God does not dwell in time as we do, but is eternal. He has no beginning and no end (see Ps 90:2 & Ps 102:27) and does not change: ‘Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow’ (Heb 13:8), see also Malachi 3:6. He is the God of the past, present and future: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’ (Rev 1:8)

God’s character does not change. He is the constant in our universe, ever-faithful, loving, just and kind:
“From the darkest night to the brightest day
Constant You remain
Every single breath to my dying day
Constant and faithful, You never change.” (‘The Constant’, Al Gordon & Ben Cantelon)

The fact that God does not change gives us stability and permanence in our lives. We live in a world of almost constant change, but God remains steadfast and faithful and unchanging, the constant in our variable life. We can look back on what God has done in the past and from that, extrapolate information about the present and the future. That’s not to say that we can predict how God will work, because He constantly surprises us with the ‘how’ of what He does, but we can learn many things from the past, from the ‘yesterday’.

God of our Yesterdays
We learn from the yesterday, by remembering (something God Himself does well – see Gen 8:1, Gen 9:15, Gen 19:22, Gen 30:22). God urges us to remember (see Ex 20:8, Luke 22:19, 1 Cor 11:23-26), to dwell on all He is and has done, though we should not become so attached to the past that we are not prepared to move forward into what God is doing today (see Is 43:18-19).

God of Today
God revealed Himself to Moses as ‘I AM‘: ‘Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” ‘(Ex 3:13-15)

Jesus took this name and showed us further facets of God’s character through the ‘I AM’ names in John’s Gospel:
• I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)
• I am the Light of the world (John 8:12)
• I am the gate (John 10:9)
• I am the good shepherd (John 10:11)
• I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
• I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
• I am the true vine (John 15:1)

He also unequivocally called Himself by God’s name: “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58) – a claim to deity which prompted the Jews to want to stone Him and which directly led to His arrest and crucifixion. Yet in referring to God as the ‘God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’ (Matt 22:31-32), He also showed us that God is not just the God of history, but is God of the living!

God is ever-present with us: He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). He provides for us. He feeds us and guides us and lights our way. He gives us life. He sustains us and nourishes us. He leads us into eternal life. But they also remind us that God is working in the world today, just as He has worked in history. Jesus is the One who stepped into time so that we could understand (Michael Card.) He is living proof that God understands life on our planet, living in our time frames, learning obedience through suffering as we have to do.

God of Tomorrow
Sometimes we are fearful or apprehensive about the future, wondering how we will manage or cope. Jesus showed us how to live with regard to tomorrow: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34) Sometimes we can anticipate the future eagerly, looking forward to making plans (see James 4:13-15 about the dangers of planning without reference to God). Whatever our feelings about the future, we know that God will be there, still unchanging and still able to work all things together for good.

“So whatever lies ahead,
Whatever roads our grateful hearts will come to tread,
You’ll be there, Lord.
And we will fix our eyes on You
And know that there is grace enough to see us through.

You’re always closer than we know,
Always more involved and in control.
We will trust our lives to You,
The One who was and is and is to come.” (‘God of Our Yesterdays’, Matt Redman)
‘God of Our Yesterdays’, Matt Redman

As we pray for those battling addictions during this month of April, I thought it might be helpful to look at some of the organisations which are seeking to help these people and their families.

Barnsley Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service works with those struggling with addictions and since 2011 has been involved in the ‘Recovery Service’, offering long-term help in the form of social enterprise. The joinery workshop is involved in:
* Making products such as toy boxes and garden furniture
* Learning bench joinery skills
* Opportunities to enrol on a City & Guilds training course
* Decorating small wooden plaques and other small wooden items
* Learning a technique called pyrography (the art of wood burning)
* Recycling and revamping unwanted items of wooden furniture
* Selling the products at events and market stalls

BADAS can be contacted on 0845 3473733 or by email (info@badas.org.uk)

DrugTrain delivers high quality training solutions equipping people with the skills and knowledge to enable those affected by drug and alcohol problems to achieve a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Betel UK is a Christian charity dedicated to restoring homeless and long-term unemployed people to healthy, independent lifestyles. They train men and women in a wide range of life and employment skills, enabling them to rebuild a strong work ethic. They provide residences for people struggling with addictions which are drug- and alcohol-free and totally free of charge, based in Birmingham, Derby, Hexham, Manchester, Nottingham, Watford and in Dublin.

Care For the Family runs training courses on a variety of issues, including ‘How To Drug Proof Your Kids’.

Other local agencies helping with addictions are:
* Barnsley NHS Stop Smoking Service (Tel: 01226 737077 or talk with your local GP)
* Samaritans (Tel: 01226 202222)

National agencies can be contacted:
* Alcohol Concern (Tel: 02072 640510)
* Beating Eating Disorders Association (Tel: 08456 341414, Youth Line: 0845 634 7650; web B-EAT)
* Drinkline (Tel: 0800 917 8242)
* DrugScope (Tel:02075 207550)
* Alcoholics Anonymous

We need to pray for these organisations and for all who work with those struggling with addictions.

One of my favourite Bible verses is Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I find it tremendously reassuring and encouraging to know that God finishes what He has started and that the faithfulness which is an integral part of His character means we can trust Him to complete all He has begun. He truly is both the ‘promise maker’ and the ‘promise keeper’.

Promise maker, promise keeper,
You finish what you begin.
Our provision, through the desert,
You see it through to the end.

We won’t move without You, we won’t move without You
You’re the light of all and all that we need. (‘The Lord Our God’, Kristian Stanfill)
‘The Lord Our God’, Kristian Stanfill

This post is really for the pastor, who loves Brussels sprouts so much he even re-wrote a Christmas song in their honour… I do apologise for the Christmas theme some of you may feel inherent in talking about this vegetable. If it’s any consolation, I heard a child singing ‘Jingle Bells’ this morning. In April!

I had an email today, entitled ‘Shall I compare thee to a Brussels sprout?’, a title that was definitely intriguing! The email said:

“I’m afraid it’s a fact of life that, just as not everyone likes Brussels sprouts, things won’t always go your way. In fact there may be days when it all goes any which way but yours. While it may seem as if an existence with no problems would be an utter blessing, (a) sorry, it’s not going to happen, and (b) there’s the distinct possibility that a totally predictable life could soon get boring anyway.

Brussels sprouts sometimes get such bad press (completely unfairly in my view, but there you go) that it would seem the height of rudeness to compare you to one. But perhaps it really is the case that when we overcome our problems, difficulties and challenges, we truly do become a better brassica.” (www.moodscope.com)

Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876) was a well known teacher, evangelist and soloist. He wrote many hymns, inlcuding ‘I will sing of my Redeemer’ and the melody to ‘It is well with my soul.’ He died at the young age of thirty-eight in a train crash. Of the 160 passengers, only 68 survived the disaster which took the lives of Philip Bliss and his wife, Lucy. The lyrics to the hymn ‘I will sing of my Redeemer’ were found in his belongings after the crash and the song was set to music by James McGranahan and was one of the first songs to be recorded on that new invention, the phonograph.

Aaron Shust has written new music for the hymn. I am always struck by the power of story. We have a story to tell, a wondrous story; a song to sing about a Redeemer’s wondrous love for us. How we do that is our gift to God. But the fact that we have a story to tell and a song to sing is His gift to us.

“I will sing of my Redeemer
And His wondrous love for me
On the cruel cross He suffered
From the curse to set me free.

We will praise the Lamb for sinners slain
For His blood can wash away our stain
Singing glory, glory to His name
For His blood can wash away…” (‘Sing of My Redeemer’, Aaron Shust, words by Philip Bliss)
‘Sing of My Redeemer’, Aaron Shust, words by Philip Bliss

A friend of mine once remarked wryly that I ‘have a song for every occasion.’ I don’t know about that, but as I was listening to the sermon on the atoning cross last night, I couldn’t help thinking about a song (from 1993, as it turns out!) called ‘Cross of Gold’. Thanks to the wonders of Google and the Internet, I listened to it again today, with quite a lot of nostalgia if I am honest (not to mention raised eyebrows at the video, which I’ve never seen before!)

The song looks at this symbol of Christianity and asks why people wear a cross of gold:
“What’s your line?
Tell me why you wear your cross of gold.
State of mind
Or does it find a way into your soul?” (‘Cross of Gold’, Michael W. Smith)

It goes on to ask:
“For some it’s simply something to wear around your neck
Just a chain
Jewellery
Is it decoration?
Is it an icon
Or proclamation?
An icon of what?
What?
For some it’s simply something to wear around your neck
Just a chain
It means a lot more than that to me.”
‘Cross of Gold’, Michael W. Smith