Building for future generations

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 12 - 14 

Pictures of cathedrals always inspire me with a deep sense of awe.  Medieval craftsmen with nothing more than wooden scaffolding, wheelbarrows, hammers, chisels and other hand tools but with a huge workforce built the most magnificent places of worship – for the glory of God.

Wells Cathedral

Centuries later they still glorify God because of their beautiful architecture and amazing detail. Everywhere you look, every window, column, pillar, tower, façade and turret have all been carved with painstaking features to beautify an already beautiful building.  Some of these amazing details are never seen by anyone except architects and stonemasons up on the roof or in some other inaccessible place.

Lincoln Cathedral

Truly these cathedral builders had vision, passion and perseverance. Cathedrals generally took about 50 years to build though some took centuries. The construction would almost certainly not be completed in one man’s lifetime.  Cathedral builders knew that what they started, someone else would finish.  They never saw their completed masterpieces. I doubt they had any idea that centuries later people would still flock to admire and wonder over these marvellous buildings even if the original purpose of worship has been overwhelmed by tourists.

This sense of building something that others may finish has almost been lost in 21^st century life. At an architectural level, with our ability to build just about anything in a few years, everyone expects to finish a project unless sudden illness or accident overtakes them.

But what of projects that are not architectural? Do we have a longer-term vision for our lives and ministries that lasts beyond our lifetime? Bill Johnson is building a 100 year vision for Bethel Church. God gave David a vision and an unconditional promise of a dynasty that would last forever.

Jesus lived an incredibly short life yet his vision had eternity in mind and he knew that when he breathed his last, the door of heaven would be opened to anyone who accepted his free offer of eternal life. We may have accepted that offer but do our lives have a long-term aim? Or does our vision end when we die?

God spoke to our family 20 years ago that he was building a ‘house’, a family line that would outlast our lives. I realised that on both sides of our family, God had been at work for years before we came into the world and hopefully God will continue to work in our family for years after we have gone to glory. Our part is to invest as much as we can into the next generations.

However my vision is not just for our immediate family. I want to sow as much good seed as possible into the lives of others; Christian and others. I don’t think we realise the effect we have on the lives of others.  I want to try and make mine as beneficial and positive as possible. I want to know that when I die, I have handed on some batons for others to run with and sown some seed that will be bearing fruit in other’s lives for years to come.

Salisbury Cathedral

Our lives are far more significant than we imagine. We don’t need to have a platform ministry or important careers to be significant. We are significant because of who we are. We need to lift our eyes from the mundane, everyday humdrum of life and see the bigger picture. We have an inheritance to pass on that is far bigger than money or possessions and far more meaningful than a few memories or photos.

Let’s encourage one another to invest in a future that goes beyond our life and times and have in mind that we may not ever see the full outworking of that investment this side of eternity. Nevertheless, like the cathedral builders of old, we may find that we have built something that future generations can benefit from long after we have gone. 

Cynicism is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit

Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Ephesians 5: 8 – 10

On the eve of what we are promised will be the closest General Election result in years, I woke with the song I’d like to teach the world to sing on my mind. I have had this experience before when I awake with a random song going round my head. It usually means God wants to draw my attention to something.

I duly looked up the song on YouTube and was reminded it was by the New Seekers from 1972. I can only say I was shocked by the naivety and innocence of the song and singers. I was then even more shocked by my cynical reaction to it. I thought that if this was shown on any media other than an historical / retro / do you remember? item it would be laughed off the screen.

Cynicism is most definitely not a fruit of the Holy Spirit nor is its mate scepticism yet these attitudes are so prevalent in society, especially British society, today. Cynicism is ‘an inclination to question whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile.’  Scepticism doubts the truth of something. Nowhere is this more prevalent than with attitudes to politics and politicians.

Cynicism and scepticism say there is no point in voting; all politicians are untrustworthy and only in it for themselves. This is first of all unfair to many hard working men and women and secondly, washing our hands of the political system is a huge abdication of responsibility.

As Christians we need to be doing all we can to influence that system and make our voice heard in Westminster.  That starts with voting.  We need to vote into parliament men and women of integrity who will be doing God's will in this nation, even if they do not realise it.  I am not sure Cyrus, king of the Persians, realised he was God's anointed but he certainly did God's will in expediting the Jews return from exile (Isaiah 45:1).

Prayer, letter writing, lobbying, marching or even standing for local or national elections are all vital roles for the Christian today. However, on the eve of the election, our most important role today is not to let cynicism and scepticism of the political system silence us but to get out and vote. Authorities are placed over us by God himself (Romans 13: 1) but we can and should have a say in who they are.

Our vote may seem small and insignificant but it does count. It may make all the difference.

Be careful lest you fall

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! I Corinthians 10: 12

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1 – 2

We know it takes only ‘faith as small as a mustard seed and you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move (Matthew 17: 20) but the converse is also true. It can take one tiny seed of criticism, judgment, doubt and unbelief to grow into something very unhealthy.

We know from our recent time in South Africa what a terrible and destructive fire can come from one small spark.  James tells us that ‘a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark and the tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body’ (James 3:  5 – 6).

I have been dismayed recently by how one small negative remark about another person can grow into a feeling of deep distrust and suspicion about that person based on nothing more than another's idle remark.

Even worse I found out how quickly I can slip into terrible criticism and judgment of others based on what I have read in the media or seen on television. It feels so justifiable when leaders are corrupt and hypocritical or worse when the body of Christ starts taking large chunks out of one another, to feel angry and self-righteous.

However I quickly came to realise I was standing right on the edge of a slippery slope only a small step away from falling right over. Fortunately God reminded me from reading Steve Backlund’s book Igniting Faith in 40 days that ‘criticism and condemnation will actually decrease personal and corporate faith.’ Chastened I backed down from my anger and self-righteousness and extended the grace I like to receive but find hard to give.

So what do we do when faced by sin and shortcomings in those who we feel should know and behave better? Pray. Pray for them that God would open their eyes, not because we are right and they are wrong but because if they are sinning then they are damaging themselves as well as the church or nation.

We must forgive especially if it is personal and then hand the people to God for his righteous workings in their lives. Finally we must bless them. This moves us from the low ground of hatred and anger, judgment and criticism to the higher ground of grace. It sets us free and moves us away from the edge of self-righteousness which leads down the slippery slope to hypocrisy.

Jesus is our perfect example. Nailed to the cross, crucified as a common criminal yet having done nothing wrong, having spent an exemplary life of doing good to others he forgave those who were wronging him. Jesus life was a life of love and grace. He said ‘For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world’ John 12: 47.

Next time the small seed of criticism and judgement gets sown in your heart whether by yourself or others, weed it out quickly. Set yourself free.  Let’s live the life of love and grace that Jesus won for us on the cross.

A Sabbath rest

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2: 2 – 3

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20: 8 – 11

It is very interesting how much attitudes towards Sunday have changed.  Fifty or more years ago in Britain, Sunday was a very quiet day with some Christians not permitting their families to go out or do anything including watching what little television there was, going to the cinema or even reading books.

Attitudes loosened in all areas of society during the sixties and gradually the matter of Sunday trading became more and more prominent in the UK. This led to various battles between government and big stores. In 1994 everything came to a head between mainly the big supermarkets and the Keep Sunday Special campaign. Finally a law was passed enabling big stores to open for six hours on a Sunday and smaller convenience stores opening for much longer. One interesting little addendum is that big stores cannot open at all on Easter Sunday.

This was definitely the opening of Pandora’s box as far as Sunday being a day of rest is concerned. Sunday is now another shopping day and life in Britain has fundamentally shifted. Now it is not just shops open all week but builders and others working every day. Instead of having a day a week to rest and spend time with family and friends, Sunday has become a day to catch up on the chores and do the weekly shopping.

The question is: should this matter to us as Christians?  I think the answer is ‘Yes’.  Many Christians have absolutely no problem with working or shopping on a Sunday. They go to church and then they go shopping. However the Bible is quite clear that God has a definite view about this.  When God created the universe he worked for six days and rested on the seventh.

This was long before the Ten Commandments where God reiterated his desire for his people to rest on the Sabbath (and the word Sabbath has its roots in the word rest) and do no work so that even their servants and the animals could also rest. The reason for keeping the seventh day special, set apart or holy was because God himself rested on the seventh day from his labours. This is the example he set.

Society needs basic and emergency services manned seven days a week but I believe it is vital that everyone gets one rest day a week.  We need one day that is different from the other six to rest and re-charge our batteries.

In Russia some years ago they changed to a ten-day working week to boost productivity. The result was disastrous. People could not cope with it at any level; physical or emotional. Our bodies and minds are programmed to the rhythm of a seven-day week. However I also believe we are programmed to have one day a week of rest because that is what our Creator did and we are made in his image.

Somehow a subtle lie seems to have infiltrated the Church that because we are under grace not law we can pick and choose which commandments we keep. We don’t stone people caught in adultery though the Bible is quite clear that adultery is wrong and some of the health and hygiene laws in Leviticus are no longer appropriate but the Ten Commandments where God gave the instruction about the Sabbath is a basic set of laws appropriate to any society. We need to see them not as shackles but as liberators for good healthy living and relationships - for all.

In our work obsessed societies, the word rest has become almost synonymous with lazy. This is the greatest lie of all. Now it is not just shops and garden centres that are open on Sunday but builders, plumbers, carpet fitters and so on like to fit in an extra day of work. We had an extension recently and our builder wanted to work on Sunday. We declined. This was not from a deep religious conviction but because firstly we don’t want people working in our house when we are resting and secondly we don’t want to be the cause of someone else working on a rest day. If they choose to work elsewhere that is their prerogative.

Personally I think churches and Christians need to look again at the whole issue of Sundays.  Family life is seriously undermined on all sides and I think we should do all we can to protect and promote it. Some people have to work but how much are our lifestyle choices undermining other people’s need for a day of rest with family and friends?

As Christians I believe it is time we stopped fitting into the culture and instead created a culture based on what the Bible teaches. God has a very definite view of the Sabbath day of rest – maybe we should too?

God's training plan

There is no doubt that it was one thing for God to take the Israelites out of the slavery from Egypt but quite another to get the slavery of Egypt out of the Israelites. That first generation of Israelites, with two notable exceptions, never overcame the slavery of their souls. They had been released to walk free, they had seen the mighty miracles of God but inside every one of them was still a slave.

The problem is that slaves have no passion, no purpose, no vision and no personal direction.  They have no rights and there is little pleasure in life because all they are doing is fulfilling other people’s purposes.  They have little or no sense of personal destiny.  They have no freedom of any sort and no ability to choose because their owner provides for them. What they lack most of all is any leadership capability because they rarely if ever lead.

It would have been almost impossible to find someone to take these million slaves out of the slavery of Egypt from amongst the Israelites but God had a wonderful plan. He needed to raise up a Hebrew, one of their own but one not raised in slavery. God hand picked Moses and then trained him up for 80 years.  Moses needed to be comfortable and confident in two different places; a palace and the desert. For 40 years this Hebrew was raised as a prince in the palace and for another 40 years he learned how to shepherd in the desert.

God was working out his plan for both Moses and his people.  When Moses tried to pre-empt the plan by intervening in the lives of the Hebrews and killing an Egyptian who was beating them, God used the event to take Moses from the first part of his training plan (the palace) to the second part (the desert). God uses our mistakes, presumptions and assumptions to work out his plans.

Moses I suspect knew there was a great call on his life. Why else would this Hebrew boy have been brought up in the palace when everyone else was making bricks? However the flame of destiny must have been burning very low by the time God suddenly appeared at the burning bush after 80 years.

Moses’ confidence in his abilities by this time was shot to pieces but that was fine.  God wanted to teach him to be confident in God not in himself. There was no way anyone would be able to bring about the 10 plagues and part the Red Sea if they were looking to their own abilities.  God taught Moses plague by plague, confrontation by confrontation with Pharaoh to trust him. By the time of the tenth plague it says in Exodus 11: 8 Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

This was the Moses who was so scared of re-visiting the palace and confronting Pharaoh at the beginning that he begged God several times not to send him but to get someone else to do it.  By the time of the 10^th plague he knew who his God was and how Pharaoh was defying the plans and purposes of the Living God. It was the same spirit of holy boldness that David had when he slew Goliath. 

Moses was God’s man for the task and God trained him till he was ready to fulfil his divine calling. God has a destiny and calling for you and, though it may not look like it, he is working it out often in small painful steps. Despite our shortcomings, complaining and grumbling God will bring about his plan and purpose in our lives. He doesn’t give up even when we do.  Keep faithful, keep trusting, God is at work.