After a long wait (to us), the new Phil Wickham album (‘The Ascension’) finally arrived in our house today! I am always encouraged by songs which focus me on truth that looks beyond the now. I spend a lot of time meditating on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 TNIV: ‘Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ This song helps to remind us of God’s sufficiency in sustaining us through the tragedies and difficulties of life and of the hope we have in Christ.

“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.

When the age of death is over
And this world has been reborn
I’ll be there, beside my Saviour,
This is our great and rich reward.”(‘When My Heart is Torn Asunder’, Phil Wickham)
‘When My Heart is Torn Asunder’, Phil Wickham

Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’, a phrase which has come to mean “one who discovers by building on previous discoveries”. Yesterday we acknowledged the importance of people in God’s creation and one of the things I soon discovered in my Christian life was the importance of the church. We are not meant to ‘go it alone’ in this faith but are part of a body.

That body is universal (the Apostles’ Creed reminds us that we believe in the ‘holy catholic church’ – see ’Church’ for further thoughts on that) and we can learn from so many others of faith throughout the ages. Today I’d like to pay tribute to the many ‘giants’ who have helped me in my walk with God.

Some of these are famous, well-known, probably people who may also have helped you, for their influence has been great. The ones who have shaped my thinking, my understanding, my beliefs and my spiritual walk are obviously people in the Bible – Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Samuel, Esther, Ruth, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Mary, Timothy and so on.

But there are other people throughout history who have helped me: people like Tyndale, Wyclif, Erasmus, Martin Luther, Julian of Norwich, Blaise Pascal, Cruden and Strong (whose concordances opened up the Bible before ever computers were invented!), John and Charles Wesley, Spurgeon, Florence Nightingale, David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, Hudson-Taylor, William Wilberforce.

Then there are those more recently whose writings (either in word or song) or whose art have helped me on a daily basis: C.S. Lewis, John Stott, Alister McGrath, Billy Graham, Luis Palau, F.F. Bruce, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Adrian Plass, Selwyn Hughes, Joyce Huggett, Richard Foster, Frank Peretti, Eugene Peterson, Brennan Manning, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, Charlie Cleverly, Tim La Haye, Timothy Keller, Louie Giglio, J.D. Walt, Gary Collins, Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, N.T. Wright, Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Hannah Dunnett, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Jeremy Camp, Michael Card, Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, Wes King, Kristian Stanfill, Kutless, Aaron Shust, John Waller, Graham Kendrick, Chris Bowater, Rich Mullins, Adrian Snell, Aaron Keyes, Robin Mark, Phil Wickham, Casting Crowns, Third Day, Al Gordon, Ben Cantelon, Nikki Fletcher, Reuben Morgan, Brenton Brown, Paul Baloche, Brian Doerksen and Darlene Zschech, to name just a few.

But people who have influenced me can also be found much closer to home. There are the teachers who nurtured talent and encouraged me when I was young: Mrs Simpson, Miss Barron, Miss Shaw, Mrs Ross, Mrs Haigh, Mr Heald, Mrs McGinty, Mrs Larner, Mrs Mirfield, Miss Caswell, Mrs Kent, Miss Hardcastle, Mrs Armitage, Mrs Turner, Denys Potts, Richard Green, to name a few. There are the colleagues I have worked with over the years: Garrie-John, Mark & Angie, Dave, Paul, Ali, Sue, Su, Sue, Paul & Julie, Matthew, Mark, Rachel, Joanne, Mike & Julie, Jayne, Laraine, Sandra, Jane, Jackie, Bethan & Howard, Sarah, Moira, Sarah, Jeff, Andy, John & Jackie, Jacqui, Pat, Gareth. There are friends from my own schooldays and from university, too numerous to mention. There are Christians from all over the world, including Raymond & Jane, Ruth, Beate, Rahel, Jillian, Kate, Helen and Carin. There are also, of course, all those I have served alongside in churches: Steph, Phil & Sharon, Chris & Norman, Doreen & Tony, Dawn, Paul & Dawn, Beryl, Joy, Rick, Shain, Dawn, Richard, Pam, Colin & Glenys, Paul & Lily, Pete & Sue, Paul, Joy, Ellen, Malc & Ella, Dorothy, Connie, Shirley from previous churches and, of course, everyone who is such a vital part of Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church (I won’t name you all, but believe me, you are all spiritual giants as far as I am concerned!)

Closer to home are my family: my parents, aunts, husband and son whose commitment to God and to me give me a very strong sense of security and worth.

The thing about spiritual giants, however, is that most of them are unaware that that is how they are viewed by others. Mentoring may be a very ‘in’ concept nowadays (though the principle of getting alongside others and teaching them through doing is as old as the hills…!), but for most of us, we are completely unaware of the influence we have on other people. Even the ‘famous’ people on the list above who are consciously involved in ministering to others have not the faintest idea who I am or how their words and music and art comfort, inspire, nurture and shape my faith. We are all too aware of our own faults, failings and weaknesses to believe that we can ever inspire, teach or have a positive influence on others and yet the individual input of each person I’ve mentioned on my life goes beyond words. Not only do people matter: individuals matter and your input and influence matter.

To the above, I say a very sincere ‘Thank you’ for all the help, inspiration, strength and wisdom you’ve imparted to me over the years. At five foot two, I’m never going to be a giant in the natural sense of the word. But I pray that I may become a spiritual giant through standing on the shoulders of all these other giants.

This simple truth is so obvious that you may think it’s hardly worth mentioning. But I have struggled over the years to realise just how much God loves people and how important we are to Him.

So often, life seems to be made up of ‘to do’ lists. There are so many things to tackle in everyday life: shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, going to work and so on. Then there are all the things we clutter our lives with: books, DVDs, magazines, cinema trips, days out, gardening, DIY. All this stuff (remember Stephen’s sermon God Space from this April?) takes time and church can easily become just another thing on the ‘to do’ list. More worryingly, even God can become relegated to just another ‘to do’ thing!

If you’re like me, it’s easier to focus on the stuff than on God and on people. Stuff is controllable; people and God aren’t! Stuff can give us a sense of achievement and purpose. I love making lists and ticking things off the lists as I accomplish them. It makes me feel purposeful and as though I’ve done something meaningful with the day (O.K., most of the stuff on the list is basic and I’ve hardly climbed Everest, but it still sort of justifies my existence, if that makes sense…)

One of the things God has had to teach me over and over again (because I’m obviously slow in learning this one!) is that people matter more than stuff. Taking time out to listen to people is important. Spending time with people is important. People are more important than cleaning the house or going shopping or writing reports or … just about anything else on the ‘to do’ list. I learnt this lesson most powerfully through reading a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that said “We must be prepared to have God interrupt us.” (see Daily Interruptions)

People are messy. They have problems we can’t solve. They have different temperaments to us and don’t react the way we think they should. They are fickle, unreliable, often bad-tempered and frequently irritating. But people are also kind, compassionate, trustworthy, loving and forgiving. God loves people so much He gave His only Son to die for them (John 3:16 TNIV).

‘We should confess, we lose You in our busyness.’
‘Could it be that You would really rather die than live without us?’ (Michael Card)
‘Know You In The Now’/’Could It Be’, Michael Card

When we finally stand before God, I don’t think our ‘to do’ lists will mean very much. I don’t think He’ll care that much about our tidy houses or our pristine gardens or our academic achievements or our well-paid jobs. I think He cares about how much and how well we’ve loved people, because He is love.

I’ve never been one of the great and mighty, never worked for a multi-national company, never attended a mega-church. I’ve never lived in a huge capital city or felt comfortable in crowds. The big and bustling metropolis and the giant organisations which have slick marketing campaigns and jazzy slogans generally leave me cold. I’m a little person – literally and metaphorically.

That’s why stories like David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) mean a lot to me. Or the story of Gideon (Judges 6). Or the story of the little boy whose lunch feeds five thousand (John 6:1-13 TNIV). I like the fact that the Bible doesn’t just deal with the big things (armies, nations, battles and wars) but focuses on individuals and the role they play in the bigger picture. Psalm 131:1-3 TNIV is one of my favourite psalms: ‘My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.’

The Bible reassures me that God knows each one of us as individuals and cares for us by name (read Psalm 139 TNIV or Isaiah 43:1 TNIV if you don’t believe me.) It also reassures me that individuals can make a difference, however small or inadequate they feel in themselves. It declares that one with God can achieve amazing results: ‘One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.’ (Joshua 23:10 TNIV)

So often, we feel disempowered as individuals and disheartened as a result. ‘What difference can I make?’ we say. We feel there’s no point getting involved in our communities, in politics, in church life, in our work situations or whatever because we don’t think we can influence or change anything in these ‘bigger’ pictures. But history tells us a different story. History shows us that individuals can make enormous differences: Shaftesbury, Wilberforce, Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi.

Goliath didn’t win. The young shepherd boy, scorned by his brothers and the runt of the family, triumphed where no one expected him to. Gideon became a worthy judge, despite his own self-image. The little boy’s lunch met a huge need. And we too can make a difference, not because of our own ingenuity or strength, perhaps, but because God specialises in working with individuals who are surrendered to Him. More and more I pray this prayer:“God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am” and rejoice in the individuality of personality made by God.

‘Who Am I?’, Casting Crowns

The Evangelical Alliance has just published the results of its latest survey, this one about work. You can view the overview below on the Power Point. The survey was completed in May 2013 by 1,511 people who were asked a number of questions about work, faith and other related issues.

Since we spend so much time at work, it’s obviously a very important part of most people’s adult life and one of the questions asked was how well the Church prepares people for the world of work and supports them in this world. This is something that is directly connected to the ‘whole life discipleship’ course run by LICC and is of interest to many Christians.

The full report can be read here.

Since I was a child, I have loved the piano. I love listening to the piano and like a whole range of piano music. But I never learned to play the instrument. Because of that, there was always a mystique about it, a sense of mystery. How did someone learn to play Beethoven’s piano sonatas or Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue?

We discovered my son had perfect pitch when he was very young, and so it seemed natural to give him the opportunity to harness that God-given gift and learn to play instruments. Because he was very young when he started lessons (about four or five), I had to sit in on the lessons and secretly I was pleased about that, because I thought that would mean I would finally get to uncover the mystery!

What I discovered over the next few years was there really was no mystery. There was just a lot of hard work and persistent practice. Progress was slow and there were many, many times over the next few years when both he and I would honestly have preferred him to give up. He didn’t always want to practise: there were other things he’d rather do than sit and play scales and play the same pieces over and over again until he’d mastered them. There were other things I’d rather do than listen to the same things over and over again.

But when I listen to him today, able to play just about any piece you ask him to, often by ear, without any sheet music whatsoever, changing the key so it fits our voices, adapting what he’s heard, adding little variations and chord progressions which bring a smile to my face, I’d say it was worth the work. Practice pays off. Perseverance brings its own rewards.

Whatever the task – sport, magic tricks, doing puzzles, sewing, gardening, cooking – we are often awed by those who have practised more than we have at those particular things and feel there’s got to be some magic secret to their success. There isn’t. There is talent, yes, which perhaps means they can do something we can’t. But wherever there is talent, there is also perseverance and hard work if that talent is to mature into achievement. We call it ‘fulfilling potential.’ Talent on its own isn’t enough. As the saying goes, ‘genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.’

Similarly, we can look at other Christians and feel they have some magic formula that enables them to seem so serene, so prayerful, so happy, so powerful. We can envy them their ‘success’. But if you get to know these people, you will find that there really is no magic formula. They have to persevere in faith and experience the same doubts and temptations that are common to mankind, just like we do. They have to persevere in prayer, worship no matter what their feelings say, forgive when they’re hurt, believe when they’re afraid, trust in God’s grace just like we do. There is no secret about it all. God has plainly revealed everything we need to know to live how He wants us to live! Romans 12:12 TNIV sums it up rather neatly: ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ That’s it. You don’t have to keep buying the latest ‘how to be a successful Christian’ book to find a magic formula. There is none!

We have to be utterly disciplined about this Christian life. It’s not something we undertake light-heartedly or aimlessly. Paul says, ‘No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.’ (1 Cor 9:27 TNIV) He tells Timothy ‘Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.’ (1 Tim 4:15 TNIV) Jesus was equally unequivocal about the cost involved (Luke 14:25-33 TNIV). The question is not ‘how do find a magic formula for a successful Christian life?’, but ‘are we willing to count the cost and put in the effort required?’

Jack Gibbons plays ‘Rhapsody In Blue’
(I had the privilege of seeing Jack Gibbons play this live in Oxford in 2011 and then play a variety of Beethoven piano sonatas in 2012. I will never forget these occasions. Talent coupled with hard work is a formidable pairing!)