Every year there is one book (apart from the Bible, of course!) to which I regularly return. Its title in my version is ‘The Journey’, though in America I believe it was published with the title (a quotation from Nietzsche I have always relished) ‘A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.’ The sub-title is ‘a guide book for the pilgrim life’ and it is a commentary on the Psalms of Ascent (Ps 120-134) by Eugene Peterson. The psalms are probably my favourite book in the Bible and I enjoy digging deep into these songs.

The songs of ascent were sung by Hebrew pilgrims each year as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the great festivals. They were probably sung in sequence three times a year (see Ex 23:14-17; 34:22-24) to celebrate God’s saving ways at the Feast of Passover,  to renew their commitments as God’s covenanted people at the Feast of Pentecost and to celebrate God’s blessings at the Feast of Tabernacles. The reason they are known as ‘songs of ascent’ is simply that Jerusalem was the highest city geographically and all who travelled there had to do so by going uphill! Phil Wickham captures this in his song ‘The Ascension’:

‘Let us start the ascension
Let’s begin the climb
Up this holy mountain
Where Your glory shines
Further up, further in
Just to be with You again
Let us start the ascension.’ (‘The Ascension’, Phil Wickham)

A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey and as Mark reminded us on Sunday, the whole of life is rather like a journey. It seemed fitting, therefore, to return to these ‘songs for the road’ as I meditated on this idea. Armies are used to having chants and songs to help them march in step (though I have a soft spot for the song with changed lyrics in the ‘Sergeant Bilko‘ film as more reflective of how tiring all that marching must be!) and music is certainly a great way to keep rhythm going and spirits up as we journey on in life. We all need songs in this ‘in-between’ stage, ‘between the time we leave home and arrive at our destination; between the time we leave adolescence and arrive at adulthood; between the time we leave doubt and arrive at faith.’  (quoted P 8) It’s too easy for us to believe the whispers of the world that this life of faith isn’t worth it and won’t get us anywhere, but we need to grasp that life is ‘a pilgrim path of wholeness in God.’ (P13)

John Bunyan’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ is a spiritual allegory reminding us of the journey all Christians need to take from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Words from this have been immortalised in the hymn ‘He Who Would Valiant Be’:

Today we received a newsletter from Steve & Katuska Davies, missionaries we support in Maputo Bay, Mozambique. In early October, Steve suffered the symptoms of a TIA or mini-stroke; they write ‘to date we haven’t found an explanation, but nor are there are any lasting effects. Pray for our health, which is regularly a concern in one way or another.’ As with Matthew Murray recently, the threat of malaria is very real in their situation and with three children, there are always health situations to negotiate!

They also ask for prayer for the programme of study at the Bible college and for the students there, who often struggle to keep studying because of unstable work or finances.

We also had the pleasure of celebrating another birthday!

Stephen continued looking at our kitbags of prayer last night, reminding us that we are in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-17) and that we need not fear to enrol as God’s soldiers, for nothing can separate us from God’s love. (Rom 8:35-39) We need a range of equipment to go in our kit bags, but (rather like Mr Potato Head from Toy Story), God gives us everything we need for the battle.  Our struggle is not against people, but is a spiritual battle and therefore we need spiritual weapons with which to fight.

The belt of truth is the first item on Paul’s list of spiritual armour. A belt holds things up and encircles us, offering us protection and support. It was also the place where the weapon (a sword) could be held. Truth is essential for every aspect of our lives (see 1  Thess 5:21, Acts 17:11) and the Word of God offers us guidance and direction in every aspect of living. 1 Pet 1:13 in the KJV urges us to ‘gird up the loins of your mind’ and reminds us that truth has to surround us completely and be part of our very thinking in order to do us good and set us free.

We are called to be soldiers of God and need to be enrolled in His service, every part of our lives submitted to His leadership.

Mark continued his series on Joseph yesterday morning, looking at Genesis 426-43:34. This is the fulfilment of the long-awaited dream, and he looked at the question of ‘what happens when God’s dream is fulfilled in our lives?’

In some ways, chasing a dream keeps us motivated and fuelled. Even though Joseph had endured slavery, false accusations, imprisonment and then a rise to great power, he had remained faithful to God, possibly motivated on those dark days by the dream itself. Now, as his brothers bow before him, he sees the outworking of the dream, but there is still much to be done before he reveals himself to them.

Joseph’s brothers had to travel from Canaan to Egypt for grain, a long journey of 200 miles. As they travelled back, leaving Simeon as hostage, they must have had many questions and the fact that their silver was returned added to their confusion. They blamed God for this (‘What has God done to us?’ Gen 42:28), even though their own actions were largely at the root of their problems, and they were  understandably frightened. Nonetheless, as Joseph proves, though we often feel God is punishing us when difficult times hit, even the difficult circumstances of life are used by God to fulfil His purposes! Jacob’s reluctance to lose yet another son is understandable, and yet the famine’s severity meant a return journey became inevitable eventually. Life is so often made up of journeys and God has ways of moving us into the right place, even though at times we are reluctant to move.

When we see God move in power in our lives and fulfil the dreams He has given us, there is rejoicing… but there can also be a subsequent sense of anticlimax. What next? When we moved into the new building on Market Street, was that the end of our journey with God? Far from it! God reveals His plans to us in stages, and when one dream is fulfilled, another dream is unveiled. It’s all about the journey: about learning to walk with God by faith each day. Joseph learned so much from the ‘in-between’ stages, and how we live in the journeying is as important as journey’s end.

‘There is a joy in the journey

There’s a light we can love on the way.

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey.’ (‘Joy In the Journey’, Michael Card.)

For many years, I struggled to be able to articulate any defence of the creative arts. In my own heart, I believed they were important, for books, music, film and theatre all played a significant role in my childhood and upbringing, but when people would talk about jobs, I felt there was somehow something slightly escapist about the arts when compared to ‘worthy’ jobs such as being a doctor or nurse. How could I justify composing music or writing novels as a profession that was truly worthy when there were so many other practical things to do in this world?

Over the years, I came to see that there is no such thing as a sacred/secular divide and no point thinking that the arts belong on one side of a line with pragmatism on the other. Others articulated far better than I could the worth and value of the arts. Eugene Peterson, for example, says “The artist shows us what happens before it happens. The artist has eyes to connect the visible and the invisible and the skill to show us complete what we in our inattentive distraction see only in bits and pieces.” (Run With The Horses’, P 73) I might not be able to justify spending millions of pounds on a painting or paying an actor a small fortune for performing in a film, but my own life has been so richly blessed by all who have had the courage to be true to their creative selves that I could never dismiss the worth of God’s creative spark in people as irrelevant or unimportant.

That’s why I’m so interested in what Action Space Mobile are hoping to do in Goldthorpe. Their current activities include creative activities for learning for disabled children (their ‘Visibility’ project has received funding from ‘Children in Need’ and offers disabled children aged 8-16 years the opportunity to be involved in arts and drama) and for disabled adults as well as projects working with elderly people with dementia.

These groups are not currently high on the public agenda, but this interest in using the arts to help those who may well be considered marginalised by society reflects God’s priorities, I’m sure. Now they are looking to help those who are unemployed by mentoring and training 24 unemployed people in Goldthorpe in media production skills through the hands-on creation of an online community newspaper, The Goldthorpe Newspaper.  Working with a professional team of artists and storytellers, participants will learn skills in journalism, social media, digital photography, creative writing, factual writing and research and turn local events into world class stories. Learners will be able to use The Goldthorpe Newspaper as a practical example of their skills, to improve their employability.

How to be involved:

If you live in Goldthorpe, are 19 or over, registered unemployed and would like to learn new skills, make new friends and work on the Goldthorpe Newspaper telling stories about Goldthorpe, the Dearne Valley and its people:

• please ring Action Space Mobile on 01226 391 112
• or tell Kate Roberts at Goldthorpe’s Community Shop on Barnsley Road,
• or leave a message at the Dearne Enterprise Centre on 01709 881 181.

Starting in January 2015, the weekly free meetings will be held at the Dearne Enterprise Centre, Barnburgh Lane, Goldthorpe, S63 9PG.

If you don’t fit into those categories, spare a thought for those working with local communities in the creative arts and don’t forget that we all have gifts and talents to help others. Whatever those gifts are, we can offer them to God and He can multiply them!