Dave preached from John 20:19-29 last night, looking particularly at Thomas’s responses to the Resurrection. We are privileged to know the ending of the Easter story every day, but the disciples on that first Easter Sunday were broken-hearted and confused, afraid and worried. They had been expecting to find a dead body in the tomb and were not quite sure what to make of the subsequent reports of resurrection. The disciples needed the confirmation of this amazing fact, which Jesus gave to them in this encounter.

Jesus appeared to them in a locked room: no wonder they needed Him to calm their fears as He had calmed the raging seas. Thomas was not there on this occasion, however, and missed that opportunity to meet with Jesus. Christ is present with us every time we meet together in His name, and we need to be there, for we always need His reassurance, His teaching, His revelation and power in our lives.

Thomas wanted proof and reassurance. Although forever labelled ‘doubting Thomas’ from this passage, he teaches us how to move from doubt to declaration. Presumably he found the other disciples’ report of their encounter with Jesus difficult to believe: after all, these were the same disciples who had fled Jesus at the Cross, who had betrayed Him, who had been so afraid and scared just a week beforehand. Maybe he was doubting their word because their walk had not matched their talk. Whatever his reasons, Jesus appeared to him to settle all his doubts, urging him to come and see.

We may not see Jesus physically in the same way that Thomas did. Will we believe the same story? The blessing God has is great for those who not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). We are called to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). We may not be able to prove everything about our faith, but we can still believe and can still declare, as Thomas did, ‘my Lord and my God!’

Garry preached on confirming your calling from 2 Peter 1:3-11 yesterday morning. There, Peter tells us ‘be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.’ The word ‘confirm’ or ‘make sure’ has the idea of a firm foundation or an anchor, something that is bolted down or cemented so it cannot move. God’s supply is available for us: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). The storehouse is unlocked, but we have to appropriate what has been made available for us.

God’s character should be our goal: we are to ‘participate in the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4), looking to mirror His character (see Matt 5:43-48) so that we become mature and complete, ‘attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph 4:11-15). Maturity is about becoming fit for purpose, or suitable, and we do this by adding God’s characteristics to our faith.

As usual, there is the dual combination of our participation and God’s provision. The fruit of the Spirit grow when we crucify the flesh. We have to work with God, participating with Him in this growth of character. Do we view the trials of life as stumbling-blocks or stepping stones? Is our vision focussed only on the problems or on the potential? All things can be used by God for our good, even suffering.

Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb 5:7-8). We too will have to suffer to develop our characters, for it’s the only way we learn perseverance and patience, but we can be confident in God. As Joseph reminded his brothers, their plans had been to harm him, but God’s plans had been for good (Gen 50:20). We need to work with God to confirm our faith, to give our faith a foundation, to have our characters moulded and shaped to mirror God’s.

We have kept fish as pets for about eighteen years now, since our son first won a goldfish at a fair (which died two days later, just as he was excitedly writing about ‘my first pet’ at school.) I had never had a pet fish myself as a child, and was unprepared for the lessons fish could teach me.

First of all, this stuff about the three second memory of a goldfish is rubbish. Our goldfish knew exactly what time feeding was, within a few days of being in our house. Every morning and every afternoon at feeding time, they would animatedly swim around the tank, eagerly looking for food. They may not have words, but they are adept at communicating hunger to us! I’ve learnt a lot about eagerness and spiritual hunger from watching our fish!

Secondly, when fish are ill, it’s very difficult to know what to do. Diagnosing what is wrong is difficult. Initial symptoms always seem the same: lethargy, ‘unhappiness’, lowered fins, erratic swimming. It’s some time before specific symptoms appear which you can treat: streaked tails, blood, unusual markings, clear evidence of velvet or finrot which you can actually treat. Sometimes we have successfully treated the water and saved the fish. Other times, sadly, we have not.

That’s not how it is with people. Sin is always our core problem, but the symptoms are so varied that we are often deceived into thinking something else is the problem! With humans, the symptoms look different, but the cause is basic: our rebellious hearts and desire for independence. The cure is always the same. We need a Saviour.

Most of the problems that fish have occur when they are stressed, when the water quality is poor or when new fish are introduced into the tank. We have only really introduced new fish when one has died and every time, there have been problems. It’s as if the new fish bring their own bacteria and problems into the tank and the new combination of things causes problems. That too reminds me of people! Most of us think we could survive quite happily in our Christian walk if we only didn’t have to deal with other people! We can think lofty thoughts and be virtuous and loving in theory, but then we have to deal with the criticism of a spouse, the moods of a child, the unhelpfulness of a colleague, the spitefulness of someone we thought was a friend… and it’s so hard to be Christ-like in those circumstances!

Life is all about learning to get along with people who are just as sinful as ourselves. Their sins may be different (just as the fishes’ bacteria may be different!), but we have to learn to adapt and let love cover over a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8)

Following on from the song ‘One Thing Remains’, I was reminded of a passage in Lamentations 3, very familiar to most Christians, but given a slightly different twist in the Message version. The first time I read this was when a friend of mine was going through the pain of separation. Her husband had just left her and she was struggling to understand what was happening in her life. These verses gave her a way of coping with the pain and the reassurance that God would never leave her.

“When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The “worst” is never the worst.

Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way.” (Lam 3:28-33, The Message)

May we always rest secure in the love God has for us, no matter what we are going through.

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:8-13)

One thing I believe in is the power of God’s Word to penetrate our hearts and sustain us at all times. We meditate on it, listen to it in song, let its truths find a place in our hearts and then we reap the fruit of the work it achieves in our lives. That work is often to strengthen us and sustain us for the trials of life.

Quite often, I wake up with a Scripture or a song running through my head. I’ve not necessarily consciously been thinking of this when I go to sleep, but somehow it works its way to the forefront of my mind when I awake. The song below is based on the passage in 1 Corinthians 13 quoted above. One thing remains. God’s love will never run out on us (I love the double meaning in that phrase in English – it will never run out in the sense of being exhausted or empty, but also it will never run out on us in the sense of deserting us, as human love can do.) I also love the way the songwriter uses repetitive elements of melody to convey the sense of the endlessness of God’s love (‘on and on and on and on it goes’). That can create an impression of something that is boring, but in actual fact, there is nothing boring about the constancy of God’s love!

“Your love never fails
It never gives up
It never runs out on me
(x3)
Your love

Higher than the mountains
That I face
Stronger than the power
Of the grave
And it’s constant in the trial and the change
This one thing remains
One thing remains


Because on and on and

On and on it goes 

It overwhelms

And satisfies my soul

And I never, ever, 

Have to be afraid 

One thing remains 

One thing remains



In death, in life

I’m confident and covered 

By the power of Your great love 

My debt is paid

There’s nothing that can separate 

My heart from Your great love.” (Kristian Stanfill, ‘One Thing Remains’)
‘One Thing Remains’, Kristian Stanfill

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, NIV)

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2-4, The Message)

“When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.” (James 1:2-4, J.B. Phillips)

Tonight, we had a visual aid for the Bible study! Here’s Mark, eagerly opening up a big present to find the little presents inside:

And here’s Diane, delving deep into the box:

The presents weren’t, perhaps, what was expected, though:

Sometimes, we face trials we would rather not endure. Financial problems, redundancy, unemployment, loneliness, fear, mental health problems, illness, bereavement and persecution are all things we would prefer to avoid.

These are not the ‘gifts’ we want to receive. But James tells us that we can have joy even when facing these trials, not because we are masochists, but because we know God is working in all things for our good. He is developing our characters, strengthening us to persevere, endure and show steadfastness, no matter what the circumstances so that we may become mature and complete. Tasker says, “Without trials, faith can never result in the tested character which should be the hallmark of a Christian.”

This goes against all our instincts and natural thinking. The way of paradox always does! (see 1 Cor 1:25-31,Luke 9:24, Mark 8:34-37, John 12:24-25, Matthew 5:3-10) Nonetheless, James reminds us that a long-term perspective is vital if we are to cope with the pressures of such trials (see also Heb 12:1-3, 2 Cor 4:17-18, Rom 8:18,1 Peter 4:12-13). We have to resist the temptation to solve our problems our own way, to fall into despair, giving up or to seek to work things out with no reference to God. Instead, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus, understanding that God’s goal is for us to be ‘conformed to the likeness of His Son.’ (Rom 8:29). The glory that will be revealed in us far outweighs the temporary trials we are now undergoing.

There are many good gifts God gives us (and these were represented by chocolates and strawberries!), but we also need to learn to accept trials as tests which can help to form the character of Christ in us.