When we were in Whitby this weekend, we visited the Lifeboat Museum. The winds were up and the sea was rough, so it was all too easy to read of the many thousands of lifeboat rescues with an eye that could vividly imagine the pitfalls and perils involved in each rescue.

The RNLI provides a 24/7 search and rescue service every day of the year. The majority of RNLI crews are volunteers. We read about famous rescues in the past, often led by Henry Freeman, in wooden boats that barely looked capable of withstanding the rough seas themselves, let alone rescuing others in danger. We read of one rescue in January where the crew had to drag the boat across deep snow in order to be able to launch at a suitable point. It was awe-inspiring and truly humbling to read of all that these men had accomplished. One such story, the start of Freeman’s career, is told below:

“During a great storm on 9 February 1861, when more than 200 ships were wrecked on the east coast, Whitby’s lifeboat capsized with the loss of all but one of the crew. The men had been attempting to rescue sailors from a stricken collier called Merchant and had put the lifeboat to sea for the sixth time that day.

The only lifeboatman to survive the capsize was Henry Freeman, who was on his first lifeboat launch and is thought to have survived as he was the only man wearing a new design of cork lifejacket. Freeman was awarded an RNLI Silver Medal for his part in the incident and went on to become Whitby’s most renowned lifeboatman, helping to save more than 300 lives during more than 20 years as Whitby RNLI Coxswain.”

And as I stood in the blustery wind surveying the new lifeboat which looked so much more robust than the wooden ones in the museum, I thought of God’s rescue plan, that plan to save mankind, which must have looked pretty rickety to the crowds watching the Crucifixion on that first Good Friday, which did not look at all good. A rescue plan which involved God becoming Man and living a perfect life, submitting to death which had no hold on the Son of Man, so that we, sinful people, could be rescued from certain death. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

“The voice of the LORD is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is powerful;

the voice of the LORD is majestic.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;

the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,

Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD strikes

with flashes of lightning.

The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;

the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD twists the oaks

and strips the forests bare.

And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” ” (Ps 29:3-9)

Whitby in July…

We looked at Romans 9:1-18 in the Bible study, a chapter that has helped shaped Calvinist doctrine over the years and which can, at first glance, appear to paint a picture of a very arbitrary God. God’s sovereignty is indeed stressed in this chapter, but whilst it is true that “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden” (Rom 9:18), there is also plenty of evidence that Paul and others were labouring to reach both the Jews and the Gentiles with the gospel of Christ and that they were entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, convinced that Christ died for all (2 Cor 5.)

It is always difficult for the finite human mind to begin to grasp something of the timeless, eternal God. Paul goes back to look at Israel’s history (the footnote references take us through Genesis, Exodus, Malachi, Hosea and Isaiah, and we also did a mini-Bible study on Esau and Edom which took in Ezekiel as well!) and we see ultimately how God has the foreknowledge that man lacks. Not all those born physically of Abraham’s descendants are spiritual believers; as in so many other places, Paul is at pains to show that faith is required, not mere circumcision. We need to understand that far more than proud heritage is required in order to enter God’s righteousness; instead, we need that submissive, obedient embrace of faith for which Abraham is commended.

Paul’s passion for the lost shines through in the opening verses of this chapter and challenge us, whatever our views on sovereignty, election and predestination. He has ‘great sorrow and unceasing anguish’ in his heart because Israel is not yet saved. “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel,” he declares (Rom 9:3-4). May we, too, burn with that same passion to reach out to those who do not yet know the Lord and may we never become complacent, arrogant or indifferent to the needs of those who have yet to hear and respond to God’s amazing call to repentance.

Whilst musing on paradox, submission and how victory comes through defeat (all while swimming… it’s amazing what thoughts you can have while counting off the lengths… 110 today, if anyone’s interested…), the lyrics of a song I last listened to about seven years ago came into my mind. ‘Magnificent Defeat’ is a song by Wes King, who hasn’t brought out any albums lately because he’s been battling leukaemia. I actually heard him play live a good many years ago and his guitar playing was amazing. This song, though, is reflective and contemplative and reminds me a great deal of Genesis 32, that story when Jacob, about to meet his brother Esau after so many years of estrangement and hostility, wrestles with the angel of the Lord. Funnily enough, the meeting with Esau goes much better than he could ever have hoped for, but it’s this encounter with God which is the most significant thing, because it’s the place where Jacob the schemer and deceiver is given a new name, ‘Israel’, ‘because you have struggled with God’.

Jacob went away from this encounter permanently marked, limping, for his hip socket was wrenched by God. But he knew what it was to win through defeat, for he named the place of the encounter Peniel (face of God), saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Gen 32:30).

Victory really does come through defeat…

Magnificent Defeat (Wes King)
What is my purpose for being here?
I’ve had no burning bush
Or voices in my ear
I have been wandering for all these years
But I’ve seen no manna or angels appear

And now I long for the solace of my soul
I have wandered from pole to pole
Here I lie, broken at Your feet
Rejoicing at this magnificent defeat

I have been wrestling all through the night
The darkness hides the face of the One I fight.
Beloved enemy demands my life and all I am
But then He blesses me and gives it back again

And now I long for the solace of my soul
I have wandered from pole to pole
Here I lie, broken at Your feet
Rejoicing at this magnificent defeat

http://grooveshark.com/#/s/Magnificent+Defeat/2p9mnu?src=5

“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” (1 Cor 1:23)

Our itching ears want to hear
The latest methodology.
We long to discover
The newest novelty, the most innovative technique.
We clamour for metamorphosis,
Craving newness,
Searching for the discovery of
Something revolutionary to turn our world upside-down.

And then we discover Jesus.
We long to find in Him
A raging warrior,
A powerful ally,
A magic healer,
A super-hero.
But instead we discover paradox.

We walk down the lonely path
To Calvary.
To death.
To abandonment.
To a man of sorrows, familiar with grief.
And we discover
The way to life is through death,
The way to victory is through surrender;
The portals that lead to hope
Are edged with the black trim of death,
And the way to life is called love.

Words that seem so insignificant litter this way:
Love, hope, forgiveness, trust.
“Is that it?”
We stand in disillusioned disbelief.
We’d expected more:
A magic formula, a secret recipe,
A stunning farrago of fantasy.
We’d wanted the Hollywood version,
And all we get is a
Crucified Saviour,
Known by the scars?
And these weapons that
‘are not of this world’,
That’s all we have?
Prayer?
Love?
Forgiveness?
Worship?
Preaching?
That’s it?

Offended by the Cross,
Stumbled by the Scandalon,
We are sidelined by the enemy’s seductive lure
That promises peace through prosperity,
That teaches subjugation is the path to fulfilment,
That elevates fear and ridicules faith.
But if we choose the narrow way,
The path leads to freedom.
Paradox opens our eyes.
The centrepiece of Heaven is the Lamb who was slain.
The first shall be last.
The servant shall be master.
The dead shall live.

The way of living offered us
Is wide and spacious and free,
Tardis-like in being much bigger on the inside
Than it appears on the outside.
We can be squinty-eyed in disbelief
Or wide-eyed in wonder.
The choice is ours.
The consequences eternal.

July is obviously a popular month for birthdays in our church!