Ramadan for Christians?

Although I have mentioned before about the gospel being all-inclusive and that God loves everyone, my mind has turned to it again this week.  I think that maybe this is as a result of it being Ramadan for Muslims and (as I have also mentioned before) I have someone in my extended family who is Muslim.  I have been thinking about her and following her blog as she writes about her experiences during this time of fasting. (You can click onto her blog here.)  We know that God loves everyone but I must admit that Christians particularly in the western world, believe this with a sort of condescending, patronising attitude of ‘yes but we have the truth’ as though we have the monopoly on the truth.  I say this having been guilty of this same attitude myself.  We tend to look at Muslims with a certain western arrogance.  And so this week as I rethink some of my attitudes and realise that I really know very little about Muslims or Islam, I thought that this would be a good time to try and learn more.

 

Rashid Kahn

Earlier this week I watched a programme called A Very British Ramadan. (You can find it here.)  It lasts just over 24 minutes - sorry about the adverts in the recording.  It is presented by Rashid Kahn, a Muslim with a very northern accent!  What I found quite surprising was how everyone seemed to be actually looking forward to the month of fasting – no food or water from sunrise to sunset.  After sunset the subsequent meal (iftar) is very important.  Many meet together, almost in festive mode and share the meal together.  They break the fast with dates and water and then whatever meal they want.  Some of those of Asian ancestry keep up family tradition but there was a group of very English Muslims, who had converted as hippies in the 1960s, and they celebrated together with vegetable soup! 

 

But Ramadan is not just about fasting and eating in the hours between dusk and dawn  but about prayer and charity to others.  There was a group of Muslim bikers (!) who stopped at a café and knelt down on the ground and prayed.  They were doing a charity ride to raise money – not for a Muslim charity but for Great Ormond Street Hospital.  There were those who shared food with neighbours as a gesture of charity towards others and those of other faiths.  One 24 year old young man was looking forward to part of the time (10 days) when he would be in solitude, praying and reading.  He was looking forward to what God (Allah) would be saying to him and what changes he would need to make afterwards to fulfil God’s will.  He said,

Seclusion is everything.  All hope, all fear of the world, worldly attachments and so on are removed and the only thing you care about is the love and mercy of God and 10 days pure – you and your Lord.

 

So I learnt that Ramadan is not just about fasting from food and drink.  It’s not merely a tradition that must be obeyed.  It’s more – it’s about charity, doing good, looking beyond the physical to our spirituality, learning where we need to improve etc.  I feel Christians could learn a lot from our Muslim friends.  I know of times when Christians have used the prayer and fasting thing more as a kind of spiritual bribe for God to do our bidding rather than it being for us to draw closer to learn what God wants to say to us.  For many the time of Lent is more about doing without sweets or some luxury rather than a time to hone our spiritual appetite.  These times should not be in order to fulfil some expectation that others may have of us or that we may appear somehow more holy by doing them (that is a sanctimonious, self-centred reason if ever there was one!) but for real spiritual growth.  I know that God does not love us more because of our efforts – He loves us just because He is Unconditional Love.  That is His nature.  I am not saying either that we should be tied to such disciplines as a necessary part of our communion with God but I feel that there is maybe a place for such times of discipline.  The mystics and the old Desert Fathers certainly thought so and I know that when I have carried out a 30 day Daniel fast (eating as Daniel and his friends did in the Old Testament) I found it of great spiritual benefit and could understand why those in authority took notice of Daniel and his friends.

 

It’s not about watering down my faith and beliefs to accommodate others – not at all!  There are points where I may disagree with Muslims but I think that if I am trying to understand people of other faiths, then at least I need to accept that for some people, this is a way that they connect with God.  Or as Richard Rohr so succinctly puts it,

When another’s experience of God isn’t exactly the way I would describe it, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t had an experience of God or that their experience is completely wrong. … … Could it not be that this Hindu, this Sufi, this charismatic, this Jewish woman has, in fact, touched upon the same eternal Mystery that I am seeking? Can’t we at least give one another the benefit of the doubt? I can be somewhat patient with people who think they have the truth. The problem for me is when they think they have the whole truth.

 

I feel that in the end what matters is that we connect with God in whatever way we feel is right for us.  I’m sure God accepts the prayer of a person regardless of their background – He looks on the heart.  I’m sure that He who is Unconditional Love doesn’t just listen to Christians and ignores everyone else.  Maybe I should try to understand others more from their point of view; see them how they are and not how I think they ought to be; see them as God sees them; not be judgmental towards others; be more willing to learn from others, whoever they are.  I am still learning.

 

 

 

 

 

Props and Supports

When we teach our young children to ride a bicycle we have either bought them something with 3 wheels to learn the motion of pedalling or have got them a bicycle with stabilisers to stop them from falling off and maybe injuring themselves.  When they grow up and get used to cycling, they won’t need that support and they will be free to cycle without fear or losing their balance.  It is a natural progression to want to be independent.  It’s a new adventure to go it alone.  At the other end of the scale as we grow more elderly we may need to use a walking stick or Zimmer frames to assist in walking.  Life in general is full of support mechanisms and groups that we find useful and often necessary to cope with life. 

Often the argument in favour of an organised Church is just that – that it provides a whole range of props and supports for our children and those new in the faith to help them walk the new path without stumbling.  Sadly what can happen is that the support mechanism becomes the actual way of doing things for all, even when they should have grown up.  Certain props in some denominations would be called idols in another.  We think of idols as statues and icons and associate them mainly with Roman Catholicism or Orthodox religions.  But an idol is anything that takes the place of the supremacy of God.  We begin a project and if we are not careful the project, which should be a means to fulfilling God’s work, becomes the end in itself.  We can get so caught up in the organising and making rules for ourselves that the original movement of God that inspired us soon becomes the tradition that must be kept going at all costs – after all this is God’s work.  The structures and supports take on a life of their own and many feel that such customs and ways of doing things are indispensable for a successful and spirit-filled walk with God.  Things that have been useful to our walk and connection with God can so easily become the focus of our attention – a legalistic approach to things like tithing, Sunday observance, daily devotional, the Bible itself, the need to be involved in organised activities within the denominational set-up etc.  They might all be good and useful but have taken on a role that is more important than is due to them – the usefulness has become the necessary tradition that we must conform to.  It has become the end in itself instead of being a means to the end of connecting with God one-to-one.

 

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how our walk with God is enriched when we can become more spontaneous and just listen to what He is saying directly to us without necessarily this being an integral part of the organised set-up of Church.  It is an adventure with God that is exciting but a bit scary as we don’t always know what to expect.  But without this it wouldn’t be an adventure – we would be comfortable to stay in a safe place and not venture further.  It’s a bit like taking away the stabilisers from our bikes and feeling the freedom to venture a bit further than we dared before.  Trying to be a little more detached from the organised construct of Church is a bit like that and it’s as though God is taking away the safety supports one at a time, layer by layer until we learn to ‘go it alone’ with Him our loving parent keeping a watchful eye on us so we don’t fall.  In an adventure the unforeseen often happens and we have to learn another way of coping; the safe organisation is no longer there.  We need to get to the heart of the matter – God Himself and nothing else.  I am reminded of Matt Redman’s lovely song –

When the music fades
All is stripped away,
and I simply come … …

I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, all about You, Jesus

How often we prefer the security of the safety props and so remain spiritual infants.  Maybe it’s time for us to grow up and leave off the stabilisers and enjoy the adventure with God.

 

 

 

 

Titles and Ministries

Evangelical charismatic groups talk about the fivefold ministries – apostle, prophet, teacher etc.  They each have their place and that’s fine but I do think that sometimes we get a bit hung up about particular sentences or phrases in the Bible.  Actually reading again Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:28 there are more than five listed!  But the main point that I’m getting at is that we can overemphasise some things and create a whole new (and wrong) aspect of following Jesus.  Some people attach a great deal of importance to titles.  I have heard people ask whether someone is a prophet or apostle or which ministry gift they possess.  It’s as though there are rungs to climb up the ladder of spirituality and according to the thinking of many people, apostle is really as high up as you can go because Paul mentioned that first!  He says ‘first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers … …’ but is he really giving them that order of importance in a hierarchical sense or is he just listing a few ministries that he thought of?  I know when I’m trying to think of a list of something, I mention them, sort of counting on my fingers, ‘there’s 1)this, 2) that … … ‘ as they come into my mind but that doesn’t imply any degree of importance to that order of items on the list.

My mind goes back a few years when I was with a prayer team in a northern city and we were at a conference with some of the church leaders of the area.  One particular man was so excited because he had just been given the authority by his congregation to be called ‘Apostle John’ (I say John as I don’t recall his real name.) To him and his congregation the title was very important.  It made me smile – I was pleased for him in a way.  Again, as I said last week about the term ‘missionary’ we need to rethink exactly what we mean and believe.  Some church leaders are so taken up with their own importance that no-one dare question their words – after all they insist on you knowing that they are God’s anointed and chosen and have authority over the rest of us.  It sounds much to me like the authority given to the Roman Catholic priest and the so-called infallibility of the Pope.  Maybe they forget the words of Jesus about ‘the first shall be last’ when the disciples were arguing about the very same thing – the importance of position.  But the Bible clearly teaches that we are all equal in the eyes of God!

 

Having said that, I must also affirm that it is good to seek after spiritual gifts.  The Bible teaches as much.  But there can be a danger of seeking with a misguided attitude; becoming almost like a child who sees another child’s new toy and immediately thinks ‘I want that’.  There can be a sense of following the latest spiritual fad or fashion; wanting to show off the latest ‘in thing’.  I remember being at a gathering when during the proceedings a group of people began to laugh – quite loudly.  (You may remember that the Toronto Blessing had such an effect on people, the Spirit filling them with such joy that they couldn’t help laughing.)  But on this occasion I couldn’t help wondering if this was a genuine outpouring of the Spirit or if it was more of a desire to be seen as being ‘full of the Spirit’; a sort of spiritual ego trip.  We must remember that spiritual gifts are given by God in order to help us fulfil His purposes and not for our own spiritual status within the Church

 

I think there are ministries that people are involved in that are not looked upon as such but can be life-changing.  This week (as those who follow me on Facebook will know) my son got a job after being unemployed for 2 years.  A couple of months ago he started as a volunteer in the local charity shop of St Margaret’s Hospice.  The manageress had said that they didn’t really have any vacancies but she had seen his CV and said ‘You’re too good.  We don’t want to lose you’ and so he began helping out whenever they needed it.  Those words made such a difference to his attitude and whole demeanour.  Until then he had begun to doubt his own ability and after 2 years without paid employment, self-esteem was very low.  Her words of encouragement made such a difference that after hearing her say that, he was a different person going for interviews.  Encouraging others and offering such friendly support is not in Paul’s list but surely God using someone in that way is as important.

As Paul says, not all are apostles or prophets but all are important to God and His kingdom.  What is most important of all is to be the person God made you/me to be and do what He asks of us.  That is far more important than any man-given title.  Sadly we get caught up with the attitudes of today when people are impressed with titles and position and forget that on the Christian journey our man-given titles aren’t important.  God is really not impressed by them.  He just wants us to listen to Him and go and live out His plan for our time here.  Whatever title may seem important to some people here on earth, there is no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God.

 

 

 

 

 

Missionary and Mission

Last week I wrote that I was praying for a revolution in the Church.  We need to rethink many aspects that have taken on a particular meaning.  I hope to unwrap some of those thoughts over the next few weeks but at this point don’t know how far I’ll get.  So here goes with the first one:

The word ‘missionary’ conjures up in the minds of most people an image of someone like David Livingstone going to ‘darkest Africa’.  Such people gave their whole lives and devoted themselves to the people for whom they left everything.  A more up-to-date equivalent would be someone like Mother Teresa who devoted her life to the poor in India.  The world has changed much since the days of David Livingstone and those who go on missions abroad nowadays often do so for shorter periods of time – some for only a few weeks.  I think of people like friends Julie and Dick Hogben (he is a GP and she works at a [different] surgery).  They link up with a charity in India called Asha and go every year to encourage and help in the slums.  You can follow their story here and here.

Margaret with some of the children she has helped

At one time it was thought that some sort of specialist training was needed to go abroad on some mission, particularly in medicine or education.  My friend Margaret also thought this for many years and it saddened her to think that she didn’t have any such qualifications but really felt she should become a missionary.  But now, retired from work and still without those specialist qualifications, she volunteers for 9 months every year in Nicaragua to help those who live in poverty and works with the charity SIFT to encourage (and pay for) the children to go to school and even university so they have a chance of getting out of the poverty trap.  With donations she receives from friends she is able to help many poor families in many other ways too.

I have other friends, Jo and Ian Storie, who are in Latvia, living and sharing life with others, helping to sort out problems of everyday living like heating their block of flats and making authorities aware of the problems of wild boar on the land where people need to grow food.  Their work is not connected to any particular denomination or charity.  Jo writes an update of their unfolding story every Monday.  You can follow their story here.

 

Although missions abroad have changed, not everyone feels any urge to serve God in this way.  Indeed, God does not ask everyone to do this.  So let’s rethink this whole idea of missionary in this 21^st century.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines mission as ‘a particular task or goal assigned to a person or group’.  So when Jesus commands His followers to go, share and show God’s love to those who don’t know Him, that includes all who follow Him.  That is the mission of each of us.  It’s a mandate, not just for those who feel a calling to go abroad, but for all of us, wherever we are.  A missionary is a person with a mission. 

 

There are countless charities that organise fundraising events in which many enjoy taking part.  Those who enjoy keeping fit often join in sponsored running or swimming events to raise money for their chosen charity.  But, if like me, you’re not particularly into that sort of thing, we should not feel that we cannot contribute anything or fulfil this mandate that Jesus left for His followers.  God knows what we can and can’t do – after all He made us.  We can make a difference without travelling to another country or partaking in any strenuous event but simply by sharing and showing God through our daily lives at work or where we live – stacking the shelves at the local supermarket; showing friendship to some elderly, lonely or vulnerable person; being a good neighbour; contributing to a food bank … … No doubt you can come up with many other situations.  We have a mission; we are missionaries just where we are; doing the everyday things; being involved with people.  We can use the things that we enjoy doing and make a difference.  The original mandate of Jesus was not building centred, it was focussed on people, their circumstances, their needs.  God is not really interested in how many names we can add to the outreach project of our particular organisation.  God just loves people, full stop.  We are all missionaries in this revolutionary Church.  Wherever we are and whatever abilities we may or may not possess, we can make a difference in the life of someone.

 

 

Revival or Revolution?

There is a poster that says ‘Revive your afternoon’.  It is an advert for a well-known vitamin-packed drink.  The suggestion is that after working all morning and having lunch it is often then that you can become a little sluggish and tired in the afternoon.  The firm claims that by having one of their drinks you will get an energy boost and you can be as active as before.  And so the noun ‘revival’ coming from the verb ‘to revive’ implies an input of renewed strength, a pick-me-up, a livening up when we are weary of the ‘same old thing’.  It sort of confirms a renewed continuation of what has gone before but with renewed vigour.

The word ‘revolve’ however is something quite different.  To revolve something means to turn it around and hence the derivative word ‘revolution’ implies not a renewal but a change of direction altogether.  A turning around brings a whole new aspect, something that wasn’t seen or done before.  I remember one morning while living in Argentina when we put on the radio we heard sombre classical music instead of the usual lively morning get-up-and-go stuff.  We then heard an announcement that was repeated every few minutes throughout the day – the military had taken over the government; General Ongania was the country's new president.  There were going to be changes, things were not going to be the same as before.  (Over the years there have been changes and now a democratic government is in place.)  In some parts of the world where they have experienced the so called Arab Spring, there were uprisings and revolutions.  The people wanted change and in those places where the new heads of government have proved to be much the same as those that were thrown out, there continues to be unrest.  The people wanted a new direction a different way of living and they got much of what they had before the revolution.  They had a renewal, a revival and they wanted a revolution.



In the 2000 years of Christianity we have seen countless revivals, many in the past few decades in many parts of the world.  And yet so often life seems to go on as before, nothing much seems to change.  There is still so much injustice and suffering in the world.  Revival seems to encourage those who are already following God’s ways but on the whole, it doesn’t seem to have changed a great deal in the ‘big wide world’.  Continuing to do what we have always done, even with renewed vigour and enthusiasm, hasn’t had the effect we wanted.  Some lives may have been changed but often after a revival eventually things go back to how they were before.  Our towns and cities still have the same problems.

 

Many Christians pray for a revival.  Me? I’m praying for a revolution!  We need to turn around and start seeing people and situations differently.  We need to be with people, living among them, sharing their concerns.  The word that is preached and heard inside the building needs to become flesh outside the building.  Jesus’ work was done mainly in the highways and the byways of life.  He met people where they were.  William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, used to say that you can’t preach to someone who has an empty stomach.  You have to feed them and they will see what God’s love means.  People are sick of words; they want to see the revolution lived out among them.  Being a follower of Jesus is not just about repeating the ‘sinner’s prayer’.  It’s about living to make a difference.  Whatever else I may be known for, I want to be known as a follower of Jesus.  Now that is a revolutionary challenge.





Life after Death

Derelict building at Orton Ness

I was interested to learn this week of a place on the east coast of Suffolk called Orford Ness.  The buildings there are now desolate but a number of years ago they were the hub of investigation into British engineering and design.  The codename for the work carried out there was Yellow Sun; the design for nuclear bombs; the design to end the world.  The tall radio masts were part of a secret listening station to find military secrets of others.  But the world didn’t end and the people have gone and the work carried out here has gone. 
 

Chinese water deer

Nature has replaced and owned the landscape.  Now there are barn owls occupying the buildings.  Their secret and silent flight guarantees success in finding life-giving food.  The long ears of the hares have replaced the listening masts.  There are many other species, including Chinese water deer, avocet and spoonbill.  Where once there were plans for death and destruction now there is abundant life.  The commentator of the documentary summed it up by saying,

‘So many new and different lives in a landscape that plotted to take life away’.

The buildings of Orford Ness are falling and rotting away while nature is rising and redesigning that place that once held the secrets of destruction.
 

God’s plan is not to destroy by force, seeking power over others.  His response to destruction and the taking of life is the outpouring of love.  In a time of occupation by a foreign power God emptied Himself in the person of Jesus to show us His way of life, a peaceful, non-aggressive way of love.  God’s answer to the wrongs of the world that man has developed is shown in His creation – allowing all to be who and what they are without trying to change them or have power over them but to live in harmony and balance together – many different designs share what God has given for all.



 

God spoke and creation came into being – His words became living reality.  The Spirit breathed God’s DNA into creation and following Him we express those same ‘genes’ of God’s being in and through our lives.  We are His temple; His Spirit lives within us; we are made in His likeness; as part of His creation we carry His DNA.  Like children carrying the DNA of their parents, it’s up to us to decide to use what He has made us to be to express His nature by our attitudes and way of living.  As Orford Ness was transformed by nature, I want to be redesigned according to His DNA and show His ways.

 



Different Food

A series of programmes that I love to watch is back this week and continues over the next two weeks also – Springwatch.  I find it so interesting and informative.  This week they have commented often about the bad weather we have had so far this year and the particularly late spring and the effects this has had on the wildlife.  The various creatures have been reverting to inventive and strange ways to compensate for the rough times. 

There is a coastal region in Dorset - Kimmeridge Bay.  It is part of the Jurassic Coast and forms a key habitat for wildlife, the bay itself being a Marine Nature Reserve.  This year people have commented that apart from the usual seabirds that can be seen there, they have noticed garden birds such as robins, chiff-chaffs and wrens.  When marine scientists investigated further they realised it was because along the shoreline there was a microclimate underneath the line of rotting seaweed.  Here there was an enormous amount of small insects, sand-hoppers and maggots.  Further inland the weather has been so wet and cold that there have been very few insects for the birds and so they have travelled further out from their usual nesting places in order to seek food and feed their young.

 

On the Nature Reserve in Wales where the Springwatch team is located for the three weeks, there is a camera showing the nest of a pair of buzzards with their chick.  Again because of the bad weather, much of their usual food has not been available and so they have improvised and have been eating more frogs, moles and even an eel.  These creatures don’t normally appear so near to the surface of the soil but the unusual wet weather has meant that they have been more visible above the sodden bogs and so in the absence of their usual food store, the buzzards have been eating something different.

 

In both cases, the birds were willing to leave their traditional ways and try something new.  As people we often shy away from that with the attitude that ‘we’ve always done it this way’, ‘it’s not what we’re used to’, ‘this is our way, our life and we wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else’, ‘it doesn’t work the same.’  That shoreline of rotting seaweed must seem like an eyesore to some and there are those who would like to clear it (and the smell that goes with it).  But to those birds it is a lifeline.  For them it is not a waste place. It is a different place –yes – but a place of sustenance and full of life that they hadn’t been aware of before.  Some look at me (and others like me who have left traditional organised church) and in a similar way suggest that where I am, there is no spiritual food to be had.  To them it is unfamiliar, different or seems to be a waste place. But for me and many others it is a place of great sustenance.  The church without walls has an abundance of life.  It might not be for everyone but I for one am enjoying and thriving on the different way of being and doing things.





Not what I expected

 

The past couple of days in Britain it seems to have reverted back to winter.  There have been parts of the country that have seen snow and hailstones – in May!  Yesterday I succumbed and eventually put on the heating for a while, the cold was reaching right through to my bones.  They say that over the weekend it will be a little warmer.  I hope so as I have tomato and pepper plants that I want to get out into the little greenhouse before they take over the living room.  This is not the weather we expect in the southwest of England in May.

Yesterday I went into a particular shop in town looking for a product that I have been trying to get for a couple of weeks.  I discovered, however, that they had something similar but not exactly what I had been looking for.  For some reason the product I wanted is no longer available but this is the nearest I could get.  Sometimes when this happens or when the manufacturer decides to change the design on the packaging, we get a little confused – it’s not what we expect to see and so think that maybe it’s a different product altogether.  I’m sure I’ll soon get used to the alternative.  But for the moment it sort of throws you a bit when things aren’t always as you expect.

 

I suppose that’s the problem really.  I make plans and have things all sorted out in my head and then find that it doesn’t always work like that and I have to change my plans or get my head around a new strategy.  Ah!  How often I have done that.  We tend to plan ahead which is not a bad thing.  In fact it is a good thing but the trouble is we can so often have fixed ideas about things, become rigid in our thinking and inflexible in our attitude and then life happens and we have to rethink the situation or change our view about something.  Looking back over my life, I realise that very little has actually turned out the way I had planned or thought it would.  Over the years I have had to change direction on a number of occasions, when there was need to adapt to some unplanned situation. 

 

Having said that, I am still learning to go with the flow and travel where the wind blows me.  Over the past few years I have repositioned my thinking on many subjects and changed my mind about some things.  I am learning to realise the limitations that come with a controlled and planned life and accepting instead the freedom that comes with just letting the Spirit take me where He wants; to live without the confines of the controlled construct of organised church where my ideas and attitudes are under the authority of others; instead I now live in the freedom of the wild that it outside the walls of the building.  There is a breath of fresh air about it all. 

 

 

 

 

 

Better Vision

One of the unfortunate side-effects of having more birthdays is that parts of you stop working as efficiently as they used to!  I have regular check-ups at the eye clinic because of a cataract that is forming in one of my eyes.  This impairs my vision somewhat in that things in the distance become very unclear.  Last week I went for a regular eye test at the optician’s and this week I had to go and collect my new glasses.  It was amazing!  What a difference!   When the assistant asked if I could read the card, I did so without any problem and then in the distance, I could actually read the small print on a poster on the wall.  I was a bit like a kid at Christmas!  All the way up the street on my way back to the bus stop I was deliberately looking in shop windows for notices to read – just because I could – read them I mean!  I don’t know what any passers-by might have thought of this woman with a wide grin on her face looking in all the shop windows.

The following day I went to see my sister – we usually spend a couple of hours a week with a coffee, catching up on family etc.  The bus came around the corner about 100 yards away and I was thrilled to actually be able to read the destination and the number as it turned the corner and didn’t have to wait until it got to within about 5 yards of me.  Now I don’t need to look puzzlingly at an approaching bus and wonder if it is the one I want or not.

 



The thing I realised is that even though my vision was a little impaired and I couldn’t make out some things until they were really quite close, it’s something I got used to and sort of worked within that limitation without much fuss.  I stopped trying to read the news headlines as they went along the bottom of the TV screen.  I just listened to whatever the newsreader said.  In a way I just got used to my limitation in this matter and accepted it almost as inevitable.  This week I was reminded that things that aren’t 100% right can be changed.  Someone once said ‘Nothing that is wrong need be permanent’.  But in order to better my situation I had to go the optician and have my eyes tested and a new prescription given.  Eventually when the time is right, the cataract will be removed and my sight greatly improved.  I may moan about things not being right when maybe I should be thinking of how I can go about changing things and making them better instead of just putting up with things as they are.  With this in mind, yesterday I went into the back garden and mended a bit of fence that was broken.  There that’s better already!

 

Of course the world will take a bit longer to change; after all I’m not wonder woman!  But seriously sometimes we look with a bit of desperation at all that seems to be wrong and resign ourselves to the fact that it’s just the way things are.  But one step at a time, where we are, in our own back yard as it were, we can maybe do something to change some little thing.  After all the ocean is made up of countless drops of water, as they say.  In the Lord’s Prayer we pray ‘Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven’ and as a Christian who believes that this is what God wants then maybe I should be changing things, one bit at a time just where I am so that heaven is apparent just here.  Each of us making a difference right where we are - now there's a vision!





 

The Ever-Present Friend

The other day I saw a video of the song Jesus Emmanuel, The Name Lives On by David Phelps.  It is from his album Life is a Church.  It shows Jesus in various situations, just being with people, sometimes talking to them and sometimes just walking with them or hugging them, depending on their need.  It is worth the 4 or so minutes it takes to watch it.  You can see it here:



 

 

 

 

I particularly like the part where He is riding on the back of the refuse lorry, helping the bin men collect the rubbish.  It reminded me of an incident that happened over 15 years ago.  It was the custom at that time to give the children at Sunday School some topics for prayer.  I was taken to task because I had suggested to them that we should pray for the refuse collectors.  The gist of the complaint was that it was understandable and acceptable to pray for professions like doctor, nurse, teacher – those people who are considered to be fulfilling some vocation - but why refuse collectors?  My short reply was simply, ‘why not?’  So I was particularly pleased to see Jesus helping the men collect the rubbish and putting it in the lorry, hanging on the back with the others as they drove along.  This is my Jesus, my God.



What I also noticed was that there were no images of church buildings or anything to do with organised religion.  It was all about Jesus being out there in real life situations.  I think it’s sad that non-Christians think of Christianity (and Christians) as having to do with a building, liturgy and candles, people dressed in long frocks and wearing back-to-front collars and listening to a particular style of music.  If God/Jesus is really in everyday life situations, as I think most Christians really believe, then why is there such insistence on going to a building usually on a Sunday morning to ‘meet with God’?  It’s as though there is some need to go and fill up our spiritual supermarket trolleys so we are able to delve into the stock in our spiritual cupboards during the following week when we need to find a suitable verse or illustration.  God is here, now.  When Jesus met with Zacchaeus, it was outside and then He went to his house to chat.  He met a crazy man among the graves, a woman at the well when she was about her daily work … ... and we could go on with many more examples.  

It’s not just about joining with other like-minded people in a particular place to sing about Him or pray/talk to Him.  It’s about living with Him every day in all circumstances.  He is the ever-present one – He’s always there with us.  Jesus Emmanuel; God with us/me; now, here; at my point of need; in every part of my life; my very real and true Friend.



Unexpected Flowers

This week two unexpected flowers made an impression on me.  The first one is on a Christmas Cactus plant I have.  It was unexpected because the plant was in full bloom in December.  I actually mentioned in a blog before Christmas that I was hoping it would stay in flower for Christmas Day and so live up to its name – and it did.  So I was a little surprised to see another flower appear in April.  There has been just the one flower but it made me smile.  It was as though it was saying, ‘I want to do something spontaneous.  I want to be different.’

As the warmer weather has now decided to make an appearance, I have been doing a bit of pottering around the garden.  There is a small strip where I have snowdrops and crocuses.  They have now died off and so I was clearing the weeds that seem to be everywhere.  Clearing out some of the unwanted growth I suddenly saw a beautiful miniature purple pansy – just the one, all on its own.  It was hidden among all the weeds.  It was still growing in all its glory to its full potential, even though it went unnoticed because of all the other stuff around it.  It wasn’t something that made a splash of colour or caught the attention as soon as you looked at the garden as some larger, more striking flowers might do.  It just did its job, fulfilled its purpose whether it was noticed or not.  And it cheered my heart.  It was as though it was wearing the slogan ‘Just do it!’  It reminded me of a very old song that has the line ‘content to fill a little space if God be glorified.’

When we go to large gatherings, conventions, revival meetings or to hear some well-known speaker, you sort of expect to ‘feel’ God near.  You almost wait for the moment when you feel uplifted and encouraged.  But I do love it when God appears out of the blue; when we’re not expecting it; when He reminds us of some truth that we have deep inside and it suddenly comes bursting up to the surface and we just want to smile and say ‘Thank you Lord’.  He is a God who specialises in the one-to-one encounter; He is so very personal; He knows how to get my attention and whisper encouragement.  It was like He was saying ‘Don’t worry about doing things differently.  Don’t be concerned with all the stuff going on around you; just do what I sent you to do.  Even though it seems that nobody notices, there is a purpose and someone will be blessed, even if you never know.  Be you.  Be the person I made you to be and I will show my glory through you.’  I’m so glad that He has a habit of breaking through the mundane.  I’m glad He is a God who is interested in the individual and thinks of me.  Thank you Lord.