Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[Transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], September 2020]

This week we think about what the writer of Proverbs was referring to when he said ‘lean not on your own understanding’.
Also, how is it possible to not worry?

Last week we were talking about certainty and can we find certainty in life and really the answer was no we can’t. Life is just too changeable, too uncertain and actually we need to learn to trust in God. I want to pick up now in this message on this idea of trusting in God.

^[00:38] In Proverbs there’s one proverb which I’ve probably used before because it’s probably the only verse in Proverbs that actually I know! By the way, Proverbs is a whole list of wise sayings addressed from a father to a son and there’s one particular proverb – chapter 3 verse 5 – that says “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. Trust in God, trust in the Lord and lean on your own understanding. What does it mean by ‘not leaning on your own understanding’?

^[01:17] Well, what I think that means when it says ‘our own understanding’ is those things in life which we feel certain about. Maybe it’s certainty about how life works, maybe it’s a certainty about how God works. Also leaning on our own understanding can mean that we base our lives on our plans and our ambitions, our aspirations. We plan what our future is going to look like. We become certain about the direction that our life is going in so when it says to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding what it’s basically saying is we need to let go of those things in which we find certainty, all those things that we rely on in life.

^[02:13] That’s really difficult because when we haven’t got certainty then we tend to stress and get worried, at least I do. I like to be certain, I like to know what’s happening, I like to plan and work every detail out. Only then can I feel less worried and less stressed about the future, and yet Jesus says some really extreme things about worry. In fact, He tells his followers “Don’t worry, don’t stress about the basic things of life like what you’re going to eat, what you’re going to drink, what you’re going to wear“. These things are all really important necessities in life and in many respects we don’t worry about the necessities of life because we don’t need to. We’ve got jobs, we’ve got money, we can just pop to Tescos and get whatever we want but, if COVID does teach us anything, it shows us how precarious those certainties in life are. For example, I was certain it wasn’t going to rain on this dog walk, and it is.

^[03:29] Our jobs, our relationships, our futures, our aspirations, all those things upon which we build our lives in order to remove uncertainty, stress and worry. In fact, in the verses that comes a little bit before the passage in Matthew where Jesus tells us, tells his followers not to worry, Jesus says “Don’t store up your treasures on earth. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven”. So what are earthly treasures? Well it’s those things on earth where we place our importance, those things on earth upon which we build our life, those things on earth which we rely upon. That could be all sorts of things but the reality is they are subject to change, they’re subject to loss, they are ultimately uncertain regardless of how solid they may appear now. It’s just an illusion and in fact you’re building your life upon things that are going to be destroyed, things are going to rust away. Jesus says “Instead, store up your treasures in heaven” because only in heaven, it’s only in God that you can find no change. It’s only in God that you can find certainty.

^[05:16] Now you may not always understand or comprehend or know what God is doing, you may not know his plans for you and actually that’s why you need to trust in Him. Trust only comes through a relationship, it only comes through knowing God and his character and that He would never let you down so if you want to trust in God then what you need to do is endeavour to seek him, to learn about him, to connect with Him. Only then does the worry-free life become a possibility.

[1] YouTube link: Can I Have Certainty in Life? (2)
Bible references: Proverbs ch 3 v5

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

In the first of his midweek messages back in March, Martin posed the question “Can we find security?” Last week he asked a similar question “Can I have certainty in life?”

COVID-19 has demonstrated that we can have no certainty about the plans that we make, this week’s photo-news from Oregon shows that houses and real estate offer no assurance of security, and the debacle of Kanye West’s bid to become a presidential candidate in the USA proves that wealth and celebrity are no guarantees of success.

Do you find this lack of certainty and security unsettling? Are you one of those who can ‘fly by the seat of their pants’ or do you like things to be predictable, even a bit regimented? In short, are you happy?

Groucho Marx said “I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

The apostle Paul wrote something similar in his letter to the Philippians:

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” [Philippians 4:12]

Of course, life includes periods of discontent, disappointment, despair, distress, desperation. The fallout from COVID has exacerbated these feelings; we cannot simply put on a happy-face mask and try to pretend that all is well. Can anything offer us stability during times of insecurity? How can we cope?

Patricia Owens reminds us that

We have an anchor that keeps the soul,
steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love!

For those who feel overwhelmed by those d-words, perhaps Paul’s words to the Thessalonians can offer some comfort:

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.” [2 Thessalonians 3:16 Amplified Bible]

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

New rules have been introduced: Leave your shoes, outdoor clothes and bags at the door; no food or soft drinks to be brought in; make sure your hands are clean; do not move the furniture; sit only where indicated; no crisps, popcorn or chewing gum.

Is this the government panicking about COVID and trying to enforce social distancing? They may well be, but these particular rules have been imposed because someone splashed out on a new carpet. Maybe ‘splashed’ is not the most appropriate word since that is what the rules are intended to prevent.

How do we feel about rules? To what point can we justify exploiting the loopholes in the letter of the law? What should we do about rules that are obviously badly drafted and have unwanted consequences? In his letter to Christians in Rome, Paul suggests that we should obey temporal rules wholeheartedly, especially because those who make the rules have been placed in their positions by God’s authority.

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. [Romans 13 v1-2, NIV]

By contrast, Douglas Bader once said “Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men”. Many of us whose consider ourselves to be more ‘in-touch’ than the rule makers might be inclined to agree!

Throughout history we can identify occasions when things have been improved because someone was willing to disobey the rules. Daniel and his three friends defied the laws that Nebuchadnezzar had made but the outcome was that the king himself came to recognise God. Obadiah defied the instructions of king Ahab and thereby saved over a hundred of God’s people. All over the world people are still rebelling against despots and unjust rules.

In the early books of the Old Testament, God goes to great lengths to set out the rules that He wanted the Israelites to follow, and much of the rest of the Old Testament recounts what happened when they didn’t. We know that following the rules cannot reconcile the difference but, as EH Swinstead reminds us,

“There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin, There’s a door that is open and you may go in, At Calvary’s cross is where you begin, When you come as a sinner to Jesus.”

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[This message was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Sep/2020]

Heard of Hiroshima? Yes … or The Nanking Massacre in 1937? Maybe only recently. Up to 300,000 Chinese were killed by the Japanese Army.
It is estimated that 20 million Chinese were killed between 1931 and 1945.

The book ‘Two Pilgrims Meet –In search of Reconciliation between China and Japan’ by Minoru Kasai and Basil Scott looks at all the issues of the time from opposing perspectives. Minoru and Basil met at Banaras Hindu University, in India, in 1963. They discovered that both had spent their childhood in Shanghai. Minoru’s Japanese parents worked there in freedom, whilst Basil was interned with his missionary parents in a Japanese Prisoner Of War (POW) camp alongside Eric Liddell. Minoru was also a Christian and he and Basil regularly prayed together. Minoru moved to the USA and they then lost contact.

In 2005 amazingly through a mutual contact in Cambridge they were put in touch again. Basil now regularly visits Minoru in Japan. This book lists all the attempts for reconciliation and it is a concentrated read. If anyone would like to borrow the book please contact me. Andy P. has it at the moment as he knows Basil … whilst I met him many years ago on a plane to India!

Ed note: The book that Priscilla recommends is also available in Kindle format, at
Two Pilgrims Meet

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[Transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], September 2020]

In the messiness and upheaval in life is it possible to be in control? Can I really have certainty in my life?

We’ve had a fair amount of uncertainty this week. Not only are the Brexit negotiations going a little bit haywire but also COVID restrictions have been increased and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds. Is there going to be a lockdown? Is there going to be a second spike? How can we find some certainty in all this? How can we find some stability? How can we feel in control again?

^[00:44] Probably one of the things that we look forward the most in life is security, is control. We like to be in control because when we’re in control we feel less stressed, and it’s those situations in life where we feel that we’ve lost control that we find the most stressful. It could be a wedding, it could be a loss of a job, it could be the loss of a loved one, it could be sickness, it could be a house move. Those situations when no matter what you do, something comes up which makes things difficult, which makes things stressful. The only certainty that we can have in life is that there is no certainty.

^[01:34] So how do we respond to this lack of security, this lack of certainty, this lack of control in life? Is there any way of getting it? I’ve got a tattoo on my forearm, it’s a picture of an anchor with the words “Firm and Secure” and this comes from a passage in Hebrews, a book in the New Testament. It’s a book written to a bunch of Christians who were in a difficult situation, they in danger of giving up and the writer of Hebrews wants to encourage them and he tells them these words in chapter 6 and verse 19:

“we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain”

^[02:30] What the writer of Hebrews is talking about here is that because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, that we are held in place, in heaven basically. We’re anchored and our soul, our being is anchored in the heavenly realms and it’s firm and secure. That’s what an anchor does; in the storms it holds a boat in one place and likewise this anchor for the soul holds us firm and secure despite how the storms of life may rage, despite the uncertainties, despite the lack of control, we are firm and secure. Not because of anything that we have done, not because we’ve managed to control a situation. The reality is, we can’t. It’s a bit like when I remember our children having a toy steering wheel attached to their car seats so that they could feel like they’re driving the car and sometimes we can think that we’re in control, that we are steering our course through life. The reality is that we are not in the driver’s seat, that we have no control.

^[03:49] And yet we can find security in life because of Jesus. Not certainty in the here and now because we’re just not certain of what is going to be happening around the corner but we have got a sure and certain hope for our future. Because of Jesus Christ, my ultimate destination is secure. Jesus, God, is in control and what I need to learn, what I need to rely on is not so much certainty and control but trust in Jesus.

[1] YouTube link: Can I Have Certainty in Life?
Bible references: Hebrews ch 6 v19

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

It’s that time of year when, in much of the northern hemisphere, the harvests are gathered in. In Biblical times, when much of the known world was agrarian, the quantity and quality of the harvest was of major importance. There were no means for long-distance transport or long-term storage to cater for out-of-season needs – what you ate is what you grew. Maybe that is why so much of the Bible has a rural context. Even today, when supermarkets can supply a full range of produce year-round to a majority-urban population, we still need those people who are willing to have a hands-on experience of harvest.

As I write these reflections, I can look out onto an agricultural landscape. In some fields stooks of maize are drying. The sun and the rain have done their work, now it is the time for the farmer to bring in the harvest. The dried stooks will be loaded onto horse-drawn carts and taken home where the kernels are ground for flour or chicken feed, the stripped cobs are kept for winter kindling and the foliage becomes silage for winter feed for cattle. The roots are ploughed back into the ground to provide nourishment for next year’s crop, and thus no part of the crop is without its value.

Sheaves feature in several Bible accounts. Joseph had a dream about sheaves and that got him into a lot of trouble, Ruth gathered amongst the sheaves in Boaz’s field and that changed her life too. Psalm 126 tells us that “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” In 1874 Knowles Shaw penned these words with the same theme:

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

His hymn draws parallels between agricultural harvest and the harvest of human souls. Gathering sheaves is hard work, they are dry, dusty and can be painful to handle, and that is not the end of the process. Are human souls any easier? Some are willing to go out into the field to bring in the harvest. Who is willing to invest the necessary time and effort to encourage and instruct the ‘new harvest’ so that they become a valuable resource in God’s storehouse?
Thank God for such people!

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