God's organizer

I had commented that it was unusual that I had nothing in my diary for the month of March and yesterday it became clear just why that was. My older brother has come to a point that he needs a little more care so he is about to move into sheltered accommodation. I was a bit concerned about when this would happen because next week I will be away for a few days and then in April I'm off to New Caledonia for two weeks with a prayer team. You guessed it! Yesterday I received a letter saying that he was being offered a flat in the exact scheme that he had hoped for. The flat isn't actually being officially vacated until Sunday and the elderly lady who lived there was well into her nineties and nothing had been done to the flat in the way of decorating for a number of years. So contrary to the usual policy, the scheme manager has requested that the flat be decorated throughout. This will save my sister and I a lot of extra work. This of course means that I will be able to go away next week and enjoy the 3 day prayer conference without wondering about the situation. It also means that we will be able to have him settled in his new flat before I go off to New Caledonia. The time slot is just perfect. I couldn't have planned it better myself. It really does pay to let God sort out the dates and appointments in my organizer. He does it so much better than I could.

Doing what He wants

I am reading a very good book by David Orton called 'Snakes in the Temple'. In it he explores how Satan has got into the church through hidden idolatry. He talks about the fact that we are all familiar with the idea of doing bad things outside the will of God but that the idea of actually doing good things can also be outside the will of God. He quotes Matthew 7:22-23 'Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; Depart from Me.' Here Jesus is actually saying that even if we are operating in the supernatural we can still be outside of God's will for us. How many of us can even say that we prophesy, cast out demons and perform ANY miracles let alone MANY and yet Jesus says to these people that He doesn't know them. We can do all manner of wonderful things but if God hasn't asked us to do them then we are outside of His will. 'To obey is better than sacrifice' (1 Samuel 15:22) Again Jesus says in the previous verse in the book of Matthew 'Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord", will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father...' It made me think really hard about what I am doing and why. I want to make sure that whatever I do is because the Father has asked me to.

The Arts

I met up with a friend this morning to have a coffee. He was telling me about his wife who is working towards a degree in the arts and how God is using this to help her communicate with others about the things that are important to her. She has studied the various aspects of art - painting, collage, sculpture etc and at the moment is into photography. She has found that the various projects that she has had to do have helped her to communicate to others, in class and in exhibitions, about her life, God, her spiritual journey, poverty, injustice and the desperate plight of humanity in its search for meaning and purpose to life.

I began to think of a number of my friends who are involved in various aspects of the arts - painting, drama, writing, film-making etc. and realised again with a certain reassurance that we are all equal in God's sight and that He uses all sorts of ways to communicate to people. Sometimes the visual aspect of art in its various forms reaches people that no preaching, books or verbal interaction can reach. It reminded me of the news report, given by Michael Buerk over twenty years ago, of the plight in Ethiopa that was a catalyst in Bob Geldorf's involvement in Live Aid and the subsequent efforts of many people for the plight of those living in poverty. One image, captured on film can speak volumes.

Isn't God so amazing! Whatever we're into, He wants to use it to bring His message of hope and freedom to a lost world. I'm so pleased that the Body of Christ is beginning to accept the need for the arts in worship and that it's not just about singing and listening to sermons! We need to pray and support more those whom God is calling in this way to reach those who would never go inside a church or listen to what we have to say. God loves the lost and wants to reach them with His love. I pray that God will raise up a new generation of those to whom He has given these giftings, that their lives and unique expression through the artistic media will speak for Him and point many to the Way.