Future hope has always fuelled present action. Paul told the Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) To the Corinthian church, he said, “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.” (2 Cor 4:17-18) Contrary to the belief that ‘Christians are so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good’, Christians have always sought to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, conscious of the great debt they owe God and eager to please Him in every way they can. Nonetheless, the anticipation of Paradise has always been part of the equation. We are not living for this life alone. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19). There is far more to come.

The song ‘Paradise’ on Jeremy Camp’s new album looks ahead to the future hope we have.

“Can’t wait to walk along Your side
And feel the beauty of Your love
And the fullness of Your grace now

Can’t wait to look into Your face
And see the majesty and glory
That makes the Earth shake.”

The anticipation of what is ahead protects us from the attractions of the world, which seem so dazzling at times, but which are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us:

“Don’t let this life take hold of my desires
And I won’t give up the fight

Cause one day I will be with You in paradise, paradise
But until that day, I will surrender all my life, all my life
We’ll sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, every knee will bow and say
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we’ll bring glory to Your name.” (‘Paradise’, Jeremy Camp)
‘Paradise’, Jeremy Camp

Funnily enough, since the map project started, maps have been cropping up everywhere, it seems! A book I am reading (‘The Road Less Traveled’, by Scott Peck) talked about life being like a series of maps and just as maps become outdated over time as new roads and buildings are constructed, so too our lives are not static and we cannot assume that things will always stay the same but have to adapt and grow. (“If our maps are to be accurate, we have to continually revise them. The world itself is constantly changing.”)

Then I was struck by how the Bible talks about itself as being like a map to guide us on life’s journey. The Message version of Psalm 119 in particular makes this very clear:
“You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by GOD. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.” (Ps 119:1-3)

“God charts the road you take.” (Ps 1:6)

It seems that maps have plenty to teach us! May we not only use the prayer map to pray for the streets of Goldthorpe, but may we also allow God’s Word to be the map that directs and guides our lives.

Maps have been featuring a lot in my life recently. This started with the prayer walks in January, since it’s helpful to have a map to know where you are going when you are dividing up an area among several people so that you avoid all going to the same place and leaving some streets unvisited! It was decided to have a ‘prayer map’ of all the streets in Goldthorpe so that we could continue to pray even when we were not physically walking on the streets. Having a cartographer for a friend proved useful, as she was able to access Ordnance Survey maps and edit them to show just Goldthorpe. Thus began an ongoing process to produce a large ‘prayer map’ to go up in the foyer at church to remind us where the things we are praying for are located.

The map was produced and personalised with the church name and logo.

Compass points were added (not only to orientate the map, so to speak, but to remind us of Ezekiel 37:9 (“This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live’ “) and Isaiah 43:5-7 (“I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back”), verses which have been significant words from God to the church.)

Then the map was taken to a printer’s so that we could have a large version. The laminated A1 version then needed to be fixed to a board so it could be hung in church with stickers to remind us where things were and photographs to remind us of the prayer walks. I assumed (naively, as it turned out) that we would sail into B & Q, pick up a large board, stick the map to it and that would be that. I ought to have known better (B & Q is not that kind of place…!) There were no suitable boards large enough, so we had to buy two boards to fit together and at that point, Garry decided that to make this suitable, we also needed to make a frame for the boards.

Collaboration is definitely the name of the game in church work! Mark donated his mitre saw to this project (thus making Garry’s job of making the frame from off-cuts of wood easier) and the making of the board began.

Two separate boards…

Two becoming one…

The board was then covered to give a more finished look:

Now all that remains to be done is to attach the map, labels and photographs to the board and hang it in the church!

Jeremiah 31:34, quoted in Hebrews 10:17, says “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” The Bible reassures us that our sins are forgiven through Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. Psalm 103:9 says “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” This reassurance is the basis for our acceptance into God’s family and should never be forgotten.

Jeremy Camp’s song ‘We Must Remember’ contrasts our need to remember this forgiveness with God’s willingness to remember our sins no more. Technically, God does not forget; He chooses not to remember. But the song’s poetry contrasts remembering and forgetting:

“We must remember
That You have forgotten
And You don’t remember our sins anymore.
We must remember
That You have forgotten
And You, You died once and for all.” (‘We Must Remember’, Jeremy Camp)
‘We Must Remember’, Jeremy Camp

Christ has won for us a great victory and we are cleansed from all our sins.
“The power of Your blood is all that we need.
You laid down Your life and the captives were free.
The veil was torn and there was victory.”

The wonder of God’s forgiveness is that it is all-encompassing and ongoing. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God’s forgiveness is available to us on a day-by-day basis. Let’s remember that daily and live in the freedom of forgiveness.

Igor does not mind sharing his adventures. Having enjoyed his trip to Las Iguanas without Garry, this time, he returned with his rightful owner and a few other friends:

However, he was happiest when taking in the foliage:

… unlike the others, who were happiest with the food:

I’m wrestling and struggling with so many issues right now. The way of faith does not seem to get any easier! I would expect it to, hope that each time I learn something more of God’s character, it would make it easier to surrender the next time He challenges me. But in all honesty, I don’t find it that way. Each step of faith, each leap of faith, each risk God asks me to take seems insurmountable and I wrestle, longing to please God but at the same time all too aware of my human frailties and fears.

Then I hear a song that articulates for me the struggles, the longings and I am broken again. I offer myself again to God and ask Him to reign in me – simple words, but for anyone who has faced these battles, you will know why I write this with tears streaming down my face and no answers to all the many questions. If you don’t understand this and think that this is one blog post too far, then I apologise. But God understands. God knows the struggles we go through to submit to Him. If Jesus wrestled with doing the Father’s will, I’m in good company as I yearn to allow God to reign in me.

“I have seen so many teardrops
Fall to the ground
I’ve held the hand of God’s children
Once lost and now found

Reign in me, reign in me
(In my heart, in my mind, in my soul
Be the Lord of my life, take control)” (‘Reign In Me’, Jeremy Camp)
‘Reign In Me’, Jeremy Camp