Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 17/October/2021]

In 1 Samuel 7 we read how the Philistines, who were long standing enemies of the Israelites, came to attack Israel. Samuel called out to God for help and God threw the Philistines into such a panic that the Israelites were able to defeat them. Verse 12 says: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying: “Thus far has the LORD helped us”.

The word Ebenezer means ‘Stone of Help’ and I was particularly struck by the phrase “Thus far has the LORD helped us”. There is a very old hymn called ‘Come thou fount of every blessing’ which contains the words: “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thine help I’ve come. And I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.”

This got me thinking: ‘How can we raise our Ebenezer, or stone of help, to remind us of times when God has helped us?’ One way is to keep a prayer journal, recording prayers and answers. Unfortunately I lack the discipline to keep this up. Sharing our stories with others will also help build up both their faith and ours. I remember more than 50 years ago my father told me of an inner voice prompting him to make a phone call which most unexpectedly led to a job offer with a 33% pay rise. This was some time after my parents had made the sacrificial decision to start tithing.

Perhaps there is some object we can use to remind us of a time we have experienced God’s provision, as the Israelites used the Stone of Help. Alternatively, we could have a number of small cards and write on each a few words, reminding us of times when God has helped us. I decided to follow the last of these suggestions, jotting down things on cards as they occurred to me, for example:
1996 – provision of the perfect part time job, before I even started looking for one.
1999 – 2 nights a month respite starting just after Michael’s diabetes diagnosis, when it was most needed.”

The hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ has a verse which echoes these thoughts:

“Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come.
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home”

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
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[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during October 2021]

Are you a dissectologist? It’s nothing to get cut up about; it is, apparently, the technical term for those who enjoy the challenge of completing jigsaw puzzles. The name comes from a 17th century London mapmaker who cut one of his wooden maps into individual country shapes and invited his friends to reassemble the map that he had dissected. The idea caught on and these puzzles were even used in schools as a teaching aid for geography lessons.

Do you enjoy spending time poring over those beautiful pictures that someone has cut into a multitude of pieces just so that you can put them back together again? There are many reports of the benefits of being a dissectologist, including improved mental acuity, memory retention, visual perception and dexterity. Doing jigsaws is not necessarily a solitary pastime; working as a couple or a group can develop team skills, patience and tolerance of others’ mistakes.

In a complex jigsaw puzzle every piece gets scrutinised in detail: what shape is it, how many tabs and sockets, any distinguishing features, what colours are prominent? We try to memorise the requirements for each piece as we search for a match. However, once a piece is in place all those details get forgotten, replaced with a new set of criteria.

Each piece relates to its neighbours; having a complete picture is important. If just one piece is missing then the whole is incomplete; it offers no satisfaction that 99% of the pieces are present and correct. This reminds us of the parable of the lost sheep:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” [Luke 15 v4-6 NIVUK]

We too can identify with the feeling of finding that lost piece that completes the picture.

Of course, the principles of puzzle solving are not limited to the two-dimensional pieces of wood or cardboard. Think of the complexities of erecting flat-pack furniture, rebuilding a car engine or assembling a space station. Some fettling of the pieces may be required to achieve a perfect fit.

Do you recognise yourself as a piece in God’s plan? Your individual characteristics may be exactly what is necessary to match with those around you. Those sharp edges and uncomfortable tabs are part of an overall system that locks the whole picture together. No piece is a picture in itself but without you, the picture is incomplete.

Are you willing to let God adapt you and fit you into place? Are you willing to relinquish the focus so that the whole picture can be seen? In this week’s ‘Yours’, Helen wrote about “All parts working together” – an essential requirement for a complete picture. The apostle Paul wrote some words which are appropriate both to jigsaw puzzles and also to our place in God’s plan:

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. [1 Corinthians 12 v 18-20 NIVUK]

Praise God that there is unity in our diversity!

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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, 10/October/2021]

The Magazine “Balance” produced by Diabetes UK recently contained a fascinating article about the way the body works.

Diabetes is due to a lack of insulin, which the body normally produces in order to convert sugar into energy. Insulin is produced by the beta cells in the pancreas, but sometimes these cells are mistakenly destroyed by the immune system (Type 1 diabetes) or they are unable to produce enough insulin to control blood sugar levels properly (Type 2).

The article explains that there are different types of beta cells: mature beta cells which produce high levels of insulin and immature cells which produce very little insulin. Previously the immature cells were considered to be of little importance. New research has shown, however, that if you increase the proportion of mature beta cells you actually reduce the amount of insulin produced. When the natural balance between the mature and immature cells is restored, insulin release returns to healthy levels.

Thus the research shows that the seemingly unimportant immature beta cells actually have a vital role to play, as they cooperate with the mature beta cells to produce the right amount of insulin. The body needs both types of cells in order to do its work properly.

St Paul said something similar in 1 Corinthians 12 v 21, 22, 27: “The eye cannot say to the hand ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable … Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.”

(References to article in Balance Summer 2021 used with permission)

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 October 2021]

At strategic points around our house we have some video cameras which transmit an image to a monitor indoors. These cameras generate a very small amount of warmth and this has proved popular with a range of nocturnal insects. With the insects come spiders and a close-up of a spider’s legs walking across the lens is something worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Were there spiders in the Garden of Eden? Did Eve ever turn over a leaf and run to Adam, shrieking for protection? Was Adam ever able to admire the ethereal beauty of a well-constructed web sparkling in the dew of an autumn morning?

For the spider the web represents the effort required to obtain its food, to a hapless insect the web is a trap but to us a spider’s web is fragile and inconvenient. Consider the words of Bildad the Shuhite:

A man without God is trusting in a spider’s web. Everything he counts on will collapse.
[Job 8 v14 Living Bible]

At least anecdotally, spiders can have an influence on world affairs. According to the story, in an earlier quest for Scottish independence the then leader of the Scots, Robert the Bruce, was hiding in a cave during a setback in his campaign. He observed a spider attempting to build a web. Six times the spider started to string out the fibres and six times they collapsed but on the seventh attempt the spider succeeded. This encouraged Robert the Bruce to redouble his efforts and eventually he was more successful than recent efforts have been.

The Bible also has accounts of success after seven attempts. Perhaps one of the best known is the capture of Jericho which fell to the Israelites after they had marched around the city on seven consecutive days.^[1]

During the reign of king Ahab there was a severe drought, brought about by the people’s sinfulness. The prophet Elijah had forecast an end to the drought once the people turned back to God. After defeating the priests of Baal he sent his servant to look for signs of the promised rain. Six times he saw nothing but on the seventh he observed a cloud forming over the sea.^[2]

Later we find the account of Naaman, an officer in the court of the king of Aram. This man was seeking a cure for his leprosy and in due course the prophet Elisha told him to bathe seven times in the river of Jordan. Initially, Naaman was repugnant at the idea but after some persuasion he complied. After the seventh immersion he was cured.^[3]

What is the common theme? In each case, success comes through persistence. Can we carry this through into our prayers? We might argue that God is not deaf and he is not forgetful; once we have prayed for some situation we can leave it in his hands and patiently await the outcome. Whilst this is true we should also remember that Jesus himself spent many hours in prayer. With that example we should endeavour to follow the advice that Paul gave to the Thessalonians:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIVUK]

[1] Joshua ch 6.
[2] 1 Kings ch 18.
[3] 2 Kings ch 5.

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, 03/October/2021]

You may know the Beatles’ 1967 song “All you need is love”. I was listening to it recently and found myself playing it continuously for a while, particularly moved and encouraged by the repeated chorus, which states, “all you need is love, love. Love is all you need”. John Lennon was apparently trying to influence people’s thinking through the use of a repeated slogan. I’d say it was a very admirable ambition.

Some might argue that John Lennon was being rather naïve in his desire for the world to change for the better but, as followers of Jesus, loving others and being like Christ in the world is exactly what He asks of us. Jesus tells us that our greatest commandment is to love God but the second is to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).

In 1 Corinthians 13 we are reminded, “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”.

I wonder if today we all need reminding of this central truth. Have I/we become too quick to find fault, criticise and condemn others instead of loving them, forgiving them, showing kindness and understanding? How are we doing in our relationships with family, friends and in our daily acquaintances? After all, without love at the core, all our good deeds and good intentions are worthless. With it, so much is possible.

Paul, in the same chapter of Corinthians challenges the believers who are quarrelling when he says “if I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing”.

My question, for myself and for you is am I truly living a life of love? Are we at HBC demonstrating Christ’s love to each other and to all we meet? Is it obvious to those who encounter HBC? Or are we focusing on too many other things which result in us losing the central message of Jesus? He, after all is the best and perfect example of love, shown through his life, death and resurrection. We really can’t go wrong if we follow His example and do as He asks us.

Amen

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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 September 2021]

A reference came to me whilst I was starting to think about this reflection; it was not the words of a verse, just its reference. It’s not a verse that I could recite from memory so I had to look it up.

They went to the chief priests and the elders. They said, “We have made a special promise to God. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul”. [Acts ch23 v14 NIRV]

At first sight that does not appear to be a great start for a reflection that is intended to encourage and challenge us. So let us unpack it a bit.

Paul we know but who are the “they/we”? The text tells us that they were ‘more than 40 Jews’ who were offended, even outraged, by Paul’s arguments that Jesus was the messiah. Writers familiar with the society of that time have suggested that New Testament references to ‘the Jews’ meant men who were part of an intellectual elite that administered the synagogues and sought to uphold centuries of Jewish tradition. Are we so committed to maintaining our traditions and the way things have ‘always’ been done that we run the risk of killing off any new initiative?

They made a ‘special promise’ to God to kill Paul. Paul did not die as a result of their threat and I suspect that none of the conspirators starved to death but what does that teach us about making rash promises? Are we tempted to make promises to God? Prayers which sound too much like “If you fix this then I’ll do that” are usually just attempts to influence the course of events. How often the second part of the promise gets forgotten once the immediate situation has passed.

Of course, there are some promises that we can bank on – literally. You probably have one in your purse or wallet now: “I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of …” The signature on a nation’s banknotes is that of an individual – I have actually met one of them – but it comes with the authority and the resources of the respective country. We trade goods or effort on the basis of our confidence in that promise.

What happens when we lose confidence in the ability of the state to fulfil its promise? It is said that in 1920s Germany a worker would require a wheelbarrow to carry his day’s wages, and that by the time he got home the wheelbarrow would be worth more than the cash.

What about the promises that God makes? Do we have confidence that he will deliver on his promises? Unlike us, God is entitled to make conditional promises. Here are three examples for you to explore:
“If you repent, …” Jeremiah 15 v19
“If my people …” 2 Chronicles 7 v14
“If you love me …” John 14 v15

Whole books have been written on the subject of God’s promises but should we be content with third-party experiences? We need to claim God’s promises for ourselves and then our confidence will grow as we see God’s promises being worked out in our own lives.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. [Deuteronomy 31 v8 NIVUK]

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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.