“While we may have a simple plan for our life (to be happy, prosperous, successful and at peace), God wants us to learn to trust Him deeply and against all odds.” (Charlie Cleverly, ‘Epiphanies of the Ordinary’)

I was a relatively young Christian when I first discovered that the plans I had made for my own life were not the same as God’s plans. This world tells us we deserve to be happy. It focuses on the selfish and makes that seem a praiseworthy goal. Happiness, prosperity and success are evaluated according to criteria that simply do not line up with God’s word, for they arise from the erroneous premise that man is the centre of the universe. They are inextricably linked to material possessions and to academic success. Children want the latest toys and gadgets and think these will make them happy, and, if we are honest, adults are not that different either. We spend our lives pursuing these things because we think they are the pathway to happiness and peace, but we fail to understand God’s plans along the way.

When we become Christians, we often transfer these ideas to God. If God loves us so much, we reason, then He wants our happiness, prosperity, success and peace as well! This is true, but what we often fail to realise is that God knows the best way to those things and also has the true definition of those things. Happiness, prosperity, success and peace are found from our relationship with Him and not from the material possessions, academic success or other worldly criteria we think are necessary.

God’s plan is far greater than ours. He wants us to learn to trust Him deeply and be in relationship with Him and He wants us to be like Christ. His ‘great plan’ is for us to be ‘conformed to the image of His Son’ (Rom 8:29 TNIV). That is His ultimate goal. All success, prosperity, happiness and peace are bound up in Christ: ‘For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.’ (Col 2:9-10 TNIV) They cannot be divorced from our relationship with Christ, and He is the Head. We are not the ones calling the shots!

We spend an inordinate amount of time pursuing our own plans and dreams and goals, but my prayer for today is that we pause long enough to ask God to help us to trust Him to work out His plan for our lives and to realise afresh that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain.’ (1 Tim 6:6 TNIV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rom 8:28-30, TNIV)

Dave concluded his mini-series on Ephesians 2:1-7 TNIV last night, looking at verse 7: ‘in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.’

Over the past few weeks we have looked at our state before we came to know Christ and how God’s mercy and love have raised us up to new life and seated us with Christ in heavenly realms. Verse 7 answers the question ‘Why has God done these things?’ for it talks about His desire to show His glory to the whole world through the church, a theme expanded in Ephesians 3:10 TNIV (‘His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.’)

Salvation belongs to God and Rev 7:9-14 TNIV gives us a glimpse into the awesome work God is doing, bringing people from every tribe, language and nation to know Him and giving them white clothes to wear as they declare His praises. We are humbled by our part in God’s plan and can see throughout history how God has been working to bring people to a knowledge of Him.

God’s grace demonstrates His kindness to us. Despite our sinful nature, God’s grace and mercy have been lavished on us and as we respond to that grace and show others that no one is unforgivable, we become living examples of God’s love. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, so loved by God that He gave His only Son to save us and made an everlasting covenant with us.

God’s grace is channelled to us through Christ. We receive all the covenant blessings of God through Jesus Christ, the door into God’s presence and salvation.

God’s grace is limitless. Just as we cannot ever see the whole sea at once, so His grace is beyond our vision. To God, forgiveness comes naturally, for it is part of His nature. His grace is greater than our sins and in Him, there is forgiveness and restoration (1 John 1:7 TNIV). His grace is unconditional, for He welcomes all.

In 1851 Prince Albert organised the ‘Great Exhibition’ to showcase Britain’s importance and value, housed in the newly built Crystal Palace:

A century later, the Festival of Britain was put on to show that Great Britain had come through the Second World War and was still ‘great’:

God has a far greater exhibition to ‘show off’ to the world (including all the heavenly beings). We are part of His exhibition, ‘trophies of His grace’, God’s workmanship demonstrating His timeless, limitless, unconditional love which is available to everyone.

June always seems a busy month for birthdays in our church! Last night, we had two to celebrate:

Mark obviously wanted to hide:

…but couldn’t!

This morning we continued our studies on the life of Abraham, looking at the covenants God made with him in Genesis 15 and 17. A covenant is defined as an ‘agreement, contract, pact or treaty’, an official word often associated with the law (the Latin word is ‘testament’, as in ‘last will and testament’ and, of course, the ‘Old Testament’ and ‘New Testament’ of the Bible.) There is a pattern to the covenants found in the Bible: the person making the covenant describes himself and what he has done and promises to do, and there is a list of obligations between the two parties.

Covenants can’t be divorced from relationships and promise. In Genesis 15, God appears to Abram again saying ‘Do not be afraid. I am your shield, your very great reward’ (Gen 15:1) and Abram talks to God about his big dilemma: how can this promise of God come true if Abram does not have a son and heir? God promises him he will have as many descendants as he can count stars in the sky, but Abram seeks confirmation (Gen 15:8 – I’m grateful that God listens and answers our questions and does not withhold confirmation from us!)

God’s response (Gen 15:9-11) talks about a menagerie, it seems! – a heifer, a ram, a goat, a dove and two pigeons! This can seem bizarre to us, but the underlying meaning of the word ‘covenant’ comes from the Hebrew ‘to cut‘ and the ancient custom was to cut or divide animals into two parts with the contracting parties passing between them. The underlying message of this was: “May I be torn apart like these animals if I fail to uphold my part of this covenant.”

What God is doing here (Gen 15:12-21) is indeed giving Abram the answer to his question as to how he could know that God’s promises to him would come true. He repeats and extends the promise, talking about this land Abram and his descendants will possess. Most commentators believe that verse 17 refers to the presence of God Himself: ‘a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces’, rather like the pillar of fire that would later guide the Israelites on their wilderness wanderings. God himself passes between the animals. God is here, confirming His promise. God’s presence is the thing that always makes all the difference.

Abram’s obedience does not seem particularly relevant here (he is in a deep sleep), but in Genesis 17 it is his ready response to God’s commands to circumcise all the males in his household which strikes us. This covenant is established some years later, when Abram is 99, just before the birth of Isaac. Again, this chapter starts with a declaration of who God is: ‘I am God Almighty’ (Gen 17:1) – El Shaddai, a further revelation of God’s character, another layer revealed to Abram through another name. Abram’s name is changed to Abraham (Father of Many Nations, affirming God’s promise) and circumcision is here given as the sign of the covenant that already exists between God and Abraham. It is an outward sign of an ongoing relationship, not the ‘proof’ in itself as it later became to many Jews (see Romans 2:29).

Abraham is still struggling to believe that God will do what He has promised: “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”’ (Gen 17:17) He’s still wanting to sort things out his way, seeking God’s blessing on Ishmael. But he is ready to obey God, even though he does not understand Him. In that, he is our example: we often do not understand, but we can still choose to obey.

All the covenants in the Old Testament are shadows, however, of the new covenant to come. Jeremiah 31:31-34 hints at this and the book of Hebrews makes explicit the connection between the two covenants. Hebrews 8:6 reminds us that ‘the new covenant is established on better promises’. It reminds us of this ‘new covenant’ promised by God in Jeremiah 31:31-34. It tells us of the superiority of this new covenant over the old covenant, which could only ultimately hint at what would become possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the ‘mediator of a new covenant’ (Hebrews 9:15, 12:24), not the sacrifice of heifers and animals. It reminds us that Jesus ‘sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’ (Hebrews 10: 9-10)

Every covenant was founded on the principle of the shedding of blood and of sacrifice. At the Last Supper, Jesus taught His disciples: ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ (Matt 26:28) His blood, shed for us on the cross, ‘speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’ (Hebrews 12:24) and acts as the fulfilment of all that was promised through every other covenant which came before it.

“Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth.
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defence:
Jesus, it’s Your blood.” (‘Nothing But the Blood’, Matt Redman)
‘Nothing But the Blood’, Matt Redman

‘Back to Basics’ was an attempt to relaunch the government of the British Prime Minister John Major in 1993. For those of us who remember, it was the slogan announced at the Conservative Party Conference of that year and was intended to focus on issues of law and order, education and public probity. It was widely interpreted to be a moral initiative, attempting to focus people’s attention on basic issues that really mattered.

‘Back to basics’ has a completely different focus for me, however! I usually use the phrase when I feel I need to slow down, re-focus my attention on God, and meditate again on key issues, perhaps the things that the writer to the Hebrews called ‘elementary teachings about Christ’! (see Hebrews 6:1)

This week, my ‘back to basics’ has included meditating on the need to be still before God and rest in Him, trusting Him to work things out which are beyond my control and abilities.

Here are some of the key verses I have been meditating on:
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Ps 46:10)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30)
‘Come to Me’, Aaron Shust

If I took a poll of Christians, I would guess that any or all of these verses would rank somewhere in their Top 10 of Bible verses. Certainly, I have found these verses to be strengthening and encouraging at different points in my life. It’s often not that we need ‘new truth’ or fresh revelation, but we do need God’s rest and strength. When we’re struggling, it’s good to slow down, rest and receive from God all that we need to carry on.

Last night (more accurately, early this morning) part of the chimney on our house collapsed. We were roused from sweet sleep by a thundering, crashing noise that made no sense at all. As we tried to fathom what had made the noise and attempted to make sense of the commotion, we discovered bricks from the chimney had fallen, crashing onto the pavement at the front of the house and shattering the conservatory roof in places at the back.

It was dark and difficult to see exactly what had happened; we had to pick up the broken bricks and try to made things tidier. There is still much to be sorted and fixed, for clearly the chimney is unstable and needs urgent attention. As I lay in bed an hour later, half-fearful of going back to sleep in case the collapse continued and further damage was done, I thought about the fragility of life and how circumstances can easily shatter our confidence and trust.

A broken relationship out of nowhere, smashing our confidence and self-esteem just like the smashed conservatory.

A job loss or financial difficulty, shattering our normality and causing us to despair.

The diagnosis of an illness crushing our hopes and dreams and leaving us in cold fear and dread.

Things always seem worse at night. Our fears and anxieties seem magnified. There was little we could practically do until daylight came, insurance companies contacted, builders called out, so the night time frequently becomes a mirror of the helplessness and impotence we often feel in life.

As we picked up broken pieces and gave thanks that this had actually happened at night, imagining what would have happened to an innocent passer-by if they had been struck by a brick, I was reminded of the song: “You assemble all our broken, shattered pieces, more beautiful than I have ever known.” (Aaron Shust, ‘Long Live the King’)

There seems little beauty in the disasters that crash into our lives. But I am encouraged because we have a Saviour who picks up every broken piece by hand. He allows the dirt on the pieces to soil His hands. He allows the shards of brokenness to make His hands bleed. His hands know all about wounds and scars. And He weeps with those who weep, this Man of Sorrows, who is familiar and acquainted with sorrow and pain and suffering. He is able to sympathise and empathise with us in our weaknesses and sorrows because He has walked on this earth and know what pain is. But He is also able to heal, to restore, to make something beautiful from the ashes of the disasters that happen. He is good.