I am currently reading Eugene Peterson’s study on Jeremiah ‘Run With The Horses’ and in that book came across a sentiment that perfectly summarises my series on ‘Everyday Church’ (to be continued this Sunday evening!) The sentiment is ’embrace the everyday, but don’t become absorbed in it.’

Jeremy Camp expresses a similar sentiment in his song ‘Paradise’, which looks ahead to the glorious future with Christ that awaits believers: ‘Don’t let this life take hold of my desires.’ We live with the constant tension of the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet.‘ We live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:17), but this requires skill and commitment, for life can easily beguile us and keep us rooted on this earth. Jesus warned us ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.‘ (Matt 6:19-20) It’s so easy to fix our eyes on what is seen, rather than on what is unseen (2 Cor 4:18), so easy to become absorbed in the everyday to the extent that we no longer look up with anticipation.

In the same book, Eugene Peterson says ‘life is not an inevitable decline into dullness; for some it is ascent into excellence.’ (P 25)  We can only ‘ascend into excellence’ if we keep God at the centre of our vision; if we embrace Him in the everyday but refuse to become absorbed in it, if we allow God to shape our dreams and fuel our lives. The 2009 Pixar film ‘Up’ shows 79-year-old Carl Fredricksen  tying thousands of balloons to his home in order to fulfil his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America and to complete a promise made to his lifelong love. This may well be impossible in real life, but the sentiment it expresses reflects God’s desire for us to live with our hearts and minds fixed on Him: ‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is yourlife, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.‘ (Col 3:1-4)

As part of our continuing wish to improve the facilities at church, we have just purchased some new tables for use by groups and at the coffee morning. Here they are, nestled together with our larger tables!

Now comes the far more onerous task of deciding which tablecloths to buy for these tables! Have a look here and let us know your thoughts on this one.

Garry preached on the subject of mountains tonight, talking first of all about how we are both fascinated, challenged and daunted by mountains. He has visited the Alps before:

Although Mont Blanc is the tallest mountain in this range, the Aiguille du Midi (3842 m high) is extremely steep and difficult to climb:

This mountain can be reached via cable car and from the viewing platform, the views are spectacular:

He then went on to look at three different kinds of mountains found in the Bible:

1. The Temptation Mountain

Matt 4:8-9 shows us Jesus being taken to a high mountain and shown all the kingdoms of the earth by the devil. Temptations focus on shortcuts, urging us to do things our own way rather than surrendering to God. Everyone will face temptation at some point in their lives; just as F1 drivers have seats moulded to their individual shapes and we can buy bespoke clothing which is tailor-made for us, so the devil knows how to ‘tailor’ temptation to hit our weak spots. Rather than being doomed to failure, however, God is our helper who watches over us daily (Ps 121:1-4), who does not tempt us (Js 1:13) and who both limits the temptation we face and provides a way out for us. (1 Cor 10:13) Temptation can be conquered!

2. The Transfiguration Mountain

In Matt 17:13, we read of Jesus being transfigured (illuminated) with glory, heavenly reality breaking through. Rev 1:7 reminds us that every eye will see Jesus in His glory; now we only see a reflection, part of the story (1 Cor 13:12), but Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3) and when He appears, we shall not only see Him as He is, but we shall be like Him. (1 John 3:1-2) God will transform us and we shall be changed!

3. The Transported Mountain

Matt 21:21-22 talks of faith moving mountains. Mountains are huge, solid and immovable, which can be both reassuring (eg Ps 125:2) and daunting. Mountains often symbolise the obstacles we face which make us feel puny and ineffective. Matt 10:29-31 reminds us of our Father’s care for us and God can both remove mountains and take us around them or over them, supplying all the strength we need. (Phil 4:19) God is bigger than any mountain we may face and He cares for us. Mountains are not big to the Mountain Maker and Mountain Mover! We can trust Him and see obstacles removed when we believe.

Tonight’s family service looked at the theme of mountains, with two quizzes on the subject. One looked at anagrams of mountains (can you work out OOPPLTTPEECA?)

and the other looked at questions about mountains in the Bible as well as general knowledge facts. As usual, there were prizes to be won (Toblerone being chosen because it features the Matterhorn in Switzerland on its packaging):

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

(The anagram answer was POPOCATEPETL)

When I was a child, I was just as short-sighted as I am now, but for a little while, I didn’t know it. I had no framework or reference to judge visual ability, and so I saw the world through rather blurry vision. I didn’t know it was blurry, because that was the only world I’d ever known. My short-sightedness only really came to light when I went to school and was supposed to copy things down from the blackboard, but couldn’t see properly to do so. The teacher noticed this, referred me to an optician and the problem was identified. The day I got my first pair of glasses, it was almost like seeing the world in colour for the first time. Everything was sharp, crisp, defined, clear. I could see details that had previously been obscure. I could read from the blackboard, see what was on television, read number plates at a distance and so on – all things which everyone with normal vision takes for granted. It’s only when you don’t have normal vision that, in some ways, you realise that what you see is more subjective than you might otherwise assume.

Now that I wear glasses, I am still at risk of not seeing properly, usually when I allow the lenses to become dirty. A thumbprint can obscure my vision; grease, dirt, tears and other things can easily obscure what I see. I need now to ensure I have clean lenses to allow me to see clearly.

We often need God’s help to see clearly. We can focus exclusively on evil, becoming fearful and paranoid. David reminds us that we do not need to fear, fret or worry, since God is in control. He does not shirk hard questions about evil (how evil seems to flourish and the righteous suffer), but affirms God’s provision and protection (see Ps 37:18, 20). He gives personal testimony of all he has seen God do (and all he has seen God not do – see Ps 37:25). He also reminds us that a long-term perspective is needed if we are to make sense of the baffling aspects of life and hold on to God in times of trial and trouble. Paul echoes this in 2 Cor 4:8-9, 14, 16-18. Our hope is not simply for this life (1 Cor 15:19). As Phil Wickham sings,

‘When my heart is torn asunder

And my world just falls apart,

Lord, You put me back together,

And lift me up to where You are.

There is hope beyond the suffering,

Joy beyond the tears,

Peace in every tragedy,

Love that conquers fear.

I have found redemption in the blood of Christ,

My body might be dying, but I’ll always be alive.

You have turned mourning to dancing,

You have covered me with grace.

The struggle here may last a moment,

But life with You will last always.’ (‘When My Heart Is Torn Asunder’, Phil Wickham)

Psalm 37 is a psalm of perspective, with David giving us many warnings and many encouragements which help us to keep our eyes fixed on God and live life with a sense of God being at the centre. Perspective has two main meanings. In art terms, it means the art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other. Some artists (eg Turner and Constable) are skilled in painting scenes which look incredibly realistic:

Others (eg Picasso and Mondrian) deliberately seem to distort perspective to create a reality that seems to us perhaps bizarre or not representative of what we see with our eyes.

Whether we love a particular artist or find them disturbing and reject their perspective depends on our own personal preferences and on our own perspectives.

Perspective (from the Latin word meaning the ‘science of optics’) has also come to mean our outlook or viewpoint. Just as our physical vision may be lacking, our spiritual vision needs constantly to be honed so that we are seeing life from God’s perspective. In Psalm 37, David writes to people who can easily look at life through the wrong set of lenses. He readily acknowledges that evil exists, but reminds us that we need a long-term view which rests in a  security in both God’s ability to do something about evil and in His intrinsic goodness. David is not only at pains to show us how wrong we can be when we take the short-term perspective, he is careful to show us the many benefits – both immediate and long-term – of our discipleship. He reminds us that if we are to live with clear-sighted, God-centred vision, we have to be prepared to live with a ‘long obedience in the same direction’, living with congruence, living a holistic life whereby everything we think, say and do all mesh together. Any stance which focuses exclusively on the now, never learning from the past (or ‘remembering’) and never looking ahead in anticipation to the future, will always lack something. Now-oriented religion, a security-obsessed present which lives entirely in the ‘now’, will never satisfy. We need to be able to keep hold of what God has already done and what He promises to do in the future if we are to live with confidence and hope, secure that ‘a future awaits those who seek peace.’ (Ps 37:37)