Many of us are rightly concerned with our physical health, believing that a change to our diet and healthy eating and more physical exercise are beneficial to us. This is commendable and requires discipline and commitment. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say, and for us to effect changes in our lifestyles requires determination and perseverance.

Paul is aware that physical training has some value, but reminds us that ‘godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’ (1 Tim 4:8) The Message version says, ‘Exercise daily in God – no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.’

Just as a healthy life is helped by rest, good diet, exercises and saying ‘no’ to all that is unhealthy (such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and drugs), there are basic spiritual disciplines we must pursue to increase our spiritual fitness:

1. prayer
2. reading, studying and memorising the Bible
3. fellowship with other Christians
4. witness – telling other people about God

Without these disciplines, our lives will lack the nutrients we need, the exercise we require (stepping out in faith is great for getting an increased heart rate!) and the good practices of listening to and responding to God which provide the sustenance and direction we need.

At last night’s prayer meeting we were challenged by Matthew West’s song to ‘Do Something.’ (You can listen to the song here.) So often, we pray, ‘God, do something!‘ and there are many things only God can do, but at the same time, He has created us to do something too: to be salt and light in our communities, to be a city on a hill (Matt 5:13-16).

There is so much individuals and churches can do. We need to ask God to fan into flame the gifts He has given us and help us to know how we can serve Him best. That might be through existing church ministries: serving drinks at the coffee morning on Saturdays, helping with the youth club on Monday evenings, helping at the Parent & Todder group on Friday mornings or teaching children at Sunday School on Sundays. But it may well mean stepping out of our comfort zones to do something new: helping at one of the ‘Churches Together’ events, perhaps, or starting something new because God is calling you to ‘do something’. Many, many people are helped because individuals responded to God’s call to get involved, to do something for the poor, the homeless, the sick, the marginalised. Let’s pray and seek God for what He wants each one of us to do, for He created us to be His hands and feet that are actively working to show His love. God’s primary tool for helping the world is the church. What can YOU do?

The sign at the door of the Grove Nursing Home in Thurnscoe says ‘to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.’ This is a place which cares for the sick and elderly, including those suffering from dementia. It is a challenging place to visit, for it is a place where people often seem to be just existing, rather than living, a place where life can seem very pointless. Yet the love, care and hope which radiate from that place are inspirational.

It can be difficult to believe in tomorrow at times when today is ‘cumbered with a load of care.’ It requires faith to believe God can change situations and give us a bright future when adversity, pain, suffering and old age frame today.

Just as to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow – for when first planted, the garden looks barren and insignificant, nothing like the flurry of colour and fruitfulness which will later emerge – so too Jeremiah acted out a parable of faith when he bought the field at Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel before the exile of Israel (Jer 32:1-25). Jeremiah knew the exile was coming and would last a whole generation (seventy years), but he also trusted in a God whose purposes were great and whose deeds were mighty. (Jer 32:19) He was secure in the past miracles of God and knew these continued in the present. (Jer 32:20-21) He knw that despite the message of judgment he brought to God’s people, God’s plans were still positive (Jer 29:11) and that the new covenant relationships was one where ‘they will be my people and I will be their God.’ (Jer 32:38) In essence, Jeremiah believed in tomorrow because he knew God’s heart. He knew that fields would once again be bought (Jer 32:43-44) and that God would restore HIs people’s fortunes. (Jer 32:44)

The simple act of buying a field spoke volumes. There is always hope in God.

A reluctant birthday celebration tonight?!

Life can often feel like a quicksand; the more we strive to reach solid ground, the less secure we feel. Ps 125:1 reminds us that those who trust in God are like Mount Zion which cannot be shaken. Our trust in God ultimately helps us to be lifted from the slimy pit, the mud and the mire, and placed on solid ground (see Ps 40:1). God’s intention is for us to be steadfast and immovable. Paul reminded the Corinthians ‘stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ (1 Cor 15:58)

The hymn reminds us that ‘on Christ the solid rock I stand/ All other ground is sinking sand.’  (You can listen to a modern version of this here.) Jesus reminded us that we have to be careful about building our lives on solid foundations (see Matt 7:24-27), but there are times when it feels we cannot help but sink. In those times, the ‘four Ls’ remind us of strategies for coping with difficult circumstances:

1. Look beyond yourself and your circumstances – look up to God (see Col 3:1-2). Looking down or looking around never solves any problems.

2. Let your mind focus on the greatness of God – we often tend to focus on the size of our problems, but need to keep a right view of God as sovereign and almighty if we are to resist sinking under.

3. Listen to God – not to the many other voices clamouring for our attention. Listening is never a passive art, for we must also believe God’s promises and act on them (‘standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour’). James reminds us that we must not be simply hearers of the word, but doers.(James 1:19-25) We need to act on God’s promises and hold fast to them.

4. Live with a total conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord – acknowledging His supremacy, sovereignty and security. This may well mean holding on in faith, for so often our visible circumstances do not match what our faith tells us. Ultimately, we are not called to accept Christ as Saviour; we are called to make Him Lord of our lives and He then saves us, rescues us and delivers us. If our lives are built on solid rock, we will not sink.

Yan Hadley spoke tonight on Psalm 121 on the subject of standing firm when life is sinking fast. Our society seems to be sinking in many ways – morally, spiritually, politically and socially, and as individuals, we often feel as though we are sinking when circumstances overwhelm us. The ‘four Ls’ of Psalm 121 give us hope in such difficult times and teach us how to stand firm.

1. Look Beyond Yourself & Your Circumstances

The psalmist lifts his eyes up to God and realises that attitudes matter. Self-effort, self-pity and self-centredness are the result of only looking to ourselves for solutions; ultimately, we need to look up to God in order to have a right perspective. Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:17) demonstrate the need for a spiritual perspective when we face opposition: the servant saw only the human forces arrayed against them, but Elisha could see the invisible forces of God which were there to protect and help. Similarly, Stephen, even when being stoned to death, could look up to heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55) Jesus is our ultimate example in looking beyond the circumstances (Heb 12:2), seeing not simply the scorn and shame of the cross but the joy of the salvation His sacrifice would provide. When we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances, praising and worshipping God and using the gift of tongues to soak ourselves in God, we find that a changed perspective gives us strength in God.

2. Let Your Mind Focus on the Greatness of God

The psalmist realised his help came from God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Our God is the Sovereign Lord and nothing is too difficult for Him. (Jer 32:17) We need to focus our minds on God, for a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways (Js 1:8) – spiritual schizophrenia is no help to us in trouble! We need God’s help and strength, and God promises to hear and answer us. (Jer 33:3) Is 9:6 reminds us who our God is:  ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ (who gives us the right answer because He knows all about the problems), ‘Mighty God’ (who has the power to help us), ‘Everlasting Father‘ (who has the willingness to help us because we are His children) and ‘Prince of Peace’ (who can help us not to panic, see Is 26:3)

3. Listen to God

We need to listen to God and believe the promises He gives us in His word. There are so many other voices vying for our attention (rational thinking, feelings, circumstances, other people etc.) but we need to listen to God and meditate on His promises. God is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19) and all His promises are ‘Yes’ in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). These are some of the promises Yan reminded us of:

• forgiveness to deal with sin and guilt (1 Jn 1:9)
• healing to deal with illness (Ps 103:3)
• deliverance to set us free from bondage (Ps 34:19)
• provision to care for our every need (Phil 4:19)
• guidance to lead us through uncertainty (Prov 3:6)
• confidence that God will sustain us (Ps 55:2)

4. Live with a Total Conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Ps 121 repeatedly talks about the Lord and Phil 2 reminds us that God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given Him the name above every name. No matter what the name of our problem which is causing us to sink, Jesus is greather than that name. God is in control. As we focus on the supremacy and sovereignty of God (Rom 8:28), God brings security into ur lives, enabling us to stand in His mighty power (Eph 6:10).