These voices that whisper in the night

Can sound so amazingly reasonable,

So utterly sane,

So temptingly pragmatic.

They don’t sound crazy;

They don’t sound bizarre.

They are the voice of reason,

Of sense,

Of normality.

They are proactive, persuasive,

Offering practical solutions:

Ways out of the wilderness which lead to freedom.

What’s not to like about them?

But so often, these eminently sane, utterly pragmatic solutions

Lead us not into freedom,

But to the desolation of dead-end cul-de-sacs.

They obviate the need for faith,

Leaving us in the barren desert,

Abandoning us bereft and alone in the wilderness of disobedience.

How did we end up here?

We didn’t want to disobey.

But every time we choose sight over faith,

Every time we allow the persuasive voice of pragmatism to win,

Rather than standing defiantly on the promises of God,

We lose out.

Abraham holding Ishmael, not Isaac…

David lured into the mess of murder from following the lust of selfish longing and listening to the rationale offering excuses for normal human needs…

The Bible is scattered with evidence of the

Sin of pragmatism versus faith.

Faith is folly, the voices say.

It’s unreasonable to expect God to…

Indeed, it is.

Unreasonable to expect deliverance.

Unreasonable to hope for mercy over judgment.

Unreasonable to believe there’s a way out of Egypt,

To believe a Saviour could come from a virgin teenager,

To think a dying man can hold the keys of death and hell.

But we are called to live by faith, and not by sight.

Called to believe God has the right partner for us for life.

Called to believe God can bring reconciliation after a lifetime of distance.

Called to believe God can do the impossible for us.

We are called to turn from pragmatism to faith,

From Machiavelli’s ‘the end justifies the means’ to Jesus’ ‘die in order to live.’

It doesn’t make sense?

That’s O.K.

Miracles never did make much sense,

But are evidence, nonetheless, of God’s interest in us and proof that He is able to do more than we imagine, dream or dare to ask.

Live by faith.

You’ll be amazed at what you see.

Preparations for the Christmas Market include getting together all the prizes needed. I’ve been scouring shops for bargains for the Christmas tombola! We need prizes suitable for boys and girls (often available in Poundland and shops like that) as well as for adults – hand cream, toiletries, scarves and so on all make lovely prizes for tombolas. Please help us by donating prizes.

We will also be making up a Christmas hamper to raffle at the Christmas Market, so donations for this are also welcome, especially items like chocolates, biscuits, mince pies, crackers and other Christmas-themed foods, though tinned food and other practical items are also welcome. Local shops and market stall holders often donate lovely prizes for the raffle and we are grateful for everyone’s support.

You might not be able to donate prizes, but any craft items that can be sold will also come in useful (homemade cards, knitted or crocheted items, Christmas decorations etc.) and one of the most valuable things you can give is time. Please sign up to help, even if it’s only for an hour, anytime between 4 and 8 p.m. on Friday 9th December and please come along to support the community carol service at 6 p.m. if you’re able.

Many of you have been asking about Bedline Bazile, our Compassion child, who lives in Haiti. I have contacted Compassion for details of how Hurricane Matthew has affected the area where she lives and have received this response:

‘As Florida in the US prepares for Hurricane Matthew to make landfall, a more detailed picture is emerging of the destruction left in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Colombia.

In Haiti, the death toll is now estimated to be more than 300. 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone. Rescue workers in Haiti are still struggling to reach affected parts of Haiti as the bridge connecting to the south was washed away by flood waters.

We still have very limited information about the number of Compassion-assisted children and families who have been impacted. Compassion Colombia confirms that 1,000 sponsored children have been impacted by the hurricane. The majority have lost homes and household items. Our colleagues in the Compassion Haiti office sent through the following prayer request yesterday:

“Hurricane Matthew has devastated our country, particularly the south region. It has made thousands of victims and many people become homeless. The government has already intervened in some areas to bring support to concerned people, yet some other affected places are not called on and they are in need. Please pray that God brings them comfort in such a tragedy.”

Please join us in continuing to pray for all those affected by Hurricane Matthew. Pray particularly for the children in these three nations who have lost homes and loved ones.

At the moment we do not have any information about Bedline, however be assured that if we do hear we will contact you as soon as possible. If you do not hear from us with specific information about Bedline, please know that she is OK.’

Compassion have set up a relief disaster fund to help those in Haiti. Further details about that are available here.

In the Bible study tonight, looking at 1 Cor 15:35-44, we looked at the different kinds of new life mentioned in the Bible. What do we really mean by resurrection? What will resurrection ‘look’ like? These were some of the questions the Corinthians had, and people nowadays are just as interested in ‘life after death’ as ever.

In the Bible, we see several cases of people being brought back to life after having died. 1 Kings 17:17-23 tells us how Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead, something Jesus later did with another widow’s son (see Luke 7:11-15). Both Peter and Paul were also involved in this ministry of ‘healing +’ (Peter with Tabitha in Acts 9:36-41, Paul with Eutychus who fell from a 3rd storey meeting during a long teaching sessions before being raised to life to continue listening for another six hours in Acts 20:7-12). Technically, these instances (along with the raising of Lazarus and others) are known as resuscitation (not in the sense we use this word today, but meaning to bring back to life in the same body.) With all these examples, however, the person ‘inhabited’ the same body and ultimately would die at a later date.

Translation occurs when death is not tasted. Enoch (Gen 5:18-24) walked with God and then ‘was no more’; he disappeared; his body could not be found. Elijah (2 Ki 2:9-18) was taken directly to heaven in chariots of fire with horsemen, and though the band of prophets searched high and low for his body, they did not find it.

Resurrection, however, involves being brought back to life after having died, never to die again. Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, our ‘foretaste’ of what resurrection will look like. Here, we see that the physical body is transformed. Just as a seed doesn’t look like the plant it grows into, it’s hard for us to imagine what our resurrection bodies will look like. There will probably be similarities to our present bodies, but there will also be huge changes: ‘sown perishable, raised imperishable.’ We can’t quite grasp the mysteries of resurrection (will we look ‘young’ or ‘old’, depending on our age on death?), but it is clear that this new spiritual body, received at the Second Coming of Christ (see 1 Thess 4:13-18), will never again taste suffering, pain or death. Our ‘lowly bodies’ will be transformed like Jesus’ body (Phil 3:20-21). What a day that will be!

There are times in life when walking and running are impossible, and it can be discouraging to think of these things when they are not physically possible for us. Does the Bible have anything to say to those who are unable to walk or run? How do we identify with the Christian journey if we are immobile, housebound through age or infirmity, limited in movement through disability or illness, paralysed or without limbs? If we can’t walk or run to God, can we still reach Him?

The answer is a resounding YES! When we are unable to walk or run, God carries us. This is how we enter the world: a helpless baby who has to be carried everywhere. This is often how we leave the world: too weak or ill to walk, wholly dependent on others and equipment to move us. And in between, on those days when we feel we just can’t carry on, God carries us.

‘When every step is so hard to take
And all of my hope is fading away
When life is a mountain that I can not climb
You carry me, Jesus carry me

You are strength in my weakness
You are the refuge I seek
You are everything in my time of need
You are everything, You are everything I need.’ (‘Everything I Need’, Kutless)

‘When the path is daunting
And every step exhausting
I’m not alone
I’m not alone, no, no
I feel you draw me closer
All these burdens on my shoulder
I’m not alone, I’m not alone
You pull me me from this place

Hallelujah
You carry me every day
You carry me all all the way
Hallelujah
You carry me to the
You carry me to the cross.’ (‘Carry Me To The Cross’, Kutless)

The famous poem ‘Footprints’ makes the point that when we only see one set of footprints, that is when God carried us:

Moses reminds us ‘the eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.’ (Deut 33:27) He knew that in the wilderness ‘the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.’ (Deut 1:31) Isaiah tells us ‘He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.’ (Is 40:11)  Jude reminds us that God is able to keep us from falling and to present us before His glorious presence withut fault and with great joy. (Jude v24). The good news is that we are safe in God’s arms (‘Safe’, Phil Wickham; ‘Arms’, Tim Hughes; ‘Rest In The Arms’, Aaron Shust) and when we are unable to walk or run, there is One whose arm is mighty to save (Is 59:1) and whose arms can carry us.

From our first tottering steps as a toddler, walking is an integral part of most people’s lives. Even those who don’t like running and would never enter a gym or a marathon will walk most days, and walking is a great form of exercise, as well as a practical necessity for most of us!

Walking is another metaphor used to describe our journey of faith. Paul tells us to walk (or live) by the Spirit (Gal 5:16). Isaiah says ‘walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desires of our heart’ (Is 26:8) and reminds us ‘whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will ear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”‘ (Is 30:21) The writer to the Hebrews urges us to strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees (more evident as we age!), saying ‘make level paths for your feet.’ (Heb 12:12-13) There are frequent references to keeping in step with God’s Spirit and on the right path (e.g. Prov 4:25-26), and it’s clear we need not only to walk by faith and not by sight, but must ensure we are on the right path (following Jesus who is the Way, Jn 14:6).

Walking with someone is very different to walking alone. Our local walking group will be leaving Cherry Tree Court on Friday morning at 10 a.m. and this kind of group provides a chance for conversation as well as exercise and the discovery of the local area.

Jesus often walked with His disciples (think of that conversation on the road to Emmaus, for example!) and it’s worth remembering on this journey of life that we do not walk alone. It’s not just football fans who can sing ‘You’ll never walk alone!’ This is the testimony of every believer:

‘Never once did we ever walk alone.
Never once did You leave us on our own.
You are faithful, God, You are faithful.’ (‘Never Once’, Matt Redman)