No, not the sitcom which followed the lives of four teenagers at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive… instead, Mark spoke from Psalm 23 about this stage of our lives when we feel ‘in between’, ‘somewhere between who I was and who You’re making me’, to quote Casting Crowns!

Life is often likened to a journey. Being at one destination or another is fine: not all of us cope well with the journey in between, however! Yet much of our lives is spent ‘in between’. We have to realise that every stage of our lives is part of God’s plans, even those seemingly mundane, insignificant parts.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.”
God will lead us and guide us throughout every stage in our lives. He will care for us and will provide what we need.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside quiet waters.”
Our bodies are not designed to work non-stop. There is a time of calm and rest required for each one of us, and this verse speaks of the rest and provision God has for us. Sometimes we need ‘time out’ from the hustle and bustle of life in order to re-charge our batteries. Rest is an important Biblical principle we do well not to forget.

“He restores my soul and leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
God also provides spiritual rest for us. He renews our spirits and gives us the strength and vision we need to carry on. Many of His promises to us are yet to be fulfilled, yet we need to be aware that the ‘highs’ of great spiritual blessing and revelation often come from the ‘lows’ of ordinary spiritual life: prayer, service, and simple acts of charity. It’s a little bit like a tennis match, with long rallies between us and God as we wait for God to make the ‘ace’ or special shot which will define and shape our next steps.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Whatever valleys we have to walk through in life, God is with us. When our mortal bodies actually die, we pass from mortality to immortality. Then we will finally reach our destination, for God’s plan is for us to spend eternity with Him and this life on earth is simply part of that shaping. When we arrive at our destination, the time that seemed so important to us on earth will seem insignificant in comparison to the wonder of being with the Lord. We need not fear death, nor any dark valley in life, for God’s presence is always there to walk with us. We never walk alone.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
There are times in our lives when we feel oppressed by enemies (physical and spiritual enemies, perhaps!) Sometimes the enemy seems to have the upper hand, but this verse reminds us that even in those times, when we feel weakened and powerless, God’s provision is such that we have a feast spread out for us and an overflowing cup handed to us. God’s miraculous provision is one thing: the fact that He does this ‘in the presence of my enemies’ shows us that He has the upper hand in all situations, no matter how it may seem to us!

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
God’s goodness and mercy will always follow us and lead us to our ultimate destination. Life’s journey on earth is important in that it often shapes what we will take into eternity, but we need to remember that this ‘in between’ stage is not to be despised but to be embraced.

(A song which captures the sense of struggle and frustration which often come with being ‘in between’ is ‘Somewhere In The Middle’, Casting Crowns)

Stephen spoke this morning on our personal relationship with God, reminding us that God lives within us and never leaves us.

Many of us enjoy going for walks, especially in the countryside where we can soak up the wonders and beauty of God’s creation. God enjoyed walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:8 TNIV), but that peaceful relationship was marred by sin and God’s purpose now is to see that fellowship restored.

God reveals Himself to us through His Son and lives in us by His Spirit (Rom 8:9 TNIV). Each of us can have that Eden-like experience of walking with God, knowing His protection, guidance, leadership and touch on our lives. Sometimes, however, we do not feel His presence; we can be in the wilderness (as Jesus was when tempted by the devil, but Matt 4:1 TNIV reminds us that He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God.) Even at those times when we feel alone and do not feel God’s presence, He has promised to be with us, never leaving us or forsaking us. Our relationship with God is not just in the cool of the day, but at all times: 24/7! God wants to be part of our lives all the time: not just a ‘side order’, to be tagged on to the ‘main business’ of our lives, but an integral part of our everyday living.

Having God’s Spirit with us ‘fills in’ all the holes in our lives. Just as Polyfilla fills the cracks in the walls and makes a new permanent fixture where there were holes and gaps, so God’s Spirit restores our lives:

The Christian life is not about God being an ‘add-on extra’, someone we turn to only in a time of crisis or doubt. When in a restaurant, we can have a ‘main order’ and a ‘side order’, but often the best way to experience these is together, on the same plate! God wants to be the centre of our lives, working to create in us the image of Christ, never leaving us to go it alone but always with us.

The film ‘In Time’ is a science-fiction film set in 2169 where time is, literally, money: humanity has been genetically engineered to be born with a digital clock, bearing a year’s worth of time, on their forearm. At the age of 25 a person stops ageing, but their clock begins counting down; when it reaches zero, that person “times out” and dies. Time has been turned into the universal currency; one can give time for products or services, as well as transfer it to others. The country is divided into time zones based on the wealth of its population. The film focuses on two time zones: Dayton is poor, with a populace that has learned indifference to the timed-out bodies on its streets; and New Greenwich, the wealthiest zone where inhabitants enjoy the benefits of their immortality and wealth, but are constantly surrounded by bodyguards and spend their time worried about accidental death.

The film raises interesting thoughts about wealth (time is what is stolen rather than belongings, since this is the most precious commodity in this new world) and about time. The main character, Will Salas, has spent most of his three years as a ‘timed’ adult with one day to live at the most, and, as he says wryly to the mega-rich heiress he runs away with, “you can do a lot in a day.” He is a Robin Hood type character, stealing time from the rich to give to the poor when he realises that the rich are controlling time by continually increasing the cost of living in poorer districts, living by the mantra ‘For the few to be immortal, the many must die.’

Time is one thing we are all given by God. Ecclesiastes 3:1 TNIV says, ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens’. Psalm 31:15 TNIV reminds us ‘My times are in Your hands.’ Sometimes we feel that there is unfairness with time: some people live to a ripe old age; others die young; some times seem rich and prosperous; other times seem (as with Joseph) ‘lean’ and difficult. We can’t pick and choose our times. But the film’s insistent focus on ‘now’ as the only valid time we have has an excellent Biblical foundation. Jesus – the One who came ‘when the time was fully right’, ‘when the set time had fully come’ (Gal 4:4 TNIV) – urged His followers to live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow (Matt 6:25-34 TNIV), telling us that each day has enough trouble of its own. James echoes this advice in James 4:13-17 TNIV, reminding us that our futures are in God’s hands and we should not use our time to focus exclusively on looking after ourselves (as the rich inhabitants of ‘New Greenwich’ did) but should use our time wisely for God’s kingdom. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the urgency of the gospel, telling them ‘now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.’ (2 Cor 6:2 TNIV)

‘Now’ is all we have. We need to be wise in how we spend our time; we need to understand the times (Rom 13:11 TNIV); we need to accept the gift of today which God has given and use it wisely.

Work on refurbishing the kitchen at church started this week, with complete re-plastering being done.

Mark re-plastered the main worship room back in 2010 and has done other work for us since; we’re grateful for his skill.

Covering up before the start:

Even the ceiling was going to be done:

Starting work:

Nearly there:

Watch this space for further updates!

Because the bus companies have rescheduled timings, it’s more awkward for me to get to Goldthorpe in a morning to go swimming. I decided to use this time to walk instead, and not only is this giving me more exercise (about 3 miles there and back: there’s got to be some virtue in that, surely?!), it’s giving me a lot of time to pray and worship. I set off with my MP4 player each morning, able to get my ‘daily doses of realisation of the constant covenant love and good intentions of God’ (Charlie Cleverly) as I walk.

Songs that focus on God help me to start the day in the right frame of mind; there’s nothing quite like singing truth (at that time there’s no one around; I am free to sing without getting strange looks!) to get you thinking right thoughts. Today I was struck by two songs in particular, both of which really focus on the name of Jesus. Someone once said that you can tell a lot about a person from their Christology (what they believe about Jesus) and since Jesus said, ‘I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ (John 12:32 TNIV), it’s obviously important that Jesus is given the place of honour in our lives and in our churches.

“Who has the power to raise the dead?
Who can save us from our sin?
He is our hope, our righteousness
Jesus, only Jesus.

You will command the highest praise
Yours is the name above all names
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus.” (‘Jesus, Only Jesus’, Matt Redman)
‘Jesus, Only Jesus’ (Matt Redman)

“We believe our God is Jesus,
We believe that He is Lord.
We believe that He has saved us
From sin and death once and for all.

Jesus, Jesus, God from God, Light from Light,
You are our salvation.
Jesus, Jesus, God from God, Light from Light,
Your kingdom is forever.” (‘Once and For All’, Chris Tomlin)
‘Once and For All’ (Chris Tomlin)

So much of what we see and feel depends on our perspective. When we are discouraged or depressed, everything seems so much bigger than us and we feel there is no escape from the woes which surround us.

Colossians 3:1-2 TNIV offers us an alternative way of looking at things: ‘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.’ Ephesians 2:6 TNIV offers us a similar view: ‘God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.’ Things don’t look quite the same from that vantage point!

When we were in Oxford (‘the city of dreaming spires’), we had the rare opportunity to go to the top of the Arco building at Keble College and stand on the roof there. The views from so high up were completely different to what we could see from the ground.

This is from the ground:

This is from the roof:

Often, it’s not the situation itself that needs to change, but our perspective of it. The song ‘Voice of Truth’ looks at two Bible stories: Peter walking on water and David and Goliath. Initially, the perspective is what we might call the ‘natural’ one: fear and doubt: ‘the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me’, ‘the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me/ Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed’. That is often our perspective and it’s a discouraging one. However, the song goes on to remind us:

“But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves, they don’t seem so high
From on top of them looking down.
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me.” (‘Voice of Truth’, Casting Crowns)
‘Voice of Truth’, Casting Crowns

Let’s remember who we are in God and from what perspective we can view life!