May the whisper

May the whisper
of the Father
be the one that wakens you;
the open hand
of the Son
be the one that raises you;
the prompting
of the Spirit
be the one that sends you,
this morning
and all mornings,
and leads you safely home.

Who are we?

 

 

1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (NIV)



 
Who are we?
Imperfect
reaching for Perfection
Created
reaching for Creator
Mortal
reaching for Immortal.
Who are we
who can ask of God
that which is on our hearts
and know
that he will hear our prayer?
We are those
loved beyond loving,
focus of our Creator’s heart.
We are children
of a heavenly Father,
who takes
the burdens of our heart
and substitutes
a peace that brings release,
who knows our needs
before we ask
yet loves to hear our voice.
Who are we?
Blessed and grateful
to a God who loves each one of us
as if there were but one to love.
Halleluia!

St John and the Militant Atheists

I've been revisiting the opening of John's Gospel these last few days and looking at it particularly in the light of comments by Richard Dawkins and his fundamentalist atheist pals regarding their view of the Christian God. In his eyes we worship some kind of megalomaniac, violent, vengeful and selfish god who is responsible for all the bad things that humankind do in the name of religion.

Put that idea together with some Christians who look at how God is described in the Old and New Testament and almost see two different Gods and how do we get to the truth? Do we worship the god  described by Dawkins - after all, the Old Testament is full of blood, warfare, slaughter and oppression? Why is there this apparent difference between the God of the Old and New?

John's Gospel maybe holds a key. In the opening passage we read:

John 1

 ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.....
 ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him....
¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth......
¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. 

Taking John's meaning of Jesus as 'the word' this passage can possibly help us to connect with the militant atheist, by showing that God does not change, only our understanding of God.
Jesus was there at the beginning of all beginnings, at one with the Creator, the One who can actually show us what God is like. The Word (Jesus/God) became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

If you want to know what God is really like then look at Jesus, his life and words.

The Old Testament prophets and kings knew God in part but it was an incomplete knowledge because it would only be when God stepped into human history as Jesus that humankind could more fully know him.

Prior to this the Jews reacted to all that happened to them and either thanked or blamed their God depending on whether it was a good or bad thing. They feared God because they did not know him in the same way that we can. 

Understanding the Scriptures in this way, we see them as a whole as a gradual revelation of the knowledge of God, finally revealed in the person of Jesus. I know that this is probably not a satisfactory explanation for conservative evangelicals, but it makes sense to me!

It may also help those who struggle to counter the arguments of non-believers.

Is our God safe?

I came across this passage somewhere when I was writing a sermon, and it's worth thinking about:


There is a scene in C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe where the children, learning that Aslan is not a man but a lion are not only startled but down right alarmed. 
"Is he – quite safe?" Susan asks. "I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." 
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," replies Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else silly." 
"Then he isn't safe?" Lucy asks, to which Mr. Beaver responds, "Safe? Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."


"Course he isn’t safe." says Mr Beaver.
 
Is our God safe? 

An odd word, and maybe I ought to say ‘Is our God predictable? Can he be taken for granted? Can we ignore him and hope we won’t be noticed?  You can’t do that with a Lion, I’m not sure you can with God either!

“Therefore keep watch,” says Jesus. “Because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

When Earth's last picture is painted

 

Came across this very evocotive poem by Kipling the other day and wanted to share it:

 

When Earth's last picture is painted
And the tubes are twisted and dried
When the oldest colors have faded
And the youngest critic has died
We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it
Lie down for an aeon or two
'Till the Master of all good workmen
Shall put us to work anew

And those that were good shall be happy
They'll sit in a golden chair
They'll splash at a ten league canvas
With brushes of comet's hair
They'll find real saints to draw from
Magdalene, Peter, and Paul
They'll work for an age at a sitting
And never be tired at all.

And only the Master shall praise us.
And only the Master shall blame.
And no one will work for the money.
No one will work for the fame.
But each for the joy of the working,
And each, in his separate star,
Will draw the thing as he sees it.
For the God of things as they are!

The Prodigal and Dad

One of the great truths of the Bible is that humankind can never be all that they could be as long as they are away from God. It’s all there in the Scriptures from Genesis through to Revelation. That’s precisely the reason that Jesus walked this earth as the Good Shepherd, to bring humankind back into a relationship with God.

One of the privileges of parenthood, and it can be both a joy and a cause of sadness, is letting go when a child grows up and reaches that stage when they leave home and start to find their way in the world. But fortunately, for most of us it’s not (as with the prodigal son) a case of ‘Give me my inheritance, I’m off!’ but more likely the arrangement of a standing order to keep them solvent while they go off to university. I’d like to think it stopped there, but experience tells me that for some children the expense just keeps on going years after they leave home!

Part of leaving home is the experience of learning the hard way that things don’t happen automatically, money doesn’t grow on trees, things have to be earned and paid for. Letting go can be difficult for both parent and child!

This story of the prodigal son must be one of the most well known stories in the Bible, so what can it tell us that we don’t know already? 

Well, first off who is the story really about? Is it a story about a son who runs away from home with his inheritance burning a hole in his pocket, hits hard times and goes back home with his tail tucked between his legs? Or is it a story about a loving father who allows his son the freedom to go, weeps when he hears how low he has fallen and then accepts him back into his arms again, despite what he’s done?

After all, what does it tell us about that father? Would he just have let the son go and not tried to keep tabs on him? Chances are that he would have known just what sort of life his son had sunk into. He must have been hoping against hope that at some point in time his son would realise how low he had sunk and realise that he would still be accepted back home because his father loved him.

The story is very much about the forgiveness of God, of course, and as such it’s right that Luke places it together with the other stories about the Shepherd and the woman and her lost coin. It tells that that God allows humankind freedom, to walk with him or go their own way. It’s a learning process and many of us have been on it, gone our own way just to see what the scenery is like, and having found that it’s not very nice at all, have been welcomed back. 

When the son walked back over the hill and down toward his home, there was no recrimination, no ‘told you so!’ No punishment, simply forgiveness and rejoicing at a relationship restored. Just like the shepherd and the lost sheep!

That’s how God treats us, and again, it is counter-intuitive.  

So we learn that the love and forgiveness of God extends beyond the foolishness of humankind, beyond the tempting voices of the world and even the reckless rebellion of the young!

 

The Rhythm of Life

 

Today was apparently the second highest tide of the century here at Kidwelly. I went down to the quay hoping that there would be a stiff breeze giving a great picture, only to find that it was as calm as.... calm can be, which truth be told is actually good. A high tide and high wind is bad news for a lot of people living close to the valley which feeds into the estuary here.

But it did remind me of the natural rhythms of nature and life in general - the tides, the seasons, the migration of birds, night and day, our own body's rhythms - they are at the centre of what we are and the world we live in.

Christine Sine, in her new book (Click Here)  'Light for the Journey - Morning and Evening Prayers for Living into God’s World' reminds us that rhythm should also be at the centre of our spiritual life as we commit ourselves to regularly spending time in prayer, Bible study, meditation and listening to God. This is a habit that has got lost amidst the rush of everyday life, but that was appreciated by the early Christians in our land.

An Autumn Spring Clean

I have a confession! We are having a new kitchen installed after 15 years, and as the clearing has progressed and cupboards pulled out, I have discovered a lot of small corners which were less than wholesome, having been missed by the casual wipe around with a damp cloth over the years.

I guess that probably mirrors my life. I know that there are small corners which are only known to me and God, things that I am not so happy about, that are in need of Spring Cleaning whatever the season might be!

How often it takes a major upheaval to expose that which has been left undone, when regular attention would have been preferable. How often we hang on to our past, rather than hand that all over to God and accept his forgiveness and cleansing.

Priorities

There was an interesting interview on the radio this morning. A woman who, as a girl had inherited the equivalent today of a couple of million pounds, and how she decided at an early age that she would be happier giving it away and earning her daily keep, than living off the interest. OK, she's been sensible and left herself and the family with enough for their old age, and to give their children a bit to start them off in life, but she's given away a good percentage of what she inherited to individuals, whose lives have been changed by her actions.

Yes, this is newsworthy today because of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett who are challenging the mega-rich to give half their fortunes to good causes.

Very Biblical, and to be heartily commended........ Nice one, Bill!

But of course the Bible also tells us that the widow's mite is just as pleasing to God. We don't need to be mega-rich to consider the poor and needy, and do our bit to spread a little of God's love around. We might not be able to set up a foundation to eradicate malaria in the world, but we can be there if someone is in need.

God knows our hearts, and blesses both giver and receiver.

A Strange Day

I went to church twice yesterday, as usual. The morning service was a united service in a local Presbyterian church. The best description I could come up with for the Minister of that church is that his presentational style sucked the will to live out of me! He was difficult to understand, monotone in delivery and when he was preaching there was no sense of excitement over God's Word, no enthusiasm. It was dreadful. It was worse than dreadful, it was embarrassing!

In the evening I went to our usual fellowship meeting. The worship was wonderful, and the preacher, Hugh Waddell, overflowed with enthusiasm, excitement and a real sense of wonder about the God he was talking about. It was if God was putting back all that had been lost in the morning!

As preachers we have a responsibility to those we share God's Word with. God's Word is exciting, challenging, life changing. It should never be boring!

God of mystery

Some years ago we lived on a North Wales hillside overlooking the Irish Sea. It was a beautiful and peaceful place in the summer months, but desolate in winter when icy winds blew hard off the sea, making it almost impossible to stand upright, and driving rain forced its way through the walls and into the house.

It was a period in our lives when we had very little money, could not afford to fix leaking walls and were struggling to meet bills for heating and basics. We questioned the decisions that we had made and the actions taken which had led us to this place.

However, there was one moment of magic that no amount of money could buy. It happened on clear autumn nights when the sun was about to set.

We would stand in our garden, gazing out to sea, and as the blood-red sun made its journey to the edge of the sea and beyond it would suddenly throw up an image of the Wicklow Hills on the horizon. This image would last for a few minutes and then fade, as light levels fell.

Believe me, you had to be there to appreciate it!

Now, the Wicklow Hills are in County Wicklow in Ireland, lying well beyond sight from that part of Wales. What we saw each autumn was nothing more or less than an optical illusion, explained by the laws of physics.

To us however it was the Creator putting on a rather special light show just for us, a little entertainment prior to the miseries of winter!

Sometimes it can be difficult to see anything good in the way life is treating you. The struggle to put food on the table and cater for the needs of a growing family can take every ounce of effort and ingenuity. It makes it difficult to stand back and appreciate anything good in the world.

Sometimes though you just have to be still and trust, that not only is God the creator of this world, he is also the one who can lead us out of despair and into a better place. That illusion of the hills thrown up onto the edge of the sea reminded us that this world is a place of beauty and mystery, and the God who is in control is the same God who would lead us out of our ‘captivity’ into a better place, which he did!