Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 10/Sep/2017]

Some of you may recall that I used to work in traffic management in central London, first in the design and implementation of the Primary Red Routes and subsequently as one of the team developing procedures for bus lane enforcement. I am sure that did not endear my team to many drivers in London, who have a mass of rules and regulations to contend with, many of them apparently contradictory. Nevertheless, the overall achievement was in improvement in the common good, albeit at the expense of denying some individuals the liberty to do what they wanted.

Is this how you picture the Christian life? Do you see a list of commandments and expectations that are impossible to satisfy in their entirety, designed by a God who delights in making life difficult?

Recently I heard someone explaining the Ten Commandments somewhat differently. Instead of “Thou shalt not …” being a negative prohibition it can be read as a positive prediction – “You won’t …” because your devotion to God makes that particular action unnecessary. Today, instead of roasting the preacher over lunch, why not try a simple Bible meditation? Here are ten responses from Scripture; the list is not exhaustive and you will surely come up with your own suggestions.

The Ten Encouragements:

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, August 2017]

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–

Helen’s article in ‘Yours’ a couple of weeks ago reminded us about Romans 15:7, which asks us to accept one another just as Christ accepted us. You could say Paul is asking us to put what others have done to offend us into the black box. Michael also wrote in ‘Yours’ about how God often shows us new things from the storehouse of His word and these are definitely things worth storing in the gold box.

As you go into the week ahead, think of these boxes. For those things that annoy you, or hurt you, place them in the black box and allow them to slip away. Those things which bring a smile to your face, which bless you, place in the gold box.

One other thing; remember to dip into the gold box often, to bring out things to share with others. God’s laws of mathematics ensure us that as you give of your good things to share with others, you’ll end up with more, not less.

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 23/Aug/2017]

It is in your word that I place my complete hope. (Psalm 119:147)

Last Sunday Lesley bravely shared her disappointments about the proposed sale of her house and her anxieties for her health and future tests. Yet she was able to witness how promises from God’s word gave her trust in Him and amazing peace.

Some years ago I was sitting in a church where the minister was holding up his wife’s engagement ring as an illustration of what he was saying. He joked that we would be unable to see the diamond as it was so small, but at that moment I was able to see it very clearly. A ray of sunshine from a window caught a facet of the stone and bounced from facet to facet, put there by the diamond cutter, until the light flashed to me near the back of the church.

That experience has always spoken to me about how God’s word is multi-faceted and speaks to us in different ways at different times according to our needs at that time. Sometimes I read a verse I have read many times before and yet it seems to be saying something different. When this happens I believe that God is showing us something new from the storehouse of His word that is right for us at that moment even by using a different translation.

I could give a number of examples of this in my own life but here are two. On one occasion at work I had a problem with a colleague. At lunchtime I took my lunch to a local park and read these words at random from a pocket Good News Bible in Psalm 55. “If it were an enemy that mocked me, I could endure it … but it is you my companion, my colleague and close friend.” By using the word “colleague” in that Bible version God was telling me that He understood how I felt in that situation and gave me strength.

Also, when I first started having problems with my back and legs four years ago I kept falling to the ground. At the same time I read these words from Habakkuk 3:16 in the New Living Translation. “My legs gave way beneath me.” How specific God is at the time He speaks to us. My legs really did give way and when I looked at other versions they only spoke of trembling knees. A few verses later He promised to be my strength.

As we read the Bible may we see flashes of light as He speaks to us in our needs. May we trust Him for the future and find, as Lesley has, the amazing peace that comes from God our Father.

“Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105)

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Aug/2017]

A few weeks ago, Neil Robinson spoke about tearing up the rule book, and one of his comments reminded me about an illustration that Nicky Gumbel used in one of his daily on-line meditations. He described a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon that pictures Thomas on his side, having fallen off the train tracks. He is shouting, ‘I’m free! I’m free at last. I’ve escaped from the rails and I’m free!’ However, as we all know, a train that has gone off the rails has a somewhat limited future.

Near to my house is a footpath that I used on a daily basis to access Gatwick station. The footpath is narrow and winding; you cannot see one end from the other, and for a time it was unlit. It passes under the M23 Spur, between an access road to a staff car park and the London to Brighton railway which at that point is four tracks wide. Both the car park and railway have security fences – for the car park user the only way out is the way they came in, whilst Thomas’s successors are constrained by the rigours of rails, signals and timetables.

By contrast, the only fences that the footpath has are those inherited from the adjacent land uses. It is open at both ends; at the northern end the user may choose to go towards the west, north or east whilst to the south the footpath continues towards Crawley, passing through a surprisingly idyllic area with a babbling brook and frolicking fish just yards from the end of the runway.

At 5:45 on a winter morning, setting out on that path felt depressing, confined by fences not of my making, but as I approached the overpass I could recognise that only my narrow path offered liberty. I could join those commuters in their temporary warmth, or keep on walking. Remember the words of Jesus – “ small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” and “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”; (Matthew ch7 v13-14, Luke ch13 v24) – and be encouraged.
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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Jun/2017]

I remember John Bowden telling me how God looked after him and Dorothy when they were driving in Spain. The car had broken down and after they prayed some young men arrived in a car, sorted out the problem and drove off. They drove away in the same direction from which they had come and so John was convinced they were angels sent by God.

I was recently driving to the coast in Australia and I was thinking what would happen if I broke down or had a puncture. I remembered John’s story but didn’t dwell on the thought. On arrival we had a lovely sunny walk along a beautiful sandy beach and then back through a water park where children and parents were keeping themselves cool in fountains and jets of water. As we got back to the car, the young man parked next to us met us and pointed out that we had a flat tyre. He offered to change the wheel for us and he and the man parked on the other side of us quickly changed the wheel. They then drove off. However I knew they weren’t angels because angels don’t have wives and children as these men did, but I knew that this was God’s way of helping us as he had done so often in the past.

This was a relatively minor problem, but what about those times when the problem is more serious. A couple of weeks later a massive cyclone hit the northern Queensland coast, causing great damage, floods and devastation. We were only on the edge of the cyclone and not affected very much, and although there was mercifully little loss of life many people lost all that they had.

Tragically a mother and three children from a Christian family were driving home when their car slid into the floods. The eight year old daughter managed to escape and raise the alarm, but local residents were unable to rescue the others. When the police raised the car they said that the mother was a hero. She had tried unsuccessfully to rescue the other children and had died cradling one of them in her arms. How can we reconcile God’s help in such a terrifying situation from the everyday problems we face? I believe that God gave that mother and children strength and comfort as He cradled them in His arms. I pray that he continues to do the same for her husband and the surviving little girl.

There may be times when we face serious or life threatening situations. When I was ill a year ago hospital staff told me that I was fortunate to survive and yet I felt complete peace that my life was in God’s hands. If and when we face those experiences may we feel that Jesus is with us and know that

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27)

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[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/May/2017]

How do you envisage eternity? Perhaps your mind goes to the length of last week’s sermon, or maybe the wait until your next payday.

Picture, if you will, a simple railway station of the type beloved by makers of cowboy movies, a stop on some mid-western prairie or a wayside halt on Australia’s Nullarbor Plain where the track extends uninterrupted for hundreds of miles. Our vantage point gives a good view of the platform and the rails for a short distance either side. To the east, the light of dawn reveals two silver rails stretching beyond our vision whilst to the west the setting sun will give those rails a golden hue as they stretch out of sight.

 
A train arrives; a youth steps down – he seems too young to be travelling alone. There is something familiar about him, but we cannot place it. His backpack is light upon his shoulders and he sets off into the surrounding area with a confident air.
As evening draws in, an old man approaches the station; his step is slow and he walks with a stick. His backpack is heavy but he has a determined manner. Again, we think we recognise him. He gets onto the train and it moves off, disappearing into the sunset.

 
Did you recognise your role in our little scenario?
The rails stretch from eternity past to eternity future, beyond our range of vision, and the train of history pauses only for a day. As Shakespeare might have written – “All the world’s a platform, and all the men and women merely travellers …”.
 
What is in your backpack of experiences and, more importantly, where is your ticket taking you?
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