Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2021]

In the 1969 classic British film ‘The Italian Job’ Charlie Croker leads a gang of petty criminals on a raid to redirect a consignment of gold bars being transferred through Turin. The film shows how the gang relieves the Italian guards of the bullion, then switches it to three Minis which make a thrilling escape through, around, over and under the streets of Turin before transferring the gold into a coach which then sets off back through the Alps towards England. The climax of the film shows the coach teetering on the edge of a precipice whilst the pallet of gold slides towards the tipping point.

The premise is that the gold would be of more use in the British underworld rather than sitting in an Italian bank. Do we tolerate the criminality of the raid whilst applauding its patriotism? Or has patriotism itself become an embarrassment which is suppressed only by the thrill of the chase?

By current standards the film contains comparatively limited amounts of sex and violence, and no doubt that contributes to its enduring ‘cult’ status. Like many other films, it has contributed some catch-phrases to our more common vocabulary. Expressions including “You’re only supposed to blow the doors off” and “Hang on lads, I’ve got an idea” have achieved a usage beyond their original dialogue in the film. Also like many other films, one of its most poignant songs “On Days Like These” has joined the wider repertoire of popular film music.

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What are we to make of ‘days like these’? Would days like ours be a shock to the prophets of old? Would the wide-spread acceptance of sex, violence and God-less behaviour be a surprise? A disappointment, probably, but a surprise, no!

It seems to me that familiarity with the Old Testament prophets has declined dramatically in the latest couple of generations. How often do our sermons even allude to them, let alone offer any contemporary lessons from their experiences? Even after 250+ of these reflections there are still some of the prophets’ books that have not yet been quoted.

Are Old Testament prophets relevant to days like these? Consider this verse from Jeremiah:

The mother of seven will grow faint and breathe her last. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. [Jeremiah ch 15 v9 NIVUK]

I don’t know if the current leader of the European Commission is familiar with that verse but I image that it could make uncomfortable reading for her and her seven children.

The following quotation comes from the final book of the Old Testament; it needs no further comment.

It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it. [Malachi 3 v14-15 NIVUK]

So, do the Old Testament prophets have anything encouraging to say to us? We need explore no further than the final couplet of the same chapter:

‘On the day when I act,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. [Malachi 3 v17-18 NIVUK]

We do not know when that day will come but it could well be on a day like these.

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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 mid-week devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2021]

Mulberry, Pear, Poplar and Balsam trees; it sounds like it might be a valuable orchard. Mulberries and pears provide fruit for consumption, poplar wood is good for construction and fuel whilst balsam has a medicinal application. Apart from their agricultural benefits, these trees have something else in common. They have all been mentioned in various English translations of the account of king David’s battles against the Philistines at the Valley of Rephaim:

As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry (or pear, or poplar or balsam) trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army. [2 Samuel 5 v24]

We are familiar with pears, they produce a nutritious fruit that can be a tasty snack or an essential component of a fruit salad, or they can be pressed to provide various types of drink. However, pears are not specifically mentioned anywhere else in the Bible so it is a matter of some curiosity as to why that word was chosen.

Mulberries are also juicy and nutritious but perhaps not so common in our grocery baskets. I recall that, like walnuts, handling them direct from the tree produces a dark and persistent stain on the skin. Indeed a reference in the apocryphal book of Maccabees indicates that the juice of mulberries was used to accustom fighting elephants to the blood on the battlefield. Perhaps more relevant to us is this passage from Luke:

And the Lord said, “If you have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you. [Luke 17 v6 AMP]

The generic term ‘poplar’ includes a number of different trees but generally they are deep-rooted, fast-growing and have a commercial value for construction timber and biomass fuel. They have a very light-coloured wood, a characteristic which Jacob exploited when tending his father-in-law’s sheep.

Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. … When the flocks came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. [Genesis 30 v37-39]

Identifying the balsam tree is more ambiguous as there are several options for the source of balm, the aromatic and medicinal ointment associated with the name. One likely choice is the terebinth tree:

Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre [in Hebron], while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. … He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” [Genesis 18 v1, v10 AMP]

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What can we learn from this arboreal discourse?
» Firstly, it demonstrates that the diversity of God’s creation far exceeds the simple description of the creation of trees and plants given in Genesis 1 v11.
» Secondly, we can see in each of the examples that God can intervene in the natural order when it suits his purposes to do so.
» Thirdly, David’s army, the disciples, Jacob and Abraham and Sarah were all active participants in God’s plan but they had to wait for God’s timing.
It’s a lesson that David wanted to share with us:

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. [Psalm 27 v14 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.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2021]

Last week I went on a goose chase. Not a wild goose chase but a rather more domestic one; the intention was to exchange our dominant male with one from another family in order to encourage a fresh blood line in each flock. We went beyond the end of the asphalt, beyond the end of the village, beyond the end of the unsurfaced road, even beyond the end of the visible road and, like good king Wenceslas, we left our tracks in the drifting snow.

Fortunately, I had with me someone who knew how to handle geese but also knew where we were going. I was reminded that “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow”. Are you following in His footsteps or is your faith on cruise control?

The Bible makes no mention of geese but it does have a lot to say about the wilderness:
» The wilderness is a place of trouble and testing; it is often associated with failure and punishment:

The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. [Numbers 32:13 NIVUK]

» The wilderness is a place of restitution. In Leviticus 16 we see how the scapegoat was to be taken into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people, but at least its chances of survival were slightly better than those of the other goat, which had already been sacrificed.
 
» The wilderness is a place for life-changing experiences. Jacob dreamt of a ladder in the wilderness and his name was changed. Moses came across a burning bush in the wilderness and his life’s work was changed. The Ethiopian court treasurer encountered the apostle Philip whilst travelling on the wilderness road between Jerusalem and Gaza and his country was changed. The establishment of Christianity in Ethiopia started with that meeting.
 
» The wilderness is a place for refuge and refreshment.

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. [1 Samuel 23:14]

David subsequently moved to the oasis of En-gedi where there was a spring of fresh water and established agriculture. Once again, Saul’s attempts to find him were thwarted.
 
» The wilderness is also a place of training. It can be a great place for social distancing, for clearing our heads, for concentrating on those things which are important. John the Baptist, the apostle Paul and Jesus himself all spent time in the wilderness as part of their preparations for their respective ministries.
 
To a lesser or greater extent, we all have wilderness experiences. How do we look back on them? It is up to us to decide whether they have negative or positive outcomes. The song-writer Laura Story posed the question:

What if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

Paul put a similar question to the Christians in Rome: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
You can read his answer in Romans ch 8 v 38-39.

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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 February 2021]

Psychologists tell us that one of the biggest fears that most people have is that of being rejected or excluded involuntarily. We can feel various degrees of rejection: minor events such as a cat that rebuffs your attempts to be friends ranging to more serious situations such as solitary confinement in a nursing home. No less real is perceived rejection when we think that we are being rejected but the rejector is unaware of any problem.

Rejection is not just a passive sentiment, where we are on the receiving end. It can be due to an action or inaction on our part. There might be some valid reason for rejecting something but there is also the danger of falling into the subconscious habit of rejecting some people without due consideration.

Rejection can have a more sinister counterpart in the form of resentment. In the early years of the 20th century a young artist in Vienna was rejected by the largely Jewish art community of the time. The artist’s name was Adolf Hitler and the resentment that he felt had far reaching consequences for the whole world. It was with good reason that Paul wrote “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry“.

Have you ever tried to talk about your faith or explain the way of salvation, only to have it rejected out of hand? It can be uncomfortable but if you have delivered the message faithfully and to the best of your ability then you are not responsible for the reaction of the hearer. It might help if you remember that they are rejecting the message, not necessarily the messenger.

Rejection of their message was a frequent experience for many of the Old Testament prophets. Time after time we read that the kings of Israel rejected their advice and did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the nation suffered. This verse sums up what happened:

But they kept mocking the messengers of God and despising His words and scoffing at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy or healing. [2 Chronicles 36 v16 AMP]

The prophet Jonah was, perhaps, an exception in that he wanted to reject the people to whom he was sent; when they responded to his message he grew so resentful that he wanted to die. Then the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?” Maybe there are times when it would appropriate to ask ourselves the same question.

So, are you feeling rejected? You are in good company! Take the time to reflect on these familiar words from Isaiah:

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. … But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
[Isaiah 53 v3,5 NIVUK]

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, 14/Feb/2021]

Things feel pretty strange at the moment, don’t they?

Unsettling … uncertain … or perhaps a bit boring and ‘flat’?

Maybe you’re doing fine & things feel okay, or maybe life feels quite a struggle. In these unprecedented times you might even feel all of the above throughout the course of a single day. I know I have! It’s like being on a boat at sea, riding the waves -one minute on the crest of a swell, clinging on with white knuckles, and then suddenly in the trough at the bottom, where it’s quiet and calm. Difficult to know your port from your starboard …

Such a picture reminds me of the song ‘Will your anchor hold’ by Priscilla Jayne Owens (1882), based on a verse in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews which tells us:

“we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” [Hebrews 6 v9]

Or, as Owens puts it “an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows (large waves) roll”.

The hope that Paul is talking about is the assurance that comes through Jesus who has secured our relationship with God through his life, death and resurrection. Paul likens this hope to an anchor for our souls. A ship’s anchor holds it firm, stopping it from drifting. We can therefore be totally secure in Jesus who holds us and loves us unconditionally, completely, endlessly. Whatever happens we can count on Him. Jesus is our Rock [1 Samuel 2 v2] and Cornerstone [Isaiah 28 v16].

This week as I’ve reflected on this song and the passage it refers to, I’ve had to consider again what or who is my anchor, especially “in the storms of life” when “the cables strain”. It’s easy to drift ‘off course’ & become disconnected. Do I look to Jesus and His promises or have I tended to look to my own (flawed) inner resources, others, busy-ness and distractions such as the Internet or TV in the belief they will give me stability and security?

Praise God that there is no need to condemn ourselves or any of our feelings. We can be encouraged by the certainty that Jesus loves us, oh how He loves us – unconditionally, completely, endlessly. He is the perfect example of love and He is oh so patient. We are grounded in Him because of who He is rather than who we are. We just need to trust in Him. He will never let us go.

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