Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during May 2022]

Have you ever gazed up into the heavens on a clear night and marvelled at the extensive array of lights? How wonderful it appears, myriads of stars in faraway galaxies sending beams of light directly to you. Meteorites, satellites and aircraft all contribute to the spectacle of heavenly lights. But all may not be as it seems. A recent report suggested that there might soon be so much discarded space debris floating around that it becomes too dangerous for humans to continue to venture into space.

Can you recall setting out for a quiet walk in an area of natural beauty? You hear the babbling brook and the birds are singing but as you look down you see that other people have been here before you. The evidence suggests that the maxim about leaving only footprints has not been heeded. It all started when Adam and Eve discarded a pile of fig leaves on their way out of the garden of Eden.

Of course, we are talking rubbish, but we are in good company. The apostle Paul was also accused of talking rubbish. He was explaining his Damascus Road experience to king Agrippa, with whom he shared a cultural heritage, when his discourse was interrupted by the Roman governor who was probably struggling to understand the relevance of Paul’s account. He dismissed Paul’s words as spurious rubbish resulting from Paul’s over-developed intellect^[1].

To what extent are we, too, liable to dismiss as rubbish those things that people tell us and we don’t understand, especially if matters are complicated by cultural differences?

Paul wrote extensively about many aspects of Christian behaviour but, like the other New Testament authors, he was writing as a man of his time. Paul’s letters were composed in a different age and cultural context, and we might argue that times have moved on. To what extent are we tempted to dismiss as irrelevant those passages of scripture which seem to be pertinent only to a different time and culture?

It is a small step from discarding people’s words to discarding the people themselves. Both in our secular society and in our community of faith we have people who represent different backgrounds, different understandings, different ambitions. The extent of the diversity is such that everyone is unique; no one can make a legitimate claim for superiority. That is the way God loves us and God rejects no one.

I am reminded of a Sunday School chorus from many years ago:

Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the people of the world.

The words may be of a different era but the sentiment is eternal.

[1]: Acts 26 v24.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2022]

During a recent sermon, Pastor Martin quoted an old African proverb:

‘It takes a village to raise a child’

That invokes an image from a by-gone age: a man, his wives (plural), their collective children, aunts, uncles grandparents, neighbours; probably all related to a greater or lesser degree. And all working together to raise the educate the younger generation in the ways in which their society functions. Actually, for me, that is not so much an image as a memory; part of my formative years were spent in a country where such arrangements were common.

Compare that with our modern, western 2+2·4 (ideal?) family where ‘village’ is largely irrelevant, relatives are best kept at a distance most of the time and where to comment on a man’s parenting abilities is only slightly less impertinent than criticising his driving skills.

Are there any spiritual lessons that can be drawn from these two scenarios? Despite their differences, they are both examples of households and throughout the Biblical narrative we see that God deals with and through households. In New Testament we see the household of Lidia as just one example of those households that hosted the meetings of the local Christian community. In Old Testament times, too, we see that Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Rahab and others all moved their households in accordance with God’s instructions; Moses even took a whole nation along with him.

How does our closely-knit western family unit react when faced with the more diverse composition of a church? We believe that we are saved as individuals; how does this affect our endeavours to worship as a community? Are there brothers and sisters in the congregation from whom we prefer to keep our distance or move away? Does the prospect of spending eternity with “them” fill you with dismay? Don’t worry; in heaven they will all be changed – and so will you!

As individuals, we have easy access to the Bible and numerous expositions and commentaries; we can make do without having someone else to interpret God’s word for us. Beyond that, and for a variety of reasons, there are those who cannot access conventional church services. COVID restrictions have encouraged churches to explore the opportunities offered by developments in communications technology. The potential embarrassment of personal witness can be mitigated through the interface of a keyboard. Sermons are no longer addressed to, and forgotten by, a single congregation.

This is obviously a major divergence from the model demonstrated by the churches of New Testament times. Those churches had a greater sense of immediacy that Jesus could be coming back soon, so ordered themselves accordingly. We are 2,000 years closer to the Second Coming yet we have, largely, relegated it to a theoretical possibility.

God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year;
God is working his purpose out and the time is drawing near;
Nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be:
When the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. ^[1]

Are you ready to get your feet wet?

[1]: Arthur Campbell Ainger (1894), after Habbakuk ch 2 v14.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 20/February/2022]

A few weeks ago I asked God “What message do you have for the Connect in Faith group?” and immediately I felt him say “Tell my people I love them”. This month we have been looking at different aspects of God’s love for us.

1. Like a mother, he feels our pains and pleasures as if they are his own. Jesus said in Matthew 25 v 40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine you did for me”. We tend to think of this verse in terms of us doing good to others, but it also means that when someone is kind to us, they are being kind to Jesus, as he is so intimately involved with us that our pains and pleasures are his.

The bond Jesus has with us is even stronger than the bond between mother and child. It says in Isaiah 49 v 15, 16: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will never forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”.

2. Jesus rejoices over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride Isaiah 62 v 5 says “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you”. Ephesians 5 v 25 says “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”.

3. Jesus loves us like a father who would go to any lengths, even risking or sacrificing his life, to save his child. Romans 5 v 8 says: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

4. Like a mother who forgets her labour pains when she sees her child and says “You are worth it”, Jesus says that we are worth all the pain He went through to give us our second birth. Jesus said in John 16 v 21: “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world”.

Hebrews 12 v 2 says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus … who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/February/2022]

Recently a friend at Thursday Group said that she didn’t feel that she was doing anything to serve the Lord; especially when she thought about what other Christians were doing because they were more able and gifted than her. I sympathised with her feeling this way, but I shared with her the many things she did for the Lord that others wouldn’t notice.

The parable of the talents that Jesus told came into my mind [Matt. 25:14-30], and I said how it was important that we use the talents we are given by Jesus even if we feel they are little compared with others, which she found helpful.

It may be in the parable that the servant with one talent thought it wasn’t worth using it because the others had so many more talents to use, and so he buried his talent – he just didn’t use it.

I thought afterwards that this was emphasised by the true story that Jesus told about how He watched people giving large sums of money for God’s work in the temple. He then saw a poor widow insignificantly give two small coins as her gift, following which He said a most amazing thing.

“I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” [Luke 21:3-5]

Jesus wasn’t saying that the rich people were wrong to give what they did, but that the widow gave much more because it was all that she had. This is a challenge to each one of us, because we may feel that we can’t do anything compared with what we see other friends doing in the church. But that’s not true. We must take actions for the Lord in the church and in the world around us to the utmost of our abilities strengthened by His Holy Spirit. If we don’t do this we are burying our talents.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2022]

As I prepare to put fingers to keyboard for this week’s reflection, I am presented with an empty screen, a blank page waiting for the words that will, hopefully bring a message of challenge or encouragement to those who read them. But the page is not entirely blank; there is a placeholder for the title and any references, and the standard header and footer are visible.

Could it be that the empty page reminds us of our spiritual life? God has his place but our relationship with him is limited to a formal salutation at the start and end of the day and there’s nothing in between. There are numerous worthwhile resources available to help make these times more meaningful but, of themselves, they are insufficient. We need to try to follow the examples of Abraham and Moses who talked ‘with’ God rather than just ‘to’ him. Devout Muslims are expected to pray five times each day – surely we cannot be satisfied with less than that.

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum and always rushes to fill it. So it is when an author is faced with a blank page; there is often a scramble to get one’s thoughts written down before they get forgotten. Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth century writer, once noted “That which is written without effort is read without pleasure”. Effort is necessary, certainly, but so is inspiration; without inspiration the effort loses much of its effectiveness.

Editors have the advantage of working with existing texts whereas authors have the challenge of assembling their own raw material. God is the author of the Bible but it has come to us through very considerable effort on the part of translators and editors; reading it should not be a chore but rather something that gives us pleasure.

What else can we learn from a blank page? If we can resist the temptation to despoil it, an empty page can encourage us to pause, to be still and listen to what God might say when his message is not subject to the limitations of language. Like Elijah, we may be in awe of the wonders of creation or preoccupied with problems but it was through the still small voice that God spoke to him. It is with good reason that such periods are called a “quiet time”.

Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.^[1]

Why not pause, and think about that?

[1]: Anon, from Hymnary.org.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/February/2022]

Being ill at the start of this year put me ‘out of action’ for a few weeks. I encountered a complete change of pace to my usual busy life, as limited energy meant I could only focus on getting through the essentials of each day.

This recent ‘hiatus’ got me considering how my usual busy-ness impacts my walk of faith, and whether the Lord is encouraging me to get back to the ‘essentials’ of what He asks of me, and think again about how I can best do that. I also wonder if as a fellowship we need to take time to re-examine ourselves and to take stock at the beginning of this New Year.

I’ve been asking myself whether there are times I’ve made being a Christian more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps it’s just me, but maybe we can all lose sight of the core message of the gospel due to so much activity. Have I been focusing too much on what I’m ‘doing’ rather than finding more time to just ‘being’? We can all get overly busy, not just through our commitments but also from mental and perhaps even ‘spiritual’ overactivity. Some of us don’t have the strength or health to be physically active, but we can all ‘crowd out’ Jesus in our minds and hearts with numerous distractions or spiritual strongholds such as jealousy, pride or bitterness.

Is busy-ness my way or your way, of avoiding other things that we don’t want to face or deal with? Are we striving too much? What is it that we really need to focus on, amongst the demands and responsibilities in life and our Christian service? Are we getting tied up with some things that might well matter, but perhaps should not always be the main priority?

My friend Frank regularly visits primary schools to talk to the children about Jesus & to share the gospel with them. He’s done so on a voluntary basis for many decades. It was from Frank that I first heard the acronym KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid – a principle originally from the world of design which states that ‘designs and/or systems should be as simple as possible. Complexity should be avoided … as simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction’. Frank has taken on ‘KISS” as his approach to sharing his faith with the children. But not because he is stupid, or because he is teaching children, but because he realises that Jesus’ message is simple and can be shared with and understood by everyone. You see it in how he lives his life too. Maybe we need to remember to KISS too (but no-one is stupid!).

The American pastor John Ortberg reminds us of our life’s purpose in his book ‘Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them’. In the chapter on gratitude entitled The Secret of a Loving Heart he states that “we complicate our faith and lives in many ways, but at the core, our purpose is simple: we are called to love”. Ortberg is actually reminding us of the love that God has shown us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God wants us to love Him and each other.

People need to hear about Jesus and we need to tell them. We need to keep our faith simple and our message clear. And maybe you’re reading this and wondering what the gospel message is. The Bible is full of passages proclaiming the good news. 1 John 4: 7-10 is one that came to mind:
‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins‘.

I pray that you’ve been encouraged to think again about what God most desires for you. Just in case it’s never really sunk in, or the demands of life have been drowning out His voice. I don’t think we can hear often enough how much God loves and values us, whether life feels busy or steady. We can always trust in Him.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.