Today's news has much to terrify.
We have heard of another massive earthquake, approaching civil war in Libya, economic uncertainty around the world, and job insecurity and pension reductions at home. How can we keep a level head, while around may be losing their?
The disciples of Jesus asked similar questions, as he predicted the destruction of the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. For them, the idea that the Temple should be destroyed seemed to shake the very foundations of their world. Jesus' reply is startling in its clarity.
'Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.' (Mark 13.5-8)
Jesus is reminding his followers, of all generations, that what we are currently experiencing is 'normal service'. In our culture, we have come to believe that we can live easily. comfortably and safely as a right. So it is a shock when things turn out to be more difficult.
Sadly, there is a painful price to pay in living in our dysfunctional world. In past generations, people spoke of living in 'a vale of tears.' They weren't being gloomy or melodramatic. Rather, there was a realism which brought resilience. An accurate warning about what to expect will help us not keep going. I recall that when I had an operation few years ago, the surgeon was clear that I would take at least year to recover. That warning was realistic!
Jesus went on to explain that in the tough times coming, his followers had a chance to speak for Him. 'You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.' (Mark 13.9-10)
So today, while we may be enjoying spring sunshine and a measure of comfort, let us pray that Jesus will be known in those places where life is much tougher.
Best wishes,
Richard
Friday, 11 March 2011
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Spring Clean
Today is Ash Wednesday, and is the start of the 40 days of Lent, leading up to Easter on24 April.
For many, Lent is a time to try to give up something trivial like chocolate or alcohol. For others, it is a time of serious engagement with the call to holiness.
It is striking that in the Old Testament, when whole communities were used to corporate periods of fasting and repentance, the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God, had to remind people to look below the surface. '‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarrelling?
This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.' (Isaiah 58.3-4)
We all know how much easier it is to make surface changes to our lives. Getting to the root of the problem is much more challenging. But that is what the Lord wants from his people. A deep Spring Clean, not just a quick fix.
'“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.' (Isaiah 58.6-8)
That is the challenge facing us all. What will you do about it? I am setting out to review my time and commitments, to see what might need to change.
Best wishes,
Richard
For many, Lent is a time to try to give up something trivial like chocolate or alcohol. For others, it is a time of serious engagement with the call to holiness.
It is striking that in the Old Testament, when whole communities were used to corporate periods of fasting and repentance, the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God, had to remind people to look below the surface. '‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’
“I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarrelling?
This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.' (Isaiah 58.3-4)
We all know how much easier it is to make surface changes to our lives. Getting to the root of the problem is much more challenging. But that is what the Lord wants from his people. A deep Spring Clean, not just a quick fix.
'“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.' (Isaiah 58.6-8)
That is the challenge facing us all. What will you do about it? I am setting out to review my time and commitments, to see what might need to change.
Best wishes,
Richard
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Pancake Day
Today is Shrove Tuesday, and many will be feasting on pancakes, with many delightful tasty extras. What is your favourite filling? Lemon juice and crunchy sugar is hard to beat, but I could cope with caramel sauce (from Brittany) or fudge and nut paste from Brazil.
But the original plan on Shrove Tuesday was to clear the store cupboards of all tasty foods in preparation for the 40 days of Lent. The secret is in the name - Shrove Tuesday - so that serious Christians would take time to be 'shriven' - that is to confess their sins and be given the assurance that forgiveness was available, because of the death of Jesus.
St. Paul taught his Christian friends about the need for us to turn away from the old life, so that we could turn to Jesus more profoundly. As Julian Henderson reminded us over the Church Weekend, in this we cooperate with the Lord.
'So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world.' (Colossians 3.5)
Having had the clear out of the junk in our lives, the aim is that there is more space for Jesus to shine in us, and produce his character in us. 'Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. (Colossians 3.10)
That will be a lifetime's task - but today is a good to day to start on that great habit.
Best wishes,
Richard
But the original plan on Shrove Tuesday was to clear the store cupboards of all tasty foods in preparation for the 40 days of Lent. The secret is in the name - Shrove Tuesday - so that serious Christians would take time to be 'shriven' - that is to confess their sins and be given the assurance that forgiveness was available, because of the death of Jesus.
St. Paul taught his Christian friends about the need for us to turn away from the old life, so that we could turn to Jesus more profoundly. As Julian Henderson reminded us over the Church Weekend, in this we cooperate with the Lord.
'So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world.' (Colossians 3.5)
Having had the clear out of the junk in our lives, the aim is that there is more space for Jesus to shine in us, and produce his character in us. 'Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. (Colossians 3.10)
That will be a lifetime's task - but today is a good to day to start on that great habit.
Best wishes,
Richard
Monday, 7 March 2011
Ambassadors
Many column inches have been filled over Prince Andrew's role and suitability as an ambassador for British business. The discussion seems to be whether on balance he does more good than harm. I will leave that topic without further comment!
St. Paul describes Christians as ambassadors - not for their own views or in order to promote their own careers - but as ambassadors for Christ. If we are ambassadors, what is our role?
'For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ' (2 Corinthians 5.19-20)
The wonderful good news which Paul so concisely outlines should be in our DNA, so that we find ways of living that message and speaking it too - given the right opportunities.
Today, I pray that we may do our ambassador role well.
Best wishes,
Richard
St. Paul describes Christians as ambassadors - not for their own views or in order to promote their own careers - but as ambassadors for Christ. If we are ambassadors, what is our role?
'For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ' (2 Corinthians 5.19-20)
The wonderful good news which Paul so concisely outlines should be in our DNA, so that we find ways of living that message and speaking it too - given the right opportunities.
Today, I pray that we may do our ambassador role well.
Best wishes,
Richard
Friday, 4 March 2011
Memory Loss
The news today brings hope to those with friends or relatives suffering from various forms of dementia, especially Alzheimer's Disease. That debilitating condition of memory loss and character change is often treated with assorted mood changing drugs which further degrade the person who is suffering, and make the experience of those caring more demanding.
Memory loss strikes at the root of our personalities, as we are constructed of the things we have done and said, the experiences we have been through. Like multiple layers of bricks in a building, each layer of our memory is built on the one beneath. But when memory loss takes over, layers all over the place seem to disappear, and sometimes the sufferer seems to be in a place 50 years ago.
But the good news is that researchers in the US have identified ways to reproduce the very neurons in the brain whose decay seem to be the root cause of the problems. It will take time & money to move towards a treatment, but there is at least a chink of light in the pervading darkness.
We all too easily suffer from memory loss in the life of our faith, so Jesus specifically told us to do things to remember him. St. Paul gives us our earliest record of what happened at the Last Supper. 'For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” ' (1 Corinthians 11.23-25)
It is vital for our faith in Jesus that we do not speed up the degrading of our trust and faith in Him. If we forget what he has done, we forget also who we are as His friends and family, and lose a grip on his forgiveness and mercy. So remembering Jesus in bread & wine if God's remedy for our spiritual Alzheimer's Disease.
I have to remind myself, 'Keep taking the medicine!'
Best wishes,
Richard
Memory loss strikes at the root of our personalities, as we are constructed of the things we have done and said, the experiences we have been through. Like multiple layers of bricks in a building, each layer of our memory is built on the one beneath. But when memory loss takes over, layers all over the place seem to disappear, and sometimes the sufferer seems to be in a place 50 years ago.
But the good news is that researchers in the US have identified ways to reproduce the very neurons in the brain whose decay seem to be the root cause of the problems. It will take time & money to move towards a treatment, but there is at least a chink of light in the pervading darkness.
We all too easily suffer from memory loss in the life of our faith, so Jesus specifically told us to do things to remember him. St. Paul gives us our earliest record of what happened at the Last Supper. 'For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” ' (1 Corinthians 11.23-25)
It is vital for our faith in Jesus that we do not speed up the degrading of our trust and faith in Him. If we forget what he has done, we forget also who we are as His friends and family, and lose a grip on his forgiveness and mercy. So remembering Jesus in bread & wine if God's remedy for our spiritual Alzheimer's Disease.
I have to remind myself, 'Keep taking the medicine!'
Best wishes,
Richard
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Regime Change
Regime Change is the flavour of this year so far - Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Ireland, Yemen and more. In their different settings, and with widely varied backgrounds, each country has been in turmoil, as large numbers of citizens call for change at national leadership level. They want freedom from the past.
While we watch and wait to see how things turn out, there are already unwelcome consequences for us, for instance in the rise of the price of oil. Apparently, according to the former Chairman of Shell, the very turbulence which leads to significant regime change upsets the stability in trading which the markets crave.
That which drives many of those calling for regime change is a desire for freedom from oppression. And once people have the new regime for which they demonstrate and for which they are willing to suffer in order to win, then a new sort of life should be possible. History, unfortunately, is littered with the replacement of one tyrant by another, and a new form of slavery ensues. Freedom is elusive.
When St. Paul was preaching around the ancient world, he was preaching Regime Change, brought about through trusting Jesus Christ. Instead of being slaves to the religious and ethnic conventions of his day, Jesus brings freedom, fro those prepared to throw off the old ways.
So he writes to his Galatian friends,'So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.' (Galatians 5.1) But Paul had to point out that living a life of true freedom - with a deep-seated Regime Change in our lives - is elusive. 'For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Galatians 5.13-14)
Our Church Weekend will explore this theme of 'Free at Last', so please pray that we learn how to live this way.
Best wishes,
Richard
PS It is great that so many have now booked - but for catering purposes, it is now TOO LATE to book!
While we watch and wait to see how things turn out, there are already unwelcome consequences for us, for instance in the rise of the price of oil. Apparently, according to the former Chairman of Shell, the very turbulence which leads to significant regime change upsets the stability in trading which the markets crave.
That which drives many of those calling for regime change is a desire for freedom from oppression. And once people have the new regime for which they demonstrate and for which they are willing to suffer in order to win, then a new sort of life should be possible. History, unfortunately, is littered with the replacement of one tyrant by another, and a new form of slavery ensues. Freedom is elusive.
When St. Paul was preaching around the ancient world, he was preaching Regime Change, brought about through trusting Jesus Christ. Instead of being slaves to the religious and ethnic conventions of his day, Jesus brings freedom, fro those prepared to throw off the old ways.
So he writes to his Galatian friends,'So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.' (Galatians 5.1) But Paul had to point out that living a life of true freedom - with a deep-seated Regime Change in our lives - is elusive. 'For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Galatians 5.13-14)
Our Church Weekend will explore this theme of 'Free at Last', so please pray that we learn how to live this way.
Best wishes,
Richard
PS It is great that so many have now booked - but for catering purposes, it is now TOO LATE to book!
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Citizenship
A friend who is currently defined as 'a foreign national', born outside the UK, is seeking to become a British Citizen. Having lived in this country for 5 years, and in gainful employment, she and her husband took the Citizenship Test' yesterday. This consisted in answering some questions - mostly multiple guess/choice type - about assorted aspects of the British scene. The ones she relayed to us would have stumped most British citizens that I know! Nonetheless, if she passed the test, and waits another year, she may well be granted the citizenship she desires.
Citizenship is quite a theme in the New Testament, and to be a Roman Citizen was highly prized. But most members of the fledgling Christian community were no-hopers, as far as the values of the day. St. Peter writes to remind of them of some profound contrasts. 'To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.' (1 Peter 1.1-2)
As far as the Roman Empire was concerned, these Christians were exiles, rootless and vagrants. But from God's point of view, they are chosen and elected to know Him. Peter goes on to describe what has brought about the change.
'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.' (1 Peter 1.3-5)
From new birth to receiving an inheritance in glory - from the cradle to the grave and beyond - our citizenship is a gift from God's mercy, provided for us through the death & resurrection of Jesus.
So who am I today? I am a citizen of heaven, called to live that way. I trust that is true of you too!
Best wishes,
Richard
Citizenship is quite a theme in the New Testament, and to be a Roman Citizen was highly prized. But most members of the fledgling Christian community were no-hopers, as far as the values of the day. St. Peter writes to remind of them of some profound contrasts. 'To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.' (1 Peter 1.1-2)
As far as the Roman Empire was concerned, these Christians were exiles, rootless and vagrants. But from God's point of view, they are chosen and elected to know Him. Peter goes on to describe what has brought about the change.
'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.' (1 Peter 1.3-5)
From new birth to receiving an inheritance in glory - from the cradle to the grave and beyond - our citizenship is a gift from God's mercy, provided for us through the death & resurrection of Jesus.
So who am I today? I am a citizen of heaven, called to live that way. I trust that is true of you too!
Best wishes,
Richard
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