‘The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
⁵     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.’ (Ps 19:1-6)

Igor (our church mascot and faithful iguana friend) has been enjoying the scenery in the Yorkshire Dales!

Hiding in a maze at Bolton Castle:

Being found in the maze:

At Richmond, advertising the ‘Influence’ church’s series on ‘Landmarks’:

Being welcomed by a shopkeeper in Middleton-in-Teesdale:

En route to look at High Force:

Seeking out the motorcyclists for Garry:All in all, Igor had a great time!

The Renaissance philosopher Machiavelli is said to have coined the phrase ‘the end justifies the means’, meaning by this that the way in which we do things matters less than our actual goal. If an end goal is justifiable, the argument goes, it doesn’t matter how ruthless and selfish we are in reaching that goal; all that matters is achieving our ends.

Most of us reject that way of living  as both impractical and unworthy. For Christians, it is also a betrayal of everything Christ taught, for He showed that motives and methods are just as important as end goals. He is not only the Way in terms of the road we must follow, but also demonstrates the way we must live.

When I was involved in writing funding applications, I learned that it is important to clarify the end goal and distinguish this from the means used to reach that goal. I would often go into a project wanting something specific (a year’s salary for a community centre worker, money to create a play facility, money to build an extension to a community centre, for example.) To me, that was the ‘end’, the goal. I soon learned, however, that this was, in funders’ eyes, simply the ‘means’ they could provide. The goal (or ‘outcome’, in their jargon) of the project was actually something entirely different: the provision of a community facility which could only be continued if a worker was paid to manage that facility, the enrichment of a community’s ability to come together through play through a new minigolf scheme, the enhancement of a community and improvement of community cohesion through larger premises (which would enable more varied activities to be held there to benefit the community.) These lofty-sounding ‘ends’ were achieved through very mundane ‘means’ (all of which ended up needing someone else’s funding!)

The process of writing funding applications required a rigorous, and often difficult, separation of means and ends. It also involved understanding that my ‘end’ goal was actually nowhere near the end; I had to learn to see a much bigger picture. This is true of our individual and church lives as well. The things we often see as ‘ends’ – the cooking, the cleaning, the going-to-work, attending church services, worshipping, learning, studying the Bible – are not actually the ‘ends’ at all. They are simply means by which we live our daily lives. The ‘end goal’, the outcome God is patiently chipping away at through every means at His disposal (even moulding our stubborn sinfulness into His master creation), is transformation into the image of Christ. (Rom 8:29) When we view life through this lens, rather than seeing the amassing of wealth or the provision of a holiday as the end goal, the whole way in which we live is changed.

One of the challenging things about learning a foreign language is not just assimilating new vocabulary and pronunciation, but accepting that word order and structure (syntax) will also be different. This is particularly true of German, where verbs often change position in a sentence and adverbs occur in a strict order that differs from English.

The order of adverbs in German was taught to me with a simple phrase: ‘Time, Manner, Place.’ Adverbs telling us when something happens (today, tomorrow, next week) come first; then adverbs telling us how something is done (quickly, slowly, and so on) and finally where it is done (at school, at home, in Frankfurt.) Thus (for any linguists out there!), ‘ich fahre morgens langsam nach Hause’ (in English, ‘tomorrow I’m going slowly home’, but literally ‘I’m going tomorrow slowly home.’)

These three elements – time, manner and place – form essential ingredients in our daily lives. Eugene Peterson comments that one of the tasks a pastor must do is to make people aware that their lives ‘make sense and are meaningful in the actual environments in which they live at that moment.’ (‘Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work’, P 110) Our lives are not random and coincidental; they are part of God’s great ‘salvation history’ (another phrase coined by German theologians in their lovely word ‘Heilsgeschichte‘!) The times in which we live and the place in which we live are not random and coincidental. They are chosen by God who holds our times in His hands (Ps 31:15) and determines the places we live (Acts 17:26).

This week I have pondered other places, exploring the spectacular scenery of the Yorkshire Dales.

This apparently tropical scene was captured at Hardraw Force, a waterfall near Hawes:

Hardraw Force:

I have lived at a different pace, meandering over the dales on narrow, twisting roads which prohibit reckless speed and demand concentration and appreciation of God’s wonderful creation.

I have ‘slowed down time’ (Jeremy Camp), as it were, to savour and sample rural life, watching a sheepdog demonstration that reflects the skills of both shepherd and dog as they have been handed down over generations:

The time, manner and place change when we are on holiday; we rest and are transformed as we explore new places at a more leisurely pace and take time to be re-charged. But these three elements are crucial to our everyday lives too and must be fully appreciated and explored as we recognise that our every part of our lives is woven into God’s amazing salvation story.

Tonight’s Bible study looked at 1 Cor 3:12-23. Paul talks about how to build well, reminding us that the Day is coming when an assessment will be made of how we have lived. These days, performances are continually assessed at work and usually these reviews instil a fear of failure in us, because we know that it is performance which is judged, not necessarily how hard we have tried. God, however, does look at our motives and judges by different criteria to the world’s standards (see Mark 12:41-44, Acts 5:1-5). There is no mention of quantity in this list, only quality: our life works of faith are being assessed, and if our motive is to please God, this is enough (unlike those who do their ‘acts of righteousness’ to be honoured by others, see Matt 6:1-4).

Paul reminds us that we are living temples in whom God’s Spirit dwells. We need to build with care, for the church is the temple of God and if anyone harms (destroys, vandalises) God’s temple, God will do the same to them. Rom 15:1-2 reminds us that we need to bear with others, seeking to please our neighbours for their good to build them up; Eph 4:29-32 reminds us that our speech must not be unwholesome (like food that has gone off) but we need to build others up and forgive when we fail. This is serious business, for God is holy and sacred.

Paul concludes this chapter by reminding the Corinthians once again of the differences between God’s wisdom and human wisdom. If we use conventional wisdom, we will never see things through God’s perspective (just as Michal completely misjudged David when he danced before the Lord on the return of the ark to Israel (2 Sam 6:14-22) and the disciples wanted to ban children from coming to Jesus. (Matt 19:13-14)) We can be so concerned with dignity, reverence and the ‘proper’ way to do things at times that we judge (or misjudge) people’s heart motives. God has given us so much, Paul reminds us, that we have no need to follow leaders in ways that hurt and divide the church. If we are mature, we need to show it by how we live: God has given us so much that we simply need to pursue Him with all our hearts!

Jesus said, ‘… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1: 8) The Gospel is not just for Goldthorpe, but for the whole world. This month’s prayer topic looks at praying for the missionaries supported by our own church, but let’s pray also for God’s word to be powerful and working throughout the world. As we watch the news, we are aware of tremendous persecution and opposition to the Gospel in many areas and we need to pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world to be strengthened by God to live consistently and powerfully in the world, remaining a distinctive witness no matter what trials come against them.

• Pray for Steve & Katuska Davies working in the Bible college in Mozambique and for their three sons who sometimes feel ‘confined’ to the compound because of the political situation there.  The situation between Mozambique and South Africa has not been peaceful lately and as foreigners working in Mozambique, their situation is not always easy. Pray for fruitful ministry in training local leaders and for God to move in difficult situations with family back home which cause concern. Sometimes, the distances involved make life difficult when family at home are ill or in trouble, but pray they will know the peace of God as they commit every situation to Him.

• Pray for Fredrick and Reeba in India, working in different ministries to relieve poverty and to help women to become seamstresses. Pray for God’s word to change situations and for the provision of every practical need. The opportunities are vast, but they need wisdom to know exactly what to do and how to achieve the dreams God has placed on their hearts.

• Pray for the work of Compassion with children in many countries, especially in Haiti where Bedline lives. Pray for her pastor (Jean Dieumarc) who oversees community work there. There are many social and economic difficulties in Haiti, but as with so many places, only the power of the Gospel can change people’s hearts.

• Pray for our church’s vision to be involved in a missions trip and for God to make this vision a reality. We need to be involved in outreach in so many different areas; pray that God will show us how to reach our local community and the ‘Judea and Samaria’ around us and then reach out to the uttermost ends of the earth. There are so many practical things to be involved in, but we need wisdom and discernment in making this dream a reality.