There are times when God’s presence seems especially close and this morning was one of those occasions. Times when His greatness and mercy overwhelm us. Times when all we can do is bow down in His presence because we realise how small we are in comparison and yet we are so grateful that we can be in the presence of a holy God at all.

Dave preached from Luke 11:1-13, a sermon about prayer that really looked at the importance of spending time with God, about the value of relationship over set words. Even though this passage contains the Lord’s prayer, it’s not that we can ever view prayer as a set formula, a series of words to be repeated without feeling or understanding, a magic incantation. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray primarily by focussing on the need for relationship.

Our feelings and thoughts can often get in the way of our prayers, however. Dave highlighted some of the problems we face:

1) We think we are not good enough to talk to God. Well, obviously in our own strength, we are not good enough. But Jesus’s sacrifice makes it possible for us to talk to God. God is seeking after the return of His children. He wants us to talk to Him.
2) We think God is too busy with other things to have time for us. This view may well be based on a respect for God, but reflects, nonetheless, a limited view of God. God is far bigger than we imagine – He can cope with so much more than we can and is not overwhelmed by the number of His children praying! There is nothing too big or too small to talk to God about.
3) We may feel it is wrong to ask God for things. We may feel that we are being selfish if we pray for ourselves and our own needs, but Jesus prayed for Himself and in this passage teaches us to pray for our own daily needs, for forgiveness, for help in overcoming temptation, for all that we need to live.
4) We often think that persistence in prayer reflects a lack of faith: “once should be enough.” God, however, encourages persistence in prayer and asks us to pray on an ongoing basis. Think of Jacob, wrestling with God all night until He had received His blessing. Prayer is not for the faint-hearted!
5) We don’t pray at times because we don’t know how to pray: “I might ask for the wrong thing.” We often feel confused and frightened by situations, unsure how to pray, uncertain what God wants us to pray for. In those times, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray (Romans 8) – sometimes, we don’t even need words. It’s not the words we use in themselves that matter; it’s the relationship we have with God and our heart attitudes that count.

Ultimately, what matters most is not the formal words we use in prayer, not the length of prayer we pray, not the outward signs at all, but the ongoing relationship we have with God, the desire we have to be in His presence and the time we spend with Him, seeking His face, enjoying His company, desiring to be with Him, even as Mary was commended in Luke 10 for spending quality time at Jesus’s feet. May we learn to do the same with God:

“To be in Your presence
To sit at Your feet,
Where Your love surrounds me,
And makes me complete.

This is my desire, O Lord,
This is my desire.
This is my desire, O Lord,
This is my desire.

To rest in Your presence,
Not rushing away;
To cherish each moment,
Here I would stay.”
(Noel Richards, (c) 1991 ThankYou Music)

I’m in training! I am taking part in the national Swimathon for charity (raising funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care) on 10th April (http://www.swimathon.org/) and will be swimming 5 kilometres (a staggering 200 lengths… if you don’t think that’s staggering, you are obviously a better swimmer than I am!!)

Why am I doing this? Well, swimming is something that is part of my everyday life, probably the only form of exercise I even remotely like (and that’s debatable at times!) Since I swim so often, it seemed natural that if I ever did do a sponsored sporting event, swimming would be the sport I’d choose.

Since I am swimming regularly anyway, having a goal to swim for also seemed like a good idea. Marie Curie provide nursing at home for those suffering from terminal cancer and I would like to be able to provide something towards that care. I would be swimming whether or not I had sponsors; hopefully, by swimming, I can contribute something positive to those who need help.

Having a goal in life is also important. I have been swimming regularly for 4 years now and it’s easy to become stale. I have gradually increased the distances I swim, since I’ve never been interested in (or remotely good at) speed. I can remember the feeling of first reaching the kilometre goal… then getting to a mile… then getting to 2 kilometres… then 2.5 kilometres and so on. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly ambitious or competitive, but there is something good about going further than you’ve gone before… about achieving more than you first thought you could.

Last autumn I was teaching sports vocabulary to 10 year olds and was staggered to find out one of my pupils could swim 2 miles (130 lengths). That spurred me on, and just before Christmas I managed that goal. Now I am fixing my eyes on 5km as a new goal and have until April to achieve it. I’m at 160 lengths so far, and keep adding lengths each Saturday…

The Bible doesn’t have much to say about swimming, but it does talk about running a lot! In a section headed ‘the need for self-discipline’ in the NIV, we read:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Cor 9:24-27)

I’m swimming to raise money for a good cause (and if I raise enough money, I win a T-shirt!!), but mainly for my health’s sake and to keep fit – after all, my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so I can’t abuse it. But we are all in the race of life and are running to get a crown that will last forever. May we all be in strict training and run (live) in such a way as to please the Lord.

At the Bible study this week, we looked at the rest of Romans 2 and the start of Romans 3. These verses continue to focus on the law and what this means to both Jew and Gentile as Paul systematically builds his argument leading to the conclusion that all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s law and are therefore in desperate need of a Saviour.

So often we see that religion can lead to complacency, a belief that we are automatically saved and free from God’s wrath, not because of His grace and mercy, but because of… something else. Our goodness. Our merit. Who we are. The Jews so often fell into the trap of believing that it was their historical ancestry and the fact of circumcision which made them righteous and that, at times, led to them looking down on everyone else, instead of seeing that their ancestry was in fact a sign of God’s mercy and was intended to be a guiding light to all nations. Paul exposes the fallacies in that thinking in Romans 2:17-28, remarking that “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.” As the Message paraphrases these verses, “It’s not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew.”

In case this argument seems irrelevant to Western Christians, it’s an attitude that has so often plagued churches too. The moment we believe that actually, we’re not that bad and it’s everyone else who deserves God’s judgment, we are on a slippery slope. If we believe that by knowing God’s word, that by having the Bible, we automatically gain entry into God’s favour without that having any impact on our lives, we are falling into error.

Paul, in these verses, looks at other issues too: what about those who have never directly heard of God? What about young children who die? Are they automatically condemned? These are difficult issues, but in Romans 2:12-16, Paul talks about ‘the requirements of the law being written on men’s hearts’ and we have to understand that it is not up to us to judge the state of other people’s souls; God’s judgment will be fair and true and will take everything into account. As he says in Romans 3, ‘Let God be true and every human being a liar’ (Romans 3:4).

Ultimately, Paul highlights some human arguments (see Romans 3:5-6) which will be developed further in Romans 6:1-15, along the lines of ‘let us do evil so that good may come of it.’ This argument is invalid and is a travesty of a true understanding of the meaning of grace. We cannot taste the wonder of God’s grace and mercy and take it for granted or believe that we have done something to deserve it. Instead, we stand in awe and tremble, amazed at His love, awestruck at His generosity, grateful for His mercy.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18)

Mirrors are the chief way that we see our reflection. House mirrors are generally plane mirrors, giving a reasonable approximation to what’s really there so that we can see ourselves and make sure we have put on make-up properly or have shaved closely enough or don’t have a dirty smudge on our cheeks. The mirrors in fun fairs are often far less accurate in their reflections, being convex or concave mirrors which distort the reflection.

We are ‘a letter from Christ’ (2 Cor 3:3), read by people whether we realise it or not, and as such it is a challenge to ensure that our reflection of Christ is accurate. Jesus mirrored or reflected the Father, only doing what He saw the Father doing, living in trust and obedience and with a dedication to doing the Father’s will. In this way, we can be men and women of action (without having to be in a film full of special effects and implausible plot lines!), for as James says,
“But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.” (James 1:25, The Message)

If we wish to accurately reflect Christ and so be transformed into His likeness, we need to gaze on Him and learn from Him, for He is “gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29) In Him, we see faith and trust in God, a commitment to doing the Father’s will and a zeal and passion for truth that are perfectly in balance with a gentleness and kindness of spirit that we so often lack.

As we reflect on our spiritual growth and so clearly see the ways in which we do not accurately reflect the true nature of Christ, we are nonetheless reminded that the work is not complete and are encouraged to know that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion (Phil 1:6). As the poster says: “Be patient with me; God’s not finished with me yet!”

Mark preached on the Beatitudes on Sunday morning from Matthew 5:1-12. Jesus had spent time healing many people and here He moved from the physical realm to attending to people’s spiritual and emotional needs.

The blessings that Jesus talks about here are more than mere happiness. As we experience God’s grace and love in our lives, we truly are blessed!

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
This is not talking about financial poverty, but about the need to look to God for help. God provides for all we need and can use all the resources at His disposal to bless us with every spiritual blessing (see Eph 1:3). There is no deficiency or shortage in God!

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
God comforts us in every situation and is able to bring succour to all who mourn.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meekness is not the same as weakness! Instead, there is a humility, self-discipline, serenity and calmness about those who are meek which will attract others. We should all ‘seek to be meek because it’s not weak’!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
We need to know that spiritual hunger and thirst can be met in God. We need a passion for God, to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and we can be confident that we will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Mercy is shown by our actions – by active compassion and a willingness to love and forgive.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The heart is the centre of all our desires and ambitions. It’s rare to find elements that are 100% pure. Malachi 3 reminds us that God is the refiner and purifier. He is the one who works in our lives to purify us.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. One of the fruit of the Spirit is peace. By being peacemakers we show that we are children of God, that we are ‘in the family business’.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We have all known ridicule or persecution because of our faith at some point. We may not enjoy this, but we can be blessed in the midst of it because we know that such things build us up in God so that we can partake of all that God has for us, on this earth as well as in the one to come.

After a break due to bad weather and Christmas holidays, the Bible studies resumed this week, looking at Romans 2:1-15.

This passage has much to say about judgment and the law, with Paul pointing out that to judge someone and to be guilty of the same thing is obviously wrong. If someone sets themself up as a judge, it doesn’t stop them being judged by God.

The whole area of judging is one that can seem confusing and contradictory. Matt 7 tells us not to judge or we will be judged. Romans 14:10, 13 also tells us not to judge our brother. At the same time, 1 Corinthians 2:15 talks about the spiritual man judging all things, yet he himself is judged by no one.

There is obviously a difference between making a judgment about an action, the results of which may be clearly contrary to Scripture, and making a judgment about a person’s motivation. The spiritual person – one in whom the Spirit of God lives, not someone who is by their own virtue ‘better’ than anyone else! – makes decisions and weighs lots of things: ways to act, what should or should not be done, what is right and wrong to do. Yet there are so many things that we cannot and should not make judgments about, simply because only God knows the heart. We can’t make judgments about another person’s salvation or their standing before the Lord.

We tend to want everything to be black and white and have to at times recognise that God is not simply a God of the monochrome! Passages such as Romans 14 and Colossians 2 point to a diversity of opinions which cannot be dismissed; we should not condemn others, or let them condemn us, simply because we don’t agree on every single point in life. Moreoever, our hearts are deceitful and it’s not always easy to know our own motivation, let alone anyone else’s!

“Every time you criticise someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.
You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” (Romans 2:2-4, The Message)

Let’s keep our eyes on God and make sure we take the plank out of our own eyes before we start looking at the specks in other people’s eyes!