We also had two birthdays to celebrate:

The science questions about the heart last night got me pondering what I know about the heart. Below is a slightly different love song about the heart, looking at it with a combination of science facts and irony… Some of the lyrics definitely made me smile, so if you’re not into mushy love songs, Mitch Benn’s ‘Chambers of the Heart’ is probably more to your liking.

In the chambers of the heart

You can feel the beat of life

It’s great here in the atria

No trouble and no strife

Such is the emotion of being in this place

I can feel the tears well in my eyes ventricle down my face

In the chambers of the heart

There’s an electrical charge

Each valve and muscle working

Not distended or enlarged

But now I know aorta get a move on to the brain

If I get stuck in an artery, don’t let me die in vein

In the chambers of the heart

You can hear the whole world beating

Sometimes you feel the heat

It depends on what you’ve eaten

There’s more magic here than any other body part

It would be swell to be red cells

In the chambers of the heart

In the chambers of the heart

You can feel just where you are

Nowhere else could ever be

So cardiovascular

You can tussle with corpuscles

When the tricuspid valve’s dilated

And I don’t think I’ve ever felt so high

As when I’m fully oxygenated

In the chambers of the heart

You can hear the whole world’s rhythm

You can feel the blood cells rush

And get swept along right with ‘em

This perpetual motion is like a work of art

Let’s float around to the pumping sound

In the chambers of the heart

Sometimes it beats so loud it’s kind of hard to hear

Is this love or is it tachycardia?

I’m sure it’s nothing bad; I’m just a little stressed

But I know I can never leave; I’m under cardiac arrest

In the chambers of the heart

The whole universe is pumping

You could almost go to sleep

If it weren’t for all that thumping

But I hope it doesn’t stop because it’s tricky to re-start

While it beats away we’ll be okay

In the chambers of the heart.

Augustine, famous theologian and North African bishop (354-430), said “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” Last night’s family service looked at this theme, talking about the ‘God-shaped hole’ that is in all of us which we often seek to fill with all manner of things, but which can only actually be filled by God Himself.

The Plumb song ‘God-shaped hole’ says of this hole ‘it’s a void only He can fill’ and Stephen spoke from John 7:37-38 last night. Here, Jesus talks about the thirst within each one of us which only He can slake. The NIV says ‘whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’ – the word here being koilia in Greek and translated in other versions as ‘belly’ or ‘womb’, meaning an empty place which needs filling. We often think of our lives as a jigsaw puzzle and can feel as though the missing piece does not fit:

God is that missing piece which makes our lives complete: He is the perfect fit who does not have to be forced into position. He is able to bring new life to us, to refresh us and to satisfy our deepest longings, but He waits for us to invite Him in.

As is usual with family services, we also had a quiz on various topics connected with the heart. Questions included science facts about the heart (how many chambers the heart has, where the ventricles are etc.), songs about the heart (who sang ‘Heart of Glass’, for example – Blondie) and famous Valentines (did you know, for example, that St Valentine is not only the patron saint of lovers but is the saint of beekeepers?) The women won both quizzes against the men, proving (according to Stephen!) that when it comes to matters of the heart, women are ahead of men…!!

Mark continued his series on Joseph’s dream this morning, looking at Genesis 39:1-23. In this chapter, we see Joseph working for Potiphar and receiving God’s blessing in such measure that this spilled over to the whole of Potiphar’s life. God’s blessing was awesome as a result of Joseph: God can also bless all around us because of our presence.

The dream was about to be shattered again, however; this time because the enemy has a plan to spoil the dream. The original plan was to lure Joseph into temptation – and then sin – through Potiphar’s wife, but Joseph behaved with integrity because of his faith (Gen 39:9). refusing to sin against God or to hurt Potiphar. Plan B involved the lies of Potiphar’s wife which led to Potiphar imprisoning Joseph again. How hard it must have been for Joseph at this point, to be once again wrongfully imprisoned!

The devil wanted to destroy Joseph and wants to wreck God’s plans for our lives, but if we faithfully serve God, He will turn every situation around. Even in prison, Joseph knew God’s blessing (Gen 39:21) and the prison warder was blessed because of him. We have to know that no matter what the enemy schemes, he cannot touch God’s plan! God is in control, even when our dreams seem to lie in tatters. God actually needed Joseph in prison so he could meet the people who would ultimately introduce him to Pharaoh so that God’s plans could actually be fulfilled.

This passage shows us that God’s blessing is awesome and affects the people all around us. The devil may have a plan to spoil the dream, but God’s plan overrides any plan of the devil, whose schemes have already been defeated. When the dream seems to be slam-dunked, God is still in charge; He is ‘Sovereign Over Us’, as Aaron Keyes sings.

Tonight’s Bible study continued looking at the ‘moral test’ John gives for discerning if we are true disciples: in 1 John 2:3-6 we read how our obedience to keeping God’s commands really reflects our love for Him. We can be sure (‘knowing‘ is mentioned in 1 John 2:3 & 5), but there is always a link between our beliefs and our lifestyle (see also John 14:15, 23-24, John 15:10, 15).

John’s bold statement is that ‘Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.’ We looked at how Jesus lived:

1. in fellowship with the Father, always seeking to do His will (see John 4:34, John 5:16-18, John 14:31)
2. living with a secure sense of His identity and purpose and destiny (see John 5:36, John 13:3, John 14:6)
3. following a life of love (see John 15:9-17)
4. forgiving others (see Luke 7:48, Luke 23:34)
5. serving others and God (see John 13:1-17, Matt 20:28)
6. in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 3:21, Luke 4:14, Acts 10:38)
7. in freedom and simplicity (see Luke 4:17-19, Matt 8:20)

If we are to live like Jesus, then, we have to be secure in our God-given identity as ‘dear children’, not having to strive for acceptance or earn that identity but receiving it freely from God as a gift. We show our love for God through our obedience and service and demonstrate His nature by loving, forgiving and serving willingly, living in the power of the Holy Spirit (not by our own strength, intelligence or manipulative control.)  When we do this, love for God is ‘made complete’ in us, in the sense that we receive God’s love and then that love is lived out in us through our obedience to keeping God’s command. As the Message version of Matt 5:48 (which uses the same word, ‘complete’ or ‘perfect’) says, “Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously towards others, the way God lives towards you.”   

‘This Is How We Know’, Matt Redman   

Casting Crowns’ new album ‘Thrive’ was released this week. As with so many of my favourite groups, this is a much anticipated event: many of their songs dig deep into God’s Word and they are not afraid to tackle issues that are often not spoken about much, which I find refreshing. The title song reminds me strongly of Psalm 1 which talks about the blessing of those who delight in God’s law: ‘That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.’ (Ps 1:3) Thriving in God will only comes as we abide in Him (John 15:1-17) and allow His living water to flow through us (John 7:37-38), but certainly the promise Jesus makes is for us never to run dry.

‘Here in this worn and weary land
Where many a dream has died,
Like a tree planted by the water,
We never will run dry,

So living water flowing through,
God, we thirst for more of You.
Fill our hearts and flood our souls
With one desire.

Just to know You and
To make You known,
We lift Your name on high
Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide.
We know we were made for so much more
Than ordinary lives.
It’s time for us to more than just survive.
We were made to thrive.

Into Your word we’re digging deep
To know our Father’s heart.
Into the world we’re reaching out
To show them who You are.

Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible.
Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible.
Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible.
Joy Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, Love Unstoppable, Anything is possible.’ (Casting Crowns, ‘Thrive’)