Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[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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[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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