Slow Miracles

Jul 31, 2022

Traditionally, we think of miracles as God’s intervention in human history, often in remarkable and sudden form. The dictionary definition of the word ‘miracle’ says a miracle is ‘an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws’ and is therefore attributed to a divine agency (i.e. to God.) There is no mention of timescales in this definition, but often, when we think of miracles, we think of God doing something suddenly or swiftly: a person being healed in an instant, a crowd being fed from hardly any food, a person being delivered of an impure spirit very quickly, water being turned into wine at a wedding feast.

There’s no doubt that God works like this, but sometimes we see that miracles can take a little time to be worked out. Joseph is an example to us of this.

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) looks at a thirteen-year period from the age of seventeen to thirty in the life of one of Jacob’s sons. Jacob had a complicated family, with sons born to two different wives and two concubines; Joseph was the son of his favourite wife, Rachel, and was not well-liked by his brothers because of the favouritism Jacob showed him. Joseph was a dreamer, someone to whom God spoke, but this just added to his unpopularity, and so despite having received promises of blessing and authority, he spent much of this period of his life facing difficult circumstances, being sold into slavery by his brothers and ending up unjustly imprisoned.

There seemed nothing miraculous about much of this period. Joseph had to learn to serve God and others faithfully in the mundane, probably wondering when God would ever move! But ultimately God did move, and Joseph ended up as second-in-command to Pharaoh, in a position of great responsibility where his actions would lead to many people (including his own family) being saved from death through famine. We see how God uses every situation and circumstance of our lives to further His purposes and how He works for the good in everything. (Rom 8:28) If you’re still waiting for God’s miracle in your life, take heart from Joseph and stay faithful, serving God in the everyday and the mundane as you wait for God to move in the miraculous.

Gulliver’s Valley Trip

Jul 30, 2022

Yesterday we took 100 people from the Parent & Toddler group families to Gulliver’s Valley near Sheffield, a theme park with something for everyone under 10! It was lovely to have so many families join us (so many we needed to hire 2 coaches!) and to have different generations all joining together to have fun.

Waiting to get on the coach

On the coach

The theme park has something for everyone: characters to meet, shows to watch, animals to feed, parks, roller coasters, fairground rides and water rides, cars and trains, a building and digging zone and dinosaurs, to name just a few. It was great to see families playing together, all ages working well together and everyone having a good time.

GPCC was happy to subsidise this trip as part of our engagement with the community; our mission is to be ‘with God in the community, with God for the community.’ Thank you to all who came along, to all who organised the trip and to Oakleaf Coaches and Gulliver’s Valley staff for making this a great day out.

 

Letters to Smyrna and Pergamum

Jul 28, 2022

Tonight’s Bible study looked at the letters to the churches in Smyrna and Pergamum (Revelation 2) and saw that Christ speaks to churches in ways that are intensely relevant to their particular situations. To Smyrna, a city which had been literally destroyed and brought back to life, He revealed Himself as the ‘First and Last, who died and came back to life again.’ (Rev 2:8) To Pergamum, a city famous for its words and emperor worship, He spoke ‘the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.’ (Rev 2;12) Both churches had things which were praiseworthy, holding true to Jesus despite persecution and suffering.
We often feel that we would do much better if certain things in our lives changed, but the truth is that we live in a world that is hostile to God and yet are called to be faithful and true. These letters remind us that Jesus sees things differently (Smyrna was poor and afflicted yet possessed spiritual wealth, for example). He does not necessarily promise escape from our situations, but does promise His presence through all trials (see Is 43:1-2). The promises He offers are greater than any trials we may face! – even death (martyrdom) does not have the last word, since Jesus has conquered even death.

Quill pen and ink well resting on blank parchment paper with copy space for message

Suffering

Jul 28, 2022

I have been re-reading one of my favourite books, Eugene Peterson’s “Five Smooth Stones For Pastoral Work”, and looking again at the book of Lamentations, a book written during a period of enormous suffering following the siege of Jerusalem and subsequent exile of God’s people to Babylon.
Suffering is an inevitable consequence of the Fall and cannot be avoided by any of us. When we suffer, we are overwhelmed by emotion and feel unable to make sense of anything. Peterson explores the acrostic form of Lamentations, remarking that its ‘A to Z’ approach helps us to examine suffering in detailed thoroughness but within the reminder that there is an end, a limit, to it. “The subjective feeling of endlessness in suffering is, in fact, false,” he says (P122). This tethers us to reality, something we desperately need when suffering explodes into our lives and ‘pain is scattered like shrapnel.’ (P 126)
As I ponder the subject of ‘the miraculous and the mundane‘ these days, I was struck by one of the comments Peterson makes: ‘God’s acts of mercy… permeate the ordinary days of the people of God.’ (P 127) Take time to soak that in.
When we are suffering and in pain, it’s hard to see God’s acts of mercy. All we see and feel is the pain (think of the all-encompassing agony of toothache or nausea…) But God’s acts of mercy are there – initially in the innocent hug of a child, in the friend who phones or drops in with shopping, in the sunshine which lifts your spirit, in the rainbow which reminds you of God’s faithfulness, in the unconditional love of the dog who sits at your feet… and then also in ways that we term ‘deliverance’ or ‘help’. Lamentations 3:22-23 shines in the middle of the darkness of suffering, tethering us to God’s love, mercy, compassion and faithfulness. Peterson writes, ‘evil is not inexhaustible. It is not infinite. It is not worthy of a lifetime of attention.’ (P124) But God’s love and mercy are.

Learning To Acclaim God

Jul 28, 2022

Psalm 89:15 in the Message version says, ‘blessed are people who know the passwords of praise’, but this can make it sound as though praising God requires great feats of memory which will be beyond most people. The NIV says, ‘blessed are those who have learned to acclaim God’, and it seems to me that the key to this process is probably to focus on who God is, which does require memory but which is certainly not beyond the capability of even a child. In the preceding verse, we are told, ‘righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You.’ (Ps 89:14) Here, four essential aspects of God’s nature are highlighted, each one providing a reason to praise (acclaim) God:
1. God’s righteousness
This basically means that God does what is right in every situation. He does not make mistakes. He is not fallible, as we are. There is tremendous security in knowing that God can be trusted to do what is right.
2. God’s justice
Justice means that right will be rewarded and evil will be punished. Rom 12:19-21 urges us to eschew vengeance precisely because we can trust God to sort everything out in the long run. We should strive for justice wherever possible, but must also understand that God will do what is right in the end.
3. God’s love
God’s love is described as unfailing, unchanging, unending, strong and the very essence of who He is. His love means that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) His love provides a solid foundation for our lives.
4. God’s faithfulness
God is faithful, not fickle. He doesn’t ‘come and go’; He is no fair weather friend, but One who sticks closer than a brother. We are never alone and can rely on Him in all circumstances.
Praising God isn’t all about memorising meaningless passwords that are simply a test of mental acuity. Praising God is the inevitable result of thinking about who God is. When we reflect on what He is like and what He has done, praise is the outcome, for we serve a mighty God who is for us!

Two Brothers

Jul 25, 2022

Dave spoke last night from Luke 15:11-32, the passage commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Yet we have to note the context of this parable, spoken to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. So often, we focus on the younger son (his defiance, repentance and acceptance by the father), but the attitude of the older son is more like the teachers. It is never fully clear whether he accepts or welcomes the return of his brother – this response has to be supplied by those listening to the story.

We are more comfortable with exploring the idea of rebellion and ultimate acceptance and forgiveness than we are at investigating the apparently ‘righteous’ older brother who nonetheless does not know how to respond to grace. The father wants him to respond well, but the story does not give us a neat ending. We have to be the ones who supply the ending. Will we be like the prodigal son and realise our need for grace? Or will we hold on to grudges, resentment and the belief that we can make it on our own? The choice is ours.