Simeon and Anna

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord Luke 2: 22

Jesus had been born in Bethlehem as prophesied and eight days later Mary and Joseph went the five miles to the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice in keeping with the Law of Moses.

In the temple they met a pair of elderly, devout people who had been waiting patiently for the Messiah. First of all Simeon came up to them. He had been promised that he would see the Lord’s Messiah before he died. He rejoiced that this day had come and very accurately prophesied to Mary that ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Mary and Joseph marvelled at what was said but more was to come. The very elderly Anna, a lady whose life was devoted to prayer and fasting also came up ‘at that moment’ and told anyone who would listen that this child was the Messiah (the redemption of Jerusalem).

I love the patient faithfulness of these two elderly people, devoted to the Lord. They had not given up as the years passed by. They had not settled down to a passive, inactive, elderly lifestyle. They were as fervent in their faith as ever.

In today’s culture, young is beautiful but the Bible is full of the very elderly being significantly used by God; Abraham, Moses, Gideon’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. So often the elderly laid the foundation for the next generation to build on.

As I have written before, the elderly in the back of the church can be a huge fount of wisdom and experience to tap into. Unfortunately they are largely ignored as irrelevant whilst the younger generation like to learn from their own mistakes without tapping into the wisdom that is available from those who have gone before.

I wonder how many others at the temple paid any attention to Simeon and Anna that day. Despite telling anyone who would listen, were they ignored or did anyone take note that the greatest event for the Jews and Gentiles, the Saviour of the world had just been presented at the temple?

Many of today’s elderly have been waiting and praying patiently for years for revival and have lived through previous outpourings and know a thing or two about them. Some of them may well have the promise from God that they will not die till they see revival. They may even have a head’s up on what God is doing for any willing to listen to them.

God loves all generations and wants to use everyone, young and old to reach a lost world. Crossing the generational divide is a wonderful expression of God’s heart. As we come to the end of 2014 let us not give up on the promises of God but by faith take them into 2015, believing that he who has promised is faithful.

Christmas Eve 2014

During Advent this year I have been reading J John’s daily devotional Advent Reflections. I have been struck again how God fulfils his purposes in often quite unexpected ways and uses the most unlikely and sometimes downright ungodly people to achieve his plans.

In particular I marvelled that God would use a Roman emperor who thought he was a god to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and used one of the most evil, wicked rulers, Herod the Great, to get the magi to their destination.

What is incredible though is the reaction of the religious leaders when the magi arrived at Herod’s court and asked, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews?’ Herod called them and they correctly told both Herod and the magi that the King of the Jews, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem.

The magi then hotfooted off down the road to Bethlehem. So why didn’t the religious leaders go as well?’ It was only 5 miles away.

If an entourage of Middle Eastern magi pitched up on your doorstep, having travelled months to get there to come and worship your Messiah, you might think the religious leaders would want to investigate what was going on. They dismissed it though out of hand. They assumed, quite wrongly, that these magi couldn’t possibly know what they were talking about. The very people that the Messiah came to save couldn’t believe that God would talk to some Gentiles rather than to themselves, the religious leaders of the Jewish faith.

Too often, as Christians we wrongly assume we know how God works in a given situation. But God is God and he will do things his way. He will even use ungodly leaders to fulfil his purposes. Too often our prayers are for God to raise up Christians to places of influence and my goodness don’t we need that? Our societies and leaders need the Josephs and Daniels at the highest levels of government, media, education and so on.  However we also need to be open to see God working and answering our prayers in the most unlikely ways, using the most unlikely people.

The sad thing is that though the Jews have been praying for their Messiah for centuries, only a few recognised him when he came. Despite every indication given both at his birth and then during his ministry that Jesus is the Messiah, only a handful believed it.

My prayer is that our prejudices and short-sighted assumptions do not prevent us from seeing what God is doing in our day and that we do not limit God to working the way we think it should be. May our eyes be open to all he is doing and our hearts ready to receive him however and with whoever he chooses to use.

Bombs not food

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24: 4 - 14

The other day I went to a concert at The Royal Albert Hall, the iconic concert hall, in London. They searched our bags as we went in. Whilst we were waiting for the concert to begin, a young man asked me rather worriedly, if it was alright to bring food into the hall because they had searched his bag. I told him that I thought the security people were searching bags for bombs, not food. The young man obviously felt rather foolish when he realised the seriousness of the situation. 

Over the last few days I have come to realise that we really are living in serious times. There have always been e mails floating around about how the west will be overrun by Muslims in 20 years time.  I have not taken this too seriously as statistically it never seems to quite add up and many Muslims have no intention of overthrowing our nation and imposing Sharia law. However the events in the Middle East and especially what is happening in northern Iraq and Syria have changed my mind. 

Christians are being martyred, persecuted and forced from their homes in huge numbers not just in the Middle East but in North Korea, China, India, Indonesia, Sudan, Nigeria to name but a few places. There can be a real tendency in the western church to think that this persecution is happening over there and we may pray and give to help them and even be thankful that it is not happening here. 

However the rise of extreme violence, barbarism, terrorism and brutality on a scale not known for many years have forced me to realise I must stop worrying about the metaphorical food in my bag and start thinking and praying about the very real prospect of bombs in the bag of the person next to me. 

Twice recently I have read that the Archbishop of Mosul in northern Iraq has said:  "Our sufferings today are the prelude of those that you, Europeans and Western Christians, will also suffer in the near future.... Your liberal and democratic principles are worth nothing here. You must consider again our reality in the Middle East, because you are welcoming in your countries an ever-growing number of Muslims.... Islam does not say that all men are equal. Your values are not their values. If you do not understand this soon enough, you will become the victims of the enemy you have welcomed into your home." 

I report this not to frighten us because Jesus said not to be alarmed but to be aware, alert and praying.  I have been asking God to show me how to pray and what I can do.  It is early days yet but God has shown me a few things to pray and do practical things about.

Firstly Jesus assured us that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations.  Never have we had so many nations in UK as today, so never have we had such an opportunity to preach the Gospel to them without ever leaving our shores. 

Many Muslims from scattered communities are now in refugee camps with wonderful Christian organisations ministering to them both in terms of humanitarian aid and the Gospel. We can both pray and give to these organisations. 

I have been praying for the gathering of intercessors to pray authoritatively with divine wisdom into these times. I pray our churches will awaken to these days and as individual Christians we will be alert and active in our faith and prayers. 

This is not the time to fear but to rise up in faith. Many of us have been Christians for decades; now is the time to pay back the investment we have had into our lives in terms of teaching, ministry and prayer. I believe God is calling us to higher things and to fulfil a destiny and calling on our lives that has not yet been fully realised. 

There are battles to be fought, prayers to be prayed, souls to be saved and God is calling each one of us to play our part. Hallelujah! 

Higher than our ways

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55: 8 - 9

I love the fact that God’s ways are nothing like our ways because his ways are full of grace, truth, mercy and compassion.  Every time I read an account in the Bible of Jesus’ dealing with people, he treated them with love and not with the judgement, criticism and condemnation that man would use.  His way with adulterers, sinners and tax collectors was so different that the religious people complained about it all the time.

Everyone wanted to stone the woman caught in adulteryer to death which the law did not require (John 8: 2 - 11). According to the law, both man and woman were ‘to be put to death’ (Leviticus 20:10).  Jesus dealt with her differently.  First of all he confronted those who had caught the woman with their own hypocrisy and then he instructed her not to sin any more. 

Jesus always had an answer to the tricky questions. The Pharisees hoping to trip him up, confronted him with whether to pay taxes to Caesar or not. He just took a coin and instructed those listening to give to Caesar what was his and to God what belonged to him. Anyone else asked that question would have probably tied themselves up in knots over whether it was right to support the invaders and conquerors of their country which is what the Pharisees wanted. Jesus again confronts their hypocrisy and cut to the heart of the matter and those trying to trip him up were not just silenced but amazed (Matthew 22: 15 - 22).

When Jesus and his disciples were watching everyone give their gifts into the temple treasury I am sure the disciples would have been impressed with those giving great gifts but Jesus turned their attention to the widow whom most people would have overlooked and the two tiny coins that she gave. Jesus commended her for her outstanding generosity and re-aligned the disciples’ thinking on giving. The amount you give is not what matters.  It is how much you give out of what you have that is the true test of generosity. 

The disciples, like all of us, were constantly impressed with the outward appearances.  They drew Jesus’ attention to the magnificence of the temple (Mark 13: 1 and Luke 21: 5) and Jesus again re-aligned their thinking by prophesying the destruction of the temple which happened in AD70. Jesus wants us to focus our lives on matters of eternal significance. So many wonderful empires and buildings have come and gone. What matters is the eternal truths of God’s word and living our lives by them not being impressed by passing glories. 

God constantly seeks to re-align our ways and especially our thinking to come into agreement with his ways and thinking.  I am amazed at how often my thinking about God is so faulty and yet with love and grace he redirects me to his truth and then helps me change the way I think and therefore the way I live. 

God’s Word is a wonderful book which cleanses our minds as we read it. The Holy Spirit uses it to point out truth, convict of sin and instruct us in better living. He never condemns or tries to control or manipulate us. God is not cross with us or seeking to tell us off or punish us.  We have nothing to fear from God. His single aim is to liberate us from sin and its effects so we can walk in freedom and truth and fulfil the plans and purposes he has for our lives. 

The assisted dying bill

This week the UK House of Lords is debating the Assisted Dying Bill.  The bill seeks to permit people who are terminally ill and have less than 6 months to live and are mentally competent to be able to be helped by a doctor to commit suicide usually by drinking poison. 

Needless to say there is some heated debate in the media about this and some surprising people such as former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Desmond Tutu have come out in favour of it while current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby opposes it. 

Traditional Christian belief is that human life is a gift from God and possesses an intrinsic dignity and value.  People are created by God in his own image for the distinctive destiny of sharing in God's own life. Human dignity and value are not measured by mobility, intelligence, or any achievements in life. People who are old, sick, mentally challenged, even those with locked in syndrome or in a persistent vegetative state have the same value and worth as fully functioning people. Therefore euthanasia, assisted suicide and so on fly in the face of this because all life has value and no one has the right to consider a life worthless and therefore to be ended, even one’s own.

This Bill and its proponents do not propose assisted dying based on any of these arguments though but as a matter of choice. Nowadays choice is everything from which school your children go to, which doctor or hospital you use, to choosing an abortion. Choice is king and if I choose to do something then that is my business and mine alone. 

Morals, common values, right and wrong have all been slain on the altar of choice. If it feels good then do it. Instead of talking about choice with consequences or rights and responsibilities we just promote choice. 

The problem with the Assisted Dying Bill which sounds so reasonable with wonderful safeguards is that it opens the door to ending someone’s life before their natural time. The Abortion Bill in 1967 was never intended to be abortion on demand that we have nowadays with 200,000 babies a year being given no choice of life but that is what we now have.  

In the same way I believe assisted dying will in years to come lead to voluntary euthanasia and then …. The Netherlands is held up as the liberal ideal in Western society.  Previously though euthanasia and physician assisted suicide were still technically illegal there, doctors were not prosecuted if they followed certain guidelines. The problem was that these guidelines were being interpreted in ever broader ways. Then in 2002 euthanasia and assisted suicide were legalised in the Netherlands. 

The US Patients Rights Council website http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/hollands-euthanasia-law/ comments Right-to-die advocates often argue that euthanasia and assisted suicide are “choice issues.” The Dutch experience clearly indicates that, where voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide are accepted practice, a significant number of patients end up having no choice at all. 

The irony is that during World War II Holland was the only occupied country whose doctors refused to participate in the German euthanasia program. Dutch physicians openly defied an order to treat only those patients who had a good chance of full recovery. Commenting on this fact in his essay “The Humane Holocaust,” highly respected British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote that it took only a few decades “to transform a war crime into an act of compassion.” 

The problem with accepted practice  such as assisted suicide is that it changes the dynamic of everyone’s thinking. You can imagine in years to come how the terminally ill will feel pressured whether deliberately or through guilt to end their life early. They may well imagine they are doing everybody a favour by no longer being a burden or a nuisance to their families. 

In the Daily Mail on 9th July, Professor Theo Boer, a Dutch ethics expert and someone who has carefully watched the effect of assisted suicide in the Netherlands warns Britain not to go down the same path as his native country. He says that the number of assisted suicides has doubled in 6 years. He believes that the very existence of a euthanasia law turns assisted suicide from a last resort into a normal procedure.  Euthanasia is now becoming so prevalent in the Netherlands, he said, that it is ‘on the way to becoming a default mode of dying for cancer patients’.  and he admits he was terribly wrong to have believed regulated euthanasia would work.‘I used to be a supporter of the Dutch law but now, with 12 years of experience, I take a very different view.’

With the increase of elderly people and better health care prolonging life, we have some serious issues to face.  The Liverpool Care Pathway was designed to give excellent care for those in the last days of their lives. For some it worked really well but it was used by some health care professionals to hasten death often without the knowledge or consent of patient or family. I remember being shocked a few years ago when an elderly patient I knew died in hospital of malnutrition and dehydration. Unfortunately that has now become accepted practice in some circumstances for hastening the death of elderly people. 

While I respect the view that people believe they have the right to end their life I cannot support it. We must find ways of helping terminally ill people face death with dignity, by promoting high levels of palliative care and enabling families to be supportive without being burdened and that those terrified of life find the hope and encouragement  to continue.  As Pope John Paul II said ‘True compassion leads to sharing another’s pain. It does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.’ 

I believe instead of looking at euthanasia and assisted suicide or dying to deal with the  problems of increasing numbers of elderly  and terminally ill people, we should open the debate on when the sanctity of life became a matter of choice and seek instead to re-establish some common morals and values that seem to be sadly lacking in today’s society. 

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12: 27

The other day I watched a man very patiently walking his elderly dog who was hobbling along behind him on the lead. Of course that dog was not always elderly and in the past I am sure he would have been racing around, chasing a ball or other dogs. Old age creeps up on us all!

The Body of Christ though is designed for everyone, young, old or middle-aged to participate and find their place in. Unfortunately it is too often true that both the very young and very old get marginalised. 

Jesus said:  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19: 14. This was not a quick blessing and a patronising pat on the head. This is a release of children into fully functioning members of the Kingdom and to participation in the church. 

Psalm 8: 2 says, ‘from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise to silence the foe and the avenger.’ Children’s praise silences the devil and should be encouraged at all times. It is not enough that the children are quiet reading, colouring or playing on an iPad in church; they should be fully participating in the praise and worship, ready to bring a word or pray. As parents we set such a low bar for our children and unfortunately they rarely jump over it. 

The old can also be ignored and too often all we expect of them is to stay quiet in church!  However I believe it is the detriment of many churches that they do not actively encourage the elderly to still be a participating part of church. They may be hobbling along, their minds may be slower and their short term memories unreliable but if you take the time to sit down, wait and listen you will hear some gems.

Locked up in that elderly body that doesn’t work the way it used to is a pile of treasure, a wealth of wisdom waiting to be mined. It will take time and patience but it may be time well spent. It may save you making mistakes from those who have gone before and have learned the painful way from those self same mistakes. They will almost certainly have been there, done it and got the T shirt. 

A group of 50 - 60 year olds counted up the time they had spent serving the Lord and it came to over 1000 years. That is huge resource to draw on. How much more is there in the very elderly many of whom have been walking with the Lord over 50 years. 

The Body of Christ was never designed to be a group of middle aged people leading the church and actively encouraging the youth to step up and play their part. It is a body that functions at its best with the childlikeness of the little ones mixed with the passion and enthusiasm of the youth, tempered by the experience of the middle aged and guided by the wisdom of the elderly. 

All have a part to play and none are expected to be excluded by the lack or abundance of years. It takes time and effort to include the very young and very old but the result will be a more rounded and better equipped church to fulfil its destiny ‘to go out into all the world and make disciples …’. 

Practice makes perfect

There are two things that I have noticed about playing sport. The first is that you the better at what you practice and that looking the part does not necessarily mean you are a good player.

The same is true of the Christian faith. We get better at what we practice and most certainly outward appearances can be deceptive.

We find that as we practice consistently reading our Bibles, praying, worship and fasting these things get easier. However it is far more than these spiritual disciplines. As we grow in the Christian faith we get much better at trusting God, at forgiving, at recognising and resisting the attacks of the enemies, at standing on the truth, at loving others, at not being discouraged at every setback and at breaking the bad habits and developing good ones

Unfortunately it is also true that as we practise bad things we will get better at them. That is why Paul wrote to the Galatians:   The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Galatians 5: 16 and 20 – 21. Paul was talking to believers here not unbelievers. Instead he encourages us to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit (which) is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5: 22 - 23 

God also has a programme or spiritual journey for each one of us that is personal and is designed to help us grow more Christ like. It is a process and as we learn the lessons set before us we grow into the person whom God has made us to be and fulfilling our God given destinies.

The Holy Spirit is the most wonderful counsellor, guide, friend, exhorter, comforter, encourager and teacher and we have the Bible as the most incredible book to help us. We have the church and fellow believers to stand with us, pray for us and to strengthen us in our faith as fellow pilgrims on the journey. 

God wants us to succeed and even in the severest of trials, he is there with us and I am totally convinced that God will bring good out of every negative circumstance. He is honing and refining us. Perseverance is the key.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. He brews 12: 1- 3

Don’t give up. Keep practising the good and you will succeed.

Education in God's hands

There has been some correspondence recently on a small corner of Facebook surrounding an article written on the BBC website about Christian education and in particular the use of ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) as a school curriculum.

Now I would be the first to agree that as a curriculum ACE has some difficulties but to say, as some would suggest, that it is ‘a system of indoctrination for fundamental and anti intellectual ideology’ or ‘fascist ideology wrapped in Christian language’ is giving the system more kudos than it deserves.

I would rather my children were educated using ACE than brought up in a system that believes nothing, has few morals and no values; a system that permits everything and then wonders why there are so many problems created by the freedom it cherishes so much.

I may be thought to be narrow minded because of these statements. The reality is I am very broad minded because I believe in a God whose love knows no bounds and whose plan and purpose for both individuals and mankind is so good, so awesome, so incredible and so far reaching that it is worth pursing with an energy and passion.

God does not want us indoctrinated into some sort of religious system and he certainly does not want to limit our knowledge, understanding and experience. God wants to expand our minds from the limitations of human knowledge and experience to the endless possibilities available to those who dare to see things his way.

ACE may be fallible and ‘narrow’ but it has the potential to open minds not only to God himself but also to the wonders of an awesome God who loves his creation because he made it. Creationism is not the last resting place of a few deluded, educationally lacking, intellectually challenged individuals but the only possible conclusion to a universe finely tuned and perfectly balanced for life on earth.

Scientists both Christian and non Christian marvel again and again at the precision of the dimensions and make-up of Earth, our solar system and the universe. It takes a far greater leap of credibility to believe in the random creation of the universe than a universe designed by an awesome Creator, smarter and infinitely more intelligent than his creation.

It is interesting that those who are most vehemently opposed to ACE and sometimes Christian education as well are those who want to exclude God from their lives and the planet. Unfortunately God is too big and too loving to permit that. He never has and never will wash his hands of any of us but will pursue each one of us extravagantly, recklessly and relentlessly till our dying day. His grace and love know no bounds.

ACE may be flawed but God is flawless, loving, kind, good, intelligent, gracious and everything than anyone from any culture, nation or time could ever desire. In him and him alone are found ‘all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge’ and he and he alone will satisfy our very souls. 

Psalm 18

David was not only a great king and ‘a man after God’s own heart’ but also an incredible poet.

Psalm 18 is one of those psalms where David just lets rip his poetic creativity and powerful imagery flows from his pen. David had been delivered from so many enemies; not only Saul in his bloodthirsty lust to kill him but also the armies of the surrounding nations. David had complete confidence that God could and would deliver him from them all.

This all started with a young man who stood fearlessly, armed only with stones and a sling, facing a giant who had intimidated every seasoned Israelite soldier. David was not an arrogant youth but a confident young man, confident not in his own abilities but in his God who had delivered him as a shepherd boy from the lion and bear.

David took this confidence in the Lord out into the desert where he hid from Saul’s bloodlust. He may have sheltered in desert strongholds, behind rocks and in caves but he knew his real rock and stronghold was the Lord. He and he alone could save him ‘from the cords of death that entangled him’.

David knew that if he cried out to God in his distress, God would answer and he would come down in a full display of awesome might calling upon all creation to deliver his precious son. The writing is exquisite. The mental pictures that are conjured up of creation trembling as the Creator comes forth with fire, smoke, clouds, darkness, rain, lightning and thunder  are incredible.

The Creator God parts the clouds and rides the cherubim, the royal attendants, as he comes to rescue his beloved one who is struggling against enemies too powerful for him who are threatening his very existence.

God reaches down from on high and lifts his precious one out of the deep waters that he is drowning in and from which he cannot escape and places him in a spacious place. He is no longer confined by the cords of death and their entanglement but he is liberated to live in openness and freedom.

The first section of Psalm 18 starts with a declaration of David’s devotion to the Lord and ends with an assurance of God’s delight in him. It is because of this delight that he rescues him from his enemies. This is not an irritated God coming to rescue a wayward child who has got into trouble again but a devoted father coming to rescue his beloved son who is being harassed by powerful enemies. The Lord comes in might, majesty, power and authority to overthrow every enemy using all of his creation to do so.

The imagery in this psalm is powerful and is a great assurance to us that if we cry out to God in our affliction, he can and will deliver us from every negative circumstance that would try and entangle us and he does this out of incredible personal devotion to each one of his beloved children.

The wonders of creation

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1: 16 – 17

Science is not one of my strongest subjects. I have difficulty with chemistry and all those elements, atoms and molecules. I can’t make much sense of it though I do not doubt its existence or who created it all.

The universe is an awesome place full of magnificent galaxies, star systems, nebula, worms, planets, moons, comets, meteors and goodness knows what else. I can’t make much sense of all that either and though I have never seen it I do not doubt its existence given the incredible photos the scientists produce and knowing who created it all.

There are scientists who understand these things very well, as much as any man can and some of them also are convinced who created it all. John O’Keefe an astronomer at NASA says, ‘We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of people….. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the Universe was created for man to live in.’

How amazing is that?

Various scientists are also convinced of this. They say that the relationship between sun and Earth is perfect for all creation to live and flourish here. The atmosphere of Earth is also perfect for life here. Apparently there are about two dozen parameters of the universe that if altered even a tiny bit would prevent life on Earth from existing.

For those of us who believe that God is the Creator of all of this, it comes as no surprise.  Nevertheless it is mind-blowing. It is all so vast and incredible but that is our God.

Jesus too showed us that he is Lord over creation. He altered the molecules of water to turn it into wine, he commanded the wind and waves to be still, he altered the law of gravity to walk on water and he conquered death by not only commanding Lazarus and others to rise up and live but by doing so himself. This is our God.

In the midst of our trials and difficulties we have a God of incredible love and kindness who can speak into our circumstances and command them to be still, to change, to be healed. If Jesus could tell Peter to go and catch a fish and take a coin out of its mouth which was the exactly the right amount to pay the temple tax, I think he might be able to help us in our financial difficulties!

I love what John O’Keefe says that we are a ‘pampered, cherished, cosseted group of people.’ God is so kind to us, he cares about us. He may be the mind-blowing God who created a universe that I and I suspect most people cannot even to start to get their heads around and yet he cares about the everyday details of our lives.

Too often we do not invite God’s intervention in our lives because of some sort of misguided desire for independence or we simply forget. When we do ask for his help, guidance, provision, wisdom or miracle it comes so beautifully, so gently, so lovingly and so kindly that we wonder why we never asked before.

I cannot claim to understand any of it whether the incredible creation of a vast universe in which tiny planet Earth sits so perfectly or God’s wonderful hand of grace on my life but all I can do is sit in awestruck thankfulness to my magnificent, majestic, marvellous Creator and God. 

Psalm 8

Psalm 8

Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’

So God created mankind in his own image,
            in the image of God he created them;
            male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ Genesis 1: 26 - 28

Psalm 8 is one of those wonderful psalms of David which praises the Creator and his wonderful creation. You can imagine David sitting looking up at the starlit Milky Way marvelling at the wonders of the heavens.

Several years ago we went to Namibia and stayed out in the desert in a remote guest house. Electricity was provided by generators so there was little light pollution. We walked a short way up the untarred road by the light of the moon and gazed at the night sky. It was absolutely stunning. Stars hung so brightly that it felt as if you could reach up and pick them. The sky was covered in stars and planets, far more than I had ever seen before even in a dark place in Britain. It was as if the heavens were aglow with tiny lights.

It must have been a night sky of such beauty that David gazed with wonder.  He marvelled that God ordained praise to overthrow every enemy not from the powerful, rich and famous but from infants and children.

As he considered the glories of the heavens he was amazed that God should even remember, let alone honour or even consider puny man. Man is the apex of God’s creation, made in his image and created only a little lower than the heavenly beings, the angels.

In this space age we have some understanding of the heavens that David did not have yet it is this very knowledge that we have acquired that should make us wonder afresh at man’s position in the creative order. As telescopes and space probes reveal ever more amazing sights in the heavens; black holes and star systems, nebula and exploding gases we realise how awesome is this creation and therefore how truly incredible is the Creator.

Yet even more amazingly, God has assigned to man the most wonderful honour of ruling over this breathtaking creation in subordination to God himself. David remembered man’s original call given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  How far short mankind has fallen from this God given mandate.

However the writer of Hebrews in recalling these verses (Hebrews 2: 8 – 9) shows that their ultimate fulfilment came in Jesus Christ and that through him mankind will once again fulfil their destiny.

Next time you have opportunity to gaze at the night sky, marvel again with David at our awesome God and his amazing creation and remember our true calling to rule over this creation with love and compassion and with the wisdom of God not to exploit and manipulate it for our own ends but to steward it for God’s glory.

Psalm 23

This psalm of David’s is probably most people’s favourite and the best known psalm. It is used extensively at funerals and weddings and anyone who has had some exposure to church or the Christian life will be familiar with it.

The imagery it uses is comforting and we can easily identify with the ideas that David expresses. David was a shepherd both before and after his anointing as king by Samuel. It was a great training ground for a future king as he learned to depend on God to help him protect and look after his sheep. Here he came to understand what it meant to be a shepherd – king; a concept familiar in the Middle East in that time.  So many of the great men of faith in the Old Testament such as Moses and David spent some time being shepherds in preparation for leading God’s people.

Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd and there are frequent references in the Bible to God’s people being sheep. This is so appropriate – sheep need a shepherd and as God’s people we need the Good Shepherd. Independent living does not work for us any more than it works for sheep. Sheep never live alone, they are always in a flock and as believers we are never called to walk alone but to be part of a fellowship of other believers dependent on the Good Shepherd.

Sheep need guiding and looking after – a shepherd keeps an eye on his sheep and leads them to good pasture and quiet waters which is just what sheep need. Sheep panic when attacks come and a shepherd protects them. Sheep need shearing once a year otherwise their coats become burdensome and hot. There are times when God needs to prune or cut us back from things that have become burdensome to us.

We all know that Middle East shepherds lead their sheep; they don’t herd them in front of them. Sheep follow the voice of their shepherd, no one else, just as we follow Jesus. If we do this he will guide us in right paths and we will not dishonour him with poor lifestyle choices and behaviour.

Shepherds tend to every aspect of their sheep’s needs and well being. Jesus looks after his people and will restore and refresh us when necessary. So often we look to the world to do this but Jesus truly knows our needs and he alone can ‘restore our souls.’

Even in dark times Jesus is right there with us and we need fear no evil. Jesus has overcome the enemy completely and totally. Sometimes when under attack I think we try and defeat Satan again but he is already defeated; what we need is to apply the victory of Jesus in our situations and see the devil’s assaults fail. The shepherd’s rod and staff protected his sheep from all attacks. Jesus victory over sin and death is sufficient to overcome every dark time.

The final verses of this psalm are such a source of inspiration for us. We see a great feast laid out for us with our defeated enemies watching enviously. We are anointed for service. This is a wonderful picture that even when surrounded by enemies God provides and inspires us. His favour and anointing rest upon us. Our cup overflows; there are no half measures in the Kingdom and this is forever. God’s goodness, love, mercy and grace will never leave us and we will spend eternity with him.

What a great psalm!

Jesus is the Son of God

On the terrible day that Jesus was crucified on the cross, it must have tested the faith of all his disciples and followers to the core. Despite Jesus telling them several times that this was exactly what was going to happen, the reality of it just hadn't sunk in.

Why was Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah being crucified like the common criminals that hung on his left and right? Surely if he was the Son of God the angels would come and rescue him or why did he not just come down from the cross like his mockers suggested?

How terrible to not just witness Jesus' crucifixion but to have to listen to the taunts and scorn being heaped upon him by the religious leaders and passersby.

Many believers must have turned away from Jesus that day. Their faith was tested and they gave in to doubt and unbelief. By the day of Pentecost there was only 120 believers left praying. Where was everyone else? Jesus had spent three years miraculously ministering to every hopeless situation and circumstance, teaching thousands about their loving heavenly Father yet at the sight of Jesus on the cross, most abandoned him.

Even when darkness covered the earth. Even when Jesus cried out in a loud voice as he gave up his spirit which was impossible for a dying man suffocating  on a cross. Even when the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, no one expected anything more from the Son of God. That was it - all over. 

The brave Joseph of Arimathea just wanted to give him the best burial possible in his own brand new tomb. It took courage to go to Pilate to ask for the body. Having buried him he sealed the tomb to make sure no one got in and desecrated it. The faithful women wanted to make sure his body was properly embalmed either that day or after the Sabbath. Even the guards were only placed to make sure the sealed tomb could not be broken into because the religious leaders did not want the disciples faking a resurrection.

No criminal crucifixion though, no sealed tomb, no guards, no disbelieving disciples or followers could stop Jesus rising in triumph from the dead because Jesus is the Son of God. What God has purposed will happen. Jesus overcame sin and death and made a way for everyone born on the planet to come and know their loving heavenly Father and Creator - just as planned. 

Father forgive us when we lose faith in the face of difficulties that seem overwhelming. Help us to persevere and trust you because you are the Christ, the Son of the living God and nothing is impossible for you. Amen.

Home

But our citizenship is in heaven Philippians 3: 20

Set your mind on things above not earthly things Colossians 3: 2

We were on our way home after a long journey round South Africa. We stopped for petrol just before the last leg of the journey – and the car broke down. Several hours later we were towed back the way we had come to a garage that could fix our car.

I cannot tell you how upset I felt about going away from home. I had been greatly anticipating getting back to our house, our things, the place where I feel most comfortable and at ease. Now not only were we not going home, we were driving in the completely opposite direction.

All of us are destined for our real home – heaven and if we are confident that is where we are going we too should look forward to it with great anticipation.  However the reality is that many Christians secretly believe that heaven will be boring; sitting around all day singing worship songs, maybe twanging a harp and hoping they can summon up enough enthusiasm to ‘worship the Lamb’.

Of course nothing could be further from the truth. As James Garlow says:

Take your deepest longings. Think of what you crave, what fills you with delight, joy you've never experienced but yearn for just the same. Remember your longing for home, for a lover of your soul, for the contented wholeness that leads you to the place you've never been yet can’t forget – the place where your every desire is satisfied more abundantly than you've ever dreamed. Heaven is that home.

That is the reality. The most wonderful thing is that we will be loved unconditionally, affirmed, appreciated and greatly valued just for who we are. Imagine that. No ulterior motives, no control, no manipulation, no rejection. Just pure love.

We will  be reunited with all the people we love starting with Jesus but including all our family and friends who have given themselves to serving the Lord. We will have eternity to get to know one another better but most of all to get to know Jesus and our loving heavenly Father and surely that will take eternity.

Out of that will flow the most awesome worship from hearts poured out in adoration to their Saviour and God.  Thousands upon thousands of voices raised in unity to honour and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Nothing dull or boring about that.

There will be certainly be no opportunity to become bored in any other way. Mankind was created to look after the earth in all its amazing diversity and beauty and the new heavens and the new earth will be perfect just as God created them to be not tarnished in any way by sin. There will be wonderful ways to serve and work in a deeply satisfying, fulfilling and stress free manner.  Think of all the things you would love to do and then imagine all the endless possibilities to explore with the kiss of heavenly perfection on them. That is just the start of the wonders of heaven which are far beyond my imagination either to think of let alone write about.

Best of all will be the deep sense of being home with the ones we love and who love us. We are but pilgrims in this present earth; our destination is heaven where all will be well because the Creator of all things dwells  in great glory with his Creation – which includes you and me - his loved ones.