Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

These thoughts were part of a series of Easter reflections prepared for, and by, members of Horley Baptist Church during April 2020. This reflection is based on Mark 11: 1 -11.

Imagine yourself as a bystander hearing a terrific ruckus coming down the road -loud shouting and singing! It’s a growing mob of people milling excitedly around this Jesus of Nazareth riding a donkey. Now you can make out what they’re shouting: ‘Hosanna to the son of David! Blessings to the one who comes in the name of the Lord!‘

Someone next to you says, ‘That’s what Zechariah prophesied! He is riding in as king!‘ Sometimes else: ‘The Romans are as good as finished!‘

Do you break away from the spectators and join the wild procession? If you do, you are in for a devastating disappointment! In just a few days, you and this crowd will watch your ‘king’ die a horrible death on a Roman cross. Maybe you should have kept your distance. It was ridiculous in the first place!

Then, a few weeks later, you and many others hear that he is alive again, that somehow, he burst out of his tomb! Another moment of decision, another amazing invitation: now, will I join the celebration? He just may be who he said he was: King of the universe! Even in the face of Covid -19? Yes! Oh, yes!!
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[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 05/Apr/2020]

Below is an excerpt from an online post that spoke to me this week …

“If My people will
1) HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY,
2) SEEK MY FACE AND
3) TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS”
God promises to heal the land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

‘That tells me we can be out of sync with God in three ways, we may seek and pray but if we don’t TURN, we still haven’t got the message. My growing view and I’m not enjoying it, is that REPENTANCE, turning, is a key issue here in our present situation. We’re praying all right, but turning? The church has the key to this, not the unbeliever.
What if we are in a desperate state before Him, made worse by the fact that we think “we are all right, it’s the others”; what if we cannot see ourselves naked like the King who was in His altogether? What if we are stone deaf to the Holy Spirit? Yes, we are positionally ‘in Christ’, yes, we are the beloved of God. BUT, what if we are immature in the WAYS of God and we have some growing to do – fast.

What if it’s back to basics? What if every Christian asked the Lord to show them where they needed to repent, to turn away from what He didn’t like in their lives – their wicked ways, and sincerely asked how to get into alignment with HIM? Regular confession: keeping short accounts with Him. What if the cumulative effect of unconfessed sin is like one vast landfill site stinking to heaven? Graphic but that’s the picture I got…unconfessed sin, is sin that is unforgiven. He’s not obsessed with it, but it needs acknowledgement and cleansing – it’s the only way we grow beloved. Finding out where we don’t fit with Him, where we are out of sync…could shake us out of our complacency.’

— Beryl Moore, Bible Teacher and Visionary, Sovereign Ministries.

Why did the post speak to me? I think it was the words “My people…” that stood out. This verse is directed at those already in Christ, but I wonder if we sometimes interpret it as “If the world will humble itself and pray, and turn from its wicked ways”. I shared the above with some prayer friends, and below is how one of them responded. He has given me permission to share his response here:

“Lesley, I was thinking about that very passage yesterday, and how it’s hard not to see this situation as punishment/correction. Of course, my main focus was on businessmen, politicians, and basically everyone who doesn’t think like me. So it’s a huge wake up call to read this and remember, it starts with me – I need to humble myself before God again, and ask him to show me where I need to take a log out of my own eye. So, in such a rationalistic age, perhaps even a miraculous end to the virus would soon be explained away. But a changed Christian community might cause more pause for thought. And seeing as we are all scattered servants now, if we allow God to change and remould us in the light of what’s happening, we can let our lights shine to a better way of being.”

So what is my response, your response? I like to think of it like gardening. When I regularly weed my garden, it thrives and the beauty of the good things in it, shine through. But when I leave the weeds to take hold, they choke everything around them, and the garden looks uncared-for, messy, struggling. Can we all ask God each day to show us what needs digging out, so that our lives, our witness, our relationships, our church, our service are a wonderful array of colour and beauty that transforms the world around us?
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[Modified transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], April 2020]

Amidst all the change and unknowns, is it possible for us to have hope for the future?

Hi guys, I’m coming to you from my dog walk. I put the kids in front of ‘Frozen II’ and I’ve taken this opportunity to get out and have my one exercise a day and get a bit of fresh air.

In the Old Testament we’re told about a time when the nation of Israel had been defeated, pretty much due to their own disobedience. They were defeated by the great Babylonian Empire and their city was destroyed. They were taken off to Babylon where they were going to live their lives. Their identity had been stolen; they were no longer Jewish in the same sense that they recognized from the past and they’re going to be living out a different life in a strange and foreign land. Some people were really hopeful and said “Don’t worry, this is that it going to be a couple of weeks. God will sort this all out” but the reality was very different. In fact, a whole generation was spent in exile in this strange land and they must have felt completely bereft. They must have been mourning their previous way of life, they must have struggled with their identity about who they were. Maybe they’re asking “God, why has this happened?”

^01:18 Perhaps you’re asking similar sorts of questions at this time of the corona virus, of the COVID-19 pandemic, and maybe you have the same question: “God, why has this happened?” Maybe you’re struggling with some of the questions about “What is the future going to look like?”, “What is our society going to look like?”, “What’s my family going to look like?”, “What is church going to look like?” So many questions about what the future may hold and perhaps for you the future seems pretty bleak and nothing is going to be the same. Is there any hope for the future?

^02:02 For the nation of Israel in that time of change, that time of exile, God gave them these words through the prophet Isaiah: he said “forget the former things, do not dwell on the past, see I am doing a new thing now. It springs up, do you not perceive it? I’m making a way in wilderness and streams in the wastelands”.

^02:36 You see, I believe wholeheartedly that God is here in the midst of this whole situation; despite the darkness, despite the difficulties, despite the challenges and the changes, despite our fears and anxiety. God is with us and the reality is that God is doing something new. Are you able to sense it? Are you able to perceive it? I believe that where there was desert God is bringing life, where there was wasteland and destruction God is building something new. I believe that there is hope for the future and, yes, we may be fearful now, we may be anxious but God is saying “Forget about how things once were; the more you cling on to the past the more anxious you are going to be about the future”.

^03:37 Instead, trust in a God who is going to do something new, something wonderful. I believe that God can make good of any situation, however awful and terrible it might be, and this is an awful and terrible situation, but I believe that God will do something new and something different and something wonderful. God will bring life where there once was death.
So I hope that cheers you up a bit, I hope maybe that relieves some of your fear and anxiety. I hope that maybe that gives you a little bit of excitement about what God might be doing in this new season.

[1] YouTube link: Is There Hope for the Future?
Bible references: Isaiah ch43 v 17-18

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Mar/2020]

They say that a week is a long time in politics. The way things are moving with the coronavirus, even a day seems to be a long time. Life is going on, but as Dr Spock said to Captain Kirk, ‘not as we know it’. If there was ever a time to pray for our leaders, now would be it.

There is no shortage of news about the virus. At a time like this, with the fear about the virus so widespread, people are less likely to critically think about the information they get and are more likely to take things at face value. The problem is that there is no filter for some of the information coming through and weird and wacky ways to deal with the virus abound. Some of them are humorous and good for a laugh, others are misleading and could be harmful if followed. Some of the people giving the erroneous advice are actually well meaning, some are reckless, others are mischievous.

I have sometimes wondered why the apostles were very upset about false teachers in the church. They likened them to wolves in sheep’s clothing and were very harsh in some of their pronouncements about them. The current climate makes it easier for me to understand. These people were peddling what could be seen as ‘fake news’ to people who desperately needed to hear the truth. This is not the time for fake news. People need to have clear guidance. They need to trust what is being said about this virus and the guidance on what to do to avoid or mitigate its effects. The government websites are helpful, as is information from reputable sources such as the BBC.

Having said all this, it is also important to remember that though you may not be aware of His presence, God is with us. He has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us. We are confused about things that are happening – let us ask him for wisdom. We are unsettled about how things have changed – let us ask for his peace. I believe that ‘this too will come to pass’, but while we are going through it, let’s ask God what he would have us learn, let’s find out what he would have us say and do, to bring comfort, hope and relief to others.

If it seems a bit dark and gloomy, well, then it is time to let our lights shine. Just in case you think that’s a tall order, this bit from the UCB Word for today might help remind you of who is actually doing the heavy lifting.

“God is either the object of your trust or just a part-time helper you call on when you can’t handle things on your own. It’s reminiscent of the elephant and the mouse that walked over a bridge. When they got to the other side, the mouse said, ‘Man, we really shook that bridge!’ When you begin to see God as playing the major role and you the minor one, you’ll begin to find the peace which has eluded you for so long.”

Have a blessed week.
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[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Mar/2020]

People from Missouri in the U.S. have a reputation. For a long time, folk have portrayed them as being too simple to believe anything they can’t see with their own two eyes. The saying goes: ‘I’m from Missouri; show me!’

Over and over again in Jesus’ ministry and throughout the book of Acts, we SEE amazing ‘signs and wonders’. THEN people are ready – no, DESPERATE to HEAR the good news! In Romans 1:16 Paul declares ‘… I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who BELIEVES…‘ He can say that because it’s TRUE; the gospel has totally transformed him. AND EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!

Tim Keller says: “The opposite of ‘ashamed of the gospel’ is not ‘proud to be a Christian’. The opposite of ‘ashamed of the gospel’ is ‘passionate to spread the gospel’“.

If I use the excuse that ‘I’m too self-conscious’ or ‘I’m not very out-going’, could it be that I’m afraid people might want to see past whatever words I’m struggling to find? Am I afraid they might be asking, ‘Show me!’?

In prayer recently, the Holy Spirit said he wanted to lead us into radical HONESTY. A place where we let him take off our Christian masks and become brave enough, humble enough and REAL enough, to let folk around us see us as we are, faltering yet faithful. Then there’s a good chance people from Missouri (or Horley) will say, ‘Okay. NOW I SEE!
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