Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 27/Jan/2019]

Last Sunday the remains of five Jewish adults and one child murdered in the Holocaust at Auschwitz were buried. They had been found in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, and were laid to rest in a Jewish cemetery outside London. In his eulogy, the UK Chief Rabbi said that they were “stripped of their dignity both in life and in death. And we will now have an opportunity to accord them appropriate dignity with a funeral.”

I remember visiting a vast underground base for Second World War Nazi V2 missiles in France. These bases were built by Jewish slave labour, and in the process more of them died during their labour than Britons were killed by all the V2 rockets launched against our country. Today, half of the base is an amazing exhibition of rockets and satellites as a history of space research, but because of the many Jews who died there the remainder is filled with possessions and pictures in memory of the Holocaust victims.

This was very moving and prepared me for a visit to the awe inspiring site of the Yad Vashem memorial and museum in Jerusalem, built in memory of the more than six million Jews who died in the Nazi Holocaust. As I was thinking about all this, I told the Israeli guide, a real grandfather figure, that my dad’s mother had been Jewish. He immediately said that my dad was therefore 100% Jewish. When I asked about me, he told me that I was Jewish too (he didn’t say 100%) and that I could apply to emigrate to Israel! I was looking at more of the memories and possessions of the murdered Jewish families when I realized something that shocked me. If the Nazis had invaded and defeated our country in the Second World War, then my father, my uncles and aunts, my many cousins and myself would all have died in the extermination camps because we would have been considered to be Jewish. Since that time the Holocaust has been much more personal to me.

In recent days there has been a rise in anti-Semitism around the world and in this country. In a few years from now, there will be no one left to remember personally the genocide of the Jews, and a recent survey in America showed that most millenials have never heard of Auschwitz. Even some Christians forget that Jesus was humanly speaking a Jew, and so were His disciples and the first Christians. It is important that we remember the Holocaust as a guard against future genocide, not only of the Jews but of other ethnic groups too.

The Bible foretells a time when the Jews in Israel will be almost overrun by their many enemies and at that time they will be rescued by their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our Saviour, when He comes again. Then Jesus will fulfil all the promises to the Jews in the Bible from Abraham onwards, and as Paul says in Romans 11:26-27, “And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, ‘The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins’”.

From then on the Jews will live in peace and never face another Holocaust.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/Jan/2019]

This question is not addressed to those frustrated clients of a well-known budget airline, nor is for those classic car aficionados with long memories. Rather, it has a maritime context. The role of the pilot is to guide the captain of a vessel through difficult waters. He is aware of the shoals and reefs that present a risk and he is able to follow the twists and turns of a safe channel. Perhaps one of the most reassuring aspects of having a pilot is that he has been there before – he has practical experience of what the vessel is going through.

I recall my great-grandfather at the age of 94 looking back over his life and saying that he would not change one day of it. He may have been suffering a bout of selective senility but I rather think that he was reflecting that God had guided his life perfectly and that everything had come together for his good.

Psalm 107 records: He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

As we enter a new year, how many of us would forgo an opportunity to change something about the past year? Was there a misspoken word that was not easily corrected; an opportunity that was missed, or perhaps one that should have been allowed to pass? Do the experiences of the past year feed our worries about the new one?

My great-grandfather, like his father before him, had placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his personal pilot. As we start another year, do you feel the need for someone who both knows what is coming and knows the way through it?

Consider the words of Eric Swinstead:
Do you want a Pilot? Signal then to Jesus;
Do you want a Pilot? Bid Him come on board;
For He will safely guide across the oceans wide
Until you reach at last the Heavenly Harbour.

This pilot is still available, he understands our circumstances and he is fully qualified to steer our way through whatever the new year will bring. He is just waiting to be invited to come alongside.
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, December 2018]

“He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognise Him.” John 1: 10.

Max Lucado tells the story of a young boy, Johnny, who was shooting rocks with a slingshot. He could never hit his target. As he returned to Grandma’s backyard, he spied her pet duck. On impulse, he took aim and let fly. The stone hit and the duck was dead. Johnny panicked and hid the duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister Sally watching. After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes. What choice did he have? For the next several weeks, he was at the sink often. Sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. “Remember the duck”, Sally would whisper when he objected.

So weary of the chore, he decided that any punishment would be better than washing more dishes, so he confessed to killing the duck. “I know, Johnny”, his grandma said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave out of you.”

Max Lucado goes on to say that Johnny had been pardoned, but he thought he was guilty. Why? He had listened to the words of his accuser. You have been accused as well. You have been accused of dishonesty, immorality, greed, anger and arrogance. Your accuser has noticed every error and marked each slip. Try to forget your past; he’ll remind you.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul says “Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one, because God is the one who makes them right. Who can say God’s people are guilty? No one, because Christ Jesus died, but he was also raised from the dead and now he is on God’s right side, begging for us.” Romans 8:32-34

Martin, our pastor, spoke at the Carol service about how Christ seems to have become irrelevant to many as they celebrate Christmas. He came into the world he made and he wasn’t recognised. The shame about it is that those who don’t recognise him also fail to realise what he has done for them.

The choice, this Christmas, is yours – ignore Christ and like Johnny, have a lifetime of washing dishes and ‘remembering the duck’, or welcome Christ and have a lifetime of rejoicing, as you remember what he has done for you.
Have a blessed Christmas.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 18/Nov/2018]

Last Sunday’s service was very moving as we thought of the Armistice 100 years ago to end the First World War, and remembered the sacrifice of those who died in that war and subsequent wars to give us peace today.

We shall soon have our thoughts on Advent and the coming of Jesus. One Old Testament prophecy that is often quoted is Isaiah 9:6 – 7 and is relevant to our thoughts of war in the past. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus came 2000 years ago and yet our world is still full of wars and death but He is still the Prince of Peace.

The Old Testament has two sets of promises about the coming Messiah, Jesus. First as a Suffering Servant and then as a powerful, worldwide king. He fulfilled the first prophecies when he died on the cross and as we believe in Him He gives us forgiveness and cleansing, and peace with God. But after He came back to life and went to be with His Father in heaven, there are many prophecies in the Bible that He will come again. Then He will fulfil the other prophecies about His coming to be King of Kings when we shall see Him as truly the Prince of Peace.

At the Ascension two men in white said to the disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) Jesus himself said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

Paul describes this momentous event in 1 Thess. 4:16 – 17.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Following this, Jesus will again stand on this earth and begin His reign of peace over all those remaining in the world who had not been raised. If taken literally, this will last for a thousand years as we see in Revelation 20:1 – 6 and by His grace we shall reign with Him. He will restore creation and there will be no wars, no poverty, no famine and not even global warming nor plastic pollution. In fact, He will show us how we should have been caring for this world for the past few thousand years. Here are some of the prophecies in the Bible that point to what it will be like in His coming kingdom.

“In his days the righteous will flourish: prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” “All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.” (Psalm 72:7 – 8, 11)

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:6 – 7)

“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

I haven’t room for more verses about His kingdom, or even to talk about the new heavens and a new earth which follow after.

As we remember the past let’s also look forward to the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus, coming again to reign. At the end of the Bible, Jesus says
“Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 04/Nov/2018]

It is perhaps to be expected, on the eve of Bonfire Night, that our thoughts would turn to those events that took place on 5th November. There have been some notable English births on this date: Pete Noone, the Herman in Herman’s Hermits; Tilda Swinton who played the White Witch in the Narnia Chronicles and Jonny Greenwood from the rock band Radiohead – he has the middle name Guy, I wonder why!

The 5th November 1688 saw what was possibly the last occasion in which England was invaded by force of arms (to date, at least). William III of Orange landed at Brixham with a large army, intent on preventing the majority Protestant population from being forcibly converted to Catholicism. He was successful.

Of course, the most prominent ‘memory’ of 5th November is that of Guy Fawkes and his role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In another example of a dispute when both sides claim to be Christians, Guy Fawkes was one of a group of conspirators who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and replace the reigning monarch with one more sympathetic to the Catholic minority. He was not successful.

Actually, the obsession with Guys goes back a lot further than that. Consider the scene on 5th November in the year 0000: the Lord God was walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening but it was unusually quiet so He called out “Where is that guy?” (Genesis 3 v9) Adam’s answer “with a bird in the bush” was far from satisfactory and human history went downhill from there. Not a great success.

A long time later a glimmer of hope appeared when Jesus Christ was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. He called out to some fishermen “Be my guys” and that was the beginning of a global movement which is still proclaiming a message of hope for all who will believe in Him. Successful or not, sooner or later we must all face the choice that Joshua put before the Israelites – “choose you this day whom you will serve” or, in the parlance of these thoughts, “Whose guy are you?”.

Does that trigger your thoughts? A penny for them then.
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, October 2018]

Every now and then, along this pilgrim journey, it is possible to get so used to where you are now, that you forget where you’ve come from. I’ll expand on this …

Paul says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Paul also says we shouldn’t forget who we were before we were called. Left to our own devices, we soon begin to look down on those who don’t quite meet a standard we have set. We become proud. It is important to ask for God’s grace not to do this. As CS Lewis says, “as long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

While I was working at Benenden hospital in Kent, a patient shared this with me:

“I dreamt that death came to me the other night,
Heaven’s gate swung open wide,
An angel with halo bright,
Ushered me inside. 
And there to my astonishment
Stood people whom I had judged and labelled,
As quite unfit and spiritually disabled. 
Harsh words rose to my lips, but never were set free,
For much to my surprise,
No one it seemed, expected me!”

As followers of Christ we will go to heaven not because we’ve earned the right to be there, but rather, because for reasons we may never know, God decided that we were worthy of His love. Let us receive this free gift and be eternally thankful.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, Declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55: 7-8

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