Good traditions teach us, strengthen us, encourage us, allow us to flourish and grow. We need these. Other traditions hurt, destroy, devalue and preclude, these need challenge and change. The traditions we need to embed, learn and be proud of are those which teach equality, compassion, empathy, honesty, that promote the collective good of all. These were the traditions Jesus promoted, all based in love, all based in fairness and justice for all. Our lives are based on traditions but we must not use them as excuses, as a jailer, instead we must use them as a guide on which to build a better, equal, honest, loving world where everyone can flourish.
3rd July 2021
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. No longer subject to a yoke of slavery.
At the moment there is a huge amount of sport on TV, Euro’s, Wimbledon, Cricket, Lions etc. You can watch sport all day every day and through the night if you so wish. What you notice is how tribal people are in their support, The Scotland, England football match was a case in point and the support of Andy Murray which left his poor opponent quite distressed at times. This support of a player or team is tribal, we get behind someone and it can become so intense that anyone who disagrees or supports elsewhere can be treated very badly, even ostracised and criminalised. Empathy is a huge and valuable human quality, the ability to sit with someone in their grief or difficulty, what this tribal attitude does is eradicate that empathy and brings out vitriol and aggression. We saw and still see this with Brexit. One side treating another appallingly because they disagreed. Jesus found himself in these situations with religious groups treating Him as evil, as wrong, as the enemy, because He actually lived the very way their religious laws taught was right. Followers of Jesus were treated as criminals, were aggressively punished and lied about because they were not the same as those in the majority, those with the loudest voices. Currently social media gives huge voice to those who wish to have free speech without responsibility, those who do not want another to hold a differing view and will abuse and decry while hiding behind anonymity. For thousands of years, we have fought to be able to live freely, hold differing opinions and stand up for good, that means everyone has the right, not just those who think they only hold the right opinion. So, we must look for empathy, offer empathy, be willing to always defend the right of others to hold a different view even if they disagree with us. That is true democracy, true empathy and true love at work.
2nd July 2021
Genesis 2:19b God brought the animals to the Adam to see what he would name them; and whatever he called each living creature, that was its name.
The first two chapters of the Bible show us God's creation in harmony, in concord and perfect. The people, living creatures and the natural world all fit together, work together and life is good. The other creation stories of earlier times present a more violet time, and scientific theory suggests huge explosions and aggression. But Genesis presents a calm creative God who looked at what he had done and saw that it was good. It is in Genesis 3 where things start to go wrong for us as humans. We are drawn to the 'forbidden fruit': something darkly attractive, about pushing the boundaries and doing something wrong, it can’t do any harm, everyone does it. So Adam and Eve disobey God and they suddenly become ashamed of who they are. As humans the first thing is to avoid responsibility, deny our blame. Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent. And the serpent does not have a leg to stand on. The harmony, the concord, the perfection is broken and gone. Death and destruction enters the natural world as God walks in the garden to find them and so makes clothing for them out of animal skin. The perfect, wonderful life now becomes much harder and much more painful. Theologian and philosopher Simone Weil once wrote: 'Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvellous, intoxicating.' We are persuaded by lies, by soundbites and pretty things into wrongdoing, while the goodness is lost. Thankfully and undeservedly, Adam and Eve weren't abandoned, and neither are we. Throughout the Bible is threaded the golden thread of grace. But this is a warning we need to hear and remember; sin always has consequences, and when we do wrong we will regret it.
1st July 2021
Mark 5:36b. Don’t Be Afraid, Just Believe!
Have you ever needed to think quickly, to do something to save another? Jairus had to think and act quickly, his daughter was sick. The president of the synagogue was kneeling before the carpenter’s son from Nazareth. He must have Jesus’ help. But Jairus told Jesus exactly what course of action he wanted Jesus to take. Come to my house, touch her and she will be healed. Jairus had certain ideas about Jesus; just like we have certain ideas about Jesus. We don’t just bring our need to Jesus but we tell Him just how He is to meet that need for us. Jesus didn’t need to go to Jairus’ house for the girl to live, but He went. There was no lesson given by Jesus about telling God what to do, and that He didn’t have to be there to save his daughter. This clearly shows us that we don’t have to get our prayers and requests absolutely correct in order for God to hear and answer. Then, on their way a sick women touched the hem of Jesus garment, and the Saviour is delayed as He deals with her. But what about my daughter? Jairus thinks. We sometimes think that there are some situations which are beyond the scope of Jesus. There seems to be no way out, not even Jesus Christ can’t do anything, can He? Just go on believing, Jesus says, please don’t stop trusting me now that things have got worse. Don’t let your fears win. If Jesus is adequate when there is still hope, then He is also adequate when there seems to be no hope. Jesus heals her. That is the way these miracles of Jesus function. They give hope to the people of God. Our God is a God who performs miracles; with Him nothing is impossible.
30th June 2021
Isaiah 41:10a I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen and help you.
At some time or another we all face disappointments; the exam results were not what we expected, not the university or job offer we wanted, turned down for a role, rejected in favour of someone else, our team does not win, friends leave us, a partner cheats on us, and so it goes on. Being disappointed and then picking oneself up again is what helps to build resilience. We don’t allow ourselves to be held back just because it did not happen the first, second, third time. Where it becomes an issue is when it keeps happening, when we just keep being rejected, keep on failing to get he grades, never seem to get the jobs we apply for or the promotions in the team. Are we setting our aim too high? Are we just unlucky? Are we going in the wrong direction? Or is someone just against us? Whilst it is true we can set expectation too high, we should actually aim high, we should have high expectations of ourselves and believe in ourselves But we also need to recognise our gifts and talents and if we are in the right place or just where everyone else expects us to be. It has often been said that when God closes one door he opens another and yes sometimes I have found that to be true but I also know I have had to open doors myself, close others because of a situation, person or place is too toxic and causing more harm than good. I have also had to climb in and out of the odd partially open window as well. God is always there, ready and willing to help if we but ask for it, but He also wants us to use the natural gifts and abilities He gave us. We need to look at every situation, learn from it, see what needs to change in us or a situation. We are never alone in our decision making but neither is God going to do it all while we just sit and wait. We build resilience by looking honestly, examining our ways and gifts, seeing where and when we can improve and seeking God’s help all along the way. Just a thought, are we exactly where God wants us t be? If so, why are we trying to move out of it?
29th June 2021
Matthew 25:40 Whatever you did for one of these you did it for me!
Ever had a bad day? Everything just seems to go wrong. We all have bad days, they are not really who we are. But one ill choice comment, one bad reaction, one careless word or action and suddenly we can be seen in a bad light. We are human, not perfect, it does happen. The good news is that God is interested in who we are all of the time. The things we do and say that no one else does. The person of our heart. That is who we really are. I hate upsetting people, I feel dreadfully guilty even when it is not my fault but when the tension rises, you’re having a bad day, the final straw breaks the camel’s back, you snap and in that one moment people see and judge you; God sees it too, He judges you as well BUT He looks at it alongside all the rest of your life, all the good you do. He sees every part of your life, everyone else only sees the odd moment, He sees you 24 hours a day, He knows the real you! Yes we need to apologise to those we hurt, even when it’s not our fault, we also need to apologise to God, but God and perhaps those who know us best, see what happens in the context of all of who we are; Whatever you do for one of these you do for me. I know there are folk who regularly visit others, check on neighbours, get shopping for people, organise appointments, help with friends’ children, donate to places like the Salvation Army, give to food banks, help out at these places, offer help and companionship and so the list can go on. You are doing this for God’s people, you are doing it for God. Bless you! Be encouraged! Within every human heart, there is a desire to help and care for others. Yes, in some people the desire is so small that they never really find it, but for us, who we are before God is seen by Him. Those little acts of kindness, our words and actions, the smiles, the tears, the shoulder to cry on, the hands we hold, the hugs we give, the just being there; that is doing unto others as we do unto God. We have bad days; we also have good days. We are human, we get it wrong, but God sees the heart, the real you and me.
28th June 2021
Matthew 28:20b I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
When I drive to school early, I like the not very busy roads, the not queuing at every junction or set of lights. I can have the radio on and enjoy the ease and tranquillity of everything. Some hours later when everything is busy it is so different. So much traffic, lorries everywhere. People who seem to have forgotten the rules of the road, it takes so much longer and is fraught from beginning to end. During lockdown one, the roads were empty, only those considered essential workers were out and about and it was peaceful and eerie. Now traffic is at worse levels than before the pandemic and everyone is going nowhere fast. The Christian life can be like this. Times when all is peaceful and you can move forward easily and in tranquillity and yet only a short time later you can be dodging everything around you, people who have forgotten how to behave, how to live well, milling, arguing, complaining and you get caught in the middle. The peace and contemplation of one moment is lost in the business and craziness of the next. Life is never plain sailing. For some it seems stormier than others but for all of us we have the good, peaceful times and the chaotic times with many days being somewhere between the two. Jesus promised that he would be with us always, in every situation, every day, every moment. This means that whether it is peaceful or chaotic He is right there with us. Whether listening to the radio and moving steadily or encompassed by lorries and stuck in a queue He is right there. Each day, whatever it holds for us we do not face it alone. It is one of the reasons why starting each day with a prayer is a good idea, a reminder of Jesus being with us and a reminder that nothing is going to happen that day that you and Jesus cannot handle together.
27th June 2021
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
When did someone decide that gender, colour, nationality, race, religion… define your value, yours and my place in the world? These decisions and stipulations have come from one group of people deciding they are superior to another and doing anything they could to hold onto that status. Here we are in 2021 and it is still happening and we are still falling for it. Everyone one of us is part of the Human Race. Our gender, race, colour, disability, religion, life choices, do not change that. We should not need equality rights and protection laws but we do because some human beings decide they are more superior and better than others. This way of life just keeps coming around, power, wealth, status, notions of superiority and entitlement are passed on, a culture of class has exacerbated this and all this promise of levelling up is just a smokescreen, a soundbite, because their own entitlement depends on keeping other people in their place. As long as we can be fooled into blaming others, our neighbours, people not exactly like us, we focus our energy there instead of seeing the need to change things higher up. Fires of racism, sexism, discrimination and blame are being stoked around us right now. We have the opportunity not to accept this, to challenge and follow a different way. If we listen to the words of Jesus, pay attention and do the right thing we can bring change. Quite simply we need to treat others as we would want to be treated. Everyone treated with respect, with fairness, no suspicion or blame based on ethnicity, life choices, gender, disability, race or religion. Our example is Jesus who did not turn anyone away, who loved each one exactly for who they were and saw everyone as Human no matter their differences. We can be a catalyst for change if do to others exactly what we would want for ourselves.
26th June 2021
Proverbs 28:6 Far better is a poor person who walks in integrity before God than a rich person who is crooked and dishonest in their ways.
Do you listen to the weather forecast? Perhaps you have a weather App on your phone. If we are putting out washing or planning a BBQ, we tend to check the weather. This morning I did washing to go out before I left for work. The BBC weather on Breakfast was absolutely clear, there would be cloud but no rain today. I left, got half a mile away and the rain came. I could not go back and get the washing in. It was now getting wetter than when it came out of the machine. It rained until I reached my destination about half an hour later. How do they get it so wrong? How can they stipulate no rain and yet it rain heavily for half an hour? I was somewhat cross that I trusted the BBC weather and then was so badly let down. For us, as humans we have tendency to be trusting, to accept what we are offered because we believe that others want the best for us and will do their best to lead us honestly. Unfortunately, humans are also selfish and many people will happily mislead those who are trusting because they can, and because they have the power to manipulate. Honesty and integrity are key in faith, in God’s ways. We cannot say we love God and then mislead people. We can say we are Christian and then lie about where we are or what we have done. We cannot say we follow God and then manipulate others into dishonest ways. I find our present society is becoming more and more dishonest, less and less about caring for everyone and more about making money and keeping power. It saddens me that honesty and Integrity are no longer valued. I for one will always value them and I encourage you to do the same. Value them in your own life and in the life of others being clear that they are important and treasured values by yourself and by God.
25th June 2021
Mark 4:37 A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
Have you ever been in a storm? I will never forget when we were crossing Biscay 25 years ago and it was such an awful storm the crew and Captain were all seasick and the ship was damaged. These disciples had spent their life on the sea as fishermen. Yet they did not see the storm coming, It was sudden. Many of life’s storms are sudden. Illness, redundancy, accidents, business goes under, debt, family death, all sudden storms. As the storm hits, we throw up a desperate prayer, a panic plea. Just as the disciples did, “Please help! Don’t you care?” God is never surprised. Because He knows everything. Perhaps, instead of rushing to communicate our panic to Him, we should allow Him to communicate His calm and peace to us. When Christ is with you, even when the worst storms of this life batter against your ship, even if your ship goes down, we will not perish because we have Christ. He died on the cross to keep us from perishing. He did all that was necessary to make sure that when our ship goes down, when our earthly lives end, that we do not perish. Just as he rescued the disciples, He can rescue each of us. His rescue will not necessarily keep us from the storms, or even quell the storms, but His rescue does something much greater, it supplies the strength we need and keeps us from perishing. Jesus was asleep in the boat and He knew that the storm was not going to overtake them. But to calm the disciples down, he calmed the storm. Whatever our storm now, or to come, He will never forsake us, and will provide all we need to weather the storm whatever it may be.
24th June 2021
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened as an example and they were written down for our learning.
I have never liked being told off, it always made me squirm and wriggle and feel terrible. For some people it is water off a ducks back, they don’t worry about being told off. In Junior school I had a wonderful teacher, she used to say, now you know better, do better. She understood that sometimes we do the wrong thing because we actually don’t know it is wrong or make a wrong choice but for the right reasons. Her idea was that to learn from our mistakes was the key, not to be shamed into not doing them again but now knowing why. Yes, many folk know things are wrong and they keep doing them because they are selfish, because they do not care, but for many others learning from our mistakes so we do better next time is the right and best way forward. It is very much a Biblical idea. So many times in the Old Testament, God shows Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David etc the error of their ways and allows them to learn from them and thus grow in their understanding and faith. It is a good approach with children, how can we punish them for doing something wrong if they do not know it is wrong or understand why it is wrong. The rule of fear, you do what I say or else, is not acceptable, it is tried by many in senior positions to preserve their status, but it is wrong. Standards in public life makes it clear it is unacceptable. The God I love, the God I worship who loves me, wants us to understand, to learn from our errors and to do better because we know better.
23rd June 2021
Mark 4:26 The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground.
Are you a gardener? Do you have those green fingers people speak of? I don’t, but I do appreciate and recognise the gardening references Jesus uses. In order for the kingdom of God to come and take root, its seeds needs to be cared for, kept in a place to ensure healthy germination. This happens in us when we read scripture and pray. We hold on to the seeds, deep inside our hearts, germinating, they wait there until it is time for scattering. Our spiritual soil is made nutritious when we rest it from constant planting. Keeping Sabbath is one of those practices, giving us some time for our soil to lie fallow, some time for the earth to replenish itself. Sabbath practice is one of ceasing, and pausing, it’s counterintuitive to the world, which would have us work without ceasing. Our soil is turned and aerated when we pray and take time to dwell with God. Delving into the Word creates space in the soil, preparing it to be good ground in which God’s kingdom can take root. We water and tend our small seedlings when we pray or meditate, when we take time to be with God. This will look different for different people; for some, being with God is singing along to hymns, and for others, it’s sitting in silence. For some, it might be in reading a book, and for others, in going on a walk. Taking time to abide in God, the seeds we are caring for are scattered into good soil and nurtured as they grow. The kingdom of God is like a seed, it still needs good soil to take root. It needs levels of nutrients and water and a clear patch of earth to call its own. While God does the work of creating the seed, we do have a responsibility to prepare the soil. The kingdom of God will surprise us with how, where and when it pops up, but we still have to do the work using our Spiritual green fingers.
22nd June 2021
Proverbs 14:23 In all toil there is return, but mere talk tends only to poverty.
Often when I talk to people, they express a wish to do more. If only I could…. If only I had….. If only I was….. We have a natural sense of being ill equipped for certain situations. We come, over time, to believe that with more money, more resources, more time, more energy we could solve all the problems. It is a great desire but is it really realistic? Theodore Roosevelt had a wise saying “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” As president of the USA he realised that although it is good to plan, to look forward, we have to do what we can where we are with what we have to achieve anything. We can be so focused on what we would do if we had, we do nothing. Vision is really important, it is Biblical, of God, but as well as vision we need practicality, we need to work with what we have, be creative, be realistic. The character of Moses could not see the way forward when God called him to go and release the slaves, he could not see what he had, what he was able to do. Once he saw what God could do using him, amazing things happened. Many biblical characters cannot see that they have so much to offer where they are, until God shows them. As Christians we have to be realists, we have to work in the world, we have to be in the world and use what we have where we are. Be God’s representative where you are, using the gifts He has given you to do what you can, if we do this, God will do the rest.
21st June 2021
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Have you ever watched Fake or Fortune, where they decide if a painting is genuine or not? What strikes me every time I watch it is that no matter how much evidence someone has it is more important for the experts of the art world that they are not undermined or proved wrong. People have excellent provenance, family stories and even knew the person but the experts say that is not one of theirs, we are the experts and this artist would not have painted this. I find this attitude frustrating and quite simply arrogant. Of course, we need experts in things but when self-preservation becomes more important than the truth, we have a serious problem. Let’s be quite certain, none of us are perfect or know everything. All humans make mistakes and all humans are selfish. Personal opinions and ideas will always affect how we judge things and people. If we dislike a person, we will tend to find them dishonest and unworthy of us, if we like someone, everything they do is fine. Thank goodness God does not see us like this. Imagine if God decided your fate, your future, your position in life based on if He liked you or not. This would mean that all good, true honest people would live a wonderful life and all the rest not; yet we know this is not true. Many good, true honest people have difficult lives and many nasty, shameless people live a great life. The good news is that God looks on all of us the same. He judges us all as humans and all equally, no matter our lifestyle. All have fallen short, none are perfect, only God can make us perfect in Him through Jesus. Only God knows the truth. Thank God we are not dependent on self-proclaimed judges and experts to decide our fate.
20th June 2021
Isaiah 30:21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying “This is the way, walk in it” when you turn to right or left.
Sometimes it’s all too much! We’re not sure where to go next, what to do? We feel lost, confused and not cared for. It seems God is miles away and others just cannot see or just don’t care about us. The façade is broken, the strength gone and the plastered smile has cracked. Now What? We are tempted to hide away, go back to bed and stay there, feign illness for a day or so. All of which just hides the problem, pushing it away and down until the next time, when it will be worse! God has always advocated dealing with the problem. Whether Noah and the flood, Moses and Pharaoh, King David, the money changers, prison for Peter and Paul and so on. when a major problem occurs, God steps in. Sometimes miraculously, sometimes through another, sometimes through prayer, Bible, music, friendship etc. There is something common here, we need to both admit the problem and ask for help and then do as we are told. In all psychology, counselling and self-help you must admit there is a problem and ask for help. So, we tell God, ask for help and then listen, look and see where He sends the help from, because be absolutely sure He will send it! It might look like a coincidence, might look like a good friend, a family member, a conversation; who knows, but it will be there. We must listen and learn and do so that God’s healing, helping power can begin to work in us.
19th June 2021
Ephesians 5:1 Follow God's example, as dearly loved children, walk in the way of love.
If you did the Romans at school, you will remember learning about their straight roads. We still have roads in the UK based on these Romans roads. The idea was you went straight from A to B and nothing got in your way, the quickest route. We like life to be like this, go straight and direct from one place to another but life and creation is not like this. I have come to love Pilgrim ways, whether the Camino to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela or the new pilgrimage routes to Durham Cathedral. When you travel a pilgrim’s way you twist and turn with the landscape, you see that nature around you is full of curves and bends, nothing is completely straight and true. The bending and curving teach us to bend and flex with the world and with those around us. Just as reeds and branches bend with the wind, so we need to bend and curve in life. Our directness, although we think may save us time and effort, actually can cause pain and hurt to others. We need to journey with others, offering words of comfort and encouragement, being supportive and learning as we bend and curve with the landscape but physical and metaphorical. We are reminded in this verse to walk in the way of love, love bends and curves, flexes and moves with the people we love. God’s love, unconditional and everlasting, given freely, bends and flexes with us. It offers support and encouragement, leads us, walks alongside us, goes behind us and sometimes even carries us. Life is full of twists and turns, nothing is ever straight and direct, but that is how it is, God’s beautiful world, bending, flexing, accommodating and full of His love for us to walk in.
18th June 2021
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
The Bible reminds us that there is no limit on
how often we forgive because there is no limit on God’s forgiveness of us. In
life, family, relationships, we all make mistakes and so we all need to learn
to offer forgiveness as well as take forgiveness when it is offered to us. We
learn to forgive from those around us, from our faith and because we come to learn
that we are not perfect and need forgiveness ourselves. If we are not prepared
to forgive others then we cannot expect others to forgive us. This does not
mean that sometimes forgiveness just does not seem possible. God knows and God
understands. In everyday life forgiveness is a two way street and is necessary
to restore and maintain relationships. Our treatment of others, our actions,
our speech will be affected by events, feelings, emotions and we will all say
and do things we shouldn’t and will regret. If we recognise that in ourselves,
we can recognise it in others and then we are able to offer forgiveness to
restore the balance. Another side to forgiveness is the willingness to be sorry,
to accept we are wrong and to offer an apology, not an excuse apology, but a
genuine, honest apology. Bearing with each other means we accept that none of us are
perfect and so we are able to both apologise and forgive. The simple truth of
this verse is we forgive because God has forgiven us; that forgiveness comes from
love, His complete and utter love of us. Our forgiveness also comes from love, the love and respect we
have for each other as God’s children.
17th June 2021
John 13: 15 I have set you an example that you shall do as I have done for you.
When the word servant is used what do you think of? Downton Abbey? The rich and wealthy? World Leaders? Someone forced to work for someone else? We use the term to describe someone who is paid to serve another but we also need to remember that some in this role are highly trained and very well paid. The word defines someone who performs duties for others such as Civil Servants who perform the duties of the Government. The base for the word is serve, to perform duties for another and we speak of serving in the military, in law, in priesthood, in restaurants. To serve another or one’s country or government has always been seen as a desired and excellent trait and servanthood, taking on the role of one who serves others, was key in the early church and faith and is still crucial today. As a priest my calling and duty is to serve others. All who are elected to public office are all public servants! Their role is to serve the people, to do what is right and best and agreed by the people. Currently it is sad to see that roles of public service have become more about self-service than public service at which point service of the other is lost and selfishness becomes the reason behind decisions and actions. Jesus actions in washing the disciples feet are very unusual and challenging. They offer an example of how those in leadership, with authority and power, should actually behave. Here is a man, a leader, teacher, revered and respected, the son of God and He performs an act of service that none of his own disciples would have considered doing. His point is that none of us are too good, too important, too powerful, too rich to serve others. Every human being, whatever their gender, status, religion, culture, background has the calling, the duty, to serve others. Put simply we are all called to look out for the needs of others before and as well as ourselves, never seeing any task as demeaning if it helps others.
16th June 2021
Psalm 150: 6 Praise the Lord, all living creatures, Praise the Lord!
When you hear the word praise what do you think of? Perhaps synonyms like admiration, approval, gratitude, devotion pop into your mind, or those times as a child when you were given stickers or rewards and told you were a good boy or girl. Lets face it we all like praise. We like to be told we are good at something, we love recognition. The Duke Of Wellington, known for his boots, was also known as a brilliant but difficult soldier. He had a reputation for never offering a thank you, a well done or any plaudits. Near the end of his life he was asked what he would do differently and he said, ”I would give more praise.” Praise is really important, good for morale, mental health, wellbeing, it lifts our spirits, builds confidence and makes life better. We tend to work harder and more efficiently when we are praised. The Bible is full of encouragement to praise, to honour God through words and actions, to sing and make music in praise and it is a well known fact that music and singing do wonders for health and wellbeing. The Hebrew Bible has 7 words for praise, the core word is Hallal, from which we get our word Hallelujah, used in hymns and liturgy to praise God, it means to celebrate, to rave and get excited about. Current societal pressures tend to push us toward praise of money, power, status and celebrity and to neglect the praise of the hard working, the caring, the loving, the compassionate. To give praise is something we can all do and it costs us nothing but a few words of support and generosity while bringing blessing to others and ourselves. So lets be more forthcoming with our praise of God and of each other, a few more thank you’s, well done, that’s wonderful. It costs nothing but has huge benefits for all.
15th June 2021
Mark 10: 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. `
Do you get frustrated? I did the other day. I returned to school, switched on my computer and there was no internet. I assumed it was me at first, but then nothing changed, An important upload could not be done, no emails could be sent or received, I overhear the voice of the Computer tech near by and spoke to him. I was told the upgrade on our new Wifi system had not been done properly and the hotspot in my area was not working. I would have to wander around school and find somewhere to work, for how long I asked, it won’t be fixed until the summer break I was told. That is when frustration hit. So far 2 hours wasted, now weeks of not being able to do my job properly. Actually, my frustration brought forth a solution, now many of us are back using cabled internet until the Wifi has been properly installed. Being frustrated is not wrong nor is it unreasonable, what we do with that frustration makes the difference. God was frustrated so often in the Old Testament; Jesus was frustrated again and again as He tried to help people and heal people. Bringing love, peace and truth to us can be really frustrating when we do not have our hot spot turned on, when we are not plugged into God, when we just do not listen or try to find a way forward. When Jesus was frustrated, He did not give up, He did not turn His back on the Disciples or the people, He stuck at it and looked for a way forward, a solution. This is a lesson we need to learn and use, when we get frustrated look for the positive, look for a way forward and do not give up.
14th June 2021
Isaiah 43: 2a When you pass through water, I will be with you; when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
I love bridges, the design, the idea of safely crossing water, who discovered and began to make bridges, it is quite inspiring. Do you remember the Millennium Bridge in London had to be closed not long after opening because it was wobbling when people walked across it. Something in the design did not work with how we walk, apparently. Currently Lambeth bridge is closed because of cracks and damage and so many people’s lives have been changed and challenged by this closure. Most places have one bridge to cross over, a few have two, an old and a new or a road and a rail, but in London we have so many crossing the Thames, from the huge QE2 bridge at Dartford to Hampton Court bridge is 36 bridges. Beyond that are even more. These bridges provide safe ways to cross for road, rail and pedestrians. Safe crossing or passage is important in the Bible. As the Israelites needed safe passage across the Red Sea, there was no bridge, behind were their enslavers, in front a body of water, how can God sort this one? Moses raises his staff, his symbol of God working, and the sea parts, two sides rise and hold the water while the people cross in safety. God in control of nature, of His creation. In Isaiah we are promised that that when we pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm us. God will provide us with safe passage over or through the rivers we need to cross. At times we will have places we need to cross or make our way through, God will always provide a way, if not a bridge, then a path or a clearing, something that will allow safe passage to the other side.
13th June 2021
Acts 6:13 They set up false witnesses who said, This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
Acts has several stories about conflict. Being realistic about our human nature we know that people disagree. In our churches we often argue about the way forward and particularly about change. If we go back to the early church, even there the believers fell out. Within this new, baby Church, the Apostles, who were the leaders, spoke Aramaic but also in Jerusalem were Jews from all over the Roman Empire and they spoke Greek. There were two groups and languages so how did they make sure both were treated fairly and equally. Here at the very beginning of the early church we see a call for justice and fairness. You can almost hear the 'It's not fair' from one group. While the others said 'It's not right, what about us? Some accepted the message of the Apostles, as their appointed leaders, others would not. Stephen spoke with authority and clarity, there were signs and wonders, yet they would not accept it, they disagreed, and so they resort to lies and stories to discredit him and get him into trouble. The desire to get our own way can cause us to do unpleasant and ungodly things because of how high we regard our own opinion and how selfish we can be. Stephen was trusted to keep the peace between argumentative and difficult groups of people so he must have been very patient, compassionate, understanding and willing to listen. He also had wisdom and authority and through the Spirit knew when to hold his ground even when the rumour mongers tried to discredit him. Conflict, though hard and tiring, can show us how strong we are in our faith and work but we also need to know when to bend and compromise, when to negotiate and find a compromise. Of course, at times there's no room for compromise, but to know which we must do we must always seek God and always put Him first, not ourselves.
12th June 2021
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.
We all carry memories of our past, the good ones we like to remember, that make us smile, but also the bad ones we would much rather forget. These memories can and do affect us in our present-day life. Bad memories particularly can affect us. It may be a memory of when someone shouted at you, hurt you, lied to you, stole from you. A promise made to you now broken. A lie that backfired. Whatever it is, holding onto bad memories stunts us, it holds us back. Freeing ourselves from the hold of these things is not easy, especially when someone has taken something from you, invaded your home, invaded your life, it can be a long process, but we must try. There are consequences to all actions. It is not about finding excuses for what happened or pretending it didn’t happen. It is about coming to terms with it and allowing healing to happen. This takes time, it does not happen instantly. We must try not to be harsh on ourselves but be gentle and develop a sense of quiet within, an inner acceptance of ourselves and responding to ourselves as we would to those we love deeply. We must never be frightened to ask God or others for help. If we try, we will find our own capacity for empathy, compassion and forgiveness will grow and slowly healing will come.
11th June 2021
Acts 4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was named Barnabas, which is interpreted, Son of Encouragement, a Levite, of the country of Cyprus.
Today is the feast day of St Barnabas. Barnabas was actually a nick name meaning Son of Encouragement because he was an encourager. He must have been very patient and caring and as a result was made a Saint. Among other things Barnabas was the one who trusted St Paul after his conversion to Christianity, when others were dubious. Barnabas travelled with Paul and helped and encouraged. But, even the patient helpful Barnabas had a falling out with Paul. When Paul was angry with a young helper and would not give them a second chance, Barnabas was the advocate, he offered argument and stood by the young apostle. He and Paul parted ways and yet Barnabas did not stop working, caring and serving. Later Paul realised how valuable Barnabas and the young Apostle were and the fences were mended. Barnabas also gave his land and possessions to serve the early church. He started a church in Antioch. He was so in touch with God that his whole life was completely lived in the service of God. What an example, what a Christian! For us he is a lot to live up to, and yet Barnabas was all about encouraging, encouraging the smallest offerings and works, empowering everyone to do their best, not criticising or condemning. This is lesson we need to learn from Him, to encourage all for their life no matter how big or small it may be. To be encouragers, to look for the good and not the bad, to see all as loved by God for who they are. We are not asked to be Barnabas just to recognise the good he did and try our best to imitate it in God's strength, using our gifts to bless and encourage others.
10th June 2021
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.
We all carry memories of our past, the good ones we like to remember, that make us smile, but also the bad ones we would much rather forget. These memories can and do affect us in our present-day life. Bad memories particularly can affect us. It may be a memory of when someone shouted at you, hurt you, lied to you, stole from you. A promise made to you now broken. A lie that backfired. Whatever it is, holding onto bad memories stunts us, it holds us back. Freeing ourselves from the hold of these things is not easy, especially when someone has taken something from you, invaded your home, invaded your life, it can be a long process, but we must try. There are consequences to all actions. It is not about finding excuses for what happened or pretending it didn’t happen. It is about coming to terms with it and allowing healing to happen. This takes time, it does not happen instantly. We must try not to be harsh on ourselves but be gentle and develop a sense of quiet within, an inner acceptance of ourselves and responding to ourselves as we would to those we love deeply. We must never be frightened to ask God or others for help. If we try, we will find our own capacity for empathy, compassion and forgiveness will grow and slowly healing will come.
9th June 2021
Matthew 18:22 Jesus said to him forgive, not just seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
How good are you at forgiveness? When Peter asks how often he should forgive he probably thinks that he is being generous saying seven times, instead he is caught out by an answer which basically means you keep on forgiving, no limits. You don’t keep score. We should not think about how many times we forgive others because God has forgiven us without measure. To reinforce the point Jesus tells the story of the Kings forgiveness of the servant’s debt. This forgiveness, at first freely given is then withdrawn when the same servant does not show mercy to those indebted to him. Jesus is teaching that forgiving and being forgiven, the showing and receiving of mercy, are inextricably linked. Our forgiveness of others is an expression of the divine life within us, Our forgiveness of others is God’s mercy for our neighbour becoming real in us and in daily life. Because we are forgiven, we forgive. That forgiveness is so freely given to us by God that we should freely give it others. We need to move on from the guilt that holds us and others back to the freedom of forgiveness which allows us to dream and move forward. But remember it is not our job to decide if others should forgive, only if we can and will forgive.
8th June 2021
Mark 3:24/5 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
Division, conflict and suffering have been around since the garden of Eden and humans turned away from God and the perfect wholeness God had provided. This division and inner conflict is a major part of today’s world and each of our lives. Just think, a marriage becomes divided and ends in divorce. The product of nations being divided offers us the vitriolic politics we are seeing, and in some places even civil war. A divided economy has given us and many places poverty, poor health and injustice. Once the community is divided it becomes individualistic and tribal, prejudice and aggression abound, anonymous persecution happens through social media. Humanity divided makes sure the few prosper at the cost of the rest. You and I know what it is like to live divided lives, when our outsides and our insides don’t match up? We are one person at work another at home. We act one way with certain people and a different way with other people. We have that phone voice and our other voice. We behave one way in one place and behave differently somewhere else. Life gets divided into pieces: behaviour, beliefs, and ethics change depending on where we are and who we are with. Work life, family life, prayer life, personal life, social life. We’re a bunch of pieces like an unmade jigsaw. We are forever trying to put the jigsaw pieces of our lives together into the perfect picture on the front of the box. Jesus offers the best and right image of what life could and should look like on the front of our box. Jesus wants to put that jigsaw of our life together. It’s hard to look at the division and conflict in our own lives, but to start to be made whole again we must acknowledge we are broken, we are divided and know there is nothing about our lives that cannot be put back together by the love God in Jesus.
7th June 2021
John 3:2b Nicodemus came to Jesus by night.
The use of night time in the Bible is often about darkness, hiding in the shadows, doing wrong things, not wanting to declare openly a belief in God or Jesus. It is also a way of summarising us into people of the day time and people of the night. Realising that we can be one thing in the day, confident at work, with family, reputation and another at night, in the darkness, worried, not sleeping, full of questions and concerns. By day Nicodemus knows who he is. He has an identity, a Pharisee. He has a status as a leader of the Jews. He knows and applies the law. People listen to and follow him. He has a place in society with security and power. He fits into this world. By night it is different. Nicodemus is misplaced and muddled. He cannot see or recognise. He’s living in the dark. His work, actions, reputation, and place in religious society do not provide constancy or answers. The certainty of Daytime has given way to questions and uncertainty. We all know what this is like. We live daytime lives and we live night-time lives. By day all is well. We live with a sense of purpose, identity and security. We have a place. Our life has meaning and direction. But by night everything is different and hidden. We stumble through the darkness, grasping for something to hold, searching for answers and explanations for the events and purpose of our life. In the dark life doesn’t make sense and we don’t get it. The night is a time of vulnerability, of questions, and of wrestling with life. Most of us do whatever we can to avoid or get out of the darkness. Night-time living isn’t much fun. It’s difficult, uncomfortable, even painful. But yet we find ourselves there. We think we can find the answer and the outcome will be different. Like Nicodemus, we want more than night time life. We want the reality of God given life through Jesus enabled by the Holy Spirit, so Nicodemus comes to Jesus to seek the way, this is exactly what we need to do. Come to Jesus, be honest and ask Him to help us be born again each day.
6th June 2021
1 Corinthians 7:17 Each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.
Recently I have had some conversations with people about moving on. Things have changed, circumstances are different, things not quite working out and it has been difficult so that must mean it is time to move on, right? No, not necessarily. Sometimes we need to recognise that where we are is exactly where God put us, for a reason. If Jesus had applied the idea that because circumstances changed, life was difficult, things were not looking good He should move on, we would not have been saved, not have had the relationship with God restored. God places us in situations and environments for a reason, to be the shining light, to be the reason for change, to be the challenge against the norm, to be the encourager, to be the arms of love, to be who God needs us to be in a place, in a situation. Yes, at times, we will need to move on, to go where God wants us, but the reasons for this are not just because life is difficult, or not working out. We always need to look at where we are and what God is asking of us, if we are doing what God wants then we are where we need to be. God will always tell us where we need to be but we must look and listen, make decisions based on God and not on our desires and feelings. We face nothing alone, God is with us every moment of every day and He will give us the strength to keep going, to do what we need to do and be what we need to be in the place we are called to be.
5th June 2021
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
At some point in our lives, we have all been in education, been taught by teachers and lecturers. Some will have good experiences and some bad. Nearly everyone has a favourite teacher, the one that inspired and encouraged. The one that passed on to us the things we most needed for life. As teachers the role is to work through basic skills, then revisiting, building upon them, expanding them, revising and getting them into people’s minds so they can be applied to the world we are part of. True teaching does not give a lesson and then leave it at that, teaching means allowing the student to become proficient, able and secure before leaving them to their future. As an example of teaching Jesus taught lessons, deepening them, expanding them, teaching on differing levels so everyone could grasp what He was saying. He used practical examples, visuals and actions so the experience of learning was deep and meaningful. The role of any teacher is to get their student to a place where they are secure in their learning and pass on the baton of being proficient teachers themselves. The disciples went on to become great teachers through experience and learning from Jesus, by being empowered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. God does not want us to be left to fend for ourselves as Christians so we have been given the Bible, we have scripture, tradition and reason, we have clergy and leaders, all of which are there to teach, encourage, build and pass on the baton of a growing faith to strong Christians blessed by the Holy Spirit.
4th June 2021
Genesis 1:16 God made the two great lights, the Sun to govern the day, and the Moon to govern the night; He made the stars also.
As a youngster I was afraid of the dark, I have never got to the bottom of why and I got over it. The landing light was left on at night for me for a while, but my father constantly complained about the wasted electricity, eventually the light was switched off and I had to learn to live with it. When my children were young, we kept a light on at night so as we could safely go into them at night if needed. Light offers us security in the darkness, it enables us to see and gives a warmth to the darkest and coldest of nights. Within the church we keep an eternal light above the aumbry, where we keep blessed bread and wine from Communion, in the synagogue the Ner tamid (eternal light) is lit all the time to symbolise God’s presence. God’s presence has been linked to light from the beginning of faith. Light is a symbol of goodness, righteousness, where bad things cannot be hidden or ignored. As I was fearful of the darkness as a child, because I did not understand it, so we are often taught to be fearful of the darkness in Christianity. Darkness has been associated with the devil, with evil and we have been told to avoid it, to be fearful of it. Yet the darkness was created by God, God’s presence is within everything He created, darkness is part of how the world works and it allows humans to rest, to use time wisely. God’s eternal presence lies within each of us as it does in the church building or the synagogue. It lies within us, shines out from us, illumines our life, our relationships and the outworking of our faith. God gave us light; He gave us dark and everywhere in between. All that God created was good.
3rd June 2021
Mark 1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Have you been baptised? As a baby or as an adult? A fundamental change takes place in baptism, For Jesus it is the official beginning of His ministry. For us it the acknowledgement that we are part of God’s family and within that family we have a ministry, a role given to us by God. John’s baptism of the people and then Jesus had two parts; repentance and forgiveness. As John explains what took place with Jesus, he adds that the baptism is not only with water, but with the Holy Spirit. Those elements are still true of baptism today. The baptismal liturgy marks the end of the old life as we renounce… and the beginning of a life lived in God’s grace and forgiveness. Then John’s further step with the gift of the Holy Spirit is also part of our baptism service. Towards the close of his ministry, Jesus himself makes clear that baptism leads to a new way of life. To be baptised in Jesus is to follow him. God gives the disciples the gift of the Spirit to carry on this new life in Christ, and they teach that everyone should “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. We do not have to be baptised to be a Christian but as Jesus was Baptised and He told us to do so, we follow His example and in baptism we become part of Christ’s body.
2nd June 2021
Philippians 3:7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider nothing because of Christ.
Would you describe yourself as a confident person? Your very reply if I asked you would show how confident you are. An immediate positive response would show high self-confidence, a more measured or unsure reply would mean you are not as confident n yourself, but it could also mean you are a humbler measured person who does not jump to conclusions. Confidence in the right things is good and what we need in life. The brazenly confident, no matter what, means no thought is given to others or the impact they have on people and events. Usually it ends in upset, pain and hurt. Currently we are putting our confidence in wealth, fame, celebrity, power, in large expensive property, in sport and success. Society has told us that certain things are necessary for a successful life and that is where our confidence should be. Research shows that the happiest people are those who have enough, who are not worrying about where the next meal is coming from, or where to shelter and keep warm. Research also suggests even the poor are happier than the rich as they appreciate what they do have and are grateful for any extras. The rich, have so much that they lose appreciation for life, for the basics and their time is spent on amassing more and more whatever the cost to others in the belief it makes them safe and untouchable, they never have enough. The confidence we place in earthly things is never justified. St Paul tells us that he has the right to be confident in his status and position, he is top of the pile and yet he clearly stated that trusting in these earthly things is nothing in comparison to trusting in God and what He offers to us. Paul recognises we can never have everything, never know complete security without faith in God. He calls us to recognise that all we have is from God and should be treated as a blessing to be appreciated and shared with others. Self-confidence should never come at the cost of others but out of the knowledge that I am who I am because God made me that way.
1st June 2021
John 6:9 Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?
When you were at school were you always eager to answer, put your hand up? Even now are one who speaks up in a discussion, calling people out on their behaviour and language? Or are you quite shy, easily embarrassed? Are you fearful of not getting things right or looking silly in front of others? Although it may seem hard none of us should be worried about those around us and what they think, we should never compare ourselves to others. I will let you into a secret, the loud opinionated people are no better than you they have just decided to not let it bother them and to hide themselves behind bravado and put up a front. If we were all more tolerant of each other, to accept that no one is always right or perfect, least of all ourselves, we would all live better and appreciate that nothing is achieved or learnt without getting it wrong first. Imagine Andrew stepping up to Jesus, who wants to feed 5000 people, with 5 rolls and 2 fish. Imagine the other disciples thinking, seriously, are you kidding? Andrew is a little hesitant but once he speaks up, takes that step of faith things happen. Jesus encourages his faith and this one small contribution is the catalyst for something amazing. The Bible tells us that nothing we ever do is wasted. We may never the consequences of the small things we do and say but they happen. Our unique perspective means we may well see an answer no one else sees. We need to step out and speak up. Sometimes we will get it wrong, everyone does, but it is only from failure that we gain success. The several hundred versions of the light bulb until it worked, the several versions of the vaccine until it worked. Success is born from failure. Nothing we do is wasted, step up. Speak out and be heard. Do not be frightened to fail and learn and come back stronger. You may have the answer no one else has, you are special, you are unique and you have everything to offer.
31st May 2021
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
There is something wonderful about completing a jigsaw, a picture, an assignment, a piece of work, a letter, an activity….. completing anything offers a sense of achievement, self-worth and value. Knowing “I did it” is a wonderful feeling that enhances well being and mental health. To achieve and complete we need sensible goals, things we can realistically work towards. We need to be able to stand firm when things are not comfortable and rosy, we need resilience. Resilience allows us to stay the course and overcome even when things are difficult. We develop determination. A wonderful story of determination and completion is the discovery of Hawaii by early Polynesian explorers. Hawaii is 2500 miles from any land neighbours but the early, ill equipped explorers knew there was something there because the golden plover bird flew that way every year. Every year they would follow it till it got away from them each year getting a little further, It took a very long time, several hundred years to finally find in about 1000 CE. Imagine if they had given up just a few years before. They never gave up, they believed and they kept trying. They believed, they had faith and they got there. There was risk, they set out, their goals and dreams were there but year after year nothing, the obstacle of doubt, but they kept going. One step at a time, the storms and flimsy boats were not insurmountable, they found a way and so can we. Sometimes there is little or no proof, the view is clouded over, there is little encouragement and this can make us question and give up. Fear of failure, of getting no where means we stop or don’t even bother trying. Faith in God is like this, we are encouraged to keep going to completion, on the path of life by St Paul, but it is journey with risks, which takes time and is often obscured from view. All God asks of us is that we take it one step at a time, small steps accompanied by Him. We are never alone on our journey, we will struggle at times but with resilience, determination, in God’s strength we will get there.
30th May 2021
John 12:24 Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
We have all heard those stories about the fountain of youth, the secret of eternal youth and life. I am going to share with you the secret to life. It is in this verse. The pattern of loss and renewal that runs throughout our lives and our world, we’ve lived and experienced it, sometimes by choice and other times by chance. Look at the way this pattern is present in our life. If we’re married, we had to let parts of our old single life go so we could be with another person. If we are parents, we know that there are sacrifices to be made in order for the new life of our child to emerge and grow. We all give up parts of ourselves for another. We all chose certain losses and let go of some things so that other things can happen. For every choice we make, every yes, we say, there is at least one no and probably many other costs. This same pattern is in nature, in the changing of the seasons, falling leaves and new blooms, and the setting and rising of the sun. This secret of life is everywhere. It is a pattern of loss and renewal, dying and rising, letting go and getting back, leaving and return. It’s at the core of our baptism and it’s what we declare every Sunday in the eucharist: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Only when we make sacrifices, give up to remerge will we grow and bear much fruit.
29th May 2021
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
In Britain sheep are reared largely for their meat. They are a business to provide an income. In Palestine they are kept mostly for their milk and wool, this means they live longer; and this means a personal relationship develops between shepherd and sheep. Sheep are given names and respond to the shepherd’s call; he knows them and they know him. If you have watched British sheep dog trials you will know how difficult it can be to get sheep to go in the right direction. That is because British herders tend to drive their sheep from behind and with dogs. It is hard to keep them in a straight line. In Palestine it is a lot easier because the shepherd leads his sheep from the front and because they know and trust him, they follow. Jesus uses this obvious visual aid of sheep being cared for and led by shepherds to declare that He is the Good Shepherd and that following Him means listening to His voice. Jesus uses this illustration of the shepherd and the sheep as He is building his flock, finding and saving “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and calling sheep from all nations into his flock. This Good Shepherd is for everyone. A sheep pen is an enclosure open to the elements and the inspection of the owner. It is not covered in or roofed over like a barn or shed, it has no door either, just an opening. Its walls are open to the sun, the sky, rain and wind. They are often made of rough stones with a layer of thorn brush along the top and their main purpose is to provide protection. At night, after the sheep are in, the shepherd just lays down in the doorway. He becomes the gate. There is no access to the sheepfold except through him. Anyone who tried to climb over the wall to get in was obviously up to no good. If a predator tries to enter, the shepherd would be disturbed. The shepherd therefore puts his life at risk to protect his sheep in becoming the gate. A hired hand won’t put their life at risk, but the shepherd owner will. So many times, in the Hebrew scriptures, God is described as a shepherd. Jesus takes this role of Shepherd, the one who protects His people. Suddenly the whole illustration makes sense. Amidst the storms of life, Jesus is saying He is the only one through whom we can be safe and secure. Jesus is the gate, the way to God, our Good Shepherd.
28th May 2021
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures.
How do we declare the Good News about Jesus when there is just too much happening around us and in the world? Well, quite simply we show up. We show up as ourselves. We show up and love others. We share the Good News with others through our love, God’s love in us. We speak and act true to ourselves as God’s children. God knows us completely and there is no need to hide from Him, who loves us completely. So, what is this love? We could attempt to define it in many ways, and we could provide examples of how we have experienced this love, and it would still not be enough. We can read 1 Corinthians 13 and learn love is patient, kind, doesn’t keep a record of wrongs etc. But the best example of what this love is; is Jesus, who came into the world to live and die for us, to restore our relationship with the God who loves us so completely. This is a different kind of love, a personified love, a liberating love, an enlightening love that clears and opens our eyes to see the injustices of this world and empowers us to act in ways that seek the flourishing of everyone. This love makes us question and challenge the systems that oppress, hurt and destroy. This love gives us the compassion, the empathy, the grace we need to love others as God loves them, as He loves us, warts and all.
27th May 2021
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
The word “abide” can also be translated as “remain,” or “stay,” and after the year we have had, we are very familiar with those words. After over a year of lockdown, quarantine, and social distancing, we know what it means to remain, to shelter in a place, to stay. We have become intimately familiar with the inside of our own homes and maybe with the interior of our own minds in ways we likely haven’t before and we’ve had time to think about what kind of place we want to shelter in. DIY stores have done very well in this past year. Priorities have shifted or become clearer, which has prompted changes both small and large. We have had more than a little time to think about what kind of physical and spiritual home we want and need to abide in. Perhaps you’ve converted some corner of your home into a home office, Zoom studio or virtual school space. We have become uniquely aware of the importance of home, of where we dwell, and of how we live within it. This past year, home has made all the difference, for better or for worse. To listen to Jesus’ words with 2021 ears, is to be reminded that our homes reflect our priorities, and our home affects how we live our lives. If we abide in God, in Jesus then we make our home there and we let God’s love be the foundation under our feet, let His love permeate the walls that shelter us, and let His love form the roof arching over our heads. Let God surround you in His love and strengthen you to share that love with one another as you abide in Him.
26th May 2021
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.
When you walk into a vineyard, you encounter life, growth and produce. The vine grower tends to all the vines, making no exceptions! The vine grower is aware of exactly what each vine needs to bear fruit. The vine grower knows each vine individually and personally and will prune away the dead parts to increase life, growth and produce. Similarly, God examines our hearts, provides for us, knows us individually and personally and can also remove those parts of ourselves that bear no fruit so that we have increased life, growth and produce. Pruning will change the outcome for the vine, and it will change the outcomes for us too. When we abide in God, we invite God into our lives, however messy they may be. When we abide in God, we are empowered to seek our place in this world, loving others, being part of the mission of the Church to restore all people to God and each other in Christ. It is a slow and transformative relationship between the vine grower and the branches. Between God and us. This relationship requires honesty and requires us to let go of all those parts of our lives that we think we can hide from the world and God. It requires us to trust God to do the pruning. God will not force us to be pruned, but He proves time and again that He can be trusted to do what is the very best for each one of us.
25th May 2021
Lamentations 1:20a Look at me, Lord. I am upset and greatly troubled, my heart and mind are troubled.
How often have you heard people say their success is down to them wanting it more than anyone else? Being determined and having will power are important, but they do not determine outcomes on their own. To succeed, talent, family care and support, being well off and from a good school with good contacts all come into play. Telling people, they will always achieve if they want it enough actually promotes the idea of winners and losers, where those who do not succeed have only themselves to blame. The pandemic has increased a sense that things won’t work out well for people unless they succeed at everything. The church has played its own part in this culture, ignoring mental health issues and wellbeing while spouting forth on victorious living in Christ. The writers of the Bible books did not always reveal much of what was going on inside people’s minds unless we read books like Psalms and Lamentations which are full of feelings and emotions. Here we meet folk who feel lost and alone and let down. We must prioritise Mental Health, make our premises available for the support of people’s mental health and well-being where we can. The Church is called to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice or who cannot be heard. We must use the power of example, Jesus example, our example, what it means to be followers of Jesus who care about people physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
24th May 2021
John 17:17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
As we look back over the past 15 months we often speak of life before the pandemic, which we call normal, and there is life during and after the pandemic. The new normal. It has completely changed how we are with one another, how we see life, and we are reassessing what is important. The pandemic is a pivotal moment. It’s one of those threshold moments that calls into question everything: priorities and values, the way we live and relate to one another, the things that truly matter, where we want to invest our time and energy, how we want to be in this world, what we want from life. Pivotal moments, dividing lines, are those moments when life gets truly real. They hold before us questions about who we are, who we want to be, what we’ve done, and whether our life matters and makes a difference. On our behalf Jesus asks three things of his Father: that God would protect us, making us one as Jesus and the Father are one; that God would protect us from the evil one; and that God would sanctify us in truth. In prayer we see the human Jesus standing in solidarity with us and our humanity, working through life. It offers us an example to follow and an encouragement as we seek to work through our lives and God’s part in them. As we do this we can find the answers to some of these questions and helps to reassess what is important to us as Christians and what God requires of us each day.
23rd May 2021
Luke 6:35a But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, care for one another.
Pastoral care has a much wider scope than it used to. The growing understanding of the need for humans to express themselves, to challenge the status quo and question their place in the world is brilliant. I am so pleased to see Young women speaking out about the constant sexual pressures they are put under and how the accepted norm of society has to change. It is great to see Black Lives Matter altering the way in which people are treated because of their skin colour. Equality and diversity are now key factors in our schools alongside safeguarding and wellbeing. A tradition and culture of knowing your place has, in many areas, begun to be broken down. These things are still in their infancy and have a long way to go. Let’s face it Jesus’ teaching on loving our neighbour as self is two thousand years old and we still do not get it, we still see others as a threat because of culture, nationality, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual preferences, class and race. Many changes are long overdue and many have gone backwards in the last few years but the appetite for change is there and demanding to be listened to. Of course, as soon as someone makes a stand those who disagree will make their own stand and attempt to justify their behaviour. We are all different, we do have different needs and ideas but central to all is humanity, we are all human and there is no distinction because of where we come from, our gender or race, our skin colour, our disabilities, our sexual preferences, our politics, ethnicity or culture. None of us are perfect, none of us have superior rights to another, none of us can dictate to another how they should be because they are not like us. Caring for each other is part of our nature, part of our created being. God cares for every one of His people, as His creation we are inbuilt with that same desire to care for the other. The question is whether we follow God’s way or the selfish ways of our often-misguided society.
22nd May 2021
Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, Jesus fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
How are you feeling at the moment? Has it all become too much, especially as the new freedoms are now tempered by another variant? The old proverb reminds us that there is a straw that breaks the camel’s back, it is often something small that finally takes us that step too far. Often under the really heavy weight of something we just keep going, we feel we just have to, then almost as the light begins to dawn, as the way through seems possible something else just hits. I often wonder what it was like for Jesus in the last week of His earthly life, one thing after another, yet he keeps His calm, keeps encouraging others, keeps giving and teaching knowing what is coming. Is it surprising that in the garden he finally lets go, he calls out to God, he asks the question is there any other way? He sweats blood, the trauma is so great, it seems as if the straw has landed. Yet in His calling out to God, in His questioning, in His challenge he finds a renewed strength. In the admittance of His need and fear comes God’s love, God’s support. In my own life it has often been in the darkest hour, at the time I am about to give up and give in, as I cry out and open myself, that the room is available for God to come in and strengthen me. They say the biggest barrier to dealing with a problem is not admitting to the problem. In wanting to just keep going we stop ourselves from asking for help, we become blinkered and do not accept the help that is there, that is freely offered by friends, family and God. Jesus knew He could only face Easter in God’s strength but even He had to admit it out loud and open Himself up for God to come in and take the strain.
21st May 2021
Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance
I have just had my car serviced and the MOT carried out. These check-ups make sure the big box of metal is running safely and properly which keeps me and those who travel with me safe, but also keeps others safe. The jobs that need doing can be small or large but each one has an impact. The need for clean oil to keep the workings of the engine smooth, the suspension keeping the running safe and smooth, the tyres with enough tread to hold the road safely, the lights so we can communicate our intentions and be seen in the dark, the emissions so we do not poison the atmosphere. These check-ups are necessary, they pick up on wear and tear, show where replacement or maintenance is needed. The same applies to our Spiritual life. We need check-ups, we need maintenance, we need things for smooth and safe living. Unlike the car, these check-ups are not mandatory, they are our choice. Many Christians go through life never questioning, looking, asking or learning. We all grow and change, so will our faith. The maintenance comes through reading the Bible, prayer, studying and praying with others, attending worship, hearing sermons, these all provide us with the checks and maintenance we need in our faith. None of us have got everything completely right, opinions will differ, ideas will differ, but we need to be listening, looking, asking and so changing and growing as well as being kept safe and roadworthy. Events in the church calendar can be service and MOT moments for us. Easter and Christmas give us real opportunity to improve and develop our faith. Pentecost is a wonderful opportunity to reignite our faith and our ability to live good Christian lives. May we be wise and discerning through guidance and learning.
20th May 2021
Romans 1:12 That you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
Are you an encourager? Someone who always has a good word for others and helps them move forward? Encouragement is vital as we grow in life. The encouragement of our children to walk and talk, to read and play, to eat and learn. The encouragement to study, to go to college, to set out on a career path, to be a good, honest person. We all need encouragement, but as we get older we perhaps tire of keeping going. Here Paul is speaking of how we must be mutually encouraging one another. It is not just the church leader, the worship leader, the Bishop, the vicar, the pastor, the Sunday school teacher’s job to encourage, it is all of ours. None of us are able to just keep going without the help and encouragement of others. We all need to know we are doing a good job, saying the right thing, standing up for those who need it, learning and growing. If no one tells a child that reading is good and they are doing well they will not bother. If we do not encourage faith and the Christian life in each other then we will fall away, lose our joy and hope. Jesus needed encouragement, St Paul needed encouragement, the disciples needed encouragement, we need encouragement and we need to give encouragement to others. May we all mutually encourage each other through our faith and living as Christ has equipped us to.
19th May 2021
Matthew 22:39b Love your neighbour as yourself
If you look at the aggression, anger, vitriol, hate crime, political rhetoric, nationalism and social media posts, loving our neighbour is not an easy task. Cultures, landownership, traditions and beliefs seem to make us more willing to hate our neighbour than love them; especially if they are not the same as we are. We are very fearful of difference and this fear has been and still is being used to provoke behaviour that persecutes and accuses our neighbour rather than love them. Love may seem a strange concept here but this is quite simply about love for our fellow humans. It means we care about, are interested in, are concerned for every human being, we desire that ever human is treated with respect, with fairness, honesty and compassion so that everyone can flourish. It is this love of our fellow humans that means we hurt when innocents across the world starve to death, die from dirty water, are killed and abducted, are made slaves, imprisoned or left to die by their own leaders and governments. This love for our fellow humans challenges us to give to food banks, to donate to charity, to buy a bacon butty for the homeless person on the street. Here in Matthew Jesus is clearly saying that the greatest outworking of our faith is to love our neighbour as ourselves. If we have plenty to eat, so should everyone, if we have clean water, so should everyone, if we have a place to live, so should everyone, if we enjoy education, peace and freedom, so should everyone. We are reminded to look at how we treat our ourselves, the privilege, honour, grace and love we afford ourselves and then to treat our neighbour in the same way, with the same privilege, honour, grace and love. The next verse also makes it clear that everything else hangs on this. Fair society, justice, peace, protection, quality of life…. It all depends on us loving our neighbour as ourselves. May we strive to treat everyone with honour, privilege, love and grace we give to ourselves so that other things fall into place.
18th May 2021
Psalm 34: 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
They say the mark of a good society is the way it cares for the victims of a crisis. The pandemic has been such a crisis with huge casualties and mental health has slowly come to the fore as important as well as physical health. We can all see this issue around us but I believe children and young people stand out as really struggling. Schooling has been disrupted, friendships lost and not even made, this current younger generation will enter the world of work after another major recession and they will inherit a huge national debt as well as their own personal debts, encouraged by a credit society. Their mental health is in need, as a good society how can we help? This mental health issue preceded lockdown and there has been a significant increase in mental illness among younger people in the last decade or so. We, as a society, have given our young people the belief that they must be perfect to fit in and to achieve, that their exam grades dictate the rest of their life. They have been involved in the least safeguarded culture revolution of social media which can destroy people in a matter of moments by comments, trolling, likes and dislikes. We have given them a society of winners and losers and thus given them a huge mental health problem. None of the above are true, they do not need to be perfect, life is not dictated by exams, friendship is not a social media construct and so on. If we look at the Bible through the lenses of mental health, we will see that Jesus himself had crises in His life, that the pressure at times was too much to bear. Read the Psalms and Lamentations and see the expression of feelings and needs and the cry to God in the depths of despair for help. There is an old prayer that says God be in my head and in my understanding. That is what we need, God in our minds and in our understanding, that we value our mental health as much as our physical health, that we recognise the mental health needs we have and we share that with our young people, we offer time to listen, time to talk and time to just be.
17th May 2021
Luke 15:24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found! So, they began to celebrate.
There is nothing like coming home, the joy of seeing someone after a long time apart. For many of us right now we long for that coming home as it was before the pandemic, the being able to hug a loved one, to have them close again after months of distancing. Reunions in the parable of the Lost Son and the Lost Sheep are not blighted by bad feeling or wrongs of the past. The shepherd searches everywhere for his sheep, the father is waiting and looking day after day for his son’s return. The love seen here is that of a God who has conquered all sin and thrown them all into the deepest parts of the sea; never to be seen or heard from again, love conquers it all. Our sin, our wrongdoing is forgotten, gone, never to resurface. God has gone looking for each of us in our need and picked us up, bringing us home and everyone who is brought home is celebrated with equal fervour and measure. God is always searching for us and waiting for us to respond, when we do, we are embraced, loved and celebrated. Think of those you are longing to hug and have close again? This longing that we have imagine it multiplied many times over and we begin to get just a glimpse of how God feels about us and longs for us to come home.
16th May 2021
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, Surely, you have read this in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone.
Do you ever feel like Jesus is talking about you when you read or hear passages in the Bible? At times we know God is definitely challenging us about our behaviour and life from the Bible. In the story of the Tenants in the vineyard Jesus does not hold back. He tells the chief priests and Pharisees that they are wrong, He is holding them to account for what they have done and for what they will do to Him. What about us? Where would we place ourselves in this story? As hard-working servants? Or are we more like the tenants? They reject the son, steal and kill for their own benefit and profit. Now, we may be involved in the extremes used here, but we are very capable of openly denying Jesus through our words and actions, behaving more like the Pharisees than the faithful servants. Jesus challenges the hypocrisy of those who supposedly lead people in their faith and represent God to them. The actions and words of these so-called religious leaders were the total opposite of What God had wanted for His people; but human nature, selfishness, power, wealth and self-aggrandisement had long replaced God as their priority. God also speaks to us about our lifestyle, we need to think about our priorities in life, are they selfish or are they God centred? The wonderful news is that Jesus has offered everyone and still offers us redemption, forgiveness and love, it is our choice what we do with it.
15th May 2021
Luke 16:10 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Currently the news is full of stories about fraud, during the pandemic criminals have been able to bypass security checks, use people’s names and National Insurance numbers to take money. Those whose identity they have stolen are now being forced to pay back money they never asked for or received. In Government there is masses of evidence of money being given for contracts that do not exist, to companies who have politicians as directors and donate to the party. It is not a popular way of looking at things or people these days but if you look at someone’s behaviour in the small things, before they were senior you will see that they often were less than honest in their lives in junior and early posts. Sadly, we seem to reward those who lie and cheat rather than making them pay for their fraud. This verse clearly tells us that those who are faithful in the small will be faithful in the big, those who are dishonest in the small will be dishonest in the big. Anyone who cheats and lies in their early life will always do so, we need to hold people to account always and not reward bad behaviour and fraud with senior posts because society says everyone does it so it’s okay. Everyone does not do it and It is an indictment of our society that honesty and integrity is no longer considered as crucial for those who lead and want to be in the public eye or working in public roles. We must challenge the dishonesty around us, we must question and challenge those who allow this fraud to continue, we must demand justice against those who defraud us and we must demand that all fraudulent gains are returned so those who truly deserve help are given it. Honesty and integrity must come first.
14th May 2021
Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
How are you on a bad day, we all have them, whether from oversleeping and being late, to arguing with family or friends, stuck in traffic, everything seeming to go wrong and the weather being awful. Bad days are a fact of life, as are good days, what makes the difference is how we respond. One issue early on in a day can set the tone for the whole day but if we recognise it and see it for what it is, we can respond differently. When things happen to us what we need to do is acknowledge their presence, recognise them and then deal with them. If the matter is serious and deeply painful we may have to spend a considerable time acknowledging it, spending time with it, thinking it through, but our very recognition means we have the ability to deal with it. We can say, goodbye to the issue, own it and then we can let it go. For most bad days this recognising it, owning it and letting it go can happen quite quickly and then offer us the rest of the day to enjoy as we would usually do. These words from Isaiah remind us that we never go through anything alone, even when we are cranky and argumentative God is with us, even when we shout and let off steam, God is with us, even when we are late, miss the bus, get stuck in traffic God is with us, when we are having a bad day God is with us, just as He is if we are having a good day. God does not change His love for us based on how we are each day, He loves us unconditionally. We are never alone and that is well worth recognising and remembering when we are having a bad day.
13th May 2021
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Do you have lots of plants in your home? What about flowers? I do like the occasional bunch of flowers, they bring colour, life, smell and a smile to one’s face. Then they go over, the leaves become brittle, the petals drop, life is gone and they end up thrown away. These flowers have been removed from their life source, and although we can, for a few days, replace that need with water and plant food, the life is leaving them. Once they are cut, they begin to die. We are the same, our life source comes from the creator, God, abiding in Him is what allows us to live and live in fulness. When we are cut off from our creator we begin to die. The life source from Him is lost and the nutrients and goodness we need is no longer feeding us. Yes, we can do various things to try and prolong the inevitable, but we will become dry, lifeless, brittle, colourless and even mouldy on the ends. We are no longer bringing any value, any joy or colour, we are no longer fruitful and so we become those who no one wants to be around. I am not advocating that we do not have flowers in our home but we can learn a lesson from them. An Indian philosopher once said; “When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily. He who understands this, understands life…” Life in its fullness comes from being connected to our life source, it is so clear in Jesus’ teaching in John 15 about abiding in the vine. We will only ever find real life, true colourful and rewarding life if we are abiding in, connected to, our creator, God.
12th May 2021
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen in nature, so that people are without excuse.
Some people just see things, just understand so much. We have been blessed by brilliant minds over the centuries and we have been blessed to have their writings and discoveries in our lives. Many of these brilliant minds found their inspiration in nature. If you ever get the chance to visit Barcelona, do go to the Sagrada Familia, a church build using the shapes and forms of nature. It is magnificent and awe inspiring. Einstein, too, looked to nature for understanding and in fact encouraged us to look deeper into nature as there we would find the ability to understand everything better. Paul explains in Romans that we really have no excuse, that creation and nature show God so clearly to the world that we have no excuse but to see Him. He also explains how we have turned away from this clear path and made paths of our own, rejecting God for our own personal desires and abilities. For those who actively seek to disprove God, to make themselves God’s, they constantly hit the wall of how, how nature works so perfectly, how everything sits in balance, how all we have discovered and developed found it’s beginning in nature. They decry a divine creator in favour of a haphazard collision of chemicals. If we open our eyes to the incredibleness of creation, of nature, to how things work so amazing well, to how perfect and in balance thing are until we start messing with them, we get a glimpse of a divine orchestrator, a creator and when we see this how can we do anything but recognise God in nature, we are without excuse.
11th May 2021
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
I wonder if you watch Call the Midwife? I love it, a very moral programme centred on a religious order caring for their community. Recently the oldest Nun has had a crisis of faith after falling and breaking her hip. Even as she got better, she could no longer face the Daily prayer pattern the order follows and found herself in despair. I wondered how they would resolve this issue because we all suffer a crisis of faith at some point. She finds her wonder and awe of God returned in helping to deliver a baby, something she has not done in a long time, and in inspecting the placenta. Within this life-giving organ she speaks of the beauty, the life-giving organ that is hidden within us and so easily forgotten about. She speaks of the new life, fed and enabled by this organ which is then just taken and destroyed. As she looks, she sees beauty, pattern, richness and life. She is reminded of the life-giving amazing creation that enables babies to be conceived and born. She is reminded of the life-giving Creator God she had recently doubted and once again finds her faith. It is good for us as Christians to have experiences where we are lost in wonder, in awe, in praise of the God who created us and gave us life. These experiences can come through worship, through prayer, through experiences and through the wonder of creation. God knew us before birth and He provided us with life and protection even in the womb as we grew. It is so easy to take for granted that which is so miraculous, may we not take our God for granted.
10th May 2021
Isaiah 42:4 In faithfulness they will bring forth justice; they will not falter or be discouraged till they establish justice on earth.
When you look around at the media, the news, the politics, does it all seem fair? When you hear that someone has got away with a crime, does it make you angry? I have been trying to support the Domestic Abuse bill, amongst others, and shocked at a government refusing to identify those who have severely hurt and even killed their partners so future partners can know the truth and be kept safe. We try so hard to fight for justice and somehow justice is far more easily attainable if you have money, status, friends in high places, celebrity connections, yet surely that same justice and fairness should be available to all. Legal Aid, set up to help the poorer in society, has been cut so much that virtually no body now qualifies. Research shows us that if you are from certain backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities you are more likely to be stopped, searched and detained with little or no evidence. How can justice be for all, if all cannot access it at the same level. We have fallen into the trap of believing that those with more money, status and control are more deserving than others. We have allowed ourselves to be convinced by the adage that only those who work hard do well, when that is simply not the case. People in our society who work so hard are rewarded with a pittance while many who rise to the top do so because of family connections and wealth, not hard work. Privilege sees many rise for no other reason than the family they were born into and the school and college they attended. This is not justice and fairness for all. It may seem than we can do little but we must, as God tells us, stand up for justice, stand up for the oppressed. If we feel it is too hard, makes no difference then nothing will ever change. God gave us voices, ideas, actions so we can make a difference. In our careers, family life, social life if we are people of integrity, honesty and those who promote justice it can and will make a difference. God challenges us on our justice, our fairness, our honesty and integrity, are we up to that challenge? Are we willing to always stand up for what is right no matter the cost? Will we not falter or be discouraged until Justice is established on earth?
9th May 2021
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
Being content is not something I come across much these days. It exists most in those who have less. Part of my growing up took place in the yuppie culture, trading the markets to get more and more, bending the rules and taking the risks because there was never quite enough gained. I had friends who were burnt out by the time they were 30 from trying to get the bigger house, better car, holiday homes and all the trappings of wealth and success. They were never content, each time they got more, they wanted more. It is the same trap that Scrooge falls into in Dicken’s Christmas Carol, I never have enough and therefore I am never content. Contentment comes from an appreciation of what we have. Of realising that we come from nothing so everything we have is a bonus, a blessing and appreciating it rather than seeing it as an entitlement. We look to fill the perceived void in our life with possessions or money, but we only end up wanting more. We try to fill it with relationships that bring us gain, but we end up feeling even more empty and depressed than when we started. The dictionary describes contentment as a state of happiness and satisfaction, a state of fulfilment. We have become people who measure happiness by what we earn or own, seek fulfilment in wealth and status, seek satisfaction in being famous and influencing others. But it is never enough. Perhaps a stock take of what we do have and are is called for. Counting our blessings and being thankful for them. Less time searching for more that is never enough and more time appreciating what we have. Less throw away and more appreciative, less receiving and more giving.
8th May 2021
Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
There are some really amazing things about life. The day we marry, the birth of a child, going to university, getting a great job, being loved, following our dreams, how amazingly adaptable our physical bodies are, how creative we are, what we can do and so much more. These experiences enable us to grow, to become the people we were chosen to be. The experiences of life, positive and negative teach us compassion, understanding, love, empathy and resilience. If we stay tuned in and aware of everything around us then we never reach a time in our lives when there is nothing left for us to learn. This is the amazing and wonderful life God made us a part of. The vision, dream and drive of endless humans have created a better world, the selfish greed of others has often negated that progress for others. Life is an opportunity to grow, change, improve, help, challenge and be amazing. Humans were not an accident, not a load of molecules that just happened to combine in the right way, we were created by God for life and a full life at that. God created us each as individuals but with common and shared traits. We need everyone, every gift and ability, every creative, every visionary, every hard worker, every cerebral, every physical. We need to support and help each other and celebrate difference as well as similarity. Life was given to us for living, for living the best way we can, for living with community, gaining strength and support from each other as we grow and learn. We have been given an incredible gift, the gift of life, may we use it for the good of all.
7th May 2021
Jeremiah 21:35 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.
Currently I am very tired. Suddenly back at work every day, catch up being necessary, a lot more time travelling and the traffic is so much worse. Adjusting to the very early mornings again and the later evenings is hard and I am sure it will work itself out, but, if nothing else, the being at home more has been much better for my sleeping patterns, better quality family time and allowed me time to wind down. I am glad to hear today that top companies are saying they will not return to the expectation of everyone being in work, every day of the working week. It is good that we have learned a few lessons. God understands that we get tired, that we have physical and mental limitations. He is aware of the toll the last 15 months has had on us all and that we still need to keep going as we return to the new normal. When we need rest, we are often unwilling to thinking that we must be there, do that, see them, finish that…. If this last period of time has taught us anything it is that we need time, time to rest, time to wait, time to ponder and be willing to be patient and take time out. We cannot be all things to all people, we cannot keep going without rest and replenishment. God offers this to us if we are willing to take it.
6th May 2021
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special ones, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Remember those times when you were chosen for a team or to go to a party, to be a bridesmaid or page boy and how good that made you feel, the privilege, that specialness because you were chosen. There are also the times when we were not chosen, left out, ignored and we felt alone, hurt and often angry. The feelings of specialness, of being chosen are what God wants for us every moment of every day. God chose us to be His people, not just ordinary people but a royal priesthood, a holy nation that belong completely and utterly to God. We are chosen, called out of darkness, out of evil and wrongdoing into light, into joy and peace and into life in all it’s fullness. This being chosen is not something we deserve or can expect or demand, being chosen is something God offers to us no matter who we are. You and I are considered royalty, we have privilege and status not because we deserve it or earned it but because God chose to freely give it to us. So if we are chosen and special what does that mean for us? That we show off, place ourselves above others, treat others badly… no, not at all. It means hat just as we are given that special status by God we must give that status and position to others. God’s chosen and special status is given to everyone. When we look at others we need to look with the eyes of God, the heart of God that sees the specialness of every individual, the different gifts we each have and the different people we are, celebrating those differences whatever they may be. God treats no one differently and neither must we. We are all chosen and special before God, all equal and we should all treat one another with respect and with the same specialness that God treats us.
5th May 2021
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
It has been very windy the last day or so, that wind has consequences, closed bridges, blown over trees, power lines down, bins and garden things blown around. We can feel the wind on us, against us, blowing the door open or closed, whistling down the chimney or whining through the windows. Unlike the other forces of weather, we cannot see the wind, just the consequences of it. I love the old Beaufort wind scale we studied in Geography and the little images that accompanied it, from smoke going straight up through branches moving to trees being uprooted. The work of the wind can be anything from gentle through to major disruption and anywhere in between. This is why the work of the Holy Spirit is often compared to the wind in scripture and in teaching. We don’t see the Spirit as a visible physical entity, we see what it is doing. When the Holy Spirit first came upon the disciples it gave them strength, courage, ability to communicate with different cultures and languages. The impact of the Spirit comes and goes as it is needed. When we are in need of courage, wisdom, understanding, strength the Spirit works within us to provide us with the physical, emotional and spiritual needs we have. The Spirit is within us as Christians but we have the choice as to whether we allow it to work within us and out of us or whether we keep it contained and unused. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence within us, communicating with us, stirring us up and empowering us, our choice is whether we allow it or hold it back.
4th May 2021
Mark 12:44 Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
One of my favourite watches on TV Is Bargain Hunt. I love to see what people like and don’t like, what the professional’s rate and how good I am at guessing if they will make a profit or loss. It fascinates me the value people put on things and how that changes depending on whether you are the buyer or seller. Of course, there is the monetary value but also the social value and history tied to certain items. We all value everything differently and it is so called experts who seem to decide if something has value or not, if it is rare or not or if the artist or creator is important or not. Jesus lesson to the disciples and to us as he watches the poor widow put the smallest offering in the box is what it means to us when we give. In the widow’s case she has nothing and yet gives the very little she has to help others and serve God. The rich that Jesus watches offer much and make a huge show out of it but in comparison to what they keep, how important the money is to their existence, they actually give very little. It is a similar thing to when a pay rise is given, 1% of 16,000 is so much smaller than 1%of 160,000. If you have millions and give a few thousand you do not miss it but it makes you look good, if you have just a few pounds to live on but give away some of that to help another it is of so much more value, so much more is being given. The value we place on things is affected by the world view, by so called experts deciding what is valuable or not. In God’s eyes we all have unimaginable value and our offering to help others shows how we value them. If we give, even out of our little, the value is incredible, is blessed. If we give out of huge privilege and wealth the true value of what is given is so much less. May we look, see and give in God’s view of value not the worlds.
3rd May 2021
Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, ‘remember when you were alive you had the good things in life, and let the bad things happen to Lazarus. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering.`
The story of the Rich man and Lazarus can be rather uncomfortable, after all we all like proof of things and obvious proof at that. Here is a story warning about inequality and saying pay attention folks while there is still time. As we sit in our decent homes with full fridges, central heating, all the creature comforts we need and more, it is easy not to pay attention to the needs of others, even those right on our doorstep. Once he gets his comeuppance the rich man wants to warn his family to change their ways and priorities and, not actually learning his lesson, wants the poor man to do the job for him. The evidence has been right there all along, it is right there for us in the prophets, in the Bible, in Jesus, but we make a choice based on how good life is now. Then when the chickens come home to roost, we say “If I had only known? If only someone had told me and I had realised” But all the information is there, we have been told time and time again, it is written in History. The choice is and always will be ours, sadly we think we know best and often do not to listen to history, the prophets, the Holy Spirit, Jesus or God. This story should make us feel uncomfortable and challenge us about all that we have in the here and now against those who are poor and go without. We need to use what we have more effectively and more honestly, give thanks to God for everything we have and then ask Him what we can do for others. It is not the having that precludes us from God, it is the attitude that puts all we have before God thinking we need all this stuff to be happy and fulfilled rather than God.
2nd May 2021
Colossians 3: 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Being forgiven when we do wrong is something we all desire and long for. I have always hated anyone being angry with me and if I upset a friend, I feel like it is the end of the world and would do anything to obtain their forgiveness. Of course, when we are the ones doing the forgiving, we often hold out and are less free with our forgiveness than we want others to be with us. We all have the power to forgive, we have the choice. God’s forgiveness of us is freely given, we do not have to beg, plead or bargain, we only need to be sorry for our words and actions. God’s example of forgiveness is one we need to follow. We are told here to bear with, that means tolerance, accepting that none of us are perfect, that we all make mistakes and therefore understand the need to bear with each other, to be patient and understanding, which comes from love. God forgives us because He loves us, we forgive because we love others, we forgive because we are forgiven. Of course, forgiveness is not easy, especially when we have been deeply hurt and trust has been betrayed. Forgiveness can take a very long time on our part but all we have to do is be willing to try, God will do the rest. Forgiveness has been shown to have health benefits, to be a healing process for the one who forgives. It increases our own self-esteem, offers an inner strength and can help to reverse the damage done by the action or words within us. It is also beneficial in decreasing depression, in helping with psychological problems and mental health issues. God’s forgiveness of us is freely given, we do not deserve it, yet it is offered because of the love He has for us. We need to ask ourselves how freely we forgive and if we need to show mercy and love far more than we do. Forgiveness does not eradicate responsibility or consequences for the one being forgiven but it opens the door for healing, for restoration and for a better way of living.
1st May 2021
Deuteronomy 11:25 No one will be able to stand against you, the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land.
At present I am quite out of sorts at the behaviour of those in power, those with a lot of money, those who seem to be able to dictate policy while so many are suffering and losing out. As much as I write letters, send emails, challenge the local and national politicians it seems like nothing changes. Reading this verse gave me a sense of hope, if I am fighting to do God’s will and fight injustice and seek fairness then I am being told here that I and you will not be stood against. I guess that means we have to be the ones who are always truthful, who do not sacrifice our principles for favour or gain, who stand for truth and righteousness, who keep challenging the misspending of public money, the fraudulent awarding of contracts and the blatant ignoring of the law and flagrant misuse of position and power. I quite like the idea of people dreading us turning up and speaking the truth, challenging the status quo. I have seen this happen, been involved in organising community meetings where big business and local councils are taken to task and have to change what they have done, but also, I have seen those events bring tighter protection for those who have power and voice. We must not give up, yes sometimes it seems like relentless negativity, getting nowhere fast, but God says if we play our part, it will make a difference. Even in the darkest of times there is always hope. May God make us people to be reckoned with, not ignored, people with honest, clear voices who are heard. People who proclaim the message of fairness and justice for all. Known for our honesty and truth.
30th April 2021
Jeremiah 18:18b Come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.
Do you remember that playground ditty, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. We all learned very quickly that actually the words and names do hurt, sometimes really deeply. The angry crowd in Jeremiah used their tongues; the lies and the name calling, to try and bring Jeremiah down. These people tried to use Jeremiah’s own words against him, something our politicians do on a daily basis. Words have become a weapon that we use to try to destroy and hurt those we do not agree with. Words taken out of context can be manipulated and twisted to make them appear to be bad when they are good and vice versa. Our current media and political messages are based on sound bites. We never get the whole message just a snippet to pique the interest and get the juices of anger or support going. Words are very powerful, Jesus own words were used against Him and we are all good at using words to hurt others, but we are clearly told as Christians that our words should be honest, truthful and bring healing and peace. Before we speak, we need to be mindful of what we are going to say and how it might hurt or bless others. Perhaps think about what you have said to others recently and try this test; were your words true, were they kind and were they necessary? Often our words may be true but in our haste we are unkind. Often, we say things which are not necessary and also unkind. As you think about what you have said and what you will say, try this test. Remind yourself that everything you speak out needs to be honest, kind and necessary. That way all your conversations will be ones of blessing and encouragement and not ones that hurt and bring others down.
29th April 2021
Matthew 27:3-4 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realised that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man.”
The character of Judas has fascinated me for years. As a young Christian he was the villain of the piece, the one who I would boo and hiss in the pantomime of the Easter story. In later years, with far more understanding and experience of forgiveness from God and from others, I am far more accepting of this man. The story of Jesus life, death and resurrection is dependent on someone giving Him up to the authorities, that had to be someone in the inner circle of friends or it would not work. Judas had a role in the story of our redemption, a role which without the job would not have been done. The God I believe in and preach about would not damn someone for doing what He needed them to do. Here in this verse is a key phrase, overcome with remorse, Judas knew what he done was wrong and he admitted it, he was sorry. God’s forgiveness is for everyone, no matter their sin, yes, consequences will have to be faced and in Judas’s case the consequences were far to much for him to bear, but his remorse, his pivotal role in the story of our redemption make me sure Judas was not condemned to Hell, for if he was not forgiven in his remorse then there is no hope for us who are often not remorseful for our sin because they become our normality. When we do very bad things, we usually regret them afterwards, if we are willing to be remorseful, to say we are sorry, to face the consequences of our actions, we also find God’s love and forgiveness ready and waiting. Jesus’ death on the cross was about our forgiveness, forgiveness for all earned by Jesus, all we need to do is to recognise our wrongdoing and admit to it.
28th April 2021
Isaiah 1:17 Look for what is right and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for people. Stand up for the rights of those who have no parents. Help the woman whose husband has died.
When someone’s life is coming to an end there tends to be an urgency to their words. They want to pass on the important things to loved ones, and we have many famous last words written in our history books. These words mattered to them and then to us. As Jesus is nearing His crucifixion He is speaking to His disciples and those around Him with a sense of urgency. This is what matters folks; this is what counts; it is not just about what you say but what you do about it. Jesus warns constantly about hypocrisy, He tells us we are not be people who say one thing and do another. We are to work for the good of all, and do so without wanting others to know and say how wonderful we are. Sadly, there are those, even among our religious leaders, who want everyone to know the good they say they do and are often a lot of hot air rather than people of action. Think about how you challenge the wrong in the world around you and how you can make life better for those around you. Are there things you can take action about, speak up about and in doing so make life better for yourself and others. May we all be people of action and not people of hot air.
27th April 2021
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Jesus words here in Matthew reflect back to the laws originally given in Deuteronomy and take them further. There were plenty of people who had declared they had fulfilled these laws and kept the commands; they loved their neighbour but hated their enemy. Let’s face it there are always people who want to tell you how wonderful they are. Jesus challenges this attitude, belief and corruption by telling us to love and pray for our enemies. The expectation is for us to be as God and Jesus are, perfect in our dealings with everyone. This is impossible for us; we can never be Holy or perfect but we can live at our best through Jesus and God’s strength in us. We can have the Holy Spirit within us guiding and prompting us, allowing us to pray for those we struggle with, those we might consider to be our enemies. Something I was told years ago by a wise vicar was you do not have to like everyone, love them yes, but you do not have to like them. Families are the best example of this. We can we struggle with liking some family members but we love them because they are family. It is not an easy thing to do and we very much need help; God is right there to offer that help with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Think about what it means to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It probably makes you recoil at the thought of loving someone who hurts you, but we have to try. God gives us His strength and we must ask Him for it and for His help to love those we find difficult. Jesus love for us, and some of us are not that likeable, took Him to the cross. It may be worth just thinking about some of the things that make you and I hard to love, be honest with yourself, are there things we can change to make ourselves easier to love?
26th April 2021
Psalm 66:19 Truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Prayer is the way that we keep in touch with God. Many people think they can change God: ‘If I ask really nicely, then God will do what I want.’ Others see prayer as a form of magic: ‘If I say it in the right way, then God will answer.’ Neither of these is true. Prayer is the way in which we open up to God, so that God can work in us and God does always answer, although not always in the way we would like. If we love someone, we keep in touch. Prayer is the same. If we love God, we stay in touch. We talk to God and we listen to God. It’s a conversation. To begin our conversation with God we need make the decision to talk to God, it maybe we sit or kneel in a way that is comfortable and attentive. Normally our minds are full of distractions; thoughts just keep happening so we calm ourselves and put our minds on God. As we settle, our minds are less crowded, and listening is much easier. We let the awareness of God enfold us, like loving arms, we don’t need to say anything sometimes, the contact is enough. At other times, we need to talk; address God as Father or God or Lord, it really doesn’t matter. We say what we feel, what we need and it can be aloud or silently. God doesn’t stand on ceremony. Having a conversation means taking time to say, ‘Thank you.’ ‘Sorry.’ ‘Guess what?’ ‘I love you.’ Then we also take time to listen, to let God use our thoughts and feelings, Give God time to speak to us. Conversations take time . . . and patience. There is no right way to pray, it is different for everyone but we can use prayers written by others, we can use the Lord’s Prayer. The most important thing is that we pray.
25th April 2021
Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
This verse from Deuteronomy is about making a choice. The choice of life or death. The choice of a selfish life or an unselfish life and the consequences. The choices we make affects how we behave; listening to God or listening to self, choosing a blessing or a curse, choosing the whole world and losing our very self. We live in the world; our challenge is not to be of it. To not let ourselves be enticed by the promises and gains of this world and in doing so lose our very soul. The choice for us is stark, Heaven or Hell. We cannot know God or His love if we follow the ways of the world, if we listen to the worldly voices of gain, selfish ambition and me first. Following God’s way is not easy and may well involve suffering; being a disciple, a Christian, comes at a price. The world says that suffering and success cannot exist together, faith says they can. These choices are rather uncomfortable. Thinking about what it might mean to lose our life for Christ, maybe not literally, but in other ways. It means our attitude may need to change our routine may need to change. Less TV, phone, computer, reading, radio etc and more prayer. Less money spent on me and more on others perhaps. Speaking up when others suffer unjustly, even if we suffer too. In this way we chose blessings and real life in God.
24th April 2021
Proverbs 31:8-9 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are marginalised. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Think about the people you mix with, your
neighbours, friends and colleagues. Are they marginalised in any way? Do you
know them well enough to know? It is true that often folk do not want us to
know if they have needs, but if the pandemic has shown us anything it is that
people around us may not have enough food, may have lost their job, maybe being
penalised for the colour of their skin, their gender, their social class, their
disability. We have a voice, we have the communication portals, we can speak up
and speak out. If you look back over this past year, what have you done for
others? The danger for many has been the desire to preserve self above all and
has meant some of us have just hidden in our ivory tower, waiting to resume our
normal life again, instead of using what we have to make sure everyone is kept
safe, everyone has food, warmth, clothing and is treated fairly by society.
We are called to defend the rights of the poor and needy, to speak up for those
marginalised, to defend the poor. All too often I have seen poverty and hunger
blamed on the very people we are supposed to care for, because it is easier to
find an excuse, to put the blame elsewhere instead of taking responsibility.
Children are not hungry because of choice, it is because those who decide
wages, job prospects, employment and costs have chosen to get as much for
themselves by giving as little as possible to the poor and marginalised. It is
the choice of those who have as to whether they choose to share with the have
nots. I am very glad to see that many have chosen to share, and interestingly it
is often those who do not have a lot themselves who share openly with others.
It is our choice whether we speak up, speak out, defend the poor and needy but
it is choice God asks us to make.
23rd April 2021
Micah 6:8 what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
When we apply for a job or write our CV we dwell on our strengths, attributes and achievements, and rightly so. How many of us would use these words from Micah to speak about ourselves? If we look more closely perhaps these are attributes we should be both desiring and offering up about ourselves. If we are just people then we will fight for fairness and justice for all, if we are merciful then we will not criticise others for the actions or mistakes but rather show compassion and forgiveness. If we are humble then talking about ourselves and put ourselves above others will not be on our agenda. Yet we know we fail in all these things. Even so we should not give up, God requires these things of us so we need to try. We need to have that moral rightness based on ethics, law, rationality, religion and equity that is justice. We need to have that compassion, forgiveness, blessing, favour, love, and response to need when it is unmerited and unexpected that is mercy. We need to have that modest, realistic view of our self that does not put me above you, that is not arrogant, that is humility. Perhaps these are the very things we should put on our CV. If we all excelled in Justice, mercy and humility the world be as God intended with all equal, all cared for, no one in need and selfish behaviour gone. We are rather good at complicating things but from God’s perspective if we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him everything else fits into place.
22nd April 2021
Job 2:13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
The visual image that was sent worldwide from the funeral of Prince Philip was the Queen sitting alone in her grief. Although because of protocols, she sat alone, she was not alone. Around her were family, those who wanted to take care of her and share the load as best they could. One of the most difficult things of this past year or so is not being able to be there for people as we normally would, not being able to visit family, visit the sick and dying, unable to turn up on someone’s door step and offer a hug, a coffee, some food or to just be a presence. We were not created to walk through life alone. Back in Genesis, God says it is not good for Human’s to be alone and so we have family, friends, colleagues, those with whom we can share the load. Often what is needed by anyone is presence, just being there, words may or may not come, but they are often not necessary, especially if they are forced. Just the presence of another in our grief, in our pain, in our need, is what is really needed. In Job’s terrible tragedy his friends came to comfort him, they saw his terrible state and they did not offer platitudes, advice or tell him to pull himself together, they sat with him for a week in his suffering and were just there for him no questions asked. It is difficult, we want to say something, to help alleviate the pain, often that is because we ourselves are uncomfortable. Actually, just being there with someone is what is needed, is what counts. Don’t worry about what to say or do, just be there for each other and the rest will happen when and where it needs to.
21st April 2021
John 1: 14b We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Being a person full of truth does not give us the excuse to be rude to other people by speaking the truth, even in love! Truth without Grace is not the way for us to go in any social interaction! Biblical truth is not our subjective opinion about something but the Truth of God’s eternal love for us. Jesus was the perfect truth of God’s love for the world. As a follower of Jesus, an imitator of God, we are full of that truth too. That does not mean that every opinion we have is true or right; but that we represent the truth of God’s love for us in our daily life. So, this week, each day, as we seek to imitate Jesus, what can we do to share that Truth with others? Sharing our truth is not about telling other people our personal opinions about faith. What people want and need from us is Truth: the Truth that God loves them, the Truth that God has come into this fallen world so they can live, the Truth that He wipes the slate clean from the past and gives a fresh start, the Truth that He will uphold them always and forever. That is Truth. You have a story to tell about God’s impact on your life, so tell it… Be Graceful, be Truthful, in all your relationships and communications with others. Jesus was full of grace and truth, that means there was never a moment when He was not God’s gift to the world or when he stopped embodying God’s love for the world. May we always be full of grace and truth.
20th April 2021
Ephesians 5:1 Follow God’s example and live in the way of love.
We are all called to reflect the love of Jesus to our local community, to our friends, families and neighbours, as we introduce people to Jesus and help them discover God’s love for themselves. We are called to be imitators of God. This means we need to reflect the love of Jesus to the world around us so that others will be inspired to come and know Him for themselves. Do you remember the 9/11 tragedy and the images of thousands of people streaming out of the Towers whilst the Fire Officers were running into the burning building to look for and save people. It is a wonderful metaphor for what Jesus has done for us; Jesus rushes into the burning building of sin and death by dying on the cross for us. Through Christ, we are free to live. Live a life of grace and a life of honesty. Grace comes from the Greek word ‘charis’, which means ‘gift’. Jesus was God’s gift to the world in how He lived and spoke and in what He did for us. If we are a follower of Jesus, we are full of grace because we have the Spirit of Jesus living in us. We are, in that grace, God’s gift to the world! People full of grace, full of gifts, to give to others. This means that we can make a real difference by becoming a gift of Kind words, a gift of forgiveness, a gift of help, a gift of compassion; in other words, following God’s example and being God’s gift of Jesus to others. May we be God’s gift, God’s grace, to others each day.
19th April 2021
Matthew 21:43 So I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who do the things God wants in his kingdom.
Often when confronting the religious leaders of His time Jesus does not hold back. In the story of the tenants in the vineyard, that leads up to this verse in Matthew, He tells the chief priests and Pharisees that they are wrong, He is holding them to account for what they have done and for what they will ultimately do to Him. Where do we place ourselves in this type of story? Do we see ourselves as the hard-working servants? Or are we more like the tenants? They reject the son, steal and kill for their own profit. Okay, we may not go to the extremes used here but we are capable of openly denying Jesus through our words and actions behaving much more like the Pharisees than the faithful servants. Jesus is challenging the hypocrisy of those who supposedly led the people in their faith and represented God to them. Their actions and words were the total opposite of what God had wanted for His people, but human nature, selfishness, power, wealth and self-aggrandisement had long replaced God as their priority. Jesus offered them and offers us redemption, forgiveness and love, it is our choice what we do with it. Think about your priorities in life, are they selfish or are they God centred? The Pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them, do you ever feel like Jesus is talking about you when you read or hear passages in the Bible? Think about hypocrisy, can you think of examples in your life? Be honest, but remember that God is in the business of forgiveness and will help you to change the things that need changing in your life.
18th April 2021
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Have you ever been a day dreamer? So lost in your own thoughts and ideas that you don’t hear someone or see when something is happening around you. I enjoyed making up stories as a child, acting out the parts and often when I was called by my parents, I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I did not hear or respond. In contrast, as a teenager I was told in no uncertain terms that I should not be so heavenly minded that I was no earthly good. Once again, we find ourselves needing to follow a central path, to walk a tightrope where we are aware of what’s around us but we are also aware of God and what He is doing. This verse from Colossian’s seems to say we should be so centred on Heaven that we are not overtaken by the things of the world. The meaning here is not one of day dreaming about Heaven but about having our heart and mind centred on the things of God and not the things of earth. In other words, we should not be occupied with gaining power, status, wealth and belongings on earth but rather working toward the things of Heaven for ourselves and others. We also need to be bringing these Heavenly priorities to our life on earth. God’s fairness and justice, God’s love and grace, God’s compassion and integrity should be what we strive for in our earthly life as well as the heavenly. If we live God centred lives on earth, we begin to bring the Heavenly realms back onto earth, we begin to make the world more like it was supposed to be for everyone not just those who have given themselves power and priority. If our mind is on Heaven and the ways of God then our worldly existence will be like that too.
17th April 2021
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind; Christ Jesus.
At this time of year particularly, we tend to be preoccupied with Jesus’ death, then His resurrection, and rightly so, it is the key to our faith, but we tend to forget, and so need reminding, that His death is nothing without his life. God is so overwhelming, so indescribable, so amazing that He can be almost inconceivable for us, and yet Jesus came and through His life revealed God to each one of us. Jesus acted as a go-between; an intermediary, He was a window to God for us. In a world such as ours, full of violence and injustice, Jesus lived so that we could see the very heart of God. This chosen way of life in such a ruined, sinful world led to His death. Worldly leaders and powers could just not cope with Him, they could not allow anyone to threaten their way of life, their power and wealth and so they put Him to death, tried to get rid of Him. But and it is a big but, in killing Jesus, an honest, genuine, sinless, pure and Holy person they uncovered themselves showing the corrupt, unjust, sinful, godless and fraudulent powers that they were. We are challenged to live the way of Christ every day. We are called to live as Jesus did, someone who was crucified, who exposed the dishonest, unjust powers and lived for justice and fairness. Through history, I am sorry to say, the cross has been used at times to keep people quiet and to force people to submit to violence and injustice rather than to expose these things. I am aware, even now, of shocking stories of women being told to live with violent partners and suffer like Jesus did. Of people being forced to work as slaves to learn to suffer and serve as Jesus did. Using Jesus’ cross in this way is a gross misrepresentation of the cross and of Jesus life. We must all speak out and fight injustice, we must not be complicit with injustice and the domination and punishment of others in the name of religion.
16th April 2021
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened as an example, they were written down for our instruction.
If you have seen the Alan Bennet Talking Heads you will know that these are stories, people’s stories which are told, heard and held. Each time differing truths are found. The same is true of our faith stories, think of some of the expressions we use, “Tell me the old, old story”, this “bears repeating”, repetition makes things sink in. Using our stories and knowledge we must learn lessons and rethink our future, make it better, we have an opportunity, now. We are still blind to inequality, we have become tolerant of it and also unrighteousness, injustice, selfishness, poverty, vulnerability. We have a responsibility to our planet, to each other which has been ignored and forgotten. Our society flourishes in selfish ambition, but at what cost. Opinion is divided. We cannot follow Jesus if we evade difficulties, exclude others and their needs, be selfish and put money and power before God. Our priority must be Jesus and the love of all. Our loyalties can be misguided but we must be loyal to Jesus, we do because of Christ, the kingdom and the gospel. We are walking sacraments of faith, love and hope and we offer to others a blessing, the possibility of change. As we live as followers of Jesus mission happens in simple daily life, in the giving, loving, caring gestures. Any journey begins with a single step, each victory builds on the one before, giving that cup of cold water to a stranger is simple and life giving. We have the opportunity to change, now is a time for recreation, to find a new way but we use the lessons of the past, use the old stories to educate us as we move forward.
15th April 2021
Isaiah 40:12 Our God who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance.
As a family we are quite involved in photography. We have a number of decent cameras and lenses and are always on the look out for second hand equipment which fits with our set up. As a youngster I loved developing film with my father and then printing the photos. Mum was not enamoured by our use of the bathroom, fully blacked out, but the end result was always worth it. There is something just magical about watching a blank piece of photograph paper begin to be taken over by tone, colour and shade until a picture takes shape right there in front of you. A moment captured in time. Scientifically this is just a mixture of chemicals allowing light exposure to shade special paper, but that does not cover the pure joy of there being nothing one minute and a detailed picture the next. Moments in time that we can capture in some way offer us encouragement, blessing and remind us of God’s work in our lives and the lives of others. The Bible is full of word photographs or word pictures, which capture God’s work and blessing. These serve as an encouragement to us, they show us what God has done, what God has promised and allow us to tap into those for ourselves. I have many wonderful pictures of scenery, nature, weather and people that bless my heart, that remind me of the wonder of God’s world and serve as a moment in time where God is present and working. We may have no photos of Jesus or the world as it was then but we do have the Bible and the Holy Spirit to show us those word pictures captured by others for our encouragement and benefit.
14th April 2021
1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one look down on you, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
I have recently been watching a version of Anne of Green Gables, a series of stories I read as a teenager and which I loved. A young orphan girl who ends up being adopted by a brother and sister who actually wanted a boy to help work their farm. She is creative, imaginative, a day dreamer, speaks her mind, has a temper but is also incredibly loyal and practical in her knowledge of what to do in a crisis. For me growing up she was a strong female character, there weren’t that many, it offered me the possibilities of someone from a very difficult background, mine wasn’t, but if she could do so much and flourish then surely so could I. We need role models in our lives, people we look up to, who show us what is possible and how we can do better in our lives. We are also role models to others, as Jesus is the light of the world, so we also become lights to the world as we become more like Him. As Christians Jesus is our chief role model, it is His life we look to for guidance and strength. We see how He treats others and we do the same, we see how He loves the stranger and we do the same, we see how He stands up for the poor and sick and we do the same, we see how He lives in peace, love, joy and patience and we do the same. I say we do the same, perhaps saying we try to do the same is more accurate, but He offers us this model of a life properly and well lived and as long as we try to do the same, we won’t go too far wrong.
13th April 2021
Romans 5:10 While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
I decided to make some fresh custard yesterday, as I have not made it in such a long time, I decided to check proportions on the internet, well, I was very surprised at how complicated making custard had become. I was almost put off by the complications but decided to persevere and made it the simple way I had been taught. I sometimes think Christianity has become too complicated, we have added so many more hoops for people to jump through and as such it has become unattractive to people. Of course, we should understand what we believe and learn more about our faith but so much is now piled upon us, much of which is opinion but presented to us as fact. We have added in extra ingredients, limits and steps which just complicate a simple fact. Christianity is a belief in Jesus as the Son of God who came, died, defeated death and rose again so our relationship with God could be restored. We model our lives on His life and His teaching and we try to live as decent, honest people who stand for love, justice and fairness in our world. Yes, it is good to read up, to read our Bibles, to pray and to seek to understand more about our faith but we must not lose sight of the basics of being a Christian by adding on so many complications that the basic message is lost and faith becomes too complicated to be attractive and engaging.
12th April 2021
Romans 2:11 For God does not show favouritism.
God loves everyone, we do not deserve to be loved and forgiven and yet He offers it freely to all. We, as humans, like to decide that certain types of people actually deserve less than we do and yet God is quite clear that He offers His forgiveness and love to everyone equally. This does not mean we are let off the hook, on the contrary, evil is punished and there will always be consequences for our actions and words that we will live with. In times of war, in times of national crisis, people believe that God is on their side alone, yet this verse in Romans makes it clear that God has no favourites, He does not show favouritism to one over another, but is on the side of truth and justice. We live in a hierarchical world with our rulers and leaders, our politicians and the wealthy who take it upon themselves to decide on our futures based upon their own desires and own greed. All war is born out of selfishness and the desire to have what someone else has because one side believes it is entitled to more, to take what is someone else’s, and both sadly and wrongly, this is often done in God’s name. Yet God clearly tells us we are to protect the innocent, punish the evil. We are to always look for the best for everyone not just those in power and those with money. Yet as we have seen throughout history and as we are seeing in the pandemic those who benefit from the actions taken are those at the top, those with power and wealth, those who chose to make decisions not for the good of all but for the good of themselves first and foremost. The Bible has been used all to often to justify war, attack, ill treatment, power and wealth and yet a God of love, a God who loves all equally will not sanction the pain of the many to protect the few. Those who lead us, those who make these decisions will and are held to a higher standard, something they would do well to remember, but before God they are no more important or special than we are. God has no favourites; He loves us all equally and wants the best for all of us.
11th April 2021
Ephesians 1:17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Him.
I was told as a youngster to see with the eyes of my heart, I did not understand this for a long time until I read and studied the piece in Ephesians. This is about the creativity God has given us, the ability to be enlightened and receive revelation about things. There is certainly an artistic element to this as pictures, poems, paintings people create often show things we don’t normally see, they look beyond, look deeper, they see with the eyes of the heart. We have had times of enlightenment throughout history but the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were a real eye-opening time of reason, intellect and enlightenment. These movements gave people the opportunity to see things for themselves, to ask questions, to challenge those who had used the status Quo, often the monarchy and the church, to hold them down. These movements offered a more tolerant, libertarian progress which gave us the right to talk to God ourselves and to examine His will for us as individuals. This encouraged a lifestyle of individuality but with a moral sense of duty toward each other, all humans are brother’s and sisters and are children of the same Heavenly father. All this happened and yet we are still held back by gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and by those with power and wealth who believe they have the right to dictate to others how they should live. God desires all of us to look and see with the eyes of our heart, to see the best in everyone, to acknowledge the individuality and equality of everyone and to encourage everyone to flourish just as God has always intended.
10th April 2021
1 Thessalonians 1:3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We talk of hope, what we hope for in our future’s and perhaps even now. Without hope all is lost. Right now, we may hope for an end to covid or at least a way of combatting it effectively, we may hope for a good life, a new job, a family, to be happy, just another day please, to be well, to just put food on our table for our children. Hope for each of us is different but what is common is the desire for things to be better. Hope is a feeling of trust, an expectation, an optimistic state of mind that looks for the positive outcomes in life. It is hope that gives us resilience, the ability to keep going in the difficult times because we hope things will become better. Biblical hope is a confident expectation of what God has promised and His faithfulness in carrying out those promises. We see the keeping of His promises in the Bible stories, in Jesus, in our history and therefore we are secure in the belief that they will be kept now and in our future. We can envision a better future for ourselves and others and this motivates us to keep moving forward, to not give up and therefore to make life better and more hopeful. The hope of a better future allows us to live current life with vigour and strength. What we place our hope in matters, because hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness, it is one of life’s greatest yet simple things expressed in one word and if we have hope in God then we have everything we need. Hope builds resilience, hope enables us to dream, hope offers us a better future and it offers us the strength to fight for what we believe in, for a better world for everyone as God intended.
9th April 2021
Jeremiah 7:32b For they will bury them until there is no more room to bury.
Dealing with the dead is part of my job as a priest and it comes into everyone’s life at times. This past year has brought this very much into focus. We tolerate and even expect deaths from old age, certain diseases etc and we know there will be tragic deaths because of accidents or carelessness but this passed year has seen people lose people again and again and not be able to bury them or cremate them or even grieve for them properly. Our NHS staff have worked so hard to try and help people survive and recover but it has been a steep learning curve and a constant fight against a what was an unknown disease until about 16 months ago. Our places to bury our dead have become less and less, grave yards are pretty much full and places to put ashes are running out and are incredibly expensive. There are new private burial grounds being built but it takes years to establish and people generally don’t want burial grounds near their homes. The need to deal with our dead respectfully and properly is part of the grieving process. We all need to grieve the loss of loved ones, especially when to something unexpected. The processes of burial have been part of life through the millennia, with ancient burial sites being honoured and sacred. How we treat our dead is a mark of our society, how caring and respectful it is. This past year has thrown a question on how we grieve and how we honour our dead. We need to be thinking in terms of how we can treat our dead as God intended, with love, respect and honour; and how we respectfully and properly grieve our loved ones.
8th April 2021
Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
For my parents Diamond wedding a few years ago, I wanted to get something significant, an actual diamond was out of the question but I found an engraving shop that specialised in gifts, one of which was a very large multifaceted piece of glass that resembled a big diamond. I had it engraved and my parents loved it as a memento of this very special occasion. It sits in a glass bowl on Mum’s window sill and depending on the time of day each of its facets or faces, reflect the sun across the room. Depending on the face, the view and placement of the sun’s rays will alter and change. These multiple faces are what give value to an actual diamond. We too have multiple facets or faces. A long-standing insult we may use is to call someone two faced but actually we are all multifaced. The expression of our ideas and views can depend on who we are with, where we are and even the time of day. We all have many multiple views and perspectives on life and what happens around us. We can hold perspectives that we offer as explanations and justifications for words and actions, and we can, at times, seem to hold opposing views and ideas depending on what we are dealing with. We are complex and multifaceted. Our views and opinions can change or can be entrenched, but very rarely do we have a clear-cut view that we do not waver from. Like the diamond we have many faces, many sides to us and depending on how the sun hits us, time of day, direction etc, our projecting of that ray could be anywhere and on anything. God created us and gave us a freedom to hold views and opinions as well as the tools to express them. We just need to realise that our views and opinions are affected by the world around us and can be two, three, four or even more faced as we express them.
7th April 2021
Joel 2:28 I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Sometimes we find ourselves in that place that lies between sleep and awake. As we dose off at night or as we begin to wake in the morning, there is this place where all seems wonderful and clear, where the issues and problems of our minds can’t quite take hold and everything seems to be okay. I quite like this point, when any weight is lifted and life feels good. I understand that this was often the point that mystics and desert fathers and mothers looked for, a point where the things of earth grown dim and the spiritual things can be released. For them and for us it is point where the ways of the world stop becoming the lenses by which we see and understand, instead we are open to the spiritual, the working of the Holy Spirit and to the ways of heaven and the eyes and ears of God. At this time is when thoughts and messages can permeate our conscious, when God can speak and be heard, when ideas and words about our Lord can be formulated. This is the place that Joel is speaking about, where prophecies, visions and dreams can be seen and interpreted for our lives. The work of the Holy Spirit is to guide our hearts and minds but so often we have too many earthly barriers in the way and so it is only at these quiet, uninterrupted moments that God can speak and be heard, that God can be seen clearly and without obstruction. As Paul says “now, we see throw a glass darkly, then we shall see Him face to face.”
6th April 2021
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing right, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I have been getting my little Mazda Convertible car out for use in the summer. It means a good clean and recharging the battery, checking and reflating the tyres and driving it around to get it going properly. As I went to drive it around, I became conscious of a noise, from the wheels as it was happening every couple of seconds as the wheel went round. My son jacked it up and checked the wheels, the problem is corrosion due to lack of use. Because I have not driven it for 4 months the discs have corroded a little as they do over time, which causes them to swell slightly. As the wheel goes round it squeals against the disc and hits the worst places. This just needs some use and a little treatment and all will be well. This is exactly what happens in our lives. We put things to one side for a while, we stop reading the Bible or praying, we stop going to church, we stop going to Bible study and then after a while we discover that things are not as they were before. The have become corroded and do not work as well as they did before. Yes, we can get back into the habit and get things going again but we must treat the situation, start doing them again and get things flowing again. As Christians we need the continuity of study, Bible reading, prayer and church life to keep us encouraged and growing in our faith. It is far too easy to give things a miss, to not bother for a while and then it becomes a habit not to do or go anymore. Things grow rusty without use so let’s keep using them and not grow rusty but rather grow in faith.
5th April 2021
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
One of the most famous hymns we sing is “Amazing grace.” That line that says, “that saved a wretch like me” was written by John Newton in 1779 because by his own admission, he was a “wretch.” He was a slave trader, who was rebellious, a blasphemer who spoke against God, an immoral man who was responsible for the torture of others, and as all these things showed he was as far from the grace of God as anyone could be. As a child, John was fascinated by the adventurous and risky life of boats and seas. As an eleven-year-old, John Newton threw himself into that exciting life of sailing, and living his dream. This boyhood dream turned out to be a nightmare. Later in his life John wrote, “I sinned with a high hand, and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others.” Newton had lived a hard life with stiff penalties but eventually God got his message though. In 1748 Newton’s slave ship was nearly wrecked by a powerful storm. In the wildness of the storm, surrounded by high crashing waves, cutting winds, creaking timbers, and the fearful cries of the bound slaves onboard, John Newton fell to his knees and cried out for mercy, and for grace. God’s grace, which is open to anyone, anywhere, saved a wretch like John Newton in that moment. Newton wrote his hymn years later when he was serving as a minister and then as revival swept through the country, the words were paired with their now well-known tune and was used widely at rally’s, camp meetings and revival services. Today this hymn is still inspiring, encouraging, and reminds us about the amazing reality of God’s wonderful grace for each of us no matter our background. God is always looking for us, waiting for us all we need to do is respond.
4th April 2021. Easter Sunday.
Song of Solomon 8:7 Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.
What is this day if not the whole point of our faith! Easter Sunday is the ultimate in marking our faith, our point, our relevance and our existence. We are here, now, because in the first place God created us and then out of His great love, He brought us back to Himself when we turned away from Him. The joy of this day was bought with pain, suffering, anguish, injustice and pure love. Love that conquers death, love that fights for every person’s redemption, love that offers self in sacrifice for those who hate and despise Him. We cannot comprehend God’s love for us, we may get the slightest of glimpses from being a parent or caring for a loved one, but it is only small and even then, it is overwhelming. The concept of love within our world cannot show us the truth behind God’s love for us. We band around this word as if it will fix everything and explain everything but it does not. Our version of love is shallow and all too often relies on feelings. God’s love is unfailing, not reliant on feelings, does not provoke revenge when scorned, its depth is unfathomable and it is everlasting. God’s love for us is unbreakable. Today we see the result of such love, the defeat of death, the return of the relationship between creator and created, the price paid for love in sacrifice.
3rd April 2021
Matthew 23:2 The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers have put themselves in Moses’ place as teachers.
When someone’s life is coming to an end there tends to be an urgency to their words. They want to pass on the important things to loved ones, and we have many famous last words written in our history books. Their words matter to them and to us. As Jesus is nearing His crucifixion He is speaking to His disciples and those around Him with a sense of urgency. This is what matters folks; this is what counts; it is not just about what you say but what you do about it. Jesus warns constantly about hypocrisy, He tells us we are not to be people who say one thing and do another. We are to work for the good of all, and do so without wanting others to know and say how wonderful we are. Sadly, there are those, even among our religious leaders, who want everyone to know the good they say they do and are often a lot of hot air rather than people of action. May we be people of quiet action and not people of hot air. We do this by keeping a short account with God, by confessing our sins regularly and asking God to help us to not keep making the same sinful mistakes. We need to think about things we can take action about and speak up about but also things we can monitor and change in ourselves to make things better for ourselves and others.
2nd April 2021
Luke 2:48 Son, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’
We don’t tend to think much about Joseph yet his role as earthly father to Jesus was a courageous one. He listened to God at great personal risk, taking Mary as his wife, he loved God more than himself. We actually see very little of Joseph in the Bible, an engagement, a pregnancy and birth and then a lost child. Sounds like normal life to most of us so his immense courage and quiet strength are easily overlooked. Joseph protected his wife and son putting them first always. When they found 12 year old Jesus in the temple, I wonder if the words of Jesus stung, “did you not know I must be in my Father’s house”, Jesus says. And yet as Jesus grows in wisdom and stature it is His earthly parents who provide the guidance and the love. St Joseph is probably one of the least appreciated Bible Characters and yet He is totally devoted to his calling, the calling God gave him to be Jesus earthly father. We often think we are underappreciated, and we have a choice in how we react, we can lash out and get angry or we can listen to God’s call, reflect, and do as God has asked; in His strength. Each day endeavouring to do what has to be done, to protect and love, to care and help as we have been called to do. Joseph must have prayed daily for strength and must have had incredible perseverance and trust in God. Ask God to help you pray, trust and persevere each day. God never let Joseph down, He will never let you down either.
1st April 2021
Acts 10:28 Peter made him get up, “I am only a man myself,” he said.
In current society the reverence and respect we used to have for doctors, nurses, teachers, police etc has been lost and if anything replaced by a reverence for celebrity. We think more of those who earn high sums for kicking a ball about, singing, blogging and acting than we do people who serve and protect us. To be quite honest no one should be held in such esteem that we bow and scrape in their presence. We can respect a person’s office and behave respectfully, but the person themselves is no different to us. As my Nan used to say the Queen uses the bathroom just like we do! Having privilege or money, coming from a certain family or race makes no one any more superior than another. The problem has become that many of those who have these privileged positions believe it is their right and many of us seem to agree with them and not hold them to account. In Acts the visitor to Peter falls before him and Peter tells him to get up because he is a man too, no more special and certainly not needing to be worshipped or reverenced. When God created all of us He made all of us a little lower than the Angels, He made all of us equal, He blessed all of us and we have no right to expect anyone to treat us differently because of who we think we are. All humans are to be respected and treated well, all human life is to be respected and valued. Every one of us is important in the eyes of God and no one can take that from us.
31st March 2021
Isaiah 50:7 The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced, therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
I remember as a child doing something wrong, we all do, but on this occasion my father thought it was so bad that I felt ashamed and disgraced. I was banished to my bedroom and for several weeks I was not allowed out apart from for school. It had a big impact on me and made me much more introverted. The feeling of disgrace, of deep shame is life changing. It alters our perception of ourselves, it makes us aware of how others may now look upon us even though they do not actually know the situation. Suddenly we feel like everyone knows we have done wrong and everyone is looking down upon us in our embarrassment. In Isaiah we are reminded that God helps us, God’s love and forgiveness means we are not disgraced, we are not ashamed, everyone out there does not know our deepest, darkest secrets and God is on our side. Yes, we must recognise when we do wrong, we must confess it and we must be sorry and willing to change, but we should not be made to feel so awful that it affects our personality and makes us heavily burdened and terribly sad. Being shamed has been used in the past to force people into codes of behaviour set for them by rich and powerful lawmakers. Shame has been wrongly used in the church to force people into a set way of life that has had little to do with God and His love. Yes, when we do wrong, we need to recognise and be sorry, but we do not have to be ashamed or disgraced because God helps us, God is on our side and God loves us.
30th March 2021
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Have you ever visited a religious community? I have stayed in a couple and visited others for a day. These communities have folk living in them who have given up normal ways of life to live a simple religious life. Life revolves around worship and prayer at set times in the day and then practical jobs are done within the community to care for each other. Some folks have been in these communities for fifty or more years, coming in their youth and they come for their whole life. Many of these communities now have very few members and most are elderly. They have seen less and less people come to this calling because as one put it to me if you have money and a good home why would you chose God. The demands of this community life mean giving up daily life as we know it. Giving up possessions, family, electronic devices, money, status, holidays, meals out…….. it means giving up the life that so many of us fight to get and don’t want to give up. God calls us all differently, but His voice is now so drowned out by the noise of the world, His calling is pushed aside by life’s business. The call of God on lives is actually what so many are looking for, the God shaped hole in our lives that no other piece can fill, longs and thirsts for God. We search and search, trying to fill it with good deeds, celebrity status, money, power, alcohol and so on, yet nothing can fill it, only God can take away the restless spirit when we find Him. This past year of pandemic has made many seek a deeper meaning to life and our God is right there waiting for them all. As St Augustine said “Lord, <em>our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.”</em> May we open our own restless hearts to Him and encourage others around us to do the same.
29th March 2021
Philippians 4:9 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
As humans we seem to have a negativity bias, the negative feelings outweigh the positive on the seesaw of life. If you receive several messages of which all but one is positive, it is the one negative one that will play on your mind and push into your thoughts. We seem to have become hardwired to concentrate on negativity and the evidence shows we have been doing this for thousands of years. As with everything in life we can chose to accept it or we can try, in God’s strength, to change it. Can we begin to tip the seesaw back into a more positive attitude and view? Yes, in God’s strength we can train our brain to be more positive. Firstly, as we become aware of the negativity, we can actually remind ourselves not to dwell on the negative but to think about the positive and ask God to help with that. Don’t let the good things from God come in and then go straight out, instead hold onto them, keep them in your thoughts for longer, it will make a difference. At the end of a day look at the good things, reflect on the positives of the day and thank God for them. Give yourself time to reflect, remember and even note down the good things of the day, swap out the negative for the positive; think about all those things worthy of praise, all those good, right and noble things, all those lovely, admirable and pure things and in doing so the peace of God can come upon you and bless you and together hearts and minds can be changed.
28th March 2021
John 16: 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
The story of Easter happens very quickly over a week. It begins with Palm Sunday where Jesus was greeted as a hero, the Son of David their greatest King. But Quickly the mood turns. It is a rollercoaster of emotion from high to low and back to even higher with the Resurrection. It has food, friendship, betrayal, arrest, denial, anger, anguish, exhaustion and death. We cannot jump straight to Easter Sunday, we might want to get to the chocolate as quickly as possible, but to get to the resurrection, to the rejoicing, we first have to go through the despair, the hurt and pain of Holy Week. Walk with Jesus through the painful to reach the joy of the resurrection and the defeat of death. Our engagement with this story will come from our upbringing, our culture and our faith. We will see it as a holiday, a festival, a religious observance or an excuse for Chocolate. It matters because it has shaped two thousand years of history, it matters because it restores a broken relationship between Humans and God. It matters because it offers the connection between creation and creator. It matters to faith, religion, culture and belief of the individual as well as the corporate. Jesus’ death happens because He challenges the status quo, He stands up for the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the unfairly treated; He makes a stand for the equal and fair way of life that God intended, not the systems of power, wealth and supremacy. Those of us who follow Him today try to do the same, we can also be persecuted and dismissed, ignored and removed when we start to gather support. However you celebrate this Easter I encourage and challenge you to be truthful, honest, and upstanding. To fight for the rights of all, to stand against inequality and injustice and to speak out in favour of equality for all. As Christians we live as a resurrected people, we believe in life after death, in heaven and hell, in God’s fullness of life for everyone. Have a wonderful and blessed Easter.
27th March 2021
1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Have you seen the Tesco Love Stories adverts? The welcome home lamb, the welcome jerk chicken, the make it better Jambalaya and my personal favourite Nana’s magic soup. They bring together the joy of food with the love of family and friends; they pick up on the desire we have to help and share with those we love. To love is to feel and act lovingly towards others, to care for and be concerned about. It is an intense feeling of deep affection. If you love then you do the best for them, you do everything you can to help. Within love lie the feelings of empathy, compassion, devotion and unconditionality. At the centre of our being lie the best interests of the other. In this past year we have seen an exponential rise in the need for foodbanks, mental health organisations, safe houses, community fridges and gardens. Groups are working tirelessly to help the hungry and homeless, to give people basics and to offer hope. These actions come out of a love for our fellow humanity, the desire for the best for the other. Notice how much of this help is linked to food, a basic human need and a way we show love for our fellow humans. The challenge for us is that we have so much while others have so little, so how can we have love if we are not prepared to help? Feeding and helping the other is in itself a love story. A love story shared by God, through us to one another. God’s love and provision for us should flow through us and be shared with everyone, as we receive, so we give, as we are loved so we love. Perhaps in your giving to a foodbank or community fridge, to help others find sanctuary and safety, you to can have your own love story for your fellow humans.
26th March 2021
1 Samuel 2:3 No more proud talk, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
I always struggle with the press conferences before big Boxing matches, the fighters will speak arrogantly and try to shout each other down. They will use unproven and outrageous claims about themselves and their opponent. At the end of the match the winner will be even more arrogant and the loser is forced to eat humble pie because all their big talk has been proven wrong. The statement, God knows, was said by my Nan very regularly. Whatever a situation, God knows, she would calmly say. In this verse we are reminded that God does know, He has the knowledge about every one of us, He knows the arrogance that comes from our mouths, the lies we speak to bring others down or the false claims we make to exaggerate our own accomplishments. But the next part of the verse makes it clear that our actions will be weighed by God. He will look at our arrogance and foolish words and find us wanting. Before Him we will look foolish and quite pathetic. Before God we can never stand in our own strength because we are just not good enough. The only reason we can stand before our all-knowing God, upright and loved, is because Jesus has taken that arrogance and selfishness to the cross; now, when we are weighed in the eyes of God, we are seen as Jesus makes us, perfect and complete.
25th March 2021
John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
In our youth group, when I was a teenager, we would often play the game truth or dare. Either you chose to tell the truth to whatever question you were asked or you did a dare. Friends could be very cruel with their questions and their dares. I hated it because I always felt I was picked on, but actually everyone was picked on. What was interesting was that doing the dare was most popular, it seemed easier to do some awkward or embarrassing activity than to have to tell the truth about something. Truth can be scary, often more scary than physical challenges. The truth cuts us to the bone, it exposes our vulnerabilities and leaves us open to others reactions and judgements. Jesus speaks of a truth that will set us free, that sounds wonderful doesn’t it, but just like the game, we often find it easier to do something instead of telling the truth about things. It is easier, we think, to do something, it is less complicated, we think it costs us less than speaking the truth. Spiritual freedom, like all freedom, comes at a price, we don’t get to hide the truth, we don’t get to ignore the truth about ourselves and what we have done, no matter how painful it is. The good news is that we have forgiveness and redemption freely offered to us if we are prepared to face up to the truth and to change our lives for the better. This is the truth that will set us free, the truth of the Gospel, the truth of salvation and the truth of God’s love for the world.
24th March 2021
Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to God’s teaching; avoid them.
I was chatting away to my Mum recently and we were remembering was I was quite young and my dad brought home a computer. It was a tape load and it would take anything from 30 to 60 minutes to load and quite often at around 30 to 40 minutes it would say error, please reload. All this for a game which pinged a ball from one side of the screen to another and you moved the bats up the side to stop it getting away. In comparison to what we have now it was pretty awful. Time and time again this error message would come up and all the time you had waited was wasted. I think this has something to do with my life distrust of computers. I do feel life is like this sometimes, we read the Bible, we get told about various theologies and recommended to read articles from church leaders and their books and we get to a point where the brain says error please reload. If we do not have an in-depth knowledge of something in the Bible, we can be twirled into believing something by big words and big personalities who we think must know it all. We get blinded by the science so to speak. I am a very down to earth person and I tend to use several simple words where others will use big technical words. I don’t like being bullied into my beliefs and I don’t think any of us should. Our brains have a capacity, a point at which we cannot understand any more. The danger for the ordinary person of faith is that those with greater knowledge and capacity can make us feel inadequate, with brain overload. God never intended that. God loves, God cares, God saves and for us it is simply about believing, no need for error, please reload.
23rd March 2021
Exodus 38:8 They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it.
There are times in the Old testament when God’s patience is wearing thin. This is one of them. Moses is able to speak into God’s heart, he speaks a clear argument about God and what He has done so far and what He wants to do for us all. Jesus also has to speak clearly about people following in the unhealthy footsteps of their forebears in their disbelief and unfaithfulness. We can know what the Bible says, we can even quote scripture, we can talk about truth, our version, but unless we look to God for life we cannot move forward. What is it that prompts us to look elsewhere when life gets hard and our prayers aren’t answered how we want; usually fear, frustration and despair turn our heads from God. Henri Nouwen speaks of our wandering around, hoping to find what we desire instead of looking within ourselves to where God is. Our Golden Calves are things like knowledge, success, pleasure, dreams, wealth. We never quite find our home in God. Have you had a time when faith has been difficult? When you have begun to question your faith in God? This can happen after loss in our lives, or when we are persecuted or falsely accused. Think about those times and contemplate why it was you pushed God away. We often talk of learning lessons for the future, but so often history repeats itself and we go round again, never learning and moving on.
22nd March 2021
Jeremiah 19:3b I am going to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
Have you ever felt your ears tingle? There is an old saying that people ears burn when someone is talking about them. My ears often itch in the winter when I get a cold. Our ears even go red when we get embarrassed and flush spreads across our face, but I don’t know if I have ever felt them tingle. In Jeremiah the tingle of the ears is about the impending disaster that is coming because the folk will just no listen or learn. We are so good at not listening to others, to teaching and to God. We all believe that we know best, that we do not need to listen or heed the warnings. The tingling here I believe is God actually working in people’s lives to make then listen and hear Him. Making their ears tingle means they will pay more attention to them and in the moment maybe listen to what is being said. God is constantly speaking to us but are we listening? This verse can also be translated as ears that will ring or reverberate, that happens when loud and destructive events happen around us. Our ears ring because we are affected by the events around us. Once again God is showing His people, us, that we will be affected by all around us and we need to pay attention and play our part in showing His love and care to everyone. We are called to hear, to listen and then to pass onto others the actuality of God and His truth.
21st March 2021
Galatians 5:22,23a But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We all know fruit is good for us, the 5 a day programme has been part of our lives for years. What about your 9 a day? Nine fruits given by the Spirit that if we incorporate into our lives will change them forever. These nine fruits, things we grow and develop in our lives, are all intertwined. Doing one means it is easier to do the others. If we love then we will be patient with them, faithful to them, be kind and good toward them. If we are at peace, we will have good self-control, be gentle and appreciate the joys of life. If we are joyful then we will be kind to others, faithful in our behaviour and care of others with an attitude of peace and patience. So it goes on. In naming these fruits Paul is summing up real quality of life, what God intended for us in the beginning. Sadly, our selfish nature often boycotts these fruits in favour of selfishness, irritability, conflict, hatred, domination and aggression. We have come to believe that power over another is how we get the best for us. Many of us try to live with these attributes, lives of peace and patience, goodness and joy but society promotes a different narrative, ridicule the peacemaker, bully the good Samaritan, walk over the gentle and kind, bring down the joyful. We need to change that narrative, those attitudes, we have a part to play. We need to apply our 9 a day, to think about our behaviour, how we treat others and be an example of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. We are being offered a fruit basket full of good things to keep us healthy and well, our choice is whether we take that gift and use it or just leave it to rot away, never touched. Let me encourage you to take your 9 a day and live a better life.
20th March 2021
1 Timothy 4:12b Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in life and in purity.
Do you ever think about the rhythms and patterns of your life? When you sleep and eat, go to work, watch TV, play or do sports and hobbies. We need routine in our lives otherwise things are chaotic and we would never be where we were supposed to be. This past year has put many of our rhythms and routines out of place, looking forward to a holiday that was cancelled, visits to parents and family stopped overnight, physically going to work or events. We have learnt new rhythms of meeting via zoom, working from home, wearing masks and keeping our distance. As part of a healthy, God given life we must have balance. Knowing when to rest, to play as well as to work. St Paul letter to Timothy reminds us of the importance of this balance and this was written nearly 2000 years ago. Paul emphasises the need to live sensibly, to have a work life balance. He encourages time for work but also time for rest, recreation and fun. Time to be encouraged and to be encouraging. Time to use the God given gifts in all of your life. The pressures to work harder for longer are now a huge part of our society, yet if we have a good balance then we will have clear priorities, we will know when to say no, we will rest and recuperate well, we will value our down time, our hobbies, family and friends, our sport and recreation. Notice the word recreation, also re-creation, it means being reenergised, reinvigorated, created anew with all the joy and happiness that brings. Look at your life and make sure you have time for the things you enjoy as well as work. Appreciate the need for rhythm and balance, take time for yourself, for family, for friends, for fun and recreation and please do take time to rest.
19th March 2021
Luke 4:24 ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.
Can you imagine the scene, the local boy, the son of a carpenter, having the audacity to talk with authority about things, which in their opinion, he can’t possibly know or understand? Only certain special people, appointed by the chief priests, would get a revelation from God, certainly not a lowly carpenter’s son. How often do we, perhaps unconsciously, think we are better than others, that our opinion and understanding are worth more than someone else’s. We can be so wrapped up in our self-importance, our long held and established views and ideas that we do not want to be challenged, to grow or develop. We don’t want things to be different. Yet it is only by being open to learning, to hearing from others that we grow and develop as Christians. None of us will ever learn it all but we should never stop learning and growing and God will send us lessons from all sorts of places and people, often that we least expect. We need to be open and recognise that we always have things to learn and never think too highly of ourselves, our knowledge, experience or ability.
18th March 2021
Psalm 130:6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning.
This past Saturday, a vigil was called, others saw it as a protest, what is the difference? There is a place for activism and protest within all faith traditions, but a vigil has a spiritual background that can be lost. In its religious context, a vigil is about marking the eve of a major feast day or festival. It can be marked in prayer, liturgy or silence, and is specifically a time of staying awake and keeping watch in the dark of night. It is a practice as old as the Bible books themselves. In two and half weeks’ time churches will celebrate Easter. Many would usually keep a Vigil marking the night before the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. It is a hard, difficult service tracing the Old Testament cycle of creation, destruction and then restoration through Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus kept a vigil and wrestled with his looming death. His disciples also struggled, Simon Peter yielded to active protest with his sword and cut off the soldier’s ear. Actually, we may well have some sympathy for his position, he was, after all, making a stand for Jesus. The rest of them simply give in to exhaustion and fall asleep rather than keeping watch as Jesus had asked them to. In protesting we can make a stand, a challenge, which can be vocal and sometimes physical. We become weary of the world and societies injustice and inaction. Both are valid, both are acceptable and both happen because we recognise that something wrong is happening and we need to question and challenge in a way that is seen and heard. Last Saturday people gathered for many reasons; to lay flowers, to pay respects, to pray in the darkness of the night, others gathered to place a spotlight on the safety and value of women in public places. Both vigil and protest have their place and both need to happen to mark personal and corporate feelings in the public conscience.
17th March 2021
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Today is St Patrick’s day, the patron Saint of Ireland. Patrick was taken by pirates as a slave to Ireland. He was able to get away but instead of keeping away he risked going back to share the love of God with the people. He had cause to be angry, to be frightened, he was surely justified in not going back, but he puts God’s call on his life first. As a missionary, even in his maltreatment by others, he did not want to deny them the prospect of hearing and witnessing the gospel. Because of his faith and humility Patrick could see beyond division, anger and bitterness to what brings humanity together. Patrick is a clear example of what it means to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Patrick shows us how we can share the gospel in the face of our harshest critics, how we offer the love of God even to those who hurt us, reject us and treat us with contempt. Patrick did many signs and wonders in Ireland and brought many folks to faith. He did not know all that he did for God and neither will we. As long as we show others God’s love and share the gospel with them, He will do the rest. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.
16th March 2021
John 10:10b I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus offers his disciples life ‘to the full’ or life in all its fullness. As His followers we are also offered this life, so what might that mean for us? Firstly, we must ask ourselves the question how alive are we? If it is possible to have life to the full, as Jesus tells us here, then it must also be possible to have a life that isn’t full. Perhaps if we look honestly at our life, we might see it is closer to empty than it is to full. Even if that is not the situation right now, we all have times in our lives when this is the case. We can’t all live at the top of our game all of the time. So, what can we do to try and make our lives full for as much of the time as we can? The key is our relationship with God. The heart of the world’s problem is its broken relationship with God, broken right back in Genesis. Once God was no longer the centre of everything, creation and humans lost their perfection, their abundance, their joy. If God is not at our centre then we lose our perfection, our abundance and joy. Jesus came to restore that relationship which is why He says He has come to give us life in all its fullness. Jesus offers us the opportunity to return to life as God intended, to restore the relationship and thus restore the joy, the abundance and the perfection we have in God’s sight through Jesus.
15th March 2021
1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
What is your favourite hymn? Behind many of our favourite hymns there are stories as to why they were written. The hymn What a friend we have in Jesus has an amazing story behind it. The writer, Joseph Scriven was an Irish teacher who was about to be married, but the day before his wedding, his fiancé drowned. Joseph was grief stricken so he moved to Canada to start again. He found love again but this time just a few weeks before their wedding she became ill and died. Joseph was still only 25 years of age. Once again grief-stricken Joseph channelled himself into working with the poor and disabled. He lived a very poor and frugal life for the next 10 years and cared for others. As if he had not suffered enough when his mother fell ill in Ireland, he did not have the money to get home. In the midst of all his heart ache Joseph wrote the poem which became the hymn we love. The central message of the hymn is that we should take everything to God in prayer. If a man who lost so much, gave everything to serving others and still had a difficult life can write such words, can still believe, can still keep on praying and believing, then so can we. We can give over everything to God, to the one who holds our future, to the one who is with us in every part of life whether bad or good. We can have peace and security if only we give it all to God in prayer.
14th March 2021
Acts 13:3 After they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
As Christians we are regularly told not to give up, we quote Bible verses about being given strength, holding on, not giving up. Well, I am going to say that sometimes giving up is the right thing to do. Currently we are in Lent, Lent is about giving up, giving up things which may hold us back, giving up things which have dragged us down or spoiled our relationship with God. Originally Christians would give up foods and drinks, spending Lent just eating basic simple food and drinking water. Some days would be complete fasting days when no water of food was consumed. In more recent times we have chosen to give up treats like chocolate, cake and biscuits. We give up things so we can focus more on God and our spirituality. We offer the time we would be preparing and eating to God in prayer. This allows us to seek God more deeply and listen to His voice instead of having our lives overcome with worldly needs and desires. In a world where we all have so much and we are used to getting the food we want, when we want, we have lost sight of the value of basic things. We have so much and so the value of what we have becomes less. Lent is a time for reflection, a time to let things go and give our attention to God. As such, at this time of year it is okay to give up, it is okay to give up the things that distract us from God. We might well need help and strength to keep it up, but giving up things for Lent is a valuable and rewarding part of our faith when it is okay to give up.
13th March 2021
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, let them be stewards over the fish, the birds, the livestock and over all the earth.”
I enjoy musicals, the idea of breaking into song about something that moves you or makes you think. As a teenager in school, I was in several musicals, one was Oliver. I have several favourite songs from this musical and one is Who Will buy? It starts with the street sellers singing out their calls and then it builds into the song; Who will buy this wonderful morning, such a sky you never will see, who will tie it up with a ribbon and put it in a box for me. This song sums up the wonder of God’s gift of creation, freely given to us every day, as a gift. We can be so wrapped up in life and ourselves that we forget the wonder of the world, of each new day, the sunrise and sunset, the rain, the sun, the seasons. The next part of the song says; so, I can see it at my leisure whenever things go wrong and keep it as a treasure to last my whole life long. We get to see the world at our leisure every day but we have lost our wonder of it. We should keep it as our treasure, it will last our whole life long and it is our duty to value it, treasure it, keep it safe and treat it with respect and dignity. We were given the role of stewards by God, a steward looks after, cares for, respects and values that which is given to them. Today, many of life’s wonders we have to buy and pay for, but God’s creation is not one of them, sadly we have turned much of it into something others have to pay for and which we are now paying for in the global warming problems and changes. As stewards we need to take much better care of our world, value and appreciate it as a treasure to last our whole life long and beyond.
12th March 2021
Psalm 8:3/4 When I consider the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and stars, What are humans that you are mindful of them.
Are you a star gazer? I love the night sky, the constellations, a bright moon, finding Polaris and the Plough. Light pollution makes this harder these days, but there are always some nights where the sky is bright and things can be seen. Abraham Lincoln once said that he could see why humans could look down on the earth and be an atheist but how could humans look up into the heavens and say there is no God. The expanse, the depth, the complexities of the universe, the galaxy is so big, perhaps too big to comprehend. It is so unfathomable, always some new discovery, idea and happening, that it is a lesson in just how great God is. Before we began to discover these amazing planets and universes, they were still there, people of the past never knew the extent of these things but they understood God created them, they saw themselves as a small part of a greater story. As we have made more and more discoveries, we have become very arrogant, putting ourselves in high position not only as rulers of our world, but also as rulers and controllers of the galaxies. Actually, we are not, and we sometimes need reminding that God did not have to make us special and unique, but He chose to. We need reminding that God does not have to be mindful of us but he chooses to. We will never comprehend the galaxies and universes, we will never comprehend God, but we can see just how wonderful and creative God is in the Heavens and begin to appreciate just how much He loves and cares for us.
11th March 2021
Matthew 6: 4 Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The Olympic motto, citius, altius, fortius (faster, higher, stronger), is a motto describing the Olympic ideal. This ideal is best personified by the decathlete who proved to be faster, jump higher, and have greater strength than other competitors; the all-around athlete who excels in many different competitions. Our Athletes are drive by the desire to be the best in the world, to run faster over various distances, to jump higher, to be stronger than all the rest of those who come. To even get to the Olympics you have to gain certain speeds, heights, times and levels in the year before it takes place. Each country only has a certain number of places in each event to fill. You can be on top form, have a bad day or suffer an injury and that is it for the next four years. There are people who are undoubtedly the best but have never won an Olympic medal because of injury or a bad season. That does not lessen how good they are but it means they may never gain that world-wide recognition because they never earn the Olympic title. This motto could be applied to our daily Christian living, the desire to be faster in our care for others, in our desire to work for good, higher in our attitude, striving to be more like Jesus, stronger in our faith, in prayer and growth. The big difference for us is that injury or a bad season does not stop us becoming part of God’s team. God does not set limits on the amount of people who can join the team. God does not demand perfection just that we try our best. In God’s eyes we are all medallists, we all deserve to be loved and treasured and we are all winners of eternal life through Christ. Yes it is good to strive for the best, to work hard, to look to grow and improve, but, our place on God’s team is not dependent on that, only on our willingness to accept Jesus and to try our best in all we do.
10th March 2021
Ecclesiastes 10:18 Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
I wonder if you have ever had a leak? We are currently trying to find a leak we have been told we have at the vicarage. No joy yet. In church some puddles on the vestry floor by the wall, and a very wet wall growing mould led us to a blocked drain outside which was causing the water to leak back under the floor of the vestry and then onto the floor surface. This water was being absorbed into the wall and thus a damp wall began to breed various moulds. This problem, as with our leak at the vicarage, has taken quite a while to become obvious. The problem has been there a while but kept hidden, the surrounding area has sucked up the water to a point until it becomes saturated, then the outward signs began to show. Water, damp, mould, lifting of the floor. On there own we looked for possible reasons, leaking radiator, cold walls, water in the wall, lots of possible until investigation finally revealed the problem. Once the problem is identified the work to sort it out can begin. We can be very leaky creatures ourselves. Maybe not water, but the Holy Spirit, our goodness, humility, honesty, integrity can all easily leak out of us as things of the world press in on us. This can go on for a while before signs begin to appear, then we look for reasons for one sign until we begin to see the damp and cold, the mould begins to appear in our lives and our reactions and speech. Often by the time we realise we have these leaks quite a lot of damage can be done which means that it will take time and effort to put it right. Fixing a water leak can be very costly, fixing a spirit and goodness leak can also be very costly for us and for those we hurt as we cause them damage by our carelessness and attitude. We do not want negligent hands or lives which never work to repair the problem. Instead we need to keep an eye on ourselves, keep ourselves healthy and robust, check for leaks in our lives, check that we maintain our integrity, honesty and allow the Holy Spirit to keep filling us, working in us and repairing the leaks.
9th March 2021
Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Last Summer Gareth and I managed a couple of days away at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine in London. I found the Thames Path and spent much of my time walking along, first to Canary Wharf and then into London and Tower Bridge. It was wonderful, I had the camera, as I walked the view and the lighting would change and I get some wonderful shots. As I got nearer to Tower Bridge, suddenly the path was blocked off, the gate was closed and I was forced onto the road, for quite a distance each time I went to get back on the path my path was blocked. There were a lot of skips and rubble and it looked as though work was being done in some places although no one was working. For some considerable distance I was unable to use this public footpath because people had put things to block my way. Needless to say, I was not impressed. As I walked it got me to thinking about all the things that get in our way on the path of life. Often, we are happily on the right path, enjoying the view, feeling encouraged and blessed and then we come across a closed gate, or a pile of rubble or scaffolding. Life has a habit of throwing up issues and problems which block our path. Now, we have certain choices, we can try and climb over or get round, we can try an alternative route, we can stand there and shout and complain until nothing happens and we get fed up. Ultimately, we can ask God what to do, I consulted a map so I could find the best way to bypass the problem, we can use our map, the Bible, our relationship with God, to seek the best way. We need to look and listen, use the signs we are given by God, but we keep moving on, finding the right path through God’s strength and guidance. We don’t give up, we don’t turn round, we keep going and let God deal with the blockages.
8th March 2021
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
When we used to have the youth group at the vicarage each Sunday afternoon, we would often play games. One of their favourites was Jenga, building the tower of blocks and then one by one removing a block from below and placing it on top without knocking down the tower. The more pieces removed, the more unstable the tower becomes, the more a steady hand and nerve is needed. We had a couple of lads who were really competitive and also excellent at the game. Quite often by the time they got to towards the end, everyone was gathered round egging them on until one made the fatal mistake and down came the tower to jubilant shouts and applause. This game has always reminded me of this verse from Proverbs. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, this is not a Jenga tower that can fall down when it is unstable, this is a strong immovable tower, one that provides protection and safety. We are encouraged to run into it and be saved, just as in a battle you were go to the central tower which would provide protection and safe observation as well as provisions, so God will do the same for us. As we seek His protection and provision for us there are no weak spots, no bricks pulled out, no danger of our tower being toppled by the enemy. God looks after us, provides all we need but, in this verse, we are told to run into it, in other words we have to respond. It is no good looking at the strong tower from outside and saying how wonderful it is, we need to use it, go inside, accept God’s provision and protection of us. The invite is there, every moment of every day, we just need to accept it.
7th March 2021
Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
As a child if we went to North Wales we would go up around Birmingham and I would look out for the huge Spaghetti Junction that had been built to bring together so many of the new motorways and major roads that seemed to meet up in the middle of the country around Birmingham. I was fascinated by this twisting and turning road, going up and over, down and under and with no satnav you had to know exactly where you needed to get on or off for the next stage of your journey. In the first lockdown someone took a photo of the junction with no traffic on it at all, a very rare, beautiful but lonely sight. When I looked at this twisting and turning, up and down roadway it reminded me very much of life and of the book Pilgrims Progress. Christian’s road in the book is not quite as twisty and turny but it shows how easy it is to end up on the wrong road, to lose sight of where we are going and be distracted. In the wonder of that huge fascinating place, I could look out of the car window and marvel, my father had to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead and follow the map and the right signs. We need to do the same, it is easy to be distracted, to look out the window and marvel, to take the wrong path, but we have our map, our signs and we also have a personal guide in Jesus. We do not have to navigate this world alone, we have our co-pilot, our friend, our saviour and guide right there with us and He is always showing us the way if we look to Him and listen.
6th March 2021
Matthew 6:2 So when you give to charities, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets.
I wonder if you remember two comedy characters in the nineties called 'Smashie and Nicey'. They were seventies style disc jockeys who kept repeating on air, 'I do a lot of work for charity, but I don’t like to talk about it.' The point was that they never stopped talking about it. We can often be very suspicious of celebrities who do a lot of work for charity and want us all to know about it. Is there an ulterior motive for their actions? We care about people’s motives, yes, it is good to know that people are giving but once they begin to shout about it, it becomes self-serving in its motivation and giving should be selfless. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus talks about the right motivation for our giving, not for glory or fame, but, because we care and because it is the right thing to do before God. Notice Jesus doesn’t say 'if' you give to the needy, but 'when' you give to the needy. He believes His disciples and followers will care deeply about those in need because God does and He teaches them that this is the right way to live. Jesus’ instructions for giving are exemplified by the many Christians who give quietly, without fuss or a fanfare. Christians who give of their time and money to help others; people who they have never met and who will never be able to say thank you. We have many forms of giving, through various charities, collecting, running charitable events, offering our time in service or as a volunteer. We do it because we have that God given desire to help and include everyone in God’s love. We give because we have had so much freely given to us. However you chose to give, thank you. God sees what you do and thanks you and blesses you quietly and without fuss and fanfare.
5th March 2021
Exodus 18:20 Teach them God’s decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
We all have filters, or lenses, on how we see the world around us. These can be things like what we already believe, our background, our gender, our colour and then we process thinking does this new idea or piece of information confirm what we already know and believe? Does it fit in the structure we’ve already erected? If the answer is yes then we can accept it. If the answer is no, we will discard it as irrational and implausible, even though we are capable of thinking it through and finding the evidence. We do this because our brains need a level of efficiency, to be able to make quick decisions as information reaches it. The things which fit into our filters and lenses are easy to tick off and accept and they make us feel good because they tally with our current belief system. This all happens incredibly quickly and happens without our conscious awareness. We see things as we see they are, not as they actually are. We see what we want to see, in our preferred way of looking at everything. Challenges and ideas that don’t fit into our filters require thought, maybe challenge our long-held beliefs and ideas, that is both hard work and unsettling. We are already busy enough, our brains have enough to do and so our brain tells us this approach is too much like hard work, let’s move on. We are totally fine and right as we are. This, in turn, makes us feel good about ourself and justifies our filters and lenses. We all tend to follow and work with that which resonates with us, that confirms what we think and does not persuade us to change our minds. God is constantly challenging these filters and lenses, challenging us to see things as they actually are and when that contradicts our thoughts and feelings, He offers us His wisdom, His understanding, but we must be willing to ask for this and take it. Sometimes this won’t be easy but it will be right.
4th March 2021
Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
I am often asked to read this psalm at funerals, the reasons being that it clearly says God will never give up, God will never sleep on the job, God will watch over us every second, God will lead us on the right path, never on the wrong way and our God, the God, is bigger than any other god!' This Psalm helps us lift our eyes towards Jesus as we walk through the hills and mountains of the countryside, and connect with God in nature and solitude. It provides a reminder to us as we look not only at the physical hills and mountains but come face to face with the metaphorical hills and mountains in our life. It encourages us to look a little higher and remember exactly where our help comes from; God our creator. These words move our hearts and redirect our attention back to God, to Jesus, our creator, helper, redeemer, saviour and friend. These words speak confidence and courage to our souls as we contemplate the times we live in, the challenges we face, and the circumstances of this life. This Psalm reminds us quite clearly that nothing is too big for our God. No encounter is too great, no problem is too complex, or situation too alarming, no calamity is too messy, and no worry is too trivial. We can look to the God who moves mountains and we can be supported and upheld by the God who is present with us throughout everything. This psalm reminds us of some basic, profound and wonderful truths about our relationship with God. As we look at where we stand and what lies ahead of us, we do so with a sure and certain hope and a true confidence. Our God is faithful and will never let us down.
3rd March 2021
Psalm 103: 13/14 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
In recent years we have become more aware of mindfulness. It is an awareness of our own thoughts and consciousness as well as of others. The word attentive is close to it in meaning; being attentive to the world around us and what lies within us. We use the word mindful to speak of thinking about others and their needs. In the Bible God is regularly referred to as being mindful of us, in other words He has us on His mind in all that He says and does. In this verse we are told that He knows our frame, He remembers we are but dust, in other words God knows exactly what our weaknesses and strengths are and so makes sure that we can deal with and cope with all that happens by providing the strength, protection and knowledge we need. God is just as interested in people being as he is in people doing. At the beginning of time, God took seven days to create the world; the last one was set aside for rest. So, at the most basic level, God has structured our world to include times of stopping for rest, and he models this for us himself. He was mindful even at the beginning that humans need rest to function well. He was mindful of our need for food and water, for justice and fairness, for love and family as well as our need for solace at times. God is mindful of and attentive to us in our everyday life, in all that we need. We too need to be mindful of and attentive to each other, our world, nature, the needs of the poor and those who are in need physically, mentally and spiritually.
2nd March 2021
Daniel 9:10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.
This verse and the chapter around it talk about our collective responsibility to live as people of mercy and forgiveness, without condemnation and judgement of others. As we live in this way, we hope others will treat us in the same way. In a religious order all those who live within it work for each other, supporting each other practically and spiritually. The life of the individual is inextricable from the group who hold everything in common. The kingdom of God is also one of interdependence, just as the Trinity functions each with a role of their own but interdependent on the other. We do not make this Christian journey alone. But it is important to remember that this good life is dependent on us not condemning, not judging but giving freely to others. We must also recognise when we are at fault ourselves and accept our wrongdoing and when we rebel and act selfishly towards others. In asking God’s forgiveness of ourselves we must then offer that forgiveness freely to others. We cannot receive what we are not willing to give. Each day we need to take an honest look at ourselves. We need to think about who we need to forgive, who we have unfairly accused or judged. Who have we gossiped about unfairly or condemned for something about them we do not like. This is where it begins, with us. Think of any niggles that you hold against someone, could be family, friends, neighbours etc. Is it really fair to hold this against them? When the BUT’s come into your mind, when you try to justify your condemnation and judgement, just remember that God has freely forgiven you, does not hold against you all the wrong things you have done. God clears our slate and it is gone, forgiven and never brought up again. If we are willing to accept that forgiveness from God, we need to offer the same forgiveness to everyone around us. Feel the weight lift as you forgive, as you release what you are holding and be thankful.
1st March 2021
Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Today is St David’s Day, 1st of march. David is the welsh patron saint and you will find many welsh people will be wearing a daffodil or leak as a sign that they celebrate this day. David was a Bishop in the 6th century, initiator of many religious communities, and the only native-born patron saint in the countries of Great Britain and Ireland. He died on 1 March, St David’s Day, in 589. He was canonised by Pope Callixtus in the 12th century. Saint David’s Cathedral is built on the site of one of his monasteries and is one of the smallest cities in the UK. He was a renown preacher and once when people complained about not being able to hear him, the ground beneath him rose up into a hill so he could preach to all and a white dove came and sat on his shoulder as he did so. One of David’s famous sayings, still used a lot in Wales is, Do the little things well. Such wise words, the big, loud, look at me events are not what count, it is the normal, every day things that we should do well. Be kind, generous, humble and loving. Look after one another, make sure people are fed and have what they need. If we do the little things well then there is no need for the big, loud movements as everyone is looked after properly and fairly. David led a simple life, did not eat or drink anything other than basic produce grown on the land and water. He was very popular because of his care and concern for all, particularly the poor; this made him a target for those who wanted wealth and power. There were several attempts made on his life. Spare a thought today for St David, you don’t have to be welsh to remember him, thank God for his legacy, his honesty and his desire to do the little things well and ask God to give you the strength and wisdom you need to do the little things well.
28th February 2021
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Do you ever think about breathing? We do it every day, all day, all night and it is vital to our life and yet we rarely think about it. God breathed into us and we became alive, human, with breath of our own. Breathing has a rhythm, in and out and depending on how much physical exertion we use determines the speed of that breathing. If we take breathing back to the Old Testament and the name for God sits in every breath. The sound of inhalation is Yah, the sound of exhalation is weh, our very breath is Yahweh. The very first thing we do as we enter the world at birth is breathe, as we cry when a midwife slaps our bottom; and the very last thing we will do is breathe. Through out our lives we breathe in Yah and out weh. The very name of God in our breathing, the very name of God on our lips. There is no Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu way of breathing, in Christianity there is no catholic, protestant, pentecostal, anglican, evangelical, reform or liberal way of breathing. There is no rich, poor, male or female way of breathing, no European, Asian, American, African, Oceanic or Polar way of breathing. All humans breathe in and out, all humans breathe the same way, all humans have God on their lips from birth to death, whether they believe or not, whether they recognise it or not. God is in all people and in the breath of all people. In and out, Yahweh, each day we breathe God, may we remember that as we breathe.
27th February 2021
Genesis 3: 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
In the first two chapters of Genesis, we see a picture of God's creation as complete harmony. Humans, animals, birds, fish, trees and all the natural world all fit together perfectly and 'God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good'. Genesis chapter 3 is where things start to go wrong for us. Adam and Eve we're drawn to 'forbidden fruit': we find something attractive about not just pushing the boundaries but we jump right over them and do exactly what we know we shouldn't do. Adam and Eve disobey God and they become ashamed of who they are, of being naked. They try, like we all do, to avoid responsibility; Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent and the serpent doesn’t have a leg to stand on. The original perfect harmony between everything and God is broken, so is the harmony of nature. At this point death enters the natural world and God makes clothes from animal skins to hide their nakedness. As a result, life becomes much harder and more painful. We often romanticise evil and look on goodness as boring and yet real goodness is awe-inspiring, exciting and fresh. Evil meanwhile is painful, hurtful, debilitating and ruins our lives. Adam and Eve were not abandoned by God because of what they did and the Bible has God’s grace and love for us on every page. But, Genesis 3 is a warning for us: sin has consequences, and when we do wrong, we will live to regret it.
26th February 2021
Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Have you given anything up this Lent? Perhaps you have taken something up as is often promoted now. Lent can involve fasting, whether it is the chocolate, cake or biscuits we give up, or maybe a fast one day a week where we use that time to reflect and become closer to God. We give up food in order to channel our senses towards God, seeking forgiveness and thinking about how we can be better people. People may well ask us, what are you giving up for Lent? Here in Isaiah rather than dwell on what is given up when fasting, it suggests we focus on pleasing God by our actions in regard to others. Here lies a challenge to set people free, to feed the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless, to help those in need and fight for justice. If we do these things, we are told our light will break forth like the dawn, you cannot stop the dawn, it comes, it washes over everything and God is glorified through our light, shining as we do well for others. What good is fasting before God if our behaviour towards others is unfair, unjust and uncaring. In the language of food, if we are treating others badly then we may as well stuff ourselves with chocolate and biscuits because we are not the people we should be before God. Fasting is a true spiritual practice, it needs to transform us from the inside out. If we have given something up, or fast each Friday and all we do is moan about it, or get angry or wound up because we really dislike what we are doing, then we need to examine why we are doing this in the first place. Rather than worrying about what we are doing we need to think more clearly about why we are doing it and whether it is causing our light to break forth like the dawn.
25th February 2021
Luke 15:17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’
Coming to our senses over an issue is usually a steep learning curve. We realise that all we need to do is……. And suddenly all becomes clear. In the story of the prodigal son there comes a moment when the son realises that his father’s servants are treated better than he is. He realises that being a servant in his father’s household was better than feeding pigs and eating pigswill. We have developed a charter of Human Rights across the world, many countries stick to it in the main, and many ignore it in favour of wealth and power for a few. Human rights abuses are common everywhere, even here we do not fulfil equality human rights for all, still discriminating by gender, colour and orientation. Across the world Terrorism laws have been used to violate many rights in the name of protection. Every human being has been created by God and created equal, all with the same human rights. God did not and does not discriminate; over the centuries leaders of our churches have often painted God as preferring some humans to others, but that is just not true. God created every human equal. We need to come to our senses over this issue, realise that even as sinners, as those who have failed and hurt others, we are still treated the same by God. When we come to our senses and come home, God is waiting to give us the best, to celebrate our return and that is the same for every one of us no matter who we are or what we have done. God is ready and waiting for anyone who comes to their senses, recognises their mistakes and wants to change. Come home, God is waiting.
24th February 2021
Philippians 2:6 Though He was God, He did not think equality with God was something to be grasped.
My husband loves to watch documentaries and programmes about music and stars of the past. We quite often end up watching programmes about the Beatles. A recent programme had them complaining about the fact that everyone wanted a piece of them. They were incredibly famous and as such incredibly rich and with great influence. They had everything most people want but, as is often the case, once you get to this level of stardom you begin to believe your own publicity and you begin to think that other people should keep their distance, have no right to ask for an autograph or to talk to you. Once you are top of the pile you really begin to think you do not need to be involved with ordinary people any more. It is an attitude we see constantly from those in the public eye, believing no one should question them or challenge them, that they are above scrutiny or the ordinary. I have watched wonderful caring people become selfish and spoilt because they have become wealthy, famous and successful and then have no time for former friends and even family. This stems from an inbuilt selfish desire to ultimately look after self-first. A desire to think of ourselves more highly than we should, to think we are better than others and deserve better. Being a Christian cannot validate this way of living. Jesus never allowed His popularity to stop Him from always looking out for others first. Jesus is the Son of God, part of the Trinity but never tried to grasp power or wealth or popularity. Always others first, always moving toward His death so that every human being could have eternal life. Should we ever be given the trappings of celebrity, popularity or power then first and foremost must come service, service and care of others without complaint or superiority. None of us are more important than another, none of us are more special than another. Before God we are all special and we should all look for the flourishing and blessing of everyone.
23rd February 2021
1 Peter 5:2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly, not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve.
We often talk about Jesus as a King, particularly around Easter many of the hymns and songs we sing use this terminology. It is also used in the Bible to speak of the Messiah that is to come. Being a king comes with huge responsibility, they are in authority, they are accustomed to having others take care of their needs and are able to do as they wish. This is how we see kingship; it is what we are used to, it is what happened when the Israelites insisted on an earthly king who then proceeded to put their own needs before their people. Jesus version of kingship is very different, an awareness of those around Him, a sense of responsibility towards the needs of others and a willingness to put the needs of others before His own. Jesus kingship is not about ruling over but serving, bearing the burden of their people first and foremost. When we become a member of the Christian family, we become part of that kingship, we too must not look to rule over others but to serve them, we must put the needs of others before our own, we must bear the burden for others. This is a challenge for us as humans whose tendency is to put number one first. But we are called to this role, to care for and serve one another just as Jesus did for us.
22nd February 2021
Mark 1:15 The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and proclaims that the time has come. The Greek word used here means that this time that has come is a time critical event and has a time limited response. Repentance, turning your life around, choosing to follow God and accept His lifestyle needs to be done while the Kingdom of God is close at hand, while it is available to you. Noah experienced this time limited offer with the flood, he had listened to God’s voice, he acted upon God’s words and was saved in the Ark. The key to this story is the rainbow and God’s promise. Even today with all we know and have people still stop and stare at a rainbow, they still take photos and share them on social media. Even today people notice a rainbow and recognise it as a sign in the sky. As the spectrum of colours arc across the sky, we marvel in this beautiful expression of God’s promise to never again destroy His creation. We live in a fallen world; we are daily embroiled by the sin around us and we cannot be in total control of all that happens. Only God is in control and only He can give us the meaning and purpose to our lives through Jesus. But, we can only have this forgiveness, this meaning and purpose when we repent and believe the good news and this is a time limited offer which needs our response.
21st February 2021
Psalm 1:3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers.
We had to have some trees cut down in the garden because they were becoming dangerous. Trees are all around us and perhaps we do not appreciate how wonderful and important they are. Trees are forefront in balancing our carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air, we know as more trees are cut down across the world in great amounts so the balance has become more precarious. Trees are right there in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. We read of the great Cedars of Lebanon used to build the Temple and the tree of life in Revelation which restores our eternal life with God. We speak of Jesus death on the cross, made from a tree. The trees were given to humans for food and shade, to build with and use to help them. There are trees in the Garden of Gethsemane which were there when Jesus was. In fact apart from God and humans Trees are the next most mentioned creature in the Bible. Trees are living created nature, all around us and with beautiful colours in the autumn. The Cyprus Tree is known as the tree of mourning, the Jasmine tree is the tree of romance, there is the parable of the Fig tree and the palm branches waved on Palm Sunday. Trees show us the importance of strong roots which ground us and keep us steady in the storms of life. They show us the need for food and nutrients to help us grow and the need to be rooted and grounded in God.
20th February 2021
Isaiah 58: 9b/10 If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Do you hold a grudge? We are often very good at holding onto small discriminations and what we believe to be a made against us. When we feel we have been treated wrongly a fervour rises up within us and we want justice. We know our rights and someone has done me wrong! We react with a passion, we get angry and we want something done and done now! This reaction is not of Jesus or of His spirit within us. Our heart, which should be the heart of Christ, is often not that but the heart of selfishness, the heart of quick judgement and the heart of anger. Jesus heart is one of healing, forgiveness, love and compassion and as we grow to be more like Him so our heart should become more like His. Instead of being quick to see others wronging us we should be seeing clearly how we have wronged others. We need to recognise how we have failed others and not kept our side of a friendship or family situation. Jesus heart knows no revenge, resentment or hatred but knows only forgiveness, encouragement and peace. Within our hearts should be only love, no hate, but we are human, it takes time and effort on our part. A good start is when we feel that resentment and fervour begin to surface, we summon Christ’s peace and love to quell the desire to treat others poorly. We are called to do away with oppression, with pointing the finger, with malicious talk and to help the hungry and oppressed, only then will our light shine in the darkness.
19th February 2021
Deuteronomy 30: 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
Every day we make choices in our lives, most of them simple and not really that important. This verse is about making a life and death choice. The choice we make is either of a selfish life or an unselfish life and we live with the consequences of that choice. The choice we make affects how we behave; listening to God or listening to self, choosing a blessing or a curse, choosing the whole world and as a result losing our very self. We live in this world; our challenge is not to be of it. We must not let ourselves be enticed by the promises and gains of this otherwise we will lose our very soul. The choice for each of us is stark, Heaven or Hell. We cannot know God or His love if we follow the ways of the world, if we listen to the worldly voices of gain, selfish ambition and me first. The Bible and Jesus himself make it clear that following God’s way is not going to be easy and may well involve us in suffering; being a disciple, a Christian, comes at a price. The world says that suffering and success cannot exist together, faith says they can. This is uncomfortable, we have to think about what it might mean to lose our life for Christ, maybe not literally, but in other ways. We need to ask ourselves does my attitude need to change? Does my routine need to change? Less TV, phone, computer, reading, radio etc and more prayer? Less money spent on me and more on others? Speaking up when others suffer unjustly, even if we suffer too? What are the things we need to change that will make the choice for life, the choice for God, the choice for blessing.
18th February 2021
Luke 13:8/9 Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.
In the short Fig Tree parable, Jesus is speaking of the tree of God’s people. God had sent prophet after prophet throughout the Old Testament; but the results were always the same: God never found any fruit on the tree. The saving grace is to dig around it through the preaching of John the Baptist and then dig manure into it through the teaching and preaching of Jesus; still no fruit was forthcoming, Jesus was ignored and rejected and so that tree was to be cut down. In the year AD70, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, cut down. That tree of God’s people were just taking up space in the land. Everything that happened to these people, Paul tells us, is written down as an example for us to learn from. We are God’s fig trees today; we are God’s people, he created us and all we are. God sent Jesus to pay the price for us, we are God’s trees planted by God and He expects us to bear fruit. God is not a tyrant with a chainsaw ready to cut us down if we do not bear fruit because He loves us, and takes care of us. BUT He has planted us in the field of His Word and Sacraments which means we should be bearing fruit if we are reading and studying His word and living in His Sacraments. God loves to see the fruit we are producing. But does it ever seem to us like we’re just taking up space? We envy the fruit we see in other Christians who we think have more than we do. We see other congregations growing, we see other trees apparently covered in fruit, but not on our tree, we think. We feel guilt, envy, frustration and stress, when we are stressed, we can’t produce good fruit. Friends, God is only interested in us as we are individuals in Him. What God has for us is not the same as another, my gifts and fruits are different from yours, my calling is different from yours. All God asks of each of us is that we feed and nurture the fruit on our own tree and allow Him to bless and use that fruit in the way that is right for us.
17th February 2021 Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:12 Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.
This verse and its context are about returning to God; we are reminded that God loves us and takes pity on us. The prophet Joel is clear in calling us to repent, turn away from sin and receive God’s grace. At the beginning of this Lenten season, we are very much challenged by the fact that we are sinners, we are selfish and ungrateful beings and we do not deserve God’s love and forgiveness and we certainly cannot earn redemption. Faced with this reality we have two choices; we either decide to bury our heads in the sand, saying we can and will make it on our own, that we don’t need God and ignore our reality in the hope it will all go away and we can live in our own little world. OR we can turn to God’s incredible grace and mercy and let ourselves be forgiven, loved and healed. This is a season of Grace; we can choose to let God’s mercy transform our hearts and lives and dare to believe that we can be more than we ever expected. We need to ask ourselves, when did we last really pray, get on our knees and make space and time for God in our lives? At the beginning of this Lent we need to make space and time for God, to take stock and start over. As we stand on the edge of remembering Jesus 40 days in the desert, we stand on the edge of really getting it right this time. If we are willing to give time to God each day, to rend our hearts and not our garments and let God work in us as we jump deep into this season and carve a new way through worldliness and dig out the weeds that threaten to choke our faith.
16th February 2021
Luke 13:7b For years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?
I have been watching some cricket recently and something struck me, each person has a role to play on the field and certain ones have a style of bowling, spin, fast etc. What I notice is that they keep doing the same thing in the same way and the batters just keeping hitting them without problem. Almost in desperation they change what they do slightly and suddenly a wicket is taken. It is like Einstein’s quote that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting a different outcome. It is something we do a lot as humans and as Christians. We keep doing the same things in our churches, the same types of evangelism, the same types of fund raising, the same patterns and ideas and wonder why nothing changes. Please don’t misunderstand me, change for change sake is not the issue, it is when things do not work and we refuse to change that we need to recognise. It is running a service or event same time, same day for years and no one comes, a different day or different type of service maybe the answer. Running the same Course at the same time each year may need to be looked at, a different course or approach may be the key. The danger is that we pray for something expecting it to be successful, expecting God to deal with it when we have not fully played our part. Everything we do needs to be revisited, examined and looked at on a regular basis. If things are growing and working then we keep committing them to God and if they are not then we look at why and what changes we need to make to meet the need. If several churches all run similar events on the same days then no one is going to have a successful event. We are creative beings; we have abilities and understandings so we need to use those in our Christian life and in our church life to make the necessary changes.
15th February 2021
2 kings 6: 16 Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ and he saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
We like to talk about seeing things clearly, not having anything in the way to confuse us or mislead us. We like to think that what we see as the answer or the way forward is the right one. Seeing is linked to our eyes and our vision, we tend to depend on this sense more than others and we often speak of seeing is believing. It is no coincidence that the term vision is used for how we see and plan for the future. Our vision, literally how we see, is affected by many things, and actually what we see may not always be as it seems. In this story from 2 kings, what God and Elisha see are very different from everyone else. The perception of the enemy is that their attack will be easy because there is no defence, from the perspective of Elisha’s servant this is also the case and he is frightened and cannot understand how calm Elisha is. Elisha is calm because he sees what God sees. God has placed His warriors, horses and chariots all around in protection. Seeing what God sees is the most amazing of blessings and something we should be praying for and looking for in every situation. If we see what God sees then we will know exactly how to deal with things, exactly what a situation requires and the potential for the best outcome. Seeing what God sees is often called discernment and is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift we can ask for, but to receive it and know how to use it we must take the time to be in touch with God, to listen, to learn and the more in touch we are the more likely we are to see as God sees. May our prayer be that God will open our eyes that we may see.
14th February 2021
Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness.
On social media one of the things I find hardest is the false accusations or claims which are then multiplied in their damage by being retweeted or re posted again and again. Just recently NHS staff have been trolled, that means harassed, by complete strangers who still insist that the pandemic is a falsehood, there are clergy regularly trolled for speaking about poverty, unfairness and misspent gov monies, you will all have seen the great deal of threats and nastiness around the footballer Marcus Rashford because he has dared to challenge the gov on school meal provision for the poor. We have developed a society where everyone has mixed up free speech with expressing their opinion whether it is unfounded, untrue and inappropriate or not. We have given anonymity to people who make themselves feel better and more important by hurting and destroying others through this anonymity. You can now falsely accuse someone of terrible things, ruin someone’s reputation with lies, you can threaten people’s lives and families and face no consequences and you do not have to provide any evidence. Bearing false witness is one of the original 10 commandments. The deal here is that even if you do not like someone or disagree with them you do not lie about them; you do not bear false witness. Of course, we can all see through history how this commandment has been ignored and broken in favour of keeping people in power, or keeping wealth and belongings and preventing those who stand for honesty and justice from having a platform. The story of Jesus is one of false testimony, of lies about Him when the evidence was obvious of a man who healed, practiced and preached forgiveness, fairness, justice and equality, but that meant the rich and powerful would have to share their wealth, take responsibility and that is too much of a threat to them and their power, so it is easier to get rid of the threat, to bring falsehood and lies against Him and bring Him down. How are we with our behaviour towards others? Are we willing to always look for truth, honesty and justice or do our opinions and ideas matter more than truth? As Christians we do not bear false witness, ever!
13th February 2021
Nehemiah 4:15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to our own work.
I ordered something recently and then waited a long time for it arrive. No one could tell me why, the company who sent it said they had done their bit and the Royal Mail said it wasn’t missing until a month had gone by. They also said they could only track it with a tracking number and the company said they don’t have a tracking number. Meanwhile I have paid postage, paid for an order and both sides have just dismissed their responsibility for this order leaving me out of pocket and without an order, stuck in the middle. Which way do I turn? Who is there to help? Is there anyone who cares? We are often caught in the middle of things and we don’t know which way to turn, no one seems to want to help us and we feel at a loss as what to do. I have found that being a Christian can be like this, caught between a rock and a hard place not knowing what to do or where to turn. When we read the Bible, we find many of its characters in exactly this position, Moses, Isaiah, Jonah, Nehemiah, and Paul to name but a few. In each case these folks come before the Lord God and ask why? They come and ask for it to be taken away or dealt with, what they tend to forget to ask for is the strength and wisdom to cope. It is when they accept the situation and ask God for His help and strength to cope that they find a way through. When things do seem to pin us down, we want a solution and that is fair enough, but what we tend to want is a solution which does not require any effort from us! Unfortunately, if we are in any situation, we will have to make some effort to resolve it and what we need to be asking God for is the wisdom and the strength to resolve it. We need to commit each and every situation to Him and ask Him to show us how and what we need to do to make things right for everyone. God is ready, willing and able to help and frustrate those who try to hurt and harm us but we need to ask Him for His help and be ready to accept it and play our part.
12th February 2021
Luke 6:31 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This verse is known as the Golden Rule, it actually exists in similar form in all the religions and ethical philosophies of the world. In Christianity it is positive, do unto, where as most of the others are approached from a do not perspective. This rule involves empathy, selflessness, reciprocity and compassion. It involves us in putting ourselves in another person’s situation and reacting in the way that would best help them. As we live each day we should be helping our neighbours and friends, treat our family and others with respect, go the extra mile, helping those in need as best we can. This will do great things for all those we help but it will also bless us. Let’s face it if we all behaved better then the world would be a much better place. How can we try and live this rule? We need to practice empathy, to really understand what it is like for others. We need to be compassionate, looking to see how we can help ease another’s burden and suffering. We need to think if this was me how would I like to be treated and then respond in that way. One of the easiest things we can do is help, to not be blind to the needs and feelings of others. We can also listen, let others tell us how they feel and what we can do for them. We also need to take a look at our selves and recognise our tendencies to criticise, recognise our prejudices and recognise our desire to be in control. Each day, if we are able, we can set ourselves a daily reminder to treat others well, to show respect and care for others as we would like them to respect and care for us. If we treat others better, they will treat us better and we will all see things change for the better.
11th February 2021
James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for them it is sin.
How have you been in the snow? The main roads have been okay but the side roads are very slippery and once it freezes again over night it becomes very slippery. I must admit the garden looks beautiful in the white powdery coat it is wearing and the dark night has an eerie glow in the white covering. There is something quite lovely about the snow when it comes and the hushed tone it brings. Each year as the threat of snow comes, we find ourselves woefully unprepared. The roads don’t get gritted, we don’t have de-icer or scrapers to clear the car, hills and steep slopes can’t be safely used, the pavements become slippery. We know about the snow, we know the problems it can cause, we get warnings from the weather men and yet we wake up and we are in trouble. Life is like that, we have been given all the warnings about sin, been told the issues and problems it causes and then we are surprised when we are caught out. The Bible tells us that when we argue, lie, cheat, get angry, ignore others, hurt people………. We are causing bad things to happen and there will be consequences. God does send the gritters out, God does warn us, God gives us the tools to protect ourselves and keep ourselves safe but we carry on, blissfully unaware of the consequences and damage sin is doing to our lives, until it hits us like a ten-ton truck and shatters our world. Through prayer and reading the Bible we learn to spot the warning signs; we learn how to live life not dropping into sin and we are giving the tools and support by God to deal with the problems sin presents to us.
10th February 2021
2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid and worried, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
If you have ever seen the musical The Lion King there is a song that comes after Simba has been rescued from the desert by Timon and Pumba. The song is called Hakuna Matata and it means no worries for the end of your days, according to the song. It actually comes from Swahili and it does mean no troubles or worries. It is, for the characters, a philosophy of not letting life get them down and of living each day as it comes. As in so many of these stories, the song has a simple but powerful message. It is message that we also get from the Bible. We are told to cast our cares on God, to not be worried and upset, to let go and let God. It is not that life does not have worries or troubles, it does, but it is how we respond to them, how we deal with them that counts. God has given us the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we always have strength and support within us. To put it in the words of another Lion King song, He Lives in You. God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, that Spirit, sent at Pentecost, fills us with God and Jesus and enables us to become more like God in all we do and say. That Spirit also gives us the ability to rely completely on God knowing that He is in charge and He will always work things through for the best. Once we take that on board then we need not have any worries or troubles because God is in control. It is a tough life lesson to learn, especially when we are suffering and struggling, but we need to learn that God has our back, that we can cast our worries on Him, that we can allow God to take the strain. So, remember friends, Hakuna Matata.
9th February 2021
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one committed and trained, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Sport is often on in our house, rugby, cricket, Formula 1, athletics. I find it can be on while I do other things, sometimes stopping to watch a particular race or innings. Whatever sports we enjoy we cannot underestimate the commitment of those who are involved. We see the big matches, the big races, but behind the scenes are the days and days of training, the exercise regimes done daily whatever the weather, whatever the time of year. The commitment of getting up every day, particularly in the cold darkness of winter and running the streets, lifting the weights, using simulators or practicing bowl after bowl after bowl. To be top sports person today you have to be totally committed to your sport. This means long times away from family, little time for relationships, huge daily commitments for the few big events in the year or season, and always the possibility of injury or poor form which leaves you on the bench or not picked for the team. This type of commitment puts us as Christians to shame. We struggle with opening our bibles safe and warm at home, we struggle with spending just a few minutes in prayer, we pull away from talking to God or meeting with other Christians because we have more important things to do. Our commitment to our faith means we have to be willing to do some training, to lean new things, to exercise our faith, to build up our stamina and abilities so that we are at our best when we are needed to speak up and out about issues, when we are needed to step in and help others. Being a Christian is not a 9 to 5 occupation but a lifelong, 24/7 lifestyle that we need to be committed to. God asks of that we live our lives for Him as best we can and that means commitment to turn up, to learn, to practice and to grow as Christians.
8th February 2021
James 2:3/4 If you show more respect to the well-dressed man than to the poor man then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives.
My mum finally had her vaccine the other day, she spoke of how well organised it was, how it was run by the army who made sure all was working effectively and efficiently. She was checked and double checked to make sure it was her; she was asked questions to make sure it was all safe, she was watched over for 15 minutes before leaving to make sure she was all okay. From what I have heard it seems to be the general experience, yes, there are some hiccups, and some people are not turning up and some bookings seem to have been messed up but for something organised so quickly it was a very wise move to use the army to sort out the logistics. It is what they do, they have experienced people who know how to put big projects into action. Knowing how to do something, being experienced and being recognised for that is an excellent and valuable thing. I would suggest that we have forgotten how to value certain things in favour of others. We have lost the value of organisation and wise judgement, making sure everyone is treated equally, making sure everyone is fed and clothed and has somewhere to live in favour of making huge profits, in cutting corners and jobs to save small amounts of money so shareholders can receive higher dividends. The organisation of getting vaccines ready and tested in ten months, of vaccinating around half a million people every day shows that things can be done for the benefit of everyone when necessary, it also shows that profit is the defining factor in usual drug production and business contracts and that all of us can be taken care of properly if the will, the desire for everyone to flourish, is there. In God’s kingdom everyone is of equal worth, everyone is treated with respect and has everything they need for a good life. God is not interested in profit or shareholders dividends; He is interested in everyone being treated with respect and value and we as Christians should be exactly the same. Doing things not for ourselves or for profit but for the benefit and flourishing of all people no matter who they are or where they come from.
7th February 2021
Isaiah 54:1b Sing, O sorrowful one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud.
I love musicals and the other Friday I really enjoyed having songs from musicals on Radio 2 all day, for once leaving the radio on while I worked. I found myself singing along to nearly every track. It reminded me of musicals I have seen in the West End and ones I was in as a teenager; it was a great opportunity to revisit some of my best memories and even dig out an old programme or two. Things that we enjoy, that offer us these positive and fun memories are really valuable to our lives, particularly when life is difficult or uncertain. In this past year I would have gone to see one or two musicals, but I could not because of the pandemic. These musicals offer me a place to step away from normal life, suspend reality and just enjoy a simple story interspersed with songs that catch a moment in that story. These songs are written to provoke a reaction and stir the emotions and nearly every musical has that one song that everybody knows. Within the Bible there are songs, we may not think of them that way because we don’t have the music, but the Psalms are songs, written to express emotion and provoke a reaction. The Song of Songs is a love song and within other books are phrases and sections that have a song or poem structure to them. Music cuts into our minds and hearts in a way nothing else does. When you read some of the Psalms or laments you can imagine someone baring their soul to God, singing out their anger or hurt, declaring their feelings of regret or apology. There are places in the Old Testament where the Psalmist or writer does not hold back in their condemnation of events or what God has not yet done about a situation. All this clearly speaks to us of expressing exactly how we feel to God. It is okay to tell God when we are fed up, angry, not impressed with a situation, just as it is okay to tell Him when all is well and that things are good. We love singing Hymns and worship songs because they express our worship and praise to God and speak of His wonderous acts, but it also okay to speak out the negative thoughts and emotions and even to sing those out if we know the tunes. God gave us emotions and feelings; it is good for us to express them.
6th February 2021
Psalm 86:5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Have you seen that Dairy Milk TV advert where the seemingly grumpy man is throwing the football, parachute man etc from next doors children back into their garden. I say seemingly grumpy because you catch a little smile as he throws things back. Next, they throw over the bar of Dairy Milk and as he picks it up the boy says you don’t have to throw that one back Mr Thompson. It is a gift of appreciation for his patience. This man keeps throwing things back, again and again to these children. It is as if these children never learn not to kick the ball over or throw toys too far. They are children after all. We had a neighbour when the boys were young, and she never threw anything back and was incredibly rude and unpleasant saying the boys could not look after their things so could not have them back. The way Mr Thompson is to the boys next door is, in its simplest form, like God is with us; and although God is not grumpy with us; I do wonder sometimes why He isn’t as He has every right to be; we don’t ever seem to learn how to stop throwing our toys out of the pram, so to speak. We just keep carrying on getting angry, being silly, saying and doing things which upset others and God, opening our mouths before we put our brain in gear and yet God keeps forgiving us, keeps sending the love back to us. As often as we keep getting things wrong, God keeps forgiving us and giving us another chance. What we actually deserve is the attitude of our old neighbour, that if we can’t learn not to do something then we deserve to lose it. We do not deserve God’s love; we do not deserve God’s forgiveness, and yet He keeps giving it to us. God always has a second, third, fourth, twentieth, thirtieth…..chance for us if we are willing to take it. God’s love is unconditional, He never gives up on us.
5th February 2021
Romans 13:14 Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about pleasing your old sinful self.
One of the things that has always fascinated me has been how we become more like Christ. Paul talks of in habiting Christ and putting on Christ which seems almost like putting on a piece of clothing. That in itself suggests that it is a choice we make and that it is something we have to actively do, we want to be more like Jesus so we do what is necessary to achieve that. A practical example for me is wearing a dog collar. Part of my life is getting up in the morning and putting on my clergy shirt, putting in the collar and having that physical piece of clothing on. It does not make me a different person, but it does physically allow me to clothe myself in Jesus. It acknowledges the role I inhabit as a priest. One of things lockdown has done is change that process. If I am not going out at all, I do not put on a clergy shirt. If I am involved in Zoom meetings then I either wear a shirt or use my “bibstock” yes, it is what it says, a bib round the neck with a collar front which slips under your jumper. I have a lot of clothes I hardly ever wear since becoming a priest because I am wearing a clergy shirt every day; now I am wearing many more of those. For me, I actually miss the putting on of my clergy shirt every day, it does not make me any the less who I am in God, but for me that physical putting on encourages me in my being a priest, it is a physical reminder. There is something within us that responds to a physical action, I think that was what Paul was getting at; the putting on Christ, making the choice to act more like Him, to be physically and mentally more like Him. Actors speak of inhabiting a role, studying the person or character, taking on their mannerisms, speech patterns, actions etc. For us we need to daily put-on Jesus, take on His role, His character, speech patterns etc. If we model ourselves daily on Christ, through prayer, reading the Bible, learning what His word says to us, then we will become more like Him and inhabit Him in everything that we say and do.
4th February 2021
Isaiah 61:4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
As Jesus began His ministry he read and spoke in the synagogue and declared that good news was declared to the blind, the imprisoned, the oppressed, all of whom Isaiah had called ‘the broken-hearted’. Whenever the Bible spoke of these broken hearted it declared that they were to be healed and comforted and in Isaiah the prophet also adds that these hurt people will receive a new spirit, so they can be released from their problems and hurts. As they receive this new spirit, they will become the restorers and rebuilders of the damage about them. We learn that through the experiences of doubt and pain, through difficult times and decisions, through loss, suffering, oppression and broken hearts we are the ones who can rebuild, restore and help others through Jesus at work in us. We often admire people who appear confident and assured, wondering at what they can do for themselves and others who are in need. But if we have never doubted, never felt powerless, never known loss and the devastation of grief we may never learn how to rebuild and restore ourselves and others in a way that brings everyone newness of life. Try and reflect on something in your life that has hurt or grieved you and see how that experience has helped you to be compassionate, to encourage and help others. Remember that our God is no stranger to hurt, grief and rejection. In Jesus we are given strength in weakness, power in compassion, resilience in forgiveness. We always need to look for the possibility of growth and new life in every situation and use what we have learned to help others.
3rd February 2021
1 John 4:20b Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
Who do you look like or take after? As babies and children, we are often told we have our mum’s eyes or dad’s ears, mum’s smile or dads’ fingers. As we grow and develop our personality it is often then said you are just like your father or mother, not always in a good way. We do this because of genetics, we share DNA with our parents and so we will exhibit some physical attributes that are similar to them, we may also share some genetic faults which can give us certain illnesses or make us susceptible to certain problems. We often talk of family traits as meaning familial DNA, blood relatives. We all now recognise that family is not just about DNA or blood. We have long adopted children who lost their parents, we have taken those in need into our families and we have created stepfamilies. Family means a group who live together as a unit and help one another in basic living. We use the term family within Christianity. Jesus talked of loving brothers and sisters before God, children are told to obey parents, parents are told their children are a blessing and a glory, we are told to come together in unity. The thing about family is that we are all unique but also share many things in common. It is family who really know us, family that sees the real us and puts up with the good and the bad, most of the time. Forgiveness is more common in families as is unconditional love. We are told in Genesis that we were created in God’s image, so in some way we resemble our heavenly father. Jesus mother Mary is critical in His life and ministry and Jesus speaks of God as father. Family matters, whether as the unit we were born into or as the unit of Christianity, church family. It is the place we should be comfortable to be ourselves, where we forgive and are forgiven, where we live together looking out for one another as children of our Heavenly father.
2nd February 2021
Genesis1:16 God made the two great lights the Sun to rule the day and the Moon to rule the night and the stars.
I wonder if you remember when you were a child being told the moon was made of cream cheese, or perhaps being told the story of the man in the moon. I am sure we all remember A Grand Day Out where Wallace and Gromit go to the moon to get the cheese to bring home. We weren’t being lied to, it was just a way that people had come up with to try and understand something we could see so clearly but could not explain. This morning, as I drove to church as it was getting light, I could see the moon, nearly full, hung clearly in the sky. It was beautiful. Our understanding of the moon these days is incredible, we know so much and yet we know so little. The moon is mentioned from the beginning of the Bible and creation. God creates the Sun to light the day and the Moon to light the night. The Moon is spoken of as a source of light, as mastering the tides, the days and years. There is a short child’s prayer I used to say every night with my sons “I see the moon and the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me.” Wherever we are the world we can see the moon it is a constant in our lives, one we so easily take for granted; we forget how ancient it is, that God created it for us and that it offers us light in the darkness. We know it is not made of cream cheese, that no man lives there, and we can’t build a rocket and fly there with loads of cream crackers like Wallace and Gromit did, but we do know that it is a necessary and vital part of our Earth tides, days, years and seasons, created by God and we thank Him for it.
1st February 2021
Mark1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
In Mark’s gospel we meet Jesus very quickly, he arrives on the scene, as if from nowhere, full of energy and truth. He calls for us to repent, to turn from our wrongdoing but then He turns away from the limelight and spends time alone to pray, to be with His father. Both these approaches are necessary for us as Christians. We need to approach our faith with energy and enthusiasm, people need to see in us that being a Christian is exciting, worthwhile, enjoyable and valuable. Also we need to be full of truth and honesty. People need to know that we do lie to them, that we do not bend the truth to suit our own agenda. As Christians the truth we preach can only be accepted as such if we are truthful and honest people in all we do and are. Then there is the quiet part of our faith, the time alone to pray and to be with our father God. Whether we do a daily quiet time, or the daily office/s. Whether we pray in the morning or the evening, or all day in our mind, however we do it we need time to pray, time to be alone with God, time to read our Bible and get to know more about how God works in our lives. The quiet times are just as necessary as the busy energetic times. We cannot be enthusiastic witnesses for God if we don’t know the God we are talking about properly for ourselves. It can be easy to become pretenders, people who just go through the motions of faith because we have always done it, but our faith needs to be alive and in the present; we need to be active in our relationship with God every day through prayer and Bible reading which then gives us the energy and truth we need to be the witnesses God has called us to be.
31st January 2021
Matthew 19:26 Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew, the gospel writer, sees Jesus as the fulfilment of prophecy, Jesus is expected! He uses the genealogy to put Jesus into the time and place, He is foretold and fulfilled. We too put Jesus into our time and place. Each generation proclaims the story afresh, as it works within them. We too, have a genealogy, our parents and grandparents, our education and family, our church tradition all impact into who we are. As well as this the mistakes we make, our rebellion, our regrets also make us who we are. We are a product of the good and bad in our lives and of all our family life. Maturity as a Christian comes as we accept ourselves as we are and so are able to live in the present moment. Life should become not either or, but both and. We learn to contemplate and accept our genealogies, our backgrounds and traditions. Within our backgrounds we will have things that we need to let go of, things which have brought us down, caused us pain and hurt, made us angry and cross and as we grow and mature, we need to let these go, not belittle them, but let them go before God. We offer up to him these things and let Him deal with them. This is giving ourselves completely to God, warts and all, so to speak. As we become Christians, we are worn and weathered, God takes the rough diamond forged in our lives and then soften the edges, cuts away the dross and fashions a beautiful, faceted diamond of a Christian. We all have sharp points, broken edges, dirty parts, missing pieces, dull areas, but God takes us and makes us perfect through Jesus life and death on the cross. God welcomes us as we are, with all our baggage and then works with us, a master sculptor, a master cutter and a master repairer, to make us who He has called us to be in all our glory.
30th January 2021
James 1:14 Each person is tempted when they are pulled away by their own desires and enticed.
Many of you will know that we have a cat. Ash is a source of pleasure and joy and often has me shaking my head in disbelief. Earlier this week I was checking dates on some cake we had left over from Christmas and had put a stollen out on the table for use the next day. All pristine in its wrapping with a date for next week. Next morning, I came down to find the wrapper opened, several pieces on the table and large lumps of stollen gone. A rather contented cat sat nearby. I am floored as to what in a stollen attracted the cat, needless to say we have not now eaten the stollen. This got me thinking about how we see things in life, all pristine and well wrapped, they look attractive to us, but we don’t really no why and we think that there is no harm in trying it, just a little. We open up that attractive package and try some, and maybe try a bit more then we feel contented for short time until we go back for more, and more. This is how we are tempted in our lives, something nice and shiny and new and pristine comes along and we are drawn to it, we may have no need of it, it is often something of no real value to us but we get drawn in, something new, something different I will give it a try, no harm in that. We break it open; we take a little bite and a bigger bite and so often we are hooked in. What was just something different to do becomes a habit and we keep being drawn in. We are content for just a short time until we want more and then we are never really content. We just need to be aware of shiny pristine things we don’t need in our lives that can tempt us in if we are not careful. I can just get rid of the stollen, sometimes we can’t just get rid of the tempting things which turn up around us. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus and not on the things of life which can turn our gaze away from Him.
29th January 2021
2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.
We love to think we know people, that what we see is it, but actually we all run much deeper than that. We have not just our physical presence but what is inside us, in our minds and hearts, we often call this our soul or spirit. It is these depths of character we find when we need to dig deep. In this current time with all the issues of living in a covid rife world is a time when we need to dig deep, very deep. We are not able to go out, we maybe shielding, we are in lockdown, a situation we have not faced before, and we have had to change our way of life, Our response can be one of resistance to what is different and difficult or we can respond by bending with it, responding with flexibility, as a friend says we can lean into it. We are all different and all respond differently but we are promised the support and help we need from God. We are promised that God’s grace is sufficient for us and that God’s power, the power of creation, of life, is made perfect within us. His strength enables us to deal with the issues of life, the things we may see as weaknesses and problems. Right now, we need to respect ourselves, acknowledge our needs and weaknesses, recognise that we are struggling and need help. We do not have to be okay all the time, we do not have to present a perfect façade, it is okay not to be okay! We also recognise and respect the same in others, they too need to be respected and acknowledged for who they are. We all need to treat ourselves and others with dignity, tolerance, self-respect and help each other cope. Our strength from within comes from who we are in God, as we allow God to work in us through others, through helps and through the guidance offered to us. We are not alone, none of us have to cope alone, our God given spirit or soul has God’s love and power within us, we just need to tap into it.
28th January 2021
1 Corinthians 6:19a You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who lives in you.
This week our car has gone in to have some work done. Now 14 years old and we are the second owners, it has begun to rust, there are some dents and cracks and the patch work of trying to keep it going is just too far gone now. From a distance the car looks fine, no great holes, no huge discolouration, but as you get closer the problem becomes obvious. You see the areas of rubbed away paint, bubbles of rust and flaking paint, dents and cracks which show the problems that lie underneath. So it is with our lives. From a distance we can look fine, come across as in tip top condition, look confident, healthy and strong. But when someone gets closer, we might desperately try to stop that happening, they begin to the cracks, the discolouration, the weaknesses and the problems bubbling away under the surface. All of us are good at putting on a front, pretending to be everything we think we should be, even when we are not. We put on the masks, the cover make-up, the clothes and trimmings that make us look okay, but underneath we can be lost, broken, damaged and in need of some TLC. We don’t need to go to a garage or body shop for these repairs, but we do need to go to God and to those who can help us. We do need to allow ourselves rest and healing. Our repairs may by physical but also mental. It is even easier to cover up the mental health issues, often until we have gone too far down that road and repair can take much, much longer. Our bodies and minds are temples of the Holy Spirit, they are places God lives within us, we are created by God and completely loved by Him. Our bodies and minds also need care, protection, repair and rejuvenation and we are responsible for looking ourselves mentally and physically. But we are not alone in this, we have friends and family, chaplains and priests, counsellors, doctors and nurses. If we need help, then we need to ask or at least let others near enough to see we need help and to offer it.
27th January 2021
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and teaches us doctrine, understanding, corrects us and instructs in righteous living.
How good are you at following instructions? I will always get them out and read them where as my husband just sets too and only looks if he cannot work out what to do next. As you can imagine working together on something can be interesting. Today we received an uplighter we ordered last week to replace the one we have had for a long time which has stopped working. It came in various pieces with wiring in place. It should have taken half hour tops to put together. After 2 hours and still not finished things were a little fraught. In fairness it was straight forward but the instructions left out some basic necessary steps that meant it was difficult to get to the next point. One main problem was they sent the wrong bulb and as we tried to fit it, it would not go and in the end it broke. These bulbs are quite niche, we did have a spare from the old light and when we compared them the bulb sent was half an inch too long for the space. This assembly was actually quite straight forward, but because the instructions were unclear and the bulb was the wrong one, we took a lot longer to make the light. Instructions are very necessary and must be clear and include every step, also, the component parts need to be the correct ones. So it is in our Christian faith. We so often try to ram something into place that is too big or too small or just doesn’t fit. We are also given an excellent instruction manual in the Bible but it is amazing how many of us never read it until we are desperate. Many years ago, someone took the word Bible and turned it into an Acrostic to remind us of this:
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
The Bible is there to help us deal with life, with how we behave and react, how we become better people and how to live our Christian life the best way possible. Let me encourage you to read the Bible, you can find helps in books, on the internet, often in the Bible itself at the front or back. It is always a good idea to follow the makers instructions if you want to achieve the finished article in full working order and in all its glory.
26th January 2021
Luke 22:42 Father, if you are willing, take this cup of suffering from me; not what I want but what you want.
I expect you notice, as we all do, that certain subjects are never really tackled or talked about. We don’t like to talk about terminal illness, death, mental illness, disability to name a few. It is as if we believe that if we do not talk about them, they will not happen. We also feel, as adults, that we should protect our children and teenagers from these things and ultimately, we forge distrust about what else we are not telling them and make them in turn feel that certain things should never be spoken about. The truth in all this is actually quite simple, if we can talk about something, we can manage it. When we speak about things that are painful, even terrible, then the very voicing of the issue means we can find a way to deal with it. Once we give voice to our fears and worries, we open the door to help, to strength, to support from others and thus we can manage the situation. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus voiced his fears of what was going to happen, the beating and ridicule, the gruesome death and the descent to hell that were to come; in that opening up, that speaking out His fears and feelings He was able to manage what came next. His cries to his father were met with strength and support to enable Him to continue His calling. In the presentation of Baby Jesus in the temple words of death and persecution were spoken and Mary did not hide these or dismiss them she pondered them. When these things happen, and they do to all of us, we must speak about them, be open about what is happening, be willing to talk and discuss our feelings. This way we will be able to get the help we need, the support and care we need to be able to cope and manage the difficulties we face.
25th January 2021
Ecclesiastes 3: 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
At this time of year, we begin to put away the crib scene and the Epiphany figures who arrived just after Christmas. It always saddens me that these beautiful figures will go into a box in a cupboard for the next 10 months. It is like saying goodbye to old friends who for the past 8 or so weeks have been the centre of attention. As much as I love the seasons of the church sometimes I feel we see them as individual times rather than dependent on and working with each other. It is how these seasons play out within each other that makes our faith what it is. Without Christmas there is no Easter and vica versa, without both and Pentecost there is no Trinity, without the repentance and preparation of Advent and Lent there is no forgiveness forged by Easter. Without Remembrance there is no history or tradition to build upon. Our faith relies on the lessons and teachings of all the festivals of the church calendar and is much richer because of them. As we put away the Christmas figures we turn to Candlemas then Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. These will set us on a journey of repentance, abstinence and preparation for Easter. I must admit that this past year with its lockdowns, closed buildings and few services, has meant losing so many of our touchstones and thus often the key services and markers which move us on in our faith. Last Easter was lost to lockdown, and who knows about this year. But the changing figures and stories, the change in church colours, displays and decorations, all play their part in reminding us of the story of Jesus, of our part in that story and how we can grow and change as we learn the lessons of each church season.
24th January 2021
Revelation 5:5 Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
What’s in a name? The Bible has many names for God and for Jesus. We tend to know the most common, but did you know Jesus is called the Lion of Judah? What do you think of when you think of a lion? Majestic, regal, powerful, courage, justice, power, strength, wisdom, pride, dignity,? All of these can be said about Jesus. His kingship, His strength and power. But what of Judah? Judah was one of the original 12 tribes of Israel, in the south, and became the main country of the Israelites when the north refused the new chosen King after Solomon. Judah, Jacob’s 4th son, is referred to by his father as a young lion. The Kingdom of Judah had Jerusalem as it’s capital, David was its first king and thus the line to Jesus came through this land. Judah himself was at first a plotter against his brother but became the one that pledged himself as safety for his brother, in the same way the King of Judah pledged himself as safety for his people. In other words, any leader should be prepared to offer his or herself in protection and care of those they lead. To serve, to protect and lift up their people. This is exactly what Jesus does. Jesus Christ, as the Lion, conquered sin and death so that we could be forgiven and restored to the glory of his eternal kingdom. This powerful victory was made possible through Jesus work on the cross, in which he became the innocent Lamb to be sacrificed for our sin once and for all. Therefore, in the Lion we discover the power of Christ as an eternal protector king who pledges our safety, and in the Lamb we find the grace of Jesus as our eternal saviour.
23rd January 2021
Psalm 30:5 Weeping May last for the night-time, but joy comes with the morning.
I discovered this verse in my teens and although I liked it, I did not really understand it. It was only later in my teens and then in some of life’s really difficult times did I begin to see. When life throws us that curve ball, hits us with something mind blowing and awful we come into what we often describe as a dark time, a time when we are trying to exist let alone anything else. Bereavement is very much this sort of time, we struggle with what has happened and life becomes an existence, a routine, and we cling onto the things we know and are sure about like a life belt, to keep us afloat. The same is true in times illness, financial difficulties, redundancies, divorce, poverty…….the list goes on. All these events become like a dark time, like night-time, when we feel alone, scared, unsure, worried, concerned and so often this time is a time of weeping, of crying, expressing our feelings through emotion. This expression is necessary, we do need to allow our bodies and minds to deal with these very difficult times, as we exist, we need to find a way back to a form of normality and expressing how we feel, allowing these emotions to come out gives time and expression to begin to do that. This is the weeping that lasts for the night-time or the dark time which can of course last for quite some time. BUT, Just as night gives way to morning, darkness to light, so within our darkness light will begin to dawn, we begin to not just exist but to find some joy in living again, we begin to look forward again, we begin to smile and laugh again, we learn to live with and accommodate what has happened to us or those we love, we do not get over it, we adapt and begin to live life again as the daylight of morning spreads over us. In our lifetime these events will happen to us and those we love and each time there will be darkness, existence and struggle but also there will come the dawn, the morning and light will begin to spread over us again and there will be joy once again with that morning.
22nd January 2021
Psalm 119:5/6 I wish I was better in obeying your demands. Then I would not be ashamed when I study your ways.
Do you ever feel guilty? At some point most of us feel guilty about something we have done or said. The Psalmist here, sees the truth which is that when we look at everything God requires of us as humans, we are guilty, guilty of not being honest, guilty of not caring for each other, guilty of injustice and guilty of not being fair. God’s standards are high, so high we cannot live up to them in our own strength. In that knowledge we too cry out I wish I could do better as a Christian, I am embarrassed by all I do wrong. Now it is good to recognise our faults and guilt and to do something about it; in doing so we recognise God’s provision of forgiveness and thank Him for that. In Jesus we have all we need to find forgiveness, all we need to change our outlook, all we need in strength and perseverance, all we need to live a better and more Godly life. Jesus life, death and resurrection gives us the relationship with God that the Psalmist longed for, that we long for. When we feel guilty, we can easily turn the attention on ourselves and our failures but if we turn our eyes upon Jesus, we have the strength to change for the better, to recognise our failings; not to condemn ourselves and punish ourselves, but to accept God’s forgiveness and to be thankful of that love and care and use it to make ourselves better before God and in our lives. In God’s eyes we are forgiven, loved, treasured and celebrated. He knows we have failed, and He still loves us, He knows we are not perfect, but He loves us anyway. God does not want us beating ourselves up but wants us to appreciate what we have, to be thankful for God’s provision for us and to praise Him for all He is, has given and continues to give. When we are feeling guilty the best thing we can do is to turn our eyes on Jesus, to recognise our faith and allow ourselves to be loved and supported as we seek forgiveness and change.
21st January 2021
Hebrews 12:1a 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.
Are we there yet? Do you remember asking that when you were younger, or your children asking it on a journey? Time passes so differently for children than adults so asking this question repeatedly makes sense to them. Getting anywhere involves a journey, it can be long or short but all the time we are on that journey we are getting there. Along life’s journey there are things which entangle us, distract us, divert us and hold us back. These make our journey much harder. As Christians we can so easily be distracted from our calling, our way of life, by people’s opinions, misunderstandings, illness, mental health, bereavement, lack of food or resources and general situations. But alongside these problems God gives us support, people to help us, give advice, pray for us, encourage us and help us to see the way forward. As we journey, we gather experience, receive support, learn to cope and so are less likely to be diverted from our cause or path. We begin to have more purpose, a better sense of direction and with this comes self esteem and self-respect. We journey on, we achieve more, grow more, learn more and become better Christians. Are we there yet? No, but we are getting there. Sometimes it feels the journey is far too slow and at other times we seem to travel further and faster. As we are supported and blessed, we learn not to give up, to stick at it, to ask for help when we need it and to keep going even when things get really difficult. We are getting there, we are already further along the journey than we were last week, last month, last year. We never have to make this journey alone, God is always with us and has made sure family, friends, colleagues, organisations and support is always there for us along the way. Are we there yet? Not yet, but we are getting there!
20th January 2021
Genesis 44:5 Why have you paid back evil for good? You have stolen our master’s cup!
Joseph had placed his cup into the sack of his brother, Benjamin, he was the youngest and the only brother that had the same mother as Joseph. Their father had lost Joseph and now it seems would lose Benjamin too. What was Joseph’s plan? Was he testing the hearts of his brothers to see if they had changed? Would they drop Benjamin in it to save themselves? Did they still hate the favourite son? Had they come to realise what they had done and regret it? Joseph and Benjamin were their father’s favourite because they were born by the mother Jacob loved most. Sadly Favouritism does bring about jealousy, bitterness, anger and resentment but we are all responsible for our behaviour before God. All these years later, Joseph wondered what his brothers now thought of what they did in selling him. Were there any regrets? Were they treating Benjamin as they had done him? Joseph is now the one with the upper hand, and he takes advantage. He tests his brothers to determine what was now in their hearts. Judah takes responsibility and acknowledges that they all deserve to be punished for the wrong they had committed all those years earlier. God is just, what goes around, comes around. It might take time and we can be very impatient to see the outcome of other actions unfold, but we really do reap what we sow. Joseph’s brothers had lived this terrible lie for so long, it had driven a wedge between them and their father, thankfully it had also changed them into better brothers and sons who had realised their mistake and had tried to do better but without owning up to their sin. Joseph, who has also seen the error of his own pride and arrogance is willing to forgive, to restore the relationship. God is always willing to forgive us, but we must recognise our wrongdoing, confess it and be willing to change. The brother’s last step was to confess their wrongdoing. I pray that we all may have hearts both willing to forgive and willing to honestly confess and repent for our wrongdoing against others and against God. God tests our hearts because He wants us to know what is really in them and what we are really like, He already knows our hearts and He is so gracious and ready to forgive but we must be willing to confess, turn away from our sin and change.
19th January 2021
Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
There are four simple words here, I sought the Lord, in other words I have gone to God to find out what is the right way forward. Four simple words but very challenging ones, how often do we actually seek God, actually go to Him to see what we should do? We expect Him to answer, complain when He doesn’t, but how often do we just not go to Him and seek His will? We will talk of God’s promises, His love of us, the new life given to us as Christians but then when something needs doing we rely on our own strength and our own ideas to do it and only go to God as a last resort. God meanwhile is waiting, frustrated because we do not come to Him and find out the best way. He wants what is best for us, He wants to help us, but we have to ask, we have to be willing to go to him talk to Him and listen to the answer. This verse in Psalm 34 reminds us that we can trust God in everything and in every situation, we can always turn to God and pray for strength, protection, wisdom, love and incite. Because we do not seek God we are not confident about speaking out on issues of justice and peace, we are nervous of who we might offend or annoy. When we seek the Lord, learn His ways, listen to His advice we can be confident because God gives us all we need to share the Good News, to stand up for what is right, to protect the disabled, to fight for those that society treats unfairly. When we seek the Lord we can confidently tell people they are special, they are loved and that God can deliver us from all our fears and difficulties when we seek Him as Lord.
18th January 2021
Exodus 9:1 God said to Moses, go and tell Pharaoh to let my people go!
We have recently seen a great deal about the way we treat others; particularly in the Black Lives Matter protests. Still, after years of so-called equal rights many people are still mistreated and condemned for the colour of their skin. We still have people enslaved across the world and trafficked to be used as slave labour, and people who it seems will never achieve freedom from oppression. During the terrible times of slavery, it is recorded that African Americans told, read and retold the story of the Exodus more than any other Bible story. You can see why, the aspiration for freedom from oppression and slavery was just as the Hebrew slaves longed for. This story gave hope that they too would find freedom. In Exodus there is place of freedom to come, the promised Land, and a place of slavery, that was Egypt. They had started in Egypt as free people but as they grew, fear of the indigenous people being overrun meant they were oppressed and became slaves. The term Exodus actually means way out or way of escape. Moses was sent to free these people to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. A phrase repeated at least seven times in the story. Moses has an encounter with God in a Burning Bush, Moses raises many reasons why he cannot do this job……what if…..why not….I can’t….. in each case God patiently replies and promises His presence throughout and declares Himself to be a liberator God. As Moses is liberated from his unwillingness and weaknesses so he liberates God’s people. This story of the freeing of slaves is also a symbolic description of our own liberation, God gives us an inner and outer freedom to be who we are in Him. For us, many of us have never experienced the prejudice and aggression that those whose background is slavery have experienced and still experience; if it were not the case then the protests would not be necessary. Our consciences need to be challenged much more by the inequalities that produce our cheap clothing, by the huge wealth amassed by so few at the cost of so many. In seeking fairness and justice, freedom and peace for our brothers and sisters we discover the true freedom of ourselves in Father God, liberator God, who created us all equal in Him.
17th January 2021
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but the outcome is the Lord’s alone.
I wonder how often you or I use the words chance, fate, and luck. These are shallow but common terms which actually suggest that there are faceless, impulsive and unknown forces at work in the world and in humanity. Our very use of these terms is saying our very existence is an accident. If you read early Christian literature, you will find constant references to God's providence. In other words, how God provides for His children. We seem to have lost this idea of God’s provision for us in today’s world. The idea of naturalism, that all events in nature are ruled by independent casual and natural forces, has left its imprint on more recent generations. Perhaps we need to be reminded of God’s providence, of just exactly how and why God provides for us, His children. In Acts 17 St. Paul addressed the clever intellectuals on Mars Hill, he spoke of God’s providence when he said, "in Him we live and move and have our being”. Paul challenged them and reminds us that God not only created us and gave us life, but He continues to generate every heartbeat in every chest every second of every minute of every day. But not only that, which is amazing enough, He also does this us for the entire universe about us. Paul continues to remind us that what God creates, God also sustains. God knows the number of hairs on our heads, He governs the days of our lives. In doing all this, creator God weaves everything<em> </em>together into His wonderous design; His tapestry of creation which is something of great wonder and beauty. As we recognise this provision, we need to remove the words chance, fate and luck from our vocabulary and begin to use the word<em> </em>providence. We need to begin to see what we have and are has been lovingly provided to us by our loving Father God. Be encouraged friends, God is in full control. Nothing is happening on earth that is not known to heaven. Nothing happens that is not held in His hands. Nothing is off His divine radar, as He guides us through our earthly lives and safely home.
16th January 2021
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I am quite a fan of superhero movies and with two boys we have watched the various franchises and I am well aware of who is the Marvel universe and who is in the DC universe. They are, for me, an escapism, they are not real but they often have a sense of good fighting evil and good prevailing, eventually. One of the things I do question is how often the heroes get beaten to within an inch of their lives and yet always manage to get up and keep fighting without, it seems, much damage to themselves. Although I admire the determination, and there always seems to be something that just offers them that extra reason to keep fighting, it is almost as if they are indestructible and so they will always win. The reality of life is that we are not indestructible in the physical sense. Our bodies do get sick, do get broken and sometimes severely enough that they stop working. We are not able to get up from a terrible accident or illness and look like we are okay. There is though something about the determination shown that we do have. I often see people who have been physically damaged who have a real sense of determination make good progress and adaptability to their new situation. Those who do not have this determination often lose the quality of life they could have because they lose the will to keep going, to battle against the odds. When my husband broke his back and shattered his leg he was in hospital with someone who had a one fracture broken leg. My husband was determined to get better and get back to as normal life as possible, the fellow with the broken leg never attempted or tried, he just moaned. My husband left hospital on crutches within 2 months, the chap with the fractured leg was still there, not trying, just moaning. Of course, sometimes no matter the determination a physical condition may not get better and sometimes people have to live with disabilities for their life, once again it is the fighting spirit, the determination which sees some cope well and live affective lives while others just lose their focus and aims. We are not superheroes as in the films and comics, but we are superheroes in our attitudes and determination if we chose to be. We are promised and given strength, support, help and encouragement from God but we have to chose to take it.
15th January 2021
1 Corinthians 16: 13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
I came across some information recently that surprised me, just how many men and women walk away from their families, their spouse and children when they think they cannot cope. These numbers have increased because people are less likely to get married these days and so walking away when things are difficult is much easier. In saying this, I also say no one should stay in a dangerous or abusive relationship. Sometimes people feel that they just need to escape, to get away, but actually walking away is not the ideal. Imagine if Jesus had walked away in the garden of gethsemane, decided it was just too much for him to go to the cross, then our salvation would have been lost. During the dark years of WW2 Churchill reminded people that Battles are won in the trenches, in the grit and grime of courageous determination. Of course, there are always reasons why folk might need to get away from a situation but stickability in the face of problems is the key to life and a key to our salvation. When things are tough there is a way forward, a way to cope and life maybe hard for a time but it will get better, especially if we look to God and to others for ways to improve things. Are you thinking of giving up or walking away? Have you considered the possibility of quitting? Most of us get to a point when we look for an easy way out? I sometimes think Stop the world I want to get off, but I don’t. Instead, I look for strength and encouragement from God and from others. Let me encourage you to draw near to God and to His people and not to retreat, but rather surround yourself with loving, supportive friends. Let God be supportive of you and it will always be easier to stay the course when friends stand with you.
14th January 2021
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the Peace Makers, for they shall be called children of God.
Are we bridge builders and peacemakers or are we barrier makers and warmongers? An abiding memory from my 20’s was the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. I had grown up with the stories about this city and families divided by a wall between the East and West of the city divided up after the Second World War. The Berlin wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic in 1961. Although they titled themselves as democratic, they were in fact a one-party republic. They wanted their part of the city kept away from the ways of the west and its actual democracy. The actual wall was built inside East Berlin on East German territory to make sure that it did not invade on west Berlin at any point. With this final closing of the East, West boundary in Berlin, East Berlin Germans could no longer travel into west Germany. Many families were now divided, those in East Berlin who had been employed in the west were completely cut off from their jobs. This wall was built to prevent West from diluting East with its ideas of freedom and democracy. Instead of differences being bridged and worked alongside to help people, barriers were made, people were divided against their will and war mongering continued constantly. The fall of the Berlin Wall started on the evening of 9th Nov 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks. After a few weeks West Germans and West Berliners were allowed visa-free travel. Families were reunited. On 25th Dec 1989, Leonard Bernstein gave a concert in Berlin celebrating the end of this dividing wall. In this fifth chapter of Mathew’s Gospel Jesus taught us that Peace Makers are Blessed and that they will be called the children of God. God is not a God of division or separation but a God of bridges and unity. We need to ask ourselves are we peace makers or war makers? Are we people trying to construct bridges or barriers between people? As Christians we are called to be Peace Makers, to unite and build bridges between people because that is what Children of God do.
13th January 2021
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105.
When I was a child, I can remember the nightly power cuts of the winter of discontent. After I got home from school, we prepared the candles, and we had a few old kerosene lamps. As the lights were due to go out, we would light the candles and lamps ready. If we needed to use the bathroom, we would take the lamps with us as they were safer to carry by their handles. These lamps would light the way down the hall, up the stairs and to the bathroom. Without a lamp it was dark, and we could not see the path in front of us or the steps and there was a risk of falling as we could not see where we were going in the darkness. Each Christmas, as a child, I would always ask for a torch as I would love to have one for Carol singing, firework night and to read under the bed covers. Once again, a torch gave a light in the darkness, the ability to see and be kept safe. As time has moved on we now use our phones as a torch or lamp to light our way and, I even received for Christmas this year, a hat with a light built into the front of it. It has been excellent on those early dark mornings when I have needed to defrost the car. Light is so important to us as humans, as people developed the ability to have lamps and light in the darkness we could then work in darkness, travel in darkness and have protection from the bad acts hidden in darkness. Here the psalmist says that the God’s word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path. In other words, just as lamps and lights keep us on the safe path and show us the way, God’s word, the Bible, does the same for us in our daily lives. It shows us what is right and wrong, how to treat one another, what is honest and worthy and what is evil and flawed. Without God’s word in our lives, we are in affect blind and walking without guidance and protection from harm. God’s word may not show the complete path all at one time, just as a lamp does not show all that is front of us, but just as the lamp does, it guides us one step at a time; it helps us to take one step at a time in life and it helps us not to get into trouble. May we learn to read it carefully every day, as much as possible, so that we will live lives of light and not of darkness.
12th January 2021
Colossians 3:14 Clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Recent events globally, but particularly in the USA should be a warning that the desire to live in freedom and democracy is in danger, particularly in the west. Much of big nation politics now tells us that the purpose of our lives is to amass as many assets and belongings as we can and to experience the most pleasure, we can within our lifetime on this earth. It is increasingly hedonistic. This is a very selfish attitude and offers us no reason to change our habits or desires and certainly does not encourage us to manage our planets resources carefully. This selfish view tells us we are in a life and death competition with other nations and with our neighbours and communities, so we have no incentive to work together, to find peaceful resolutions or to seek reconciliation. So, we are called by powerful and decadent leaders to take to the streets, to take to social media, to speak propaganda and false truths as we try to force our rights and freedoms on others as the only way. Of course, this not true of everyone. Many of us see ourselves as free but responsible, created by a loving, wise, peaceful and good God who calls and enables us to live lives that are virtuous, responsible, caring and collaborative, peaceful and community minded. Jesus teaching on mutual flourishing clearly offers us deep meaning for our lives if we live them as relational, community beings who look out for and support each other. People who live this way make the world a vastly different and incredible place for everyone. As Christians we are not only called to live this way but have the blessing, encouragement and strength of God to do so. We all have a calling to live lives that look out for each other, for God’s creation, to be responsible stewards of all we have been given, celebrating our freedoms and the rights of all creation within the responsibilities we hold to care for one another and live for the common good.
11th January 2021
Ephesians 5:29 We do not hate ourselves, but feed and care for ourselves and should be kind to ourselves.
As a Chaplain and Priest, I deal with people at the happiest and worst moments of life, as well as everywhere in between. One of things I say to encourage people at the sharp end of life is to be kind to yourself. As humans we have a tendency to blame ourselves for things, especially when we are under stress or normality is lost. Being kind to ourselves allows us to keep our minds and hearts healthy and functioning well even in the midst of difficult, stressful times. Being kind to ourselves means many things such as sleeping and resting when we need to and for longer; treating ourselves to things we enjoy; eating things which we like and make us feel better; taking time out from activities that stress us or put pressure on us and letting ourselves cry and laugh about the silliest of things and nothing. The kindest thing we can do for ourselves is talk, talk to someone about our feelings and thoughts. We can talk to friends or family, we can talk to God, and there are also priests, counsellors, chaplains, helplines and many organisations who offer help and advice. People are there ready and willing to listen, to help us explore how we feel and why, to offer techniques and ideas to help us through. Admitting we need help is not giving in, it is a strength of character that allows that which is overwhelming us to be explored and helped. We can talk to God about anything and everything, it is okay to let off steam, to tell God exactly how we feel. We were created as relational beings; we were never meant to cope alone but to share the load of work and life together. We all have good days and bad days and we are all capable of helping each other to cope, to help shoulder the burdens, to offer a hand to help each other up when we fall and share the load. Let me encourage you to be kind to yourself, to seek the help when you need it and to do those things which lighten your spirit, that make you feel better and please do let others and God share the load when you need to because we all need a helping hand sometimes.
10th January 2021
Psalm 72:1 Teach the kings to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with them your justice.
The prayer of Psalm 72 comes from the pain of suffering under an unjust, worldly rule. As with the agreed God given principle of recognising earthly authorities, the psalm offers prayers for those who make them suffer, but it does so with the desire for justice and righteousness to prevail. Psalm 72 describes just what the ideal earthly ruler or leader should be: one who defends the poor and helps the needy; one who protects people and provides for them; one who always endorses their cause, and always has compassion on them; A true leader will consider their people to be precious in his sight. This prayer psalm asks for just that; that all authorities and monarchs be rehabilitated, and God’s values be completely upheld through them. The desire is that they will rule as God does, with His authority but also His justice and fairness for all. This Psalm celebrates the blessings of a true and honest ruler, stating that everything is better under such leadership, that decent rulers consider and take responsibility for everything, Psalm 72 rejoices in that goodness. It takes real faith to be able to look and see a good ruler, where no good ruler is evident, but then we find a further meaning. A prayer for the ultimate good King to come and in this Kingdom, which will be over all the Earth and acknowledged by all people, there is rejoicing, justice and equity. There is a celebration in the perfection of all things, as if they were already present, as if the wonderful God given future had broken through into the present with glimpses of Heaven. This good King, the King of Peace, who is our King, offers all we need for the here and now. Our deeds can reflect His goodness; we can bear witness to His goodness and strive for it on the Earth as His people. We can point clearly to the one who is righteous, just, fair, and honest. Even in the midst of difficult times and poor leadership the way of the Lord can shine through us.
9th January 2021
1 Samuel 2:1 Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God.’
In the Bible stories about families and children this is one of my favourites. A woman longing for a child, embarrassed, ridiculed, in despair. Hannah prayed with great patience for years, at times she seemed to lose hope and was in despair. But when the miracle does occur, she has her son and as God answered her prayers, she remembered who it was who was responsible and she praised Him and spoke of His love towards her. Have you noticed how some people try to make bargains with God, if you get me out of this I will go to church, follow you, pray regularly, all these types of promises, and then when the miracle occurs they do not give God a second thought or even thank God let alone keep their side of the bargain. Hannah does not think twice about honouring what she promised to her Lord and her Lord God honours Hannah. It is not easy for Hannah because as her promise she has to give her son into God’s service. Her son is Samuel, the prophet who hears God call him as a boy. We need to ask ourselves do we too easily forget who made us, who has blessed us? Do we make bargains with God and then not keep our promises? It is always God who should receive the praise and glory for His creation, His miracles, His love, His provision but it is so easy for us to take credit for what God has done, or to not give God the glory when He has done wonderous things for us and others. People often refer to these events as coincidences, I prefer to call them Godincidences, in other words they are not random, or lucky or chance but actually they are in God’s control. Just as Hannah did we should give God the praise for all that happens.
8th January 2021
Romans 15:1-2. We who are strong must bear with the weak, not to please ourselves but each of us should serve our neighbours for their good, to build them up.
We are now being asked to clap for heroes on a Thursday night. The problem for me being that depending on which news service you hear there are different definitions of who those heroes are. The good news is that NHS have been in every briefing and rightly so. The question is what defines a hero in this current situation because, as it stands, I am probably going to clap for different people than my neighbour or someone living in Cornwall or Birmingham. So, for you and I what is a hero? Hero’s are often defined as brave, as willing to step into a difficult situation to help others even when it may cost them dearly. So, medals are awarded to armed force personnel when they risk life and limb to save colleagues, to rescue people from harm. The Bible defines being a hero as those helping those others who are in need and offering our strengths and talents to others to support their areas of weakness. Currently NHS workers are putting themselves in danger every shift to help others, firstly with inadequate PPE, when many died, now not even top of the list for vaccinations. They are heroes. But who else? Teachers for risking themselves looking after children with no protective equipment in place, our schools are not closed, they have many vulnerable children and key worker children in them every day. Those running food banks, risking themselves so others can actually get food, mainly people who have lost jobs or earn so little on zero-hour contracts they can’t feed themselves or their family. Those working in care homes, some moving in to help keep residents safe. Groups like the Salvation Army or Crisis trying to help the homeless and vulnerable at great risk to themselves. People providing hot meals to NHS staff and making scrubs and scrub bags, those working in our supermarkets or in small corner shops. Once we begin to think the list becomes very long. We are surrounded by heroes, by people giving of themselves, their strengths, to make things better for others who are in need. These are not extraordinary acts of bravery and the people themselves do not see themselves as heroes, they are people who serve, who have a calling, a vocation. Sadly, anyone with a vocation has always been treated poorly because they are not out for themselves but for others, therefore they are never rich or powerful; they are interested in others and fairness. It is good to appreciate our heroes, clap for them, but what would be more helpful would be demanding of our politicians that they treat all our heroes with respect, providing the necessary equipment, safety, personnel, staffing and decent, proper wages, truly acknowledging the value and worth of these heroes above their own.
7th January 2021
Matthew 7:9 &10 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake?
I wonder if you have seen the Madagascar films, the story is generally about a group of animals who because of various events at their American Zoo, end up in Madagascar and spend a lot of time and a few films trying to get home. On this journey to get back they discover a lot about themselves and what really matters; in the final film, as they get back to the zoo, they realise that life outside is actually what is the best for them and realise they have made a mistake coming back. It is all about the idea of always looking back and striving for what we had, for the security of the past, instead of looking forwards and to what God has in store for us which is wonderful and a rich blessing. We can be very safe and secure in our Christian life as it is, we can be stuck in a rut, and thus desire to not rock the boat or have any change. When change happens, as it inevitably does, we can spend a lot of time looking back, wishing things were like they used to be and we end up wasting time and effort that could be bringing blessing and joy to others, to get things back to how they were. It is only when we then begin to see what we are missing, that what we had before was not quite as good as what we have now that our eyes are opened. It is a lesson we never seem to learn; to allow God to work in our lives and use us, because however we look at it, God is always going to do what is best for us, He is never going to make life worse, only better, so very much better if we let Him. We, as parents and family, will always do what is best for those we love so how can we ever doubt that God would do anything but the best for us. It is good to look back for encouragement but most of all to see just how far we have come. It is not good to look back with the sole aim of finding our way back there because if we never grow and change then we will never receive the wonderful blessings and joy God has for us in our lives.
6th January 2021
Matthew 2:1b/2 Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born a king?”
Today, January 6th, we celebrate Epiphany, a very ancient feast even older in the life of the Church than Christmas! Just as Christmas is about what God gives us, Epiphany is about what we give to God, our response to the God given gift of Jesus. Old traditions suggest we should take down our decorations by this date but actually, if we feel that the lights and cheerful décor helps at this darkest time of the year, then we can keep them up until Candlemas at the very beginning of February; really it is up to us when we take them down and in present circumstances whatever helps us and encourages us is a good thing to do. The three Epiphany gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh given by The Wise Men or Kings were extravagant gifts, they acknowledge that Jesus deserved their allegiance; the gold, their wealth, their livelihood, is freely given to Jesus in a symbolic gesture. The costly spices of worship, devotion and burial are also given pointing from the crib to the cross. The word Epiphany literally means showing or revealing. In this story Jesus is shown and revealed to the Gentiles, in other words to all people whatever their race, gender, culture or belief; to all the people who have never heard of him. There are still people around us who have never really heard of Jesus and the loving ways of God revealed through him. This feast of Epiphany gives us, as Christians, a challenge: do we give sufficiently of ourselves and our lives to God? Are we open to those around us who still do not know the love of Jesus for them? For this Epiphany let us reflect and ponder on God born as one of us and strive to be open to God’s gifts revealed to us in Jesus, to give of our wealth and devotion to God and to share our gifts with our fellow travellers on the way whoever they may be.
5th January 2021
John 14:1 Do not be worried and upset, believe in God, believe also in me.
A growing concern presently is about anxiety; how worried and anxious we feel in the present pandemic and in what our future may look like, particularly after last nights announcement of a second national lockdown. As people have had to spend more time at home and as a result watching more TV and being influenced by more social media often with false information, all of us are open to far more stress and anxiety about what is happening, how susceptible we are and how we should protect ourselves. There have always been the worry mongers, the false truth spreaders, those who prepare for the end of the world, but currently this worry and fear is much more prevalent. It is easy to say it will be okay, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security which perhaps we had been with the approval of the first vaccine, but currently things are worsening and we are once again facing a world of closures for all but essentials. A New Year brought the idea of a better future and perhaps the unachievable belief that it would be immediate. Telling someone not to worry isn’t really helpful but giving reasons why, assurances and encouragements that can help to see the bigger picture. When Jesus spoke these words to not be worried and upset, they came as part of a package, they had reasons which were assurances and encouragements about their future. Jesus offered the preparation of their future, that He was in control and had a future prepared for each of the disciples. That is also the case for us, in the midst of our worry and anxiety come these words of hope, do not be worried and upset because I have got it sorted, I have it in control, you can rest in me knowing that it will be alright. We do not have all the answers, we do not how this will all be resolved but we do know that we are not alone, that we have God on our side every moment of every day and that He promises that He is prepared for us always.
4th January 2021
Genesis 2:18 he Lord God said, “It is not good for humans to be alone. I will make a companion for them.”
When at home over holiday time I try to go out for a walk each day. I am not one for the workout or jumping around in the house, I would much prefer to go out into the fresh air and enjoy what is around me. Today as I was walking, I noticed the way in which everyone is avoiding each other. People walk in the road to avoid passing too near to each other, people cross over the road to the other side to avoid others, people duck into other people’s front gardens to avoid someone passing them. This is a sign of the dreadful times we live in. We look upon others, especially those we don’t know, with suspicion, we think….they might just have it and I don’t want it so I will avoid them at all costs. It is very sad that now, instead of connecting with others, we have to separate ourselves from each other. It is necessary, it is prescribed by government, but it is also very damaging. God created us as communal beings, people who live together and help one another, working together for the common good. This virus has succeeded in making us a very individual nation and the longer it goes on the harder it will be to come back. Once that air of suspicion is upon us it becomes very difficult to go back to being the communal, helpful and collaborative people we were. Now, I am not suggesting we go against the rules, but I am suggesting that we make ourselves aware of what is going on and remind ourselves that others are not our enemy, are not out to harm us. It is the virus that has caused this distancing, and we need to remind ourselves to be sociable and communicable with those we can. We still have phones, email, Facebook, zoom, so we need to make sure we practice our communication skills and keep talking and interacting with people, this way we do not lose the desire or the skills to communicate and socialise. In Genesis God says it is not good for humans to be alone; therefore, we must do all we can to not allow ourselves or others to be alone, it is not good for our mental health, our social health or our life in general. Keep talking, keep communicating, keep supporting one another and remembering we all need each other.
3rd January 2021
Psalm 145:14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.
How have the New Year resolutions been going? I wonder what resolutions you have made, and which are the hardest to keep and why? From what we have discovered the origin of making New Year's resolutions comes from the Babylonians. They made promises to their gods each new year in the hope that they would earn good favour from those gods in the coming year; their New Year was in March. The Ancient Egyptians did similar things at their annual flood season which was the start of their New Year. By about 46 years before Jesus, Julius Caesar had moved the beginning of each New Year to January 1st in honour of Janus, the Roman god of new beginnings. This did not properly catch on and we ended up with various calendars to mark time and seasons. It was only with Pope Gregory xiii in 1582 that it became international to use the Gregorian Calendar and start the New Year on January 1st. Today we make resolutions each year and all to often they are forgotten or broken in a matter of days. Often, we lack the resolve to keep them, to make the changes, we actually need help. By telling others of our resolutions, we help ourselves because they can encourage and help us and point out when we are going astray. Change is part of the Christian life, as we grow as Christians, we are called to change the parts of our lives that are not compatible with our faith. God does not ask us to change it all at once, just a little at a time and with His encouragement and complete support. We also have our Christian family to help us with prayer and encouragement who we can share our resolutions and changes with. Perhaps you have made no resolutions this year, or right now, but when God does ask us to change, to use our resolve, we have support and help and even if we don’t succeed first time or second time or even third time, however many times we need we will get, all God asks of us is that we try.
2nd January 2021
Luke 2: 30-32 For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.
In the churches calendar January 1st is the naming and circumcision of Jesus, it comes 8 days after Christmas and fulfils the Jewish law. This puts Jesus very much within His Jewish heritage and makes it clear that He is born into the Jewish faith and as such is part of the messianic story. At this stage it may only be Mary who has an inkling of what is to come but even she cannot see all that is to come. There is, of course, a clue in His name. As parents they have been told to call Him Jesus who will save His people from their sins, they will know the prophecies of Isaiah about the wonderful counsellor, the prince of peace, of Emmanuel, God with us, and they will know that the name Jesus means to deliver, to rescue and that He is declared the Son of God. That is a huge statement being made in a name. When we chose names for our children we often turn to popular names, celebrity names, sometimes family names and we might even think of the meanings behind the name. For Jesus the name was His identity, His family name, His position within the traditions of His religion and culture. His name gave Him authority and humanity. Our names do not define who we are, but Jesus name did. As Jesus was named and circumcised in the Temple so He is validated, proclaimed and prophesied over by Simeon and Anna. Jesus Christ has been born on Earth for one reason, to save all from the sin and death brought into the world, to reconcile all humankind with their God and father but, this reconciliation will not be forced on anyone, the choice to accept or reject Jesus is ours alone. The choice to share our love of Jesus is also ours alone, and I pray that at the beginning of this New Year we will renew our strength and resolve to share the good news of Jesus and tell everyone we meet of the love of Jesus, Messiah, Son of God, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, deliverer and rescuer, for them.
1st January 2021
Lamentations 3:22 The Lord’s love never ends; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
One of my favourite things is a beginning a brand new writing book. Nothing but clean crisp pages for me to write on. Everything clean and fresh and new, then I start to write and within a few lines will be a crossing out, a blob of ink, corner bent over and longer is my book brand new and pristine. As humans we are born with no prejudices, no mind set, we are a brand new blank book, crisp and ready to have our story written across the pages. Very soon we make mistakes, blot our pages and the newness is gone. One of the wonders of belief in God is the opportunity to start afresh every day. God offers us the chance to clean away the mistakes, erase the blots, straighten the edges and begin again, a new page, a new start every day. We cannot rewrite our mistakes, we cannot change what we have done BUT we can start again, put the past behind us and change the future, we can turn over a new leaf, start a new pristine page from the beginning with the chance to do things differently. To be a better person. As we learn from our mistakes, recognise our faults, apologise if we need to, and are willing o change, thing happen! We have the chance to keep starting over, to begin again as forgiven people. As the verse says God’s love never ends and His mercies are new every morning. God does not give up on us, He is always willing for us to make a new start, to begin again. January offers us the chance to start a fresh, a new year, to put the past behind and start again but this doesn’t just happen every January, we have the opportunity to start afresh every new day! Take the opportunity, Begin Again – Everyday.
31st December 2020
Psalm 148:13 Let all creation praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
The whole of this Psalm is about praising God, not just us as humans, but the whole of creation praising Him. Of course, with our very poor stewardship of the world creation is a lot less able to praise God now, and in many ways is fighting for its very existence. Psalm 148 offers expression and language which covers every emotion that you can think of: despair and gratitude, fear and wonder, praise and blessing. This Psalm is one of many which is overflowing with joyful praise. It begins from the heights of the heavens and encompasses all living things; it celebrates the multiplicity and vastness of God’s creation. Human beings both old and young, make an appearance towards the end of the Psalm but we are not set apart from the mountains and hills, the wild animals and the birds, every living creature is called to praise God. This unity of creation in praise is jeopardized and shattered when we exploit and damage the natural world for our own benefit and profit, when we should be seeing ourselves in communion and harmony with creation. Currently at the forefront of this this brokenness is climate change, it presents a very real threat to the communities of the world, coastal towns and villages facing rising sea levels, farmers across Africa and Asia particularly struggle with changing weather patterns, more and more places with drought and lack of vegetation, and more and more lives are being lost in deadly, destructive typhoons across so many countries. The saddest and worst fact of this is that the people least responsible for this climate change are hit the hardest; while the west and the rich countries of America and Europe spend much of their time denying it and arguing against the change which may disrupt their comfortable lifestyle. This Psalm is a reuniting and challenging call for all creation, including us, to praise God and then to do what we can to challenge and unite to take action together against the damage of climate change. This reading takes us into the world to witness the whole of creation singing praises to God. Handle and Watts carol Joy to the World summarises this very idea in its line ` and heaven and nature sing’. Perhaps we can spend some time outside today, even in this cold winter, noticing the beauty of our natural world and praising God, we could sing that very carol and praise Him for what He has freely given and let ourselves be challenged to play our part in changing how we treat the world God has given to us.
30th December 2020
Isaiah 11: 4 With righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
Isaiah 11 foretells a future messianic king and of the coming of a peaceful kingdom. Neither of these were achieved until Jesus came as Messiah. If I asked you to name a politician past or present who has been an ideal political leader for this country, I expect you would really struggle. Depending on your political affiliation of course, but if we are really honest most politicians seem to have little desire to really change things for the good of all. There are some who definitely started out thinking they could make a difference with whom we are in some agreement but even they will have personality traits or beliefs we wish were different. Our politics seems to involve so many compromises that the desire to change things for all, becomes watered down and even lost in an attempt to appeal to a certain group of privileged people. Isaiah presents his audience with an ideal future king, one full of wisdom, who is of the Lord, who judges with righteousness and fairness for everyone. God’s ways were always meant to alleviate poverty, to level all into peace and freedom, but throughout history leaders and rulers have been swayed by payoffs and backhanders; a bias to those who could repay favours and offer support to keep power. The poor have always and still do get an appalling deal. Prophets, speaking the words of God to us, have always tried to bring people back to the way of truth and justice for all, but they are so often a lone voice, ignored and ridiculed. Here in the UK and across the world, the gap between rich and poor widens each day. The politicians we vote in and the businesses who they often represent in the affluent countries, demand they get more for less, and they get it while the poorest lose out even more to increase the wealth of the rich. Right now, there is a desperate need for those in power to rule with justice, fairness and equity; for us and our politicians to surrender our requirements for more and cheaper things and to stop looking to our own selfish increase at the cost to another of poverty and injustice. We, as Christians and as humans, must look honestly at what creates poverty and then we need to follow in the wake of our King, our Messiah, building His kingdom on his earth with equity, justice, fairness and peace for all no matter their gender, race, culture, status, country of origin, religion or personal choices.
29th December 2020
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I have, as usual, watched many different versions of A Christmas Carol over the festive period. I love the story because it has those things which are so much a part of the Christmas story. We have love, forgiveness, hurt, anger, frustration, humour and ultimately redemption. For us Scrooge is the epitome of bad temper, selfishness and greed whist his nephew is the epitome of joy and goodness even when he is thwarted and shouted down. His nephew does not give up on his uncle, he still asks him to dinner, year after year, he offers friendship and hospitality which are constantly rejected but Fred, the nephew, takes strength from his own understanding of love and family and keeps trying. Then we have Bob Cratchit, the overworked, underpaid and maltreated employee who still remains loyal, who thanks his boss for the kindness which to us is not kindness at all. He recognises that even if his life is hard and undervalued by others it is not undervalued by him, his family and God. He is grateful for what he does have and brings his family up the same way. Each of the characters has a role in helping us find the true meaning of Christmas as well as Scrooge. Many Christians struggle with the idea of Ghosts but perhaps we need to just see them as Holy Spirit led promptings of the mind and heart. God at work in the mysterious ways we read and sing about, easy to dismiss as non-scientific fiction, and yet For thousands of years God has been at work in this way, we have histories, testimonies, events and experiences which have changed people, changed hearts and our world for the better. However we look at them these mysterious ways had an impact, because God uses everything He created to speak to us, to challenge us and to change our hearts and minds for the better. May we know Nephew Fred’s determination and love, Bob Cratchit’s loyalty and gratefulness and Scrooges complete change of heart and mind to the service of God.
28th December 2020
Psalm 18:28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; You my God turns my darkness into light.
The idea of light in the darkness is sometimes all that keeps us going. There is the old phrase that says the darkest hour is just before dawn. This comes from the long night in which we may find ourselves and that just as a new day is about to begin is the point at which we are about ready to give up because it seems as if the darkness will just not go away. When all seems lost and we are hanging on by a thread we are never alone. It may seem like it from the usual perspective but from a heavenly perspective we are never alone. This season of Christmas, particularly with the pandemic this year, can be a dark time for many, even those who appear fine. The days over the Christmas period when we can’t go out, can’t see anyone other than who we live with if we have someone, brings with it a sadness and a bleakness. When the wind is howling, the rain pouring, and the daylight hours are short it seems life is a struggle and there seems little hope of improvement. It is now in the darkest hour before dawn, the days before a new year that we need to cling to the hope of our faith and the love of our God which means we are never alone. Now is the time to remember the good times, the times of blessing and encouragement, the joy of our faith and love. Having faith does not mean life will be easy, that we will never face problems or difficulties, what it does mean is that we never face them alone. We always have God on our side, and we will always be supported in the bad times as well as the good. So however you are feeling right now, know that you are loved, cared for, supported and that you are not alone. God is right there with you, carrying you if you need it, holding you when you need it, so let Him support you and hold you this and every day.
27th December 2020
Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people and family live together in unity!
We are so used to being allowed to do what we like, when we like, within the laws of the land that this past year, particularly now at Christmas, we are really struggling with not having our freedoms, not being able to socialise and see our family. Most of us actually moan and groan about our family, especially at Christmas, but this year has shown us that being without family at a special time of year is not something we like very much. We often go through the motions of what is expected or done at Christmas and it is easy to lose sight of why we do these things. We gather because Christmas is about family. The Holy family bringing Jesus into the world and caring for Him. The family of humanity being given every possible opportunity to become part of the family of God. The family of God in the church brought together to celebrate and share in the story of their life in God. Family means we do not always get along because we are all different. Family means people coming together with a common bond that overrides gender, age, culture or personal choices. Family can be unpleasant to each other and argue, but beneath this lies a bond, something which makes us come together and be family for special occasions. Being family involves patience and love, tolerance and peace of body and mind. Whether family by blood, religion, culture, race or marriage being family is central to humanity. Hopefully this Christmas we will begin to understand how important family really is because we cannot be together as we usually would. Often the loss of something is what makes us realise how special and important it is. May we have a little more appreciation of our families and try to treasure them more as and when things allow us to come together again.
26th December 2020
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people`
Have you ever been an angel in the nativity play? Lovely white sheets, tinsel halo’s, the little ones look so cute and sweet but look beyond the cute wings and halos. At the time of Jesus’ birth, people knew about angels through their understanding of the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament. This taught that angels were messengers from God who were far from cute. Angels could be very frightening and, people believed, capable of bringing about destruction for those who did not follow God’s plan. Angels were quite special, quite powerful and to be feared. When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they communicated a very different message, one of joy and celebration. They filled the sky and sang God’s praises and directed the shepherds to find Jesus. When Gabriel visited Mary, it was a message of God’s blessing and purpose to be fulfilled. When the angel visited Joseph, it was to set him on the right path and set his mind at rest. The angels were very much bringers of Joy and purpose, not to be feared or dreaded but to be respected and listened to. What are we to learn from their presence in the story? God has ways of communicating with us and He will use any and all of those ways to speak to us, guide us and direct us if we are willing to listen. God’s ways are to be respected and listened to. Like the angels, we can be hindered by people’s negative expectations of us, but also like the angels we can be ready to change their opinions of us for the better. We need to be willing to be sent into the world as faithful messengers of God’s love, changing people’s outlook with a joy and purpose that is infectious?
25th December 2020 Christmas Day
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
These clues, written in just a few lines by the Gospel writer St John, sum up why the birth of Jesus changed everything. That’s the reason this seemingly unlikely reading is heard in churches all over the world on Christmas morning. It’s the perfect scripture to help us see why Christmas is so important. Do we really need scripture to tell us why Christmas is important? Surely, it’s because of family, friends, gifts, parties, food. At least that’s the message we get from the world around us. No doubt these play a huge part in our celebrations and rightly so, but they are not the reason we celebrate, that’s why we need scripture, so we are not misled into thinking that Christmas is all about us. We turn to scripture because if we look it will lead us towards truth. This word was made flesh, in other words God became human. He cried tears of upset. He smiled in joy. He had friends and family. This helps us understand how Jesus’ birth changed everything. Although the Christmas day Gospel reminds us that God has been present since the beginning of time, Jesus’ birth was the start of something new. For the first time in human history, we were able to know God, face to face, as friends. And the way in which ‘the Word was made flesh’, communicated further how much God wants to be close to us. God didn’t enter our world as a powerful warrior, or a rich ruler, or a handsome prince because these would have kept him out of reach. God was placed into our arms as a vulnerable baby, reliant on our care. Those who have babies in the family know just how much they depend on us for their wellbeing. We feed them, clean them, keep them safe and warm. The next time you are around a baby, consider that God became like this for you. God trusts and loves us enough to care for his greatest treasure, our lives and the lives of others. It is a message Jesus continued to communicate to us as an adult, reminding his followers often that by clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, nursing the sick, they were doing the same to him. From his birth Jesus communicated clearly that all people are gifts to be cherished; an important way we can do that is by appreciating our value and dignity and more importantly the value and dignity of others. The Word became flesh and lived among us so we could see that everybody is worthy of respect and care.
24th December 2020
Matthew 2:1b/2 Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
Did you ever get to play a wise man or a King in the Nativity play? No doubt you had to wear fancy outfits to suggest you were wealthy, exotic, and different to everyone else. We struggle with difference, even today when we are supposedly more tolerant, and the wise men were different in so many ways. These men were from a different culture, spoke different languages and they would have had very different beliefs. These wise men were not Jewish and to some they would have considered them to be non-believers which opens the door to the Gentiles or everyone being welcome into God’s people. For these reasons many would have closed their doors to these strange outsiders. To many, including Herod, they were a probable threat. Rich, powerful people who may be coming looking for land they can take or invade. Herod’s part in their story is one of pretence and politeness, a desire to catch them out and use them to destroy any threat to his power. What do we to learn from their presence in the Christmas story? These are wealthy powerful people who are interested in world events and watch the night sky for signs. This is inviting the wealthy and powerful to find Jesus, as well as the poor and ordinary. Yet again, we are being told that Jesus is for everyone no matter who they are or where they are from. But these wise men also have another role, that of prophets, in their gifts they are reiterating who Jesus is and why He has come. Gold for a King, Frankincense for a Priest and myrrh for one who will die for all people. These wise men are so in tune to what is going on that they are warned to keep away from Herod, they don’t ask why, they don’t question how turning away from the powerful King will damage them, they just know what the right thing to do is and they do it. These wise men have a great deal to teach us about being open to God no matter who we are or where we are from.
23rd December 2020
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Back when you did the school nativity did you ever play a shepherd? Remember the clean tea towel head-dress, the rough material tunic, often made from old curtains or sheets and your innocent cheesy smiles that the teachers kept asking you for. You were often in a large group sitting round a fire, as many shepherds as were needed to get the whole class in the story. Our understanding of shepherds was just about looking after the sheep and in our plays, they seemed to be clean and happy. But what was the actual reality of Shepherds in Jesus’ day? Shepherds were actually the lowest of the low; they were considered very dirty, smelly, rough and untrustworthy. These views were founded on the work they did; looking after other people’s sheep was tough, poorly paid, and kept them far off in the hillside for weeks at a time. They were expected to protect the sheep from wild animals and thieves but quite often they were not willing to sacrifice their own life for the sheep. To the owner of the sheep a sheep’s life was more valuable that the shepherds. That does not give a poor shepherd much value does it? On their rare visits into towns, shepherds were shunned by everyone, people didn’t want to be seen with them or anywhere near them. The townspeople regarded the shepherds as second-class citizens, as worthless and certainly not worth spending time on or helping in any way. So, what do we to learn from their presence in the story? It is the Shepherds that are invited to come and find Jesus in the stable. It is the shepherds, the poor, worthless members of society who God sends the angels to first. God was making it very clear from the beginning that Jesus was coming for everyone, poor and rich, lowly and important, educated and uneducated. Jesus was very much coming for everyone and this invitation tells us that everyone of us is welcome in God’s family no matter our position or place in society and no matter what anyone else thinks of us.
22nd December 2020
Malachi 2:10 Don't we all have the same father? Didn't the same God create us all? Then why do we break our promises to one another, and why do we despise the covenant that God made with our ancestors to treat all humans fairly.
The carol O Holy Night was written in France in 1847 during a time when the practice of slavery was being challenged and changed across the world. Christians, inspired by the example of Christ, recognised that God’s commandment to love one another could not allow the denial of any person’s dignity. Jesus birth helped us understand that we are made in God’s image and that we have a dignity beyond measure. The second verse says: ‘Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains He shall break For the slave is our brother And in His Name All oppression shall cease.’ What better way to remind people of this lesson, than in a Christmas carol? O Holy Night’ was by a French wine waiter, Placide Cappeau, and composer, Adolphe Adam. Written as a Christmas poem for the parish and inspired by the Gospel of St Luke, Cappeau wrote words that spoke of the justice and joy Christ’s birth would bring. A decade later, a Canadian, Ernest Gagnon, heard the carol and decided to share the message of ‘O Holy Night’ in the US. In 1857 America was divided over the issue of slavery. But O Holy Night could help Americans see that Christ was born to free all people from injustice and fear. O Holy Night became a huge hit and helped change the country's hearts. By 1865, after four years of civil war, slavery was outlawed in America. Forty-one years later a scientist, Reginald Fessenden, worked out how to transmit the human voice over the radio. On Christmas Eve 1906 he set up a microphone and read the story of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of St Luke. After he spoke, the scientist picked up his violin and played O Holy Night. The carol was the first piece of music to be transmitted over the radio! Imagine hearing that for the first time. Once again O Holy Night helped share the message of Christ’s birth and God’s call for justice. None of this would have happened without a wine waiter, a composer, a Canadian writer, and an ambitious scientist. They all used their abilities to share the message of God’s love with the world; just as we are called to do today. God can and will use us to create a world where justice, mercy, joy, and peace reign; a world that Jesus taught us to build. But we must be ready to do as God asks of us, not just at Christmas but all year round.
21st December 2020
Isaiah 11:6 . ‘The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid, calf, lion and stock beast together, with a little boy to lead them.
At this time of year, we hear and sing carols that are very familiar to us. So familiar that sometimes we forget to listen to the messages they contain. ‘Silent Night’, is one of the most popular carols translated into over 200 languages. This might explain why the carol helped to bring a moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever seen. You will probably have heard of the famous Christmas truce between German and British soldiers on 24 December 1914. Many soldiers spoke of it in letters home from the front line. They told how British soldiers watched amazed as German soldiers began to place improvised Christmas trees on the top of their trenches. Soon soldiers waved to each other and shouted Christmas greetings. A few German soldiers came warily over the top of the trenches to rescue their dead and wounded from the battlefield. Both sides worked until ‘No Man’s Land’ was cleared of the dead and dying. The pause in fighting brought a welcome sense of calm and through the cold, starry night a German soldier began to sing ‘Stille Nacht’. ‘Silent Night’ For a while both sides sang more carols in both German and English. Then soldiers ventured over the top of the trenches sharing smiles, showing photographs of loved ones, and they played football together. The carol Silent Night started this peaceful chain of events as it spoke of Jesus birth fulfilling the prophecies of a saviour who could bring peace and calm into all situations: reminding us that God became one of us and entered our world as a vulnerable baby, dependent on the care of those around him and especially the care of his mother, Mary. From his birth, Jesus helped us to recognise that everyone is a child of God, made in His image, and worthy of love and respect. This is what happened on Christmas Eve 1914, when the message of ‘Silent Night’ brought together enemy soldiers, who by Christmas Day morning, were playing football as friends. As followers of Christ, we are to share this same love through our words and actions.
20th December 2020
Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. Be present in every moment you have, don't waste time doing things that really don't matter.
Carpe Diem – ‘Seize the Day!’ Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase. Many people have, but few know the full quotation: ‘Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.’ However, some of us trust much more in the future than the present. We actually get stuck waiting for something to change: When I get that pay rise; when I meet the right person; when we move out of this house; when the children leave home; when God asks me to what I want to do…. We wait for something to change. Until then, we feel stuck; our lives are on pause, we get in a rut. Advent is actually about waiting and during Advent and as we wait and prepare for Christmas and the second coming of Jesus, we remember how God came to people who were stuck, who were waiting for something to change, who were waiting for their Messiah. He came right into their worry, their doubt, and their hopelessness. Since that first Advent, we can now reach out to God whatever our circumstances. We don’t have to wait for something to change. Grace can come to us today, right now. Too often, we wait for something around us to change, we forget that we can be part of that change, even the catalyst for that change, but we can never really know what tomorrow holds. Yet today, without waiting, we can reach out for the hope; seize the grace that God offers to us in Jesus.
19th December 2020
Psalm 37:7 Shortcuts may seem profitable in the short term, but they will never get us anywhere in the long term. Better to do things God’s way!
Many of us like to take a short cut if we can; we think that it will get us to be where we want to be much quicker. We turn off the main road and follow country lanes because on our map this looks like the most direct route. Sometimes it works, but most of the time we find ourselves wandering down narrow country lanes where we come to junctions without signposts and, very likely, get lost. People do similar things with cooking. They watch the celebrity cook make the most amazing dish and decide to have a go themselves. The recipe says to marinade for three hours but the family will be home before then so we cut that bit out and surprise, surprise it’s nearly not as good as we thought that it would be. In fact, it’s a bit of a let-down. Don’t we sometimes feel the same about Christmas, that it can let us down? All that shopping, all the gift wrapping, the dash to the carol concert when we are so worn out that we would rather watch the TV. Perhaps the reason that we sometimes feel let down with Christmas is because we took a short cut to the big day. We missed out Advent, that time in Church year when we prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Christ child. If we want something to be a success, we have to prepare thoroughly for it, ask any painter and decorator, they will tell you that preparation is everything. It’s the same with Christmas we need to spend time preparing our hearts and minds for the most amazing thing that has ever happened, the Son of God coming into the world for our sakes. Don’t forget about Advent this year give yourself a different Christmas treat, prepare for the coming of the Lord.
18th December 2020
Psalm 130:5/6 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.
I really dislike waiting. I like things to happen when I expect them to, things to be on TV at the time it says, appointments to be at the time I was given, orders to be received in the time frame given. Waiting is difficult, I get edgy, nervous, I look out the window, wonder why something is late. I really hate the doctor’s waiting room; I never seem to be seen on time and someone else always seems to go in before me even if they arrived after me. I dislike traffic jams and sitting waiting for lights to change. I am not good with waiting. So, Advent and Christmas can be hard. Advent is very much about waiting, waiting for the Christmas season to arrive, yes, but also waiting for the promised return of Jesus, His second coming. As a youngster I heard many emotionally charged sermons on being ready, I sang the Larry Norman song “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” many times and felt the urgency to get people into the kingdom quickly before Jesus came back. This must have been how the disciples were in the early church, they expected Jesus to return very quickly and wanted to spread their message as far as possible. We are still waiting, no one knows the day or the hour we are told, we are offered signs and clues and there are many who have predicted a time and place and been totally wrong. This waiting of Advent is penitential, a recognition of what we have done wrong and a willingness to change. That applies to our lives whether Jesus returns soon or not so. It is reminder that we live in the now and the not yet. We live daily, in the now as followers who want to share God’s love and challenge worldly ways and selfishness, but we also live for that which has not yet come, we live in and with hope. Advent is a time to prepare, to make ready for Christmas and for Jesus return, may we live as those ready for both.
17th December 2020
2 Chronicles 32:7 Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and his army, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of humans, but with us is the Lord our God to help us, to fight our battles and to protect us.
How confident are you? In yourself and in God? Often when times are difficult, we can turn to God for help and then be rather annoyed because we feel He has not done what we think He ought. Often when we are facing difficulty or fear, when we undertake something which may cause us harm we look to our own reserves and to our knowledge of God’s promises. Here in 2 Chronicles the people are fearful of the King of Assyria, of his army which is descending upon them. This king is the oppressor and enslaver of the time, bent on occupation and complete rule. In Judah the people are doing their part, as we all must with God, thy are trying to repair the wall to give some protection and their King, Hezekiah, takes his role as their leader and speaks up. He tells his people that the other side might have an army, but they have God on their side, they have a greater power with them, the Assyrians have only human strength whereas the people of Judah have God’s strength. What a speech! Hezekiah’s faith in God is passed on to his people who play their part in keeping their kingdom safe. What about us? Do we have this faith in God, that He will protect us and keep safe? Are we prepared to do our part in the story? Although God time and again defends and protects often the people do not allow Him to work, they block His plans by enforcing their own ideas. They and we expect God to work for us as we want rather than asking God what we should do and listening to God’s reply. Our confidence in God is often strengthened when we are blessed and helped by Him; but our memories are short and we are very good, as humans, in thinking we know what is best and how God should fix a situation. Faith is actually a risk, it is looking to God against all the odds and saying I trust you, whatever you decide is okay with me. It is allowing God to work in miraculous ways and playing our part by listening and responding to Him. We can have confidence in God, even in the most difficult of times, it may not be easy, but it is worth taking the risk for there is a greater power with us than with our enemy!
16th December 2020
Psalm 71: 14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
How is your countdown to Christmas going? How is your daily munching of chocolate as you open another door on the Advent calendar? Have you forgotten it at all, left the calendar for a few days because there is so much else to do? The older I get the harder I find it to open the new door each day in the business. But this countdown continues to the biggest consumer festival of the year, millions of us are spending billions of pounds on gifts, mainly online this year, and we hope our gift choice will be welcomed and approved of. This countdown, through our Advent calendars, reminds us each day that a the very special day is coming. We get excited and make plans and want to celebrate. Christmas Day is a special, wonderful and joyful day, even without the presents, although I think many might think themselves cheated if there were no presents. But the day is special because of Jesus birth around 2000 years ago, a baby given to save the world. A vulnerable child born in poverty, in reality to bring God to every one of every race, creed, colour, gender identity. So why all this counting down, what is the point of this Advent season? It offers a time to reflect on what Christmas is really about, to think about the birth of Jesus and God’s abundant and everlasting love for us. It also offers the chance of reflecting on what comes next, the next part of our story and the next part of the Christian story. In the midst of Christmas lies the shadow of Easter. A few carols have it in their verses to remind us where we go from here. Once the Christmas season ends, we go into Epiphany and Candlemas and then into Lent and preparations for Easter. As the Seasons of the church role on, as we move from one festival to the next, we are given reasons for hope. The Christ child born that first Christmas is our hope of a future, His death and resurrection are our hope for eternity with God and His promised glorious return to make the whole earth and universe perfect again offers hope for the perfect future we were created for, a New Heaven and a New Earth. There is no chocolate calendar to count this one down we just know it is on God’s calendar. As we approach that final door to open, the nativity scene at Bethlehem, Christmas offers us hope, hope eternal in our saviour and Lord born on Christmas day.
15th December 2020
Psalm 105:2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.
One of the most special things about Christmas for me is the carols. I have loved carol singing since I was a child and loved going round in the streets, singing round lampposts, and walking along together as we moved to different places. In later years I would take my guitar out as we sang and gave out mince pies at stations when we were no longer allowed to collect for charities. There is something about these carols that tell the beautiful story of Christmas. Back 300 years ago there was only 1 carol allowed by the established church and that was While Shepherds Watched as it was a paraphrase of Scripture and it was sung to many different tunes. As non-conformist churches began to write and sing more congregational hymns and carols, the established church realised the importance of music in telling the stories of faith and of Christmas. At this time in history more carols were sung in pubs than in our churches, I rather like that idea and actually this still happens in places like Yorkshire in crowded pubs as families come together and sing old and new carols together in harmony. So, in this year of COVID-19 where we are not being allowed to sing in church, I am really struggling with not being able to sing carols out loud and I know that I am not the only one. In these days of streamed music most of us have access to carols, even on CD, so what I am encouraging you and myself to do is sing these carols at home, sing them out loud, sing those harmonies you are not brave enough to sing in church, sing those descants you were taught at school and enjoy singing your favourite carols out loud. The story of Christmas is told in these lovely carols, they bring back memories of our past and they remind us just how much God loves us and how and why He sent His son on that very first Christmas. So listen, sing and wonder at the story of Jesus birth and receive a blessing from these wonderful Christmas Carols.
14th December 2020
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Do you have a teddy bear? I still have several but my rabbit, bought for me as a young child at Christmas is still there with me. These cuddly soft toys are a comfort when you are young, they offer something to cuddle, to hold and to talk to when no one else will listen. They are great for mopping up tears and just being there. I am always saddened when I hear someone did not have a teddy as a child because they are so special and offer such comfort and blessing. They often come as gifts when babies are born or for early Christmases, there are special types and makes and they may have special meanings. The term Teddy Bear comes from Teddy Roosevelt who refused to shoot a small bear while on a hunt and the press called it Teddy’s Bear from which soft cuddly Teddy Bears were born. It is the comfort they bring which I love, the way in which a soft imitation given anthropomorphic qualities can give a person comfort, hope and encouragement. We all need companionship, friendship, comfort and help and all these things are offered to us through our faith. Jesus is everything we need when it comes a comforter, a friend, a companion, someone to listen to us, offer help and to mop up our tears when we need it. This verse reminds us that under us, around us are God’s everlasting arms, in other words we are always held and cuddled by God. St Hildegard spoke of God’s arms encircling us, holding us. Many Christians have written and spoken about how God has been their comfort, their constant companion, the one they can tell everything to and know they are still loved. Whatever our situation, however happy or sad we are, whatever we are going through Jesus knows and understands, God sends His spirit to comfort us and bless us, God listens to our prayers and He encircles us with His loving arms.
13th December 2020
Matthew 2:9 Behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
I love Nativity sets and I have collected many over the years. I have beautifully carved wooden ones, tiny ceramic ones, snow globes, wall hangings, playmobil, lego and so on. One of my favourites is my Russian Doll style one which is carried around and loved in schools and children’s services. As I unpack the set it offers lots of questions and ideas about who each one is and what they did in the story. For size sake Joseph doubles as a shepherd and when we get to Mary everyone expects Jesus to be inside her as we open it up, but no, next is the Angel and then baby Jesus. It is so simple and yet so wonderful, as is every set. These figures tell the story, some with a stable background, some with no background, but in every one there is a star or an angel, Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus and then some have shepherds, some have kings, some have both and often there are animals and a manger. The point of these representations is just that, to represent and re-enact the story of Christmas. This tradition came from St Francis of Assisi who in 1223 gained permission from the Pope to set up a scene with a manger and live animals in a cave as a backdrop while he preached to the people. From here the nativity scene spread across Europe and people began to act as the characters and even whole villages began re-enacting the scene each Christmas. Within churches we have various traditions often performed by Sunday Schools, pre-schools and sometimes a scratch nativity where people arrive, choose a costume and with a little adult help are ushered in and out of the story as it is told. In my home you will always find something Christmassy around all year, a small nativity set, or picture is always in my office because I am inspired and encouraged by this story all year round. I will sing Christmas Carols at any time of year if they catch me because they mean something, they have a story to tell about Jesus coming to be our saviour. If you do not have a nativity set then do get one, there are plenty around, places like the The Works usually have something very reasonable and some card shops do as well. Set it up and let it remind you of that first Christmas and the blessing God sent to us.
12th December 2020
Exodus 22:5 If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make proper restitution.
In the Old Testament we learn that the Jewish people lived by a strict code of laws that God had given them. If you read through these laws you will find that most of these, mainly concerning forms of worship and certain consequences and punishments, are not followed literally these days except in the most Orthodox of Jewish communities. But there are quite a few of these rules which are reflected in our modern statutes and laws. For the Hebrews, politics, law, and religion were all interlinked and part of everyday life with one set of rules applying to all. In western society today we have different laws and rules in the different areas of our lives, but the Hebrew laws still affect Jewish lives and to some extent ours as well. This can be seen in this verse from Exodus, this passage tells them and us that we are responsible for our actions and for any damage we might do to someone else or their property. We are also responsible for anything our pets or animals do to others. None of us like punishment and we will often do whatever is necessary to avoid it. Hitting a parked car and because no one has seen us we just drive away. We justify our action by blaming them, how they were parked, or that is what their insurance is for. Taking those things from work because everyone does it and it is a perk of the job. Lying to get out of a visit or commitment we have made. We can always invent several reasons why we don’t have to own up or take responsibility. We need to be reminded of something; material things are not the point of life and when we put material things before God in importance, we build a wall between God and ourselves, we lose sight of God and the justice, mercy and honesty that He asks of us. Earthly treasure is of no consequence in eternity, what we should be concerned about is treasure in heaven. Our concern with earthly wealth, our pride in what we have achieved, our love of self-importance causes us to deny our responsibilities and pass the buck on to everyone else for the things we do wrong. As Christians we have responsibilities, and we must accept them and live accordingly.
11th December 2020
Matthew 1: 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
In Chapter 1 of Matthew Jesus lineage is traced back through Joseph to Abraham, in Luke 3 it goes back to Adam. Both go through King David whose Father Obed is the son of Ruth and Boaz. The book of Ruth is well worth a read! Joseph is an older man, a carpenter, full of integrity and strong conviction. He is righteous and caring and not wanting to cause Mary any dishonour or embarrassment. He is the man entrusted with God’s Son on earth. Joseph’s reaction, when he hears that Mary is pregnant, is to suspect something, as he contemplates divorcing Mary he is “unwilling to expose her to public disgrace,” wanting to keep the whole matter quiet. Moreover, law and the culture of the day would virtually say that Joseph had no alternative but to divorce Mary. This would be humiliating for both but more so Mary. It seems Mary knows nothing about his deliberations. In any case, it all becomes a moot point when an angel intervenes, telling Joseph in a dream to go through with the marriage custom. The angel also tells him how it is that Mary is pregnant and announces Jesus’ forthcoming birth. Joseph is to name the child “Jesus” (Iesous in Greek). The Greek name is derived from the Hebrew Yehoshuah (Joshua in English), which means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.” The child born to Mary is to be given that name as a designation of his purpose, which is to save his people from their sins. Joseph takes Mary into his home as his wife, and then, after the child is born, he names the child “Jesus” in obedience to the command of the Angel. Joseph is mentioned again when Jesus is 12 but not after. It is generally believed he died just before Jesus ministry began. We don’t tend to think much about Joseph but he was a man willing to do God’s will, even when it could be difficult and dangerous. He took his role as Jesus earthly father very seriously and he sets an example for us about how we should live, how we should treat those we love and how God can work in us if we are willing to let Him.
10th December 2020
Luke 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
At this time of year, I would normally attend very many nativities and carol concerts in schools. Over the years I have seen all sorts of versions, heard so many carols and new songs, seen very interesting characters arrive in Bethlehem and I just love it. As a teacher it was always such a job to include everyone in the story and so people arrived in their various groups to find Jesus. We always had a lot of Shepherds, Kings and Angels as well as anyone else we could place in the town. The part of the story I love is the inn keeper part. I have watched children dying to say yes I have room, come on in, and hating having to shake their head and say no. I have watched many children want to be the one who says they have a stable Mary and Joseph can use and I have seen versions which give the inn keeper the central role allowing him and his wife to muse over who this family are and why they were late in arriving and seemingly unplanned in their endeavours. We have four gospels; one does not include the story and three tell it from different angles and perspectives. We have created this wonderful Nativity story where the starry night holds a magical hew and shepherds, angels and kings all make an appearance in the one night. We know it didn’t happen like that, the kings came later, for example. Yet we place it all into one event because it brings together the pieces of the story into that one day we celebrate Christmas. Yes, there are purists who want everything to be proper and correct but the truth is we don’t know exactly what happened and when, we cannot know the exact number of kings or shepherds and that does not matter, what we do know is that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that all these things happened at some point, in some way and that God made it all as it should be. So enjoy the differing nativities and know that God is the centre of each and every one.
9th December 2020
Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
There is something about a new still morning, even in winter, damp it may be but still and quiet and there is something comforting and inspiring about it. A Christian Singer wrote a song many years ago called “Was it a Morning like this?” she was musing about what the morning of Jesus rising had been like. Like any other morning and yet something even more amazing than the gift of a new day was given, Jesus is risen from the tomb and she asks did the grass sing, did the earth rejoice to feel you again. It is a song of rejoicing that death has been defeated. As a youngster I was told an inspiring story of a man who had desired all his life to visit Calvary, to see the place where God had given His Son. As he lay dying and was tormented by his unfulfilled wish he fell into a fitful sleep where he was taken to Bethlehem and the first Christmas with Jesus in the manger. He asked God why He was doing this when all he wanted was to go to the place where God gave His Son for all humans, and God replied, “This is where I gave my son”. That very first Christmas was where Jesus was given to the world by God. Once sent from Heaven to Earth Jesus trajectory was set, His life was to be physically given for this world years later on the cross at Calvary, but Jesus is given on that first Christmas as the gift for Humans. given freely by God. That first Christmas, was it a morning like this? Well, it may well have been cold and damp, who knows, but it would have been a morning of new promises, a morning when Angels gathered on the hillside, a morning when a young woman and her husband would have nursed the special child given for this world.
8th December 2020
Philippians 3:4 If anyone has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more.
If I asked you if you were a confident person what would you reply? If your immediate reply is yes then you are confident. Confidence is a good thing but confidence in the right things is what we need in life. Those who are brazenly confident in everything are often the cause of hurt and pain in others because they do not see or care about the impact their attitude has on others. The tendency in present society is to have confidence in wealth, fame, celebrity status, power, large extensive property, sport and success. We are told, by society, that these are the things to desire, to put our confidence in and these will make us happy. Research actually tells us that those who are the happiest in society are actually those who have enough. They are not worrying about their next meal because they have enough food, shelter, and warmth. Research also tells us that the poor are happier than the rich because they appreciate what they do have and are grateful for the extras. The rich have so much that they lose their appreciation for life, for the basics, and they spend time amassing more and more at whatever cost to others in the hope of security which never really comes, because there is never quite enough for them. This earthly confidence is not justified, as we see from St Paul he has reason to be completely confident, he is top of the pile as regards status, religion, role, background and family; yet he realises that all this is worthless in comparison to his confidence in God. Paul recognises that we can be never be complete without faith and confidence in God. Paul realises, as we must, that all we have comes from God and should be treated as a blessing, blessings to be shared with others. Confidence in our self should never come at the cost of others but out of a knowledge that we are who we are because God made us that way.
7th December 2020
Jeremiah 30:17 I will restore your health, and I will heal your wounds, declares the Lord.
I do love The Repair Shop on TV and admire the skills of these wonderful craftspeople. I particularly like to watch the Master Saddler, Suzi, repair leather. She is able to take old worn leather and recondition it, mend it, nourish and clean it, finishing it with rejuvenating cream. Also, she is able to stitch pieces and edges together even through the toughest of leather. This stitching fascinates me because she uses a tool to make a hole first and then to pass a needle through, one goes one way and one another. All this hard work puts life back into the piece and returns it to former glory, giving further years of use and commemoration. As I watch her work it strikes a chord with me about how God treats us. We come to Him damaged, old and sometimes broken. We can have bits missing, have tears and broken edges and our stitching can be split or lost as well as being unnourished and dried out. God takes us and very gently begins to repair us. God will clean us up, looking at all our edges and scuffs. He will slowly and gently work on us stitching together the broken pieces and softening the hard and worn areas. He will make those necessary holes to lead the repair needle through and make us strong and worthy again. God’s rejuvenating cream is the Holy Spirit which comes upon us, through us and round us, into every nook and cranny so we have the energy and desire to love and serve Him to the best of our ability. I have never yet seen Suzi not be able to repair something and I have never known God not be able to repair anyone who comes to Him. It is true that sometimes repair can be a little painful and can take along time, but the end product is so worth it. God has always wanted the best for us and His love will use whatever skills necessary to repair us and make us new and clean and beautiful again. There will still be some scars and marks because they make us who we are, but they will be healed and rejuvenated by His love and care. There is only one thing God requires of us to repair us and that is we need to be willing to let Him do the work within us.
6th December 2020
Jeremiah33:14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
Notice that word Surely, what does that say to you? To me it is stipulating something, a certainty of faith that most of us, me included, don’t currently have because of the uncertainty of our present situation. You might think these words came at a time of certainty and wealth for God’s people. Nothing could be further from the truth. The prophet Jeremiah spoke these words during a time of intense pain for the people of God. In fact the people felt that their God had abandoned them. Do you ever like that? They really thought God had abandoned them. But why did they think that? They had lost a major war. Their religious, political and military leaders had been taken hostage and dragged off to a far land. The rest of the leaderless people had been left to fend for themselves in a ruined land. The initial belief that God would soon sort it began to disappear, time had marched on, generations of families come and gone, and still no sign of God’s blessing and promise happening. So the view of God had deteriorated and the questions are asked; just where is our God when you need him? Into this negativity and despondence, into this doubt and unbelief comes this prophet, Jeremiah, with a declaration of certainty. Jeremiah declares that all will be well. They had been waiting such a long time for God’s action, it had become almost a myth to them and then here comes Jeremiah with powerful, sure words, steeped with faith. Faith is what we need in order to wait a long time for action, for things to change. This faith is the centre of our belief and it is hard to keep going when things don’t happen immediately, when we think we know the answer, but God doesn’t seem to do it the way we want. It takes faith to stand up and believe that all will be well, that God can be believed in and depended upon. God keeps His promises but we must believe, must have faith and if we are struggling then all we need to do is ask God for a little more faith and He will give us what we need when we need it. We can be sure that God will fulfil His promises just as Jeremiah said He would.
5th December 2020
Luke 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
There are lots of themes in the Bible around certain events and stories. Within the readings and stories of Christmas there are many journeys. Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem and then onto Egypt in fear of their lives. The Shepherds journey from their hills to find the stable, the Wise Men journey from the east as they follow a star to find the king who is to be born. In Mexico a tradition called Las Posadas happens just before Christmas. It means The Inns in Spanish. The tradition uses people dressed as Mary and Joseph to travel from home to home as they go to Bethlehem. Each home on the journey put the family up overnight and then they move on to the next family. On Christmas Eve they arrive at the church for midnight service and become part of the crib scene. In the UK and other countries small nativity figures of Mary, Joseph and the Donkey travel round the parish and are brought to Midnight mass. One year as a 5-year-old son rushed to bring the figures into church he tripped and fell and suddenly we had a headless Mary, a legless Donkey. a cracked Joseph and a distraught 5-year-old. In every church there has always been that person who can fix things and within 10 minutes with an amazing glue the reassembled figures were safely on the Altar and no one was any the wiser. All journeys are fraught with danger, even up to the last minute. Mary and Joseph’s journey was rough, difficult and Mary was heavily pregnant. Later they are “on the run” escaping from a homicidal king, to an unknown country with all the danger that brings. All our journeys have dangers and problems, there are unseen and unwanted hazards, and we are all at risk and sometimes even get a little broken. Yet Jesus was kept safe and looked after by his family, by His heavenly father in all the journey’s He ever made and so are we. As we journey toward Christmas may we be reminded of all that God does to take care of us.
4th December 2020
Matthew 2:9b The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was.
How are you doing with your advent calendar? We still use a traditional, no chocolate one but they are becoming harder to find. Behind the door today was a star, a bright, bold star in the sky. As we journey in Advent towards Christmas there are a couple of traditions we follow. As the crib scene appears in church the wise men can be found at places round the church or our downstairs as they journey towards Bethlehem and the rest of the crib scene. There is a star is nearby or over the scene showing them the way. This story which has been interpreted by story tellers and hymn writers presents us with wise men from the East who have followed a star which in their tradition indicates the birth of someone very special, a king or royalty. In faith these wise men, they were well educated, they studied history and astronomy and maths, they stepped out into an unknown journey following a star because they believed it was important to the world as they knew it. For us we set out on a journey each year toward Christmas. Advent offers us the time to step into a journey of preparation, to get ready for the celebration of Christmas and Jesus birth with all it’s decorations and traditions but also to be reminded of the promised second coming of Jesus which is important to the world as we know it; the promise that Jesus will return to Earth and take all His precious ones to Himself. Advent, as a season, has been somewhat lost in the Earthly traditions and I must confess that when in a church that took Advent so seriously and would not sing a carol or speak about Christmas until the day itself, I found myself feeling more like the Grinch than a Christian preparing for such a special time. Advent offers us time, time to prepare, to get ready, to mull over the familiar stories and find a new blessing, a new wonder for Christmas and for our Saviour and Lord. It has its serious side and its joyful side and, as with all these things, we need to find a balance and be willing to step out in our learning and faith to follow the star and find Jesus.
3rd December 2020
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem.
Within Christianity there is a reverence for the city of Jerusalem. It features in the Bible as beautiful, wonderful and is highly praised. It was in Jerusalem that baby Jesus was presented at the Temple as required by His family’s traditions and yet this is also the city that Jesus weeps over and the city that judges Him, rejects Him and crucifies Him outside the city wall. Helen, the mother of Constantine the first Christian Emperor, built churches in Jerusalem in the 4th century that commemorated the events in the life of Jesus; within the early church as it spread across the world, as monasteries were build in places like Iona, they were set out to reflect the city of Jerusalem and it’s part in the story of Jesus. Within these monasteries were places that represented His crucifixion, His tomb, where the Last Super was shared, His crucifixion and resurrection. So, even if you were thousands of miles away you could enter the city as you entered the monastery, sing psalms, share the Lord’s supper, sit at the feet of His cross and witness His rising as if in Jerusalem itself. Our churches as they were built were representations of this city, facing towards Jerusalem and symbolising life as a journey toward Heaven. As people would make pilgrimage to their local church or Cathedrals it was as if they made pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As Christians in the 21st Century Jerusalem may not have much of a relevance to us or our faith and yet it plays a huge role in our Bible and in the teaching, we listen to and believe. It has a spiritual significance to our faith, and it has a historical significance in our traditions and ideas. This is a city that was central to the covenant of God and His people, a city that was seen as central to God’s presence on Earth. Although we do not depend on it for our faith we do need to recognise it’s significance and the role it played in Jesus life.
2nd December 2020
Psalm 13:2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
A recent advert has the strap line If you’re feeling a bit lost right now, you’re in good company. This advert has a number of top and successful people admitting to struggling with all that has happened in our world. People have found themselves alone and scared. Our students found themselves with barriers put around their halls of residence to keep them in, our care homes have been unable to let visitors in and there is great fear. Our hospitals and GP’s stopped seeing people in person unless they were in need of urgent hospitalisation. People have lost their businesses and jobs. People feel they have been forgotten and abandoned. As Christians we may feel like God is not there, we can feel forgotten and abandoned and we ask questions, we want to know where is our God? The Psalmist in particular is very vocal with these feelings of being lost and abandoned and the Bible does not shy away from these hard questions and challenges because they come out of our deep longing and need for God. We have become fearful, in this present uncertainty, of losing friendship, intimacy, closeness, our family and our Christmas celebrations because we feel lost in this pandemic and how we are dealing with it. We need to be assured that all these fears are acceptable to have and they are answered in Jesus, Jesus who brings friendship, intimacy and closeness, Jesus who is the centre of our families, Jesus who is the true centre of Christmas and Jesus who brings us close to God. We all need and value the help of someone greater than ourselves and we are all in that company of the unsure, the lost and confused. For us, as Christians, we have that relationship with the Creator, our father God. This relationship brings us certain hope, comfort and assurance that we are not alone in our distress and that even in the darkest of times we are loved and cared for and never forgotten.
1st December 2020
Matthew 15:3 He said to them, Why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your traditions?
As we enter Advent, I am aware of the many varying traditions about when to put up decorations and trees. We have our own family traditions such as the tree has always gone up on the first weekend of December; when our boys were young, we went out to the Christmas Tree Farm and they chose our real tree. We now have an artificial tree, different but it still goes up on the first weekend. My son’s other half has started another tradition where she buys me a new special bauble decoration each year, one that reflects my personality and interests. We have had to compromise over the years as my husband’s tradition was always white lights and gold or red baubles only on the tree. He has come to accept that these new special baubles have their place even if they have lots of different colours. I had to give up my love of a real tree in favour of a much easier and a lot less messy artificial tree. It makes sense. We have friends who only put up their tree on Christmas Eve and only have real candles on the branches. As many families as there are, there are that many different traditions, but these grow and change with the years, with the changes in families as people marry and new family members bring their traditions. So it is with the church. As new family members join us then traditions will change, as society changes so will our celebrations to reflect that. It struck me the other day that as a child my Mum would get up at 5:30 am Christmas morning to put the Turkey in, we would not do that now. There is the standing joke that we put the sprouts on at the beginning of December because everyone overcooks them. Traditions are wonderful, they make already special occasions even more so, but they need to change as people, families and society changes. No one is completely right in their views however they may try to say they are. No one has the right to tell any of us that our traditions are right or wrong. Traditions come from how things were done and depend on whether they can work in new and uncertain situations. I love our Christmas traditions, but they have changed and will continue to do as our family grows and changes. May we be willing to have change in our traditions as we grow in our Christian and church families and not be too precious about things that may very easily turn new family members away.
30th November 2020
John 1:41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah”.
Today is St Andrew’s Day, the Patron Saint of Scotland and one of Jesus first disciples. You could call Andrew the first evangelist as before he does anything else, he goes to his brother and says we have found The Messiah. His greatest and first desire is to bring his brother into the joy, the faith that he has found in Jesus. Andrew’s role is one of bringing, bringing those who can serve the Lord in their way, their calling, whatever that may be. Andrew also had the willingness to speak up, even when he was unsure, speaking up to help those in need be helped and fed. Andrew served His Lord, even when others had greater earthly recognition, even when others chose an easier path he stood firm and went where God called him to go, willing to pay the ultimate cost. His role as a saint is not one he would have chosen for himself, but one given to him by his service and faith. Andrew did not bring his brother or serve his Lord for what he would get out of it, but because he had found The Messiah and wanted to share that with everyone! What lies behind our service, our faith? Do we expect some form of sainthood in our local community or do we do what we do because God has called us, because we have found The Messiah and our greatest desire is that everyone else would find Him too. As we celebrate St Andrew may we be reminded of why we serve God and be willing to always put God’s work above our own gain.
29th November 2020
Psalm 1:3a They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.
We have seen the leaves fall from the trees these last weeks. The vibrant green leaves of summertime, that provide shade and show life have turned beautiful shades of red and yellow and the process of photosynthesis weakens as summer sun is lost. The leaves fall from the trees and we spend seemingly endless hours sweeping them up, tidying the ground for the next ones to fall even as we clear. Those branches full only weeks ago with green leaves are now bear, they look cold and sad but they are just going into a survival mode, a type of hibernation while they restock for the new life in the spring. This cycle happens every year, it is all part of the seasons and the life cycle. The leaves that drop rot and mulch and go back into the ground putting nutrients back for the roots of the tree to feed upon. The trees need food just as we do, they need a time to sleep or rest, just as we do, while they restock their energy for the life and growth of spring. The very sign of life and health, those green leaves, stop making the food from the sunlight and turn yellow and red and fall away taking the last of their life into the ground so it can all start again. The story of Jesus holds this cycle of life, a life that had energy and vigour, gave shade and care to so many was then robbed of his life, hung upon a tree, a cross made of wood, then put into the ground to rot away. This story does not end there, because Jesus bring new life, a spring to humanity by defeating death and rising again. Jesus new life is our new life. Jesus is our source of energy and nutrients through the Holy Spirit. Jesus provides us with all we need to grow strong, to offer shade and comfort, to produce fruit and to pass His love and life onto others. May this life cycle of the tree remind us each autumn, of the life cycle of Jesus and ultimately of ourselves.
28th November 2020
1 Timothy 2:8 I desire then that in every place you should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling.
Usually when I get to a point of not having any inspiration for my daily thoughts something just happens. The other morning, I was up early and looked out the window to check on how cold it was. I only glanced quickly and thought it’s foggy this morning, I hate driving to school in the dark and fog, so much harder to see. So, I prepared myself, fed the cat, unlocked, coat on and out into no fog. Nothing anywhere, just a crisp morning. My initial thought was that cleared fast, but that is not possible my brain said. Then it dawned on me as I looked up to my bedroom window from outside, the window was steamed up. What I had seen as fog in my quick glance was actually condensation. So it is in life. We take a quick glance at something, don’t really concentrate or take in everything and we begin working with the wrong assumption. So many of the issues we discuss, argue about, get fired up about happen because we do not look properly, we do not examine the whole picture and just make assumptions. The church is really good at this, I see on social media people from different ends of the churches spectrum say the most condemnatory and cruel things about others because they just will not listen to the whole story. They have a particular view that they have been told is completely correct and so judge others as being wrong when they are just coming at it from a different perspective. There are not that many things which are non-negotiable in Christianity. There are many ideas and doctrines that certain people have enforced on us, based on that time in history and their rules, but our first port of call should always be Jesus and His teaching, we then look at scripture and tradition and put these into context. I am always taken back to the importance of love as taught by Jesus. Love that forgives and does not condemn, love that cares for everyone and does not discriminate based on culture or background, gender or colour, mental health or physical health, there is no discrimination in Jesus love for us and there should be none in our love for each other. We are far too concentrated on judgement and a lot less fixated on love which is not the balance of Jesus teaching at all. All of us, that includes me, must be more understanding and accepting of each other, must be willing to listen to and accept other points of view and other perspectives and be very careful of making ourselves judge and jury because we are not God and we don’t see things clearly often mistaking a steamed up window for fog!
27th November 2020
Titus 2:13 We prepare for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
At this time of year, leading up to Christmas, many of us go without in order to prepare for the exuberance and abundance of Christmas. Spending time fasting and praying also gives us the time to prepare well for the season ahead and make sure we are doing it for the right reasons. Lent is another time when we go without in order to prepare and be made aware of things we need to change or refocus on. Within this year we have all had to go without, not seeing family or friends for months, not going to pubs or restaurants, not being able to use the library or swimming pool, not going to church and so much more. It has been a time where we have been limited, our freedoms have been cut back and we have, hopefully, had the opportunity to reassess what is important to us. We have looked ever forward to a time when we will return to normal but will we, can we? We wait for explanations and announcements, hoping we can at least go back to the gym or have our hair done, we hope that we will be allowed to meet family at Christmas and little bits of possibilities litter the papers and the news and we pin our hopes on common sense. Whatever happens, Christmas will be different this year. The reasons for celebration will be different, the people missing will be different and we will be bound by rules we have begun to resent and question. Even in the midst of that we will do what is needed to have some normality of a family Christmas. In church we will not be able to hold the big joyous services of music and light but we will find a way to still have our readings and carols, to still remember Jesus birth, shepherds, kings, angels and donkey’s. We may have to do things differently, do less of them and not be able to sing out our carols but we will commemorate, we will, in the less of this Christmas, find more. In appreciating the need for smaller, quieter services we may find a quieter appreciation for the story and our part in it. We often wish we had more time, this Christmas we have more time, more time in our homes, more time to do the things we usually rush at and more time to appreciate the real joys this season holds for us.
26th November 2020
Jonah 4:9/10 Is it right for you to be angry about the bush? You are concerned about something you did not create and which you did not grow.
I am a real believer in justice and fairness. I really don’t like people being treated unfairly and so sometimes I struggle with events and things around me. There is a character in the Bible I can relate to called Jonah. He has a real problem with God asking Him to go and tell the people to change their bad ways knowing that they will heed the warning and God will forgive them. He tells God that he understands God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love, but all this forgiveness is not fair in Jonah’s opinion. Jonah gets angry and sits under a bush sulking where God shades him from the hot sun anyway. God challenges what concerns Jonah and what concerns us all; God created everyone and everything and God wants everyone and everything to be saved. Because of this, time and time again God gives us all the opportunity to be saved, to find Him and to be forgiven. For those of us who decided on this Christian way along time ago it can seem a little unfair that all these other folks keep getting second, third, fourth and more chances. Yet our very calling as a Christian is to live a life worthy of our calling which means sharing what we know of God’s love with others. We are called to share Christ with everyone every day. It is not our job to judge others and where they stand with God, only to make sure we are in the right standing with God and to share His love. No one knows anyone else’s standing with God but their own and as such it is not up to us whether someone is forgiven or not. That decision is Gods and God’s alone. I might sympathise with Jonah but I also know that I want everyone to find the faith I have found, to find a living relationship with God as I have, and I am well aware that I am undeserving of all I have been given and yet God keeps forgiving me. God is the one who is completely and utterly fair in all His doings with us and offers all of us second, third, fourth, and so many chances to be part of His kingdom.
25th November 2020
John 6: 9 “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish, but that is not enough for so many people.”
Are you someone who likes to offer up answers to questions, speaks out in a discussion, calls people out on their language or behaviour or are you quite shy, embarrassed and find speaking up difficult? Perhaps you are fearful of not getting things right or looking silly in front of other people. None of us should ever be worried by the opinions of those around us or try to compare ourselves to them. I’ll let you into a secret, the loud, outspoken, opinionated people are no better than us, they have just decided to pretend that it does not bother them, they have decided to put up a front. A more tolerant world where we accept that no one is perfect, least of all ourselves, and that getting things wrong allows us to get things right, would mean that none of us would need to pretend or hide. The courage it must have taken Andrew to speak up about the 5 loaves and 2 fish when more than 5000 needed feeding. Imagine what the others might have thought of him; was he serious, how inadequate, even Andrew is unsure of what he is saying but his step of faith, this small glimmer of hope, sets a miracle in motion. Our small contribution can be the catalyst for something great. Nothing we do is ever wasted. We may never see the consequences, like Andrew did, but the small things we do and say cause things to happen, but we must have the courage to speak out and step up. Each of us has a unique perspective on life and we can have the vision that no one else sees. We need faith in ourselves, faith to speak up and speak out. Yes, at times we will fail but without those failures the world cannot move onto the successes. Failures are the steppingstones to success. We must not be frightened to fail because we need that experience to build resilience, to build personality and to keep us humble when things do go well. There is a tendency for those who succeed after long times of difficulty and failure to be more understanding, more empathetic and have a desire to help others achieve. They are aware of their imperfections and do not get to big for their boots. It is only by stepping up and speaking out that we will ever know how good we can be and if we all allow each other to speak out without fear of criticism and judgement then things will be so much more positive for everyone.
24th November 2020
Philippians 1:6 And we know that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is completed on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
There is something wonderful about completing a jigsaw. A picture, an assignment, a piece of work, a letter, any activity. Completing anything offers a sense of achievement, self-worth and value. Knowing “I did it” is a wonderful feeling that enhances wellbeing and mental health. To achieve and complete we need sensible goals, things we can work towards and we need to be able to stand firm when things are not rosy and wonderful, we need to develop determination and resilience. A wonderful story of determination is the discovery of Hawaii by early Polynesian explorers. They knew something was out there, they followed the Golden Plover bird that emigrated that way each year, but it was so far away it took about 400 years to find it. Yet they did not give up, imagine had they given up after 395 years. They believed, had faith, did not give up and eventually got there. Of course, there was and is a risk. We can set goals, dreams and hunches and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Determination keeps us going through the obstacles. We have to do it one step at a time, even if we cannot see the end, even if the view is obscured or clued over, one day at a time. Sometimes there is little or no proof, no encouragement and this can make us question and give up. Fear of mistakes and failures, of getting nowhere, of being wrong can make us not even try or give up far too easily. This verse is about faith in God and ourselves, the completion of a life set out for us, a path to travel, a journey to make. It all takes time and small steps. The promise of completion is there if we are determined and do not give up. Around us are many people who could have given up, but they chose not to. They stuck to their calling even though people and circumstances told them not to. We will want to give up, we will find our faith and our calling difficult, but our determination is God given and God driven. He will be with us each step of the way, encouraging us to find our Hawaii even if everyone else says it isn’t there.
23rd November 2020
Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD says “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”
I have had a cat through most of my life and always had rescue cats. Having a cat reminds me about unconditional love and trust. Each time we have taken a cat from a rescue centre with no conditions as to whether they would be suitable or not. Each one has come to live in our home as they were. Each one has trusted us to feed them, love them, come back when we go out, let them in and out of the house as they need and not to be cruel to them in any way. When I do not put fresh food down at their request, they do not pack their bags and leave. They still move round me, follow me everywhere, sit near me when I work and jump straight onto my empty lap. They regularly sleep on the bed; they patrol the house at night checking in on the family. We don’t ask them to love us, they just do. They sleep everywhere and tend not to jump when we move about, they trust us to stroke them, pick them up and they have all let the boys do anything with them and never run away. The claws don’t come out in anything but a need to grip or wear them down. Each one has sort to be centre of the family so where we are, they are. So, why am I telling you all this? Do we trust God to care for us, to give us all we need? Do we believe God always has the best planned for us? Do we seek to be part of the family and allow God to do what He wants with us without getting our claws out? We are loved unconditionally by God who does not refuse to love us because of our past or if we do or don’t behave in a certain way. God gives everything for us in Jesus. Just as every cat has had the freedom to be who they are in our family, whatever their baggage, we are completely free to be who we are in God’s family, whatever our baggage. So please know yourself loved, chosen, special, cared for and allow God to look after you and give you all you need to be free to be yourself in His family. In the words of Rob Haywards worship song: “I’m accepted, I’m forgiven, I’m fathered by the true and living God. I’m accepted, no condemnation, I am loved by the true and living God”.
22nd November 2020
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
How are you at trusting others? Recent surveys suggest we are not very trusting of our government and their handling of the present crisis. When we vote for parties and MP’s we are putting our trust in them to fulfil their promises. When we go to our doctor, we trust them to give us the correct treatment, when we buy a product, we trust that we will receive what we are promised. As the prospect of a vaccine comes along many are already feeling unsure, concerned that a process of usually ten plus years is happening in less than a year, can this be trusted to be safe? When we are told something is safe, tested, right or wrong we chose to accept it or challenge it based on how much trust we have, and that trust is earned through honesty and the keeping of previous promises. Trust and belief are a key part of the Bible and Christian faith. We are asked time and again to trust God, to believe He will do the best for us; we look at Bible History and Church History and see if that trust is honoured and respected and as a result we have faith and belief in God as one we can trust to honour His promises. Sometimes that trust is difficult, the world around us challenges our faith and our belief and we can be urged to not trust in God even though He has proved himself time and time again. We seem able to forget the constant lies and reneging on promises from our leaders, willingly trusting them again every five years and yet our God who does not lie, who does not renege on His promises is questioned and challenged constantly. Perhaps it is about faith, faith and hope; we have so little faith and such little hope in our promised future here on Earth that we simply cannot allow ourselves to trust God just in case He lets us down. Let me encourage you, God will not ever leave us, He does not bless us only to take it away again, He does not build His home in us to then move out , He does not promise something and then change His mind; so we can trust Him completely day after day after day.
21st November 2020
1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one look down upon you because you are young but set an example in love, in faith, in conduct and speech.
Working with young people shows me how incredible they are. We tend to think young people are not experienced and don’t really understand and therefore they can be ignored when it comes to making decisions or setting things up. In 1 Timothy it is made clear that we should not look down on anyone just because they are young. There is a realisation that young people can be spiritually and socially mature. My parents have always looked at me as young and therefore not fully understanding the situation and you certainly cannot categorise me as young any more, that is perhaps a parents role, to never see our children as anything other than inexperienced because they have not lived as long as we have. Yet in our righting off of their input we are quite happy as a society to leave millions of them as young carers, not only doing their school work but looking after a parent day in and day out, often with no help and saving the government millions in benefits for those who should really get help. We are quite happy to let young people challenge on the environment which will affect their future more than ours. There is almost a mindset that sees young people as those who can be ignored and set to do the things we do not want to do. Youth actually see things more clearly than we do, they are not yet caught up in all the pros and cons we allow to sway us. Youth also have that enthusiasm and energy while we are relying experience and coffee. From a Biblical perspective some of the champions of the gospel were young, Mary, Timothy, John Mark and in the Old Testament Daniel and David. Their youth allowed them to take on God’s challenges and callings with enthusiasm and excitement. Their youth allows them to offer God the best of their life to do His will. Their friendships and willingness to be straight about things gives them such opportunities for evangelism, for planting those seeds to nurture and grow. When we bring them up correctly, offering them respect for who they are and their experiences of the living God, then they will respect others, respect people for who they are and allow them to grow and be valued. Before God we all have something to offer, something to bring, whether we are young, old or somewhere in between. Young people need to be encouraged and enabled, to be taken seriously as disciples of Christ for they are the ones who will bless the church and take it forward if we let them.
20th November 2020
Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
There is no perfect version of a Christian than Christ, there are some who try to persuade us they are pretty close with their rhetoric and condemnation of others who do not agree with them, but no. We attempt to follow Jesus, we love through Jesus, we pray and live through Jesus, we give ourselves over to Jesus. The book of Ecclesiastes broods over the troubles of life and the desire for answers. Within it and within us lies this tension of hope and futility. The psalmist too often spoke of the hope in God that lies in tension with our fragile lives. Our story will only consist of a certain amount of years and how we live in that timeframe. For most of us it consists of mixed feelings, the anger and rage we feel lies alongside a stubborn desire not to give up. Thankfully, the Bible is full of folk complaining that God is hiding from them while they are hiding from God. Adam and Eve hid from God in their shame and so do we at times. God’s love, compassion and mercy comes to us in many ways, but we have to accept it. There is a marked distance between reality and the ideal in ourselves, so we confess, we admit our faults and frailties and thus give mercy the last word. As we confess we receive forgiveness from God through each other, as we confess in our worship services we do so before each other and all God’s people that our sins have broken this world and then we find forgiveness in the words of the Kyrie. As we suffer grief, anger, life and faith all held in tension, as we feel hurt, loss, injustice and fear is there a place for rejoicing in singing, in words of hope? Within the very mystery of faith lies the place for our heart to sing. As we pray for goodness, for healing, for strengthening of faith, for vision and dignity, as we fight not to give up we find delight and hope in our God. We believe in order to understand, to make sense of the melee around us. When we think we will just give up faith offers us a way to hold futility and hope, grief and consolation, known and unknown, turmoil and peace, sadness and joy all together in tension. God did not bring us this far to leave us, He did not lift us up to let us down, He did not make His home in our hearts to then move away. The road is not an easy one, we will struggle and suffer but we do not do so alone. We walk in faith, God with us, never leaving us. We have come a long way and we still have places to go knowing that He goes with us.
19th November 2020
Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
There is an image of God as our refuge which is often found in the Psalms. When the storms of life come it is encouraging to know that we can turn to God as our rock, our shelter, our fortress, our protection, and our refuge. The peoples of old sheltered in the caves in the rock, they found protection here from the heat of the sun, the wild animals, the thieves and robbers and soldiers. Thus, a picture of God as this place of protection and safety made sense and could be understood by everyone. Within western Europe most of us are fortunate enough to never need a physical refuge from famine, conflict, or natural disasters. Across the world, of the 65 million people who have had to flee their homes because of violence or conflict, around 40 million are displaced inside their own countries. These internally displaced refugees don’t have the protection and support that comes with legal refugee status and so they are the forgotten refugees. Sadly, at the moment, the support for legal refugees has become sparse and begrudged in the west but surely it doesn’t need to be this way. Many aid organisations began as a response to the post-war refugee crisis of 1945, the knowledge that God called each of us to clothe the naked and feed the hungry challenged the folk of that time to do just that. That vision and challenge has continued into the present because people are still being displaced, forced to flee for their lives and God still calls us to this generosity of spirit, to this vision of peace and refuge for all. Can we answer that call? Can we overcome our fear of the stranger and open our hearts and our borders to those in need? Can we be brave enough to speak out when refugees are demonised? We have the opportunity to change the narrative around refugees; to challenge the negative discriminatory headlines by writing to the relevant newspapers, to our MP’s and news outlets and remind them that our nation is founded on the fair treatment of all refugees with dignity and compassion. May we be willing to stand up and speak out in God’s name for all refugees as they seek a refuge and a safe place to call home.
18th November 2020
2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you, protect and guard you from the evil one.
One of the things I am always conscious of is the safety of those I love. Whenever the boys or Gareth leave the house, I always say keep safe. As we brought up the boys, we did everything to protect them form harm although several visits to A&E show we were not always successful. We all protect the most vulnerable parts of our bodies with helmets, hats, pads, gloves and guards, these are obvious visible protection, we avoid being hurt when we can, physically. But we also need protection mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, these are not as obvious but still very necessary. Things that are said to us, relationships, friendships, what we see and feel, these affect us and so we need protection here as well. Protection by being careful in what we watch, see, hear, experience, what we put in our bodies, how we treat them, the anxieties and worries about family, life, future, and prospects. God always intended us and those we love to be kept safe from harm, it is us humans, we are the ones who have exposed ourselves to harm by our selfishness and rebellion. God is faithful, protection and care are freely offered and freely given. Sometimes we can take all the ncessary precautions and things still go wrong but when we take precautions and prepare ourselves well, even when things go wrong, we have a level of protection. Our faith provides us with protection, with help, strength and perseverance. We do not stand alone in our need but with our God and our community around us, supporting us in prayer, in messages of hope, in friendship and in acts of caring. We go through nothing alone, but it is always our choice whether we allow God and others to help or not. We should always take precautions, be sensible, prepare where we can and allow God given support and help from others to protect us from harm and deal with the unexpected that sometimes comes our way.
17th November 2020
Hosea 6:6 For the Lord desires steadfast love and not sacrifices, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
We all live in a world where internet and Wi-Fi have become necessary and everywhere. Our vicarage has to have internet access for all the work we do as clergy and it is an added benefit for keeping in contact and for the gaming activities of our sons as well as study and the ever present Zoom and Teams meetings. In recent weeks we have had many issues with things going offline several times a day or for days on end. This connection, when it is lost, means we are not functioning at our best, unable to communicate effectively, lose our contact with certain information and situations. Lose our access to books, news, comment, and entertainment. If you will pardon the analogy losing our Wi-Fi is a little like losing our connection with God. It is quite easy for our connection to God to be lost, for us to suddenly not be able to communicate with God, not to hear or receive the necessary information. We can miss out on the information we need to help our faith. If the connection fails, then the zoom, emails and website fail, and we feel cut off from God and from others. In order to rectify our problem at home we have put in a new router, designed to get a better, stronger more reliable signal and to beam that throughout the house. We need a router with God, something that channels the signal round us, can reach us wherever we are and can’t be lost by a weak signal, a problem or bad connection. Our router is our relationship with God, we need our Bible, our prayer life, our knowledge of Jesus and His teaching to be in us, round us, above us and below us. We need to be able to reach God and be reached by Him. We need to be completely immersed in God without a break in the signal. To know and love Him all day and every day no matter what.
16th November 2020
Esther 2:8 Esther was taken into the king’s palace and put in the custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.
One of the Old Testament stories I love is the one about Esther. I grew up with this story of a woman, a strong women who is at first treated as a slave but who saves her people and shows what God can do through anyone if they are willing to listen and act as God shows them. In the second chapter of Esther we are told how the harem of King Ahashuerus, also called Xerxes, was managed. I am not happy that he had a harem, it’s treatment of women was appalling, and it was of its time. The second chapter is an account of the immorality and cruelty which often accompanies such dominating power. This is not uncommon in history or even today. Esther, our heroine, represents a purity and humility which saves her from the humiliation of lust and the poor triviality which underpinned the rota for the king’s attention. She becomes, in her seemingly small way, an agent of love and transformation in a very difficult situation. The story may seem almost too good to be true, but if we are sceptical then we do not believe that the God’s love can penetrate and restore even in the most awful of situations. Esther’s interaction with an all-powerful king was to save her people from destruction and it did Ahashuerus some good too. It is good for us to take a little time to learn about the conditions of cruelty and immorality under which many are still forced to live. We have modern slavery around us, but it is not easy to see. We have people coerced into servitude, those whose debt has forced them into forms of prostitution. We must not turn away, must not give up. Being a Christian means we can support those who work to find and help these people. The work of The Children’s Society, Christian Aid and The Salvation Army are always purposeful and every one of us is here for a purpose. We may not be able to do the work ourselves, but we can support those who do in prayer and financially if we are able. I encourage you to help where you can and allow your choices and actions to be an agent for God’s work in our world just as Esther was.
15th November 2020
James 1:19 Know this, my beloved: let every person be quick to hear and slow to speak.
How good are you at listening? Most of us like to think of ourselves as good listeners but research would suggest that we actually spend much of our listening time thinking up a reply or comment to make to the other person. In other words, we do not really listen. If we are truly listening then we are not looking for a point to jump in, we do not interrupt them and we certainly don’t close our eyes or turn away to do something else…..or do we? Often people who talk a lot think they are good listeners; I am sorry to say that is not usually the case. Those who like to talk, want to talk, and therefore listening to anyone else for any period of time is both difficult and unrewarding for them, so it becomes about offering stock answers and suggesting solutions without really hearing what the need is. I am sure that many of you, as I have, finally found the courage to share something painful with someone else only to find that they were not really listening and just fobbed us off. That terrible experience means we become far less likely to trust someone to listen to us and really hear us in the future. Listening does not mean giving answers, although sometimes a little advice can be helpful. Listening is not about trying to jump in and tell someone how you have been through the same as them and how you coped. Listening is often silence, allowing space and time for thoughts and ideas to come out. Listening is giving our full and complete attention to a person as they open themselves up to us and make themselves vulnerable. Listening is offering a safe space to speak out thoughts and feelings without judgement or ridicule. When I talk to children about listening and speaking, I use the old adage that God gave us two ears and one mouth, in other words we should do twice as much listening as we do talking; simple it might be, but it is nevertheless truth. One of the most important and blessed things we can ever do for someone is to give our time to really listen to them.
14th November 2020
Romans 15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
I have always liked to think that the church is welcoming and have tried to make every church I have been part of welcoming, but I am very aware, especially since lockdown, how many people have not felt welcomed by the church and that some have even been painfully rejected because they don’t quite fit in. Our churches should be safe spaces, it is historical that churches are places of sanctuary and once within the walls a person can claim sanctuary and not be arrested or deported. The holier than thou attitude we have seen in churches in the past is still there but over different things. Once we would not have accepted single mothers now, we want them to come into family services and messy church, once we would have shunned divorcees but now, we welcome them, well in most places anyway. Currently the bone of contention is whether we accept those who feel they are trapped in the wrong gender, those who wish to love and marry those of the same sex, those who think women should be treated far better in the church than they are, those who have suffered abuse mentally and physically. You only need to look at Jesus in the Gospels and how He constantly shared with societies lowest. He spent time with tax collectors and prostitutes, He healed the demon possessed and the leper, he ate with those who were considered unclean and he fed the poor and hungry. Once you really see that for what it is, Jesus was making it clear that it is not for us to judge another’s ways, it is for us to love and care for everyone and to provide a safe place for all who need it no matter their circumstances. We may struggle with the way someone else leads their life as opposed to us, but I can assure that there are plenty of people who struggle with how each one of us lives our lives. How can I speak about helping the outcast if I do not assist in some way, how can I speak about feeding the hungry if I am not prepared to do my part? How can I follow Jesus teaching about loving my neighbour if I put constraints on who my neighbour can be? I long for us to welcome everyone into the church, no matter their creed, colour, sexual orientation, gender, disability, status………. Everyone. That complete welcome starts with me, with you, with each one of us before our God.
13th November 2020
Job 8:4 Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
I find some of the book of Job difficult, it is heart-warming that Job’s friends come when he is in desperate need, they sit with him for days in silence as they mourn together then they open their mouths and the problems begin. The term Job’s comforter is used to indicate those whose offer of comfort is far from that. People whose view is that you must have done something wrong, that everything we receive in life is of our own making. Imagine how Job felt when his so-called friend and comforter Bildad says to him, about the children he had lost, that they and Job got what they deserved. I am almost surprised Job didn’t swing for him. Job’s friends are trying to comfort him in his suffering. They are sort of listening to him, but they do not seem to fully engage with has happened to him and the huge amount of emotional and physical pain he is in. What they say are mainly true words about God, but they are out of context and not understood in this situation. At the end of the day these comforters and friends completely fail to represent the true, loving and faithful God? So we need to ask ourselves how often do those who suffer hear people or society saying, ‘You are only getting what you deserve’? If we listen out around us right now, we will hear the very loud voices of people who unfairly presume that these people are responsible for their own suffering. It may be comments about refugees and migrants, families in such poverty they cannot feed their children, the homeless, the disabled, the elderly and lots of other forms of suffering. We must take the opportunity to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. To remind others of compassion, empathy and true love for our fellow humans. It is really easy to play the blame game, to justify our seemingly secure position against those who have been hit the hardest. It is really easy to open our mouths as a friend and comforter and make the situation worse by spouting the comments we have seen in the papers or on social media. Of course, we should always go to help and comfort our friends but we also must refrain from putting our opinions and ideas out there. We are called to comfort one another in love, to support and care for each other’s needs and not to condemn. We are called not to be Job’s comforters but God’s comforters always speaking words of comfort, love and peace.
12th November 2020
Psalm 119:11 I have stored your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
How is your storage situation? I like to keep to things; I am terrible at throwing stuff away and so sometimes I am thinking where can put things out of the way. I have, over the years, used several storage ideas and accessories, usually finding they don’t quite do what they are advertised to. One of the things that does help is organisation, a place for certain things and when something has been used, putting it away again, not leaving it out to deal with later. The same principles apply to our Christian lives. We are constantly learning and picking up information from the Bible and the church and we need to store it away. As a youngster I was encouraged to learn Bible verses and that has been an incredible blessing to me all my life. Organisation is once again the key. Putting things into the right places, returning them to storage once they have been used and not leaving them lying around. One of the visual examples used to explain how the human brain works is that of a filing system. Certain drawers or boxes with labelled files in them, linked by topics and ideas that we refer to as and when we need them. In the Bible we are told about writing and storing the word of God in our hearts and minds, in this filing system, so we do not sin against Him. If we have all the things we learn about God and His love for us stored in our hearts and minds then when life throws difficulties at us, when we are being tempted, when we are unsure about the path in front of us we have God’s assurance, God’s words and actions of the past, our experiences of His provision for us up to now and these all enable us to have confidence and to move forward in the best of ways. So how is your storage? Have you stored God’s words in your heart and mind so can you recall them and use them when you need to? If not, why not try to get yourself more organised, to learn God’s word and to store it in your heart and mind.
11th November 2020
Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.
A lot of my interaction with people is through smiling, as I was around school today I realised that under my mask no one knows if I am smiling or not, I am still smiling underneath the piece of cloth but they cannot see it. Yes, maybe my eyes sparkle a little or the area around my eyes has those laughter lines, but it is not obvious. Masks have become everyday wear but now the facial expressions we use so much to convey our empathy, our joy, out annoyance even, are no longer available to us. As a young teacher I had the reputation of being able to deal with challenging children just by a look, I inherited that from my father who could make me squirm just by a look. God’s creation of us gave us these faces with the ability to smile, laugh, cry, show anger, empathy, compassion, but the moment we cover them up we lose this. It is not by accident that covering the face became associated with crime and activity we did not want others to know about, now it is much more to do with facial recognition and identifying people. This then presents us with a problem, how do we communicate our facial responses if they cannot be seen. The danger is we stop responding with our faces. Perhaps for the moment we need to have the expressions there but convey the feeling with a vocal response. The smile of acknowledgement now perhaps needs a “hi” or “hello” added to it. The expression of compassion and empathy perhaps need an “’I’m so sorry” added to it, the look of curiosity perhaps needs a “can you expand on that please” added to it. As regards anger perhaps this is an opportunity for anger to not be noisily expressed and thus not hurt as it otherwise might. The other thing we all need to learn is to look more closely at people’s faces, see the tiredness round the eyes, see the frustration, the lines on the forehead, and begin to become a little more expert in what the upper part of the face does when someone laughs or smiles, or cries, or is frustrated. Faces can be a real indicator into someone’s need or blessing and at this time we all need to look a little more closely, so we do not forget how to read the signs.
10th November 2020
Matthew 7:7 Seek and you shall find
I hate losing things, particularly things which are precious to me. In various house moves I have lost some things which I have never found and still wonder where they have ended up. I am very much a touchstone person, things given to me for special reasons, kept and stored where I can refer to them, get them out and look at them, they hold memories and blessings for me. When something is lost we can just accept it, leave it, move on and forget about it, or we can search for it, turn the place upside down just as in the parable of the lost coin or the lost sheep. I have to look for things and I get very frustrated when they do not turn up and even when I cannot find them, I still hope that one day they will be found. This looking for the lost is God’s nature, He never gives up looking for the lost, never accepts that they cannot be found again. God looks in every nook and cranny, under every rock and stone, round every corner, in every valley and on every mountain. He desires that no one is lost, and Jesus came to make sure everyone of us could be found and brought home. We are told to seek and that when we do, we shall find, we are told that if we seek God first everything else will fall into place. We seek because we long to find the best, the right way, the way of most blessing, God seeks us because He longs for us to have the best, to be in the right way and to receive all the blessing that He wants to bestow on us.
9th November 2020
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
I have spent several hours today cleaning, not the usual but taking all my glass down, cleaning shelves and cleaning the glass. There is nothing more satisfying than glass that has been out on a shelf for a while suddenly being beautifully clean and clear again, sparkling in the sunlight. I have always loved glass, the way it can be shaped and blown, then the patterns and reflections, but a clean sparkling piece of glass is just wonderful. In the Old Testament glass is referred to as something expensive and precious similar to gold and silver. In the New Testament it is referred to either as a mirror or as something we look through; it is about clarity and purity. In Revelation particularly, glass is referred to because of its transparent properties and its ability to shine like precious stones. Glass revolutionised living, bringing light into homes without exposing the inside to the elements of outside. Of course, for this to work glass must be kept clean. The dirt that collects on both the inside and outside needs cleaning away regularly so the glass can do its job. Conservatories or garden rooms made mainly of glass are so popular because we can effectively sit in the garden with the protection of the glass, but if it is not clean then we cannot see clearly and the light and warmth cannot come in. Our lives need to have this transparency; God sees both the inside and outside, we often project one image on the outside but try to keep the inside hidden away. The Bible reminds us that whatever we are truly like on the inside will be exposed. But it is the keeping of it clean that is the most important, a dirty, grimy window does not allow the light in or anyone to see out. A dirty grimy life does not light the light in or out. We need a good clean on a regular basis, I was always taught as a young Christian to have a clear out every day if possible, to clean away the grime beginning to collect in my life each day so it does not build up. The daily grime of temper, frustration, bad words and deeds, anger, lies, jealousy, selfishness, attitude….. all need to be confessed and forgiven, that way the light keeps shining in and out.
8th November 2020
Isaiah 49:16 I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.
Currently we are in the time of remembrance, we have had All Souls and remembered those we love but see no longer. On Remembrance Sunday and the 11th of the month we remember those who have given their lives in wars and conflicts. But why do we remember? Often people talk of learning the lessons of the past, remembering what went wrong and not repeating the same mistakes again but somehow it doesn’t always work! We remember those important dates in lives when we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, we mark the passing of loved ones and of time. We remember things we learn and our life choices are often made by what we learn and the interests and skills that are forefront of our memory. We use all sorts of things to help us remember, diaries, date books, pictures, computers, even knots in hankies for some. Memory is so crucial to who we are, we are made up of our memories and what we learn in life, it is why illness like dementia is so devastating to people’s lives and those they love. From a Biblical perspective God constantly talks about remembering us, never forgetting His people, knowing us so intimately that He knows the number of hairs on our heads. The most powerful image of God not forgetting us is this one where we are told we are inscribed on the palms of His hands. This is a clear and poignant reference to Jesus death on the cross, the hands that were outstretched in death for us that we might live forever with Him. God does not forget us, even if we don’t visit for a while, even if we seem to forget Him, even if we turn our back on Him, He will never turn from us and never forget us. We are forever in God’s memory, we are blessed with wonderful memories given to us by God and we are created with memory to allow us to be who we are.
7th November 2020
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.
I often listen to the Radio 2 slot What Makes us Human. Many people, often in the public eye, speak about things in their lives and the affect it has on them. Some are incredibly moving, and many are very thought provoking. The human condition, what makes us who we are, is different for all of us, yes, we have common areas but because we are individuals, we have individual experiences and outcomes. One thing we can have in common is the detachment that occurs when we become overloaded, or we begin to sink and latch onto a safety protocol of going through the motions so we can hopefully find some self-repair. If we allow ourselves to stop and examine who we are as humans, allowing ourselves the knowledge that we are not perfect, neither is anyone else, we can begin to put things into perspective. We can see if we are working too hard, under too much stress, not spending time with family or friends, and neglecting ourselves thinking that if we just keep going no matter what, we will eventually get there; wherever there actually is? Society colludes with this idea of living to work, of success only being achieved by endless hard work and that failure to do so is not an option. We are human, we make mistakes, we can be unpleasant, argumentative, hurtful, entrenched and selfish; but we can also be kind, loving, caring, empathetic, compassionate and selfless. We are God’s creation and we have so much going for us and there are perhaps three things we can do to help ourselves be more like we were created to be. We need to avoid harm, in other words look after ourselves physically and mentally, by caring for our bodies in rest, food, exercise and caring for our minds through prayer, talking, reading, sharing. We also need to do good, to care for relationships, to care for others needs as well as our own, to offer help where it is needed. We need to stay in love with God, remembering who we are and whose we are as children of God, caring for our relationship with Him on a daily basis. Yes, we are humans with all our faults, but we are also God’s beloved humans with all our joys and blessings. What makes us truly human is God!
6th November 2020
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
One of the fundamentals of the church is the Eucharist, or Communion. It is a celebration of the last meal Jesus had with His disciples before His death on the cross. It is a reminder of the sacrifice made and teachings He left for us to follow. Not only is it a memory it is a re-enactment, an anamnesis, a recollection of the past through repeating the action. It uses all our senses, and thus has the greatest effect on us. In Communion we remember the shedding of Christ’s blood and the breaking of His body so that we could be brought back into communion with God. This simple meal re-enacts our journey from death to life made possible in Jesus. As such it is a vital part of our worship and so very hard when it cannot be celebrated together. In the taking of Communion we have the opportunity to make room for others at the table, to invite and extend this meal to others, sometimes we need to make ourselves smaller to do this. As I grew up if visitors came for tea, we were told FHB, it meant family hold back, let everyone who is a guest choose and eat first and we had what was left. It was to make sure there was enough to go round and guests were first in the queue. If anything, these days we have so much on our tables that no one has to hold back but the principle is the same. When we bring others in and share this celebration, we must make room for the other, hold back in our own exuberance and practice so that others feel welcome. We may have to show them the way, by gentle example or quiet words, but not so it is embarrassing or obvious. The church has always been a place of sanctuary, a safe haven for those who need it, our sharing of our family meal allows the guest, the outsider, to become part of the family, to be loved and accepted for who they are. May there always be space at our table for another.
5th November 2020
Ephesians 2:14 For Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made all into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
Do we really believe that Jesus reconciled us to God and to one another? As Christians we are, by the very nature of our Saviour, accepting of all humans no matter their culture, background, status, tradition, country of origin or colour of their skin. In the early church the gentiles were treated very poorly to begin with, they were excluded from citizenship, considered foreigners to the covenant promise, they were living in a world devoid of hope and without God but yet Christ on the cross had solved the problem of all our relationships with God and with each other. Prior to the acceptance of gentiles into the church and even for a while after, in some cases, they were considered aliens, foreigners and not allowed to partake in the practices of the early church, they were considered outsiders with no rights and separated from Christ. As I write this, I am conscious of exactly the same practices going on worldwide and within our own nation. Treating others as outsiders, foreigners and excluding them from citizenship and thus any rights as a human. Why do we allow this? In doing so we live not as part of the very kingdom we say we are defending and preserving. Why do we live with indifference to those who are not the same colour as us, or the same culture or background than us, or were born in a different place to us? I suggest that much of this comes from misunderstanding and fear. It is easy to manipulate people by praying on their worries and fears, to deflect from key issues and dishonesty by using inflammatory and emotive language to point people to a made-up cause. We have seen it in our own elections, we currently see it so clearly in the American elections. Not long ago we were moaning about the absurdity of political correctness and yet politics is currently full of lies, manipulation, fraud and dishonesty. The very rules put in place to supposedly stop us offending and treating others unfairly are being used for just that purpose. How compliant are we with these events? If we do nothing, say nothing in fear of upsetting someone, or out of fear of the consequences we have been told will happen, with no proof, we are not doing what God commanded of us. We were reconciled to God through Jesus; we must also be reconciled to each other and stand up for each other no matter who we are or where we come from. Every person of every nation is invited into God’s family and we have no right to turn anyone away we think does not belong.
4th November 2020
Philippians 4:1 My brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of the most encouraging in the Bible and yet it was written at the most difficult of times for Paul as he writes from prison, his freedom has been taken away, he is under great physical threat and he cannot visit and encourage the early church as he had planned. Instead Paul writes letters full of the teaching and articles of faith he would have passed on in person. For Paul life is to be lived to its fullest, no matter the circumstances, and in light of current events, is perhaps a great help and encouragement to us. Our current situation is not as brutal as Paul’s was but for some of us it may feel like being in prison or at least like being under house arrest, unable to go out, unable to be free to live as we would wish. So, what does Paul do? He goes back to basics. He looks to hope, to being grateful for what we do have and foremost the presence of Christ Jesus with us in every moment of every situation providing peace and security. Times are very uncertain and change almost on a daily basis, we are not sure what the future may hold for us and we wonder if we can return to the “normal” we had. We are all finding our own ways of dealing with things, some better than others, but I dare to suggest we can learn from Paul and go back to basics and focus on what is most important. Hope is key, we have a definite hope in God, in our faith and in our eternal life, so as earthly living becomes uncertain we can rest in that surety, that hope of eternity; but also we can rely on the certainty and hope of having Jesus alongside us every step of the way. Next we have gratitude, we may not feel like being grateful but just look at the blessings we do have, our homes, food, family, books, internet, letters and cards, phones, friends….. endless blessings to be thankful for and the very act of being grateful makes us feel better and more understanding of our blessings and thus more grateful and round it goes, raising our mood and encouraging us. Most importantly we have the ever present and unfailing presence of Jesus and along with that His peace. Nothing that is going to happen or not happen is faced alone. Everything that comes our way will be handled by God and us together. So, as we face another lockdown, may we go back to the basics of our faith and know God’s blessing, hope and presence each and every day.
3rd November 2020
John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The Bible is full of metaphor and similes, using images and daily understanding to explain what God is up to in ways we can relate to and understand. Light is used to show good, from the beginning of the world light is separated from the darkness and we understand it as the opposite of darkness. Light illuminates, it allows us to see so we can do things, it also shows up the things we want to hide away. Light also brings life, without light plants and crops will not grow, we as humans need light to keep us alive and healthy. It is hard to speak of light without using the words shining and brightness, but we also use goodness. Light and goodness come from God, they are blessings from God that make sense of things and bring out truth. Light reveals the hidden away for all to see and in John’s prologue we have that lovely phrase that says life is the light of God to all human beings, it is reflecting God’s glory and as such as we let our light shine before others, we are reflecting God’s glory for others to see through us. In this important way we need to ask ourselves is out light shining before others, are we a reflection of God’s glory in all we say and do, are we allowing God’s goodness to be worked out through our goodness, our good deeds, are people able to see God through us? Within the Old Testament there is also a link to the Tabernacle, the place where God’s glory was enthroned and within the tent was a lamp on a stand that gave light to that space around it, we can enlighten the space around us, illumine that space to show others the way to God. We are the light of Christ going into the dark places of the world. The danger is we try to hard, we try to be a torch and become an unbending blinding beam which turns peoples faces away because it hurts their eyes and quickly flattens the batteries. May we rejoice in reflecting God’s light into the space around us, into the darkness and shine as a light to guide people home to God.
2nd November 2020
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped.
I wonder how the change of hour affects you? I really struggle for a while after the time changes as my body clock wakes me at the normal time I would get up for work, it takes a good week before I adjust and I do struggle with less light in the evening. This change in timing does affect us, we have an internal clock that allows our bodies to know when to sleep and wake, when to eat, when to go to work and so on, time is important, marking days, weeks, months, years etc and time and seasons were created by God for us, to organise our living. In the Bible time crops up many times but I wonder if you know about not just a one hour change but a whole 12 hours where God made the sun stand still in the sky, keeping it light while a battle ensued. I know people ignore this and say it is just metaphor and cannot be real, but what you probably don’t know that in NASA, in their numerical calculations about the earth and the sun etc have a 12 hour discrepancy that they cannot account for. They justify it by space anomalies, time changes in calendars and all sorts of possible reasons. There are also historical accounts of an extra-long day in Chinese, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Persian, Aztec, Inca and Babylonian records so I would just throw this in as another possible reason. God is the creator of time, of the universe, the sun and our earth so why can’t He control a situation if necessary. Our vision of God can be far too small. Joshua knew if He asked God for help God would do whatever was necessary and He did. I happily admit I would like to see some amazing things like this happen, but if I am honest we see amazing things happen on a daily basis but we happily give the credit to everyone else but God. Miracles are still happening, but we explain them away with science, even when the science doesn’t quite fit. Our picture of God needs to be a bit bigger, we need to give glory to God for more of the daily miracles and blessings we see and we need to remember that as creator and ruler of the Heavens God is in control.
1st November 2020
Matthew 8:24 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we will drown!”
I loved and still love children’s books. I have the complete set of Arthur Ransom’s Swallows and Amazons and all the books about where and why they were written. I have visited many of the places from the books and I confess that the Lake District is one of my favourite places, I would describe it as a thin place, a place where the gap between Heaven and earth seems thin and God almost seems easier to reach. I am not sure exactly what drew me to this set of books but the idea of children being allowed to sail on the lake and camp on an island with no adult supervision was very appealing. These children, as of its time, had their roles to play with the two eldest children being surrogate parent to the two younger ones. It is their fathers telegram giving the children permission to do these activities that always sticks in my mind; “Better drowned than duffers if not duffers won’t drown”. This seems rather ambiguous, curious and under today’s circumstances would get a visit from child protection. My view of what this means is; I have taught you everything you need to know, I have given you the tools and abilities you need to cope, have confidence in yourself and we are here if need help. Telegrams had to be short, they were expensive, so a short cryptic message held a great deal more beneath the surface. This is where I see God at work, His messages to us are far more detailed but they say the same thing, I have given you what you need, I have and am teaching you all you need, have confidence in yourself and I am always here for you when you need that extra help. God allowed us to stand on our own two feet, to make our own choices and it has to be said that at times we have all been duffers and it’s pretty much a surety that we will be duffers in the future. The great news for us is that even when we are duffers God will not let us drown, He will always have a lifebelt to throw to us or another boat to pick us up. Of course, we have to actually take the life belt or accept the offer from the other boat, but God will always be there. It is also good to remember that although sometimes we are duffers, there are also many times when we are not, when we do the right thing and allow God to work in us for the good of all. Duffers we may be at times, but we are also, ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven duffers.
31st October 2020
Revelation 21:5 Behold I am making all things new.
I am a great fan of the TV programme The Repair Shop. Skilled craftspeople take people’s treasured and broken items and restore them to working order. We have become a throw away society and so much of our heritage has just become landfill. This programme gives hope, joy, an understanding that in the right hands things that seem even beyond repair can be given a new lease of life. That new life comes with incredible patience from the experts and often with the replacement of broken parts and the joining back together and strengthening of the old with support. I dare to suggest that this is a practical image of how God works within us. He is the skilled craftsman, the creator, the one who understands how we work and how we are affected by life. God is the one who can the broken pieces and slowly bring them back together into a whole. God is the one that can take the weakened parts and build in new support and strength so they can return to use. God is the one who can take the broken, the damaged, the falling apart and make them new. The Bible is full of stories and teaching on God taking the downtrodden, the weak, the broken and transforming them into new and strong people. Jesus own story is one of being physically broken into death and then completely restored to life, defeating death in the process. The creator, God, will always repair the damage if we ask Him, if we are willing to come to Him. It will need patience, it will take time, but just like the joy it brings to folk on The Repair Shop when the broken is restored, how much more the joy of repair and restoration for us as we are made new.
30th October 2020
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp to my path.
How are you with machinery and cars? Do you know vaguely what is needed to keep them running smoothly or do you just let someone else deal with that? I am not a mechanic but I learnt the basics about keeping my car running when I was younger and we all need to make sure we can keep computers, phones, copiers and printers working as best we can these days. For anything with working parts there will be instructions how to fix basic problems and there will always be things which keep the moving parts lubricated and functioning well. I was taught how to check the oil in my car, but it wasn’t until later I understood why this was so vital and needed to be monitored. The oil moves around the engine making sure all the moving parts move without friction and to stop them rubbing against each other and causing damage, no oil or oil so old it is full of bits and pieces means the engine will seize up and stop functioning. Now, I am not suggesting we have oil in our lives, but we do need lubrication, we need something that will help things run smoothly, that isn’t full of rubbish that clogs things up. For us, as Christians, I would suggest that we have these lubricants in the form of prayer and God’s word. The Bible is our instruction manual, it offers us help with the problem’s life throws at us, it is a guiding light to our feet and shows us how others have dealt with life’s issues and encourages us in our faith. In its pages we find history, poetry, teaching, rules, personal testimony, songs, and the eternal plan God has for us. Prayer allows us to bring these lessons into the context of the day, allows us to ask and hear from God how we can deal affectively with the daily issues and life we are living. Without the prayer and the Bible our lives are just cogs and wheels grinding against each other, causing friction, rubbing together, hurting, damaging and eventually causing us to seize up and not function anymore. God will never force anything upon us, but He offers us constant support, love, care, encouragement and help through His word and through His conversations with us. Everything we need is there we just have to be willing to read the manual and talk to the maker to keep everything in good working order.
29th October 2020
Isaiah 41: 13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand and say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”
As a teenager I remember we would get heavy fog sometimes, it would come down in early afternoon and if at school we would be sent home early because of the dangers of not being seen or able to see cars etc. It was not as bad as the smog of the years before, but it was heavy and hard to see right in front of you. It was difficult to breathe and very damp, even roads and paths you knew well were suddenly not as you remembered them, and it could be a little unnerving in the stillness this weather environment created. From confident knowledge of your way home you began to doubt yourself, the things around you seemed different, you were influenced into making judgements differently and under pressure. Our Christian lives can be just like this. We can be going along as normal, know where we are, confident, in control and then a fog comes, outside influences encroach in on us, suddenly we can no longer see clearly, things look different, we become unsure and our confidence takes a hit. At this point all we know of God and His love for us is called into question and we can experience doubts and insecurities. When we were in a fog there were things to help us; light, touch, company and signs to follow; in our Christian lives there is always help, light in the darkness from our relationship with God, our knowledge of the Bible, our past experiences of God not letting us down, prayer, relationships with other Christians, our worship and the signs of God’s love and word around us, we have the knowledge that God has led us clearly through difficulty before and He will again. These are the times when our faith is really at work and also being tested, because when the way forward is shrouded and unclear sometimes all we can do is put our hand into God’s hand and trust Him to lead us home. Even in the fogs of life God is with us and will not leave us, all we have to do is reach out.
28th October 2020
Proverbs 18:24 A true friend will be more loyal than a brother and is a treasure.
What do you count as treasures in your life? We all have things we keep safe and close, handed down, given by a family member, something we purchased for a special occasion, we all have special and treasured possessions. Proverbs has a message for us about friends and friendship, alongside a Jewish proverb it clearly tells us that true friends are treasures. Have a think for a moment of the true friends in your life, do you regard them as a treasure? If not does that need a rethink? We all know we cannot chose our family and relationships in families will not always be wonderful or helpful, but we do chose our friends, the folk we like to chat to, ask about things, have a coffee with and whose shoulder we like to cry on. Notice the word true, we all have friends but not all friends are true friends, not all friends will be there no matter what. That is why a true friend is a treasure, a treasure given by God. A true friend will stick with you no matter what happens, they will help in any situation, you know you could ring them at 3am in the morning and they would not only answer but come straight round if you needed them. Friendship is to be treasured, particularly at the moment, when so many are alone and not seeing people on a regular basis. Having a true friend is a blessing, a treasure but being a true friend is also a treasure. We do need to ask ourselves, look and see if we are being a true friend. Are we stepping up to the plate and being there when we are needed? Relationships are reciprocal, if we desire a true friend then we must be a true friend, willing to be there at 3am if it is needed. As God given blessings and treasures true friends deserve to know how special they are. Perhaps a note, a card, a little gift or just the words to let them know you appreciate them. A true friend is a real treasure, guard them just as you would a treasured possession, keep them close, keep them safe and appreciate them.
27th October 2020
John 2:5 Mary his mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
When Jesus began His ministry, it is very much his mother Mary who encourages Him and the situation. It is Mary who notices the need, even in the midst of this busy, loud and joyful wedding, she sees there is an issue and brings it to Jesus. Not only that, her faith in her son is complete, do whatever He tells you she says. For us the lesson is that we need to look and see the need, even when it is busy, loud and exciting and when it is quiet, sad and slow. Once we identify the need, we then must turn to God and ask Him, what do I need to do here, how will this situation be best served, by me or by someone else? Once we ask God then we must listen for the answer, not pre-empt what we think is needed. Just as Mary had complete faith in what Jesus was going to do, we need complete faith in what God is going to do through us or through others. God will ask us to listen and that means giving our time, but then we need to hear what He is saying and that means giving our mind and then we are asked to act in care for others, and that means giving our heart. Mary fully supported her son and believed in Him, we must fully support each other and believe in each other. Jesus stepped into this domestic situation of a wedding without decent wine, a shameful condition for the family, He not only provides in a miraculous way He provides the best and lots of it. When God gives, He gives abundantly and generously to us all. Mary’s complete faith in Jesus is validated, He goes above and beyond, and His first recorded miracle happens. From here Jesus steps into ministry. If we can have that faith in what God can do, if we are willing to let Him go above and beyond in abundance, then miracles will happen, and lives will be changed.
26th October 2020
2 Timothy 3:2&3 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Does this sound like people you know? It does me. In fairness I also recognise myself a little at times, I think we all do. Timothy seems to be very understanding of the human condition here, how those, particularly those who have a great deal of power, wealth and high status, seem to be lovers of self and of money, proud and arrogant and so on. I do struggle with why? Why are those whose job it is to protect others and make sure society is fair for all seem to be easily swayed into selfishness and ingratitude. If we are brought up to appreciate what we have and how our parents have worked hard to provide for us how can we be so dismissive of others, particularly those less well off than us? Perhaps that is it, so many of those in senior positions are there because of background, they were not brought up to appreciate what they have but rather to see it as entitlement. Once we believe we are entitled we lose all understanding of other’s needs, wellbeing and suffering and can only see the need for ourselves to be have everything. The entitled love self, love money, are proud and arrogant, are ungrateful and unholy and they treat others with contempt, unforgiving, conceited and have no time for good or God. I am not saying that all are like this, some have come from backgrounds which make them more understanding, sadly the majority of our political leaders and business leaders have a sense of entitlement which seems to switch off their compassion and empathy. The Bible is very clear that none of us are entitled, that everything we have has been freely given to us by God for the good of all, and that in all things, at all times, we should be grateful for what we have and share it with those in need. May we be compassionate, empathetic and love others before self, treating everyone with respect.
25th October 2020
Amos 2:6 They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.
It always amazes me that clergy are told to keep out of politics and do their day job. I wonder what they think my day job is. For any Christian and any member of clergy our belief in God means we are very much involved in politics and socialism because we follow the gospel and the example of Christ and the challenges of the prophets. The Christian faith is about turning lives to the way of God, becoming the people God created us to be and that means we challenge those who sell the innocent, those who trample on the poor and deny justice to the oppressed. Whenever we witness the vulnerable being treated poorly, we must speak up, whenever we see children going hungry in our own country as well as round the world, we must speak up. Whenever we witness power being abused and money used to bribe, line pockets and create weapons we must speak up. If anyone tells me to keep my nose out of politics I point them to Jesus who healed the sick, challenged the religious leaders and the political leaders, fed the hungry, forgave sinners, cared for ordinary people and treated everyone with respect and love. I point them to a God who constantly spoke through the Prophets about dishonesty, lying, cheating, using power for selfish reasons, treating the poor and vulnerable as treasures, respecting the alien, supporting the widows, orphans and poor, freeing the oppressed……… so much about people being treated with justice and fairness. We have both a duty and calling to serve God through our lives, through what we do personally but also with what we do about challenging those in authority about their behaviour. We are called by God to hold ourselves to account but also to hold leaders, politicians, business owners, local councillors and MP’s, organisations, friends and neighbours. If we witness dishonesty, injustice, unfairness, poverty, lies, manipulation, anything that is against God’s way than we should speak up and challenge it. That will not be easy and we might be insulted and ignored, even threatened in some way but I would much rather stand before them than before God asking me why I did not do something to help the innocents, the needy, the poor and the oppressed.
24th October 2020
Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one, If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
As a Chaplain and Priest, I deal with people at the happiest and worst moments of life, as well as everywhere in between. One of things I say to encourage people at the sharp end of life is to be kind to yourself. As humans we have a tendency to blame ourselves for things, especially when we are under stress or normality is lost. Being kind to ourselves allows us to keep our minds and hearts healthy and functioning well even in the midst of difficult, stressful times. Being kind to ourselves means many things such as sleeping and resting when we need to and for longer; treating ourselves to things we enjoy; eating things which we like and make us feel better; taking time out from activities that stress us or put pressure on us and letting ourselves cry and laugh about the silliest of things and nothing. The kindest thing we can do for ourselves is talk, talk to someone about our feelings and thoughts. We can talk to friends or family, We can always talk to God, but there are also friends, counsellors, chaplains, helplines and many organisations who offer help and advice. People are there ready and willing to listen, to help us explore how we feel and why, to offer techniques and ideas to help us through. Admitting we need help is not giving in, it is a strength of character that allows that which is overwhelming us to be explored and helped. I am writing here of us and our, not because it is a helpful way to write, but because this applies to me as much as it does to you. In my role I have someone to talk to, to offload to, so that I do not become weighed down or overwhelmed with all the things I deal with. That goes for everyone involved in any role where they help people with their difficulties. This allows all of us from you through me, through those who help us and those who help them to share the load. We were created by God as relational beings; we were never meant to cope alone but to share the load of work and life together. We all have good days and bad days, and we are all capable of helping each other to cope, to help shoulder the burdens, to offer a hand to help each other up when we fall and share the load. God is always there offering help and support from Himself but also through others. Let me encourage you to be kind to yourself, to seek the help when you need it and to do those things which lighten your spirit, that make you feel better and please do let others share the load when you need to because we all need a helping hand sometimes.
23rd October 2020
Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.
Do you see yourself as creative? Do you see yourself as enlightened? We all like to think of ourselves as forward thinking, open minded, progressive, but are we? Being creative means having new and imaginative ideas, being able to perceive the world in new and different ways, it is what we are all having to do in the present situation. The creative is able to find hidden paths and patterns, make connections and find solutions. We all have a level of creativity within us but some shine more than others and of course we can be creative in many different ways. The 18th century has become known as the Age of Enlightenment, a time when people began to question traditional authority, a realisation that all humanity could be improved through rational change. It was a time of huge scientific discovery, new laws, revolutions and wars. People began to recognise that they were important, they had things to offer and were entitled to be listened to. The creativity of the ordinary person was encouraged, and books, art and music flourished. Sadly, one of the things that actively discouraged this creativity and enlightenment was religion and the church. Ordinary people could not read the Bible for themselves and relied on those who lead them to be told the truth. Sadly, we all know that truth can be manipulated to maintain the status quo. This is the time when Martin Luther had challenged the church and from this new beliefs and groups were created and God began to be seen very differently and much more personally. Questioning is crucial to learning and developing. Asking why and how is vital to our development and as much as answers can be factual, they can also be possible and probable and of their time. People who hold back this creativity, this enlightenment often do so out of fear, fear that change might mean loss, for others it is about selfishness and control. This verse shows us that God wants us to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that He desires our eyes and hearts to be opened and to discover things. We have a brain which is so wonderful and complex, we don’t use or even access all the areas of our brain, we have incredible potential and that should not be wasted. God has given us the means and ability to do wonderful things, He has given the science, the medicine, the physics and chemistry, the art, music, sport, language, the creativity and enlightenment to make this world a better place. Are we ready to listen, learn and use our enlightenment for the good of all or are we only interested in ourselves? I challenge us all to be realistic dreamers, proud but also modest, traditionalist and rebellious, passionate and objective, sensitive, open, happy and joyful, not held back by stereotypes, creative and enlightened. God given gifts and talents are given for the good of all humankind but how we use them is our choice. Let me encourage you to use all you have to make this world a better and safer place for all.
22nd October 2020
Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
I have a nickname, given to me as a teenager when a group of us became bears for a holiday entertainment evening. I was known as Huggy bear, not because I resembled the character form Starsky and Hutch but because I loved to hug people. Giving hugs or cuddles is amazing medicine, it helps people feel comforted, assured, encouraged, loved and just held physically. We have a need to experience physical contact and a hug is the perfect way to do this. Those who have looked into the area of hugging, yes there are folk who do, have concluded that hugging someone transfers energy and offers the person being hugged an emotional lift. Science also suggests that hugging is a form of communication because it can express things that we just don’t have the words for. Of course, if you give a hug to someone you automatically get a hug in return, that’s not the reason we do it, but it certainly is a bonus. There are those who would suggest we need a minimum of four hugs a day just to survive, so currently I think we are probably missing out quite a bit with social distancing. We may think hugs are a modern thing, but they have been there as long as there have been people. St. Hildegard talked of us being encircled in the arms of God, the father in the Lost Son parable wraps his arms around his returning son, John speaks of God opening His arms to all, and the verse for today speaks of God’s loving arms underneath and round us. Back when I was called Huggy and we wrote to each other, letters and cards through the post, we would send hugs by God mail, in other words we would send each other love and hugs through God as our common companion. I still send hugs to friends via God mail, even today. The importance of physical contact cannot be understated, we need to feel another presence, holding and supporting us when life is difficult, when we need encouragement and just to show someone, we love them and care about them. The Bible is very clear that God surrounds us, supports us, holds us and as much as we can, we should do that for each other, for our loved ones, our children and for anyone who needs it.
21st October 2020
1 Samuel 16:7 Do not look at appearance or stature, the Lord sees not as humans see: we look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
Those who know me will know I live in trousers. It is a standing joke in the vicarage that I rarely wear a dress or skirt, but this is me; it is who I am. I had my reasons as a young person for wearing trousers and I am not comfortable in dresses or skirts or high heels and so very rarely wear them. I have had to come to terms with who I am. I have never been a small person, head and shoulders taller than everyone in primary school with large feet. I was very fit and sporty in younger years and as often happens my physique has remained large. It has not always been easy to be who I am, I still struggle with those who would criticise my choice of clothes, my size, my looks and those things said, even in jest, can hurt deeply. Coming to terms with who we are can happen at any age but for many of us it comes more with age and experience. God made us who we are, as individuals, unique, special and with gifts and talents only we have. God does not look at us with judgement and criticism, but with love and compassion. God does not want us to look upon ourselves in judgement and criticism and He certainly does not want us to hurt each other by using punitive judgements and measures to decide if we look and wear what others have decided is correct. How you and I are comfortable in our own skins, clothes, attitudes etc really matters. We are who we are, a product of our nature and our nurture, a product of God’s love in us and we should be proud of who we are. We naturally want to fit in, to be what society says we should be, wanting to be cool and have status, but these very ideas have been set up by those who have no right to decide how we live but have given themselves that responsibility through journalism, power, celebrity status, magazine articles and personal designs. Only God has that right, and He wants us to be who we were created to be, to be content, happy, and confident with who we are and to celebrate that with confidence in Him.
20th October 2020
1 Samuel 20:14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live.
A few years ago, there was an internet sensation around random acts of kindness. People were doing things for others for no other reason than it was a good thing to do, these acts were then filmed and put onto YouTube or Facebook for people to see. Although the sensation of this has passed it is still incredibly important in our world and for our mental health. Being kind is a natural part of humanity and very much encouraged in Christianity and other religions, being friendly, generous and considerate, seeing how we can help another and striving for human flourishing. Kindness is also key in wellbeing, how we treat others and ourselves. Kindness should be a lifestyle, a daily practice and although it is within our human nature the practice of it is a choice we make. As Christians we are called to grow in the fruit of the spirit, of which kindness is a part, and growth can take time. A seed does not become a plant or flower overnight, but needs care, water, sun and patience. It is the same with kindness. We need to practice it daily to bear the good fruit. Kindness also has emotional and physical benefits. When we are kind it releases within us the chemicals that make us feel better and that lift our mood; then as we are kind to others it also allows them to gain those feelings too, to have their spirits lifted and encouraged. Kindness does require intention; we do need to make the move; do the action, not just think about it, and when we are having a difficult time ourselves it can be hard to follow through on kindness. Acts of kindness can be random, on the spot events, but they are more often actions that are planned. Kindness requires each of us to look out for the needs of others. Jesus was a clear example of this as He spent His ministry seeing and treating the needs of others, never turning them away. Jesus could be counted upon for every act of kindness even in His worst times. We need to ask ourselves how often we miss the opportunities to show kindness to others because we are too busy? And how often we are not kind to ourselves because we are too busy? We also need to ask ourselves if we are kind because of what we will get in return, because this is not the way of Jesus. It is always easier to do things out of desire for reward, but true kindness does not expect anything but to improve and bless the life of another. To be kinder people perhaps we need to slow down and open our eyes; just as Jesus took the time, so should we.
19th October 2020
Deuteronomy 32:7 Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your elders, and they will tell you.
How are you at story telling? Personally, I love telling stories and loved story time in school when I was teaching. Our lives are stories, they tell our personal life story but also intertwine with the stories of others, the stories of our society and of our place in the world. If you sat down and wrote the key parts of your life story so far what would be in it? Our memories are quite selective, and some things will jump to the fore while others will pale into insignificance. We also do not remember things the same as others do, the stories my Mum tells about me often bear no resemblance to what I remember and are often far more embarrassing the way she tells them. There are those who say that what gets structured in narrative, in story, is what we remember clearly, the rest tends to get lost and forgotten. Our life is structured in a pattern, and we need to structure our memories in the same way. Being ourselves is very much bound up in telling our own story. Philosophers tell us that memory anchors identity, we are not just lots of individual snapshots bundled together and because memory is prone to loss and damage it needs pattern, form and shape, memory needs story. In the Old Testament Israel figured out who it was by remembering its story, even today with the festivals like Passover, Seder and the Sabbath they remember through their story. I often comment on the structure of the word History, which is made up of two words, His and story. History is the story of God’s world, is the story of Jesus coming to bring salvation and the story of our constant rebellion and fight against His love for us. Our story has a place in His story, what makes us who we are, our life experiences, our personality have all been formed as part of our place in His story. Let me encourage you, when you have some time do sit with your story, identify those things which have impacted your life, made you who you are and see the story around those as they intertwine with others and with God.
18th October 2020
Matthew 21:13 He said to them, It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.
Amongst everything else at this present time, I am particularly struggling with societal attitudes and the politics being played with people’s lives and livelihoods. Throughout history the church has been very good at calling out the sins of individuals, of hurting those who speak out and challenge the norm, as I read the Gospels I do not see Jesus doing this, I see Jesus forgiving the individuals but condemning the societies, the politicians and religious leaders. Jesus challenges these leaders on poverty, on unnecessary rules and practices, on their treatment of the poor and their selfish hoarding and provision for themselves. I cannot help but see a parallel with current society. When did public office become about self-gratification and gain instead of about service? Many would say it has always been like that, though I believe there have been those whose vision has been for a better society it does seem that more and more we see supposed public servants line their own pockets to the detriment of society in both the example they set and the mismanagement of provision. Society reasons that If those in leadership can lie and cheat and squander others hard earned money then so can we. In the Gospels Jesus does not accept or live by the standards of the leaders of His time, He does not enter into the ways which have trapped people, instead He lives simply and encourages others to do the same. It is only when He challenges those norms, those punitive practices in the Temple that He is taken and killed within a week. We see others who really challenge society and it’s leaders also get removed because they make a stand, the likes of Ghandi, Martin Luther King and although she survived, the attempted murder of Malala Yousef because she dared challenge the norm of her leaders that girls are entitled to be educated. Making a stand is costly. It is hard work and it often seems to be pointless when nothing appears to change, but as long as some of us are shining a light in the darkness, challenging the norm and holding people to account then there is always hope. Friends may I encourage you to not give up writing to your MP, challenging your local councillors, speaking up about injustice and poverty and exposing those who would deliberately take from others to line their own pockets. Shine your light and be a beacon of hope.
17th October 2020
Isaiah 30:15 In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
I have always wondered why humans do not have the ability to hibernate. As the nights draw in and winter comes, I could happily eat lots then cocoon myself into sleep for a good long while, sounds wonderful. Of course, it is not practical, so many of us could not afford to do it, we are not built to be inactive for long periods of time, our world needs our input, our work to keep it working, daily life is a necessity, the sick need care, the dying need help and care, the economy needs input and so it goes on. The more complex life has become the more dependent it is on our daily activity. I am a great believer that our bodies indicate a lot to us, when we need to sleep, rest, eat, etc. I fully believe God created us that way, with these instincts, so I do not think it is any accident that we feel the need to rest more in winter months, that we desire the warmth and cosiness of our homes more and that we desire comfort foods. Perhaps the winter months can encourage us to a simpler life, to spend more time with family in comfort and warmth, to not feel the need to rush from one thing to another to another. God’s creation follows a pattern of activity and production followed by rest and recuperation; we need this as well. Whether we use our weekends for this, or our days off from work, or if we use our evenings, however we do it we need that hibernation time, not completely of course, but in part. We need to have a fallow field for a while, a time to recoup strength and energy, to build up the reserves to be able to start again. Jesus did this, took time to go into the hills or quiet places to pray, to rest, to be with God. Being with God is about church and worship but it also about quiet time, time to be at rest and just let God wash over us. In our desire to get everything done, said, right……. We lose ourselves in the activity and not in God. May we find time to just be and do a little hibernating in God.
16th October 2020
2 Corinthians 11: 13-14 For such are false apostles, deceitful, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
I am a fan of the author CS Lewis, I particularly love his children’s stories but after those I read the Screwtape Letters, these are letters and advice given by a senior devil to a junior one, ways in which this young devil might trip up the Christians and have them doing the opposite of what they want to be doing. One of these key ways to trip up Christians is to have them believe that evil is actually good, to disguise the evil within a coat or covering of goodness. You only need to look at history to realise this is exactly what happens. In Jesus own story He is constantly ridiculed and punished by the religious leaders, those people would be expected to know the truth and so people believed them, the Popes gave decrees to establish the Christian kingdom worldwide and in doing so made other countries and their people’s inferior fit only for occupation and subjugation. Kings took their power to rule as a divine right and thus could murder and imprison anyone who stood against them in the name of God. Even today some politicians wave bibles around and have photos taken of them praying with religious leaders to give religious credence to their corrupt and selfish policies and to justify their position. I have read many stories of wealthy and powerful folk who have started out believing that once they have money and influence they will use it for good, for God, but once there, the lure of what they have is quickly overtaken by a desire for more, to give away less and less and to justify this by believing the more they have the more good they can do, sadly the doing good gets so easily lost. Most of us do not set out to do evil, to hurt others but we get caught in the lie that a better, richer, more powerful life for me means a better world for others. Good verses evil is a battle where good by it’s very nature will be honest and truthful and fair in battle, evil will use every trick to persuade us that it is good and honest and fair, it will lie to us, cheat us and persuade us that actually it is good and that we can use it to help others. The Star Wars story is very much in this vain, as Anakin is persuaded that evil, in disguise as good, is the only way to help and so he spurns good and becomes Darth Vader. The good news is that even he finds redemption in the end. The Devil tried to use these very tactics on Jesus when he tempted Him with power to do good in the world if He would bow and worship him, the devil. Evil can be made to look attractive, to be a desirable way forward but it is in disguise and the more we are sucked in the harder it is to find the way out.
15th October 2020
John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Over the years I have discovered that the secret to so much of life is food. From young people meeting on a Sunday afternoon eating toast, Jam, chocolate spread and noodles. To family life catching up as we eat together. There are many cultures that must offer food as a hospitable gesture for guests and family. Eating together is central to our faith, we do it every time we celebrate Holy Communion together as Jesus commanded us. In the feeding of the 5000 the people who come to Jesus are the poor, those whose access to food is determined by their rulers. Inequalities around food existed then and exist now. More people are accessing food banks, Breakfast clubs and free school meals than ever before. Without food people are more prone to sickness and disease. The people of Jesus time would know the promise of God that the hungry will be fed. They would know that their leaders had failed in this task and had taken the best and most for themselves, leaving the people on and below the breadline. In Exodus God had given manna in the desert to His hungry people, Isaiah had spoken of the sharing of bread. God had promised to provide and do so abundantly. As Jesus feeds the 5000 He fulfils all these promises. He provides for their spiritual needs but also their physical needs and does so abundantly with 12 baskets of leftovers. Our God is a God of abundance. Our God is a God who wants the hungry fed and poor looked after. We are the hands and feet of God here on Earth, so it is up to us to make sure everyone has enough food, not just to survive but to enjoy and share with each other. Food is a staple of life and a key to fellowship and family life. Our challenge is whether we want to help those who lack food or not.
14th October 2020
Job 2:13 They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
When something bad happens how do you react? It is quite common for people to be sympathetic when someone experiences illness, diagnosis or bereavement but often people want to get way or not go and visit because they do not know what to say and rather than say the wrong thing they stay away. In Job’s story his friends come to support him after all his tragedy and to begin with they are quiet and just sit with him, the problems actually come when they start to speak and offer their idea of what has caused the terrible events. They look for excuses and reasons and in doing so their comforting presence becomes an issue and no longer a comfort. What we learn here is that what matters is presence, just being with people when they are in need. We are so worried about we might say that rather than just be there, we don’t go. What anyone in difficult and sad circumstances actually needs is presence. Someone to be there, to listen, to be a shoulder to cry on. To be a good friend or support we do not need to have all or any of the answers, we don’t have to know the reasons why and in fact it is better not to try and explain something. These days we no longer just sit with people, it used to be common to just sit with folk, without conversation, just being together, being a support, now we think we have to fill the silence with conversation, we don’t! All we need is to be present, be there, offering whatever is needed from practical tea making, or errand running, to just being there to hold a hand, to be talked at and to listen. Job’s friends, although wanting to help, ended up making Job feel like it was his fault, they and we do like to offer our opinions and try to explain things away; but we are not called to do that, we are called to just be there, to be a friend and support without judgement, without reason. We must never be worried about just being there, we must not turn away because we think we might put our foot in it; instead we must just be there, a supportive, loving presence for as long as we are needed.
13th October 2020
Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power but by spirit says the Lord.
Throughout History the belief has been that might and power is what establishes and protects kingdoms. From this comes the need for war, to fight others for what is perceived to be ours and not theirs. Our own British Empire came out of a belief that we were superior, more intelligent, more powerful, and thus were entitled to just take that which belonged to others. This idea has not gone away, we are still bombarded in the press and through news stories and social media that we have certain rights and others don’t. There is still an empire mentality among many of our so-called leaders, a hankering after the wealth and power of the past, provided by those seen as lesser than us. These words from Zechariah are about this very thing, that in God’s kingdom it is not about might or power, it is not about the forceful taking of what belongs to others, it is not about treating others as less than us by lording over them; it is about God’s Spirit working in the world, in our lives, in each situation. In Zechariah God was showing His people that He wanted to restore His relationship with them, that He wanted to rebuild the city and the people but He was not going to force them, He was not going to make the people do His will by might or power, instead by the working of His Spirit within them. His Spirit, there at Creation, resting on His people throughout the Bible and coming down on the disciples in Acts 2, His Holy Spirit. For us, God will never force Himself on us, He will not use His might and power to help us hurt others or lord it over them, or to give us superiority over others. When we pray for His help, His work in any situation, He is working through His Spirit, things happen, prayers are answered by the work of His Spirit. May this be our attitude, our approach in life, our daily prayer….. not by might, nor by power but by thy Spirit please Lord.
12th October 2020
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is toward Him.
On my way back and fore to school I pass a house on a stretch of road with a look out stationed by the garden fence. Not a real human, I discovered, but a statue of a person who appears to be looking out over the road and I think it makes several people slow down when they first see it. I am not sure why it is there, perhaps the owner of the house wants people to slow down on this stretch of road or to think they are being watched. We all get that feeling of being watched sometimes, that our every move at work or at home is being watched to see if we are really doing what we should. In the middle ages the idea of God watching you and seeing what you were up to was something the church taught people. The idea that everything hidden and secret was evil and though you could hide it from other humans you could not hide it from God. Many poor people were forced into doing the bidding of their Lords and even their clergy by fear. Sadly, it is still an idea used today in some forms of extreme evangelism where pressured fear of judgement, of hell, of others, tries to force someone to give up certain parts of their life as wrong. Whilst it is true that God sees everything we do, knows the thoughts of our hearts and minds He does not follow us round condemning and pressuring us every moment of the day. God brings about change bit by bit in our lives. He deals with something within us and as we change and adapt then something else comes into view. This is why we should not judge others or force them into our version of faith, we only do things by our own standards and just because God has challenged or changed something in us does not mean He is doing that in everyone else. God’s watching over us is out of love and compassion, it is the watching as parents do of their little children, steering around dangers, comforting in sorrow and hurt, providing the necessary love and concern for growth and protection. God is with us not to force us to behave in a certain way but to love us and care for us as we find the right way for ourselves in our faith.
11th October 2020
Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus acts of compassion include healing and almsgiving to the needy. We, as Christians, will be judged by our provision for the sick and to the needy. If people are going hungry and we have enough then surely, we can share out of our abundance. We can buy some and share some with the foodbank, using the supermarket contribution points they now have. We can make sure those who need medical help receive it. We can have a vision that no one goes hungry if we can help it. We can challenge the appalling treatment of refugees and not take part in the blame culture. We can be a people of abundant sharing and compassion in all things. That compassion of Jesus is also part of us. The Vagus nerve runs from our Brain to our abdomen and secrets oxytocin, a hormone linked to care, empathy and compassion. It prompts us to go and help others. Humans were created as relational beings, to share and help each other. Sadly, research shows that the more we have materially, the more we suppress this empathetic and compassionate reaction that would prompt us to act and help. We can lose our empathy and compassion because of our desire for more for ourselves and our selfish behaviour and attitude. Jesus disciples had to learn that being a follower of Jesus meant not just feeding people spiritually but physically as well. They and we need to learn that telling a sick person Jesus loves them will do nothing for them but offering compassion and help can change their lives. We have to learn that same lesson, to feed people spiritually but also physically. To have the compassion and desire to help those who need it, the sick, the poor, the refugee, the migrant. Jesus compassion is our compassion, we can choose to let it prompt us into action or to ignore it and become more and more selfish.
10th October 2020
Proverbs 31:8/9 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
In recent weeks there has been condemnation of do gooders, of those who stand up for human rights, for those who argue for fairness and justice, this condemnation has come about because those in authority do not like to be questioned or challenged because it exposes their selfishness and their lack of humanity. Radio 2 runs a regular slot called what makes us human, exploring our humanity and what that means for our behaviour and lifestyles. Our humanity has shaped our nations, our goals and achievements, often for the good but also for the bad in events like the Holocaust. Our twisting and turning existence can be very testing and very straight forward, it seeks to strive for goodness, for the best for everyone, not just the select few, and it proclaims the equality of all no matter their background, race, gender, colour, religion, culture and so on. The things that distinguish us, that make us human are Knowledge: the ability to reason, to work out the best and right way. Freedom: to make choices for ourselves but in doing so not restrict the freedoms of others and Love: being human is relational, we find partners and families, societies who care for each other. These are things given to us by God as He created us. If you look at where the selfish and greedy have taken power these are the very things which are suppressed, no education, curbed freedoms and the breaking and dividing of society so one small section of humanity dictates to the rest and in so doing achieve their own believed personal superiority. True God given humanity always seeks for the common good and flourishing of all. We maybe condemned for doing good and for standing up for human rights but as children of God that is what we, as humans, are called to do.
9th October 2020
Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to us saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Do you ever feel like you live in a fish tank with all you do and say on display for everyone to see? I know I do. I sometimes wonder if God sends a battalion of angels to follow me around and clear up the mess I make and run interference and damage limitation. This idea comes from a fear that God might not love us, that we might be just too unlovable, well we need to hear and accept that God does love us, completely and utterly. We might feel unworthy but as long as we try to live a life that is worthy all is as it should be. We are where God has placed us, in our home, job, family, church etc He has put us there for a reason, He will support us as we serve Him and He will open the doors when it is time to move on. God is never wrong footed. In all our situations it is worth remembering that each of us are not perfect yet, we all still get angry, argue, treat one another poorly, cheat and lie a little, we are not perfect, neither is anyone else so therefore we need to be tolerant of each other just as God is tolerant of us. Sadly, there will be folk who will look all sweet but behind our backs will gossip, there will be folk who speak ill of us for no reason. In a fish tank you can put anti stress fluid to help fish cope, in our lives we have the anti-stress fluid of the Holy Spirit, pouring oil on troubled waters. We also need to find space, time to ourselves, a place where we can pull down the blinds and be out of public view for a while. If we are constantly in the limelight, we easily develop a mask, a look and type of behaviour that makes people think we are okay and doing well in our Christian life. God is our constant companion, He is totally in love with us, He wants the absolute best for us so as long as we talk to him, pray, look for the best way forward and try our best all will be well.
8th October 2020
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
From the beginning, the fall in Genesis, we have been set about with sin. Life is not easy and things around us and about us lead us astray. We are all called to repent and that means not just apologising, not just saying sorry but completely changing direction, it is a new mindset, a new way of doing things, a new way of thinking. We need to let God switch us on to this new way. The serenity prayer sums this up asking God for the serenity to accept what we cannot change, courage to change the things we can change and the wisdom to know the difference. There are things we cannot change but there are so many things we can change, particularly about ourselves and we need the courage to change them, God given courage. The Lord’s prayer says Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, if we are praying this and meaning it then change will happen in us and around us. We will become the catalyst for changed lives and changed people. As always, we cannot do this alone or in our own strength, we must allow God to energise us, to send His power on us and through us. God’s light will shine from us and through us, unlike any bulb we will not pop or shatter but be a constant bright light to others and the world. Turning away from sin, repenting, changing our life is not doom and gloom it is about being lit up and switched on to a new way of living.
7th October 2020
Hebrews 11:13 All of these heroes died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and believed in them.
If I asked who was your hero or heroine, who would you say? We all have a number of people we look up to but as Christians our ultimate hero should be Jesus. Have you and I decided to make Jesus our hero, our superhero even? When we have hero’s, we tend to imitate them, so what do we emulate in Jesus? Probably not the way He dressed but certainly the fact that He followed His father’s will, we may not be preachers like Him, but we can strive to be the best in what we do, to be good workers and leaders, to always look for the best in others, to give second chances. Jesus was a healer, we may not be medics but we can offer healing words and healing love and we can certainly pray for healing in people’s lives knowing that He will do what is right in every situation. Jesus was a fisher of men and called the disciples and us to do the same, to share the gospel openly and honestly to all, in who we are and how we live. Jesus was a carpenter, most of us do not have that skill but we are given the words and actions to shape people’s lives, to carve out the love of God in them. None of this can be achieved on our own, Jesus was baptised and needed the strength and power of the holy Spirit, so how much more do we need this. Life is such that we can easily forget our hero’s when times are difficult, we can forget that just as Jesus needed God’s presence every day so do we. The destiny of every person is to be a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit. We were each born by God for God, to be heroes of faith ourselves, we may have good days and bad days, but we have God on our side every day. May we fulfil all that God has called us to be.
6th October 2020
Exodus 24: 17 To the eyes of the people of Israel the appearance of the Shekinah glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
I have often spoken of the God shaped hole in our heart, the missing piece for which we are all searching, people often turn to everything but God in order to try and fill this God shaped hole. For those of us who have found God we have, deep within us, an inner sanctuary, a holy place, a Godly Centre, which permeates through us and to which we can continually return for blessing, strength and encouragement. This God shaped hole, once discovered, becomes God’s eternity within our hearts, breaking into everything we are, warming us with God’s love, calling us home unto God Himself. This is often called the light within, or the eternal light that burns within us, not unlike the eternal light which burns in our churches and holy places as a symbol of God’s presence. If we choose to give over our body, mind and soul to this light within, then we discover a new and complete life which opens us to a glimpse of our Heavenly future. This “Godness” within is dynamic, creative, life giving, and it emanates through everything we are and do. People see us differently and witness that presence, that light within. It is a brightness within us that illuminates the face of God and shines it out to others. In the Old Testament it is called the Shekinah glory, God’s presence in the midst of things making them shine with beauty, authority and holiness. When we know God, this light, this glory, is right there inside us, but it is also easily suppressed by our human nature, by our unwillingness to speak out our faith, by an embarrassment to speak of God in our lives. If we do not hide it then our response is one of internal joy, thanksgiving and worship, we offer ourselves in self-surrender and listening to God in our heart and mind and this bubbles over into our daily lives. The secret places of our heart become a holy sanctuary of our relationship with God where we find His perfect peace and love, where we become our Lords perfect creation of us and we shine His light into the world.
5th October 2020
Hebrews 12:1 Let us strip off every weight of rubbish that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
On a weekly basis we put out the rubbish to be collected, every so often we have a bigger clear out and we may go to the tip. We get rid of all the stuff we do not need so that our homes do not become stuffed full of things we just don’t need. How often do we have a clear out and get rid of the rubbish in us? Just as we collect waste in our homes we also collect waste in our lives and this waste needs to be got rid of, as the verse says it becomes a weight on us that drags us down and it can also trip us up as we become embroiled in it. So a regular life spring clean is a good idea. We need to get rid of the anger, unresolved anger ends up hurting people and medical science has proved that angry people are at greater risk for health problems. Get rid of the guilt which reminds us and condemns us of our sins and what we have failed to do. Get rid of the resentment holding us prisoner, preventing us from having freedom. Get rid of the grumbling because it’s hard to grumble when you’re thankful, and it’s hard to be thankful when you’re grumbling. Get rid of the anxiety and worry which choke us and strangle our ability to live life to the full, get rid of the envy which causes us to focus on what we don’t have so that we miss seeing the blessing and taking pleasure in what we do have. Get rid of the lies and dishonesty which make us untrustworthy and not nice people to know. We need to get rid of anything and everything that drags us down and makes us lose the joy and blessing of being a Christian and being part of God’s family. Just like we have to actually put the rubbish out for collection each week, we also have to actively put out the rubbish in our lives, recognise the problems and cast them out to be got rid of. We can do that with God’s help, through prayer and Bible reading, through changing our attitudes and being willing to listen to God and learning how to be better people.
4th October 2020
Isaiah 26:3 You keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because they trust in you.
How is your mental health? That may seem a strange question, but actually it is very important. Our happiness and wellbeing, our feelings and emotions need as much care as our physical needs, perhaps even more in light of the pandemic and months of lockdown and restrictions. All of us live on a continuum that runs from healthy to unwell passing through coping and struggling. We tend to only speak of Mental Health when we finally admit a need, but, Mental Health is vital to our ability to function, to cope with daily life. In much of life’s situations and issues, especially if we are under pressure, we cannot always see a way through, but, actually all we need to see is the next step; as the old song says “One day at a time sweet Jesus is all I’m asking of you”. Our resilience, our ability to cope is given to us by God as we need it at each step, and with Him right there with us, taking each step with us, supporting us as we need it. A step at a time is how we need to go, one foot in front of the other. Admitting we are in need of help is really difficult, we are fearful of stigma, of what others might think but there are plenty of avenues of help, friends and family or church leaders, also meditation and mindfulness. We cannot function properly when things are not right, it affects work, relationships, family life and we worry and become anxious. Experience gives us resilience, God’s love gives us resilience, keeping our mind on God and trusting Him gives us resilience, looking at what God’s people have done and their experiences of God’s faithfulness gives us resilience. It is why stories are told in Judaism, stories of God’s provision and blessing, reminding and encouraging of God’s faithfulness and care, of God’s constant accompaniment through difficult times and the work of the God’s people in helping and supporting each other. We can use our past to enable us to cope with our future, but we also need to recognise our own need of help so that we are ready and able to help others in their time of need.
3rd October 2020
Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
The Bible and other religious literature make it clear that humans are made in the image of their creator. This can be both physically and mentally. We can physically resemble God but also resemble Him in our abilities to think, act, do and be. As a baby, toddler, and child all of us learn and develop by imitating those around us, our parents, siblings, friends and family. Just as we pick up how to walk, talk, eat, make, and play, we also pick up wrong things too. We learn, very early on, the naughty things that provoke a reaction from parents and adults and we use them to get attention. St Paul reminds us to imitate our best role model, to imitate Jesus and therefore our creator God. We are told to rid ourselves of the bad things we have picked up; the anger, the lies, slander, malice, bitterness and rather to put on compassion, kindness, forgiveness, living a life of love, a life like Jesus. Pauls words translate to putting on Christ, in the Greek it means like an actor taking on a role, they become the person, inhabit the role, living and acting as the role demands. In that way we are called to put on Jesus and to live, act, speak and be like Him and so like our creator God. We need, then, to look at ourselves, get rid of the bad habits and take on the good ones, to become more loving, caring, honest, truthful, patient, kind, humble, forgiving, and compassionate. We are made in the image of God so let us, through Jesus, become more like Him.
2nd October 2020
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
How have you been tempted? Perhaps to blame someone else for your mistake, the blame game is popular amongst politicians and law breakers. Think back to Genesis and the story of creation and the fall, Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent and the serpent doesn’t have a leg to stand on! As a result of their falling into temptation life becomes much harder for Adam and Eve and their descendants. We often use the phrase “That is really tempting” when looking at food or a good deal, or even if we should retaliate or play a joke. That temptation presents us with a battle, honesty and truth verses dishonesty and lies. Hopefully you will have noticed that as we lie, the lies tend to get bigger to cover the lie before and before we know it we become accomplished liars who cannot escape our elaborate construction of lies. As His ministry begins Jesus is tempted and He manages to stand against it, not just because of who He is, remember He has become like us, human, open to temptation as we are; but He uses the Bible to stand against that temptation. He uses his knowledge of the 10 Commandments, of the Jewish law to make it clear what was right and wrong. That example is a key for us as Christians. If Jesus could stand against temptation using His knowledge of the Bible as He knew it, then surely, we can also stand against temptation using our knowledge of the Bible as we know it. Do we know what the Bible says about lying, cheating, paying tax, how we should treat our bodies and creation? Do we know the promises God has made about prayer, strength, help, support and love? Knowing what the Bible says, in context, means we have a constant defence against things that try to tempt us, try to lead us into trouble, try to make us follow the easy path instead of the right path. Being tempted is a daily occurrence, let’s hope our knowledge of the Bible will help us to stand against temptation and if we are not too sure, it is never too late to start reading it.
1st October 2020
Exodus 34:6/7 ‘The LORD is a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty.
Alexander Pope said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine”. Quite simply we all, as human beings, make mistakes and get it wrong. Some do choose to deliberately to break laws and rules, take from others in order to make money. For the majority of us the mistakes we make are not intentional but perhaps are careless. If we did not have the divine quality of forgiveness we would be very, very lonely people. God’s attributes of compassion, grace, love, faithfulness and forgiveness are also available to us, God’s ability to forgive is endless, ours can be stretched to the limit but it is still ours to give. Forgiveness is a change of feelings and attitude toward another person, to let go of the negative emotions of retribution and revenge. To condemn the actions and words as wrong but to recognise the humanness and weakness of the person behind the actions and words and to attempt to restore the relationship. It has been scientifically proven that those who forgive are happier, healthier people, more optimistic, who do not live with resentment, depression, aggression, and sadness. When we recognise that none of us are perfect, that we all need forgiveness, and that God has and is forgiving us on a daily basis, we can find it in ourselves to forgive. Martin Luther King Jr said “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love," We do need to recognise our own imperfections and our own need for forgiveness before we can forgive others as we are forgiven. It is not easy, there can be scars, memories which make forgiveness very difficult, but we need to try, even if it takes a long time. When we try it does slowly happen, slowly become easier and life will be better for us both physically and mentally.
30th September 2020
2 Samuel 23:1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favourite of the Strong One of Israel.
Some years back, as part of a group exercise, I was asked to write an epitaph for myself, what I hoped people might say about me when I die. Once we had all done this we each read them out and discussed the ideas and content. It was quite revealing and challenging. We can all read people’s epitaphs and even their last words and these can be used as helpful quotes found all over the internet. In this part of 2 Samuel King David is reaching the end of His life and the 23rd chapter pays tribute to his mighty soldiers; stories of chivalry and bravery just like ones passed down from the Middle Ages, where valiant knights did daring deeds in insurmountable circumstances and became our heroes; but first of all it has an epitaph declaring that it was God who made David a great king, It was God who chose him, and David had written and sung beautiful songs that we now call the Psalms. As David offers his last words, he reiterates his relationship with God, his attempt to live his life for God and his hope for the future. David was being honest, he had completely messed up at times and been a terrible sinner, but he had also recognised the terrible things he had done and turned his life around before God. It Is characters such as David who give hope to the rest of us. When we reach the end of our lives, what will our 'last words' be? What will our epitaph say? We won’t all achieve great things in the eyes of the world. We won’t all be remembered in the public square, but, and it is a big but, we are all unique and precious, we all have our own songs to sing, we have all been chosen by God to do the things that only we can do and it was God who made us who we are. Reading these words can encourage us to look back at our lives so far, and perhaps open our eyes as to what we can do to change things and make sure the opportunities given are taken. As Christians we know that death is a stepping-stone to our wonderful future and how we live now is how we prepare for that heavenly kingdom.
29th September 2020
Joshua 24:15 Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.
I used to work with a Head Teacher who would walk around the school saying to students: Will you please take your responsibilities seriously. It took me a while to see what he was driving at but what we do, how we act, how we behave is a choice. We are responsible for ourselves and our impact on others and we have collective responsibility for others around us. We have a responsibility for the world we live in, the communities around us and it is when people ignore that responsibility and chose to live for themselves that communities become unsafe and not good places to live or work. All through our lives we make choices and as we do so we learn that those choices have consequences. As long as we are doing fine and not suffering, we seem happy, but what about others. If I choose to drop my litter it causes a mess, others think it is okay to do the same and now our parks and rivers, seas and oceans are full of plastic and rubbish, I choose to travel without paying because others do it and fares go up for everyone to recuperate the losses. I choose to drive without insurance and the cost rises for others and anyone I hurt or damage is left to pay for something I did. I choose to ignore the cries for help from my neighbour and someone can end up terribly hurt, starving to death or abused…….. but hey, I am okay!!! All of life is based around choices and we don’t always make the right ones. Becoming a Christian is a choice, serving God is a choice, praying each day is a choice, all choices we are free to make, all choices have consequences. Our choices affect us, yes, but they also affect others and so seeking to choose wisely, seeking to do the right thing is immensely important. Joshua told his people to choose this day who they would serve, our choice, every day, is either self-service or service of others and of God. If everyone of us thought about the impact our choices will make on others before we make them, our world would be a more compassionate and caring place for us all.
28th September 2020
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
Some years ago, there was song in the charts with the line: What have you done today to make you feel proud? It is a phrase I use in school, on posters, to make people think about what they can achieve each day and what they have achieved. I ask them to think onto their future and ask themselves what they want for themselves and their families. The replies can be anything from fame, money, good job, travel to having a family, staying healthy and getting married. We all want different things and what we are actually striving for is fulfilment. We all want to find our place, our purpose, what makes us tick, what we are passionate about and what excites us. Sometimes being fulfilled can come from the oddest of places such as sharing in others grief and sadness, being the voice of reason, being a good neighbour or a shoulder to cry on. In a book I read recently the main character was found on her knees in church asking God for her reason, why was she where she was when it all seemed so hopeless; through the words and support of her family, friends and her faith she realises that it is her family and friends and those she has worked to help and save who are her reason, she has changed people’s lives for the better, brought closure and support, this is her reason and she finds her fulfilment. Most of ask God at some point in our lives why we are here, what is our reason? We might not know right now what it is, we might not yet feel completely fulfilled but there will be reasons we have found fulfilling, things we are good at, people we are a blessing to by who we are and what we do. The road to fulfilment, to finding our reason, comes from looking for the best in ourselves and in others. It comes from doing nothing out of selfish ambition and being a blessing to others as we go about our daily life. A good way to help us in this endeavour is to look back at the end of each day and ask ourselves what have I done today to make me feel proud?
27th September 2020
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart safe, for from it flows the springs of life.
We often use the term heartbreak when we experience some of life’s testing and hurtful times. We don’t mean that our physical heart actually breaks but those feelings we experience with our heart, feelings of love, grief, pain and hurt, they make us feel broken and physically and mentally distraught. Having our hearts broken is part of life because we open ourselves to others and in doing so allow ourselves to be hurt if things go wrong. I often talk to people about grief being the price we pay for love, if we did not open ourselves up to loving people it would not hurt when we lose them and I think through most of life we would all agree it is price worth paying. Here in proverbs we are reminded to take care of our heart, to keep it safe because it is the source of life. That is physically the case, we talk a lot these days about heart health, because it keeps our body living and it seems even this long ago, they understood that. But this is also referring to keeping our heart safe from breaking over the unnecessary hurt caused by others. Keeping ourselves grounded in truth and not in rumour or lies. Being aware that not everyone has our best interests at heart when they befriend us. God gave us hearts to literally keep our bodies living but also to experience the emotions we need to be compassionate and empathetic people. There is always a risk, if we are willing to care for others and open ourselves to others we risk, as God did in sending Jesus, being rejected and having our hearts broken. I think the risk is well worth taking, as I hope you do, but we can put in place precautions, remind ourselves to check and be sure and know that anyone who treats us with anything other than respect, fairness and compassion is someone we should keep our heart safe from.
26th September 2020
Proverbs 14:30 A joyful heart and mind is good medicine.
When we see someone, we often ask how they are, we might say are you well? Or how are you? We usually don’t expect to get much of an answer other than fine or okay. We tend to associate being well with physical traits because we are created with a physical body, but we also have a mind and a spirit or soul. Being well applies to all parts of us. Just as we might take some medicine for a physical ailment, we also need medicine for our mental and spiritual ailments too. Although we do sometimes need actual physical medicine most of the time mental and spiritual medicine is actually provided by each other. We have the ability to help one another, to encourage, strengthen, bring joy and offer hope to one another as we spend time with each other, talk and share experiences. There is a flip side to this, just as we can be each other’s comfort and help we can also be each other’s hurt and harm through what we say and do. A careless word, which we often excuse as a joke or banter, can cause real harm to another just as if we actually physically hit them. The Bible speaks a lot about being careful with our words and actions, about not leading people astray or harming them with our words. The way we live our lives can help or hinder others. Every human deserves dignity and respect and that is achieved by each of us playing our part, treating each other with gentleness, respect, patience and love. When someone struggles with mental health issues, when the soul is hurting, the last thing someone needs is to hear a joke at their expense or to be the object of people’s banter. God has given us the role of each other’s carers, friends, and family and as such we are responsible for helping, for bringing joy to the heart and mind and not for harming each other.
25th September 2020
Acts 2:11 Each of us hears the wonders of God in our own language.
How do we communicate? Most obviously we talk, but we also communicate through our expressions, body language, our gestures and through our eyes which are often called the window of the soul. We are all affected by what we see, hear, feel. Messages are flying through our bodies, 200 neurons a second connecting to another 1000 neurons which means our brain is moving 20 million, billion bits of information every second….WOW! We are incredible and we are in control. All these messages need to be in a format we can understand, however a message is conveyed others need to understand. In the early church the message of Jesus life, death and resurrection was passed onto every person in their own language so that everyone could hear and clearly understand. We all need to communicate, and we do it naturally but maybe we need to stop and think about the message we are putting across by our body language, our gestures and expressions. It is very easy to say one thing but be thinking another. We are so blessed with ways to communicate, who would have realised how important Zoom would become for actually seeing people we are talking to, our phones offer us many ways of communicating as do our computers. Of course, with this also come the ability to communicate irresponsibly and to hide who we are. When we communicate, we have the responsibility of communicating wisely, honourably and honestly. We need to think seriously about the messages we are sending out, to not allow our mood to hurt others because we speak or act out of turn. We need to put our brain in gear before opening our mouths to avoid putting out foot in it. God gave us ways to communicate with each other and as with all things we need to use these blessings wisely and for the good of all.
24th September 2020
Deuteronomy 15:11 You shall open wide your hands and hearts to each other, to the needy and to the poor.
Do you remember the story of the Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas? These men protected their King at all costs and their motto was All for one and one for all. It meant that each member of the team supported each other member and supported the group as a whole. It would be an excellent motto for the church and us as members of it. As members of the family of God we should be committed to looking out for each other and for the family of God as a whole. A strong symbol of this is that all round our country we find war memorials, covered with the names of those who fought for their country and gave their lives for others to have their freedom. We have information, records and in some cases pictures of these people who have gone before us, thousands upon thousands who gave so the future would be a better one for all. As Christians we need to accept that we must stand up for each other, support one another, we need to be all for one and one for all. At least that is what we should be. The question is, are we? The verse above is very much about being open handed to others, that means keeping an eye out for each other, it and many verses and passages clearly show us we are to bear each other’s burdens, care for each other, do good for others as we also watch our own conduct, taking care of family and not giving up even in the face of difficulty. Within the family of God there are those who are in need physically and mentally and we need to support them. We all have needs and even if right now we don’t need help and support our time will come and the call for each to help each other will offer us the support we need. If we all look after each other then no one will face anything alone and everyone will have a support network on which to rely. As Christians may we look after each other, be open handed to each other, stand up for each other and for the family of God. May we be “All for one and one for all” before our God.
23rd September 2020
Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
We now officially enter autumn, the balance of light and dark evens out then tips toward darkness. The mornings become chillier and darker and we begin to go out in the dark and come home in the dark. I find this a difficult time and hanker after the long, warm days of summer. Some years ago, they announced SAD, seasonal affective disorder, whereby some of us find our mood is changed and we struggle with having more darkness than light in our lives. It can make us literally sad. During the months in which we receive less light we can become sleepier, more irritable and crave more carbohydrates. Our body is reacting to the lessening of sunlight and the change of seasons to a time of rest and recuperation. The seasons are a vital part of the earths natural balance, the need for ground to be rested, for seeds to have a time of rest and for rich nutrient gathering within the ground. There is a cycle to our lives, to our crops and to our earth which allows things to rest and recuperate before giving more out. Autumn is when we celebrate Harvest, thank God for the food produced, celebrate the goodness of the earth and then that same earth takes a break, rebalances itself, rebuilds the nutrients, takes back into itself the leaf mulch and water of the autumn and winter so it is ready to start again in the spring. God promised, right back at the start, that we will have seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, seasons, day and night. The balance has always been there, it is us, often in the name of progress, who have fiddled with the balance and striven to maximise production forgetting that every living thing needs time to rest and recuperate. As autumn comes it offers s time for more rest, it offers a time to re balance and it offers a time to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation as it moves in season.
22nd September 2020
Numbers 30:2 If we make a vow to the LORD OR swear an oath to bind ourselves to a pledge, we must not break our word.
The playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility”. If we want to claim the freedom to choose and decide for ourselves then we must accept the responsibility for what happens as a result of our decision, we must take responsibility. As we grow older, we take on more responsibility, we learn to make decisions, to choose a path and as we journey on we hopefully learn from the mistakes we make. We also learn from those around us, family, friends and those who have gone before in history, how we should act in a way that is best not just for us but for others too. When we make a promise or vow to do something, look after someone, help someone then we have made a commitment before God and people and should honour that. Our love of God and our neighbour should prompt us to take responsibility for promises we make, for decisions we make and keep us honouring those promises and accepting the outcome of those decisions every day. Our love of God permeates through everything we do, gives us a conscience, challenges our motives, helps us see the needs we should address. As we seek to keep those promises we make and take responsibility for our words and actions we look for the best in others and ourselves, making our choices and promises so that the best is served for everyone. We strive, as humans, to make our own decisions, to be free, to make our own choices in life but that freedom comes with responsibility, we are responsible for the consequences of what we do and say, for the promises we break and damage we can do. In all we do we need to weigh up the consequences of our actions and decisions, to take time in making our promises and decisions and to always look out for others as well as ourselves.
21st September 2020
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
Be honest, how much do you like judging other people, criticising, shouting someone down, not listening and placing yourself in a superior position? We all do it to a degree, but do we like it when it is done to us? How fair are we in our treatment of others? Do we always assume the worst, accuse people unfairly, decide on someone’s guilt before hearing the evidence? Think of a time when you were falsely accused and how much that hurt and damaged you. As humans we are really good at hypocrisy! We divert attention to others so we are not closely examined ourselves. What our view on the current political situation it is quite obvious that diversionary tactics are being used to take the pressure off and to stop people looking too deeply at other things, things which threaten our freedoms and prevent exposure of the money making operations and behaviour of the elite. There is a phrase from a poem by Mary T Lathrap which reminds us that before we judge anyone, we should walk a mile in their shoes. In other words, you need to experience and understand their life, their issues and problems to see why they act or speak as they do. Our desire for self-preservation often means we accuse others to divert attention from ourselves. Jesus is dealing with issue here in Matthew 7. He is challenging His followers to have a good look at themselves before criticising and challenging others. If we are too blind to see and correct our own faults, we are much too blind to see and correct the faults in others. Our country has always prided itself on justice and fairness but even here the colour of someone’s skin, their gender, their religion, their race can mean they are not treated fairly or justly. Assumptions are made and people are treated as guilty before anything is proven, yet our laws have always been based around innocent until proven guilty. Judging others quickly and unfairly is damaging our country and our standing in the world. We must always look to treat others fairly and with justice, to put ourselves in their shoes, and we must challenge others in society when this is not done because God calls us to this justice, God calls us to allow for others imperfections because none of us are perfect and how we judge others will be how we are judged.
20th September 2020
Ephesians 4:1 Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
How do you define yourself? A wife or husband, a daughter or son, a Christian, a human, kind, spiritual, hardworking, sporty, well educated…… the list is endless. But do we know who we are? Do we understand why we are here, what is our special gift and what can we do to make the world a better place? Have you seen the film Chariots of Fire? The film tells of how Eric Liddell, an incredible sportsman sacrifices his actual event, the 100m, because it is being run on a Sunday. For Eric Liddle and any Christian at this time, one did not work or do sport on a Sunday, it was a day of rest. Eric transfers to the 400m and wins the gold medal. Many of his friends and family cannot understand why this man, destined to be a missionary in China, wanted to run, to race, they could not see God’s work in running. Eric says to them “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Eric Liddell understood that God gives each of us special gifts and talents by which we can help each other and build each other up. Humans are collaborative, we need each other and each other’s talents to flourish together. For example, the farmer grows the food and is able to grow more and better because the engineer designs the machines. Learning who we are and our place in the world allows us to collaborate, to work together and thus make a better world where we can all flourish. In Ephesians 4 we are called to live and act worthily, to be humble, gentle and patient. We are called to make allowances for each other’s imperfections and to build each other up as we help each other using our special gifts and talents. Who are we? We are who God made us to be, called and gifted to use our talents and gifts for the good of all.
19th September 2020
Deuteronomy 20:1 When you see enemies, horses and chariots and armies larger than you, do not be afraid, God is with you!
When we are facing something difficult and seemingly overpowering it is not easy to not be afraid. What’s ahead is daunting and could result in harm or injury, how do we face that? I was thinking of those firefighters and police who went into the twin towers on 9/11 as everyone else was fleeing out. The paramedics who went down into the underground on 7/7. The police who placed themselves between attackers and the public on London Bridge. None of these people knew what they would face, they had little or no contact with those above ground or outside and yet they went to help others, willingly risking their own safety for others. They did and do this because it is their calling, because they have an inner strength that allows them to always look for the good of all not just self. For us, whatever we face, and some things may seem insignificant in comparison, but to us they are major, they seem insurmountable and dangerous; for us we are told that God is with us, He is in front leading us, He is behind encouraging us forward, He is right next to us keeping us going, He surrounds us with His love and care, His protection and strength. We do not face anything, large or small, alone. We may not face such terror as those I mentioned above, but whatever we face it can seem engulfing, shocking, overpowering and we need help. Others may not understand our reactions or feelings, but God does. God knows our innermost feelings and reactions and He is always willing to be our rock, our support, our strength if we will let Him. It is easy to say, don’t be afraid, but not so easy to do, we may still feel afraid but with God we have the ability to cope and deal with those feelings of fear.
18th September 2020
Proverbs 3:6b He will make your paths straight.
Depending on where you live you may or may not be used to bendy roads. As we travel into the country many roads bend back and fore and almost seem to double back on themselves. Depending on your experience you either really enjoy these roads or find them difficult and slow. So many sharp bends with little or no ongoing view and plenty of drivers who drive too slowly because of inexperience and those who drive to fast and take theirs and others lives in their hands as they attempt to overtake on blind corners. Contrast that with motorways and straight dual carriageways, there are still bends but they are so much more subtle, and it is easy to see well ahead. Having a straight path or road offers security, safety and confidence. We can see ahead, beware of difficulties early on, have time to react and stay safe. What we are be told here is that God wants that for our lives. He wants us to be able to see ahead, to be aware of any difficulties easily on so we can prepare, to be able to have time to react and to stay safe. God does not want us to be meeting blind corners, doubling back on ourselves and being slowed down or unsafely overtaken by those who have no care for us or others. The reasons for bends and sharp corners are the way in which humans have divided up land, claimed territory, how areas have been demarcated by planners over years, our experience very much depends on others and their behaviour, so it is in life. We are affected by those around us and we affect them. In looking to God to keep our paths straight we will allow others to have better experiences and allow ourselves to have better lives, safer lives, looking ahead and able to do what is needed to keep things as they should be.
17th September 2020
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you.
This verse has always been known to me as God’s phone number, Jeremiah is the 24th book in the Old Testament so I was taught 24333 was God’s phone number, no code needed. The context of this idea came from the discovery of the telephone and being able to call someone, wherever they were, and have a conversation. Here we are told that we can call on God and have a conversation at any time. Now, of course it is not a literal phone call, we do not need a phone, it is the ability to talk to God at any time, in any situation, about anything and knowing He will hear and will answer. As with any call if all we do is talk then the other person can’t get a word in. When we pray the tradition is to talk, to ask mostly and then say Amen and go about our daily life, job done. Actually, part of prayer is listening, what does God want to say to me? As I am able to tell God about my day, my ideas, my feelings and thoughts, I need to listen as He tells me about His. God can offer us the support and help to deal with daily situations, He can and will offer solutions and ways in which to help but, if we do not listen, we cannot hear. People often say, God did not answer me, to which I reply, did you listen, did you give Him a chance to speak to you? Many of us read our Bibles when we pray, it is often through those words and readings that God offers an answer. Of course, sometimes the answers are not what we want or think they should be so we ignore them. There has been a growth in meditation, actively listening to God, but not all of us can relate to that or work with it. If that works for you brilliant, go for it, but if not know that listening does not have to be done for long periods of time in silence, short times in our prayers where we pause and listen, reading our Bibles prayerfully, listening to God as we move around and go about our lives. Prayer and conversation with God can be going on all the time in our minds and hearts but we have to be willing to listen as we call on God in all and every situation.
16th September 2020
1 Chronicles 16:25 Great is The Lord and greatly to be praised.
This verse and its context are a hymn of praise from the people to their God who has saved them, the people declare God’s mighty and wonderful acts and sing out for all to hear. Apart from our hymn singing we do not recognise and sing out the praises of God in this day and age. We don’t see it as God who works the miracles, who changes things, who provides, instead we see everyone and everything other than God as responsible. The common view is that everything was and is a big, amazing accident and we are responsible, as humans, for the science and technology that now moves us forward. What everyone conveniently forgets is that behind the science is God. It is God who created the incredible motion of events, that gave humans the capacity to think and act, learn and discover. The medicines, the cures, the treatments, the technology, the advancements all given by to us by God who created us with the ability to learn and discover. If you want a miracle, proof of God’s amazing provision for us just look at the human body which heals itself, cuts that will not be seen days later, bones that heal when broken, antibodies that fight off colds and illnesses. Think about the seasons, the oceans and tides, the harvest, the land and sea, fresh and salt water all freely given and working in harmony, but what we do with it is our choice. The results of our selfish choices are the death of species, the changes in eco balance, melting ice caps, extreme weather, poor atmosphere, global warming….. we have been given an amazing body and mind, an incredible planet and instead of praising God and taking care of it we have chosen to set ourselves up as gods whose selfishness has damaged the wonderful provision of God. The best way for us to praise God for His greatness and love is to take care of what He has given to us and be thankful.
15th September 2020
Isaiah 43:18 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
If we all had to take an exam about life most of us would fail, why? Because most of us are trying to copy others in life instead of realising that each person has different questions to answer. We are all different, we all make mistakes and we look at how others have achieved success and try to imitate it, rather than find our own way. The good news is that even if we failed the exam we can always start again, always begin again. No matter our past, our failings and our achievements we can start again, we have a God of second chances, also of third and fourth and fifth chances. Within all religions there are teachings about how to improve life, how to change, but it is Christianity that offers complete forgiveness and a brand-new start, not just once but whenever it is needed. We can easily become prisoners of our past, held back by events and happenings that stop us from moving on in life. God does not want us to be imprisoned by our past, God wants us to be forgiven and to move on. God will never force that upon us, we have to be willing to let go of our past, not hold onto things just in case, instead we need to realise what is holding us back, seek forgiveness by being sorry, and ask for strength to change and move on. The bad past is something that should be forgotten, unfortunately, a lot of people let it define them. They become miserable, cunning, selfish, greedy, and blame it on the past or people in their past, saying, “I am this way because of how I was treated.” God wants us to know that the past has no power over us and that we can let go of it because we have been renewed by his love, and redeeming grace. So, let us forget the past, not dwell on the former things and allow God to do a new thing in us.
14th September 2020
Proverbs 5:1 Be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding.
One of the amazing things about our life on Earth is that we never reach an age or time when there is nothing left for us to learn. In recent years many universities have developed departments around Lifelong learning, realising that people can study, learn and gain qualifications all their life. The Dalia Lama has said that when we talk, we are only repeating what we already know. But if we listen, we can learn something new. The opinions we express come from our learning and listening. The more we listen to others and learn the facts around issues the more we understand and therefore the more sensible and balanced our opinions are. It is incredibly easy to be opinionated and to not listen to anyone else because we believe we are right and yet even the things around us we take as fact change as we discover more in science and nature. For example, I grew up being told that there were nine planets, fact; today we are told there are eight. We can never know everything, if we did then we would be as God, but God encourages us to keep learning, to keep listening, to hear Him and others as we grow. The word used here is incline, actually turning our ear to listen, it is an action of intent, it means we are looking for wisdom, wanting to learn. For many the older they become the more they think they know it all and do not need to listen to anyone else. We have all met them, perhaps we are them, never willing to hear someone else’s point of view, never willing to change our opinion even in the face of proof. God calls us to be attentive and incline our ear to Him and to others all our lives. The choice is ours, we can be lifelong learners or those stuck in their ways, we can be those who only ever repeat what we know or those who listen and learn something new.
13th September 2020
John 14: 1 Do not be worried and upset, believe in God and also in me.
Would you describe yourself as a worrier? Some of us seem compelled to worry about everything, most of us worry about the usual things and some seem to be completely carefree. We tend to worry about things and people who are important to us. We worry about family, friends, safety, illness and we worry because life has shown us that sometimes bad things happen and our minds and hearts conjure up situations where those we love might be hurt or maltreated. Worrying is a natural part of life the problem is when it takes over life and becomes so obsessive, we can see nothing else but problems and difficulties. Worrying will not stop bad things happening. By worrying we cannot stop illnesses or accidents, pain or suffering, we can not add any time to our lives; what does happen is we stop enjoying the good the things. We become so obsessed with worry we stop appreciating the good in our lives and in doing that we become a self-fulling prophecy. Constant worry and concern takes from us the ability to think clearly, to act rationally and so we place ourselves in the position of being more at risk. Jesus words in John are in response to death, one of our biggest worries, He is clear that when we believe in Him, in God, we have the promise of eternal life, a place in Heaven. We cannot stop worrying, our human nature means we are aware of evil and the affect it can have on us and those around us but Jesus is offering a way to deal with the worry, a way for us to live more peacefully within ourselves by believing in God and His protection of us and His complete and utter love of us. If you are a worrier look to the Lord, His word and His promises, let Him offer you some peace by allowing Him to take the worry, the burden, from your shoulders to His.
12th September 2020
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
In whose name do we do things? Our own? Our religion? Our God? Are we tolerant, respectful? Do we bear with others? Do we forgive others and ourselves? Do we offer the respect to others that they deserve or are we selfish? Being honest is about truth, reaping what you sow and developing trust with others but also about being honest with yourself, every day. To allow us and others to flourish demands honesty. If we are not honest with ourselves, we are not able to recognise and live in reality, in the real world. Dishonesty means we choose only to see what we want to see, ignoring everything else. That means we turn a blind eye to problems and difficulties, allowing others and ourselves to suffer because we don’t speak out about unfairness and injustice, we don’t stand up when someone is being bullied and hurt. A senior army officer speaking out about challenging bad behaviour said “The standard we walk past and ignore is the standard we accept” So when we allow racism, bullying, sexism, aggression, lies, cheating and do not challenge it we are saying that it is okay to treat people like this and by default it is okay for people to treat me like that. If we are honest with ourselves, we should be able to look back at each day, each week and say How did it go? What did I do right? What could I have done better? This reflection, this honesty is not negating or criticising, it is helping us to learn, to grow, to become better people. We need to be honest about the good things and the bad things, acknowledge what needs to change. Ask yourself are you tolerant and respectful? Do you bear with others? Do you forgive and allow yourself to be forgiven? What needs to change? Does my ego get in the way? Being honest about our short comings, about what we don’t know and what needs to change, makes us humble and realistic people.
11th September 2020
Matthew 5:45 God makes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous.
As I write this the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. People everywhere will enjoy this blessing no matter who they are how they behave. I have a real issue at present with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. I really struggle with the dishonesty of so many politicians and so-called public servants. I am amazed that much of society seems to think that this kind of behaviour is okay. We are told that the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous, in other words God does not only provide His children with what they need but also everyone else. This is God modelling to us how we love our enemies. This verse is part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching about how we live as followers of God. Within that teaching we are required to care for and love not only those who care for and love us but also those who don’t. That changes our outlook on society, it means treating prisoners with consideration even though they have broken the law, it means making sure justice is done for everyone and not just those we think deserve it. It means treating all people with respect whether rich or poor. It does not stop us from challenging inequality, challenging lies and holding people to account but it does affect the way we do it. If God’s love and fairness extends to all, whether believers or not, then we too must extend our love and fairness to all. Within that love we can still challenge the lies and dishonesty, stand up for the truth, but we do so by copying God’s way and leading by example. God graciously gives good things, even to those who hate Him. He gives the blessing of sun and rain to the just and the unjust alike. God does not withhold blessings until a person comes to Him by faith in Christ. Since God is so generous with His enemies, then we should be as well.
10th September 2020
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the one whose confidence is in the Lord.
How confident are you? Are you confident in your ability, your upbringing, your education, your record? There are many things we can be confident in but are we confident in the right things, is that confidence justified or is it just arrogance? Confidence in the wrong things results in major problems, for example remember the CEO of Lehman Brothers who ignored warnings because of his arrogance, the bank collapsed, and a huge recession followed. The Australian army offers who were so arrogant about their ability that they ended up killing 10,000 of their own soldiers. Over confidence comes from arrogance, a faulty assessment of a situation, unrealistic expectations, hazardous decisions made in haste without weighing up the facts or implications of what we do. People who are arrogant do not deal in details or clear hard facts, they make a fuss and a noise about the easy things. They have a mindset and are unwilling to listen and learn to inform their decision making. It is easy to judge, react and walk away without ever knowing the whole story. Arrogance results in defensive, vengeful and punitive actions. In His letters Paul has a reason for his confidence, his family, education, training and position make him almost untouchable and yet he realises that the more responsibility a person has the more they must be careful, honour the truth, listen to the facts and first and foremost be confident in God. We can often confuse blustering arrogance with genuine ability but that is not the case. Just because someone says they can be believed and trusted does not mean they can. Look for the evidence, look for the proof and always check people’s credentials. Being confident in the right things means we need to listen and learn, look behind the obvious, examine our own track record and that of others, confidence in the right things will be witnessed through how we treat others and how we behave. Confidence in God or arrogance in self, the choice is ours to make.
9th September 2020
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows.
Sometimes I can only describe my presence on earth as detached, like that old phrase Lights on but nobodies’ home. We go through the motions, we appear to be functioning, going to work, cooking and cleaning, watch TV, sending emails but it is all automatic, muscle and mind memory. I am supposed to be here, do this, say that, smile and wave and we become almost robotic. This happens because we are protecting ourselves from a situation or event. In the west, particularly, we are not too good at public affection or grieving. We tend to keep ourselves in the British tradition of the stiff upper lip, do not show weakness, keep going and you will make it through. I find it interesting that research is showing that many of our mental health issues come from not expressing our grief, our anger, our love. So many people have low self esteem and self-worth because no one ever told them they were special, they were loved, they were capable. This is not just in homes where abuse takes place, but in ordinary homes where love was never expressed, where crying was not allowed and seen as weak, where behaviour was driven by fear of punishment and neglect. We need to recognise that it is okay to tell people we love them, to cry when we are upset and hurt, far from being weak it allows the chemicals in our bodies, that we are in need of, to be released. Expressing our grief and our love makes us stronger, it makes us realise how valuable we and others are and how we are worth so much to the world and to God. Telling someone we love them, we miss them, is saying I value you, I hold you in high regard, you matter! Grieving the loss of someone says this person mattered, they were valuable and special, they are a child of God and had a part to play in the world and I will miss them. Far from being weak, allowing our feelings to surface shows we are human, we are created to look after each other and to acknowledge the key to everything in this world, Love. Grief is the price we pay for love, the robotic, detached way we cope is okay for a time but me must allow ourselves the freedom to express our love and our grief outwardly and without fear of embarrassment.
8th September 2020 (I apologise for my lateness. Family funeral)
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
How do you react when things go wrong? If you are anything like me there seems to be a rush of things that happen all at once and each wears the patience a bit thinner. At the worst times of life I have always reached the point where I realise that I am not alone, that even in the midst of the most difficult of times there is a peace, a strength that surrounds me. The psalmist here is recognising that in every situation God is our refuge and strength. That even when trouble lies at our door, we have His help, we are not alone. A refuge is a safe place, a place that provides shelter and protection, therefore God is our shelter, our protection, He provides the necessary protection for us in whatever shape and form it needs to take. When we are in trouble, we need support, someone to offer advice, comfort and help, to reassure us that whatever needs to be done can be done and will be done. That is what God does, makes sure that everything that needs to be done is done. For those who are facing illness, job loss, debt, family divisions, bereavement and the like God provides the refuge, the safe haven, but also the strength, the help to deal with each situation, every condition. He may provide this through other people, situations and encouragements, but what the psalmist knows and what we need to know and remember is that God has it in hand. It may not always seem like it, it may not be happening how we think it should, but God has it in hand. God promises that whatever we go through, whatever happens to us we do not need to face it alone, He is right there, every moment, ever present, every day offering refuge and strength, present in every moment, supporting and caring for us.
7th September 2020
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Enduring pain and hardship, experiencing distress often comes from harm or the threat of harm, it can be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual or a combination of any or all of these. As humans we have a selfish human nature, we have a tendency to put self-first and in doing so can actually inflict pain and distress on others without meaning to. Sadly many in our world inflict suffering on others on purpose to promote their own agenda and to increase their authority, power and wealth. For us we may be experiencing suffering but hiding it, the old tradition of suffering in silence, not complaining, not allowing ourselves to be vulnerable or to accept help and yet actually this is so necessary for every human being. Psalm 22 is the Psalmist not suffering in silence, many psalms are like this, a brisk honesty, speaking out about feeling forsaken or fed up or angry. The Bible is quite clear about us expressing our emotions and feelings, about telling out our fears; after all if God created us with emotions and expressions He intended us to use them!! The psalmist, as he expresses his suffering, begins to open himself to see where others have suffered but come through. He opens himself up to help, just as we need to. We cannot always see suffering, hardship and pain in others because we become good at hiding it, but a more careful and prayerful look at others, their reactions, how they behave will show us needs and will indicate to others our needs. We also need to be willing to open up, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable so we can access the help and support we need. As we recognise our own need for help may we also recognise the need of others for help that we might be able to offer or direct them to. Suffering in silence does not make us a better person, in fact it causes us more issues particularly with our mental health. We all need help, there are plenty of people and organisations to help us, we just need to be willing to admit we have needs and that others can help us.
6th September 2020
Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything under Heaven.
This week our children have gone back to school, back to learning after over five months away from the classroom. We have all done various things with our time since March and a danger of returning to a type of normal is that we neglect things we have developed and which have been a blessing to us in the previous months. There is a time for everything under Heaven, that means we need to make time for the things we need in our lives. We must make time to rest both mentally and physically, the desire to catch up on education or work must not be allowed to encroach into our rest time. We must do things for pleasure, things we enjoy, hobbies etc which allow our minds to widen and give us perspective. Although we still have social distancing it is vital we see family and friends, spend time together, eat together and enjoy that social company. The role of sport has been seen as crucial to mental health and exercising our bodies when we have been indoors so much, now it is still vital to exercise and stretch bodies as well as minds. Reading for pleasure is good for imaginations and creativity, it is so easy to be so wrapped up in textbooks and study we lose the joy of reading a book for fun. We need time to just look around us and listen, really listen to the natural world. All these things and many others allow us to be ourselves, to exercise the balance needed in our lives of work, study and pleasure. We all need to be refreshed, not just once a year but regularly, trips, picnics, walks, things which allow us to breath, refocus and energise us. These things bring us joy, make us feel good and appreciate what we have, that in turn allows us to have a better all-round quality of life and makes work and study easier and more effective. God has given us a time for everything under heaven but we are in control of our timekeeping and so we must use our time wisely and sensibly for the good of ourselves and others.
5th September 2020
Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Do you usually make plans? Do you have plans for the future? After this year’s lockdown we all had plans totally rewritten, cancelled and changed and it is still a real lesson in how we cannot depend on the plans we make. Maybe you are someone who likes to have plans in place, perhaps you are clear about your aims and ambitions, perhaps you have just muddled along and hoping for the best. All those responses are okay. We steer a course of hopes and dreams but also needing to have an open mind to allow these plans to adapt when life changes and when the unexpected happens. Plans are good, it is helpful to know where we are going but life often gets in the way and plans sometimes need to change. Proverbs reminds us to question what the reasons are behind the plans we make. Are we just interested in money, fame, status, power, image etc or are we interested in the best for others as well as ourselves? We are reminded that there are people around us who are there to help us and advise us and we are foolish if we choose to ignore that advice and experience that God has offered to us. The future, the way ahead, is by its very nature an unknown, a variable, but the good news is we don’t have to do it alone. King George VI used part of a poem by Minnie Haskins called “God Knows” in 1939 to speak to a nation at war with a very uncertain future; it’s message was to put our hand into the hand of God which is better than any light or known way. The future was uncertain and unknown but faith in God was a light in the darkness and a known way forward for everyone. We travel nowhere alone when God is with us, we face nothing alone when God is with us. Any plans we have need to be made with God in the centre and in the knowledge that whatever happens, unexpected or not, we have God with us, holding our hand, through it all.
4th September 2020
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as for God.
If we think about all the things we are involved in, do we put the same amount of effort into everything we do? If not, why not? Are certain events, places and people more important to us than others? It is a hard question to ask ourselves because if we are honest we all have preferences and things that we put more effort into. Here we are being asked to do everything with all our heart and as if we are doing them for God. In basic terms it means when we garden we do it with all our heart as for God, when we sing we do it with all our heart as for God, when we go to work we do it with all our heart as for God. Everything we do, say and are involved in should be done to the best and highest standard as for God. So for me I should be the best Chaplain, Vicar, teacher, mother, wife, daughter…….that I can be and do each as if for God. In all we do we are not looking for the praise of others, we should not be desiring the praise of other humans, but we should be looking for what pleases God. This is a real attitude change; I am doing this for God so I give it my everything. I am doing this that God might be praised and worshipped, not me. When we are tired, life is hard, weather is not ideal, it is easy to only be half hearted in what we do, but if we commit each day to God, ask His help, look to always bring Him glory and praise then we will desire to do our best in everything, to do everything with all our heart and as if it is for God.
3rd September 2020
Psalm 145:4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
What would you like to be remembered for? What is our legacy? Perhaps you want to leave a trail of goodness, a legacy in music or publishing, perhaps your family knowing they have had the upbringing that will allow them to make their mark of goodness on society. Many of us grow up seeking our fifteen minutes of fame, the desire to be on YouTube or some reality TV programme to get our face out there and then achieve a status, fame and wealth. Sadly, this does not offer the desire to leave a legacy of goodness. If we look back in our lives, who are the people who have been commended to us from previous generations, who are our heroes? If we look at them what is it that makes them so special? What can we see that prompts our interest? Perhaps it is their genuine honesty, their philanthropy, their constant work for the good of others, their desire to promote the best for all humans wherever they are, whatever their status. These are things we should look to imitate, to follow on with because society is nowhere near perfect and without those who work for the good of others things will never change. Of course there is also the desire to perhaps have the wealth and fame of others thinking that will allow us to do more good, and yes it can, but unfortunately research shows us that once we become comfortable and live well we tend to forget others who we perhaps once longed to help. The desire to leave a legacy of good changes as we begin to have a better life ourselves. The Bible, and history, is full of stories of those who promised to use their power and wealth for others, only to be swallowed up in the club of wealth and power being used to control the masses, to maintain the lifestyle they now had and did not want to relinquish. A desire to help can easily be eroded to a belief that those who struggle do so because of their own laziness or unwillingness to work hard, nothing is further from the truth. So many who struggle do so because they have no access to the necessary education and resources to improve their lot but they still work harder than most just to provide even some of the basics for their families. Our legacy, whether published abroad or not should be as God desires, a fairer, just society where goodness and honesty are promoted, and all human beings are able to flourish.
2nd September 2020
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
How many of us start things we do not finish? Start cleaning the room then something else catches your attention, start a book then just don’t get round to finishing it, working on something then our phone distracts us, we start writing those cards and letters and never finish and something else needs to be done. Often, we stop things because we become bored, fed up and impatient because we want to see the benefits now and not have to wait. Our society is now so instant that we want things done and dusted in an instant. Not everything is or can be instant, we have to stick at things, persevere, even when they are difficult, and things don’t change straight away. This verse is about persevering in prayer, sticking at it even when we don’t seem to get an answer straight away. Let me tell you a secret about perseverance; when we read about Jesus finding strength to keep going, to persevere he does 2 things. Firstly, He prays, He talks to God, tells Him exactly how He feels, Jesus admits the struggles and difficulties and asks for help. Yes, Jesus Christ is willing to ask for help so if Jesus needs help to stick with it, to persevere, then so do we! Secondly Jesus takes time for Himself, time to be alone, to recharge His batteries and energy, to collect His thoughts. Once again if Jesus needed to do that then so do we, actually we need to do these things even more than Jesus. The secret to perseverance is to ask for help and to take to time for yourself. This allows us to build up our strength, get the rest we need and then we have the strength to face things with renewed vigour. Take time to be yourself, take time to be quiet, to pray and ask for God’s help and from that rest and recuperation in God comes the strength to carry on, to persevere.
1st September 2020
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Have you ever done those trust exercises where you close your eyes and fall back and the person behind will catch you, or allow yourself to be led by someone through obstacles with your eyes covered? It is really hard to trust someone, to believe that they will keep you safe and do right by you. Trust is defined as a firm belief in someone or something and is used to confirm that belief in terms like Trustee or Trust fund. It won’t surprise you to know that I Trust in God, just as the verse says, but that does not mean that I do not question or challenge or want to know why. We are told to not lean or rely on our own understanding, why? Because we cannot and do not know all the answers, so we have to trust in those older and wiser than ourselves. Trust is difficult, it makes us vulnerable and if we are let down, if someone betrays our trust, then it becomes so much harder to trust again. Often we can put our trust in things without even thinking; that the bridge will hold us, the car will stop when we brake, the bus will turn up, there will be food on the table at home, the ambulance will turn up when we dial 999…… To trust, is to believe, to not doubt. In this verse it is trusting in God, believing in Him, not doubting Him but accepting that He knows best. As we acknowledge this trust, He makes our paths straight; it makes life’s easier, clearer because it makes sense, it works. Trusting means we believe in others and are willing to give them the opportunity for trust. Where trust has been broken, we work at rebuilding it, we apologise, we change our attitude and we try to be more trusting and less skeptical.
31st August 2020
Romans 14:5 One person will consider one day more sacred than another; another will consider every day alike. Each of them is fully convinced in their own mind.
Have you ever asked yourself the question why can’t other people be just like me? If you haven’t then it is likely to happen at some point. If we were all the same, just like me or you, wouldn’t life be easier, better? But no, we are not all the same, we are different, unique and special. Scientifically there are at least 420 billion possible variations in human DNA, from tiniest differences to huge differences and yet we are all human beings. Science also tells us that we are generally attracted to those who are like us. As we grow older we are less likely to listen to or be around those we disagree with or who have different ideas and views to ours. We become “set in our ways” we find safety and security in similarity and are concerned by difference. We are all different because we are sentient beings, we think, we reason, we feel, we experience, we are subjective, we feel both joy and sadness, pleasure and pain. These things affect who we are, our opinions, our ideas. It is these very differences that offer us creativity, gives us new discoveries, enable us to develop treatment for illnesses and invent things which allow everyone a full quality of life. Difference needs to be celebrated and not feared. In this verse we see that even 2000 years ago people argued about how things were to be done, they developed, even in the early church, a sense of my way is the right one and yours is the wrong one and we are still doing that today. But we are clearly reminded that God does not work this way, God made us with our differences, and He celebrates and encourages our differences. God accepts each of us as we are, unique, special, wonderful and we need to be reminded of that sometimes, but we also need to be reminded that those around us are special and unique as well. Let us celebrate difference in whatever shape or form, allowing ourselves and others to be who we are without criticism. May we engage the disengaged, challenge the suspicious and fearful attitudes and always look for the good and not the bad in everyone and recognise that we are not all the same, and thank God.
30th August 2020
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Think about who helps you and who you help each day whether at work or at home or in the community. Doing to others as we would have them do to us, or as my Nan used to say, do as you would be done by, is a key to daily life. This idea, known as the Golden Rule, exists in all major world religions. It is a universal idea, one of those things that all religions agree on and therefore must be hugely important, must be of great value to the human race, as such it needs to be listened to and acted upon. The history of this idea can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, China, Near East, India, Greece, Persia and Rome. This Golden Rule has such a presence in history, in religion, in formulating many modern societies, so it deserves to be listened to and acted upon by everyone. Doing to others as we would want done to ourselves is a moral commitment to both ourselves and others, we see ourselves in others and we see others in ourselves, it sparks empathy, compassion, understanding and flourishing. Many through history have gone as far as to say that this Golden Rule is the glue that keeps society functioning. So, what does this Golden Rule mean for us? It means a realisation that if we don’t like being lied to, joked about, laughed at, pushed around, ignored, maltreated, falsely accused……….. then other people don’t like that either, therefore we do not do it to others. It means taking a moment to think before we speak or act in a situation and asking ourselves if we would like this if someone said or did it to us. We are often confronted with those who appear to get what they want by walking over others but we must recognise that if we all behaved like that there would be no trust, no care, no concern, no empathy, no friendship, no family, no love. God gave us each other to help and look after one another, so we are never alone; the least we can do is treat each other with respect and love and as we would like to be treated ourselves.
29th August 2020
John 8:36 If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.
When someone talks about freedom what crosses your mind? The freedom to choose perhaps or freedom to do and say what I want. Freedom to think and believe what I choose. Freedom to behave as I see fit or freedom because I am not a slave or in prison or under the rule of some dictator. As human beings we have been given the freedom to think, learn, speak, reason, imagine, dream, set goals, be creative, artistic, develop tools that multiply the power of human energy, change environments, change ourselves, to invent, develop personalities, to love, to worship, to make decisions and choices. Wow, that is just a small list and look how incredible and amazing it is. This freedom offers us incredible potential. It is true that another person or group of people can restrict us, restrain us, even rob us of certain freedoms. People can try to gag us, force us, injure us in a quest for domination, but each of us was born with an incredible mind, the ability to think and act for ourselves. No one can take away our God given freedoms of our human mind. Nelson Mandela, imprisoned unjustly for so long said “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” In pursuing and living our own freedoms we should not damage the freedom of others, rather we should enhance their freedoms. This is called mutual flourishing, where each of us lives in a way that helps and respects each other. Over the years many have given their lives that others may be free, we are free to do and be all we are because God gave every human those freedoms through His Son who sets us free and many have fought to keep and restore those freedoms across the world. Are we willing and able to take the opportunities and freedoms afforded to us and in doing so enhance the freedoms of others?
28th August 2020
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
You know those days when everything just seems to go wrong, sometimes it can be longer than a day, even weeks, but why and how do respond? Somehow some days just seem bent on going wrong, each event or conversation just goes wrong, our mood deteriorates, we become negative and then everything we touch turns sour, or so it seems. Often it is our family who bears the brunt of our negative mood and we just spiral downwards as things get worse. Firstly, we need to realise we cannot control everything in our life and just because something happens that we do not like, it does not mean everything else will go wrong. Part of the issue is how we deal with things, how we allow our attitude to life and to God be affected by what happens. We have a choice in how we react to things and our very attitude can be what allows a day to get worse or to become better. Our own minds love to play tricks on us, tell us everyone is against us, that we deserve what is happening because we are not good enough. God is quite clear that through Jesus we are good enough, we are loved and cared for , we are forgiven and negative things which sometimes happen are not necessarily our fault and are not a punishment for some obscure event in our past. In simple terms of good verse evil, evil will always try to force us to be negative, will try to persuade us from the right and good path and by using bad experiences when things go wrong, we are much more easily misled down this path away from good and from God. Being a child of God does not promise that things will always be fine, but it does promise strength to cope, God’s love and support as we deal with each situation. In whatever situation we find ourselves God is right there with us, we do not stand alone. Sometimes we need to just accept that life happens and things go wrong but, we do not have to allow these things to cause us into a downward spiral, instead we need to let go and let God take the strain, tell Him how we feel and allow Him to turn the negative into positives and give us all we need to not just cope but to change and live a better more positive life.
27th August 2020
Luke 14: 15 “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
When were you last invited to a wedding or a dinner party or banquet? The current pandemic has affected this year’s weddings and parties but they are still such wonderful occasions. When you are invited to a big event what is your reply? An instant yes, or I must check the diary, or an excuse because we are busy or think it is too far to travel or just don’t want to go. We invite people to share with us for all sorts of things, celebrations, meals, parties, windfalls, family get togethers and we do it because we want to share our joy and good fortune with others. We want folk to feel welcome, to be provided for. In many traditions when you go to someone’s home you must be given some food and drink to welcome you and show you hospitality. To feel welcome, you must receive a welcome, be made to feel at home, that you can use the facilities, join in the celebration and make yourself at home. That means each one of us has a responsibility to make others feel welcome in our churches, our homes, our groups and clubs. As we meet together for whatever reason, it is vital that we care for one another, show welcome, treat people as we would like to be treated and of course to also allow ourselves to be welcomed. This parable is an illustration of how God invites everyone to share in His creation, His love, His eternal kingdom but how we, humans, often make excuses and don’t want to turn up or get involved. God’s welcome goes out to everyone no matter who they are or from where they come, poor and rich, female and male, any culture, race or creed. God has invited us to come to His celebration, to be welcome in His home and to make our own home with Him. We, too, are encouraged to make others welcome, to share all we have with everyone, to be kind, to encourage and help one another as a community, a family together under God. There is also a warning, those who make excuses, who are invited into God’s kingdom and don’t want to come, their invitation will become invalid, it is a time limited invitation and each person has the choice whether to accept or not. I hope you have accepted the welcome invitation and are sharing that welcome with others.
26th August 2020
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will look after the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
Do we really appreciate what is around us, or has it just become every day and not so worthy of our appreciation? I love the incredible sunrises and sunsets, especially when we are away near the coast, I am still searching for the perfect picture of a sunset and I have taken many. What about those incredible super moons? Or the beginning of new life each spring and the Harvest each autumn? We have those amazing programmes that show us nature and our affect on it through our careless and selfish living. The likes of Blue Planet, Spring Watch, Animals with Cameras, Big Cats, Wonders of the Moon….we cannot miss the incredibleness of the nature, of God’s creation, unless of course we just don’t look, don’t open our eyes to see just how amazing God’s world and universe is. If you need a prompt to remind you how amazing God’s creation is, try looking up the salt flats in Bolivia that act like a mirror, or the waves and beach that glow in the Maldives, or the red sandstone formation like a wave in rock found in Arizona. We swat bees away and call them a nuisance but have found how vital they are to the food chain and our life. Find the films on how Giraffes and Monkey’s grieve their dead and how a dog’s nose print is as unique as a fingerprint. God created an ecosystem which allows all life to coexist, survive and flourish, but that is only if we chose to let it. We need to open our eyes, to look around us and appreciate the amazing wonder of this beautiful world God has given us. We need to watch the programmes, listen to the experts, and as we learn and understand more, change how we live so that every living creature may flourish together as God intended. We were given a role in creation, by God, to be a steward of His creation, to care for it and look after it. We need to do better because change starts with us.
25th August 2020
2 Corinthians 8:9 Our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as He was, made Himself poor for our sake, in order to make us rich by means of His poverty.
I am sure you have heard the expression “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes” or “Before you criticise, walk a mile in their shoes”. What do these mean? This idea exists in the earliest records from the Native Americans, Harper Lee uses it in To Kill A Mockingbird, there are comparative proverbs and phrases in most religions. What they are all saying is to really be like someone, to understand them, to realise what their life is like, we must experience what they experience. This is empathy, to empathise with others because we can put ourselves in their situation and position, in their shoes. In the Jewish tradition of Jesus time disciples followed their teacher or Rabbi literally living as they did, imitating them, becoming like them, actually walking in their footsteps or their shoes. So it is with Jesus, He comes from God to live as we do, to experience what we experience, to walk with us in our shoes. Jesus, God’s son, gives up His heavenly place, His Godhead, His authority, His omnipotence, and omniscience to take on our human nature. Jesus gives up the power and riches of His position to be just as we are. Why? Why would Jesus do this? Because this way He can build a bridge, a way between God and humans that allows us to be loved, treasured, and forgiven by God and thus restore us to eternal life. Jesus living in our shoes means that there is nothing we will go through that God does not understand and therefore help us with every day. So, before we criticise another human being we should walk a mile in their shoes, try to see things from their perspective, be more empathetic, give up some of our comfortable superior attitude and see things from the other side, just as Jesus has done for us.
24th August 2020
James 1:3 For you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to persevere.
Do you remember taking exams? I always wondered why we could not have a setting to enable us to remember exactly what we needed for the exam. I was always told that providing I had studied, listened, read and revised, it was all there to be had in the exam. But somehow it often got lost in the pressure of the exam situation and what that meant for the future. Our recall, in thought, word and action, is often affected by the pressure of a situation. Working in a pressurised environment is difficult and has to be learned, this happens by sticking at it, persevering, and doing it over and over again. We can deal with the pressure by reminding ourselves that we do know our stuff, we have studied and practiced, we have worked for this and to act accordingly. Self confidence is important, knowing that we can do something, we do know how this works, we can step into that situation and do the right thing. We have a friend who is a paramedic in London, he has been in some of the worst situations including being first on scene at the London bombings in 7/7, if you ask him how he coped then and still copes now he says: I am trained for this, I know what to do, sometimes I have to remind myself of that, but I know what to do and don’t doubt my abilities because I have the knowledge, wisdom, training and confidence to do what I am trained to do. James chapter 1 reminds us that life will have it’s ups and downs, but as we stick at it, persevere with it, remind ourselves that we do know what needs to be said and done, that we can ask for help when we need to; then we grow in maturity, in self-confidence and we are able to stand firm in any situation and deal with it accordingly. This verse is part of a passage called faith and wisdom which reminds us to have faith in God, but also in ourselves, as He provides us with the abilities we need, the wisdom and knowledge we need, and stands right beside us in each situation supporting us. God gives us wisdom; we have learned from Him and His word and we need to be confident in ourselves as children of God even in the difficult times. It is good for us to remind ourselves that we have and do work hard, we do have knowledge, experience and wisdom, we do have help if we need it and to be confident in all that God has given and will continue to give us.
23rd August 2020
Lamentations 3:23 His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.
If you are like me then there will have been days when you wish you could just start again. When I used to play a lot of sport and the team were losing, we would just want to start again, do it differently or maybe we would get a different outcome. In exams, interviews, conversations, plans…….. If we could just start again, take the foot from out of our mouths or not say what we just did, or no do what we have just done, please let me start again. I love writing and have books for that purpose, there is nothing like a new clean book, pristine, unmarked, completely clean, very quickly it becomes untidy, dog eared as I carry it round, pages with crossings out and mistakes, can’t I just start again. Some days we are just not ourselves and we upset someone with our attitude which we didn’t realise was not good, our choice of words is careless, nothing goes quite right, we can’t find that document we put in a safe place and it is everyone’s fault but ours, please can we start again. This verse from Lamentations comes from a time in Israel’s history when they really needed to start again. They had made a mess of everything and had begun to realise that God had always been there, ready to help, ready to step in, but they had ignored Him and turned away from Him and in the process everything had just gone completely wrong. God, as always, is just waiting to give them, and us, a fresh start but we have to recognise our need and ask for His help, God never forces Himself on anyone. They begin to realise that God is still there and that His compassion never fails, that it is new every morning. For them and us each and every day offers a new start, a new beginning, and offers the opportunity of a great day full of promise. Each day is ours for the taking, it is what we make it. Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift, that is why we call it the present, a gift from God, with all its possibilities and the opportunity to start anew. The question is what will we do with our present?
22nd August 2020
Philippians 4:8 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.
What occupies your thoughts? Wherever you are right now there is something that no one can know about you in this moment, exactly what it is you are thinking. Our body language might betray us a little but we can, and frequently do, act and speak totally differently to our thoughts, it’s hard work and we become accomplished at it the more we do it, but it is our thoughts that reflect the real us. In the verse we are told to think on these things, to focus our minds on wholesome, good, positive things that are noble, true, right, pure, lovely………. Thinking on these things completely changes our lives, we begin to live as we think, put into practice the positive and it becomes a complete whole person response to life, not an act, not measured or taught. If what we think about is positive, good, encouraging and wholesome then that is what will come out in our practical lives, we will not fight to be seen in a certain way but be true to ourselves, to who we are, to who God made us to be. As a society we are beginning to be more active around Mental Health issues, a brilliant and very necessary change. We have begun to realise that the health of our minds is just as important as that of our bodies. Our thoughts and feelings are vital to how we live, act and respond and Paul's words in Philippians are exactly about this. We are being encouraged to fill our minds with the positive, the true, the noble, the praiseworthy and to allow these mindful things to filter through our whole life. Yes, I know it is often easier said than done but we need to be encouraged to think about good things, to dwell on the positive and wholesome things in life. If we need some help then talk to someone, a friend, a priest, a counsellor, someone who may just be able to help us reset our mind set to be someone who thinks on these things.
21st August 2020
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give to each according to their ways, according to the fruit of their deeds.
We are currently in the process of a selling a car. In doing so we have cleaned it, not just a quick outside clean, but all the places you don’t usually look. We have cleared out all the stuff from the inside, checked the spare tyre and jack etc are all there. Removed the CD from the player, cleaned the footwells and taken out all the car park change. It is cleaner than it has been in ages so we can get a good and fair price for it. It struck me that our lives are like this, we do the quick fix regularly, appear to all intents and purposes that we are clean, ready for life, but on the inside not so good. We have those areas we don’t clean up very often, the little hidden cracks and areas which have been there so long they are sort of comfortable. We have the forgotten Poems, hymns and Bible verses tucked away but not really used much. There are the emergency tools and tyres hidden away and never really used because we don’t like to publicly use them or even remember they are there. There is all the dirt in the footwells, the recesses of our lives, from the places we walk and work which need a good clean up but rarely get it. We leave our change, the little things we need regularly, but pay little credence too, in the cup holders of our minds and hearts. On the outside we are looking good, but on the inside are things we need to clean up, to deal with, but because no one else can see them we just push them to one side and carry on. What we forget is that as people travel with us, they see the inside too, and more importantly, God sees the inside all day, every day. God knows what lies in our hearts and minds and wants us to deal with it in the safety of His love and protection. We cannot be the complete package as a Christian if we are not willing to keep the inside clean, the bit God sees, as well as the outside which most people see. So, when we have a good clean up let’s make sure we deal both with the inside as well as the outside, being willing to look a little deeper and harder at ourselves and make the necessary changes before God.
20th August 2020
Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
We all have those days, even weeks when life seems to drain us, we struggle with the normal of life and we seem to be in a fog that we just can’t get out of. This often happens after bereavement, or illness or big life changing events. Even though we know we are physically fine we feel the mysterious aches and pains, we don’t have the energy to get up and walk to the shops or round the block for exercise, we may have to make ourselves eat even though we do not feel like it. This mental and physical reaction is a coping mechanism, because feelings have been stretched to their limit, emotions overloaded, thoughts all over the place and our bodies and minds go into a sort of safe mode. We baton down the hatches and for a while we don’t allow ourselves to feel, to express emotion because it is all tied into physical and mental pain that we just don’t want to experience again right now, body and mind tell us that we just do not have the strength to cope. In very extreme and difficult times like bereavement we shut down to save ourselves anymore hurt and to allow ourselves to recuperate, to become strong enough again to deal with the emotions of life. There is no “one size fits all” with anything in life and at any point an event or visual image, or aural stimulus can return us to that place and cause the pain and hurt to resurface. This is quite normal but encouragingly, the time taken to recover usually becomes less and less. We never just get over difficult events in our lives, we learn to accommodate them, to live with them in a different normal of life. The words of this Psalm give us hope and blessing that even when our heart and flesh may fail, may go into safe mode, God is still right there, holding us in the everlasting arms, giving us the necessary strength to cope, and caring for us as we recuperate and learn to live our different and new normal.
19th August 2020
Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.
How do you treat others and how do you treat yourself? It is central to our quality of life and of others. I have a friend who worked with street children, she told of how these children had no self-worth or value because people treated them so badly. People were abusive, shouted awful things at them, kicked them, threw things at them so these children came to believe they were worthless. When the helpers came the street children could not understand why these people treated them so well, why they were helping them when they were worthless. No human being should ever be treated like that no matter who they are, their status, creed, culture, colour, gender, or life choice. Every human being is created in the Image of God and has worth and value. We need to treat each other well, just as we would like others to treat us. I am proud of my welsh heritage and love St. David our patron saint. He had a saying “Do the little things in life”. In other words if we do the simple basics like caring for each other, helping each other out, looking out for friends and family, doing a favour, an errand, tidying up after ourselves, all the little things, the normal day to day stuff, do that and all the rest falls into place! Doing to others as ourselves is a clear message about how we treat others, we must treat everyone with respect, enabling them to flourish and achieve just as we would want for ourselves. It is good practice to always think am I helping or hindering? Would I like what I am about to do or say, said or done to me? If the answer is no, then do not do it or say it.
18th August 2020
Matthew 7: 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
I had the most wonderful Nan and she had many expressions, one of them was , have a bit of common, it was her way of saying use your common sense, think before you do something, weigh up the consequences of your words and actions. To put that in context, common sense says we form an orderly queue to pay at the checkout, or wait our turn to cross the road, those who don’t, who push and shove or step out immediately cause an issue that effects many other people. Those who weight until the last minute to do something or rush rather than use time wisely, they too cause an issue for those around them. It is easy to be distracted from a task by something more fun or more pleasant to do and thus the link in a chain is broken and things are left undone that needed to be done. In the story from which the above verse comes is all about using our common sense, our wisdom, thinking before we act. The man wants a quick fix, cheap, impressive and quick, no long-term planning or thinking, no eye to the future, he wants it now. In building he misses out the important early steps of planning and foundations, he jumps straight to building on a surface no one else was building on, a surface that shifts with the tide and when the storm comes the house comes crashing down. God has given us wisdom, common sense, the ability to think and weigh up our actions for a reason. We are being reminded that everything we do and say has consequences and so, taking time to think and plan and assess the consequences will save so much hurt and pain. God is encouraging us to build on solid and firm foundations for everything we do in life. By using that bit of common, as my Nan put it, we can make our lives and the lives of those around us so much better. We need to be God’s Master Builders and not the world’s rogue traders in all we do and say.
17th August 2020
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What happens in your house as regards housework, cooking, washing up etc? Is one person left to do it all or is it spread equally? Most of us know that our children are often unwilling to do their chores and speak in terms of unfairness, in many homes one spouse often does most of the chores, is that fair? When we say that being asked to do something is unfair what we are really saying is I am better than you, it’s your job not mine, we are marking ourselves as more important and better than someone else. At a deeper level this is why we have to have human rights because some of us develop the idea that we are better and more deserving than others because of wealth, status, culture, skin colour, gender, belief, race etc. We only need to look at world history to see just this. In Galatians it is made completely clear that ALL are equal, there are no ifs or buts, no one person is better or more deserving than another. In God’s eyes it is not race, gender or our position in society or our culture or skin colour, or our status and belief that counts but purely the fact that we are God’s created people and we are ALL special, ALL unique. None of us is better than another in God’s eyes! So, if that is the case we have no right to look down upon another person, no right to treat another person differently because they are not the same as us or don’t fit into our view and perception of what people should be. Psalms tells us that ALL human beings are God’s crowning glory, that means you and me and everyone no matter who or what. We are all equal, it doesn’t mean we will all get on with each other, but it does mean we should respect each other and not treat anyone differently because of physical or cultural differences. May we see each other through God’s eyes, recognise we are all equal, all wonderful, valuable and special and treat each other as such, that will make life so much better, farer, easier and happier for everyone.
16th August 2020
John 1:23 A voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare Ye the way of the Lord.
It has been difficult to visit people or have visitors your self recently, but perhaps over the summer holiday you have had family to stay or come for a meal or a day. Visitors mean preparation, getting ready by cleaning, tidying, move the clutter out of sight, get food in, make up beds if people are staying over… there is a lot of preparation to be done and some of us are so much better at it than others. Preparing for things is a necessary part of life, we prepare for visitors but also for interviews, work, exams, lessons, cooking, writing….. if we never bothered to prepare life would not be any good for us or others. At the time of Jesus the people had spent centuries preparing for the Messiah, getting ready for the Lord’s coming but as time moved on and years past it lost it’s appeal, it wasn’t important any more and preparation and readiness had slipped to ambivalence for most. So when Jesus arrives and is born in Bethlehem it doesn’t make the headlines, it is not what was expected anyway, years of waiting were for a king, powerful and strong who would raise the people to be rulers over everyone else. As Jesus grows up and things start to happen the questions are asked, John the Baptist, out and about preaching and baptising, is asked if he is a prophet or is he the long awaited Messiah. John uses the words of Isaiah, words they would understand, to declare that he, John, is preparing the way, he is getting the people ready, opening their eyes to see the Messiah, Jesus. Sadly, most of the people of the time were not ready. Are we ready? Ready for Jesus in our lives? Ready for the changes we need to make so Jesus is seen and heard through us? Are we prepared for the teachings of Jesus to be everyday living experiences that we share with others? Or have we too, lost sight of Jesus, become ambivalent to Jesus presence in the world and our part in that? We need to be ready, to get ready and prepared for Jesus and His work through us. If not we will miss out, we will be left behind; may we be those voices crying out, prepare ye the way of the Lord.
15th August 2020
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, rejoice!
How often do you celebrate things? Maybe the usual birthdays, anniversaries each year but here we are told to rejoice, to be joyful everyday and we are told not to be anxious, not to worry, so why is that? It is because God is on our side, constantly with us. As God stands with us nothing can stand against us, God and Us, we are a majority anywhere. How do we rejoice? The most natural thing is to smile. Science tells us that smiling is good for us, it lifts our mood, helps us feel better, it changes our brain chemistry. Even if we force a smile, make ourselves smile, it does us good. Smiling helps us live longer, it boosts our health, it makes us feel happier, happier means less stress, less anxiety and leads to better physical and mental health. Rejoicing can also be expressed in singing, also really good for us, for our heart, our mind and it reduces stress and anxiety. Singing increases the oxygen in our blood, it uses muscles and exercises us aerobically. Studies by Harvard and Yale have shown that singing can prolong life because of its physical and psychological benefits. It also produces endorphins which make us feel better. Even now, when singing together is not allowed, singing at home or in the car, out loud is fine. Now, just try putting singing and smiling together and we can take on the world. We have so much, God has given us so much and blessed us so richly and He wants us to enjoy it, to rejoice and celebrate life. Rejoicing allows us to delight, to celebrate, to be less anxious and so live better, healthier lives. So, let us try to smile more, to enjoy life, to celebrate, sing and rejoice in all the good things God has given us.
14th August 2020
2 Corinthians 8:7 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
Do we excel in giving? Giving of time, money, talents, patience, care, love….out of our abundance do we give? Our example of true and complete giving is that of Jesus who as Son of God, therefore King and Lord, who has it all, the power, wealth, authority, knowledge, ability...... choses to give it up, to become poor so He can give it all to us and help us. Jesus chooses to give it all up so we can thrive and flourish. What an example! Through history some folk have come closer than others in their giving like Christ, St. Francis, Mother Theresa, Gladys Aylward, so many of the Saints in what they did and do for us and for others. We are told to excel in giving, in other words be the best in giving. We strive to be the best in knowledge, the best in sport, in music, in the cars we drive and the houses we live in but do we strive to be the best in giving? Are we willing to give up some of our wealth, be it material or physical, our talents, our experience to help others? The context of the verse says we do our giving out of love, out of compassion for others that they too may have a good life and share in the wealth. It astonishes me that in a wealthy country as ours we need food banks, it is a shame on our society and government that these are necessary, it also astonishes and blesses me the reaction and response of so many to these foodbanks. The generosity of people in their giving. I have also witnessed that those who have the least give the most, those closest to the need, who understand and have had help themselves give so much. We can give in so many ways, with time, knowledge, talents, encouragement as well as money and food. But, we need to be willing, to want to excel in giving. We need to think about how we can give out of what we have, how we can use what we have to benefit our families, our friends and neighbours and everyone whether we know them or not. Jesus gave so much for us surely; we can give out of our abundance to help others.
13th August 2020
Exodus 20:15 Thou shall not steal.
One of the 10 commandments, we are told categorically that stealing is wrong, and we must not do it. Most people we talk to would say “I don’t do that!” Stealing comes down to taking what does not belong to us. Every religion is very clear on stealing and from the very earliest of times rules and customs protected someone’s property from being taken from them. We are all aware that these rules have been broken, often in the case of the powerful and wealthy riding rough shod over the poor, sometimes simply for people to feed their families and starving children. Why do people steal? In some cases, it is for attention, a cry for help, often it is about jealousy and wanting more, to have what someone else has. Sometimes it is about an unwillingness to work to live but a desire to take from others hard work to get what we want. Some people just think their lot in life is unfair and so feel justified in taking someone else’s. Whatever the reason stealing is a very selfish act, it causes people to be hurt both physically and mentally, it is disrespectful of others, it oppresses others. We are responsible for ourselves and our families, we work, we earn, we save, we pay our taxes and bills and live within our means, we do not take from others, we do not force others into despair and need by taking what belongs to them. This all seems basic and right, but dig a little deeper, do we always pay our dues? Those things we take from work without thinking, those things we borrow and don’t return. Maybe the things we do not declare on the tax return, the job we do cash in hand. When we start to look deeper it is possible that we can all fall into the trap without realising, because that has become the norm. In simple terms we all need to respect one another, to recognise we are not perfect, to try always to be completely honest and up front in all our dealings and let God do the rest.
12th August 2020
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
How often have you been forgiven? Actually, it will be too many to count and so many times not remembered. Within most families, parents, children, siblings etc forgiveness of some sort happens on a daily basis. It is hard when someone hurts us, particularly over an issue which is very important to us at the time. Meeting people on the edges of life I have found folk holding grudges for 20 or 30 years and they often cannot remember why or what for, they just know that for whatever reason they can’t forgive. They are wiling to live without the love and care of a family member or friend all those years. What the time does is build bitterness, anger, resentment which eats away at us and seeps deep inside until all that matters is the grudge and we become sad, bitter people. Offering forgiveness does not mean someone goes unpunished for what they do, there are always consequences to be lived with, but as we live and move alongside each other our kindness and tender-heartedness should help us to see that we all make mistakes and we need to bear with one another when this happens. So often in life there but for the grace of God go all of us. God accepts us as we are, warts and all, Jesus came and died for our forgiveness and it is through that forgiveness of us by God that we should also forgive. We have a duty to forgive, it is part of being a Christian and, how can God forgive us if we will not forgive others. Forgiveness blesses us and it blesses others. By not holding a grudge, by allowing ourselves to forgive and be forgiven we physically and mentally are more rounded, caring and loving people. Forgiveness can take time, it can be very hard to do but it is as much of a benefit to ourselves, if not more so, than it is to the person we forgive and we always have God’s strength to help us. We all have to live with our mistakes, we all need forgiveness and understanding, and we all need to offer that forgiveness and understanding to each other so our world can be a better, kinder place.
11th August 2020
Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Continuing from Yesterday’s thought on wisdom today I ask what is it to be wise? There are various definitions on offer to us such as the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, common sense and insight. Quite a list but it does not stop there. It is also linked to compassion, self-knowledge, virtue, benevolence, ethics and experience of life. Wisdom is about our perception and judgement, what is the best course of action here and now that will secure the best outcome for all. Phronesis is ancient Greek for intelligence and wisdom and we have the word Philosophy which literally means the love of wisdom and in Ancient Greece wisdom was considered the father of all virtues. Wisdom is considered highly important in all religions, seeing things for what they really are, using mindfulness, noble truths, how we live in the world in the right way. Wisdom is considered to be the way to find good and right living. Within Judaism wisdom is mentioned 222 times in it’s Holy Books and sets it alongside Kindness and Justice as the highest of virtues. Wisdom is also linked to charity, simplicity, humility and restoring balance and is acquired through life’s ups and downs, linked to love and reflection on experiences. This should get the message across to us that Wisdom and being wise is vitally important. It is not just knowledge but the coordination of knowledge with experience, a light that dispels the darkness, a value of life for others and us. It is God that gives wisdom and all we must do is ask Him and learn. It is quite clear that our wisdom is reflected in how we live, act, speak. The wise are virtuous, caring and want to help others. So, are we wise? If not, what can we do? We ask God for wisdom and we learn day by day, we work on our life, we learn from experience and from others and we seek the treasure that is wisdom in our lives. It will take time, but it will be worth it as wisdom grows within us.
Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore, get wisdom.
What is wisdom? Who do you think of as wise? People think of Aristotle, or Yoda from Star Wars who says Wise I am, many consider our Queen to be wise and we look on older people as being wise because of their life experience. Proverbs is quite clear that wisdom comes from learning and the idea of older and wiser is because the older we are, the more we have learned, hopefully. Sometimes we use the phrase “wise beyond their years” because some folk just seem to have the ability to weigh up choices, say and do the best things even when they are young. Wisdom offers us protection, guardianship, and exhortation but it takes learning, open mindedness, open heartedness, often learning the hard way BUT it is worth it. Worth it because it allows a better, fuller, safer life as we grow. Learning and wisdom offers us success and opportunities to change, to turn failures into success. The Bible refers to Wisdom as a Treasure that we should search out and gain and that wisdom is better than gold. King Solomon is asked by God whether he desires wealth or wisdom, Solomon chooses wisdom….I wonder what you and I would choose if we were given that choice? So, a word to the wise; learning, experience, reflection, thoughtfulness, these lead to wisdom. We need to weigh things up, when things go wrong, and mistakes are made we must learn from them and move on. We need to learn to grow from life experiences, to be tolerant of others and their mistakes as well as our own. We should never think of ourselves as wise because wisdom will be seen in us by others. Just as Solomon chose wisdom and asked God for it, so can we. The Book of James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it and He will give it to us as we seek to serve Him.
9th August 2020
Matthew 24:44 You must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Today is a Sunday, what do you expect? Going to church perhaps, except that is not necessarily the norm anymore. A quiet restful day maybe? Lunch out if you can find somewhere open? There are certain things we expect in our lives, going to work, coming home, family commitments, meetings and yet these have changed over the past months and life took a totally unexpected turn for all of us. None of us started 2020 thinking that we would end up in lockdown, queuing for food, losing people we love to what was, up until last year, an unknown virus. For much of life we expect certain things, patterns, events but there are always things which we do not expect, and these come along throwing our lives into disarray. From this has come the phrase Expect the Unexpected. We need to be aware of things changing suddenly and unexpectedly and to not let that take us by surprise. Some of us love to plan life in detail and it is good to know and be prepared, but life is full of so many variables that we need to learn to cope with things that do not happen according to plan but come completely out of left field. So much of the Bible is God doing the unexpected. People have always tried to put God in a box, control Him, but you cannot. We believe we know everything about the universe and space and then God throws a curve ball. A song a few years ago by Jamie Lawson had the line repeating all the way through….I wasn’t expecting that….things in his life went differently to how he expected and were wonderful. There is so much for us in life and God want us to live our lives to the full. We need to plan and be aware of the future, think ahead and act sensibly but we also need to know that the unexpected is just around the corner, anything, anytime may come our way, we don’t know the day or hour but the unexpected will come and we need to expect it and be ready knowing God is right there in it with us.
8th August 2020
James 2: 8 If you really keep the law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing right.
We tend to judge others based on our likes and dislikes, whether they are the same as us or like us. God’s love does not discriminate! God loves all, no matter who or what, where or how, God’s love is for everyone and He asks us to do the same. I really enjoy the series Call The Midwife and in one episode they covered the scandal of the Thalidomide drug, a drug given to pregnant women to help with morning sickness. What no one knew to begin with was it caused damage in the first 12 weeks of development leaving Babies being born disabled with terrible deformities. Because these babies were not perfect but different many were left to die by open windows, left unfed. People could not see beyond the disability, the difference to what was accepted as normal and so made the judgement to allow them to die. God’s love would never and does never treat anyone like that and our love must be the same. We need to care for, to love others, no matter who, in the same way. It is easy to love those who are like us and who love us back but it is hard to love those who make us angry, hurt us, contradict us or are very different to us socially, mentally and physically. We need to love as God loves, to love our neighbour as our self. As we learn to cope with and accept ourselves, so we should accept others, completely, for who they are in God. We are told in 1 Corinthians 13 that Love bears all things, that means it accepts the good and the bad in everyone. Love sees through the imperfect, the differences, the wealth, poverty, gender, race, belief, age, disability. Love sees through it all to the special unique child of God that each and every person is. We are all equal and all loved by God and as we are loved so we love others.
7th August 2020
Exodus 3:8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians.
In the book of Exodus, The Israelites are slaves in Egypt, but God has a rescue plan. But there is a problem, the Israelites might be complaining and saying they want God to do something but when He does, they are not very willing to be rescued. We can be so caught up in what we are at this moment, even if it is hard and difficult, that as much as we ask for God’s help we do not really want to be rescued. As God does rescue the Israelites, without much cooperation on their part, they spend far longer in the desert than they need to because they constantly moan and complain and will not let God work for them. God does not take His people into the path of enemies but takes them safely to a new and wonderful land flowing with milk and honey. God’s plan, God’s way, safer, provided for, ready for them and for us, if we are willing. It is not an instant answer, but it can be made a lot longer if we are not willing to let God work in us, in our situation. We must be willing to be rescued and keep being willing each day. God sees the bigger picture, the whole situation, and our place in it, in context. He sees what needs to happen step by step and if we are willing, offers us the grace and strength to cope with each step for the best result for us and those around us. Okay, we say, but can’t God be more obvious so I can see more clearly? Well, in this story God sends a pillar of fire at night and a huge cloud by day to guide them, how much more obvious do we need? In my experience God is very obvious but we become so focused on the hear and now, on our own journey, in our own way, that we don’t look and see His obvious signs, we become blinkered to God and His ways thinking we know so much better. We need to remove the blinkers, look around us, listen, see, and hear God speaking and working, clearly showing us the best way to make our journey. But we need to be willing to be rescued. The question is, are we?
6th August 2020
Lamentations 3: 22&23 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.
Have you ever read the book of Lamentations? It is just that, a book that contains the lamenting of the people, lament means to grieve, to recognise the bad things that have happened, be sad about them and sorry for the part you played in letting them happen. The people of Israel have been moaning and complaining, saying it is not fair, it is all bad. Then they begin lamenting their position, recognising that they have no reason to complain, actually they begin to see that they have had things pretty good. They begin to recognise how good God has been to them, that His love has never ceased, never stopped even as they have rebelled and been ungrateful. Every day God has given a new day, food, water, flowers, grass, sun, rain, homes, families and the recognition of this endless and constant provision for them they know it is time to be thankful for what they have, to count their blessings. So, where do we fit in this? Are we those who have learnt to lament? Have we come to recognise the part we have played in making life difficult and unpleasant? Have we begun to recognise the great and wonderful provision God has given us and been thankful? When we get to this point and life is a little rough or difficult we can remember the good, the blessings and thus feel better about what is going on and know that God has never let us down before and is not going to start now. Are we moaners and complainers? Are we those who accept the new blessings each day as God’s love for us? Are we those who recognise and lament our mistakes and not blame God for everything? God has never failed us, God loves us completely and utterly, God is on our side, may we not forget that.
5th August 2020
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.
What are you good at? What inspires you? What are your gifts? Have you thought seriously about this? For our world to function we all need to play a different and important part, we are all unique and offer unique gifts and perspectives. Yes, we all have many things in common and we will find others with similar gifts and talents but we each bring something unique to what we do, to who we are and our place in the world. So, what are your gifts? Various academic attributes, sport, creativity, arts, leadership, teaching, serving, encouraging, giving, strength, peace, thoughtful……the list goes on and none are more or less important than others, all are necessary for us to work together in a cohesive, caring society and we can be blessed with one or two or many as the need arises. We are warned in todays verse not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. This offers us two insights, firstly that we should have a lot of self-respect and self-worth, we are important it is going beyond that, giving ourselves such self-importance that causes the second issue of belittling others and their gifts in order to champion our own self-importance. Our society can make us think that some gifts, abilities and talents are more important than others. We can fool ourselves into thinking we are better than others because we consider our gifts and abilities are superior to theirs. This is not the case. We all need all sorts to make things happen. We all have a unique offering that only we can make in this world. If we were all mathematicians there would be no authors and novelists. If we were all teachers who would we teach? If we were all doctors who would drive the buses or taxi’s, if we were all nurses who would keep everything clean? if we were all speakers who would listen? If we were all leaders who would follow? If we were all actors who would make the music? Everyone is equally valuable in this world, everyone’s gift is needed but we have been persuaded, usually by those who have money and power and who, to retain it , tell us that their skills and their talents must be more important than ordinary people. That is not the truth, it is a lie we have been sold to maintain the status quo. Please think seriously about your gifts, what is special about you and how you can use them for the benefit of all in our community. God gave you those gifts for a reason, your job is to seek out those talents and use them for the benefit of all God’s children.
4th August 2020
Deuteronomy 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
How do you feel about traditions? Some of us love them, others do all they can to rid them from life considering them to be old fashioned and boring. Let’s put it into some context. Without tradition there would be no birthdays each year, no Christmas with parties and presents, no new year with its celebrations and no anniversaries to celebrate and enjoy. Traditions are handed down to us to enable us to live good lives. They are part of a collective history that puts us into context and gives us a grounding in our place in the world. We are reminded of our personal and collective past and the lessons we can learn from them. We have cause to celebrate and to change where necessary. Tradition is a huge part of life and is very important within religious life. All religions have traditions to enable learning, celebration and to put belief and practice into context. Religion or not, traditions tell us why we do what we do. The celebration of New Year offers us a fresh start, allows us to put past behind and move forward, the tradition of Pancake day taking us into Ash Wednesday and Lent reminds us of our imperfections as people and points us to Easter and forgiveness. The traditions of birthdays and anniversaries allow us to celebrate our lives, our relationships and to contemplate how we live and use our experiences in our lives to come as we get older. The traditions of life are there not to impede us or hold us back but to release us into fullness of life. They allow us to have a basis out of which we flourish and grow, a past which offers us a future, lessons that allow us to be better people and live in a better society. Traditions offer us a collective memory which allow us to have a better and more beautiful future in God’s world.
3rd August 2020
Isaiah 66:13 As a parent comforts their child, so I will comfort you says the Lord.
When did you last cry? We tend to think it is okay for children but as we get older, we become embarrassed, less willing to cry and even see it as weakness. Yet much research has shown that crying is good for us, is necessary for our mental health and the release of pain and hurt both physical and mental. It is also recognised that those who allow their emotions to help them are much more stable and react better in a crisis. God gave us emotions for a reason. Crying allows release, lowers stress, releases chemicals to help us feel better. Crying is good for both our mental and physical health and without experiencing sadness we cannot appreciate joy and happiness. Within the Bible our relationship with God is often described as one of parent and child, that God cares for us as a parent would. When we are upset or hurt a parent will comfort us, wipe away the tears, speak gently and lovingly to us and help us cope and heal. God wants us to know that He will always be there to comfort us in this way. As we grow older we think ourselves capable of dealing with life on our own, we can manage, we know what to do and we push emotion to one side because we believe we are grown up now, we don’t need to cry, we don’t need a helping hand, but we do. God reminds us that we should not, and don’t have to, cope alone. Just as we are given our emotions for a reason, so to are we given families and friends that we might receive and give the care to one another as we need it. Don’t ever be embarrassed to cry, we are not embarrassed to laugh and both emotions are necessary to help us in coping with daily life. Don’t ever let the worlds stereotypes stop you from using the emotions God gave you to help you live well.
2nd August 2020
Luke 3: 14b Be content with what you have.
If I asked you how you are today what would you reply? Fine, okay, happy, busy, sad, fed up. Worried……..so many answers, I wonder if any of you would say content. On face value this seems simple, straight forward, what we have is ours and be content with that, don’t try and take what belongs to others. We find contentment through Honesty, integrity, justice and fairness, not just for ourselves but for everyone. The Dalai Lama says that all humans need to practice contentment, to be thankful and appreciative of What we have instead of continually grasping for more. An old song I grew up with says count your blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. How often do we thank God for a new day, the sun, the rain, the food we have in abundance, our home and family, the money we have for more than our needs but the extras too. How often to we thank God for our talents and abilities, for our friends….the list is endless, we can never name all the blessings God has given us, but just naming a few shows us just how blessed we are. In counselling this technique is used, a person is encouraged to list the things they are thankful for because it has the effect of cheering them, of encouraging them and making them smile. God has given us so much, we are so blessed day after day and yet we are so good at moaning, wanting more, looking at what others have and being envious and jealous. As we live, we lose the magic of our world, the awe of the incredible life we have been given. Just watch small children as they discover what the world offers them and begin to recapture that as we learn to be content in our own blessings and when we do we become more carefree, more expressive, creative and positive people. Why not give it a try, count your blessings, list those things you are thankful for and begin to see just how much God has given you and be thankful.
1st August 2020
Deuteronomy 30: 20 Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and love the LORD your God and hold fast to him.
The choices we make impact on our lives but also on the lives of our families, friends and those around us. When you drop a pebble in the water the ripple radiates outward, in that same way our choices ripple and radiate outwards causing an effect. Good choices bring joy and blessing, poor choices bring regrets and problems, we must be careful in the choices we make, think carefully about our choices, remember that our choices may well have consequences. Being as God is a God of second and third and multiple chances it is also the case that good choices can help to rectify the consequences of poor choices. In Deuteronomy the people are having to face up to the choices they have made, and the consequences of these poor choices and they are told to choose life, life with God. This phrase, choose life, has been used in many add campaigns, you may remember the huge baggy T-shirts of the 80’s with Choose Life in huge letters on the front. You may remember the film Trainspotting with its famous speech about choosing a future and choosing life. It is also used by pro life campaigners and is the title of a book discussing nuclear war and world disarmament. Life is not a dress rehearsal; we get one life in which to make a difference. Life is for living, it has purpose BUT, to live life to the full we need to make the good and wise choices, to weigh up the pros and cons, to think before we act. God has given us the ability to think and reason, He has given us the freedom of choice. Let me encourage you to use your God given freedom to choose wisely and well and to choose life.
31st July 2020
Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Who do people say you look like? Perhaps not so much now, but when you were younger saying, you look just like your Mum or Dad, you have your mother’s eyes or Father’s nose. People look for and see a family resemblance. So, what about a Christian family resemblance? Do people see Jesus in us? Do they see the dynamic, full of love and compassion, honest, truthful, child of God who expresses their faith through practical acts? Do we get involved with the poor and hungry, in giving and serving, in working in our community, volunteering, visiting? We are Jesus hands and feet in this world. We don’t preach by words but by our actions and then the words come as answers to our actions when people want to know why we do this? The Holy Spirit comes to us, is with us, enabling us, supporting us as we try to be more like Jesus. We support each other within the Christian family as it can be difficult for us. Meanwhile society challenges us by encouraging selfishness saying keep it for yourself, don’t give it to others they don’t deserve it, they are just taking your hard-earned cash! We cannot and must not ignore that there are millions of refugees worldwide, displaced people threatened with ethnic cleansing, homeless, disabled, poor and vulnerable people who cannot feed their families. What does Jesus want from us? To do what we can do to help. To look after each other. Jesus knows we will annoy each other, challenge each other and argue, we are family, that is what family does. So, Jesus prays for us, intercedes for His brothers and sisters that we will have His love, His humility, His unity, His desire to help. As we do these things, as we become more like Jesus, people see it, they witness God’s love for them through us, they see Jesus in us! All of us bear the image of God, our creator, but not all of us grow into that image, not all of us become the family of God. We chose to become more like Jesus or not, we choose to judge others and hurt people, or we don’t. Jesus final words from the cross were about love, unity, forgiveness and caring for each other. If we are family and we strive to become more like Jesus each day, then people will see the family resemblance.
30th July 2020
1 Corinthians 15: 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and our faith is useless.
What is your opinion of the Bible? Do you believe in it, accept it as God’s word? Paul challenges us about what we believe, saying if Jesus did not rise from the dead then our belief and faith are futile. Luke speaks of the evidence we are presented with which is put in the gospels to help us with our understanding. We do like proof, something to assure us that what we think or believe is true and right. Many people turn to science for absolute proof but as a scientist I know says “I have worked with electrons for 20 years, I have never actually seen one, but we know they are there”. Science is based on taking what you have and look for the most likely way and go for it. Use the information you have to push things forward. Christianity is the same, take what you have and move forward as it points the way. Not even science can be 100% about everything. As time and research and understanding moves on we find something new and what we accepted as fact originally is now different. It is interesting that about 40% of scientists are Christians, about 15% believe in a creator or higher power and about 12% are actually atheists. The argument that it has to be either science or religion is lost in these figures. We can believe in both. We have changed and adapted as time has gone on in a world designed to function, grow, develop and move on. We need to be aware of the danger of being totally engrossed in science as the beginning and end of everything because, science changes it’s ideas and “facts” regularly. As much as people use Darwin to question God’s existence, they forget that Darwin openly confessed his Christianity until his death. He never intended people to question their faith because of him. We also need to remember that Christianity encouraged study and education and that so many scientists came from Christian backgrounds. Even Dawkins finds himself on shaky ground when he says all science is proved, it is not, science is a work in progress. There is always room and need for change in science, new theories and ideas, new elements and changes in old ideas. Faith in Jesus is not blind, it is based on what we can see, what has been witnessed and talked about, what people have stood up and proclaimed even under threat of death. Faith in Jesus is taking all the evidence we know and moving on to where it points, just like science.
29th July 2020
Luke 2:15 The shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened”.
We seem to learn something new about the universe every day. Someone like Professor Brian Cox helps us to understand the complexities but they are mind blowing. There are quite a number of things in our life that are mind blowing, including the birth of Jesus on that first Christmas. God, the creator of this massive, amazing universe comes to be with us on earth in the form of His son. In the Christmas story Angels tell the shepherds, the shepherds go immediately to find the baby and then they tell everyone about Him, who He is. It is this new baby that causes them to celebrate, not the Angels visit. We love babies, we ooh and ahh and want to tell people about them, theses shepherds tell everyone they can find that this is no ordinary baby. They worship God because they know the prophecies of old, they know what Isaiah says about this baby as the one who is to come, that this is the year of the lord’s favour. In contrast we have Mary, His mother, she doesn’t tell anyone but stores it all up in her heart, she ponders it, treasures it. Mary realises the importance of all this going on around her. She knows a future is to come that is so vastly different for this, her child. This child is more than just a baby, He is God with us, Emanuel. God is made more real to us by and through Jesus. God is no longer distant, ethereal, He is now real, alive, with us, like us and He fully understands us. Through Him, we can have that relationship with God that we crave, that we need. We need to follow the examples of the shepherds and tell people about this wonderful baby, this wonderful Jesus who loves them and wants to help them, but we also need to ponder and treasure these things in our own hearts, all those things that we learn about Him and know about Him and His love for us.
28th July 2020
Hebrews 12:1a Let us run with determination the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.
I was expecting to be watching the Olympics this summer, I love this spectacle of a world coming together through sport and I fulfilled a dream being able to attend the 2012 games in London. But this year has been totally changed in its orientation and the Olympics has been called off, postponed until next year. The preparation these folk had made to be at their best for this event would have been enormous, training and competing just to get a place in the team choice events beforehand, and then to win one of the few places on the actual team. From there they would go and compete against the best in the world, in the hope of that illusive medal. When interviewed these sports people have an aim, to do their best and to win, they have their eyes on that prize. It is this idea that Paul talks about in Hebrews, fixing our eyes on the prize, on Jesus. Not everyone who goes to the Olympics wins, in fact very few actually win a medal but they do not stop trying, they do not give up and so often they talk of next time, of doing better, training harder. They look for a new way, a new path, different training, different disciplines, they will do whatever necessary to get better. They strive for the prize. This is a good example for us as Christians, keeping our eyes on the prize ahead of us through the path of our life, career, family, stability, happiness, and it won’t be a straight or easy path. We may have to deviate, change ideas, go to plan B or plan C but we run our race the best that we can. We strive for the best way forward, changing lanes if we have to, regaining focus when we fall or struggle. There are always folk around us who can help, Bible teachings and studies, techniques we can use to help us, get up, dust ourselves off and keep going. Be encouraged that whatever plan you end up following, be it A, B, C, D etc, and remember the alphabet has 26 letters, you do not have to struggle alone, as we fix our eyes on the prize ahead of us God goes with us, side by side, picking us up and carrying us when we need it, we never have to run the race alone.
27th July 2020
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Do you worry? Silly question, we all worry…… no not me I hear you say! Well we know everyone worries sometimes and some of us more than others. Those who pretend they never worry, I assure you they do, they are just good at hiding it and that is not good for their physical or mental health. It is quite normal to worry, to be concerned and to carry that burden, BUT, it’s what we do with that worry that matters, how we deal with it. The Bible tells us that worry can become a burden that weighs us down but then tells us to take His yolk upon us. A yolk is a way by which two animals share the heavy burden of work together. The image we are given is of us sharing our burden, our worry with God and with one another; in doing so the weight of the burden, the weight of the worry, becomes so much less. The thing about worry is that it can’t actually change anything. It is good to show concern about something, to be thinking ahead, but the danger comes when we let it absorb us, make us tired, angry, fidgety, it is just not good for us at all. We need to find a balance, that is actually the key to most of our lives, find the balance. The yolk balances the problem between 2 or 3 or 4 people instead of on just us. This sharing of the issue means rest from the worry, allowing a friend, God, someone we trust to share the burden with us and help spread the load. Cast our cares on the Lord and He will give us rest.
26th July 2020
Micah 6:8 What does the LORD require of us but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God?
We have different ways of communicating, language, expression and movement. We sometimes talk about the language of God, what He talks to us about and what the Bible says. It is easy to say yes to questions like did you put your clothes away? Have you done the washing up? Did you do that work or write that letter, but did we? The old adage of Actions speak louder than words registers here. We can so easily say what we think someone wants to hear instead of the reality. We need to ask ourselves if there is a disconnect between what we say and what we do? Are we really who we tell people we are? Do we pretend to be what we are just to maintain an image? What do we communicate not just with words but through our actions, expressions and behaviour. Recently someone said to me, “It is all to complicated, I can’t be what everyone wants me to be”. So, I shared with them the words of the verse above, that God asks just three things of us, Justice, kindness and humbleness! In whatever we do or say, in however we communicate, in all of our lives if we are always just and fair, always kind and always humble then life will work for us and for all those around us. We should be exactly who we say we are every moment of every day. However we live, however we communicate let us be just, kind and humble, that way we can change the world for the better.
25th July 2020
Luke 14: 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and byways and call the people to come in, that my house may be filled”.
Do you have one of those mats at your front door that says welcome? People often comment on the welcome they receive in someone’s home or at church. Being made to feel welcome is very important. Research has found that people feel most welcome when they are greeted with a smile, and the person introduces themselves and asks about them, in other words they show a genuine interest. The word welcome is a greeting, a salutation and has also become a response to the offer of thanks and gratitude, as in “you’re welcome”. I wonder if you have ever been surprised by the welcome you were given. Has it ever been unexpected in either a good or bad way? God has invited all of us to His banquet, His freely given eternal life in Heaven for everyone. The invitation is for all but many people offer their excuses, there is a wonderful welcome waiting for everyone but some just don’t bother to turn up and make often unreasonable and pathetic excuses. If we have a party or gathering, we expect people who are invited to turn up or at least to offer up a genuine reason why they can’t. For those whose invite is ignored it is hurtful, they make a huge effort to welcome others but are then ignored and side lined; that is exactly what we do to God when we give excuses as to why we don’t come to church or bother to pray or respond to Him. The welcome God has for us is not deserved but is freely offered, that very same welcome needs to be from us to those in our communities, those we work with, those in our families. As we are welcomed so we welcome others, no excuses, no dithering, no disappointing, just a genuine, real, loving welcome.
24th July 2020
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
We are called to love, not revenge or retaliation. If we followed the old way of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, then the whole world would be blind and toothless. We do not want to live in a world like that. Have you noticed how you react to things? Are you someone who reacts and retaliates quickly, flairs up in anger? Or are you calm, steady and it takes a lot for you to get riled up. Do you know your breaking point? A young man recently said to me “I don’t understand why people get angry and worked up over things they cannot change.” He has a point and shows a great maturity in his thinking. This section in Matthew can almost seem like we should allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, never complain or seek justice, but that is not the case. Matthew 5 is part of Jesus Sermon on the mount. Up to this time, in the Jewish religion, rules had been followed for the sake of it, what you felt as a person did not matter. Jesus new teaching, new holiness code, was about someone as a whole person, the physical, mental and spiritual. We matter as whole beings just as God made us. We should not follow rules just for rules sake but believe in what we are doing and know why we are doing it. Before we react we need to stop and think, is there a reason why this is happening? Can I prevent it from escalating? What am I not seeing? None of us know what has happened to someone, their history, why they are reacting the way they are. We all need to offer each other space and time, give each other the benefit of the doubt. That way we will have a lot less blind and toothless people.
23rd July 2020
Jeremiah 8:4 This is what the Lord says: If someone falls down, they get up again. If they go the wrong way, they turn around and comes back.
When you study history, you don’t find failure recorded because it is the winners, the successful, that write the history. If we dig deeper, we will find that behind winners and success there is failure that leads to that success. Within all our lives there are steppingstones to success. Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb took 1000 tries to reach a prototype. When he was asked how it felt to fail 1000 times his reply was I didn’t, the light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps. But just think if he had given up at 500 tries or 850 tries, life would be very different. We are so pushed by society to be successful and not fail, to not be vulnerable, that we often edit out all the failures. Remember to err is human. Human beings are not perfect, it is how we react that counts. Failure is a necessary steppingstone in life and how we react to those steppingstones will make the difference. Amelia Earhart was the first female to cross the Atlantic, she weighed up the risks, looked at previous attempts and decided it was worth trying. The failure of others had enabled her to become successful. Many top authors endured the rejection letters again and again but used them to improve, find a new way, to learn and eventually become successful. Think of Nobel, who blew up his lab and his brother but kept going and achieved his goal and more. There are so many examples of successive failures which go onto be successful because people do not give up. We may think as Christians that we must not fail, we read stories of great missionaries, popular preachers, celebrity believers and think we are not good enough and yet with God failure is part of the story. Failure offers the opportunity to learn and grow and improve. We all will fail at some point in our life. Failing is a learning experience so we can do better next time. There were many Biblical leaders who failed, but they learned from their mistakes and kept on moving forward. For God, what counts is that we try and keep trying. God will forgive our failures as we recognise them and learn from them. It is trying to do our best that counts not that we are successful. God wants us to strive after perfection but knows we will fall short, He does not condemn us in that but encourages us to keep trying, to learn and improve. He will pick us up and dust us off and stand by us. So don’t be afraid to fail, just pick yourself up and keep trying in God’s strength.
22nd July 2020
Proverbs 3:1 Do not forget my teaching, keep it in your heart.
How are you at quizzes? I do enjoy Only Connect and University Challenge, as well as Question of Sport. I am really pleased if I manage to get a question right. I will call out my answer confidently and then hear the whispers; the thoughts of others and I begin to waiver. Am I sure? Am I right? As other possibilities enter my head my confidence drains away, surely others are more knowledgeable than me, why would I be right? While all of us will never know everything our experiences, our lifelong learning should give us a confidence in our knowledge that we can stand firm when required. Proverbs reminds us that as we learn God’s teaching, keep the basic commandments of our faith, live a good honest life we can be confident and stand firm in the promises of God. When we witness injustice we can stand up for what is right, when we witness cruelty and hurt of the innocent we can challenge the wrong and fight for what is right, when we see dishonesty and lies we open eyes to the honest and right way and tell the truth confident in the promises and statutes of God. This is confidence in God, not arrogance about our own abilities. This piece from Proverbs is a reminder of the Jewish custom of daily prayers, of binding the Shema, the declaration of who God is, around their forehead, shoulder and arm, where their mind and heart are. This is a declaration of trust in God for everything, not a reliance on their own ability or understanding. From a young age they learn God’s promises and learn to trust these, they have confidence in God not in their own abilities or achievements. This gives an honesty to life, a confidence to life because it comes from God, not self. We, too, need to carry this knowledge and trust in God within our hearts and minds. Hold ourselves with a confidence in our God, in the ways of truth and justice and a willingness to stand up for what is right and not waiver in the face of whispers and contradictions. A confidence in God who has created us, kept His promises to us and has given us the ability to do amazing things in His strength as a child of God.
21st July 2020
Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
As humans we love to acquire information for ourselves. We want to know everything; we want to know what the future holds for us. We are curious about what our future holds, to see where we are going and what we shall become. What piece of advice would older you give to younger you? For me I would tell myself to stop worrying about the future, trying to influence it and predict it, instead live life to the full now. Live each day to the full and enjoy it; life is for now. It is quite natural to want to know our place in the world, not just right now but in our future. We are naturally curious, but that very curiosity can lead us to miss out on what is happening now, to miss out on Living Life in all in its fullness. This vision of living life to the full is central to the Church of England’s Vision for Education. The desire to make sure our young people are not so fixated on the future that they forget to live now, embracing every moment. Anxiety about the future, about qualifications, earning power and job prospects negatively affects about 20% of people, probably more in the wake of lock down. The curiosity and concern about the future becomes so overpowering that current life cannot be lived in its fullness. In the old Testament, at the time of Jeremiah the people of Israel were in exile, they had lost virtually everything and wanted to know if they had any sort of future. God reminds them that He has their future in His hands and that their future is one of prosperity and hope. He reminds them that they are not alone and the same is true of us. Curiosity is a good thing, to look forward, to learn and explore but not at the expense of living now. God wants us to live life in all it’s fullness now, each and every day, to take each experience and opportunity and allow God to bless us here and now, knowing He holds the future and it is safe in His hands.
20th July 2020
Titus 2:7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned.
All actions have consequences, basics physics tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, or consequence. This called Newton’s third law of motion. SO, this means everything we do, everything we say has a consequence. A book called The Hinge Factor by Erik Durschmed, examines how world history has been altered by simple decisions and actions people have made. For example, the decision to listen to the British weather forecast and not the American one meant D Day happened on the 6th of June, not the 5th when it would have been wiped out by storms. All of our actions, thoughts and speech spread out and affect others and situations. Things around us are interconnected and once something is done or said things are set in motion. The consequences can be good or bad, if I don’t stop at a red light it is likely an accident will happen, If I don’t study for an exam it is likely I will fail, If I speak a lie it will grow and damage others as well as me, If I speak peace and love to someone they will have a much better day and life. We have to make choices and trust they are the best ones, but we can make sure they are the best decisions by learning, discipline, honesty, integrity, looking for the best in others. If we have good behaviour modelled to us then we have an example to follow. Jesus is our prime example, how He spoke, acted, behaved and the impact those things had on those around Him. Once we say something about someone else, we cannot take it back and it can have huge consequences. Even if we think what we say is a joke, or is said in jest, it could be the 4th, 5th, 12th time they have heard it and it can seriously hurt them, damage their self esteem and mental health. What we say and do matters and excuses to try and shake off our ill thought comments and actions will do little to repair the damage. When we pray and read the Bible regularly, we have an example to follow, we learn what is acceptable and helpful and what isn’t. We learn to live and behave like Jesus did and that will always allow the other to flourish because what we do and say, as Jesus would, cannot be condemned.
19th July 2020
Joel 2:28 I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young people shall see visions.
I wonder, would you call yourself creative or imaginative? Do you like to visualise what you read and hear, or do you prefer to see pictures? For most of us when we played games as children, we were the characters, we did the things they did, we imagined being there. Our imaginations allowed us to delve into other places, other worlds, other situations. Our imaginations can allow us to find a way through, even in difficult times. During the time of slavery, the African Americans would sing spiritual songs as they worked. These songs spoke of Christian faith, of God who was with them even in the harshness of slavery, of a future when things would be better. They gave imagination to a better future to look forward to, for those whose lives were awful at that time. People who have been imprisoned for their faith, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Meriam Ibrahim all spoke of how when alone they remembered passages of scripture and imagined times when things would be better. They imagined the freedoms and joys of a world where all people were free to live as God intended. Joel speaks of vision, dreams and prophecy, an imagining of what will happen in the future. He uses things we understand, imagery we associate with change, with wonder, with the destruction of the bad and all bad being overcome with good. It was a vision or imagining of a better future, an encouragement to change life for the better. For us, our imaginations can picture a bright and good future, we can see what needs to change in our lives and in the world around us and then actively do something positive. We can securely base this all on the fact that God has done so much for us in the past and will continue to do the best for us in the future.
18th July 2020
Colossians 3:13 If one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Most of us have heard Alexander Pope’s quote “To err is human, to forgive, Divine.” In His Essay on Criticism, Pope was saying that all people commit sins and make mistakes, God forgives them, and people are acting in a godlike or divine way when they forgive. God is a compassionate and forgiving God, He offers us gracious forgiveness, He is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness and is willing to forgive all as long as they chose to admit their mistakes and be sorry. This forgiveness is a change in feelings and attitude towards someone. The need to let go of negative emotions, like revenge, and offer pardon and reconciliation so the relationship can be restored. Forgiveness does not mean that the consequences of our actions are taken away, any consequences still have to be faced up to and accepted. It is well documented that those who forgive are happier and healthier, tend to be less angry, less hurt and more optimistic as well as more compassionate, more self-confident and under a lot less stress. But those who carry resentment tend to be more aggressive, sad, down beat, suffer from depression, and carry a lot of stress. Forgiveness is divine, Pope says, because God is able to forgive us, and we can learn to forgive because we have been forgiven. As we are forgiven by God, we learn to forgive others. All of us make mistakes, no matter how good we think we are, we all make mistakes, it is human nature, but as God finds the ability to forgive us out of His amazing love for us, so we must forgive others out of that love and God will give us the help we need to do just that if we ask him.
17th July 2020
Romans 13:14 Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you ever caught someone imitating you? Children are brilliant at it, especially when you are cross with them. Actually, we all learn through mimicking those around us. In our early years we watch our parents and siblings and do things they do, especially if they provoke a reaction. As we grow up, we learn and develop based on what goes on around us, if we see respect and care regularly we mirror that, if we see anger and aggression regularly we mirror that. We all need role models, people to look up to, who we respect and learn from. We, in turn, become role models for our own children and for those around us. It is so very easy to imitate the wrong things, to pick up bad habits that we see in others, particularly if they cause a reaction be it good or bad. We are told in Romans to imitate or put on or cloth ourselves in Jesus, in other words our best role model is Christ. If we are going to imitate anyone let us imitate Christ. We are made in the image of God and so much of ourselves becomes tainted by the ways of the world that we need to find our way back to being like Jesus. Paul tells us to put on Christ, to be like Him. The original meaning in Greek talks about taking on the ways of Christ like an actor would take on or inhabit a role, they would study their subject, live like them, act like them, speak like them and react like them. So, Paul is telling us to study Jesus, to live, act, speak and react as Jesus would. As we inhabit this role we become like Christ. So, our challenge is to look at ourselves, really see the bad habits and shed those in favour of putting on the good and right things. To always be like Christ in how we treat others, in being truthful, loving, caring, honest, by always looking for the best in others and putting others first.
16th July 2020
1 John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
I love Space, the planets, the stars and their stories, it has excited me since childhood. Some time ago the thought struck me that we have the technology, the money and the brains to put people in space and yet right now people are starving in our world. Because of the satellites in space and the technology we can speak to someone thousands of miles away by phone as clearly as they are next to us, but children are dying because they cannot access clean water. People are dying across the world from diseases we can actually treat and cure. Here in the UK more children now live in poverty than since the Victorian era, about 1 in 5 of the population. Instead of there being less foodbanks than 5 years ago there are more and more. Across the world 3 billion, just under half the population live on less that £2 a day and of that 3 billion about half again live on less than £1 a day. In our world, today, at least 23 thousand children will die because of the basic lack of food and water. We need reminding how important it is to care for others, to help, to do what we can for those in need. We are clearly told in the Bible that every time we ignore those in need, we are saying that we do not care, that our fellow human beings are not Important to us, that we have no compassion, empathy and love. Being caring, loving people is not about words but actions. It is what we do that will change things. So, what can we do? Food banks are crying out for donations, children just get 1 treat in a week’s parcel if there are enough given. Ask yourself what you can give and give it. There are charities making sure children get an education, that girls of 12 are not married off to older men, that children don’t starve to death or die from simple illnesses. Ask yourself what you can do and do it. Out of our abundance we can help others. Out of our abundance we can give enough to change lives for the better. This is exactly what Jesus calls us to do, to love our neighbour as ourselves whoever they may be. To see our brother or sister in need and do something about it.
15th July 2020
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge others, for you will be judged in the same way.
In recent weeks we have all had cause to examine our prejudices. All of us have unconscious bias in our lives because of our background, our culture, our upbringing and many other outside agencies. We are fed stories and ideas that build up into a picture of certain things being acceptable or unacceptable and we are swayed by news reports, media platforms and advertising. If you seriously ask yourself what are your prejudices what would you say? Have your opinions changed in the last few weeks or months because of what you have seen and heard, what you have witnessed? The experiences of our lives will affect how we look at others. If we have struggled with certain things, we may well be suspicious of those who don’t struggle, and this can easily present us with a scenario which justifies our suspicions. We need to ask ourselves if we are willing to listen to both sides of any situation and not just blindly criticise what people do without finding out why. Peaceful protesting is a legitimate form of raising the profile of an issue, we need to remember that we only have the vote because of people protesting, that certain political decisions which severely damage people’s rights have been overturned by protesting. Peaceful protesting tends to occur because people will not listen to the usual channels. How long have issues been complained about through letters, votes, meetings and never get any traction or recognition or change, this is why people protest. If papers won’t carry the terrible stories of fraud, racism, poverty and injustice and MP’s won’t reply to letters or be willing to speak up on our behalf, there needs to be a way of challenging the status quo of making those in power listen, take note and be prompted into action but it is so much easier to let things be than make a stand, it always has been. The Disciples were people who once they had been energised and emboldened by Jesus Teaching and then by the coming of the Holy Spirit, began to make those stands against prejudice, against injustice, against poverty and the use of power for personal gains. As we examine our own prejudices, we must also examine our willingness to make a stand, to be energised and emboldened by the Holy Spirit and make our locality, our town, work place and our country a place where prejudice is eradicated and replaced with honesty and love of the other which allows us all to flourish.
14th July 2020
Philippians 4:7 The peace of God ... will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
How easy do you find it to sleep and sleep well? Many people tell me that sleeplessness is an issue in their lives and it is due to worry and concern often over issues they have no control over. The very famous singer, Frank Sinatra, was prone to sleepless nights and was always chasing something to get him through. The man who seemed to have it all, who had huge fame and fortune and sang, "I did it my way," was unable to sleep, because even in doing it all his own way it did not give him peace of mind. He is not the only one. Millions of people, both rich and poor, powerful and vulnerable, from every walk of life, go through their life without God's gift of peace. One of the biggest problems in society is sleep deprivation caused by worry and concern. Some people search endlessly to find a peace, peace of heart and peace of mind, and never find it. Others will try almost everything imaginable, including medication, hypnosis, drink and soundtracks without success. No amount of alcohol or pills can help us obtain peace or relief from the worries in our lives. No quantity of fame or pleasure can guarantee it. No huge amount of money can buy it. Only God himself can give peace. In Philippians 4:7 Paul tells us where and how to find this peace. It comes only when we know the Lord Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with him. Paul speaks about peace a great deal in his letters and tells us that when we commit ourselves to Him, to His ways then that peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. God's gift of peace is available to everyone just by asking, by turning our life over to the Lord Jesus Christ and believing in him as our Saviour. A peace that will guard our hearts and minds. Peace comes as we commit to living our lives for God each day and ask for the Holy Spirit's help and presence. Once we do this and let God deal with us and our worries and problems, we have the promise that the peace of God will flood and protect our hearts and minds. Let me encourage you to not go another day or night without God’s peace in your life.
13th July 2020
1 Peter 5:7 Cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.
So, how are you? How are you feeling right now? Life has some normality returning but is still quite different. Not seeing those we love for such a long time and not being able to express ourselves through closeness and touch. We have experienced a roller coaster of emotion and we are still hurting, worried, upset, fed up and probably quite angry. If we are honest, we are not ourselves, not the same now, we have been through a lot and are probably now the 3rd or 4th version of ourselves. In the midst of this comes a voice that says cast your cares on the Lord, on me says God, because I care about you. To cast is to get rid of, not politely put down but throw it, hard, away from you as a fisherman does when they cast out their line. This is an act of will, we must want to do it, to throw off all that holds us up and drags us down. So, all our cares and worries, our anger and sadness, our hurt and confusion need to be cast onto God, our Father. God is ready, willing and able to take the load, but we must want to cast it off, to offload it to Him. Why does God do this? Because, we are quite clearly told, He cares for us. God has never left humans to it, He has always been ready to look after us and provide for us because He created us and loves us more than anything else. He never stops loving us and sent Jesus to die for us so we could be restored to God’s perfect creation of us. We are offered everything, but we have to make the choice, God will never force us. True love never forces itself on anyone. We have to make the choice to cast our cares onto God, He waits, ready, eager and willing. He stands with us, behind and in front of us, supporting us, protecting us, but we must make the choice. However you are feeling right now cast your cares on the Lord because He cares for you and is right there waiting for you to cast it all onto Him.
12th July 2020
Hebrews 12:1a We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
One of my greatest discoveries in the Church of England tradition was saints. I had heard of the 4 patron saints of the UK but not much else, of course the 4 Gospels were each a Saint but beyond that I had no idea that were so many. In the early church Saints grew up in local areas, people who had done amazing things in God’s name. They were associated with miracles and in their locality, they were given a day of their own which was celebrated. Very quickly there were saints’ days happening all over the place for saints living and dead and it got tied into remembering all those gone before. It was all rather disorganised, and the church, as it became more centralised, needed to get itself organised. The remembering of so many became a festival over 2 days. The first, All Saints, a day when every saint is remembered so none are forgotten and all are honoured, and All Souls, a day when all our loved one who have dies are remembered. All Saints in old English is All Hallows, meaning holy, sanctified and as such becomes a day of obligation which then has a day of preparation called All Hallows Eve, over the years this shortened and became Halloween. This coming around the same time as a day remembering the dead meant It began to be identified with spirits and mischief and a pagan festival of that time where one night a year the walls between earth and the spirit world were thin and spirits could move through both ways. For us, as Christians, this time of All Saints allows us the opportunity to recognise what it means to be a saint. Lives of people like, Francis, Augustine, Teresa, Hilda, ordinary folk called by God who lived for God, were vulnerable, imperfect, frugal, and lived in the service of others. We think they were special, and they were but no more special than we are. Every Christian is a Saint, called by God to serve Him. We may not have a Special Day marked in a Calendar, but we are Saints of God in our homes, communities and workplaces who serve God the best way we can.
11th July 2020
Mark 14:38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
If I asked you when you were last tempted what would you say? We use the phrase regularly, that’s very tempting or I am really tempted to do that. When we are tempted and give in we often play the blame game, it is someone else’s fault, exactly what happened in Genesis, Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the Serpent and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on! They did not accept responsibility or apologise to God, just blamed each other and we have been doing the same ever since. It is a battle between honesty and truth verses dishonesty and lies, and the lies just keep getting bigger as we try to cover our tracks and not appear to be the dishonest folk we often are. When Jesus was tempted in the desert he immediately used the scriptures to stand against the temptation, exactly what we can do, but of course we do need to know what the scripture says. Reading and knowing our Bibles is really important. We have been given the 10 Commandments which clearly offer us a right way to live and behave. These show us that lying, stealing, idolising, mistreating parents ,murder, adultery, not having a rest day, etc are all wrong and so if we are tempted to do any of things we know it is wrong, no ifs or buts, no excuses so, we do not do it! We are told our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, places of holiness and worship so should not be involved in anything damaging or wrong. Jesus paid His taxes for the common good, so should we. We are also told to take the log out of our own eye before trying to take the splinter out of anyone else’s. Look at ourselves first, don't be so quick to judge others. We see Jesus tell accusers that only those without sin can cast the first stone in judgement of others. We are so good at looking at everyone else and criticising them and their faults that we neatly and conveniently forget our own. We like to gloss over our temptations and failings, blame someone or something else when all we should be is honest with God and each other from the word go.
10th July 2020
Matthew 28:18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
The Great Commission comes at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus sends the disciples out and also us. This calling is based on 4 uses of the word all. To start with it is All Authority, given to Jesus, the Son of God, the Lord of All. Jesus is both human and God, creator, healer, sustainer, the one who has defeated death, ascended into Heaven, and as such has All Authority in Heaven and Earth. Next is All Nations, this means that absolutely everyone is included, God is to be reconciled to the whole wide world, that is His purpose. The calling to be disciples no longer is just to the 12, now it is for everyone. The call is for everyone to live out His teaching, to change and make a difference. Thirdly, we have All I have Commanded you, in other words we follow His way, His life, His teaching, His action and His belief. As Christians we are called to live as Christ lived, to follow the teaching recorded in the Bible. Our faith and our behaviour should be in and of Christ. He shows us God and we show others God through following His ways, All His commands. Finally, we have Always, He is with us at all times, He promises to never leave us. Jesus is an abiding presence with us and we never have to face anything on our own. This Great Commission, the 4 Alls, is a sending out of all of us to everyone by God Himself, through Jesus, to share what we have with others, so that they can have what we have; and we go out to do this in His authority with Him on our side, every minute of every day.
9th July 2020
Proverbs 8:13 To fear the Lord, to love the Lord, is to hate evil.
I personally do not like the word hate but the Bible says that there are things God hates. So, is it alright to hate? Our instinctive response may be to say, "No! That's never OK!" But it must be okay to hate some things if we are to be God's people. An example would be that we should completely and utterly hate racism, not only when we see it in others, but especially when we see even the slightest evidence of it in ourselves. We cannot transform racism; the only way to deal with it is to do away with it! We should also hate crime and murder and poverty and injustice. And then there is pride, greed, envy, gluttony, anger, lust, and sloth, these are not called the seven deadly sins for nothing! Strangely enough love and hate are not just antitheses, but it is our love of God that means we hate the awful things that tear people apart. Jonathan Edwards writes "From love arises hatred of those things which are contrary to love or which oppose and frustrate us in those things in which we delight." Our love of God and the incredible love He has for us prompts the emotions we experience when we see terrible events, when we watch inhumane and abhorrent acts against others. From this deep love will come an intense hatred and revulsion of wickedness; a realisation of just how far society has sunk in its treatment of the poor, the vulnerable, the disabled, those of a different race or colour skin. We begin to realise how deeply God is distressed and profoundly hurt by the actions and words of those He loves so much, us. Our desire to serve God, and bring everyone into that loving relationship with Him, means we have a hatred of all that robs another of dignity, security, meaning, purposefulness, hope, and health. This hatred is accompanied by a deep desire to do something about it! Paul talks of this in Romans chapter 12 where he speaks of hating what is evil; and clinging to what is good. It is okay to hate that which is evil and wrong, that which hurts others, that which dishonours God. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we love God enough to want to do something about these things that we hate.
8th July 2020
Acts 17:22 Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
In Acts 17 we read of an intriguing encounter Paul has with some spiritual explorers. Picture St. Paul walking through the world renown city of Athens. As he walks, he cannot help but notice the many religious statues and altars the people have built around them. He sees copious evidence of false religions and superficial spirituality. He does not find any evidence of real worship of the one true God. You might think Paul would be downhearted, but no, instead Paul grasps a great mission opportunity. Like Paul, instead of succumbing to the darkness around us, we need to be bearers of God’s light in this world. Our daily encounters with unbelievers should prompt us to look for opportunities to share God’s love with them. We achieve this by finding common ground and establishing points of contact. That’s just what Paul did. To the philosophers on Mars Hill (the Areopagus) he said, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.” Instead of ridiculing their spiritual ignorance or judging their traditions, Paul compliments them on their spiritual desires. He builds a bridge that connects with them and their experiences. He places God into their lives and situations. Paul also speaks their language. He refers to their altar to an unknown God and quotes their own poets to them. He shows he is informed and engaged in their culture. He builds a bridge, a common way, and uses it to put across the message and love of Jesus. Paul delivers the gospel in a way that those around him can understand. This approach is still the most effective today. Find the common ground, have respect for and knowledge of people’s interests and ideas, build a bridge that allows communication and understanding, show that you care and are interested in them for who they are, as the bridge is built the opportunities will come.
7th July 2020
Philippians 2:20 I have no other friend like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.
Many of us have been and still are in a time of emotional discouragement and distress and need some encouragement to keep going. Perhaps we feel like a spiritual orphan, rather lost and alone, feeling uncertain and in need of some assurance. Sometimes we need a voice of hope as we mourn the loss of so much of life as we knew it, as we come to terms with untimely physical loss, job loss and the loss of usual social interaction. In these difficult times, true friends are essential. A true friend is one who is ready to help, comfort, and stand by another, especially in times of hardship. A true friend will not have forgotten about you and found ways to keep in contact. A true friend is also perceptive and will ask the hard questions, face out the dishonesty, and demands the truth. Ultimately, this kind of honest friendship can be the best time of growth for encouragement, assurance, and hope within us. This is what St. Paul saw and experienced in two of his friends that we read about. Timothy was a friend who was like a son to Paul as they worked together in sharing the gospel of Christ, and Epaphroditus was like a brother, serving as a companion and workmate in the work of Christ. Paul welcomed these friends with joy because they shared a genuine interest in the well-being of others through their love of God and the gospel of Christ. These are true friends, those who serve with and alongside and speak the truth and love of God into our lives. We are given the blessing of friends as we make life’s journey, and, we also, and most importantly, have the completely dependable friend of all in Jesus. As the friend of sinners, Jesus is always ready to help, comfort, and stand by those who turn to him. His help is always heartening, His comfort is reassuring, His love is never wavering, and his presence is the foundation of hope. As we trust in Jesus the book of James reminds us that we can be called God’s friends; what an honour and blessing that is. As we thank God for the friends He has given us, may we be true friends who help, comfort, and stand by each other, just as He has done with us.
6th July 2020
Luke 16:23 In Hades, where the rich man was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
The concept of Hell is not one people think about much these days. We use the term hell to refer to really difficult times and going through awful things, so we do still link hell to evil and badness. Dante s inferno, a fourteenth century classic poem, has the phrase Abandon hope all ye who enter here! Inferno is Italian for hell and it is supposedly a Divine Comedy written by Italian Dante Alighieri. Hell, for Dante, was a series of circles or areas a person moves through depending on how they have acted during their life but once in Hell there is no hope. This tied into the Bible story of the rich man and Lazarus, teaching about Hell and about charity. The poor man, treated so awfully in life, spends eternity in Abraham’s Bosom, a term used for Heaven. The rich man ends up in hell. In the Jewish Old Testament life was important in the here and now, life after death was not a prevalent teaching and they did not measure their life in terms of good and bad; what mattered was now, money, power, wealth and so on. In Jesus time there was a rubbish tip outside the city where all rubbish was dumped and it was permanently on fire, it was called Gehenna, a constant fire which burnt and scorched whatever was thrown into it. This fire was used as a pictorial representation of hell, a place where fire constantly burnt and scorched at those who ended up there, an eternal punishment and a painful one at that. Revelation speaks of the Lake of Fire, or second death in a fiery pit of Sulphur where a person will be judged by their actions. Jesus teaches in the sheep and goats parable that there will be a judgement, a separation of those who have done good with their lives and live for others and those who have been selfish and lived purely for themselves. Jesus refers to Hades, the Greek concept of hell, the underworld, an unpleasant place of pain and punishment, ruled by Hades himself, and the people of the time knew and understood this concept. This whole picture presents to us a place where there is eternal punishment as well as a place where there is eternal blessing and reward. This Lake of fire, Gehenna, is constantly burning, those who find themselves there are in writhing agony, it is the rubbish tip for those who turn their back on justice, fairness, equality, and love in favour of injustice, power, wealth and domination of others. Whether we believe in a literal hell or not, there is definitely something very important in our treatment of others and what our future life beyond death will be. It is not a pleasant picture, but it is a challenging one and one we would do well to think about and adjust our lives accordingly.
5th July 2020
Psalm 33:6 By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
I wonder if you have ever watched The Big Bang Theory, a comedy about an odd bunch of physicists and their lives. The opening credits talk about the universe beginning at a single point, hence the Big Bang in the title. This view actually tallies with Scripture, it does not disprove it as many seem to think. We believe that God created the earth and the heavens ex nihilo which is Latin and means out of nothing. The universe had a beginning, that beginning or Big bang had to have a cause, that cause we call God. Empirical science says that whatever begins to exist must have a cause that is equal to, or greater than, itself. So, the Big Bang theory actually supports the Biblical story of creation, not denies it. The universe was not, scientifically speaking, an uncaused event, something caused it, often called first cause. The Big Bang, a term used for creation by those who would like to dispel creation as a myth, actually answers questions concerning the origin of the space, time continuum. Indeed, the cause of all space, time, matter, and energy must be nonspatial, nontemporal, immaterial, and unfathomably powerful and personal. Sounds like God! I just love watching Brian Cox speak about time and space, planets and the universe and he has given many talks on how it all came into being, he too, stands with some initial cause, this cause we call God. Cox shows that science and physics can’t explain the origins of life, while others would dismiss it as some kind of freak chemical accident. I find it interesting that the Particle accelerator or Hadron Collider is looking for the God Particle, what actually caused the Big Bang or creation, even they call it the God particle, as a deliberate link to the Bible and the incredible, amazing, intricate, structural beauty of the universe. It seems the more science and religion are promoted as enemies the more actually happens to show how they sit together and compliment each other.
4th July 2020
2 Samuel 7:18 Then David the king went and sat before the LORD; and said, Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
Abraham Lincoln pondered that he could understand how a person could look at our world with all its problems and impurities and be an atheist. What he could not fathom was how anyone could look at the heavens, the galaxies and stars and think there was no God. I have always loved the stars and spent many a dark night looking at the constellations from my bedroom window and plotting the movements of the plough across the sky as the seasons changed. I loved the stories of the constellations learning them as a child and I would love to spot Orion, Andromeda, Ursa Major and Minor in the night sky. Do we not wonder why God created so many galaxies and planets, stars and nebula that for centuries generations never saw, or even new existed? So many that we can’t even see them all with our huge telescopes and incredible knowledge of the universe. A conservative estimate is of 350,000,000,000,000 stars at least. So why? Because it shows God is unfathomable and far too big to comprehend and perhaps it reminds us to say Who do I think I am that God loves me and cares for me. Yet in the middle of this huge and unfathomable universe God choses us as His special ones. God created us and gave us a beautiful planet which would provide us with everything we have ever needed and more to be our home and gave us the role of stewards to care for it and live along side God in worship and praise. It is us in our selfishness who created a world no longer in balance or in harmony and so badly damaged by our selfishness. Even now, in the midst of the mess we have made our unfathomable God still does not forsake us but rather does everything to bring us back to Him. His love never fails, His heart though broken, never stops caring for us. We are offered so much every day, even though we do not deserve it. He has given the endless universes, the uncountable stars and such beauty born out of love Just for us.
3rd July 2020
Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God (Yahweh) formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into Adams nostrils, and he became a living person.
In the Old Testament the name for God is Yahweh, for the Jews God’s name is unspeakable because it is God, so the vowels are left out when it is written giving us Yhwh a Tetragrammaton and it is replaced by terms such as Adonai, meaning My Lord or Elohim meaning God. God, for the Jews, was and still is kept mysterious, the “I am who I am” identity given to Moses at the burning bush. This name Yahweh was breathed, God’s breath, because the sound of inhalation is Yah, the sound of exhalation is weh. Yahweh. The first thing we did was breathe; the last thing we will do is breathe. We breathe constantly, in and out, without realising, throughout our lives, it is life to us. The very name of God is in our breathing, Yah in, weh out, the very name of God is on our lips, is on everyone’s lips even if they do not realise it. There is no Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist way of breathing, no Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal or Reform way of breathing, there is no rich, poor, male or female way of breathing, there is no black or white way of breathing, all human beings breathe the same. All humans have God on their lips from birth to death, from creation to the end. God is in all people and in the breath of all people, Yah in, weh out. We all breath God every moment of every day. Of course for so many they don’t ever realise they are God’s creation, full of God’s breath and they fight from birth to death to prove they make their own life, their own breath and that somehow their breath is of their own design but as we are reminded; can any of us add a day to our lives through worry, knowledge, money, importance? No! God breathed into Adam and Eve and that life breath became our life breath, in, out, day after day. Yah weh, Yah weh, Yah weh.
2nd July 2020
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us.
The word Gospel means good news, for us the four gospels give us the good news, they bring Jesus to life for us. Matthew is a Jewish evangelist, for Him Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of prophecy, He is expected! Matthew is a traditionalist, in His first chapter the genealogy places Jesus within a certain time and place, foretold and fulfilled, a fresh expression for His time. As the centuries have progressed each generation proclaims the story of Jesus, the good news, afresh. We learn new stories and understandings from those who have gone before and these we share with others in a way that is relevant and appropriate for the time in which we live. We too have our genealogy, our “Who do you think you are” moments, our parents and grandparents, home, education, family, church tradition, events and influences in our lives; how we deal with them and how we have dealt with them in the past makes us who we are today. Our rebellion, our mistakes, the events we regret, as well as all the good things and treasures of our lives, they all make us who and what we are. Maturity comes with accepting our roots, our past and accepting ourselves as we are. Contemplation of who we are and where we have come from is necessary to move forward as it runs alongside our life in the present moment. We, like Matthew, need to contemplate our genealogies, our traditions and use them to know who we are and who we have the potential to become as we are created anew in Christ Jesus. That potential is unlocked as we let go of our roughhewn self with its sharp points and angles, its dull and broken edges, its ugly harshness and allow God to work with us and create a beautiful, honed, complete, and priceless child of God; chosen and loved beyond all else. May we let God meet us anew in every generation, let Him welcome us and prepare us to be His crowning glory.
1st July 2020
Romans 13: 12 Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light…
St Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430) is an important character in Christian history. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church. He is quoted regularly and is responsible for many of our ideas and traditions. He grew up in North Africa and his mother was a Christian who prayed vehemently for him to find Jesus, but his journey to belief in Christ took a lot of detours. Augustine was gifted with a brilliant mind; he explored and followed several religions and philosophies and used his knowledge in teaching students. He did rather enjoy sensual pleasures and lived a hedonistic lifestyle with a lover for many years. He was finally drawn back to the church by powerful preaching and came to grips with his sin. At the age of 32, he was in a friend’s garden shedding tears over the guilt he felt deep within his soul. His friend had opened the Bible and was trying to explain the gospel to him. Augustine began to walk away but heard the sound of a child’s voice, seemingly from somewhere near repeating “take the Bible and read” “take the Bible and read.” He picked up the Bible, and his eyes fell on Romans 13:11-14. Augustine later said “I had no wish to read more and no need to do so… It was as though the light of faith flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.” God later called Augustine to become an outstanding pastor, teacher, and writer in the Christian church. He wasn’t perfect, none of us are, but He did what God asked of Him and in doing so brought the light he had found into the dark lives of many others. Are you wondering about what truth is? Are you stumbling around in the dark and wondering about God? Why not take up the Bible and read, just as Augustine did, asking God to reveal himself to you, because He will.
30th June 2020
Luke 15: 9 Rejoice with me; I have found what was lost.
Have you ever been lost? Or perhaps lost your young child in a supermarket or on a busy street? It can be very frightening, not knowing where you are or where someone you love is who cannot look after themselves. If we lose things, we usually search high and low to find them, if we are lost, we hope someone will look and look until they find us. Stories in the Bible about being lost speak to completeness, the need to find anyone or anything that is lost because it is valuable and must be found. Jesus parables about lost sheep and coins and sons illustrate to us the value God places on us all as lost souls; the willingness of God to search us out, to keep looking and not give up. It also shows us the Joy God has when we are found. It is cause for huge celebration. Whatever our views on Christianity and faith may be, one thing is abundantly clear, Jesus was sent by God to die, defeat death and rise again to save us. God sent Jesus to seek out and save the lost and then even if we are found there are still many others who still need to be found. The story does not end with us, as we are found we become those who share what we have with others that they too may be found. It is very easy to think that once we are found we should hide away, bring up the drawbridge and not risk getting lost again. We would much rather God spent His time on us, looking after just us and not looking for others. We feel like we deserve to monopolise God and can become quite selfish with our faith. BUT, quite simply the most important job of anyone who has found their saviour in Jesus is to tell everyone else and share God’s love for them, with them. Everyone who is lost deserves to be found, every human deserves to find and know God for themselves. We are, in many cases, the only opportunity our friends, family, neighbours and colleagues may ever have to find Jesus. We need to be out there, speaking about our faith, about God, but even more than that we should be setting an example, showing people just how much God loves them by what we do and how we act as Christians in our community.
29th June 2020
John 14:2 In my Father’s house there are many Mansions; I am going there to prepare a place for you?
When I was young someone told me that thunder was God and His angels moving the furniture round in Heaven. I never questioned why there was furniture in Heaven but as I became a Christian and then a priest and I read john 14 about preparing a mansion for us it sort of made sense. There are plenty of people who tell me I am theologically wrong but actually our minds process things as we understand them. We aren’t going to have bodies like we have now, but we will still have our essence, our spirit or soul that makes us who we are. So, in our understanding we need a place to live, to be ourselves, a place that will reflect who we are. When John talks of many mansions, why not? Why not gardens and flowers, music, kitchens, tea and cake, hobby rooms etc. I find this brings huge comfort to grieving families and actually it brings huge comfort to me. I like the idea of finally living in a mansion with many rooms. I like the idea of freedom to be me with those I love. Why shouldn’t we be with our spouse or partner, our parents and grandparents, all those we love, because those relationships are crucial to who we are. I know for certain that we are promised no more pain, no more sadness, no more problems, so life as it will be in Heaven will be perfect, just as was intended for us when we were created. If my theology is not quite as academic and grounded as some I don’t think God minds at all because what is important is that we have promises of better times, of wholeness and healing, perfection, pain free and wonderful all in our mansion of many rooms prepared for us by Jesus our Saviour; who has gone before us and has always wanted only the very best for us. So next time you hear thunder, perhaps God is moving the furniture around for one of your loved ones who has gone to be with our Lord in their mansion with many rooms.
28th June 2020
1 Chronicles 29:49 For all things come from You, and from Your own do we give You.
We often use the word content about our lives and whether we are happy with our lives. If I asked you how content you are with what you have? What would you tell me? Are you content or do you want more? Cleverly the word greed has been legitimised by calling it ambition. The Bible calls us out on our behaviour, challenging us about whether we make everything about ourselves or realise that it is about everyone of God’s children and the part we play in that. What can I do? is the question we should be asking God each day. What can I say, do, share, help with? What can I do to share the wealth I have with others and not try to grasp more and more? We are wealthy, we may not see it like that, but we are. Where do we position ourselves? How do we see ourselves? Are we top table types or middle income or at the bottom, surely not? I deserve more, I am worth more, I expect more, Why? What makes you or I deserve the best at the cost of others? We need to ask ourselves the question, Do I do things in expectation of what I will receive? I give, they give, invite me, I invite you, networking, back scratching etc. We are called to honour others, to seek human flourishing not to pretend to be humble and giving like Uriah Heap in David Copperfield. We are called to do things out of love while society teaches us to ask what we can get out of every situation. We are called to ask what can I give in every situation. How can we help others? This should always be our question. The love we are called to have cares about the other, offers a deep friendship and it is shown by what we do and not what we say. The early church taught Christians to be the friend of strangers, to help others, to care for all and held family and marriage as high principles. Our human nature always seeks for a bit more, a bigger house, car, just one more pair of shoes, the newest phone and computer, we never quite have enough, we are never quite content. God is the foundation for contentment, humbleness in God that understands that all that we have is God’s and all that we give to others is already belonging to God. We are stewards of all we are given by God, and we are called to honest humble living, which is not easy, but is our calling. We give because God freely gives to us. We do not deserve but yet He gives, we are not entitled but our God gives abundantly and out of that abundance we should humbly and freely give.
27th June 2020
Luke 3:11 He said to them, If you have two coats, give one to the person who has none; if you have more food, give to the person who has none.
If you think back, who was it that taught you how to live, right from wrong, good manners and so on. Most of us would probably say our parents, teachers maybe, or family friends. We are brought up with certain codes on how we live so that everyone is kept safe and looked after, as far as is possible. These codes for living come originally from the Bible, from God to create a fair world. All young people’s groups like scouts and brownies have a promise they make which includes some form of doing their best, doing duty, helping others, being a good citizen, kind and helpful. These things help us to understand their needs to be a consensus of behaviour in order for the community, the town, city, country and even the world needs to look after each other’s needs as well as their own. If we all behaved unselfishly then there would be enough food in the world for everyone and no one would go hungry. If we were all less greedy and shared out of our abundance, we would not need to collect food for others or have foodbanks, and yet the usage of foodbanks has increased exponentially in recent months. In fairness some folk have been even more generous during this time and have made food for others in their need. It is an inditement on a wealthy country who prides itself on family values and high morals has huge numbers of people going hungry, unable to feed themselves and their families, unable to have basic needs met because they have no money. It was wonderful to hear that the government finally agreed to food vouchers for children in the poorest families during the summer break but I have to ask the question why is that even needed in the UK in 2020? Why are children needing free meals? Why are we still seeing children across the world dying from malnutrition and drinking dirty water? Why are we seeing people dying and suffering from basic diseases we learnt how to control 50 years ago? It is because of greed. We give ourselves and our leaders permission to have as much as we can get because it is a status symbol. We have worked hard, and this is our reward. We can so easily turn a blind eye to the dying on the other side of the world and blame governments and people for not being like us. We even turn a blind eye in our country because that is easier than paying a little more tax, or insisting governments help the poor and needy so they can rise out of the poverty trap. Our community upbringing, based on biblical principles of sharing, giving to the poor, treating people equally and fairly should have eradicated these issues long ago but the greed, justified as ambition, has become the greater motivator to our lives. Me first, then others if I have enough, trouble is we never have enough, we want more, and so others never get enough help and the circle continues. Before God we need to examine ourselves, our attitudes and begin to put others first alongside challenging others and our government to do the same.
26th June 2020
Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, It is not good for humans to be alone.
For those who live with conditions like Autism they are used to keeping distance, they struggle with other people being in their personal space. For most of us we do not give it a second thought. We shake hands, hug, kiss, stand and sit very near to people without a thought. Suddenly most of us were thrown into a position where we could not see people apart from on Zoom, or through glass. Even now we are required to keep our distance, two meters preferably, even as lockdown eases and with a mask where possible. It is so difficult as people struggle to hear at two meters, naturally lean toward us, we and others want to offer care, sympathy and help, people just want to be closer, not staying away or apart. This is because we were created as naturally social creatures. We are part of families, we live in communities, villages and towns both for safety but also for that social interaction. Communities grow up around common interests and ideas, people meet with people who are similar minded because they like to talk about common interests. We need to communicate with others, as much as there are some folk we could with a break from right now because we have been with them in lockdown, we still need to be with others. It is not good for any of us to be alone. For some the loneliness of the past months is presenting real mental health issues because there has been no real interaction or conversation. Solitary confinement is used as a severe punishment for a reason, no contact with anyone for a period of time causes mental issues, break downs, psychosis. People are eager and need to get out and be “normal” because they crave human contact, human interaction, God made us that way! It is good to see people, talk to them; in our gardens and open spaces is a great place to start. God gave us social places, social feelings and needs and we must engage with those. Do try to see folk, talk to them, use the phone, go in the garden, talk across the fence or in the front garden. Keep the rules so as to keep everyone safe but don’t let anyone be alone as it is good for everyone and society if we have people to be in community with.
25th June 2020
Matthew 13:45 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Most of us have, at some time or another, planted a flag in a treasure map at a fete or gone on a treasure hunt of some kind. We grow up with ideas of pirate treasure and X marks the spot. Buried treasure has a charm about it, stories told of realising a fortune by a discovery of buried treasure. Treasure maps, Treasure Island. It makes us a little excited and we would love to be the one to discover a treasure. We have things in our lives that we value, that are treasures to us. We may at some point in our lives find something so valuable and wonderful that we are prepared to give up everything to have it. The story of the Pearl of great price is about this longing, this willingness to give up everything for something that is so important to us. For the Christian it is our faith in Jesus that should be this valuable for us. Jesus is our treasure, our pearl of great price that we should be willing to give up everything for. If we are willing to give up everything for our treasure, then it should make a difference to our lives. If we have given everything to be with Christ, then our lives should reflect that. We should be willing to do everything not only to be part of Jesus family but to promote Jesus to the world, to share what we have found with others. As we find our find our treasure, surprisingly, we should be doing everything to give it away to others. What we have in Jesus is so amazing, so incredible that we must not keep it for our selves but pass it on. Of course the metaphor of treasure means keeping it hidden, locked in a strong box, buried, to keep it safe. We cannot do that with our faith, with Jesus. As a Christian we cannot bury our faith or lock it away, it has to permeate our lives, be part of each decision we make, affect how we act and react. You can’t keep faith hidden because if it is hidden away no one will know about Jesus and what He has done for everyone. We have found our treasure, we have our map to guide us in the Bible and we have given up all to be part of the story, now we must open the box and share it with everyone so they too can find the treasure they have been looking for and pass it once more.
24th June 2020
Matthew 21:13 My house is a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.
There are days or events that really make us question the behaviour of humanity. We see things happen and hear of terrible things and we realise just how much people have turned away from God. The world is full of sin, of hatred, depravity and the only answer is for this sin to be washed away. In the gospels we find an answer, they use the words of Isaiah to explain that Jesus is the answer. Jesus is recognised as the king, the Lord, The Son of David in the City of Jerusalem which is in turmoil. Jesus understanding of the wickedness and sin of the people finds a perfect illustration in the Temple courts where religious practices have been turned into money making schemes and people are being led astray by the very people who should be living lives of honesty and integrity. The religious people of the time do not recognise Jesus, it is the ordinary folk who see Him for who He is. The religious leaders who should have been expecting Him, who knew the prophecies, were so wrapped up in money and power they were blinded to Jesus, Messiah, Son of God. Our recognition of Jesus is very much dependent on our priorities, what and who we put first in our lives. To me or you, to those around us who is Jesus? Is He a friend, a saviour, a Lord or perhaps an annoyance, or an irrelevance? In a society that treats the vulnerable so poorly Jesus is just seen as a story we tell at Christmas, a person in history, for some just another religion for those who need something to believe in. It is very easy to push Jesus aside as an irrelevance, to think He and His sacrifice are not relevant today. It is even possible to make Jesus an irrelevance in the church. He should be the centre of our worship and yet is often pushed to the side by tradition, practice, events and personalities. The answer to the problem of sin is Jesus. Life lived in a loving caring way, that allows the other to flourish, to seek the best for everyone and always puts the other first. We are told that one day Jesus will return, and the perfect world of God’s original creation will come. Our choice is whether we want to be part of the current world in all it’s sin or part of the new Heaven and Earth of God? We still live here on this planet, we are in this world, but we do not have to be a part of the sin and wickedness, we do not need to be part of the den of robbers or thieves. Instead we can be signposts, examples of God’s love, of the way things can be if we only live better, live as Children of God, as people of prayer, live as His family on Earth.
23rd June 2020
Matthew 11:28 Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
These last months of lockdown have shown me a different type of tiredness. Instead of the usual physical stresses it has been much more mental and cerebral. It is easy to get caught up working to justify one’s existence in a culture where the world wears busyness as a badge of honour, to be well thought of, to make sure no one thinks we are being lazy and not working hard. The press has carried many stories about teachers doing nothing when in fact they have been working longer hours than before to keep students up with work. Stories of people not wanting to return to work because of laziness instead of the fact that many are shielding or caring for those who are at risk. It is easy to believe that being in lockdown has meant plenty of rest, but routines have been changed, people are doing far more tasks whilst working from home, sleep patterns interrupted and a different type of tiredness and fatigue has descended. It is so easy to judge others in an attempt to make ourselves feel better, to jump to conclusions about other people’s motives, to criticise people for needing to rest and take a break. For many of us the last months have meant working every day, no day off, working far more than the usual 8 hours or so and being expected to attend endless computer meetings which really strain the eyes and mind, adding to further stress. Rest is vital to our continued affective functioning. We need to be able to shut off, to not have to write or answer a barrage of emails, to not answer our phone whenever it rings, even in the middle of the night because someone else is working late. It is not laziness to rest, to relax and take time for ourselves and families. It is necessary for our bodies to recharge and recuperate physically and mentally. It is a well-known fact that one of the reasons we live longer now is because we have regular breaks, take holidays and do not work 18 to 20 hours a day every day of the week. Once again, we should take our lead from Jesus. He rested frequently with His disciples, would sleep and eat between journeys and tasks. To rest with family and friends is both biblical and healthy. He tells us to come to Him to find rest. As life has changed so our need of rest has changed, as we work differently, we need to rest differently, take care of our needs physically and spiritually and let God bless us and give us rest from our labours. We need to recognise our needs and allow ourselves to be looked after and as we do that we also allow others to rest, to not judge them or suggest that they are being lazy but recognise that we all need rest and we can never know someone else’s needs or situation.
22nd June 2020
Leviticus 19:34 The foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.
Today, 72 years ago the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. On board were about 500 Jamaican and Caribbean people who were asked to come to Britain to help in the post war rebuild. Promises were made of a good life, good wages as a reward for their help. Most of these folks had the intention of going back in a few years once they had saved enough from their promised good wages. What actually happened was they were held here as their jobs were poorly paid, they found it almost impossible to find accommodation, were disrespected and spoken about in inflammatory terms. If this wasn’t bad enough Enoch Powel gave his famous and racist Rivers of Blood speech which just inflamed the jingoistic, white British culture which would tolerate people of colour only if they did the jobs that British people were too good for, they were still seen as only fit for a modern form of slavery. 72 years later we are still treating people with contempt. Our own government had the Windrush travel slips destroyed and quietly removed a statute that protected these people and then began to remove them accusing them of being illegal. These people came at our invitation to help a country in need, we treated them appallingly, most never got to return home and despite promised citizenship were deliberately targeted to appease a white British nationalistic attitude and treated like criminals; all because of the colour of their skin. This is not how God taught us to behave. We were clearly told to welcome the foreigner, the stranger; to feed and clothe them, to give respect and care. Instead we have and are still doing the complete opposite. The colour of our skin does not define any one of us, being human, created in the image of God does. We all need to examine our attitudes to those around us. To be respectful of all God’s children. God shows no partiality, neither should we. May God bless all the Windrush generation and their families on this day.
21st June 2020
Matthew 6:13 Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
Many years ago, I watched my vicar invite anyone who would like one of his home made chocolates to come forward and have one. Several adults and children came with delight written upon their faces, they took one, all took a bite and their coughs, uggs and errs and some spitting into their hand, underneath the lovely chocolate were Brussel Sprouts. They had all been seduced by the outer chocolatey look and bitten in without any regard to what was inside. It is a bit like that saying “all that glitters is not gold” we are easily seduced by the look of something from the outside and we dive right in because the outside looks great, it is only once we are right inside that we find out we have bitten off more than we can chew, to keep the analogy going. Wrongdoing, or sin is like this, wrapped up in glittery, chocolatey coatings that make it attractive, it seduces us into diving head long into it before we realise the danger, we are in. All through the Bible the representations of Satan are ones of seduction, offering something wonderful on the outside while the nastiness lies within. Adam and Eve as individuals and representatives of all human kind were seduced by the belief they could be like God, but wrapped up in that outer coating came imperfection, sin and so death instead of the eternal life God had originally created for them. We are seduced by money, wealth, power, fame, celebrity status; an outer coating which we believe we can use for good and then once we are involved we are dragged under, the glittery chocolatey coating becomes more important and we lose sight of all the good we wanted to do in favour of keeping what we have become accustomed to. Satan will use whatever glittery and chocolatey coatings he can to pull us away from our faith, from our God, from our Christian life, that is why every day we need to ask God to lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. To open our eyes to wrongdoing, to let us see things for what they really are and, in His strength, not to be dragged into sin.
20th June 2020
Luke 2:28 Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God.
Do you remember any nursery rhymes? I would sing them with reception and nursery children as well as with my own boys. One of my favourites was Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I've been to London to visit the Queen. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there? I chased a little mouse under her chair. In this little story the cat goes to visit the queen, but yet in the presence of royalty it's business as usual, never mind the queen, the importance of the Royal visit is irrelevant as the cat just gets on with chasing a mouse. We are often like this with God, we go to church, we talk about our great and wonderful God and yet we behave as if He is nothing special, we carry on as before, business as usual. I think a lot about the Christmas Story all year round and how we go in our carols, readings and services, to Bethlehem to visit the Christ child. But what do we do there? Is it business as usual for us, the trappings of the season, the traditions, or do we see the new-born King? Later as Jesus is taken to the Temple, Simeon bursts into a song of praise when he holds the Christ child: Sovereign Lord, he cries, my eyes have seen your salvation. Seeing this salvation is what gave Simeon peace to face death and gives us peace both in living and in dying. When the painter Rembrandt died in October 1669 at age 63, they found his unfinished painting of Simeon holding the Christ child. It was a work in progress. Rembrandt painted Simeon as an old man, like himself, and blind. One historian writes, "The old man's cradling hands are immense, held rigid as in deepest prayer. His face ... glimmers with unearthly brilliance. Behind the heavy eyelids he has, at last, seen the light of salvation," and he is able to say, "Lord, now let your servant go in peace." On seeing the Christ Child, it is not business as usual for Simeon. He recognises God’s messiah; he recognises the promises of God fulfilled in this child. He is different because of who he is holding in his hands. For us we should be different because of who we hold in our hearts and minds, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the presence of God it should never be business as usual.
19th June 2020
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Yesterday we opened the church for private prayer. It was an interesting experience, on the one hand I was glad to get the doors open and welcome people back, on the other I was concerned that this would not be enough for those bereaved, hurting, saddened, lost, uncomfortable and those who have not been able to worship in their church for three months. It is interesting that we are allowed to open for private prayer but nothing else. So what is private prayer? How long is a piece of string? There are many different ways of prayer, all beneficial, all correct and all with their own value and blessing. It can be a time of contemplation where we let God wash over us in the silence, just allowing our thoughts and feelings to just be about God. We can use the words of others or our own words, a conversation with God where we tell Him how we feel, ask on behalf of others and allow Him to speak to us through Bible verses or thoughts or visual images around us. We can use our phones, apps which guide us in prayer, give us themes and ideas which we can then adapt or add to in a more personal way and can show us Bible texts to help us. We can speak out loud or within our heads and hearts just saying what needs to be said, expressing feelings, thoughts, ideas and concerns. We can just be still, not thinking about anything in particular and allow thoughts and ideas to come to us. We can carry with us a pen and paper and write or doodle, we can draw pictures, write down words and phrases. We can listen to music on personal equipment or in the place if it plays music and allow that to minister to us, guide our thoughts. We can think through and sing hymns and worship songs in our heads and hearts; open or close our eyes, look around us or within our minds eye. We are all different and there is no one way, no right way! Yes, we have traditional forms of prayer we can follow but God does not mind how we pray, it is that we pray; that is what matters. When Paul writes pray without ceasing, in the Greek it means recurring, keeping at it any time, any place, in any way. It is like having a 24-hour conversation with God, chatting as we need to, times of silence, times of creativity, times of stillness, times of talking and so on. Private prayer is bringing that conversation, that time with God, into the church building and exposing ourselves to another different environment for our personal prayer, perhaps being more specific or praying for particular people, events and situations. The most important thing is that we pray, that we pray without ceasing. Do come and pray when we are open, or pray where you are, at home, in the garden, on a walk, however it works for you let me encourage you to pray and to keep on praying.
18th June 2020
Philippians 1:6 Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Do you have days of self-doubt? We all do, days when we wonder why God chose us, why me, when we get it wrong so often. But God tells us that we do not need to be good or perfect, just willing, willing to do God’s work. Willing to listen, to learn, to grow and to change and to do. All ministry in the Christian faith is a mystery, the mystery of God taking the imperfect we offer and creating something beautiful and relevant which makes a difference. We are beloved children of God, each chosen and blessed with gifts and talents that God has given. We are unique and God’s love of each of us is exclusive to us and never ending. His voice is the one of He who loves you and me unconditionally. We need to recognise that “within me is the starting point of my service,” placed there by God from the beginning. Authentic service comes from a person who has experienced a wounded heart, who is healed, restored, and forgiven. We all have different stories to tell, different backgrounds, experiences, talents, and gifts which God has given us to use in His service. What we can share with others is God given but sometimes it may look as if it hasn’t worked, or seems inadequate or is even met with anger or pain but as long as we do what God has asked of us He is responsible for the rest. God chose us because He knows just how wonderful and amazing, we are, God uses us because He has equipped us with everything we need. God is with us in every situation and He is responsible for what happens next. There are some Jobs that only you can do, some words only you can offer, some love only you can give. Let God do His work through you and never doubt how much He loves you and how much He wants to bless you and use you to bless others.
17th June 2020
Genesis 37: 34/5 Jacob mourned for his son for countless days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.
In recent weeks many have been lost to us, more than we would ever have expected, and there is much grief and pain. Much of that grief has not been able to be expressed as we would normally do. Families have not been able to be with someone when they have died and then not been able to attend services to say goodbye. Grief needs to be processed and people cannot just move on. We actually learn to live a new normal without those we love, we don’t get over it, we learn to live with it. A picture of this type of grief is shown in Genesis 37 where Jacob mourns the believed loss of Joseph, his favourite son, and to cap it all, those comforting him are the very people who have caused the grief. Imagine the scene, the air was heavy with grief. Jacob’s sons had to listen to their father’s mournful howling day after day as his weeping cast a veil of despair over everything. After a while, Jacob’s children tried to find a way to force him past his sadness. But nothing worked. It can’t, grief finds its own way and Jacob refused to be comforted. His one small shred of comfort was in the gloomy prospect that one day he would be united with Joseph in death. The sons’ attempts to comfort their father failed because they were the ones who had sold Joseph into slavery and had faked his death. This scene is intense with irony and duplicity. Not one of the brothers came forward with the truth. No one is honest or truthful with their grieving father. Jacob’s cries were like a call to come clean, but no one shifted from the lie. The fact that they refused to admit their grisly secret only emphasizes how deceptive their hearts were. Even the pain of an inconsolable father did not break through their hardened resolve and jealousy. Can evil really be so entrenched? Yes, it can. How often do we hide behind a lie, a bending of the truth because we cannot admit to our own fault. The deception is so entrenched that we actually convince ourselves that we are in the right. We may not be responsible, as Jacobs other sons were, but we are tempted to hide truths, to push someone forward before they are ready, to not allow friends, family and even ourselves to grieve at their and our own pace, in each one’s own way. There is never a right way or an only way to grieve. We must always give others and ourselves time, we must be kind to each other and be a comfort to each other for as long as it takes to find a new normal that we can learn to live with.
16th June 2020
Romans 5: 2 We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into God’s grace in which we now stand.
I have often been asked why people come to church. My answer is that people come for many different reasons, for hope, for peace, for understanding, for friendship, for community, for love, for music, for teaching…….the list is pretty endless. If you have or have had young children you will know that they will come to you at any time for reassurance, for a hug or cuddle. Our children have uninterrupted access to us 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so they can appear at 3 in the morning or midnight or whenever because they know we are there for them when they have a bad dream, or feel unwell or get hurt. They know, they have reassurance that we will always be there when they need us. The amazing news for all of us is that we have that relationship with God, that complete access to God. We have that access because of Jesus, we can come to God at any time, in any place about anything. Jesus sacrifice allows us unlimited access to God, this sacrifice was and is made for the very people who rejected Him. Freely offered and freely given making access to God possible whoever you are, wherever you are. This access brings with it a peace, when we are anxious, unsettled, unsure, upset we can come to God and find His peace. Everyone of us needs that peace in our hearts and minds otherwise we will be in constant turmoil, we will carry uncertainty, instability even chaos with us. With God’s peace we can face any storm that may come upon us, any situation, any difficulty because we have God’s attention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week forever.
15th June 2020
Acts 20:7 On the first day of each week they came together to break bread.
The last three months have tested our relationships. We have seen some folk more than usual; you may even say far too much, and some folk we have not seen at all. We have had to develop new ways to sustain all these relationships so we and they can cope. The same can be said about our relationship with Jesus. Our churches have been closed and we have had to find new ways to pray, to worship, to practice our faith. It has been exceedingly difficult without Communion, there has been a Eucharistic fast since before Easter, and with that comes a growing longing to come and receive again. The Bible tells us how important the Mass is, from Jesus institution on that Passover to its life-giving observance by the early church. From this day we can return, in a small part, to our churches for private prayer. We are being given a moment of grace. As we open our doors it is a reminder that there is more to life than work, than home, than lockdown. We are drawn back into the presence of God which lifts us up and ministers to our souls. But, even as we can return to pray, we long to gather round the altar and take part as the Body of Christ in partaking in the Body of Christ. St Augustine said that we see, on the altar, the sacrament of who we are and what we are to become. Christ is our way, our truth and our life! It has been wonderful that our computers and tablets have given us a way to worship, to keep in contact, to pray, but we long for Communion; both the communion of being together and partaking in the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. We have found some new ways, we will need new ways as well as developing and strengthening the old ways and these will all need to be set in deep roots, the roots of Christ, His life, death and resurrection. We need to commit these next weeks and months to God that His power will flow over and through our society and bring the new, the necessary changes through the sacrament; that we will find ways so that no one is left out, that we keep everyone safe and that we rebuild and sustain our relationships with each other and with God.
14th June 2020
Matthew 10:16 See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves.
This very day, 14th June 2020, we are remembering Grenfell, three years ago this terrible atrocity happened and still people are not rehoused or recompensed, still people are grieving and asking why, there was eventually an enquiry set up that has been delayed and tampered with and may never actually report, if it does it is likely to be so watered down that it is has no impact. All the talk of politicians and counsellors at the time has just been forgotten and the practice of selective deafness and selective memory continues as society moves forward when so many cannot. Those who bravely make the stand, who challenge this, and many other injustices, particularly linked to race, are pilloried in the court of the press and social media, lies are told and stories imagined so that their opinion and challenge is somehow invalidated. Making a difference, challenging the world’s ways with the ways of God’s kingdom is not an easy task and means we will suffer for our faith and our belief in truth and justice for all. Jesus sent his disciples and us where the work of God meets the trajectory of the world and resistance is at its greatest. The disciples were told they would be handed over, flogged, dragged before kings and courts, lose family and friends, be imprisoned and suffer because of Jesus' name. Not exactly an encouragement to get involved. It is easy to forget that being a Christian is not easy and people will persecute us and speak ill of us and even accuse us falsely. We only need to look at what is currently happening with the death of George Floyd to see that when people make a stand against the status Quo it brings unpopularity and judgement. When any of us make a stand against unfairness and injustice we are ridiculed and punished and where possible silenced; because those with power, wealth and authority will do anything, anything to maintain their position. Let’s face it, if something works in our favour, we don’t want to change it, or upset the balance, because we do not want to lose our status, our position and influence. But just think a moment, without the voices of challenge, the fight for justice, we would still have slavery, there would still be no democratic voting rights for the poor or women, gay people would still be going to prison, there would still be justified murder and genocide, there would still be children working in mines and factories for a pittance and not protected, men would legally be able to abuse women without fear of prosecution, the list is endless and yes in many places in the world these things are still happening. Even here and in the so-called free world, we are still fighting for justice and equality, for fairness and equity for all, whoever they are. This is what we are called to do as Jesus followers, the question is, are we willing to make that stand as sheep amid wolves?
13th June 2020
John 18:36 Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.
Have you ever seen the television program that asks "Where are they now?" They take celebrities and child stars who have been famous but have quickly faded from the public eye and find out what happened to them. People relish in other people’s stories, particularly if they have some sort of secret or reason why their fame and fortune is short lived. What if we apply this idea to Jesus arrival on Earth. Caesar Augustus was famous in his day. He ruled the Roman Empire and led a period of peace known as the Pax Romana. It was a time of prosperity for the empire, and Augustus was popular with his people. But Augustus and his empire had a dark side. In his early years he was known for his cruelty. When he took power, he put 300 of Rome's senators to death. When Jesus was born, Judea was under Roman military occupation. Under Caesar's rule the people of Judea were taxed heavily, and political dissenters were crucified. Caesar Augustus built his kingdom on earthly power and a dubious peace born of cruel intimidation. Into this very world another king was born, not in a palace but in a stable. His kingdom was not of this world but came through His relationship with God and His preaching, teaching, and healing as he brought a lasting peace with creator God through His own death and resurrection. There was no coercion, even though some have tried to make it like that, we are never forced to accept Jesus as saviour, we are give the choice, the option. Two thousand plus years later, we might ask, where are they now? Where is Caesar and his kingdom? Well, Augustus died, and his kingdom faded long, long ago. He is a name in History known for his cruelty to his people. But Jesus, He lives, and his kingdom is all around us. If you want to know where Jesus is now then look around you at the Christians, the churches and chapels, the gatherings, the community work done in His name. Jesus is right here in the centre of everything, He has not gone from us or this world, God’s kingdom is still all around us and we still have the choice to be part of it or not. No coercion, just a freedom to choose and make the decision as to where we are now and always.
12th June 2020
Proverbs 18:2 The foolish are not interested in understanding, but only in expressing their opinion.
A very wise friend once told me that we will never know the good we have done, the lives we have helped, the things we have influenced. We may be fortunate to meet someone many years later and find out the part we played in their life, but most of the time we will never know. At present one of the things we can do is help with reconciliation, finding a way to bring people together who hold opposing views and ideas. In present times some people are becoming heated with one another and not listening to what is really being said. Let’s face it, we all like to express our own opinion. The human tendency is to want to re-educate other people to agree with us, we are all less likely to listen to those with opposing views, even if their point is valid or correct. You only need to look at many of our world leaders who retain power whilst becoming more and more out of touch by surrounding themselves with yes people. We all have different ideas, experiences, upbringings that affect how we view others and their situations. We hold opinions and ideas that we have been fed with, by society, as being right; yet, we are told in the Bible to respect and care for all our neighbours and our neighbour is anyone we come into contact with, who are part of our society. All our dealings with anyone must be with integrity, with honesty, with a willingness to listen and learn from each other. In all our relationships, our one to one conversations need to be on a deeper level. To bring reconciliation we need to reclaim the ground taken by those who want to disrupt, to anger, to press an aggressive agenda for their own ends. We are the people who need to stay in the room when others walk out. We need to reclaim the language of community, of justice, of honesty and fairness for all whoever they are. Our principles are bound in our faith and we belong to a church, a family of God, that exists for the benefit of everyone. We have influence, we have the opportunity to make a difference, we have the opportunity to do good, may we all take that opportunity and make a difference.
11th June 2020
Matthew 28:19 Go make disciples of all nations, and I will be with you to the end of the age.
You will often here the expression a game of two halves. A team who are not playing well in the first half, seem to experience a change during half time and have a second wind. Often this is put down to the pep talk they are given by their manager or coach. When Jesus speaks to His Disciples just before His Ascension, here is His pep talk to them and us. He tells us and them to go and make disciples of all nations and promises to be with them and us until the end of the age. In their first half the Disciples just hadn’t got it, they couldn’t put it all together with the events of Easter, they needed help to get going again, to ignite the spark in them. We may not get it now, perhaps we need help, a pep talk to ignite our spark. We, as Christians today, know far more than the disciples did, Jesus has authority over all creation, over all lives and He passes the momentum onto us, just as he did to the disciples. He says GO make disciples of all nations, the Good News is for everyone, no exceptions! Jesus came for everyone whatever gender, age, race, creed, nation, class etc; so, we need to be a people who witness to everyone and leave no one out. We do not choose who to share the gospel with, we are told to share it with everyone. The Welsh Patron Saint, David, left a mantra for His friends “Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things!” Surprisingly enough this is how we make disciples, people see the joy and want to know to why; people see us stick to our faith and live what we believe and they want to know why; people see the little things we do without being asked, they experience the love and care we offer quietly and without a fuss, and they want to know why. In all these things we are showing the love of Jesus to everyone in this world and that offers them the choice to become a follower of Christ.
10th June 2020
Ezekiel 1:4 God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
I wonder if you have ever realised that God’s gift of salvation for us started even before he created the world? That is just mind blowing! This simple truth about how valuable we are to God can really stretch our minds, and it shows us that God’s knowledge and planning is far beyond ours. Even as we read and hear about all that God did to create our world; from the universe, to our galaxy, to our planet, to all the plant and animal life around us, and to us humans, we are filled with awe and wonder. But then, to know that God chose us one by one to be saved in Christ even before he made all of this, it goes beyond our ability to understand. So, there is great mystery here. But this doesn’t mean we are left confused or without understanding. As our Creator, God knows our minds, and God knows we can understand what it means to be chosen, and loved, and called to be holy. So, He tells us those things in his Word the Bible and His Word the Son and in so much more. It is true that what we cannot understand is considerable and yet even though we can’t understand all that God does, or why, we can be sure that He loves us completely and wants what is best for us. Far back in eternity God made plans to bring us into his family so that we can have full life forever, instead of us dying in our sin and misery. But it is not just that we were chosen by God from the beginning, we are chosen to be Holy and blameless. As we recognise our wrongdoing we bare no guilt because of Jesus sacrifice for us, we are seen as pure and spotless through Jesus. We are holy as He is holy, we get to be perfect before God because God chose us before the creation of the world and through Jesus death and resurrection made us perfect in His sight.
9th June 2020
Psalm 42:5 Why be downcast my Soul or disturbed within me? I put my Hope in God.
As Christians we can begin to think that we don’t deserve to struggle or have difficulties in our lives. We begin to believe that we are doing a pretty good job at being a Christian and God will therefore keep us on the up as a reward, He becomes a sort of talisman against bad luck. So, when things do go wrong, we can seriously struggle with the why. We long to know why me? Here in Psalm 42 the writer is in distress, life has taken a turn for the worst and yet he does not ask himself why it is happening to him, but why he is downcast when he has hope in God. He looks back and remembers just exactly what God has done, how He has blessed him and cared for him. This recollection allows him to have complete hope in God. We use quite a few metaphors for hope, the sunshine through the rain, warmth in the cold, the dawn after a dark night, the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and so on. They all point to something that brings assurance, that lightens our heart, that burns within us and helps us to cope in the difficult times. Hope offers us a future based on the evidence of the past. Because God has not let the Psalmist down before he knows that God will not let him down now or in the future. Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for things to happen. The expectation can only come if we have reason to believe it can happen, we can only have that reason to believe that it can happen if we have experience of it happening before. As we grow up, we become less trusting and make decisions based more on evidence. If we have evidence that God has not let us or others down in the past, it will increase our hope and our faith. The evidence we have may be from our own lives, but it can also be from the lives of others, from the Bible and from history. The psalmist has lived and experienced the arms of God supporting him and others and so knows that God will always support him. If we have experienced God’s arms supporting us and others, we can say with confidence why be downcast my soul……I put my hope in God.
8th June 2020
Isaiah 40:31 They shall soar on wings as eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.
At our lowest points God is there as He is in every situation, but at our lowest we often do not see God is there. It is only when we look back do we begin to see that in the Melee of emotion God is in control. We can look back, as in the footprint’s poem, and see that at our worst God picked us up and carried us. The promises God makes cannot go unfulfilled! Looking back through our own lives, others lives, the Bible and history we see that God has done what He said, kept His promises; and so, we can be assured He will keep them where we are concerned. This fortieth chapter of Isaiah is called Comfort for God’s people. It teaches us that we can and should lean into God and allow Him to take the strain and let Him comfort us, He is far more able to do this than we are to receive it. Look at the order of words in verse 31; that we will soar as eagles, run without weariness, and walk without fainting. Why put soar first? There are days when we soar, and days we will run, these are the days when everything goes well, life is good and we seem to almost float along, but most days we walk, we need to just put one foot in front of the other and although God is always there, it is on these common walking days we have His daily promise to be right there with us; beside, behind, in front or carrying us. Every day, step by step and in God we will not grow faint and when we just can’t seem to go on, to lift ourselves to even do the mundane stuff, God is right there; the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, whose wisdom is unsearchable. He gives power, strength and support to all whether young or old or anywhere in between. Even though God is more than we can conceive or understand He cares for us, He is interested in us and our ordinary daily lives, what bothers us and hurts us, what drags us down and builds us up and in absolutely everything this amazing, all powerful, all knowledgeable God wants the best for us!
7th June 2020
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
When unexpected news lands in our laps how do we respond? I suppose it depends on whether the news is good or bad but in either case it can both excite us and fill us with dread. When you learn from a news report that churches can begin to open for private prayer in just over a weeks’ time it is great news, but then to begin to read the guidance, the instruction and see how difficult this will be, it begins to fill one with dread. The huge organisational task of preparation and then of intensive cleaning. The need for many within the congregation to continue shielding and so feel even more deprived in this apparent situation of hope. There is also the tension of a still high daily death rate and an increase in the R number since lockdown has eased and we do not want our churches to be the cause of a further spike. It is at times like these there is only way to go, to pray, to talk to God, to offer all our feelings and thoughts to Him and allow His love and peace to flow over us. We are called to trust in the Lord! We desire to have all the answers, to lean on our own understanding, to be in control, and yet so often we cannot be, the pressures and ways of the world just don’t allow that. We walk a tightrope between the positive and the negative on a daily basis. As with all things we need time, to adjust, to prepare, to deal with things in life; the world pressures us to be instant in our reaction in our preparation, but we must act carefully, honestly and with integrity. We need to hold these differing thoughts and feelings in tension which is not easy. I was always taught to think before I speak or act, to take time before rushing into something, to weigh up the pros and cons of any situation. So throughout this pandemic that is what I have tried to do and now with the sudden knowledge of being able to open doors in 8 days the first thing for all of us to do is stop, consider, think, pray and ask God what do you want me to do? For everything in out lives God will provide the way forward but we must take the time to trust and listen first.
6th June 2020
Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
At this time of year many of us are usually thinking towards our summer holiday, a source of rest and recuperation after months of hard work. These past weeks of lockdown have meant people not going to work but that does not mean they have had a chance to rest. For so many they have taken on more and new roles in the home and this way of life has its own stresses and strains to cope with. Travel restrictions mean holidays have been cancelled and who knows when hotels will be open again. We value our holidays, and so we should, but as well as yearly holidays we need to rest regularly. A week should leave at least 1 day for rest and recuperation, for family, for fun. Genesis reminds us of God’s rest on the seventh day when he completed the work of creation. That set a pattern for us that is worth keeping. If the creator of the world takes a day to rest after the working week then who are we to ignore that. In the midst of our busy lives each week, it is good to take a day to rest from our work, to take time to worship and honour God, to share with others, to be with family, to help those who are in need. The letter of Hebrews points out that the promise to enter God’s rest still stands, for then and for now, it remains something to strive for and long for. Hebrews also notes that some of God’s people hardened their hearts, refused to listen to God, decided their way was better and so did not enter His rest. Once again, as in so much of being a Christian, we have to make a choice. The promise of entering God’s rest is still there, but we must actually decide to take that rest. Sadly, our society has made us feel guilty for resting, for not working seven days a week and thus we have lost our work life balance and our work rest balance. The promise available to everyone is that we can enter God’s rest and that we can enjoy resting in Christ now as well as for eternity. This is not a call to stop all of our activity and our work, instead, it is a call to follow the example of God and rest from work each week, to set that example for others and by not expecting those who work for us or with us to work when they should be resting.
5th June 2020
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.
In Old Testament times Priests were God’s chosen servants; they served as mediators between God and his people. They worked in the temple, praying for the people and bringing their sacrifices to God. They offered sacrifices on behalf of the people to make atonement, amends, for their sins. Only the high priest was allowed to enter the most holy place to stand before God and then only once a year. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is referred to as the “great high priest.” This means He is the one true High Priest and as such is the only one needed to stand in the gap, to atone for the sins of the people. Jesus is the High Priest because, unlike all the others gone before, He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin.” Jesus was and continues to be, the sinless and perfect sacrifice, able to stand before God, in the gap, as the one who can make recompense for our sins. This forgiveness through Jesus is real and lasting and for this reason, we do not need to be afraid to enter God’s presence; in fact, we can have “confidence” when we approach God. We can be confident that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. This full and complete sacrifice meant that the priest was no longer the only one who could approach God, everyone can. Over the years this has meant that the role of the Priest has changed to more of a pastor who leads worship and cares for the people, standing in the gap during Communion where they are God’s representative. This change has meant everyone can approach God in confidence. Yes, the priest will always intercede for their people, give advice, hear confession, but it is not required for anyone to go to God through anyone else. We do not need to be afraid to approach God. Instead, we can approach Him with confidence, knowing and recognising that even though we cannot do this in our own strength, we can do it through Jesus, our great High Priest.
4th June 2020
Amos 5:24 Let Justice roll down like rivers and righteousness like an overflowing stream.
The danger with quoting the Bible to back up our response to something is that it is open to interpretation and it was originally written in response to things of its time. Some of us take great delight in using the Bible to justify acts of discrimination and violence because in the past, in communities which still had terrible inhuman treatment of those who disagreed with the law of the land or the kings who declared themselves of God, disagreement was just eradicated. What we need to do is make sure what we are quoting or using is not just a one off idea but that it sits in the overall view of God, His love of all humans and His sending of His son to save everyone because not one of us is perfect. The Bible was and still is used to justify slavery but God is quite clear it is wrong to enslave others, it has been used to punish those who challenge the status quo as being against God, and yet challenge the status quo is exactly what Jesus did. We now have many differing types of theologies, reading the Bible as a woman, black person, poor person, free person, enslaved person, persecuted person and in using those lenses we see that the Bible has much to say to help and challenge others about these differing lives, but the Bible has always been interpreted and followed in a white, privileged, male way. Change happens very slowly, especially if it risks those in senior positions, who feel justified in their wealth, status and power, and fear losing these. Change for equality, justice and righteousness is like a huge boulder needing to be moved forward. The more hands that help to push the more inertia is gained and things happen, promises are made; but as the movement begins, people become distracted, something else in the news catches their eye, another cause is brought to the fore and they stop pushing thinking everyone else will carry on, but no. Slowly the inertia is lost and very little changes and the promises so loudly and confidently made are lost and forgotten about. The events of Grenfell Tower are a clear indication of this. As are the current demonstrations against racial discrimination, where once again the Bible is being flaunted as justification for violence against those who seek justice. One of the clearest and most repeated messages of the Bible is justice, righteousness, and fairness for all. As Amos states these should never lack inertia, they should be flowing like steams and waters at the centre of our society, as essential as a fresh water supply is for our physical life so is the supply of justice and righteousness. If we want to stand as a Bible believing Christians, then Justice and fairness for all is crucial and central to our belief and cannot be ignored, manipulated or biased. God sees and God says how we treat each other is a mark of our true belief.
3rd June 2020
Jeremiah 29:7 Pray to the LORD for help, because if everyone flourishes, you too will flourish.
I believe that community is only complete if everyone can participate. We need to see what God is doing around us and join in. We as Christians, as churches, should be outward facing, led by the Spirit with a shared purpose. We are carriers of the gospel throughout life. There has always been social teaching in the Church but it has swung in and out of favour depending on the society of the time. It teaches that as we live in the world we must engage with the world. Human’s are relational beings because we are created by a relational being, the model of The Trinity clearly shows that. This social teaching is needed and driven by a breakdown in social trust, a turning inward that breeds individualism and extremism. We have lost the language and action of mutual obligation. It is fair to say we have seen much more community cohesion in recent weeks but the prospect of being able to get back to normal lives has meant this is quickly dissipating again in favour of me and my rights. The society of the new millennium has lost social solidarity, people have been marginalised, left alone, lumped into groups, we have a crisis of alienation, a collapse of trust, a crisis of purpose and the results of this are huge increases in suicide rates, depression, addiction and mental health issues. Being social is central to human nature, we need to interact with each other because when people are ostracised it places increased pressure on individuals to cope alone. The church has always and still has the potential to overcome the divides in our society, the polarisation that exists, by looking for and acting for the common good of all. This means that we put aside self to pick up others and work with them and for them together for mutual flourishing. It means we must take responsibility, take our part across societal differences of all types. The encounters between all human beings are special, sacred and are blessed and we need to recognise that. Each person is made in the image of God and flourishes within relationship. We are God’s representatives on earth and must work together for the common good and mutual flourishing of all.
2nd June 2020
John 17:1 Jesus looked to His Father in Heaven and prayed.
How is your prayer life going? We have more time to pray than ever, but it probably isn’t our priority. We all wrestle with prayer, it both delights and challenges us. Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of Ravensbruck Concentration camp, suggested Prayer needs to be our steering wheel and not our spare tyre. Prayer lies at the heart of our relationship with God, it is how we communicate whether through silence, words, art, music, poetry and so on. The Lord’s Prayer was given to us as an example and like any good meal it has various ingredients to make prayer helpful and inspiring. Within prayer the tendency is to have a shopping list of requests and although that is an important part of prayer it is not the whole story. Prayer should offer us the space to search for God, to seek and find Him, to listen, learn and be encouraged. The story of sisters Mary and Martha illustrates the differing attitudes we can have, either being fraught, rushing around, not really spending time or Mary who just sits with her Lord and takes time to just be. Unchecked endless activity leaves no space for listening, hearing, communing, and growing with our Lord. As part of prayer we need to remind ourselves of the goodness of God, of all He has done and praise Him for that. This praise will lead to thanks for all the blessings we have been given. We also need to be aware of our short comings, of how what we have said and done has hurt others and ourselves. We are all in need of forgiveness from God, to admit our faults, clear the debris from our lives and minds. We do need to think of our world, of interceding on people’s behalf and it is okay to use a list. God does want people to be loved, healed, cared for and blessed so we can pray with hope and again be reminded of what God has done before and will do again. We may not have all the answers, we may never know of God’s answers in people’s lives that we pray for, but we are assured that He will hear and deal with our needs and requests. Where we have seen answered prayer we must thank God for it and as we end our prayers we have the opportunity to praise God once again, to encompass our time with God with worship and praise, with recognition of exactly who it is we are praying to. In this pattern of prayer, regularly, as well as at any time and in any place, prayer becomes our steering wheel, it guides us, moves us forward, it is key to our life and not our spare wheel that we only resort to when all else fails.
1st June 2020
Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His love endures forever.
Our experience of love can be fleeting or enduring or somewhere in between. If we have the blessing of older living parents and long happy marriages then we understand, in part, enduring love. Love that keeps going through the good and bad, that keeps going through growing families, illness, growing up and old. A love that does not give up! Even this experience Is only a shadow of the love spoken of here in Psalm 136. This is love that is from everlasting to everlasting. A love from before we were born to beyond our physical death and everywhere in between. This love is unconditional and available to all but must be recognised and accepted. Many of us will have experienced that love from afar, that unrequited love that is never recognised by the other person. With God love is offered to all through Jesus Christ but is often unrequited by the world it is offered to. At Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, God’s active presence on Earth. This Spirit offers to us and through us the unconditional love of God to all. This Spirit of Father and Son, is anchored in eternity, knows each and every human being by name and has witnessed all the world has ever experienced of pain, war, suffering, destruction and pandemic. This spirit has interceded for us when we could not pray any more, has worked in our lives in the good times and the bad times and at all times has offered unconditional love, the love of God that endures for ever. It is this unconditional, enduring love that keeps us going through these difficult times, that encourages us to not just keep going but to share this love with others through service, through helping one another. Enduring love is selfless, serving, and unconditional. We have it at our disposal through our relationship with God, through the example of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit working within us. This Love, His Love, endures forever.
31st May 2020
Romans 10:11 Those who believe in Him will not be put to shame.
The word shame is not one we use much these days. I grew up with phrases like shame on you and you should be ashamed of yourself. Whilst I believe that shame was used excessively in the past, and often for the wrong reasons, I also believe we have lost the concept of shame. Putting someone to shame in the past meant publicly revealing something they had done and chastising them in public. Of course, once something is made public it cannot be undone, therefore shame has been used to deliberately discredit someone by making public things that may not necessarily be true. Shame has been particularly applied unfairly to women because they are the ones left with the physical aspects once they have been part of something. There is also the fact that all laws and judiciary have been male dominated. I am also saddened to say that a male dominated church used shame far too much in its past, to rewrite the narrative to suit it's practices. Shame was used as a powerful weapon for a very long time so when it was declared that those who believe in God will not be put to shame it offers a lifeline, a declaration that no one can chastise us, find us guilty or humiliate us any longer before God. Yes, we can still be shamed by our actions, our words, by what others accuse us of but before God, the great redeemer and judge we will not be put to shame. The feeling of shame we may have about something can actually be a good thing. Feeling ashamed means, we recognise wrong in our lives and that we need to change. Those who do not feel shame, who believe so totally in their own judgement are dangerous and never learn right from wrong. We need shame, not for it to be publicly used against us but for us to recognise when we are wrong and to learn from our mistakes. If the word is used much today it is when we talk about something being a shame when it goes wrong or does not work out. That is probably the best public use of the word today.
30th May 2020
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
I wonder how you would describe yourself? It is rare that someone is described as heartless, but the Bible does talk about hearts of stone. Now we know the heart is a physically functioning organ and not something that dictates feelings and reactions and yet throughout history the heart has been given this identity. It is used as a marker of love, as a determiner of emotions and as what makes us tick, both literally, as in heartbeat, and emotionally. We talk of using our head not our heart or visa versa. So, when the Bible speaks of hearts of stone, what is it driving at? We cannot survive if our hearts are literally made of stone. Our heart is used to summarise our attitude to God and to others. A heart of stone refuses to listen to any other opinion but its own, it refuses to operate in any way that will benefit anyone else and allows only that which benefits self. A heart of stone is a selfish one, a careless one, an arrogant one and is cold to any need or hurt in others. Ezekiel speaks of turning that heart of stone to one of flesh, in other words making the heart desire to help, to care, to worship God, to speak out for the vulnerable, to challenge poverty and injustice, in other words to do all the things God requires of us as Human beings. Notice that God speaks of a new heart and a new spirit, the coming of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost sets a flame in our hearts that removes the stone and releases the flesh. As hardened hearts are softened and eyes opened, we can begin to see that we are beings who were created for community, for interaction and as such we care for those among us who are in need. If all we ever do is look after number one then we are hard hearted and selfish and sadly those in our community suffer even more and are disregarded because they do not increase the value , power and personal impact of the selfish and hard hearted. I for one do not want to live with a heart of stone and I encourage you to allow God to soften your heart in everything, that each of us may live for the benefit of all rather than just ourselves.
29th May 2020
Ezekiel 34:16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.
Most of us live in towns and cities or very near to them. For some, in our world, they live in mountain areas, in places where the weather can turn quickly, and a simple trip can become dangerous very quickly. In Ezekiel 34 God is using the Shepherd imagery we see in the Old Testament, the idea that He is constantly caring for His flock. Within a mountainous area sheep will wander to the nicest grass they can find, even if that is right on the edge or down a few rocks. They are hardy creatures but easily get themselves in a pickle. The role of a shepherd is to care for them, when they wander the shepherd will look for them, find them and bring them back. If they are hurt the shepherd will bind the wound and care for them, restoring them to health. When they are vulnerable and weak the shepherd will carry them, nurture them until they regain their strength. This image describes clearly what God does for us. We are very good, as humans, at getting in a pickle, wandering off into difficult, even dangerous, situations but God will always come looking for us, even when it is our own fault. BUT we do need to admit we need help, otherwise He cannot rescue us. At the times of our most vulnerable, when we are sick, injured, bereaved, hurt, in pain and suffering He will pick us up, carry us and make sure we receive what we need to become strong again, to restore our soul, but once more we need to be willing to let Him. A sheep allows the Shepherd to rescue them, pick them up because they realise that they are in need and the Shepherd is their only hope. We like to think we can always get ourselves out of trouble, we don’t like to admit our vulnerability and so we can often wander much further away, even with God right there, because we just will not admit our need of help. God promises, not just here in Ezekiel, but time and time again that He will care for us, but we need to be willing to accept that care. God thinks no less of us for admitting we need His help. Whatever journey you are on, wherever you are ask for His help, He is right there waiting but you need to ask and tell Him you are willing to receive His help, His love and His care.
28th May 2020
Luke 5:13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”
The Street Lawyer is a book by John Grisham. It tells the story of a well to do lawyer who one day finds himself in a lift with a homeless person. The lawyer is incensed because the man smells and is so unkempt that he finds him disgusting to look at. The lawyer wants him out of the building as soon as possible. He doesn’t pay his taxes to experience this horror in his city, he has no time for homeless people. As the story unfolds, the lawyer undergoes a transformation. He leaves behind a promising career to become a street lawyer who spends his time and effort working with the poor and homeless. Without realising it, the lawyer begins to imitate the actions and works of Jesus, who spent time with the outcasts of his community. In the above verse Jesus reaches out to touch a leper. This was unheard of. A leper was unclean and was not allowed to live with his family or in society. The disease was considered a punishment for evil and contagious. The leper was homeless, in rags and cast out from the city. To touch a leper was to become unclean yourself. If Jesus touches this man, He is going against all the rules and understandings of the time, that is to say, some people are just worthless. But that’s exactly why Jesus came, to reach out to people who were branded untouchable. We are called to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus. That means we would do well to look around us and reach out to people who are cast out or homeless. We may not be out and about that much right now, and for a while during the pandemic homeless people have been given rooms and food but that is changing back quickly. People are back on our streets and we have the choice of walking past on the other side or doing something. We could think about spending some time in a homeless shelter when volunteers are needed again. We can always offer monetary help to organisations like Crisis or The Salvation Army. We have our own homeless shelter in Bromley during the winter, can we offer any help there? Whatever we decide we can do we are called to follow our Lord’s example and reach out to the homeless and outcasts of our society.
27th May 2020
1 Corinthians 11:28 Let us examine ourselves before God.
Looking at yourself, your behaviour, needs honesty. Currently the view is to never admit you are wrong or sorry. To justify everything you do and never apologise or say you made a mistake because if you do you make yourself vulnerable and you can be dismissed as weak and of no use. We have managed to associate strength and success with being able to lie successfully and bend the truth to suit our own needs. People are told to look in the mirror and see their faults, unfortunately when they look in the mirror, they see themselves, their successes, their lifestyle. It is but arrogance that is reinforced. Because we are created in the image of God , generally the human disposition is to do the best for everyone, to be altruistic, but if everyone around you, behaves selfishly and with blatant arrogance, without thought for anyone but self, then you see no need to change, behaviour is reinforced and seen as acceptable, even normal, therefore no change is necessary. If all around you lie then why would you not, if all around you abuse others then why would you not, if all around you see illness as weakness then why would you not. Even though we have been taught right from wrong the right you become accustomed to allows you to justify your behaviour and never to examine yourself or feel the need to change. The challenge to examine our self is to make sure we never allow ourselves to become totally self-reliant or conceited, to realise we only grow, improve, and learn from mistakes. No human being can ever get it completely right. We must always act for the best and safest outcome for everyone. We cannot just look out for ourselves and we must allow our mistakes to be seen, acknowledged, and learnt from. The ability to admit when we are wrong and to apologise is what makes us honest, truthful and genuine children of God. If there is anything we have done or said that has caused another to be hurt or humiliated, then we must apologise and seek to put it right. Every day we need to examine ourselves and make sure we have been Christians of integrity, honesty and truth in everything we do. When our examination shows us to be wrong, to have caused harm, to have caused upset, then we must take the necessary steps to apologise, make things right and make the changes needed in our lives so it does not happen again.
26th May 2020
Hebrews 12:1 Since we have such a great crowd of witnesses let us strip away anything that slows us down or holds us back.
As this strange situation continues and the daily pattern of life has changed, I have good days and bad days and that must be the case for us all. When things appear to be dark and bad, we need to focus on the positive, on what is good around us, what we can celebrate. The simple question to enable this is what am I thankful for today? It can help lift us. As we answer that question and begin to think of what is good, what we have in our lives, what we have been blessed with, our spirit begins to lift. It is what my parents would call counting your blessings. As a child I would sing that very Song, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” If we think back over time, we have met hundreds of friends, witnesses, people who have inspired us with their kind comments and personal stories. The Bible calls these “a great cloud of witnesses”, heroes of faith, who encourage us with their examples. None of them were perfect, they all had bad days too, but they serve as a reminder of God’s rich blessings which are also available to us. We are also blessed by many “living saints” in our local churches, extended families, and circles of friends, people who encourage us, teach us, pray for us that we might continue serving God the best we can. As well as people our lives are full of daily blessings, we have so much and although it is unusual to spend so much time at home that in itself is a blessing, to be surrounded by our family, pets, belongings, music, games, pictures, books, flowers, plants…… we have so much it is easy to take it and others for granted. I return to that lovely old hymn…”When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done” As you pray today thank God for the heroes of faith around you, the cloud of witnesses He has given you, thank Him for all that you have and are, thank Him for the opportunities He gives you daily and thank Him that as you count these blessings you are encouraged and blessed and your spirit lifts within you and you become a blessing to others.
25th May 2020
John 21:6 Then he said, cast your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find some fish!
I wonder what your diary or calendar looks like now? Pages that would have been full are now empty or have cancelled written through them. The plans we made and put on our calendars have gone, life has changed, and we feel disappointed, we are waiting, wondering when we might begin to book things again. Some of us are patient to varying degrees, some of us are struggling, some of us are beginning to lose hope, but most of us are still doing the best we can to keep others, our families and ourselves safe. We have listened to the government advice and done what we have been told to do for the good of everyone. We have all done what we can and there are some things that only we can do for others, for ourselves and for our faith. However small the action, the words, the sentiment, we do what we need to do, what only we can do, to get through this. The Disciples were in this position after Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, they were lost, disappointed, waiting and wondering and so they did what they could do. They went fishing, their trade, they put themselves out there even in uncertainty. In the middle of doing this the voice calls and says try the other side and the miracle happens. The fish are caught, the prayers answered, lives changed, the door opened. We need to listen for that voice, the voice of Jesus, and do what only we can do. We, like them, are waiting, we are trusting, we are longing. We need to be daily casting our nets on whatever side of the boat we think is right, we need to listen for Jesus voice. We don’t stand idly by waiting for God to call, for things to change, for life to restart. We do what only we can do and we do it in God’s strength. And as we see things change, prayers answered, miracles happen, fish caught, perhaps we can fill the diary up with these things to encourage us and others now and in the future.
24th May 2020
1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words given by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit given words.
People often tell me they are worried about what they might say if asked about Jesus, or being a Christian, or about something in the Bible. They worry that they will not have the answers or might say the wrong thing. Paul encourages us in several places to speak out because it is the Spirit who will give us the right things to say. Wisdom is often personified in the female gender because it is something to be desired, to be sort and found, to work for, to treat with respect and as such something everyone of us should look to obtain. To be wise is often associated with age and experience, with education, with the ability to judge reactions and situations considering all the possible outcomes. As Christians we may feel too young, inexperienced, lacking Bible knowledge or theological understanding and so worry we may do more harm than good in a situation. The great news is that we are promised God’s wisdom through the Holy Spirit. As we pray, we begin to develop the relationship between us and God. We need to take time, pause, and listen. We never have to rush into an answer, we speak out of what we have experienced, what we feel and know in our hearts and that comes from the Spirit of God living within us. It is not that we want to be known as wise, but that we speak from an honesty and integrity that makes people want to listen. If we are unsure of something wisdom would suggest we say, “I don’t know but I can find out.” If questions seem aggressive or angry then wisdom would suggest we speak peace and gentleness. The Spirit will prompt, guide, act within us but we must be in touch with the Spirit. We must get to know our God, read His word, learn His ways and as we do the Spirit works within us to provide the answers and actions we need in every situation. As Paul says My God will supply all your needs, God will never let us down.
23rd May 2020
2 Kings 20:11 Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow of the Sun back ten steps.
I tend to find that Christians don’t really believe in miracles in the present day. Before the scientific understanding we now have, many things we would have said were miracles can now be explained in someway or another. I would argue that doesn’t mean they are not miraculous. There is an anecdotal story that Nasa cannot explain some missing time in history, the only explanation that seems to fit is the story in 2 Kings 20 where King Hezekiah asks for proof from God and is offered the movement of the sun in the sky, Hezekiah believes that moving time backwards is a lot harder than forwards and so God moves the Sun and thus time backwards. The amount of time here fits with the amount of time Nasa cannot explain. It is a miracle, one we cannot explain even today with all our science and understanding. I want to suggest that we are witness to daily miracles that we don’t even recognise, the miracle of a cut healing and disappearing after a few days or weeks, the miracle healing of broken bones after several weeks, the miracle of antibiotics to cure diseases, the miracle of nature producing food season upon season…..the list is endless and can often be justified by science but science cannot explain how we were created with this natural healing ability. We take these things for granted instead of seeing them for what they are, God given blessings or miracles that allow us to live well. Yes, we would all like to see what we call a big supernatural miracle of the Sun going backwards but we only need to look at the miracles Jesus performed and the way many people with no knowledge or understanding just wrote them off as unreal or even against their laws. Miracles are still happening, the daily ones and occasionally the really big ones, we have the choice to either believe in God and His miracles or just ignore them and chalk them up to something else because we do not want our beliefs and practices to be challenged or changed.
22nd May 2020
Psalm 8: 5/6 You have made humans a little lower than the angels the crown of all creation. You made them stewards over your creation.
I have referred to this current situation as like being in a holding pattern and like a pause. I am now discovering that this time during the virus has begun to be called the Great Pause. We have, by remaining in our homes, caused some amazing things to happen, pollution has fallen, so many less cars on the road and planes in the sky, people can work from home, the rat race has calmed, families have spent time together, people’s social conscience has been heightened. Within God’s creation we are the only ones, as humans, who can choose to stop doing things, who can choose to do something different. The bird flies, nests, feeds but cannot collect pollen and make honey like the bee. The lion will sleep and hunt and feed but won’t stop during a chase and think I will let the gazelle go this time. Animals live on instincts, to feed, to mate, to survive. We have been created with so much more, we can choose to do something or not do it. We can choose to help others or not, we can choose to challenge injustice or not. By choosing, in the main, to obey Lockdown, to remain in our homes we have helped to slow the spread of the virus and give our world time to breathe, time to reenergise. Life offers us choices every day and it is our God given mental capacity to weigh things up, to make choices that makes us the crown of God’s creation. But with that role comes an even greater responsibility. We are God’s created stewards of our world, what we choose to do effects the lives of others, the vulnerable, the elderly and the disabled, all creation and the animals. Our current pause has improved our environment for everyone, we have a choice if we allow that to continue or just let things go back to how they were without learning lessons and making different and better choices for our God given world.
21st May 2020
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
Change is a word that can inspire hope but also fear. Particularly as we age, we tend to fear change because we are secure with what we know. For some change is the answer to everything and they easily throw the baby out with the bath water. I grew up with the adage if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. We need some constancy, some reliability in our lives, in our world so we can live safely and well. Of course, our world changes and we move on, life is able to change for the better with technology, in health matters, living conditions etc but we also see some change which is not as good for us, living to work rather than working to live is a prime example. Jesus is a constant in the midst of change. His love for us has always been and does not stop because of any reasons. Amid change we have a constancy, we have our Lord, our Saviour whose love is unconditional. Our human nature means that we are not perfect, we can be cruel, unpleasant, rude and dishonest but we always have a choice. Jesus love for us, His care for us means that as we recognise our faults and admit to them, we are forgiven, we can start again, we can change for the better. The changeless love of Christ means we have the opportunity to change our lives and also the lives of others for the better. Paul wrote his letter to the Hebrews to encourage them, to keep them faithful in the difficult times around them, this letter also encourages us today, reminds us of Jesus perpetual and unconditional love that is our constant in a changing world.
20th May 2020
Colossians 1:16: For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
We often refer to humans being made in the image of God as Genesis tells us. It also says God created the whole of creation and values it as divine and special. In other words everything is the “child of God”, there are no exceptions. All created beings must, in some way, carry the divine DNA of their Creator. We have lost a sense of the intrinsic sacredness of the world in every tiny bit of life and death. As humans we struggle to see God in our own reality, let alone to respect our whole created world, protect it, or love it. The consequences of this are all around us, in the way we have exploited and damaged our fellow human beings, the beautiful animals, all growing things, the land, the waters, and the very air we breathe. It took until the twenty-first century for Pope Francis’ to say “May it not be too late and may the unnecessary gap between practical seeing (science) and holistic seeing (religion) be fully overcome. They still need each other.” Those who follow the Franciscan lifestyle have an incarnational worldview, which is the recognition of the presence of the divine in everything and everyone. It is the key to mental and spiritual health, as well as to a kind of basic contentment and happiness. Franciscans mean we can speak with one consistent and true voice about a rock, a tree, an animal, a human, an angel, and God! It is often said “God is Being itself.” This removes any distinction between the sacred and the profane, God created everything, God is in everything, nothing was made without Him. We are all God’s children and as such we must treat each other and all God’s creation with complete respect and love. We need to see God in everyone and everything, every day and that will really change our world for the better.
19th May 2020
Hebrews 11:10 For Abraham was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham is a Bible character we all know about, one of the patriarchs, someone whose name was changed to reflect His change of loyalty and belief to God. He was a city man, as far you could be then, so leaving Ur was a real step of faith because he was promised a place in a bigger, better city, a city he could only see by faith. The same eternal city we are promised. He followed God and was prepared to live a nomadic life to work toward God’s promise. But Abraham was human, he kept making errors, he bargained with God, he lied to keep himself safe putting his wife in danger but even so, even in his imperfection he had a strong and blessed relationship with God. His relationship with God was one of friendship, friendship brings out the best in someone and offers help and encouragement where it is needed. Abraham and Sarah were given a miracle, a son, even in their old age. They called him Isaac which means laughter and joy. Abraham had been promised that he would be father of a nation, he took matters into his own hands and tried to second guess God and made problems for himself, but he learns to trust and believes that God will honour His promise and when his faith is tested Abraham is not found wanting, even being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. God does not let Him down. God is our friend, He will honour the promises made to us, we can challenge Him, we can ask Him for help, we will make mistakes and mess up and we will always be offered forgiveness. We can trust in His promises to us, His ultimate promise of eternal life, and we can walk day by day with our friend God by our side and know we never walk alone.
18th May 2020
Leviticus 11:44 I am the Lord your God, consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
We tend not to think of ourselves as holy, in fact in today’s society it is used more as an insult by calling someone holier than thou. Being holy actually means being different, being set apart. We set things apart in our daily lives, when we wash our clothes, we set them apart by whites and colours. On our plate we set apart our vegetables from our meat. In the kitchen we set apart our refrigerated things from our frozen items, from our tins and packets and we set apart our cleaning products keeping them safely away from little hands and foodstuffs. To be holy means to be “set apart.” We are called to separate ourselves from immorality, dishonesty, lies and impurity, to be set apart from sin, even as we live in a world weighed down by sin. By calling His people to be holy, God called them to be a shining light of His blessing to all nations. But we know the story of the Old Testament, Israel continually failed to be the holy nation God called them to be. God never gave up, that is why the prophets kept calling them back to living God’s way, by loving God with all their heart, mind, and strength and by loving their neighbours as themselves. God never gives up on us either. This calling to be set apart is also our calling as prophets in the world today. We are all called back to living for God and showing His love, just as Jesus did. The world, as it continues, needs to be shaped by Christians who push back the darkness and reclaim this lost world for Christ. Sometimes it is a frightening thing to be a prophet. It can also be exciting and fulfilling. The world needs more prophets. You and I are prophets. We are called to be holy, to be set apart, to confess the name of Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We are called to love God with our whole being and to share His love with everyone.
17th May 2020
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge, piety and the fear of the LORD
Much of what we talk about as Gifts of the Spirit we take from the New Testament but Isaiah gave a clear list of Gifts which would be a sign of the Messiah to come and of any person who serves God. These gifts are things we should all strive to have in our lives. Wisdom and Fear of The Lord, often placed together, an awe and wonder that places the creative, mysterious and delight of God into our lives, to see God in everything and as such ask ourselves what would God do in any given situation. How can I act or speak effectively for God at any given time. Wisdom is of the heart. Understanding follows from this, it is of the mind, looking for truth, understanding Scripture and why we do what we do. Counsel is listening to all parts of ourselves, the bigger picture, not allowing fear to affect our reactions, the Spirit of truth is our advocate to who we refer, a supernatural intuition if you will. Fortitude/Might, often linked to courage, enables us to judge promptly and rightly in difficult situations and gives us the strength to continue in long term difficult situations and not give up. Knowledge means the drawing out, leading and bringing up of humans so they can flourish and grow. It is educating ourselves and others in the best and safe ways of living as best for all and seeing things from God’s perspective. Piety is the giving of service, respect, reverence to others. We respect and honour God as we should, it recognises we are God’s creation, not an outward show as often misinterpreted, but a religious spirit of love, care and compassion for all people and all God’s creation. These gifts sit very much together and are gifts we should all strive for and live with as people of God. If these gifts are present, and we are given the Holy Spirit to enable these gifts to be present in us, then we will be people of God, clear witnesses and signposts to the God of all creation, people who when seen and heard point clearly and directly to God.
16th May 2020
John 11:35 Jesus Wept.
This is the shortest verse In the Bible but one of the most important. If Jesus cries, then it is not only okay for us to cry, it is actually encouraged. This verse clearly shows the humanity of Jesus, that He is both fully human and fully God. We are created beings, created by a loving caring God and as such we are created with emotions, with the ability to love, care, cry, laugh, shout, scream, grieve, celebrate……..we are created with emotions because they are important. We are not robots; we are not supposed to just deal with every situation without feeling or emotion. Jesus had just been told that His friend had died, He was challenged that had He been there His friend would not have died, such belief in Him, and He wept. It hurts deeply when we lose someone, it is like losing a part of ourselves because we are very much made up of all the people around us and they impact they have on our lives. Emotion allows us to release the hurt, to allow ourselves to boil over and so readjust the temperature inside, to release the pressure that builds and so begin to find a way to move on, adjust and accommodate a new normal. We never get over loss we only learn to live with it. Jesus felt the pressure of grief, the pressure of being responsible, of being late, of needing to comfort others while feeling lost Himself. He knows exactly how we feel when we hurt when we grieve. He fully understands the emotional roller coaster we ride, and He rides it alongside us. When we weep, He weeps with us, when we grieve, He grieves with us, when we question our role, He knows exactly how that feels and stands alongside us, supporting us. Only someone who fully understands our human nature could fully release us from the prison of sin and only someone who fully experiences emotions can stand alongside side us and enable us to go on.
15th May 2020
Proverbs 16:16 How much better to obtain wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!
As things begin to unlock people are very aware of dangers and of returning to “normal”. Already the blame game has begun, people who speak out, who challenge the status quo are written off , even threatened and ignored because the return to the “norm” of the rich getting richer and the poor getting even poorer is more important. We are already aware that the poor, the elderly, and those from ethnic minorities are more at risk and yet these concerns are bring ignored in favour of restarting the economy. It is not new, all through history the same has happened, BUT we are only protected as we are, have the freedoms we have and the rights to protection and safety because of those who have stood up and been counted. Our children receive education because the church realised that education gave children the way to escape poverty and to have a better life. Our treatment of the poor and ethnic minorities changed because Christians stood up in parliament and challenged work practices, fair wages, limited and safe working hours. Because we believe in fairness and justice for all we must stand up for what is right. It is easy to criticise those who make a stand, to decry their efforts as stopping progress but we forget that the progress we have made is fairer and safer because questions were asked, and challenges made. All of us must not allow our enthusiasm for getting back to “normal” to put the elderly, the vulnerable, the poor or the minorities at any more risk than everyone else. Before God we have a duty to our neighbours, to every person who as children of God are all equal, to be just and fair and not be guided by money and self interest alone in the decisions we are making.
14th May 2020
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
I have been to the bank this morning; I checked online the current opening hours and structured my visit accordingly. When I arrived a tiny paper notice on the door told me it wasn’t actually opening at the times on the website and that it actually was only there to pay in or out through machines. A real lack of communication and provision. When I finally got into the bank, I witnessed an old lady who needed help being told to go up to London if she wanted any other type of help. I found the attitude very uncaring and it took a machine 15 minutes and several attempts to take my money to pay in, the machine did not like the notes, they were not good enough to pass through. This whole experience made me feel that accessing what was mine was being discouraged and withheld. Current issues have given certain organisations the power to make us feel guilty for accessing services we pay for. In all this negativity I was encouraged by the fact that God never stops us from accessing Him. He does not put limits on forgiveness, on love, care, compassion…all are freely given in abundance and without having to queue. He does not look at what we want to deposit and turn it away as not good enough, He does not want us to feel guilty but be freely forgiven, He does not make us wait for assistance and does not tell us to go somewhere else when we need help. God’s riches are on tap to us without people on doors telling us if we can go into His presence or not, without someone withholding what God has given us by right and what He wants us to have every day. So let me encourage you to tap into God, take what He freely gives and know you always have access to Him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
13th May 2020
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
At this time a lot of people are grieving and mourning. People never expect death but through this pandemic many people have passed suddenly, and their families are left bereft and without any apparent reason. In life all seasons move on, we move on, not in a forgetful way but one that accommodates what has happened and learns to live a new normal. The softening of our hearts by love means that we will grieve and hurt when we lose those we love, grief is the price we play for loving someone. Dicken’s character Scrooge had hidden away from being hurt by loving money instead and had to lean to experience life and love again, to be thawed in his emotion. God has given us emotions for a reason, that we can love, laugh and celebrate but also cry, grieve and get cross. We need these emotions to deal with life, with love, with companionship. We are enabled to live better and good lives because we care, because we love, and out of that love we give unconditionally to our families and others. We can so easily forget the good when we experience the bad, we can be so lost in hurt and anger that the brightness of life and love can be lost for a short time until we feel the sunlight again, until spring begins to come and new life, our new normal begins to blossom. We all grieve because we love, notice I use the present tense, love does not stop because someone is physically gone. All that someone was to us, as part of our life, still remains within us. We are all, in part, who we are because of them and as such we carry them forever within us. We must be kind to ourselves when we are mourning, to remember the good times, the things that make us smile, to tell stories, to look at family pictures and treasure the love. Then slowly, very slowly we will accommodate our loss and begin to live with it in the new normal, physically without someone, but spiritually, emotionally and mentally they will always be with us.
12th May 2020
John 16:7 Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.
To be told that Jesus was leaving must have caused real upset and concern for the disciples, they must have wondered how His going away could be for their and our good. Jesus had often taught them that following Him could bring trouble and hardship so how could Him going away be good? This question may seem especially relevant today. Many Christians around the world face persecution and even death for following Jesus. And in places where persecution is not so obvious, following Jesus can still mean sacrifice. As Peter once said to Jesus, we have left everything to follow you. Currently we are struggling with a worldwide pandemic and faith is tested and understanding is difficult. When Jesus ascended to heaven, He was no longer physically present in the world with his followers, so what made His going away a good thing? Jesus’ words on the night before his death, addressed this concern. He said that his ascension would open the way for the Holy Spirit to come and live in them and bring power from God into their lives. Jesus’ followers would no longer need him to be physically present on earth, with all the limits that Jesus’ humanity levied. Now God the Father and Jesus the son would be fully part of our human life through God the Holy Spirit who would come and live within us. Because Jesus has returned to the Father, we feel God’s presence even more powerfully as the Spirit comes to live in us. This is sometimes hard to believe when we face the hardships of life. But it is God’s promise, for our good, that we are never alone, He is with us always through the Spirit who lives within.
11th May 2020
Joshua 14 :8b I, however, followed the Lord with all my heart.
In the Bible there are many characters who show us the way to be true to our faith, even in the midst of great difficulty. Caleb is one such character who never gives up. When the spies return from the promised land declaring the impossibility of God’s plan, Caleb stands firm in his faith and belief in what God has said. He keeps believing God’s promise throughout the wasted years of unbelief by his people. He steadfastly counted on God’s promise even though his own generation had kept complaining to God and even after God keeps caring for them, providing for them they keep turning their back. Even though Caleb knew God would give them the promised land, that things were ready, because of the negative accounts of his so-called friends Caleb was prevented from entering to God’s blessing. Caleb had to take his place within the Israelites through forty years of wilderness wandering, forty years of frustration and yet be different form them in spirit. Unbelief and impatience are very contagious across groups of people, so Caleb employed something we all need, to keep our heart and mind set on God. This enabled Caleb to keep going and made him a living link between the current generation who have lost their love of God and a new generation who will find God again and possess the inheritance God promised them all those years before. We all have naysayers around us, people who would drag our faith down by their negative views but we need to keep our hearts and minds on God, remind ourselves of His constant faithfulness and love to us and know that God will always be with us and bless us, that way we are able to stand firm in our faith and follow the Lord with all our hearts.
10th May 2020
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
We are often presented with history as a neat package with start dates and finish dates, we turn over the page in the book and a new era starts. These dates are actually just one day in peoples lives of struggle that started before the date and go on after it. We commemorate dates as part of our collective history but in that we can easily lose the bigger picture, forget those whose struggles continued, those who were key to an event but are now forgotten. As we move forward in our current pandemic there is a call for change, a call to honour and protect those who have been on our front line, those who vocation in life has meant they desire to help and care for the sick. Florence Nightingale, who was born 200 years ago this coming week, was someone who gave professional dignity to nurses and carers and as we call for change ,now, we must ask ourselves if we really want to change things or just go back to normal. In 6 months or a year will we still value key workers or simply place a date in the history books when we rejoice in winning the battle, but easily forget those who were on the front line, those who gave their lives. What happens next is in our hands, this can be a watershed moment in our time where we challenge the status quo and change things for the better. It won’t be instant, there are no quick fixes, but nothing we do for others is ever lost. God uses everything we do; He is our refuge and strength. We talk of winning a battle, of being victorious, true victory is a healing compassion that can never be extinguished! Every good we do matters. Let us look to God, His healing, His compassion, it has always been there, it is here now and it will continue over time and forever. Keep seeking to do good, to exact change, to challenge the status quo and know that God is with you and nothing you do is ever wasted.
9th May 2020
Luke 23:34: Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
Being a Christian, having a faith means I am always keen to visit churches and Cathedrals round the country and when we are abroad. I love the sense of History, “His Story” that we find in each one and the stories of human struggles to firstly build and then keep these places maintained, sacred and special. One of my favourite Cathedrals is Coventry. You have the old ruins bombed in WW2 and the new Cathedral with its beautiful tapestry and stained glass. For me two things stand out, the Cross of Nails; two big nails had fallen into the shape of a cross during the bombing, then secondly a Message of Forgiveness was written underneath a wooden cross in the ruins. From the brutality of a war time destruction came a sign of hope: A Cross of Nails. From the brutality of a Roman occupation came hope, held by nails to a wooden cross. From a battered ruined Cathedral came a Message of Forgiveness, from a battered ruined body came a message of forgiveness and new life for all. When we think of symbols of love we tend to think of hearts, flowers, rings and yet the most powerful signs of love are nails, a cross, forgiveness and a battered and bruised body that dies that we might live. If you ever get the chance to visit Coventry Cathedral go and see the glory of new and old standing side by side, see the Cross of Nails and the message of Forgiveness and recognise God’s complete and utter love for us.
8th May 2020
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his complete love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Today, May 8th, as well as being the 75th Anniversary of VE day is also the day the church remembers Julian of Norwich, 1342-c.1416. Known to most through her book, The Revelations of Divine Love, which is accepted as one of the great classics of living the spiritual life. She is believed to be the first woman to write a book in English which has survived and is still widely read and quoted. Julian took her name from St. Julian's Church in Norwich where she lived for most of her life as a spiritual counsellor. The people of Norwich suffered from famine, plague and poverty, so she was counselling a lot of people in terrible pain and yet, her counselling and writings are filled with hope and complete trust in God's goodness. Julian received insight into Christ sufferings and his love for us and so her message was, and remains, one of hope and trust in God, whose compassionate love is always given to us. In this all-gracious God there can be no element of anger. That anger or wrath, as it is often called, is all that is contrary to peace and love and so it is a problem that lies in us, who are not perfect, and not in a perfect God. The proof is in God’s saving work in Jesus and in the gift of God's Spirit, freely given to us. Julian did not perceive God as blaming or judging us, but as completely and entirely enfolding us in love.
7th May 2020
Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
I wonder how much bread you get through, a day, a week? We al know people who go to the supermarket late so as to pick up the dated bread cheaply because their family, children particularly, need packed lunches daily and have toast as a snack several times a day. Bread is a staple and central food in our lives. People are differently fussy about their bread. Some have to have fresh bread every day and will not eat day old or longer bread. There are also those who will not throw bread away, even if it is mouldy, they will cut the mould off rather than waste bread. There are some who only make their own bread because it is fresh, free from additives etc. My personal preference is when I buy bread it must be on the top of the bag because I cannot abide squashed bread. So, is our relationship with bread a reflection on life? There are those who get through as much life as they can, then there are those who always start fresh every day. There are those who hang on to everything, good and bad, and never really start afresh and those who think only their style of life is correct, free from additives etc. Perhaps what we need is a more mixed approach. Yes we must live life to the full, the Bible tells us that, we also need to start afresh every day and not be hampered by the past, we need to rid ourselves of the mould of life and we need to not pollute our lives with the distractions and additives of life. Just as bread is a staple food let us remember its lessons: life to the full, fresh starts, releasing the past and not polluting the present.
6th May 2020
John 18:37 Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
Jesus’ declaration here about truth is in line with everything he had taught and continued to teach. He stands before Pilate full of grace and truth. He is the bread of life; the living water; the way, the truth, and the life and the only way to know God the Father. As he stands before this Roman governor, Jesus offers Pilate the chance to experience the truth and enter into a relationship with Him and His father just like He offers to everyone and just like one of His disciples. But doing that, recognising and accepting Jesus, would be very costly for Pilate. If Pilate were to accept what Jesus has to say, he would have to make the truth more important than Rome, or political power, or wealth. If Pilate accepted Jesus’ claims and set Jesus free, he would be throwing away his credibility with the Jews, and his entire career. In this Gospel account John has been helping us to understand that all we possess on this earth, all our power, influence and wealth pales in comparison to the truth of Jesus. Who He is, what God has done through Him. The offer Jesus extends to everyone is the chance to experience life with God the way we are created to live it. Nothing is more important than that. Sadly, Pilate chooses to reject Jesus’ offer. What about us? What might we need to let go of in order to embrace the full truth of Jesus?
5th May 2020
Micah 6:8 What does the Lord require of us; to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God?
The current lockdown situation offers many opportunities for people to speak out against injustice. We are seeing a great outpouring of sympathy and support for care home staff and NHS staff fighting for people’s lives without the proper protection. We are seeing many speak out about domestic violence and homelessness. We are also seeing politicians and authorities being overzealous in their pursuit of their version of keeping people safe. There is very little willingness to admit mistakes and take responsibility, instead there is a declaration of fake news or questionable journalism against anyone who disagrees. The recognition of our being wrong, needing to change and being open to scrutiny is vital to a just and fair society. No one is ever completely right, and it is only by admitting mistakes and learning from them that we improve and change things for the better. Leadership is not, as we are currently often witnessing, telling people they are wrong, we are right, and you are disloyal if you disagree with us. If God the creator of the world is willing to allow us to formulate our opinions based on truth and honesty, then real leadership and leaders should be willing to allow us the freedom to do that as well. We do not all agree about everything, we can’t, we are individuals, but we have the ability to disagree, to discuss, to be transparent and open with each other and so come to the best way forward, to the way that promotes justice, mercy and humility for all.
4th May 2020
John 4:7 As the woman drew water from the well, Jesus asked her for a drink.
If you are like me you will be thinking about what you have been doing with your time whilst in lockdown. I have been trying to do more prayer, but actually come to recognise what prayer I have always been doing. One area I do a lot of is practice hospitality, but how do we practice hospitality when we can’t open our homes or visit others? We are all guests in God’s creation, as stewards the world is on loan to us, it is God’s hospitality to us; his created image. We are called to make ourselves feel at home in God’s world and make others feel at home here too. We have a place in this world and all we have and are is sacred. We are called to take care of everything and share everything. Everything is worthy of our respect; everyone is worthy of our respect. All humans are of God, from God and are a gift from God and each have their own gifts to offer. If we treat every human being as in God’s image, with compassion, respect and love, just as God treats us, then we are practicing hospitality. When Jesus met the woman at the well, He allowed her to give Him hospitality before sharing God’s love with her. We cannot be good hosts until we are at home in ourselves because then we allow people to be at home in themselves. Being hospitable means making space for people to be themselves. Right now, this has to happen in a different way. Through shopping and errands delivered to doorsteps, by sharing meals with neighbours, by writing to people, phoning them, emailing them, sending messages of support and over mobile screens. Being hospitable is still happening and I would encourage you to keep allowing others to be themselves as you are yourself.
3rd May 2020
1 Peter 2:5 You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.
Our church buildings are currently closed, and we lament that, but ministry in our world still goes on because as Peter tells us we are living stones. The church is both people and buildings. The buildings and their surroundings carry people’s stories across time, they offer God in time, a very missional experience. Over years these building change because life has changed and although our message of love is constant, the way we offer that message changes with time. Our buildings are thin places of prayer, places where we learn to live in relation to God, to one another and to creation. Our buildings are a sign of hope within the community, a reminder of God’s presence in our world, a light in the darkness of the time. Christianity is worship, what we do outside our buildings is the test of that. We finish every service with a sending out, a challenge to go and get on with the work of God in God’s world. Our personal ministry, our part of being church is how we live and work within our community, our part of God’s world. When we meet together, we are encouraged, blessed and energised to go and be living stones in God’s world. Currently our meeting together is not in buildings but through emails, computers and phones, a change of the present time, BUT we are still church, as people of faith and as people of ministry who as we practice being living stones in our community point to God who loves this world and gave Himself for it.
2nd May 2020
Acts 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
We often talk about our church, as a community and a family. In school we often refer to it as a community and as part of certain subjects we discuss and think about what community is. Every time we think about it we come up with something different. It is such a wide-ranging topic. Community applies to everything that we are and that we do. When we play games together, we are building community. When we eat together, we are building community. When we study God’s Word, we are building community; each week as we worship together and learn to apply our faith, we are building community. When we serve and work with others in our neighbourhood, together we are building community. When we pray together, we are building community. The early church, described in Acts 2, is a great example of this building community. Whatever the early Christians did, they did it together and built community in the process. From the big things in life to the small things, they did them together and learned about who they were and who God is at the same time. From this early meeting as community came the church, bodies of people coming together as community making sure everyone had enough and was not in need. Community looked after each other. Being part of a community is vitally important. Humans are not good alone, we need each other. Community gives us the opportunity to be honest and vulnerable, to build others up as we are being built up. To discover our gifts and talents as we help others do the same. To learn from others as they learn from us and to see a larger picture of who God is in the world around us and in ourselves. At present Community is being practiced differently but it is still community and it is still and always will be God’s community in this place.
1st May 2020
2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted within you.
I have been wondering if we can learn any lessons from Celtic Christian spirituality. The ancient Celts made great use of their internal Spirituality. Do we realise that within each one of us is the heartbeat of the Sacred? Within us is the mark of the Creator who made us. We have the opportunity and we should honour that Sacredness in one another and in everything that God has created. As we realise that we are bearers of God’s Presence, as well as needing to honour that Presence in one another and in the earth, we realise we hold the key to transformation in our world. We have such a deep well to tap into, God’s well of creativity but we don’t. We must delve into the internal spirituality that God has given us, visions that emerge from deeper within us than our conscious rational minds. It will demand a fresh releasing within us of the world of God’s imagination, God’s Spirit, God’s creativity. We have the opportunity to open the well of what we do not yet know or what we have forgotten deep within. This deep well of spirituality is why, in so much Celtic storytelling and legends worlds come together, the convergence of the unseen world of those who have gone before us and this present time where the seen and the physical dominate. This is also why, in so much Eastern spiritual practice as well as in monastic communities in the Christian tradition, the early hours of dawn are viewed as the time of meditation, when night and day are in communion and so open up ways that more readily allow us to move from the known to the unknown and from the obvious to the deeper realm of God’s creation within us.
30th April 2020
Hebrews 10:25 Do not give up the habit of meeting together as some are doing.
With things as they are my thoughts have turned to church, what happens next? When we are able to meet together again things will be different and we will have to adapt our worship to the circumstances at the time. Being unable to meet together on a Sunday or weekday has, I believe, meant a much bigger appreciation of what we have, a recognition of what God has given us in our communities and buildings. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on what we have done in our churches over the years, have we been places of faith and love or have we allowed ourselves to make it an exercise in running church buildings or being a church officer. Has it become more about the role and the place than about our faith and God’s love. A difficult question for all of us is Why do we go to church? Why does church matter to us? These are difficult questions and the answer will be different for each one of us. Do we attend church for the culture, the acceptance, the tradition, our upbringing or is it because God calls us and we have a living relationship with Him. The church, and being part of it, enables us to live in the world as Christians. The change in us enables us to go and change others. The knowledge and experience we gain in church life and community allows us to share it with others in confidence. All services end with a sending out in to the world to share His love, we go because in our meeting together to worship we have been reenergised, blessed, encouraged and enabled to live as we are called.
29th April 2020
Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you live, make the most of every opportunity.
We tend to think that proclaiming the gospel and making it clear is achieved through speaking, preaching and telling, and although this is partially true we forget that our biggest proclamation of the gospel is found in our actions toward others. How we live each day really matters. Two important things are offered to us in this verse. Firstly, wisdom or discernment which we need to have and should use regarding our actions, our daily living toward others around us. What we do and what we say must be consistent every day and with everyone, in order to clearly present the love of Jesus. Secondly, we are to make the best use of our time, making the most of every opportunity. Every moment of our life is precious and important and should be lived in the service of our saviour. St. Paul, the author of this letter to the Colossians, was deeply aware of this, having been beaten, imprisoned, and shipwrecked over the course of his ministry. This perspective inspired Paul to confidently share His faith in Jesus through both words and actions and we should do the same. The truth of the gospel message is that time is short. Whether by accident, nature, or the return of Christ, each person could be face-to-face with God at any moment. Therefore we need not only set our own house in order, by daily living our faith, but give everyone we come into contact with the opportunity to set their own house in order and find their own belief in God. As Christians we are called to both speak and live our faith every day.
28th April 2020
Exodus 14:14 - The Lord is fighting for you; you need only to be still.
For much of my adult life I have lived in areas where the planes stack ready to land, it is called a holding pattern. I was trying to think of how to sum up how I feel at the moment and Holding Pattern is a great metaphor. The planes circle round and round in the sky waiting to land, busy going nowhere. That is how I think many of us feel right now, we are circling round and round waiting to land back into normal life, lockdown is like a holding pattern. As human beings we are no different from children in our expectation, we pray to God and expect an answer, now, immediately. When He does not seem to answer or does not answer in our expected and desired ways, we begin to say perhaps there is no God. This impatience explains the number of Christians, who daily seek for miracles and fast remedies to their solution. We are so used to an instant world we want instant answers. We forget that the Bible is filled with believers, who waited and held on in their holding pattern in spite of their problems; great people of faith such as Job, Abraham, Jeremiah, Daniel and so on. Even in their holding pattern, they hold on to their faith, even when it seemed pointless and even useless. Today, we are reminded that Christianity is nothing without patience, and learning to wait, even when it seems like God has maybe forgotten us, as we circle, waiting, it is an important part of our journey. We are encouraged to hold on time and again in the Bible, we are reminded constantly of God’s love for us and that He does not forget us, so, as we wait patiently in our holding pattern, let us continue to praise Him and know He circles with us, fighting for us and learn to be still as we wait.
27th April 2020
Luke 24: But we had hoped that He would be the one to redeem us.
The Emmaus road is about 7 miles long from Jerusalem to Emmaus. At Jesus time it was a well-worn path, a common journey but on this occasion one of immense sadness. Into this melee of emotions comes a stranger, we know it is Jesus, they don’t. In that time God is being revealed to them but they are unaware of it. God is right there in the everyday, but they can’t yet see it. They utter that phrase, but we had hoped………here is future not fulfilled, a tragedy of what has happened, an unfulfillment of what they had hoped would happen. For us we have that same feeling, we had hoped for Easter services in church, we had hoped for normal life, we had hoped for an Easter break in the sunshine, we had hoped for a spring we could revel in, without perhaps knowing it we had hoped for life as normal and we still are. What we have done and are doing every day is moving over the disappointment and despair. Often our problem with anything is we want to get to the good part, the celebration without all that goes before. We don’t like disappointment and despair; we want to move on to the good, to what is comfortable and normal. What we forget is that God is there too, God does not just exist at the times of celebration and Joy, He is there all of the time. He is in the despair, in the disappointment, in the pain and suffering, in the grief and the long journey we make in life. God is our constant companion in life, sometimes behind us, sometimes in front and mostly by our side, and yes sometimes He picks us up and carries us when we just can’t take another step. Whatever our hopes are, our hope in God is our strength. God will always be our companion whether we recognise it or not, we are never alone, He has always been there and always will be there. Our Hope is in the name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth. I will trust in Him.
26th April 2020
Matthew 16:15 But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Transitional space, between two places or things, is where we can begin to think and act in new ways, we have the opportunity to change as we move from one place or state to another. It is where we are betwixt and between, having left one room or stage of life but not yet entered the next. We usually enter this transitional space when our former way of being is challenged or changed, perhaps when we lose a job or a loved one, during illness, at the birth of a child, or a major relocation or right now during a pandemic. It is a time of grace but often does not feel like it. In these times, we are not certain or in control. This global pandemic we now face is an example of an immense, collective transitional space. The very vulnerability and openness of this transitional space allows room for something genuinely new to happen. We are empty and receptive, waiting for new words, it is where we are most teachable, often because we are most humbled. It finds us struggling with the hidden side of things and it calls our so-called normal way of life into question. It’s no surprise then that we generally avoid these times if we possibly can. Yet much of the work of deepening spirituality and human development happens in these places and we need to spend enough time there, long enough that we can learn something essential and new. Many spiritual giants like St. Francis, Julian of Norwich, and even Gandhi tried to live their entire lives in permanent transitional states, on the edge or periphery of the prevailing culture around them. This in-between place is free of misconceptions and false promises. It invites us to discover and live from broader perspectives and with much deeper seeing. It means we do not to live or perform according to our usual successful, normal patterns. We need to be quiet instead of talking, experience emptiness instead of fullness, anonymity instead of personality, and poverty instead of plenty. In these transitional places, we need to take time, to let these experiences wash over us, rebuild us and help us re-enter the changed world with freedom and new, creative approaches to life.
25th April 2020
John 20:29 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
As Jesus is preparing to go to Heaven and leave his followers to live faithfully, He wants to help them adapt. Jesus addresses the challenge of doubt and unbelief, Thomas was a realist; he knew that resurrections were not everyday events, he feared that his fellow disciples had got it wrong, had got misled in their grief. Thomas wanted evidence. He demanded proof. It is really easy to criticise Thomas for his doubts, especially with hindsight, but the truth is that many of us live with similar hesitations. After all, Jesus is no longer on earth for us to see and touch, but he was for Thomas. We cannot have the same experience as the first disciples who walked with Jesus before and after his resurrection. So, we need Jesus to help and prepare us for the challenges of scepticism and doubt in our own lives. What does Jesus say to these struggling followers and therefore to us? “Stop doubting and believe.” We may not have the opportunity to feel the wounds of the cross with our own hands. But we have the testimony of lives changed by the Lord’s power. We have the evidence of Saints and followers who have gone before and are around us now. We have the fellowship of other believers in the church and can be encouraged by their words and actions, their lives of faith. Through them, through the Bible and prayer we can watch for the glory of Christ to appear around us, joining in with Thomas’s beautiful confession: “My Lord and my God!” It is sometimes hard to believe. We live in an age of doubts and lies, and our human minds constantly demand proof as science has told them to, But we believe because so many who have gone before show us the way and we see Jesus at work every day in our lives and in the world and He gives us the faith we need and calls us blessed.
24th April 2020
Mark 4:26 This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
Jesus used pictures about farming in the time to describe the kingdom of God. It was a language and experience they would understand. In this parable the mystery and excitement of farming helps us see something important about the kingdom of God. Once seeds go into the ground, the farmer has no control over them. It may help to provide water and sunlight, but the farmer must simply wait for the seeds to sprout and grow. It is a relief and a thrill to see the first tiny shoots appear, the crop is coming. Sure, the farmer expects it because seeds usually grow when the conditions are good. Yet the farmer does not and cannot control all the conditions. When growth happens, just as it normally does, it’s still amazing every time. And when the time for harvesting finally comes, when all the conditions have been met regardless of the farmer’s lack of control, it brings the joy of the Harvest and relief at the provision of food from God’s hand. When we sow the seeds of the good news of God’s kingdom, we can trust they will grow in the right conditions. But, we don’t have any control over the conditions, just like the farmer, so we have to wait. What a thrill it is to see the first sprout of faith begin in a child, a friend, or even someone we have just met! Even if we did not plant the seed, it is a joy to watch it grow into abundance. We then have the joy of watching that growth bear fruit in them and they are ready to join in feeding others and spreading the seed of God’s Word for the process to start again just as with seedtime and harvest. All God asks of us is to sow the seeds and let Him do the rest.
23rd April 2020
John 1:12 To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
I wonder what size and type of family you grew up in. Mine was fairly small and we didn’t see much of cousins and relatives. Others of us will have grown up in large families and been used to spending time with relatives. Though most of us love our families, we know there can be times of making mistakes, hurting one another, and disagreeing with each other. When conflicts come, we should try to resolve them. As children that often-meant separate rooms until we had calmed down and the desire to play again far outweighed the all but forgotten argument. Sometimes we need wisdom to resolve an issue and it can help to be able to rely on the family of God, which can offer love and support as well. Even Jesus own family struggled at times, Jesus was attracting large crowds because of his teaching and healing. His family members had heard some reports, and they thought Jesus might be “out of his mind” because leaders said He was, though he wasn’t, of course. When they came looking for him, to try and embarrass Him into seclusion he asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He was not disrespecting his biological family here; he used this as a “teaching moment” for all his listeners, including us. He pointed out a much larger family, the family of God. Then he explained how to become part of this family: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus, God’s Son, invites all of us into his family. And to all who receive him and believe in his name, he gives “the right to become children of God.” We may not always get it right as family, but we will always have God’s family to turn to, to help us and support us. It is a blessing freely given by Father God.
22nd April 2020
Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
As Humans we are generally hospitable people. In some cultures when you enter a home you must be offered food and drink. There is a welsh tradition of everyone who enters your home is given Tea and cake or bread and butter. In some places poor families will take a loan to buy special chocolates for a visitor. Even in the old Testament those from other lands and cultures were to be treated with respect and shown hospitality. Behind all this lies the realisation that we never know exactly who we are welcoming in or helping. People have helped Kings, Princes and Nobles without knowing and the Bible reminds us that some have unknowingly entertained Angels in their hospitality. Abraham and his three visitors who he cared for and fed and brought blessing on his home and future family, Angels sent by God. There is Jesus teaching that whatever we do for one of these little ones we do for Him. As we are all created in God’s image, we are all to loved, cared for, fed and watered by each other. No one should be left without food or water, basic human needs, and therefore hospitality is a God given and God required blessing. Monasteries, particularly Benedictine ones, Abbeys and Churches practiced this throughout history, and our homes should also be places of hospitality. Right now, we may not be able to be so hospitable in our homes as we would like to be, but we can be hospitable with sharing food, money and time for others.
21st April 2020
Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’
I have always seen prayer as a conversation between us and God. We tell him about our needs, feelings, ask His help and thank Him for all He has done for us. But, a conversation is two way, we need to listen as well as speak. Prayer involves times of silence as well as talking. Prayer must never be thought of as difficult, we do not have to follow a formula, although it can help, we don’t have to say certain words. We will often follow patterns we learned in school or church and we have the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer to use if it helps. The beginning and end are just acknowledging who we are talking to and saying goodbye at the end, just as we would a friend. Talking to God can be any time, any place and about anything, but as with any friendship or relationship we need to get to know one another, the relationship deepens, and you establish an understanding. For this to happen prayer needs to be regular, daily, without ceasing according to St. Paul. Through prayer we learn to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and we learn that we also must love our neighbour as ourselves. Our relationship with God spreads outwards, we pray for others and we are prompted to act, to help others and to share each other’s burdens. Prayer is not just for the best or worst of times, it is for all times, in all places about everything. God is concerned about every part of all our lives, the little details as well as the big. Let me encourage you to pray regularly, to talk with God, to listen and to allow prayer to become the most natural thing we do.
20th April 2020
Luke 7:26 But what did you go out in the wilderness to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
John the Baptist was a real outdoors type, he lived in the desert and preached repentance. For him to be locked away in a fortress prison was the worst kind of suffering. He had spent years in the wilderness with God’s spirit resting upon him. He asked for neither riches or comfort just the privilege of serving God, of burning bright as God’s forerunner for Jesus. Suddenly he found himself in a living tomb with no evidence of God’s vindication. He had expressed his willingness to decrease while Jesus increased but he had never thought that it would work out the way it had. Finally, his fate lay upon a block, beheaded at the request of spoilt girl who wanted to impress her mother. His earthly life had no recompense for his faithful, sacrificial service, it came in his heavenly reward, eternity with God, with Jesus, rewarded as a true and faithful servant. We are currently being locked away, not in the same way as John, but still experiencing a suffering of this current time. We may not be able to see any evidence of God’s vindication at the moment, but He is still right here with us, giving us the strength we need to keep going, to keep serving as true and faithful servants whatever the circumstances around us.
19th April 2020
Genesis 2:7 God breathed the breath of life into the human and they became a living being.
Breathing is something we do naturally, unless we are unwell of course, God breathed life into us in the beginning. Ruach or Spirit is called the breath of God. Pranayama is the cleansing breath used in yoga and eastern religions. Breathing is calm and measured, controlled and gentle unless we are stressed or angered when it becomes short and laboured and sometimes snivelly and erratic. When we face anger, rebuke, insult, torment or temptation we need to breathe slowly, in a holy manner, the manner in which God breathed life into us. Breathing the breath of life in all situations allows us to remain calm, not to retaliate, not to get angry or annoyed. Breathing deeply, evenly, rhythmically, is a holy manner of breathing. The Bible uses terms for impatience as short, snatched breathing and patience as long, even breathing. The state of our spirit, our soul is partly determined by our breathing. If we practice breathing calmly, being measured and gentle then that is how we will be in our Spirit and our Soul. God breathed life into us, we can breathe life or death into the situations we are in. If we use and practice God’s breath we will always breathe life, calmness and peace into every situation.
18th April 2020
Psalm 150:6 Let all creation Praise the Lord.
For those of us with gardens we have been out in them a lot recently, appreciating the creation of the Lord around us. These things are often not appreciated by us in what we call normal life. They become the norm to us and no longer hold the awe, the joy that they should. My younger son went to the same primary school I did for a time and on one occasion I was at his sports day on the same field I had done PE and sports on 30 + years before. I sat on that grass wondering if it was the same grass and what it would have seen and been part of over those years. I had moved several times, got married, had a family, was heading toward ordination but this field was till there with new children playing on it, living their lives on it. All around us God’s marvellous creation lives on whether we notice it or not. The trees and shrubs in your garden, outside in your street have been a part of your life and the lives of those before you and those who will come after you. God’s creation is a constant in our ever-changing world. What we so easily take for granted is a gift from God to us and it sings out His love and care for us every day. This verse from a childhood hymn sums it up:
Every tree and every flower, every creature high or low,
Come and praise the King of Heaven by whatever name you know.
God above, man below, Holy is the name I know. (Copyright 1961 Galliard Ltd)
17th April 2020
Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Hope is the main motivation of life. As humans we often head towards despair because most of us cannot endure suffering for long without some sliver of hope or meaning. It is worth asking ourselves about where our hope lies. The writer and Retreat leader Cynthia Bourgeault makes a powerful distinction between what she calls ordinary hope, that is tied to outcome and an optimistic feeling, because we sense that things will get better in the future; and mystical hope that is a complete turnaround of our usual way of looking at things. In contrast to our usual notions of hope, mystical hope is not tied to a good outcome or to the future. This hope has a life of its own, without allusion to external circumstances and conditions. It also has something to do with presence, not a future good outcome, but an immediate experience of being held and cared for and this hope bears fruit within us; sensations of strength, joy, and satisfaction that well up. It is easy to understate and miss that hope is an abiding state of being. We can lose sight of the invitation and our responsibility, as stewards of God’s creation, to develop a conscious and permanent connection to this wellspring. We miss the call to become a vessel into which this divine energy can pour; a lamp through which it can shine. We ourselves are not the source of that hope; we do not create it. But the source dwells deeply within us and rises up abundantly. The good news is that this deeper hope does exist, and we can find it within. This journey to the wellsprings of hope is something that will change our innermost way of seeing. It is really a journey toward the centre, toward the innermost parts of our being where we meet and are met by God.
16th April 2020
Habakkuk 2:1 I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the LORD will tell me to say and what answer he will give to me.
Habakkuk was a minor prophet around 600 years before Jesus. He had a deep faith and whilst on his watchtower learned from God about faith, about believing in God and His care for humans in every situation. As the world around Habakkuk grew ever darker and harder, he kept on believing, his heart was at peace and even when everyone was in despair Habakkuk could offer a message of hope and speak of the time of rejoicing to come. He passed on this message and it became part of our Old Testament. The disciples and Jesus would have known his message, St. Paul would have known his message, early Christians would have known his message and would have seen the fruition of his prophecy. In that knowledge they would have gained strength to keep on believing even when times were hard, and darkness seemed to overcome them. Habakkuk found that faith in God gave him fulness of life, as have millions of Christians throughout history. Many have turned dark times into prayer, praise and song. People have defeated difficult times, have led others to be encouraged and strengthened and brought societies to better more caring times. We are currently in dark times, we are feeling lost, confused and at times without hope. The message of Habakkuk is a proven one of keeping the faith, believing that God is in control and that our hearts can rest peacefully in Him and move daily toward the light all the time passing on the message of hope we have in our God.
15th April 2020
Job 2:10 When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when trouble comes?
Sooner or later, we all ask the questions “What do we do with our pain? Why is there evil? Why is there suffering?” Job begs God for an answer to this mystery when his life is completely turned upside down and he can’t seem to get one. Job only begins to trust God again when he no longer feels ignored, when he knows that God is taking him seriously and that he is being heard. When Jesus later becomes the answer to these questions in his own passion, death, and resurrection, He, too, discovers what Job finally experienced: in the midst of suffering, God can be trusted. The world is still safe, still turning and even blessed. We are saved by being included in a universal conversation. We do not really need answers; we need to be taken seriously as part of the dialogue. But we usually only know this in hindsight after the suffering and the struggle is over. It cannot be known by us beforehand. Our knowledge of God is participatory. God cannot be intellectually “thought,” He is known only in the passion and pain of it all, when the issues affect and challenge us. In the gospels Jesus says he will give us only one sign, the sign of the prophet Jonah. Sooner or later, life is going to lead us, as it did Jesus, into the belly of the beast, into a situation that we can’t fix, can’t control, and can’t explain or understand. That’s where transformation most easily happens. That’s when we’re uniquely in the hands of God. Right now, it seems the whole world is in the belly of the beast together. BUT, and it’s a big BUT, we are all safely held in the loving hands of God, even if we do not yet fully realise it. Keep going and know God is right there with you.
14th April 2020
Isaiah 1:18 Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow.
I love the beach, particularly walking along it morning or evening. When our sons were younger we would try to get to the beach for holidays as often as we could. My youngest would often join walking the beach, picking up shells, cuttlefish even the odd star fish. On one such walk my son asked me about the waves and where all the holes and castles from the day had gone. We talked about the tides and after some contemplation he said “So twice a day God sends the tide to wash the beach clean.” Out of the mouths of children can come such wisdom. What a lesson for us. We need washing clean constantly from our wrong doings, rudeness, selfishness, attitudes etc. I was always taught to keep a short account with God, in other words confess and clean the slate regularly, what better than to do it twice a day, morning and evening, get ourselves washed whiter than snow by the tide of confession to our loving and forgiving God. Of course, we can pray at any time, in any place, we are told to pray without ceasing, to live our lives in an attitude of prayer. But our main business with God needs doing at key points of the day, the beginning and the end where we can deal with all the mess and rubbish we have accumulated. Just as God sends the tide twice a day to wash the beach so He will wash us when we come before Him and ask His forgiveness.
13th April 2020 Easter Monday
Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
The story of the Emmaus Road is intriguing. The walkers do not recognise Jesus, they are astonished that this man doesn’t know what has happened and they are amazed at His knowledge of Scripture and His teaching. Yet these followers are so taken by this man that they talk openly of their grief. If you a walker you will know that talking with someone always makes the journey easier and seem to take less time. That companionship, the chance to talk freely in God’s creation is a real blessing. Later in the story they realise that as the unknown Jesus spoke with them their hearts burned within them, there was something very special about this man. As all good people did at this time, they offered hospitality to a stranger, come and eat and stay until morning, it was the least they could do for someone who has been so good with them. It is in that moment as Jesus breaks bread that they see who He is. We can walk with Jesus, talk with Him but still not really know who He is. We all need that revelation moment when our eyes are opened and we see Jesus for who He really is, Son of God, Saviour, Lord, King, Messiah who has saved His people and died for me! That moment may have happened a long time ago for you or more recently, but we all need it and we all need to be reminded of it. That moment when we see Jesus for who He is and then want to tell everyone else. The walkers in our story promptly turn round and go back to Jerusalem to tell everyone, do we still have that excitement, that burning in our hearts that we want everyone to know? It is us who need our eyes opening, not God!
12th April 2020 Easter Sunday
Luke 24:2-3 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
There are many things we associate with Easter. The days are getting longer, buds and blossom appearing on the trees, clumps of daffodils, endless chocolate and special family meals; but it doesn’t feel like Easter this year because normal life is on hold. We are in lockdown, Churches are closed, there will be no gatherings, no big family picnics or Easter egg hunts. The things we expect, the usual family celebration, the norm, just cannot happen this time. It leaves us feeling empty, unfinished and a little lost when we would normally celebrate.
Yet perhaps we have a chance of understanding Easter in a new way. Seeing things we have not seen before. For the followers of Jesus, the start of the first Easter Sunday was not a special day. He was gone and their dreams, hopes and vision for the future had gone too. Jesus had died. So they, like us, that first Easter day had no gatherings for worship and the disciples were in lockdown in fear of losing their own lives. But after death was defeated, Jesus had risen, Mary and the disciples had seen Him, hope was reborn, and the Friday was rebadged Good Friday. That normal day of grief became a special day of celebration, of victory. For them things changed and they have for us to. It seems to me that is a pretty good reason for us to celebrate Easter this year. Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
11th April 2020 Holy Saturday
Psalm 30:8 Weeping may last for the night-time but Joy comes with the morning.
Today is an odd day, not the Friday of Jesus death or the Sunday of His resurrection, it is the bridge between the two. For the people of Jesus time it was a sabbath day and a day of mourning. They observed their religious duties with heavy hearts. They could not minister to His body until the sabbath was over. This was a day of pain, hurt, distress and many, many tears. Today there are many tears for lost ones, for those we love so dearly but will not see again on this earth because of a terrible disease let lose upon us. Tears of anger, tears of pain, tears of feeling useless, tears of discomfort…..tears and more tears because it is all we can do to let out the pain, hurt and distress in our souls and bodies. These tears, given by God for us to express our emotions and feelings will only last for the night time, for the dark times and eventually the Sun will rise again, or in the case of Easter, the Son will rise again and bring hope, bring comfort, bring peace and joy once again. Easter Saturday is a very painful day but still one of hope, still one of power. Whilst we are grieving He is working, defeating the power of death and Hell that even though we die in the human sense we will live forever with Him where there is no more pain, no more disease, no more tears or weeping.
10th April 2020 Good Friday
Mark 15:34 Jesus gave a loud cry, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
According to Marks Gospel, at 3.00 p.m., Jesus gave a loud cry, a scream of urgency, a cry for help: a prayer, in fact. The quotation comes from Psalm 22, and is the only statement uttered by Jesus on the cross that Mark records. It is a cry of utter isolation and there is something touching about the language. One of Jesus’ most characteristic habits was the use of the familiar Aramaic word Abba, meaning father, in His mother tongue. At this moment, though, Abba seems almost incomprehensibly distant. The people standing by mistake the words, thinking that He calls Elijah. Was it a cry of failure, or a cry of recognition? Traditional theology argues that this was the point of abandonment, when Jesus was suffering for all humankind, for you and me, but we should remember that it was a prayer, and prayer always implies the hope that someone, despite appearances, is listening. The quoted Psalm 22 ends with vindication and restoration as does our Easter story. Today may seem like an end, a time of deep sadness and grief and yet through the depths of despair there is still hope. In the context of God’s plan this is not the end!
9th April 2020
Luke 1:68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
For about 400 years, there had appeared to be no direct word from the Lord. Had God forgotten his people? Was God just not there anymore? No! In the temple one day, a word from God came to a priest, Zechariah. His name means “God remembers.” Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were devoted followers of God. They were old and childless, and Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, who became the mother of Jesus. One day Zechariah had a rare opportunity to burn incense at the time of prayer in the temple. And while he was doing that, an angel of God came with startling news: Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son! He was to be named John, and he would become a prophet like Elijah, bringing many people back to the Lord just as had been spoken about in the previous religious books. This child became John the Baptist, who prepared people for the coming of Jesus, the promised Saviour. When John was born, Zechariah sang a hymn of praise because he knew salvation was coming. God had not forgotten his people. God never forgets His people although they easily forget and ignore him, until they want something!!!! Friends, if you are struggling with disappointments and God seems far away, take heart. God has not forgotten you. He wants to give you his peace today. In his mercy and love God remembers each one of us. That’s the good news of knowing God: Jesus, who forgives our sins and brings us new life, has come and has given His life for us. So let’s join with Zechariah and sing God’s praises today because He is always with us!
8th April 2020
Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honour.
Life tests us constantly. There are conflicts with and at work, struggles with family and friends, irritating strangers we encounter, threats to our employment, unpleasantness on social media, people who go against the norm and jump the queue and so on. Sometimes it is really hard to be nice and do good to those around us, especially every day. We want to lash out, to shout about the injustice and make ourselves feel better. We are reminded in the Bible about why we must be forgiving and show love to all people. In short: It's exactly what God did and does for us every day and so the least we could do is return the favour to others. God requires of us to be kind to our enemies, which is one of the hardest things to do. Actually being kind to those close to us can be even harder at times. But, in the end, we will have a better life and our world will be a much better place for all if we aim to live a good life, spreading joy and thoughtfulness wherever we go. If we live a good life we will find a good life! It is important that we don't let the rewards be the only reason that we're doing good, kindness for kindness sake is the goal here, that is what is required of us. But for those days when we need a little reminder of what's at stake and why we need to be kind even to the most annoying people around us, the Bible will always help and God will be right there to help too.
7th April 2020
Luke 1:43 Why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
We are just a few days from Easter, the most important season of our Liturgical year, a time of preparation then hope in our eternal future. But right now our lives have been devastated by a disease, you may have recently lost a loved one, you may be worried by friends or family who are ill through this or other diseases still prevalent and still in need of treatment. There are many painful events that may be causing you to cry out, “Why is this happening to me?” Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, knew such pain. She was old and childless, and in that culture, she was therefore disgraced. Long ago she had given up all hope of becoming a mother. Imagine the talk in her village: “What do you think she did to make God punish her in this way?” God actually doesn’t operate in that way, but people often make that wrong assumption. Soon after God’s promise that she and her husband would have a son, Elizabeth became pregnant. Six months later, her cousin Mary came with even greater news: an angel had said Mary would become the mother of God’s Son! Elizabeth was not disappointed or jealous, but she was full of excitement, she exclaimed, “Why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” She counted her blessings and rejoiced. Today let each of us, no matter our circumstances, look in awe at Christ, count our blessings and ask ourselves, “Why should I be so blessed that Jesus has come to save me and fill me with the hope of eternal life?” Why? Because God loves you!
6th April 2020
Psalm 31:9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.
Sometimes the suffering of life feels overwhelming, it is as if we are under attack and can’t find any relief. There are many people today who are debilitated by the grief of losing a loved one. Someone they were not expecting to lose so suddenly. There are others who are sick from a medical condition or treatment who are now unable to access their treatment or help like they could before. There are now many people who are living alone who did not choose that but have no option under the present circumstances. Whatever the case, there are days when we really feel the weight of the world upon us. In Psalm 31 the psalmist is feeling besieged by relentless human forces, along with the abandonment of his friends. He uses words like distress, anguish, groaning, affliction, forgotten, and terror. He fears that he will suffer terribly, so much so that he will go under, at the hands of his enemies, and he cries out to God in agony; Lord, have mercy! Perhaps you can recall a time you felt that way, perhaps you are feeling like this at this very moment, when the walls and ceiling seem to be closing in on you. The current uncertainties of our lives mean that we are out of routine, feeling that we do not have control, dependent on others keeping their word and unable to access those we love and care for. If we can pause for a moment and look back on turbulent times of the past, we can see how the Lord was with us and delivered us. How He was right beside us in every situation and provided all that we needed to get through it. God answers the cries of his people and shines his loving face on us, lighting up the darkness. Our time, right now, is in God’s hands, let us trust Him to deliver us.
5th April 2020
Now to each one the gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good of all. 1 Corinthians 12:7
As our boys grew up, we had many superhero toys and watched many superhero films and stories. As human’s we have a love of these characters because they use their special powers for good and make people’s lives better. These specially gifted people are not selfish in offering to help others even when the cost to themselves is high. I heard Rabbi Jonathan Sachs on the radio today talking about the powers of “we and not I” and how we have seen both the best in people but also the worst in those who have been selfish and uncaring. Currently we are seeing many superhero’s, not in capes and elastane suits but in scrubs, protective gowns and masks. We are witnessing people who are giving selflessly to help others even when the cost to them is so very high. Our support of them and what we are doing in our own homes and communities is also super heroic. We need to be encouraged by our resilience, our ability to keep going in the midst of difficult times, and our use of our gifts for the common good of all. We are all superhero’s in our own way, we are all doing things to help others, the power of we not I. It is good for us to keep praying for our NHS, for all working to help others, to offer support that makes the lives around us better. Our superpowers may not be flight, strength, laser vision or freezing breath but we have the superpowers given to us by God, superpowers of compassion, love, empathy, prayer, words, pictures, comfort, encouragement, strength of character………let’s use these God given powers for the good of all and not be selfish.
4th April 2020
Jeremiah 29:10 When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my promise to bring you back to this place
God is saying these words while his people, the Israelites, are going into exile. Before the hope, God’s promised future plans come into effect, the people will have to endure 70 years of captivity, and their bright future will hinge on seeking God, who longs to bring them back. While we endure seasons of suffering, which is what is happening at the moment; times we have not seen or faced before, things which we cannot control, we ask the Lord to deliver us, to bring us out of our isolation and exile from normal life. But often God’s answer is that right now is not the time, other things will need to happen first, some things will need to change and so we must wait patiently as we settle into this place, this normal, for now. There will eventually be release, for some that release will come through death and transfer to the promised next life for eternity. For the rest of us that release will come when it is safe for everyone to go back to life as we knew it, but with many positive, just and fair changes made to our society. Sometimes God’s plan is for short-lived suffering, and other times God allows us to take a more “scenic route” that builds our perseverance and character, but never without hope in God. Whatever we are facing on a daily basis we do not face it alone, we are always held in the everlasting arms and always given strength for each day and bright hope for tomorrow, as the old hymn says, and perhaps it would be good for us to join in the chorus of that hymn as we remind ourselves and sing:
“Great is Thy Faithfulness! Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed, Thy hand has provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! (Thomas Obadiah Chisolm 1866-1960)
3rd April 2020
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Paul is getting older; he can’t see the way he used to (and there were no glasses). He can’t hear the way he used to (and there were no hearing aids). He doesn’t recover from beatings the way he used to (and there were no antibiotics). His strength, walking from town to town, doesn’t hold up the way it used to. He sees the wrinkles in his face and neck. His memory is not as good. And he admits that this is a threat to his faith and joy and courage. But he does not lose heart. Why? He does not lose heart because his inner heart, spirit and life are being renewed. How? The renewing of his heart, and ours, comes from something we might not think about: it comes from looking at what we can’t see. Paul goes onto say we look, not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. This is Paul’s way of not losing heart: looking at what he cannot see. So, to help us what did he see when he looked? And what should we be seeing and looking for? As Christians we walk by faith, not by sight. This doesn’t mean that we leap into the dark without evidence of what’s there. It means that for now the most precious and important realities in the world are beyond our physical senses. We look and see the unseen things through the gospel, through Jesus and the promises made to us as followers and believers. We strengthen our hearts, we renew our courage, we keep going even in the midst of adversity and difficulty by fixing our gaze on Jesus Christ. The same God, who created light out of darkness, has shone that very light in our hearts to show us His love and care for us in sending Jesus for us. Now we need to go on looking and seeing every day with the eyes of the heart, so that we do not lose heart.
2nd April 2020
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
I drive to work every day, in normal times, and as I go, I listen to the radio, mainly to keep aware of the traffic news. If I hear a road is blocked, or there is a delay it gives me the option of what I do next, should I stay on this route or go another way, but are these routes blocked too because everyone else goes that way to avoid the problem. Still I listen, I hope it will help me or at least give me a reason why I am stuck there, perhaps it is even in a vain hope that it will all go away, a bury my head in the sand approach. What about in our lives? We can read our Bibles, hear sermons and talks, read helpful books and we learn about how to live and the way forward, the journey we are on as Christian. But what if there is a blockage, a problem? Can I go another way? Do I want to change direction? What if there is a problem on that different way? What if I get lost? There are endless questions, so it ends up being easier to just stay where I am, stuck, as many of us are, just going nowhere fast. We hope that today will be okay, tomorrow will be alright, but it isn’t! We keep meeting the same problems, we are still struggling, nothing seems to be changing, one day drifts into the next and we find ourselves rather lost. Friends, we have a choice, we can use our knowledge, our Bible, prayer, the resources we are offered, our reading and our conversations to find the way through. To return to my travelling analogy we have satellite navigation of the highest order, we have God right there supporting us, helping us. Of course, the other choice is to let it all go on just as it did before, sit tight, do the same thing every day, moaning and groaning hoping that one day it will get better. It is our choice, it isn’t easy at the moment, but I encourage you; chose God’s satellite navigation and make each day’s journey a better one.
1st April 2020
Psalm 33:22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
When we say, “I hope my team wins this Saturday,” it’s both a wish and a prayer. But when we say, “God gives me hope for the future,” that is confident assurance in the promises of the God who has never failed us. We all hope for a long life, lasting relationships, good health, and happiness. Yet we know, and are currently experiencing, that in a matter of moments life can be turned upside down and inside out, and it can feel like our hopes are dashed. For the people of God, hope is drawn from a deeper well. As the psalmist explains, we cannot rely on our own armies, our own resources, our own Government, to deliver us. The wonderful and encouraging image in the Psalms is that of the God whose eyes are locked on us, whose love never fails, who is our help and shield even in the midst of unprecedented times such as these. Of course, sometimes our hope falters as we face troubles, but God paints, and unfailingly promises, a positive picture of our forever future. When our hope and trust are firmly connected to our unchangeable God, we know deep in our souls that God’s love will sustain us through this life and into eternity. This means that even if our struggles continue, change or return, our hope in God remains. This kind of hope is irresistible, and it needs sharing with people, we have a hope and we need to tell others about it. Maybe you know someone who needs to hear these words of hope today: the Lord sees you, loves you, and will sustain you.
31st March 2020
Psalm 13:1 How long, Lord, will you forget us? How long will you hide your face from us?
This season of Lent encourages us to give things up or do without. Suddenly our usual doing without seems insignificant to our current situation where we are doing without seeing family, friends, going to the pub or to work, going to church or school. We are in a place of confinement; we are cut off and there is no usual Easter release to come this year. We have an imposed quietness, an anxious and sorrowful calm. We want an explanation…Why? How? But there is none right now. We can only wait and hope. Sometimes we can only lament, weep, grieve, we ask why but get no real answer. Lamenting comes from seeing not just our own predicament but the suffering of others in the world. If this is bad for us imagine what it is like for those in refugee camps, the homeless, those in institutions. The Psalms reflect this lamenting. They call to God who seems hidden from them, they look for answers, they tell God exactly how they feel and often by the end of the Psalm they find a light and a hope in God’s presence which is very much there, but not necessarily with an answer. God does not necessarily explain the trouble or provide an answer, but He does provide reassurance, support, comfort and hope within it. Lamenting allows us to let out our frustration, sorrow, loneliness and our inability to understand what is happening and why. What we need to know is that God laments too! God grieves at the wickedness of the world, of the people given everything who still turn away and insult him. Jesus too, laments at the death of his friend and at His coming sacrifice and Paul reminds us of the groaning and lamenting of the Holy Spirit within us. It is not for us to explain this or to have the answers but it is for us to lament and become places where God’s presence and healing love can dwell, places from which new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new understanding and new hope can emerge.
30th March 2020
Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people
If you look at the Bible Jesus recognises that some of our most important ministry happens in the strangest of times and moments. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a prime example. (Luke 10:25-36) Currently we are finding that to be true. While we cannot meet together as church instead, we are being church in the Community, as we have always been, but perhaps a little more obviously these days. We find ourselves streaming, messaging, emailing, filling websites with resources, phoning, getting shopping and many other things. Many of our number are keeping an eye on the vulnerable, helping in the community, being, themselves, Good Samaritans, because Jesus always put the poorest and most vulnerable at the centre of His ministry and we must put them at the heart of His church. The current situation is most painful and destructive to the poorest and most vulnerable in our society and we must, even in our own difficulties continue to fight for them, to fight against injustice. In recent days public pressure about fairness has seen parking fees lifted for NHS staff and food parcels for the vulnerable. We must, as a church, by which I mean a body of people, stand up for what is right, for those both in our congregations and outside who are vulnerable, those with no home to isolate in, no place to store food, no money to buy food and essentials. Many of our night shelters are still working to help those on the streets and can only do so because of the commitment of the Christians working there to fight for the vulnerable. We cannot all be on the front line, but we can all be Good Samaritans in our homes, with our neighbours, with those who we are keeping in contact with every day. Whatever you are doing, do it as unto the Lord and with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
29th March 2020
John 19: 2 They clothed him in a purple robe, shouted “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, begins Passiontide where you may have noticed purple cloths draped over the crosses, crucifixes, statues, icons and saint images at your parish church. In some churches, these items may be removed from the sanctuary altogether, or this may be done on Maundy Thursday. This tradition is practiced during the last two weeks before Easter, starting on Passion Sunday and ending on Good Friday. Violet or Purple is the seasonal colour for Lent and is the colour of mourning, humility and suffering. It is also associated with noble birth as it was very expensive to colour garments in purple. Christ was given a purple robe as he was mocked as King of the Jews which the soldiers then cast lots for so as not to damage it. This old custom of veiling religious images is a way of focusing on the atoning and repentant aspect of this liturgical season of Lent. It reminds us, in a visual way, that our faith in all its glory is made possible only through the work of Christ in his suffering and death on the cross. When we cover or remove these holy and sacred images that we are so accustomed to, we are starkly confronted and reminded, in a poignant way, of all that Christ has done for us on the cross. It also serves to remove everything from between us and our God and what He is doing for us through His son. It gives us specific focus and offers the opportunity to think through Christ’s sacrifice for us and exactly what Easter means.
28th March 2020
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Hope is currently something we are all living by, hope of a cure, hope of a vaccine, hope of keeping well, hope of a future of freedom again, hope of a miracle that will restore our lives to “normal”. The Bible is full of Hope, amongst other things, chiefly in pointing Humans toward a restoration of their relationship with God. Hope is what keeps us going, gives us purpose and drives us forward. With life being so different currently Hope is key, the fulfilment of so many promises in the Bible gives us hope that things will get better. There are so many stories of promises fulfilled, of goodness triumphing over evil, over the human spirit, along with the Holy Spirit, giving strength in times of weakness, offering advice, help, comfort and encouragement. The Bible, or any Holy Book, is not some dusty, ancient text but rather living, breathing words from the Creator of the Universe who has always wanted what is best for all Human Beings. Sadly, so many of us find it easier to ignore the good in favour of complaint, of wanting instant answers which involve no effort on our part. We have a sense of entitlement which means we have become very selfish. The Bible is so full of wisdom, advice, care, concern, fairness and fulfilled promises, all there to help us but we have to be willing to read, listen, learn and act fairly and lovingly to all.
27th March 2020
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from the wisdom of knowing God’s word.
Who do you consider to be wise? Wisdom is often tied into age and experience but notice here it is also linked to humility. In other words people who are wise do not brag about it. Wisdom is not just about what we know but how we act. We can know huge amounts about things but if we cannot help people lovingly and carefully with our knowledge we are not wise. The dictionary says wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement. That ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgement, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence. So Wisdom is not just about knowledge but the application and transferring of that knowledge. I wonder if you can think of a few very wise people in your life, perhaps you could tell them and encourage them.
How wise do you consider yourself to be? Let’s face it we often think of ourselves as wise or at least knowledgeable and we love to tell people what we know, it makes us feel good about ourselves. But the gift of wisdom comes to those who listen, who speak less and observe. Wisdom is a gift from God, it comes to those who are humble, and it comes from a knowledge of God and of His word. If we know our Bible and what it teaches about life, behaviour, justice, fairness and truth then we will always have words of wisdom to speak and we will know exactly how and when to speak them.
26th March 2020
2 Corinthians 8:7 See that you also excel in this grace of giving
What can you give to someone today so that there might be equality? One of the many things society is currently learning is that someone’s value is not related to their earning capacity. Those in senior positions, particularly, are suddenly discovering that many people described as “low skilled” are actually vital to the functioning of society. God gave us all different gifts and abilities so that the world would function equally and beautifully, and everyone would have what they needed. It is us, as human beings, who have linked a person’s value to their income or qualifications. One of the biggest joys in life is giving, we see it on birthdays and Christmas particularly, but when we give something to someone they light up, they are brought joy and feel they have worth. Every person has such worth to God and is equal before Him, so much so that He sent His son to die for us. But how about in our eyes? Do we see everyone’s worth and true value? Giving, gives value. There are people, at present, with so little, people who still don’t know how they will survive and provide for their families in the next few weeks. What can we do? We can give to others through messages and phone contact. We can make sure those nearby have food. We can offer virtual friendship and care and we can make sure that anyone who is struggling financially, that we might know about, receives practical help. Giving can be so many things: time, experience, money, encouragement, love, friendship, wisdom….. so, today decide what you’re going to give, to whom you will give it, and when you will do it and excel in the grace of giving.
25th March 2020
Luke 1:38 Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant, let it be to me according to your word”.
Today is the Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed virgin Mary. The visit of the Angel, which we read every Christmas, is actually marked today, March 25th, the observant among you will spot that it is exactly 9 months until December 25th and Christmas Day. Exact time frames like this are important in the Bible and in Christian tradition, they show a power, a command over everything that is perfect, that is to say, God is in control and God is perfect.
Here in Luke is an ordinary young lady called Mary who is about to become Theotokos, God Bearer, and notice she is not called to her task in the Temple, or in a public place, or on a busy street; she is called to be the Mother of God in her home. Right now we are all in our homes round the clock unless we are key workers, and God can speak to us and use us just as effectively in our homes as He can in church, or in work, or in a public place. God takes the ordinary and uses it for His glory and richly and abundantly blesses, but, we have to agree, to say yes. Mary says yes to God and amazing things happen, will you say yes to God and let amazing things happen?
24th March 2020
Matthew 5:45 God sends the sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends the rain on the just and on the unjust.
In the last few days, I have seen and had some quite unpleasant Tweets about God and faith amid this situation. Their view is that it must be God’s fault, nothing to do with them. I meet this quite a lot these days from people who quite simply think they are entitled. They have lost sight of the blessings of each day; they never appreciate what they have and are never thankful. There is always someone else to blame and because of that they do not believe they have to play any part in making things better for others or playing their part to help society. Yes, right now, things are incredibly difficult, but we have so much to be thankful for. Most of us live in comfortable, warm homes, we have TV and Radio, computers, phones and we have food and medicines and people who care about us. Yes, things are very different, yes, we are having to curb our freedoms for a while, but we still live on an amazing planet amongst God’s incredible creation. Today, in the sunny garden, as I sat with a cuppa, a beautiful butterfly came and landed right by me, opening its wings to soak up the sun. It was one of those lovely, blessed moments. When God created this world He did not make one rule for the good and one for the bad, He created the sun and the rain for everyone, even the folk who can’t see how incredible it all is and are not very nice to others. God cares about everyone, no matter who or what they are, so let’s all try to be just a little more appreciative of what we have, of creation and of other people.
23rd March 2020
Mark 12:31 Love your neighbour as yourself
The problem with the appeal to love your neighbour lies in its vagueness today. What exactly do we mean by it? One reason people get confused when they hear the call to love their neighbour as themselves is because they think that this love should be a warm and fuzzy feeling towards people. That’s what we feel when we like someone. But loving someone is a much deeper commitment: it means doing the right thing by them. Thankfully it doesn’t mean we have to like them. It is impossible, and probably not desirable, to like everyone in this world. Emotion alone is a poor basis for deciding what should be done, but our feelings must have a place. Any society which does not give proper recognition to the place of emotion suppresses a cherished gift which makes us human. There are some who call for the world to be governed by purely rational thinking, but without the tempering of love, this can turn out to be cold, calculating and instrumental. Our reasoning powers are just as much at risk of being wrong as our emotions. We need the interplay of both emotion and reason to guide us through life. God’s love is not sentimental because it included a hard-headed decision to offer himself as a sacrifice for human sin in Christ. There is nothing fuzzy about this; its outline is bold and stark. But neither is this love legalistic. God does not judge us by our repeated failings but has already poured His grace and forgiveness into our hearts to challenge and remove the lurking guilt and fear with His steadfast gift of peace. What is love? God is love and we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves.
22nd March 2020
John 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother.
On this Mothering Sunday a thought prompted by Mary, Mother of Jesus. I think the above verse is one of the saddest in the Bible. Mary having to watch her son die on a cross. For any mother or carer one of the worst things is to see those you love, suffer. In our hospitals at present there are those, whose vocation it is to care, seeing people suffer and trying so hard to relieve that suffering. We are told that humans tend to be selfish and yet we were created in the image of a loving, giving God who is concerned for our well-being and that side of God is portrayed as that of motherhood. In Eucharistic Prayer G we speak of God as a mother who tenderly gathers her children. We all have that caring nature within us, the question is whether we are willing to let it out, to be caring and nurturing of those around us. Caring does not have to be just practical, praying for people, picking up the phone to chat with people, making things for someone, being a good neighbour in a spiritual sense as well as a practical one. We celebrate and treasure our Mothers for all they have done and do for us, we can also celebrate the caring nature in all of us, put there by God that none of us should ever be alone. So, I leave you with a question: What things can we all do to make life easier and better for our mothers and all those who care for us? Not just today but every day!
21st March 2020
Psalm 145:14 God gives a hand to those who are struggling, a fresh start to those ready to quit.
I think it is safe to say most of us are struggling at the moment. Things are so uncertain; life is changing dramatically, and we have worries that perhaps are not being answered. There are many situations where the natural reaction is to struggle but actually freedom comes when the struggling stops like in Harry Potter when only by stopping struggling can they escape from the throttling tendrils of Devil's Snare. I don’t think the name Devil’s Snare is a coincidence, things which try to take our freedom, which ensnare us are not of God! God understands we are struggling and wants us to take His hand and let Him take the strain and worry. In many religions there is a cleansing breath, in Christianity it is called "breath of God", a deep breathing which allows calmness and perspective. If you are struggling then try releasing your worry, breathe in slowly and deeply for 5 seconds and then release slowly for 5 seconds allowing the worries to ease out. As you do this allow yourself to be held in the everlasting arms of God who always wants the best for you. We have a lot of time on our hands at present, but we still need to take time to breathe, to restore our calmness and equilibrium and God is there, ready at any moment, to hold us and help us.
20th March 2020
2 Corinthians 8:7 See that you also excel in this grace of giving
In recent days I have seen some very selfish people, but I have also seen some very selfless people who have given to others above and beyond what is expected. This made me think, what can we give to or do for someone else today so that there might be equality and fairness? It may be difficult to decide what you’re going to give or do, to whom you will give it or for whom you will do it because of all the restrictions but there are still things we can do to help. Front line people need encouragement and support, a simple thank you by phone, email, social media would be wonderful. Those who are self-isolating or live alone need to feel that someone cares, a phone call, an email, a message on a regular basis to show them they are not forgotten. Someone said to me today that they hoped this situation would restore the lost sense of community we used to have. By doing something, however small, we will make a difference, we will restore the sense of community and we will restore faith in human nature. I encourage you to excel in this grace of giving.
19th March 2020
Philippians 4:13 I have the strength to face all conditions through the power that Christ gives me
At this difficult time we might be wondering if we have the strength to cope, to keep going. We are reminded, here in Philippians, that it isn’t our strength that keeps us going but God’s strength given through Jesus. We tend to think of strength meaning physically strong, hard, immovable but actually strength comes in vulnerability, in honesty, in admitting that we need help from God and from others. Being strong in Christ can mean letting our emotions out, not necessarily in public but at home, if the tears need to come let them, you will feel better afterwards, you will have renewed strength. If you need to shout then do so, away from others and at God, because He can and will handle it. The build up of all that is weighing down upon us is weakening our ability to cope, we need to release ourselves from it thus allowing Christ’s strength to be ours. Let God have it all, tell Him how you feel and then let His strength come in and carry you through each day and each hour.
18th March 2020
1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.
Saints are ordinary people who help others, that means you and I are saints so what can we do to help those around us right now? All of us have gifts which we can employ in the service of others, going and getting things for those who can’t, ringing people up to chat, to pray for them, to offer support. Sending encouraging messages through email or social media if you have access to it. Why not write some simple prayers that others can use to help them or be creative.
So have a think and identify what gifts you have that can benefit those around you in the midst of this difficult time.
With so much happening we do need to ask ourselves if we are willing to serve others, to help everyone no matter their background, status, creed, ethnicity, gender. The worst thing that could happen right now is that we lose compassion for everyone around us. If we become selfish, we will lose our ability to empathise and thus enter into another form of isolation and loneliness.
Let me encourage you to keep supporting each other, to use your gifts for others and let yourself be God’s hands and feet in our community.
John 10:10 Life in all it's fullness. 17th March 2020
Right now it may seem that life in all its fullness is quickly disappearing. We are being limited in our activities, our habits, our usual way of life and yet there is something about home, family, being together that we have lost the value and importance of. Our home should be the centre of our family life, a safe place to be who we are, to rest, to relax, to enjoy the company of family and to experience human touch and companionship. For some, who are alone, the home could become a place of isolation and loneliness so we, who are able, need to call,catch up with, visit if possible and safe so that people are not left isolated or alone. We may well need to redefine how we do things, start to play together again, rediscover board games, card games, crafts, reading, listening to the radio.......even in doors or in gardens we can be people who give all to where we are and the situation we are in, people who are thankful for the fullness of life we do have rather than mourn what we had before. Jesus is still wanting us to have a full life it is just different to what we may have envisaged just a few weeks ago.