It's the thought that counts

It is more blessed to give than to receive.  Acts 20: 35

There is no doubt that when giving a gift, it is the thought that counts.  Some of the best gifts I have received have had small monetary value but huge value in terms of the thought behind the gift. One Mother’s Day I received four gifts from my children, none of which had great monetary value but each of which said a huge amount about the giver. Each child had taken a great deal of thought to give me something that would bless me and therefore each gift was very precious to me.  Amongst the gifts was a CD compilation of my favourite worship songs put together by my younger son. The thought behind it was amazing that he knew the songs I liked and as I listened to it for the first time, I never knew what the next track would be and so the gift became a blessing over and over again.

It is very hard to give something to someone who seems to have everything. The Royal Family apparently only gives small gifts to each other at Christmas. The Queen was reportedly delighted when someone gave her an apron. She loved it and whoever had given it had thought about it and knew it would give her pleasure.

God has everything and it all belongs to him. In themselves the Trinity are complete. They need no one or nothing more but yet they draw us into this complete relationship of love. Their love is so overwhelming they want all of their wonderful creation to enjoy it. So what can we bring to the One who has and is everything?

The answer of course is the only thing we have to give – our lives, our hearts and our love. So many people want to live independently of God not realising they are denying themselves the greatest gift that has been given to humanity – a relationship with God. What else could anyone want? Everything else pales into insignificance.  Yes man’s greatest treasure so often is his freedom and his independence, not realising that actually he is not living free but in bondage to sin, pain and suffering.  Only a life given freely to the one who gives life can lead to true freedom for mankind.

Jesus gave us all he could give; his life. The greatest gift we can give is our life given back to the one who loves us so much he died for us so we could enjoy fellowship and true freedom with him.

Games Pastors

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

The Olympic Games are almost over; just two days to go and I have enjoyed watching just some of the action. There has been such joy for the athletes who have won medals and such disappointment for the many who may not have even qualified for a final.  Yet all of them have displayed such dedication and determination. They have trained for years sometimes for a few seconds of a race and behind every athlete is a team of just as dedicated and determined coaches, physiotherapists, psychologists, dieticians and so on.

All of them will have been there during the years of training through the cold, dark winter months, the early mornings, the hours in the gym or pool and though they may not have been running, swimming, rowing or participating in the actual race, they have played a vital part in the success of the athlete.  Only one person may have actually won the medal but the support team made it all possible.

For the last two weeks I have been a Games Pastor working on some of London stations.  Every day we walk for hours round the station talking to people, helping them on their way, encouraging them and talking about faith when appropriate. We have even been able to pray with people.  Behind me though has been my support team of encouragers, prayers and intercessors supporting me on my journey. 

I have met so many interesting people and talked to many from travellers to the police who have come to London from all over the UK, the Network Rail people who normally work in offices around the country who for two weeks are supplying vital information to travellers, to the security staff who have made sure everyone gets on their way safely.  Everyone has served with good humour and kindness. I have met those eager to find a greater depth of meaning to their lives and those whose lives are in a mess. I have met those who profess no belief to born again Christians happy to talk about their faith.

Behind all of my endeavours and the work of Games Pastors is the support team whose sterling work has made it all possible. I am sure many Games Pastors would have given up weary beyond measure and discouraged if it had not been for the dedicated prayers and encouragement of those at home faithfully praying.

In the Olympics only the athlete gets the medal. The support team do not.  In the Kingdom we all get the medal, we all get to share in the success of the one on the front line.  You may not be called to be out there but your support in prayers, finances and encouragement is vital and your reward assured. Do not believe the lie that your prayers are insignificant; they are the vital lifeline to give strength, faith and encouragement to the one who is bringing the Kingdom to others.

Today ‘let us not become weary in doing good’ (Galatians 6: 9) but be encouraged that your prayers make such a difference and your reward in the work is assured. God sees and knows and he is so proud of every one of us involved in the business of the Kingdom bringing good news, life and hope to the poor.

I am reconciled to God

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5: 18 – 20

Have you ever watched one of those television programmes which reconcile family members who may have been separated for years or even most of their lives? Suddenly brothers and sisters or children and mothers and fathers who have not seen one another for ages are reunited and reconciled. Sometimes they were separated by a family argument or adoption and sometimes people cannot remember what happened to cause separation.  The reconciliation though is sweet and joyful and there are tears not just from those being reunited but also from the television audience.

Reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel. God wants to have fellowship with his creation and he has done everything necessary to bring it about. Before we became Christians we were separated from God by sin but Jesus through his death on the cross reconciled us to himself. When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and place our lives and hearts in his hands, there is great rejoicing in heaven.  We have been reconciled to God and nothing can separate us any longer from his love. 

However Paul also says God has committed the message of reconciliation to us so we become his ambassadors. Ambassadors represent the interests of the one they are acting on behalf of to others. The British ambassador represents the interests of Britain in other countries. Paul says it is as though Christ were using us as ambassadors to make his appeal for reconciliation to others (II Corinthians 5: 19 – 20).  

Is there anyone you need to be reconciled with?  Or does God want to use you in the ministry of reconciliation between himself and another? Reconciliation is a joyful event – let us do all we can to bring it to others.

The desires of our heart

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
 Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37: 3 – 4

There is something in each one of us that is rather suspicious of our desires feeling they will be fleshly and that God would not give us those things as they would be bad for us. However I am not sure that is the case.  Imagine your child really, really wants a bicycle or a Wii or some such for their birthday or Christmas and it is within your capability to give them this. Most parents would do this, knowing that the huge pleasure their child would have at receiving their desire would also bring joy to their own heart.

As parents we do not want to spoil our children but we do want to bless them with the things they desire.  God, as the perfect dad, must also want to bless his children with the desires of their heart. He doesn’t want to spoil us but he knows better than we do how to give us good gifts without making us selfish.

When I was still a young Christian, I felt God say to me one day, ‘What would you most like?’  Now I could have, like Solomon, asked for wisdom but almost immediately I said, ‘I want to travel Lord’.  God has taken that desire and over the last 28 years we have been to so many places both on mission trips and on holiday. Indeed for 11 years in a row I went on a short term mission trip as well as having some enviable holidays.

We do not have lots of money but God has blessed us again and again with travel opportunities and paid for them!  He has given us the desires of our heart as we delighted ourselves in him. I am asking God now to open up fresh travel opportunities and mission trips as I feel there are many more places I would like to go to. 

On another occasion, my father took the family to a show in London. It was amazing and on the way home I thanked God for the opportunity to do something we could never have afforded then. His reply surprised me. ‘You wanted to go, didn’t you?’ I remembered that I had said to God almost in passing that I would love to see a show in London and he had remembered and answered my desire.  There was nothing spiritual about it – it was just a desire I had.

I know now that I can trust God to bring about my desires in his own way and time and if they really are ‘bad’ for me, he will withhold them like any good Father would. We do not have to be afraid of our desires and ‘crucify our flesh’ so we have no desires. As with so many aspects of the Christian faith, it is a balancing act between ‘your will not mine’ and God giving us the desires of our heart.

The key is to seek the Giver not the gift. It is delighting ourselves in him, loving him for who he is not what he can give us. No Father wants a child to be looking at his hands to see what is in them but rather to be looking at his face and then finding his hands are full of blessings.

Overcoming the past

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1 – 2

I don’t know about you but there are times when my past failures, mistakes and stupid errors of judgement come flooding back to condemn me. There are so many things that I would not do now especially with the benefit of hindsight that I foolishly did in the past. There are so many things I would do differently. 

However when failure and condemnation seek to come flooding in the first and most important thing to remember is that God is not calling us a failure nor is he condemning us. The devil is. You see if he can get us to focus on our failures and mistakes, we will not be focusing on the possibilities before us now. It is like driving a wedge between God and his plans and purposes and ourselves. 

Condemnation swamps us with failure and a sense of guilt and inadequacy. God showers us with blessings and possibilities. If we trust God with our lives, he will bring good out of every situation – even our monumental mistakes. His word assures us of that. Romans 8: 28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. It may be a very familiar verse but it is also the EXIT sign to feelings of shame and failure from mistakes.

My teenage years were not a time in which I take any pride. I was rebellious and foolish because I felt no one like or loved me.  I did a lot of very silly things. Yet God used those experiences to give me such a heart for teenagers so they would not walk in the same rebellion and rejection that I had felt.  

We must resist the devil and all his lies, not invite him in and listen to his nonsense. Jesus’ death on the cross took all our sin, guilt and shame. Our past is not a problem to God and we must not let the devil use it to condemn us. We are free so let’s walk in freedom and let God renew our minds so when the devil reminds us of the past and its failures, we think instead of how much God has done and the good he is bringing from our mistakes.

Praise the Lord!

¹ Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:  1 – 5

There are times when, like David, we need to encourage ourselves about the goodness of God. If we wake up one morning and just feel a bit out of sorts, or life is not going well, this is a great psalm to read to remind ourselves of all God’s wonderful ways.

The psalm exhorts us to praise the Lord. Praise is a gateway into the presence of God. Psalm 100 tells us ‘to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise’. This is not because God’s gates only open with praise; indeed there are times to rush to God in our distress for his comfort and grace. However, praise reminds us of who we are worshipping and why. As we think, speak, sing or shout his praises, it is our hearts and spirits that are enlarged and our vision of both God and the wonderful possibilities for our lives that is changed.

David then goes on to encourage us to remember all God’s benefits – and who do they benefit-  us!  He forgives our sins, heals our diseases and redeems our life from the pit. If that is not enough he crowns us with love and compassion.  A crown is what a king or queen wears to show their royalty or in past times the winner was crowned to show their success. God elevates us with love and compassion. The psalm says many times that God is compassionate to us. He feels deeply for us in our weaknesses and distress.

God also satisfies our desires with good things – God only gives good gifts because God is good. God does not give us bad gifts anymore than we would give bad gifts to our children, no matter how wayward they were. God does not send sickness, pain, poverty, unhappiness and so on. Indeed his desire is to lift us out of these things and give us good gifts. He wants to satisfy our desires, not keep disappointing us. ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights’ (James 1: 17).  

Finally, as if all that was not enough, God renews our strength like the eagle. In the Bible the eagle is a symbol of vigour and God does not want us weak – he wants us strong in him. God has such wonderful plans and purposes for our lives. He wants to fulfil our dreams; he wants to give us good things; he wants our lives dripping with his love and grace. This psalm is a source of huge encouragement to us and as we read it, let our spirits soar again with praise and thankfulness to our amazing, wonderful God.

Grace and truth

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14

Jesus always operated in grace and truth. He never denied or overlooked sin; he never said. ‘That’s alright, it doesn’t matter’ He always dealt with sin but in grace and truth. 

I love a story Bill Johnson tells in his book The Supernatural Power of a lady who came to the front in one of their worship services but ‘her movements did not seem to flow from the Holy Spirit’. Instead of confronting the woman and telling her to sit down, Bill got the leader of their dancers to begin to dance on the stage ‘to break something in the spiritual realm’ that was not of God. Immediately the other woman collapsed on the floor and they were able to pray for and minister to her. The lady had ‘real sincerity and a heart that was right but she needed deliverance and salvation’. They dealt with the situation in truth but with great grace.

In another story I heard there was a new café for homosexuals about to be opened somewhere in America. Many Christians wanted to picket the place to show their outrage but one group of Christians instead asked if they could help in any way. Naturally the homosexuals were very suspicious but the Christians showed their seriousness by getting some new T shirts printed for them. On the opening night they just served them in the kitchen. The café staff were just blown away by the sincerity of the Christians’ faith and their obvious love for them and some came to faith themselves as a result.

Unfortunately many Christians feel the best way to deal with other people’s sin is to point it out and castigate them but this rarely works. For instnace, there is nothing more upsetting than Christians shouting at homosexuals that they are perverts and going to hell. Coming in an opposite spirit – a spirit of love and grace – is a powerful testimony. People need to be loved and accepted, just as we do, not have their weaknesses and failings, sins and compromises pointed out by people less than perfect themselves. They need to be dealt with graciously.

Let’s encourage one another to be gracious to others and to show them the love and mercy that we all need. 

Jesus in the boat

¹⁷ And they took a boat and were going across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and still Jesus had not [yet] come back to them.¹⁸ Meanwhile, the sea was getting rough and rising high because of a great and violent wind that was blowing.¹⁹ [However] when they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. And they were afraid (terrified).²⁰ But Jesus said to them, It is I; be not afraid! [I Am; stop being frightened!] ²¹ Then they were quite willing and glad for Him to come into the boat. And now the boat went at once to the land they had steered toward. [And immediately they reached the shore toward which they had been slowly making their way.] John 6: 17 – 20 Amplified

I love Jesus’ response to the disciples’ fear when he walked on water to their boat. ‘It is I or I AM’. Exactly the same words that God used to Moses who was scared out of his wits at the thought of having to go and talk to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:12).

In fact in Exodus 6 God said to Moses four times ‘I am the Lord’. What God was saying is I will be with you and everything you need is found in me. You do not need to be afraid because I will be with you and there is nothing else necessary.

The disciples’ response was perfect. They invited Jesus on board and were really glad to have him in the boat. It then says that the boat immediately reached shore. Now whether this was miraculous or not, Jesus presence in the boat changed the situation. They had been struggling for hours and getting nowhere till Jesus was involved. Suddenly the situation changed.

When we are facing difficult circumstances and are feeling fearful, the first thing to know is that God is with us and whatever we need, he is it. If we need strength, comfort, security, reassurance, stability, a sense of worth, acceptance, love, forgiveness or anything else – God is where you find it.

I am sure we all know there are 365 ‘do not fears’ in the Bible; one for each day of the year. Circumstances can feel overwhelming and we can, like Moses, feel hopelessly inadequate but we do not need to fear because God is there.

However we also need to invite him into our boat, our situation.  If Jesus could walk on water to get to the disciples’ boat, it is not exactly surprising that his presence in the boat changed the situation.  God says over and over in the Bible ‘I am the Lord.’ God is Lord over your situation if you invite him in. Then he will change it. What a reassurance that is!

One solitary life

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5: 19

I was thinking today that the man who accomplished most in his short life was the one who recognised he could do nothing by himself but only what he saw the Father doing. So often we seek to accomplish all we can by our own efforts, yet no one has achieved what Jesus did and all he sought to do was the Father’s will.

What a great example for us to follow. So many Christians today are seeking to do their own thing, make their own plans, achieve their own goals and there is no doubt they will be successful – but will it be treasure in heaven?  Will it withstand the fire that Paul talks about in I Corinthians 3: 12 – 15?

If we want to achieve the potential that God has in store for us, then we too must concentrate on not doing our own thing, no matter how noble and worthwhile it may seem but follow Jesus’ example and do only what we see the Father doing.

One solitary life

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life

Dr James Allan © 1926.

Serving where we have been called

To this John replied, ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.’ John 3: 27

John the Baptist’s disciples were getting very concerned with what appeared to be the rising popularity of Jesus at the expense of John’s ministry. People were leaving John to follow Jesus. John explained to them that you can only operate in the gifting and calling that God has given you. This is what he was doing; preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah so when he arrived, John’s role would inevitably diminish.

He encouraged them that when the bridegroom (Jesus) arrived, the bride (believers) had eyes only for him because they belong to him. The groomsman or ‘friend’ is ‘full of joy’ when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. John is the ‘friend’ and now he has heard the bridegroom’s voice, his joy is complete (John 3: 28 – 30).

John understood his calling and was content with his role in preparing the way for the Messiah. He understood we can only do what we have received from heaven. This is such a valuable lesson for us too to learn.  There will be times when others appear on the ascendancy or when others take over things we have been doing. We, however, are called to do what God has called us to do which may mean laying down areas of service or taking up new things.

One thing is certain, all gifts and ministry come from God and are given as the Spirit determines (I Corinthians 13: 11). It is foolish to try and do what God has not called or equipped us for. Walking in the centre of God’s plans is a place of great fulfilment and contentment. Longing for a different gifting or ministry outside of God’s anointing is a place of discouragement that can lead to great disappointment. 

Thank God for the gifting he has given and seek to serve faithfully in what God has called you to do.  ‘Hold it lightly’– it is not yours but something God has entrusted to you. It is an honour to serve God.

Serving as a way of life

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10: 45

Today I am feeling very thankful for the people who serve us. We went to play golf early this morning to avoid the hottest part of the day and, early though it was, people were clearing up the litter and glasses which had not been returned to the bar from the night before. The ladies room was freshly cleaned. Half way round I left a golf club behind in a bunker and one of the marshals went and got it for me. All these people were doing their job but they did it gladly and well and with a smile.

There was a television programme a little while ago when Michel Roux, a famous chef took on some young people and taught them how to serve in a restaurant. It was more than correctly laying a table or serving the food and wine in a certain way. It was an attitude – a delight in serving for the sake of serving.

As Christians, we too should aspire to serve and serve well. I love it when our churches get involved in community projects and show the love of Jesus in practical ways. It is good too when churches have people who love to serve and teach the younger generation how to do this as well. How nice it is when the youngsters are not the first ones in the queue for food but let others go first and when they help with the clearing or washing up.

So often young people aspire to be worship leaders or preachers and those are worthy aspirations but serving on the tech team, welcoming people, serving tea and coffee are acts of service to be encouraged.

A community of believers who seek to show Jesus’ compassion and serve others is a powerful testimony and is following in Jesus’ footsteps. He is the Son of God, the Lord of Lords and King of Glory yet he came not to be served but to serve by giving his life as a ransom for each one of us.  He is a marvellous example to follow.

Today let us thank God for all those who serve us and help make our lives easier. Let us renew our acts of service with enthusiasm and today if you have become discouraged in your service especially if you feel unappreciated, let God refresh you and help you recover the joy in serving.

Holy unto the Lord

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. I Peter 2: 9

Holy is something we become when we gave our lives to Jesus. Holy means we have been consecrated or set apart to serve God which is why Aaron and his sons had turbans with Holy to the Lord on a gold plate attached to them (Exodus 28: 36 – 37). They had been set apart to serve God as priests and were consecrated to him for this honour.

We too are a holy nation, a people belonging to God. We have been separated out from the world and have been consecrated to him. This is a great honour but there is more – we have been separated from sin. According to Psalm 93: 5 in the Amplified Bible ‘holiness is apparent in separation from sin’.  Not only have we been separated unto God, we have also been separated from sin.

Paul says ‘We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?’ (Romans 6: 2). He goes on to explain that when we become Christians, the old ‘body of sin’ (6 : 6) died and we are created anew to live for him now. He exhorts us ‘to count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (6: 11). Sin no longer has any right or control over our lives and Paul encourages us ‘Do not offer the parts of your body to sin …. but rather … offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (6: 13).

The truth is we are holy – set apart to God and separated from sin. Too often Christians regard holy as meaning morally superior or good and then look down on those struggling with sin. We are not better than anyone – we are forgiven and by God’s amazing grace we have been made holy. This is nothing to brag about as if we had some part to play in it but definitely something to be humbly grateful for. 

Christ’s righteousness was given to us when we put our faith and trust in him.  We have no business considering ourselves either unworthy or superior – we have been made righteous and made holy through Jesus. It is a wonderful gift.  Our part is to offer our bodies every day as living sacrifices to God for him to use.

Years of plenty, years of famine

The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. Genesis 41: 53 – 54

It is an unfortunate fact of life that Christians are very bad at storing up in the good times of plenty so they have something to draw on in the famines or difficult times when a crisis hits. There is a tendency when things are going well to cease to prioritise our Christian walk. It feels like we are doing fine and so we no longer prioritise Bible reading, prayer and church attendance. Very quickly other things rush in to fill the void and we no longer always make time for spiritual things and whilst life is trundling along happily that is fine.

Then the wheels fall off and a crisis hits and we are in famine and have nothing to draw on. A time of crisis is not the best moment to start to rebuild our walk with God. Our trouble may be all consuming and what we need at that moment is to be drawing on all the good things we have stored away in the good times.

These will be the times to remind ourselves of God’s amazing love and faithfulness not to worry about whether God still loves us. By the way He still does!  A time of crisis will be a time to go back to our favourite Bible verses to find strength and solace, not a time to be desperately trying to remember that half forgotten verse that we liked. The difficult times will also be when we draw strength and comfort from our Godly friendships formed during the good times. Just as Jonathan helped David find strength in the Lord (I Samuel 23: 16), so we too need to be available to both give and receive that kind of friendship and they are forged during the times of plenty.

If at the moment life is going well, store up as much as you can in terms of relationship with God and others. Make a note of encouraging Bible verses and things God has spoken to you about. File away answers to prayer and great testimonies you have heard. Make a store of things to draw on so when the difficult times come as they surely will, you have much to feed on during the spiritual famine.

If however things are a bit hard at the moment and you feel you have little to draw on, prioritise God, read your Bible, seek him because he will be found and he will comfort you and strengthen you. Seek out your Christian friends and re-establish your friendships if they have lapsed and learn from the experience.

God never gives up on us, no matter how lax we have been and He is always there during the good and difficult times.