Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 20/May/2018]

Do you remember the scene from ‘The Good Life’ where the sophisticated Margot declares that she is going to have to tidy the house “because the cleaner is coming”? It is said that we never have a second chance to create a first impression, but how many times do we wish that we had managed some of those impressions differently?

Back in the 1850s Holman Hunt, the English painter, offered his interpretation of Revelation 3 v20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me“. One of the notable features of the door at which Jesus is knocking is that it has no external handle – it can be opened only from the inside. What sort of impression would Jesus get if He could gain access to what lies behind our door?

Lois Eades wrote a poem that some of us might be able to identify with. Here are some extracts:
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two –
If He came unexpectedly; I wonder what you’d do.
Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honoured Guest,
And all the food you’d serve to Him would be the very best,
And you would keep assuring Him you’re glad to have him there –
That serving Him in your own home is joy beyond compare.

But when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door,
With arms outstretched in welcome to your heavenly Visitor?
Or would you have to change your clothes before you let Him in?
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they’d been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn’t heard?
And wish you hadn’t uttered that last, loud, hasty word?

The door at which Jesus is knocking is the door of your heart. Are you keeping Him waiting whilst you tidy up?
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, May 2018]

Another week gone, a new one starting. Sometimes the days all seem the same. Sometimes it is like you’re stuck in a rut. Some days, it feels like inspiration has sprouted wings and flown and you’re rooted to the spot. We all have moments like this; for most of us, this passes quickly, but for some, not quick enough. I came across this poem and I hope it helps lift you whenever those moments come.

The Two Boxes
I have in my hands two boxes
Which God gave me to hold
He said, “Put all your sorrows in the black,
And all your joys in the gold.”

I heeded his words, and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I store
But though the gold became heavier each day
The black was as light as before

With curiosity, I opened the black
I wanted to find out why
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,
“I wonder where my sorrows could be.”
He smiled a gentle smile at me.
“My child, they’re all here with me.”

I asked, “God, why give me the boxes,
“Why the gold, and the black with the hole?”
“My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go.”

–Author Unknown—

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 01/Apr/2018]

During Lent I never quite know how we should look forward to Easter. Should we be sorrowful as we know we approach Good Friday and all the memories of the sufferings of Jesus as he died for us, or should we be happy knowing that on Easter Sunday we rejoice that Jesus rose from the dead with a glorified body? I guess it’s a combination of both, but perhaps with an emphasis on the rejoicing as we remember that His death resulted in us finding faith for our forgiveness from God. Also we rejoice that His resurrection is a promise to us for having our future risen bodies like His, either after our death or at His Second Coming to reign.

For the sorrowful part I have been thinking of the way bystanders insulted Jesus as He suffered His horrific execution.

The crowd mocked Him – “Save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:40)

The chief priests and lawyers mocked Him – “He saved others but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said “I am the Son of God”.” (Matt. 27:41-43)

The soldiers mocked Him – “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” (Luke 23:37)

Jesus is the king of Israel and the Son of God, and their taunts could not hurt Him because He knew that He couldn’t save Himself, even though He had the power to do so. If He had come down from the cross, then He would never have died for us and we could not have received cleansing and forgiveness for all that we had done wrong in our lives.

But to start rejoicing I think of what one of the robbers said, when he acknowledged that he was guilty and deserved his punishment, but then he said – “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)

Isn’t that amazing? He was dying and Jesus was dying, and yet he had understood what all those who were mocking could not see, that Jesus really is the Son of God. Then Jesus made that wonderful promise as He said – “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

That’s only the beginning of the rejoicing. The day is coming when all of us who trust Jesus as our Saviour and will be resurrected will join with the forgiven robber in paradise and say – “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Jesus).” (Rev 7:10)

At last, Lent is over, I can say – “Happy Easter!”

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

The experience of parenting came late to me. For most of my life I had successfully heeded the ubiquitous medical advice “keep away from children” and I was settled into a comfortable yet productive retirement. Then my wife announced that her grandchildren were coming to stay. Not merely coming to visit; coming to stay!

This is not such an uncommon arrangement in the rural areas of eastern Europe. One or both of the parents will leave the children in the care of their own parents or even grandparents whilst they explore the chance to provide for the family in a way that they could not do by staying at home. Meanwhile, the grandparents get the opportunity to correct the mistakes they made first time around. So when the four-year-old plunges his arms into the washbasin without rolling up his sleeves you patiently get a dry pullover, grateful in the knowledge that he has at least washed his hands. Or when a snotty two-year-old asks you to help her blow her nose for the umpteenth time, you gently comply. After all, rumour has it that you were like that once.

The Bible likens God’s relationship with us to that of a father, but what image comes to mind? In our contemporary society there are many examples of fatherhood – some good, some bad – so how do we decide which gives the best picture of God? In ‘Yours’ recently, Helen reminded us about the type of father who likes to give us good gifts – gifts that sometimes are all the more precious for having had to wait for them.

In his gospel, Matthew reports that Jesus taught His disciples to ask their heavenly Father for their daily bread, whilst the writer to the Hebrews argues that God’s discipline is ultimately for our good. Generosity, provision and correction are all characteristics of a caring parent; let us be thankful that our Father knows the perfect balance for each one of us.
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, March 2018]

Finding Jesus shouldn’t be like running through an obstacle course.

Being on the rota for writing the article in ‘Yours’ helps you realise that time flies. You blink and it’s your turn again! I realised with one day to go to the deadline that I still hadn’t done the article.

While I’m waiting for inspiration, let me tell you about a meeting we had in the Church this last weekend. It was meant to start with breakfast – much anticipated. The eggs, sausages, bread, coffee and tea were all ready. Just the bacon left to be done, so we went to turn on the hob. Except we couldn’t. There were instructions on the wall in the kitchen. 4 or 5 different steps. We followed them, but no joy. We tried and tried again and even ‘phoned a friend’, but still no joy… We gave up on the hob.

Picture a hypothetical scene:
A man walks into Church seeking Jesus. He is met by welcoming people, and after they hear his request, they tell him he needs to follow certain steps in order to see Jesus. They hand him the manual. He follows these steps as best he knows how. After many unfruitful attempts at trying to complete the steps, he gives up and walks out.

We gave up on the hob, he gives up on finding Jesus!

It is worth asking ourselves what obstacles we inadvertently put in the way of those who want to meet with Christ? Do we feel people need to be dressed in a certain way, speak in a certain way, behave in a certain way…? I remember my father telling me about how in one of the churches he used to attend when growing up, the men were not allowed to have beards. The ironical thing was that on the wall of the church hung a painting of Jesus – with a beard!

The song ‘Come just as you are to worship’ reminds us that God wants us to come with boldness, with confidence to him. Bold and confident, not in what we have done, but because of what Christ has done on our behalf. As the apostle Paul puts it, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We did nothing to earn His love. We mustn’t put barriers in the way of others coming to know him. If there is any transforming to be done, the Holy Spirit will do this, not us.

Oh, about the breakfast last weekend, we did get the bacon done – in the oven! I’m sure there was a switch we didn’t flick which would have made the hob work and now that I think of it, who knows – it might have been God’s way of providing something for me to share in ‘Yours’ this week.

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