Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during August 2020]

Today is the 6th of August. It is the birthday of the eldest of my six nieces but for most people the significance of this date is not a reason for happiness. Today is the 75th anniversary of the destruction of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by atomic bomb. Tens of thousands of people died during the onslaught and many others died later as a result of its after-effects but it is argued that this horrific action was necessary to bring a rapid end to the atrocities of war in south-east Asia and the South Pacific islands.

I have been to some of those islands. Indeed, my niece spent some of her formative years there. A generation after the end of the war, remnants of aircraft and the minutiae of war were slowly being reclaimed by the jungle and there were still the occasional sounds of live ordinance being made safe. There were many people who could recall their experiences of living in a time of great brutality.

This wholesale destruction of cities is not unique to the 20th century. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in the time of Abraham, Jericho was destroyed by Joshua and it is said of Jerusalem that the Romans left not one stone above another, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Mark ch13 verse 2. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Throughout history, cities have been destroyed and their inhabitants displaced, whether by war or by natural events. Later in that same chapter, Jesus foretold that “When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.” These things are not a surprise to God, and should not be a surprise to us.

The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sacrificed to bring an end to a regime of evil at a particular place and time. We need to remember the consequences of evil and the cost involved. The Son of God was sacrificed to bring an end to the dominance of evil everywhere and for all time. Do we appreciate the cost of that sacrifice?

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to Mid-week Meditations
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
.

 

[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during August 2020]

Are you looking forward to commuting again? Or, if you already are, how do you feel about several million other people joining you? Personally, I’m glad to be out of the rat-race; I look back with no nostalgia at all to those two hours every day spent going and coming, repeating the journey I did yesterday and will do again tomorrow.

A hit song from the sixties, penned by John Reynolds, no doubt strikes a chord with most of us:

So much to do, if I only had time, if I only had time.
Dreams to pursue, if I only had time they’d be mine.
Time like the wind goes a-hurrying by and the hours just fly.
Where to begin? There are mountains I’d climb, if I’d time.

For us, time is a finite resource. God can increase or reduce the speed at which it passes – think of Joshua’s victory over the Amorites or Hezekiah’s experience with the shadow on the palace steps. Otherwise, we all have the same number of hours in a day and it is largely up to us how we use them.

The writer of Ecclesiastes declared “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” and added “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God.”

The first epistle of John warns about procrastination and complacency:

The world and its desires pass away,
but whoever does the will of God lives for ever.

CT Studd expressed the same thought: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last”. Isaac Watts reminds us “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.”

I trust that reading this reflection was time well-spent. Now, if you want to leave something to be remembered by, go and do something of eternal value with the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to Mid-week Meditations
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
.

  Steve Humphreys

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 02/Aug/2020]

I just watched Jill and the team on YouTube getting busy cooking meals to bless others. Being ‘stuck’ indoors and having to self-isolate or shield can make you look on things like that and feel like you aren’t doing your bit. For some whose nature is to be on the go, helping others, the inability to do so during lockdown can lead to a feeling of ‘uselessness’.

Perhaps if that is you, it is worth pondering whether, like me, you have unknowingly started thinking that what you do matters more to people than who you are, and before you know it your relationship with others and with God becomes performance based. You have probably heard of people who were so busy doing the work of the Lord, that they had forgotten the Lord of the work. It is reassuring to remember that God loves us always, and not just when we ‘perform’.

A few months ago, many people had their plans all laid out, certain what to do in Spring, thinking about their summer holiday plans. For those of you feeling downcast, have a heart for the chap who invested in face recognition software, not knowing that a few months later everyone would be wearing masks!

Seriously though, the other part of the lockdown that has proven difficult for many is the uncertainty. Will there be a second wave of the coronavirus? Are we easing restrictions too quickly? Are we damaging the economy by not easing the restrictions quick enough? Who do we turn to for answers? The government? Social media? The news…….?

I thought I’d share something from one of my favourite authors, Max Lucado. He writes:

In the early pages of my childhood memory, I see this picture. My father and I sit side by side in a chapel. We both wear our only suits … The sight of my dead uncle leaves us all silent. This is my first funeral. My nine years of life have not prepared me for death. What I see unnerves me. Aunts, typically jovial and talkative, weep loudly. Uncles commonly quick with a word and joke stare wide eyed at the casket … … … I remember my eyes moistening and my heart bouncing in my chest … Fear had me in her talons. Where do I look? The weeping ladies frighten me. Glassy eyed men puzzle me. My dead uncle spooks me. But then I look up. I see my father. He turns his face towards me and smiles softly. “It’s okay, son” he assures, laying a large hand on my leg. Somehow I know it is. Uncle Buck is still dead. But if Dad, in the midst of it all says it’s okay, then that’s enough. At that moment I realised something. I could look around and find fear, or look at my father and find faith. I chose my father’s face.

In these uncertain times in particular, but indeed, at all times, choose to look to God. Jesus’ invitation remains timely when he says “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. If you don’t have that kind of relationship with him, now would seem a good time to start.

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to weekly Reflections
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
 
 

[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during July 2020]

Does your Bible have holes in it? I don’t mean a well-worn volume where the binding has broken and pages are falling out, although that is better than one which has been on a shelf so long that the woodworm have made it all the way from Revelation to Genesis.

Rather, are there parts of it which might as well be missing? Maybe some sections seem irrelevant or are too difficult to understand. We all have passages with which we are comfortable, that we come back to frequently, but are there others that you prefer to ignore or avoid? What relevance is it to us that Jehu was a furious driver or that Paul left his winter cloak at Troas?

For me, one such ‘hole’ is the Song of Solomon. It has an historical context and I know about how some have interpreted it as representing the relationship between the Lamb and his Bride. However, it seems to me that the primary reason for its inclusion in the canon of Scripture is for the sanctified titillation of church elders and the puerile amusement of young boys. Perhaps it warrants another look, or maybe not!

Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” [2Tim 3 v16-17]

This rather suggests that these Biblical black holes might not be as irrelevant as we think.

So, when did you last read Deuteronomy chapter 13, let alone try to put it into practice? Nevertheless, it contains principles that we should endeavour to adopt, even if the detailed application is not within our remit. Similarly, those writings from the minor prophets which time-expired centuries ago are insights into God’s character when dealing with His people and are therefore still relevant today.

And Paul’s cloak? Like all those who were named in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, wherever the Bible is read the name of Carpus is known. He played a part in Paul’s mission to spread the gospel. Our names may not achieve the same perpetual status but our contribution will not go unnoticed by the One whose opinion really counts.

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to Mid-week Meditations
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
.

 

[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during July 2020]

Do you think that mankind is basically good, generally co-operative and generous but marred by a relatively small number of miscreants, or do you think that mankind is intrinsically evil, largely selfish and intolerant but constrained by social norms and the need to find some way of living together?

Two apparently-irreconcilable points of view, but I suspect that most people would see a sliding scale between the two extremes. They would place the majority of people somewhere in the middle and could name a few candidates for both ends of the scale. But what about the person whose image appears in your bathroom mirror? Somewhat biased towards the positive, I suspect.

In 1954 William Golding wrote “The Lord of the Flies”, an account of what happens when these two social extremes meet in the absence of any moderating authority. But we don’t have to turn to a 20th century novel – our 21st century TV screens regularly report the same scenario.

Nor is this something new. Genesis chapter 6 describes the times of Noah when

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”

Later the Lord said to Moses,

“I have seen these people and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them.” [Exodus 32 v9-10]

Justice requires retribution yet love requires restoration. How does God, who epitomises both love and justice, reconcile these two extremes? The apostle John tells us the answer:

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”.

Condemned or saved – two extremes with no middle ground. Where is that person in the mirror now?

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to Mid-week Meditations
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
.

 

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 26/Jul/2016]

I’ve been drawn again to God’s exciting promise in Psalm 8 v 18: ‘He brought me out into a broad place (a wide-open field); he delivered me because he delighted in me.‘

As I watch Jesus living in a freedom which baffled his followers and infuriated the religious leaders, and hear him say things like ‘Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly‘ (Matt 11 v 30, The Message), something stirs in me!

I guess I’m really asking a big question: Has lockdown been God’s way of teaching me – us – a new way of living, of being called-out ones, people with a passionate purpose, impatient – even angry! – with anything that constrains or limits us? One Bible translation of Galatians 5 v 23, after listing the fruits (or ‘harvest’) of the Spirit, reads: ‘Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless‘. That, I think, is living freely … against that kind of life, as in most translations, ‘there is no law‘.

A prophecy I read yesterday referred to the last lines of Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken‘. He looks back over the life choices he has made and concludes:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
Took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I think God has put us in an urgent position. If we can hardly wait for a return to church ‘as normal’, is it possible that we’ve not learned the lessons of the Exodus? That we’re still at the cross-roads?

For me, lockdown has only deepened my determination to follow Jesus wherever he goes and whatever we face together. There are battles to be won and a harvest to bring in!

~~~~~~~~
.
Return to weekly Reflections
Jump to Index of Bible Passages