With Passion

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My friend, Barry, loves running in marathons. Every Saturday he does shorter runs to build up his strength and stamina. Before the big race he eats the right amount of food, has the right amount of sleep and talks about nothing else. He is obsessed.

I have another friend (yes, I have a lot of friends) who knits for charity. It seems babies nowadays seldom wear knitted garments made by loving relatives, so she knits for charity which needs hats, mittens, gloves and scarves. This friend, Pauline, is always knitting wherever she is. At any meeting you can hear the click of her needles, on the phone when you ask her what she is doing, the answer is always, knitting. She is very obsessed with her useful hobby. I know of others who have an obsession like football, baking, gardening, fishing or sailing.

These are all good things, but what is our all-absorbing, time-consuming passion. May it be Christ. May all our thoughts be about Him. May we long to read more about Him in the Bible, listen avidly to sermons and mix with like-minded worshippers. Our closeness to God won’t happen by accident, we need to work on it, we need to practise our faith, We need to be passionate like the early disciples . Then our light will shine before men and we will want to know him more and more.

In a Queue

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It seemed like a simple problem; my newspaper hadn’t been delivered, so I phoned to chase it up. I found myself in a queue which I was told would be one honour and forty minutes Should I give up or hang on? Deciding to hang on rather than hung up, I waited. This then restricted what I could do . I couldn’t make other calls or go out or drive the car. Thank goodness phones are not fitted to the wall like they were when I was young. Nevertheless, my afternoon was quite unprofitable.

God doesn’t put us in a queue. He’s not like that. He knows immediately when we cry out to Him, ‘Lord, what shall I say to this person?’ Straight away I’m given the words. I pray for my friends and their circumstances. My God hears. I am about to make the wrong decisions, God is there. Scripture is full of of God’s promises. ‘When you call on me, I will answer.’ Psalm 91:15. ‘Before they call I will answer. Isaiah 65:24.

By the way I never did receive my newspaper.

He Never Got There.

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When Moses was called by God to lead the people of Israel, he had already experienced many adventures. ‘I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ Exodus 3:10. Moving to Exodus 7:7 we have further evidence that Moses was 80 years old and his brother three years older.

But then it was another forty years that the Israelites had to spend wandering in the wilderness, a journey that should have taken eleven days. Then at the age of 120 God told Moses ‘Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan.’ Deuteronomy 3:27.

Moses never did set foot in the Promised Land. He spent many years looking forward to entering the land that the Israelites had been promised, but because of disobedience it was denied to him and his whole generation.

There are times in our own lives when we can feel like Moses. We spend many years in Christian work and never see its completion. Or we invest much time into the sharing of the gospel with a particular person, but we never see them coming to faith.

We need to remember that God works in His own particular time, which is not ours. He will be the One who works out the completion of our work and witness. Our only task is to be faithful.

All That Is Needed

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A shortage of bread, a shortage of meat and now most important of all, a shortage of water. Exodus 17:1 But the Israelites had another shortage, a shortage of memory. The lack of bread had been solved by God by the provision of manna, the meat shortage had resulted in quail, another provision from God, but now at Rephidim there was no water. The Israelites were having a tough time of it. A trust in God would have saved them so much heart-ache.

In verse, 4 of Exodus 17, Moses is in despair, ‘What am I to do with these people? They are about to stone me.’ As in the past God has the answer. ‘Strike the rock and the water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ verse 6.

Unlike the Israelites, God is consistent and faithful. Consider the hymn ; ‘How firm a foundation, You saints of the Lord’ by Robert Keen.

‘Fear not, I am with you, oh be not dismayed. For I am your God and will still give you aid.’

God has never let us down. Why do we worry about Him failing now? He is true to His promises. He has promised to care for us, to guide us and protect us. Worry is unwarranted. He cannot fail us. Look at all the evidence we have in the Bible – David, Elijah, Gideon, Paul, the apostles. Those listed in Hebrews 11 all put their trust in God, He is ever faithful.

The Reply

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The nurse was bandaging my damaged fingers when I made the comment that I was pleased she had nearly finished as I had a meeting in another town. I should have been ready for her question ‘What sort of meeting? I only hesitated for a moment before I said ‘ A Bible Study.’ Her response was one word followed by by an awkward silence. ‘Oh.’ If I had said a book club or cookery session, there would have been no awkward silence and maybe a comment..

Why does this happen? Are people afraid? Are they being challenged by their sin? If there was just a lack of interest they would probably have made a polite reply.

Mind you, not every reply is like that. I said to a taxi driver one day. ‘I’m going to a Bible Study’ and he quickly asked ‘What is your favourite Bible verse?’ I proved God does give one the words when needed. I was quickly able to quote John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ I then added that the promise was for those who believed and not for those who didn’t. It turned out he had gone to Sunday School as a child, but had neglected Christianity as life progressed. So sad, he didn’t realise what he is missing.

Ecclesiastes

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I had always found Ecclesiastes one of the most difficult books in the Bible to understand. It seemed so downbeat and negative. The message seemed to be that everything is meaningless. That was not what I wanted to hear. Our church had a series of sermons on the book and as there were twelve chapters, I wasn’t looking forward to it. Then our minister gave an explanation which made sense of it all.

If the word ‘meaningless’ is translated as ‘temporary,’ it is more understandable. I think of the friends I had in my teenage years; now that I am in my 80’s, they are all gone. They were good in themselves but they were temporary. They have been replaced by other friends. ‘I applied myself to wisdom……… but I learned that too was chasing after the wind.’ chapter 11:17. Even wisdom is temporary. Only the knowledge of God is eternal.

I tried cheering myself up with other verses, chapter 2:3 ‘I undertook great projects.’ 2:4 ‘I amassed silver and gold for myself 2:8’I hated all the things I had looked for.’ And so it goes on and on, getting worse and worse. Everything is meaningless, except God. It is the permanence and everlastingness of Him that we need.

Alphabet Re-arranger

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People’s job titles can be misleading. What do you think about these job titles?

Field Development Consultant – Waiter

Director of First Impressions – Receptionist

Randomness Manager – Administraror

Alphabet Re-arranger – Writer

Silly really! I don’t like my description of being a alphabet re-arranger, I put my heart and soul into every word I write. It all sounds like a party game one would play with the children. But these days we don’t actually say things as they are. Elaborate words mask the truth and jobs are elevated by their stupid titles.

I’m pleased our Savour is not like that. The Bible says it like it is. We can read, ‘the wages of sin is death.’ Romans 6:23. Not at all ambiguous. The world tells us that we can do anything we want to do if we try hard enough. Not true. We can only do all things through Christ. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengths me.’ Phil 4:13. It is like telling someone to pull themselves up by their own shoelaces. It’s great fun to get children doing this but it does prove the point.

We are told ‘My help comes from the Lord,’ Psalms 121:1. If we can’t sleep we are told to count sheep or more up-to-date, try mindfulness and all will be well. I’d rather turn to the Bible .

This is signed off by the Alphabet Re-arranger,

Carol

His Earthly Father

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Joseph must have been a very special man to have been chosen by God to be the human father of Jesus. We read so little about him in the Bible and historical facts are limited. Yet he was given such an important task, to bring up the Son of God.

Joseph was obviously a spiritual man who listened to the voice of God. How often he must have recalled the words of the angel ,’Do not be afraid.’ Matthew 11. Being a parent of any child is always a daunting experience but this wasn’t just an ordinary child. Was it him or Mary who taught Jesus the scriptures? How strange it would have been to teach the child about Himself!

Then there was His work as a carpenter. The small child needed to be kept safe from the dangerous tools and learn how to use them safely. The items that Jesus made were small at first but increasing in size as His skill progressed.

Jesus worked and had to earn his living as a carpenter Himself until He began His life work. Joseph would have been proud of His skills and dedication to the tasks. Yet we never hear of Joseph building Himself up. One of the most important fathers that ever lived, yet he was content to be in the background. Quite a role model for any father!

Evangelism on the Run

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In Philip we have an example of what an evangelist should be, We read the story in Acts 8. when firstly he was in the place God needed him to be. ‘Go south to the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ verse 26 He didn’t question, he just went. Then he took the initiative when he saw the other traveller. ‘Philip ran up to the chariot.’ verse 30. When he realised the man didn’t understand what he was reading, Philip who knew the scriptures well, explained the relevant passage.

He didn’t have time to consult a concordance. ‘Philip again with that very passage of scripture told him the good news about Jesus.’ verse 35. Philip didn’t wait for the next Christianity Explored. ‘He told him the good news.’ Nor did he hesitate when a pool of water was found. and the man suggested baptism. Then it wasn’t time for Philip to hang about for further instructions or to be congratulated. The Spirit of the Lord whisked him away.’ verse 39. His work wasn’t over, there were other Ethiopians to be met.

We need to be on the alert always, we never know when an opportunity will arise when we can speak about out God. A friend of mine says that whenever she leaves her house she is on the mission field.

Time

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We are all governed by time from the moment we are born until the day we die. Most of us know our day of birth and the day of death is recorded on death certificates. Between those times everything is ruled by time. Having to be at school at a certain time, appointments and visits to the doctor needs to be spaced out and patients given an appointment time. My life at the moment is trying to get back to the parked car before the traffic warden.

In our time-driven world it is almost impossible to think of there being no time. For ever and ever is a thought alien to us. ‘A thousand ages in Your sight are like an evening gone.’ Isaac Watts. A thousand ages is like no time at all to You, Lord, even if You were governed by time. There was no beginning of time and there is no end. What an strange but joyful thought if we spend eternity with you. There will be no pain, parting or tears. I like idea that there will no sin either. It’s quite beyond our comprehension. ‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ Psalm 23:6 Wonderful!