I subscribe to an email called ‘Moodscope’, which offers thoughts on dealing with depression and mental health issues. Today’s thoughts were entitled ‘the garden of your mind’, and said  our minds are like a garden, protected by a wall, continuing, ‘Within that wall is a fertile garden, open to nurturing and growing any thought, idea or imagination that takes root there. The Garden of the Mind does not discriminate but rather multiplies anything that is sown – good or bad, resourceful or unresourceful, positive or negative. Which is why it is wise to guard the garden.’

The Bible, of course, has much to say about guarding our thought life (see 2 Cor 10:5, Phil 4:8-9). I have been contemplating gardens recently, as I have been making chutney from the tomatoes grown in a garden. It’s almost impossible to believe how many tomatoes have been grown from a few tomato plants, giving us the positive side to growth. But growing good things requires vigilance against the slugs that would eat the tomatoes, against the weeds that would choke life and so on. Growth requires pruning. Fruitfulness generally needs a gardener to make the most of growth.

We are the gardeners of our mind, responsible before God for getting rid of the weeds of thoughts that are not tamed by Christ, refusing to let our eyes and ears dwell on things that do not reflect His beauty and goodness. The reverse is also true; as we allow good thoughts and positive images to grow in our minds, we become more like Christ. The email goes on to say, ‘The great news is this stuff just works! What you look at will grow in the garden of your mind. What you listen to will grow in the garden of your mind. Who you mix with – their behaviours, attitudes, habits – all are infectious! Do you know someone with an infectious sense of humour? You’ll catch it if you spend enough time in their presence! Do you know someone with infectious joy? It’s catching!’

As I eat the chutney I made, I’m reminded of the need for vigilance in gardening, but when we guard the thoughts in our mind, the fruit is worth it!

When we take out insurance, it always pays to read the small print and discover if we are fully covered for all eventualities: quite often, there are ‘get-out clauses’ or excesses to pay before we can receive anything from the insurance company in the event of a claim. Stephen spoke tonight about the differences between insurance and assurance.

Jesus is the light of the world (Jn 8:12). Unlike insurance policies which may well leave us in the dark over what level of cover we truly have (or at least, require us to read the minuscule print in order to know our full rights!), Jesus gives us the security we yearn for. Job 24:22 reminds us that the ‘mighty’ often have no assurance, but God’s people know the protection God gives and that makes a difference to us. There is a clear distinction between light and darkness and Jesus is able to bring light into all situations and to give us ‘great assurance’ in our faith in Him (see 1 Tim 3:13).

Matt 6:26 reminds us that we are more valuable than the birds of the air; because of the value God places on human life, we find His evaluation of our worth and situations enlightening and life-changing. When God is in charge of our lives, we have ‘total cover’, total protection and assurance, and His light is able to shine into every aspect of life and transform our lives to His glory.

Dave spoke this morning from John 14:27 this morning at Cherry Tree Court about the peace Jesus promised to leave His disciples. In this passage, He was bidding farewell to His disciples, for He knew that crucifixion awaited Him, but despite the coming pain and suffering, Jesus knew peace and was able to promise a peace that does not depend on favourable circumstances.

We desperately need access to a peace that is not dependent on external circumstances (which inevitably will vary) but which can last through turmoil and trouble. True peace – shalom! – is more than an absence of fear or anxiety, however; it is a wholeness that comes from being at peace with God. Jesus did not simply plaster over the wounds of mankind, but suffered on the cross to remove the problem of sin once and for all.

The world has no true answer to sin and turmoil, offering sedatives and medication or a ‘pull-yourself-together’ attitude. Jesus cures the problem and therefore gives us peace with God which cannot be disturbed by adversity or trials.

So much of life seems to be spent in a tension between the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet’, between what we currently experience and what we know lies ahead. The prophets often spoke about the future, proclaiming what God would do ‘in that day’ (see, for example, Isaiah 27:1, 2, 12), and it’s true that the future hope God offers us is both great consolation and great inspiration for His people (and has been throughout history!) When we break bread together, we not only look back to the death and resurrection of Christ, but forward to His coming again (see 1 Cor 11:26); it’s inevitable that the hope of resurrection and future glory acts as fuel for us in our present sufferings (see also 2 Cor 4:16-18, Rom 8:25-39).

Nonetheless, even as we look forward to ‘that day’ when God will wipe every tear from our eyes and right all wrongs, we are still left with the truth that this is the day the Lord has made and the command to rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps 118:24) Today is the day of salvation; now is the day of God’s favour. (2 Cor 6:2) We can be glad today, for God is with us even in the trials and difficulties; His grace is sufficient for us. (2 Cor 12:9)

Matthew West’s song ‘Hello, My Name Is…’ contrasts how we often see ourselves with the truths of who we are in Christ. So often, we are filled with condemnation, regret and defeat, but God’s grace brings us a new perspective on ourselves as well as on life itself.

‘Hello, my name is regret.
I’m pretty sure we have met.
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget.

Hello, my name is child of the one true King.
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free.
“Amazing Grace” is the song I sing.
Hello, my name is child of the one true King.

I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind.
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it’s true:
Just take a look at my life.

What love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children.
I am a child of the one true King.’ (Matthew West, ‘Hello, My Name is…’)

What we were can never be as important as what we are in Christ. As the poster says, in Christ we are:

• Children of God (Rom 8:16)
• Forgiven (Eph 1:7)
• Saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9)
• New creations (2 Cor 5:17)
• Justified (Rom 5:1)
• Heirs of eternal life (1 John 5:11-12)
• Led by the Spirit (Rom 8:14)
• Redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13)
• Strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (Eph 6:12)
• Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17)
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3)
• Imitators of God (Eph 5:1)
• The light of the world (Matt 5:5)
• Healed by Christ’s wounds (1 Pet 2:24)
• Being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2)
• Heirs to the blessings of Abraham (Gal 3:14)
• More than conquerors (Rom 8:17)
• Able to do all things through Christ’s strength in us (Phil 4:13)

These are the truths we need to absorb to go forth in God’s power and strength. Paul may have felt himself to be ‘the worst of sinners’ (1 Tim 1:15), but he also knew the difference between what he used to be and what he became in Christ. We too need to grasp who we are in Christ, and live in the power and freedom of God’s Spirit.

Many of us like to think that we deserve to be saved, that God owes us a favour. We have an inflated opinion of ourselves. The way to God, however, is not by our virtue and our good deeds (Isaiah reminds us that ‘all our righteous acts are as filthy rags’ (Is 64:6)), but by grace – the unmerited, undeserved, lavish favour of God.

Paul lived with a real sense of God’s grace. He looks back on his previous actions, persecuting the church of God and pursuing his own righteousness (see Phil 3:1-14, 1 Tim 1:15-16), with horror and admits that his salvation is all of grace. In 1 Cor 15:9 he says ‘I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.’ There is no longer any sense of self-achievement in Paul; instead, he admits that ‘by the grace of God I am what I am.’ (1 Cor 15:10)

All of us need to absorb this truth. Whether we look back on our past with shame or pride, grace is a great leveller. All of us come to Christ in the same way. All of us are saved ‘by grace, through faith… not by works, so that no one can boast.’ (Eph 2:8-9) None of us will be able to stand before God in our own righteousness, but none of us have to. We can know freedom from condemnation (Rom 8:1); we can boldly approach the throne of grace (Heb 4:16); we can be sure that we are accepted, forgiven, loved and welcomed into the arms of God.

Paul knows that there is a paradox here too: God’s grace and our effort somehow go hand in hand (see 1 Cor 15:10, Phil 2:12-13). This is hard to fathom, and theologians traditionally tend to pull at the extremes, but in essence, ‘I am what I am’ is not licence to sin; it is the contentment of knowing we are made in God’s image and loved as we are, yet it is also the motivation to change. Just as Popeye grew strong when he ate spinach, we grow strong when we meditate on, focus on and receive God’s grace. Keith Krell says, ‘We need to gobble up grace and let God empower us to accomplish His work in and through us.’ How this divine partnership works is a mystery, but grace needs to be the scarlet thread that runs through our lives.

Blue vein cheeses have had cultures of the mould Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue. Grace is rather like that blue vein. It needs to define us; it needs to mould us; it needs to be at the very centre of who we are, so that our effort and striving are not in vain.