I live with people who adore science fiction and so I have spent a fair bit of time absorbing ideas about portals. A portal is a doorway, gate or entrance and in science fiction and fantasy terms, it usually refers to a technological or magical doorway that connects two distant locations separated by spacetime. It usually consists of two or more gateways, with an object entering one gateway leaving via the other instantaneously. One of the earliest examples is the ‘Guardian of Forever’ in Star Trek, where a portal could be opened to any point in history on any world in the universe.

The idea was continued in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, where “Iconian gateways” with angular frames and ripple effects led to other universes; in ‘Transformers’, a large round ring built on Earth would create a subspace tunnel to a destination tower on Cybertron.

Many of us secretly like the idea of portals, especially those that could remove us from the trials and troubles of this world. A portal to another world, free from suffering and pain, often seems like an amazing idea! Perhaps that is how Paul felt when he prayed for God to remove the thorn in his flesh which was causing him so much trouble (2 Cor 12:8); David’s desire for the wings of a dove so he could fly away and rest certainly conveys this idea of escape. (Ps 55:6)

The portal to strength which we all covet is found in an unusual place, however. God’s response to Paul was not to remove the thorn. Instead, he was told, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12:9) Weakness, the very antithesis of strength, is actually the pathway to strength. Paul discovered, ‘when I am weak, then I am strong.‘ (2 Cor 12:10) The portal to strength is through the doorway of our own weakness, so that Christ’s strength can be found in us. We can do everything through the One who gives us strength. (Phil 4:13)

A mental health blog to which I subscribe sent this email today, which I think has encouragement for us all.

“Hope dawns with a sense of what is possible.

POSSIBLE

Then experience and naysayers work their dark arts, and often two simple letters are added to that possibility: I and m:

IMPOSSIBLE

This is where most people stall and stop.

But there is magic in movement and in punctuation.

Keep the lessons learned from impossibility thinking – it’s a phase we all go through – but move your perspective.

“It’s just a jump to the left!”

Move your I and m a couple of spaces to the left, and a new kind of possibility emerges.

Add an apostrophe and you’ll avert a catastrophe:

I’M POSSIBLE

Shift Happens!

Shift happens, folks! It happens first between our ears in that marvellous muscle called your brain. And it takes some muscle to move the I and m to the left, and then to pull in that apostrophe that averts the catastrophe.

Here’s a muscle building question for you:

“I know what you want is impossible, but if it was possible, how could you make this work for you?”‘ (Lex, A Moodscope member)

Even if we know things are impossible for us, however, we need to meditate on Matt 19:26 and Jer 32:7. The impossible is Him-possible.

In our Bible studies, we have been looking at the penitential psalms and talking about the need for repentance as the starting point on a journey of faith, and something which is ongoing in a life of faith (see Matt 3:2, Matt 4: 17, Acts 2:38, Rev 2:5, Rev 3:19). Ps 32 in particular talks about how uncomfortable we feel about acknowledging our sin (Ps 32:1-4) and the relief that comes when we do finally confess sin (Ps 32:5).

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed a blissful relationship with God and with each other. This ease of relationship is described in Gen 2:25: ‘ Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.’  This state is described vividly in Phil Wickham’s song ‘Eden’:

‘When the first light brightened the dark
Before the breaking of the human heart,
There was You and there was me.

Innocence was all I knew
‘Cause all I had to know was You;
We were running underneath the trees…

I remember how You called my name
And I would meet You at the garden gate,
How the glory of Your love would shine

And I remember when the stars were young
You breathed life into my lungs
Oh I never felt so alive…’ (‘Eden’, Phil Wickham)

Sin spoilt those relationships: Adam’s response to God’s arrival in the garden after he had sinned is “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Gen 3:10) Now, nakedness is equated with shame (and has been ever since.)

We hide when we sin because we are ashamed. We know we have done wrong; we squirm and try to pin the blame on someone else (Gen 3:12,13); we make excuses and rationalise what we have done (talking about our ‘needs’, our unfortunate backgrounds, our human frailty, anything which will stop us having to face our sin and its consequences.)

There is, however, a yearning for what we have lost.

‘I want to see You face to face
Where being in Your arms is the permanent state.
I want it like it was back then;
I want to be in Eden.

To be naked and unashamed
In a sweet downpour of innocent rain.
I want it like it was back then;
I want to be in Eden.’ (‘Eden’, Phil Wickham)

It is only when we turn back to God in repentance and penitence, feeling the sorrow and sadness our sin has brought, that we can regain the intimacy and innocence for which we were created. David’s joy in Ps 32 is the joy of sins forgiven. Casting Crowns sing that the redeemed have a song the angels can’t sing, for we sing of redemption, restoration, forgiveness and wholeness which the angels who have never sinned can never experience (see 1 Pet 1:12). Penitence might seem a miserable place to start, but it is certainly not a miserable place to end!

Our activity tonight was a word search on mission, with prizes associated with mission (a torch and car fresheners… it was hot in India!) and intermission (popcorn and snacks!)

Dave gave the epilogue (and we are so grateful for his recovery; it was good to have him back bringing God’s word to us!), speaking from Matt 28:16-20. Jesus was quite specific in His instructions that we are all to be involved in mission. Not all of us may be able to venture as far as India, but we all need to start where we are. Whether we are saved through being brought up in a Christian family or through the witness of a neighbour, friend or colleague, we all generally come to faith because someone else tells us about Jesus! Our responsibility is to be the friend who tells other people about Jesus… and we do that by starting right we are. Goldthorpe, here we come!

Our family service included feedback from the team who had recently been on a mission trip to India, so there was a definite Indian theme to our clothing tonight!

Members of the team spoke about the different ministries we had been involved with, especially working with the children and with the prayer ministry for the ladies from the tailoring programme.

We were struck by the people’s hospitality, generosity, humility and hunger for God, and we thanked everyone who had supported us through prayer and financial giving. The mission trip has certainly whetted our appetites and we hope to return to India… and maybe venture to other places too!

Tonight’s family service looked at the theme ‘Mission or Intermission?‘ Mark spoke from Mk 16:14-18, reminding us that Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptising those who believed and demonstrating God’s power in casting out demons, healing and speaking in tongues. Sometimes, we feel ‘mission is too big for me’, but Jesus gave this commission to all His disciples.

Jesus’s last words to His disciples (Acts 1:4-8) reiterated this command, but stressed the need for them not to go anywhere or do anything until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit. We too need this power if we are to be effective witnesses and need to start where we are before moving on to other areas.

When we think about ‘intermission’, we think about going to the theatre or cinema and having snacks (ice-cream and popcorn, for example!) Sometimes we need times of refreshing with God, ‘time out’ to be alone with God and receive His direction, help and guidance. But we also have to remember our primary calling is to be witnesses of all God has done and to explain how people can be saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.