Suffering

Jul 28, 2022

I have been re-reading one of my favourite books, Eugene Peterson’s “Five Smooth Stones For Pastoral Work”, and looking again at the book of Lamentations, a book written during a period of enormous suffering following the siege of Jerusalem and subsequent exile of God’s people to Babylon.
Suffering is an inevitable consequence of the Fall and cannot be avoided by any of us. When we suffer, we are overwhelmed by emotion and feel unable to make sense of anything. Peterson explores the acrostic form of Lamentations, remarking that its ‘A to Z’ approach helps us to examine suffering in detailed thoroughness but within the reminder that there is an end, a limit, to it. “The subjective feeling of endlessness in suffering is, in fact, false,” he says (P122). This tethers us to reality, something we desperately need when suffering explodes into our lives and ‘pain is scattered like shrapnel.’ (P 126)
As I ponder the subject of ‘the miraculous and the mundane‘ these days, I was struck by one of the comments Peterson makes: ‘God’s acts of mercy… permeate the ordinary days of the people of God.’ (P 127) Take time to soak that in.
When we are suffering and in pain, it’s hard to see God’s acts of mercy. All we see and feel is the pain (think of the all-encompassing agony of toothache or nausea…) But God’s acts of mercy are there – initially in the innocent hug of a child, in the friend who phones or drops in with shopping, in the sunshine which lifts your spirit, in the rainbow which reminds you of God’s faithfulness, in the unconditional love of the dog who sits at your feet… and then also in ways that we term ‘deliverance’ or ‘help’. Lamentations 3:22-23 shines in the middle of the darkness of suffering, tethering us to God’s love, mercy, compassion and faithfulness. Peterson writes, ‘evil is not inexhaustible. It is not infinite. It is not worthy of a lifetime of attention.’ (P124) But God’s love and mercy are.

Learning To Acclaim God

Jul 28, 2022

Psalm 89:15 in the Message version says, ‘blessed are people who know the passwords of praise’, but this can make it sound as though praising God requires great feats of memory which will be beyond most people. The NIV says, ‘blessed are those who have learned to acclaim God’, and it seems to me that the key to this process is probably to focus on who God is, which does require memory but which is certainly not beyond the capability of even a child. In the preceding verse, we are told, ‘righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You.’ (Ps 89:14) Here, four essential aspects of God’s nature are highlighted, each one providing a reason to praise (acclaim) God:
1. God’s righteousness
This basically means that God does what is right in every situation. He does not make mistakes. He is not fallible, as we are. There is tremendous security in knowing that God can be trusted to do what is right.
2. God’s justice
Justice means that right will be rewarded and evil will be punished. Rom 12:19-21 urges us to eschew vengeance precisely because we can trust God to sort everything out in the long run. We should strive for justice wherever possible, but must also understand that God will do what is right in the end.
3. God’s love
God’s love is described as unfailing, unchanging, unending, strong and the very essence of who He is. His love means that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) His love provides a solid foundation for our lives.
4. God’s faithfulness
God is faithful, not fickle. He doesn’t ‘come and go’; He is no fair weather friend, but One who sticks closer than a brother. We are never alone and can rely on Him in all circumstances.
Praising God isn’t all about memorising meaningless passwords that are simply a test of mental acuity. Praising God is the inevitable result of thinking about who God is. When we reflect on what He is like and what He has done, praise is the outcome, for we serve a mighty God who is for us!

Two Brothers

Jul 25, 2022

Dave spoke last night from Luke 15:11-32, the passage commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Yet we have to note the context of this parable, spoken to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. So often, we focus on the younger son (his defiance, repentance and acceptance by the father), but the attitude of the older son is more like the teachers. It is never fully clear whether he accepts or welcomes the return of his brother – this response has to be supplied by those listening to the story.

We are more comfortable with exploring the idea of rebellion and ultimate acceptance and forgiveness than we are at investigating the apparently ‘righteous’ older brother who nonetheless does not know how to respond to grace. The father wants him to respond well, but the story does not give us a neat ending. We have to be the ones who supply the ending. Will we be like the prodigal son and realise our need for grace? Or will we hold on to grudges, resentment and the belief that we can make it on our own? The choice is ours.

A Test Of Faith

Jul 24, 2022

This morning we looked at Genesis 22:1-19, at a test of faith as Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. It’s in this incident that we see how much Abraham has matured and grown in faith, as he responds to God without procrastination and with faith, declaring words of faith (that both he and his son will go and worship and he and his son will return and that God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice) rather than the lies which he had spoken when afraid for his life earlier (saying that Sarah was his sister and not his wife.) Speaking in faith is the key to unlocking the miraculous in our lives.

We do not like tests and trials, but James reminds us such things are necessary to bring us to maturity. (James 1:3-4) God does not test us because He is cruel or wants us to stumble, but so that we grow and learn to trust Him more. (2 Cor 1:1-8) Abraham discovered a new name for God from this incident (‘The Lord Will Provide’) and received renewed promises of blessing because of his obedience and devotion.

Speaking words of truth and faith over our doubts enables us to grow and to see the miraculous in our lives. Often, the miraculous may look very ordinary (a ram caught in a thicket is nothing special in itself), but God’s timing and provision, even when wrapped in ordinary clothes, are miraculous. God is able to intervene in our lives in ways that others may call ‘coincidence’ but which we know reflect His favour and grace.

Being A Gardener

Jul 24, 2022

I am no gardener, but I enjoy beautiful gardens and love walking among flowers. Yesterday I had the joy of spending the day at Woldie’s Lavender and Nature Farm and seeing loads of lavender, wild flowers, bees, butterflies and birds.
 
Wherever there is a beautiful garden, you will find someone who has cared enough to plant beautiful things and someone who has worked hard to bring this beauty to completion.
 
The mundane tasks of weeding, cutting grass, hoeing and tidying must be done regularly to keep a garden looking smart and neat. Careful attention and hard work are essential to a garden.
 
It’s much easier to do this on a reguar basis: as with so many things in life, ‘little and often’ is a gardener’s motto. It’s much easier to remove small weeds than to procrastinate and thus face the problems of more deeply rooted ones!
 
Hosea tells God’s people to ‘sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unploughed land.’ (Hos 10;12) We have to ensure we show good things in our lives if we want to reap good fruit. Bad attitudes, careless words and wrong thuoghts have to be dug out with determination and ruthlessness. Good attitudes, kind words and true thoughts must be planted and nurtured. (Phil 4:8, Col 3:15-17, Gal 5:17-23)
 
There is never room for complacency and inaction in a garden. Spiritual growth similarly is something we must nurture, doing our best to provide good soil (breaking up the unploughed ground) and caring for growth with the devotion of a gardener. Effort and ongoing work are always required.

Creative Prayer

Jul 21, 2022

There are many different ways to pray! Yesterday at our ‘Churches Together’, we focussed on different Scriptures looking at Jesus as our living water and also painted representations of these verses to help us to focus our minds on these truths. We drank water and thought about how important it is to quench our thirst (particularly apt after the recent hot weather.) We listened to songs on these themes and we asked God to pour out His Spirit on us and on our land. We prayed for those who have lost their homes recently because of fires and thought about the power of water.

Here are some of the artwork we created: