Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Sep/2018]

In my previous contribution to these pages I hinted at an interest in the time periods included in many of the Bible stories. Maybe it has something to do with being born during the relatively short reign of George VI, or maybe it’s the fallout from having spent so long in a working environment where I had to account for every quarter-hour. Consider for example the account of Abraham’s visitors in Genesis 18. How long would it take to select a fatted calf, slaughter it, draw it, skin it, butcher it, cook it and then serve it? Maybe they had a sandwich whilst they were waiting!

Recently we have been delving into the story of Esther, courtesy of Neil, Paul, Martin and David. (I wonder if a woman’s perspective might have been different!) Those events occurred at a particular time in history (maybe around 480 BC) but did you notice the duration of the various stages of the story itself? The initial banquet lasted 180 days. I recently went to a wedding reception where five main courses were served in so many hours; most of the guests took the final two courses home in doggie-bags. What must have 180 days been like – not to mention the additional seven days for the staff? There was another six years whilst the King tried to force the Greeks into submission (the IMF tried the same 2,500 years later with rather more success). Then Esther took 12 months to prepare herself to meet the king – even by modern standards that is a bit much for a first date.

Our usual ‘take-away’ from the story of Esther is her guardian’s admonition that “Maybe you have come into your position for such a time as this”. Esther, Joseph, Moses, Mordecai and Nehemiah all attained positions to influence the affairs of state in alien cultures; the royal court was their ‘front line’. The front line is different for each one of us but the formula that defines our response is the same: “What can I do, here, now, where I’m at?”

Or, as Elsie Yale wrote …
There’s a work for Jesus, ready at your hand,
There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, August 2018]
 
My wife and I decided to go for a walk down the path behind our house. We’ve been in Smallfield for 4 years now and we both wondered why this was the first time that we had walked down this path. It wound past houses, then open fields, then through an industrial estate, then down to Burstow Manor past some rather angry guard dogs (thank God for fences) and then down a country road and back to the main road. Some of the scenery looked so different to our neighbourhood and we noted that if we’d been shown photos of the path we’d walked, we would have said they were photos of somewhere else, but certainly not Smallfield.

It got me thinking that we have been attending Horley Baptist church since we moved here 4 years ago. In that time, we have met quite a few people in church, but I must confess that there are some I have only seen, but never had a chance (or gone out of my way to make the effort) to talk to. There might be all sorts of reasons (excuses) for this, but perhaps none that a determined effort on my part wouldn’t address.

Paul wrote to the Galatians and asked them to ‘Carry each other’s burdens’ and later on in the letter, he says ‘Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers’ (Galatians 6:2). It is unlikely that I will do either of these things if I don’t get to know the people around me.

There are many within our congregation and our neighbourhoods who could do with a listening ear, an encouraging word, or perhaps just a hug. I’d like to encourage you in the week ahead to make an effort to introduce yourself to that person you haven’t talked to yet and not just in church. You might be the one through whom God decides to pass His blessings on to them, or perhaps that they might be the one through whom God blesses you.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 23/Jul/2018]

A recent visiting speaker to Thursday Group having heard that Barbara and I were giving up as leaders, sent a message kindly wishing us well for our “retirement”. I always associate retirement with giving up work, whereas having led regular Bible studies for several years on Thursdays, and many years before that in Edenbridge, has been a joy and a privilege. It will be sad to have to take more of a back seat, which I shall do once I have had a “sabbatical” until the end of the year. Our last get together for this session was our enjoyable annual garden lunch, which was blessed by the fine weather and excellent food and fellowship.

A couple of days later, the reality of the situation hit me and I felt really low. A friend at church had given us a calendar with daily devotions, and the words for that day lifted me up. I’m repeating them in case you need encouraging too.

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

Nahum whose name means “comfort” or “consolation” brought hope and comfort to the hearts of God’s people. He gave them the following three-fold assurance: “The Lord is good.” His character cannot change toward you and me. He is “a stronghold [or refuge] in the day of trouble.” Rest in your impregnable fortress for divine protection. “He knows them that trust [or find shelter, refuge] in him.” Find comfort in His omniscience [His knowing all about you], knowing, “He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Weary one, no matter how difficult the day may be, “the Lord is good” and He is still your stronghold.

I found a Friend; O such a Friend! So kind, and true, and tender,
So wise a Counsellor and Guide, so mighty a Defender.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/Jul/2018]

Some 2000 years ago, before Jesus was born, a man with mobility difficulties decided to try a course of hydrotherapy at a treatment centre in Jerusalem. 38 years later he was still waiting for healing. Then Jesus came along at precisely the right moment and performed the healing miracle for him.

What intrigues me about this story is not the miracle itself or its outcome but the period of waiting beforehand. Thirty-eight years corresponds to the whole of my time in paid employment, and is only slightly longer than the duration of my membership of HBC. So what does 38 years feel like? Here are some events from 38 years ago:
– Steve McQueen, John Lennon, Billy Butlin and Peter Sellers died;
– CNN, the Rubik’s Cube and Post-it Notes were introduced;
– The average UK house price was £13,650 and a gallon (4.5 litres) of petrol cost 79p;
– The UK annual inflation rate reached 18%, the Bank of England base interest rate ended the year at 14%;
– Ronald Reagan became President-elect of the USA and Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of the newly independent Zimbabwe;
– The Audi Quattro, Ford Escort Mk3 and BL Metro were launched and the MGB ceased production.
– Michael Fanstone was half-way through his time as minister of Horley Baptist Church. Earnest Wimshurst was senior door steward.
For some of us these are memories of current affairs; for others they are merely moments in history.

Do you feel that you are waiting for God to do something? If He doesn’t turn up soon will you have to start without Him? Remember that God invented time, and that He measures it differently. Look up 2 Peter 3 verses 8&9, and wait patiently on God for His perfect timing.
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, July 2018]
 
The Christian walk has its highs and lows and I often find myself unsure of whether I am walking as God would have me do, often feeling guilty for not sticking to the straight and narrow path. An excerpt from a devotional by Charles Spurgeon^[1] has been very helpful for me in this regard and I have paraphrased it below. I hope it is as much a blessing to you as it has been to me.
 
It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.”

Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you – it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you – it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument – it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.

We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon your mind; when you wake in the morning look to him; when you lie down at night look to him. Oh! let not your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail you.

“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

[1] ‘Morning and Evening: Daily Readings by CH Spurgeon’, morning meditation for June 28
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/May/2018]

We have recently enjoyed the beautiful sight of the bluebells in the local woods. This year I was reminded of a time when our children were very young and we took them for a woodland walk. At one point we went off the path and after a while we lost track of where we were and which way to go. Then Barbara said, “I think we’re lost.” I didn’t think we were lost – I knew we were lost. But our 5 year old daughter said something that surprised me, “Don’t worry mummy, daddy’s here.” What faith a little girl had in her dad. Fortunately her faith was rewarded. We came to the edge of a field and on the other side was a road, which we found with relief led back to our car.

Even when we are trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, there are still times in our lives when we feel lost and don’t know where we are going. I have felt this over the past few years with a decline in my health just as others have felt the same way too. It seems that God is far away in His heavenly realms. Psalm 113:5-6 puts it very well:

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth.

But we also need to remember that He says in Isaiah 57:15:

I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in heart.

Elijah found this out in his own life when having defeated the prophets of Baal, he ran away from Queen Jezebel who threatened to kill him. As a result he experienced great depression and wanted to die. With fatigue he fell asleep and when he woke up an angel gave him food and drink to strengthen him. Then he heard God’s voice. “What are you doing here Elijah?” Did you notice that God used the word “here”? He was right there with Elijah in his time of need and restored his faith in Him.

We may all face problems in life with depression, illness, financial troubles, broken relationships and many others, and it’s at that sort of time that we can easily forget that we have a heavenly Father who is right here with us and never leaves us. Remember, “Don’t worry, Abba, Father, Daddy is here.” All we need is the faith of a little child.

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