No Snow Here.

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I was looking out of my window when it suddenly started to snow heavily. Not a strange thing in the middle of March in the north of England. Just as suddenly the snow stopped. Later in the day I was speaking to my friend Mary who only lived 100 yards away. ‘There’s been no snow here,’ she told me in no uncertain terms

That got me thinking. My experience had been so different from Mary’s. I had had the snow, Mary hadn’t. In the same way my highs and lows of life are different from Mary’s and also from my other friends. We are all individuals and the wonderful thing is God treats us all according to our needs. He doesn’t treat us the same. He answers our own particular prayers, sees our own worries and rejoices in our different joys. It is true to say ‘The Lord is MY shepherd.’

Crumbs!

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As I blogged to you the other, Jesus didn’t just do miracles, He did them over the top. Jesus and His disciples were faced with five thousand hungry people. I know we’ve read it many times before but the five loaves of bread and two fishes were turned into a meal for everyone and ‘they were satisfied.’ We know that’s not the end of the story. ‘Twelves baskets of broken pieces were left over.’ Did the people drop crusts of bread and pieces of fish in their eagerness to eat? At least there was no plastic in those days so there was no litter!

Twelve baskets of pieces left over, another miracle. Jesus didn’t just give enough food, He gave over and above. In the quiet of the evening did the birds come down for their evening meal and did the lepers come out of their hiding places? Both would have been fed. I praise God for the abundance of His feast.

No Mud

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I remember as a child playing out for hours in the lanes and fields round my house. We seemed quite safe in those days. One of our favourite pastimes was damming up a small stream. It took a lot of hard work to stop the flow of water. Then we would scrabble about in the remaining mud getting our socks and shoes very dirty. My mother must have despaired of my daily muddy socks.

There was no such trouble with Joshua and the Jordan. As soon as the priests carrying the ark stepped into the water the flow stopped and built up at the town of Adam. I wonder whether the water flooded the town or whether it stood there like a block of ice. Then the Israelites walked through on dry ground. It seemed to dry up immediately. Not like my dammed-up stream. Can you imagine how muddy the ground would have been trampled on by thousands of Israelite feet! When God does a miracle, He does it 100%.

St Patrick’s Day

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I am struck by the fact that Patrick went back to Ireland to minister to the very people who had held him as a slave. How often have would-be missionaries have said to God ‘I’ll go anywhere in the world to be a missionary except Africa.’ And that was the very place God sent them. I had this experience when there were two people in my life whom I found very difficult to get on with, only to find that they were the very people who I had been teamed up with. In due course both these people became good friends.

It is as if God is saying to us that He wants all of us with nothing held back. I can only pray that I’ve learned this lesson and make myself more available to Him.

The Water Carrier

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“It’s Passover time again. My master has asked me to prepare a room for thirteen people. The next instruction he gave me was a strange one. I had to walk through the city carrying a jar of water. I would be approached by two men who would follow me to the house and then would ask my master ‘ The teacher asks where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples.’ “

“It happened just as he said and I recognised the two disciples of the man who they are calling the Messiah. So we had this great man dining in our house. I didn’t actually see him that day but I was terribly sad later when I heard he had been crucified. I thought he was a good man.”

“The rumour was, or was it the truth, was that he had risen from the dead on the third day. I am now seriously asking, was he the Messiah? I few weeks later I heard that he had ‘gone up into heaven’. I think I need to find out more about this man, or maybe Messiah.”

Anointed

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As Jesus travelled up to Jerusalem for the last time before His death on the cross, because He was both human and divine He would have had double dread and agony for the trials that awaited Him. His earthy part would have shrunk away from the coming horror; His divine part would have set His face steadfastly towards Jerusalem; God’s will would be done.

Then at Bethany He was met by the woman with an alabaster jar of this very expensive perfume. Because of her extreme love and devotion towards Jesus she broke it open and poured it over His head. With her overwhelming love I can imagine she shook the jar so that Jesus received every last drop of the fragrant perfume. She had found the Messiah, nothing and no-one would stop her.

In this story we often think about the woman, but this morning I want to think about the difference this act would have meant to Jesus. In this very last week before the crucifixion, He went to the cross having received this great love. As He hung on the cross I wonder if He remembered the action of this woman as the aroma of the perfume mingled with the sweat ran down His face.

Begging or Claiming

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I wonder if the cripple who was begging at the Gate Beautiful in Acts 3 thought this was an appropriate name for it. Apparently it was a large bronze-sheathed gate elsewhere called Nicanor Gate, leading from the court of the Gentiles to the court of women. To this poor man it was just the best place to beg. Having been carried there each day by his friends he would hopefully scan the faces of those passing by. His only thought was begging not healing.

There must be times when we are just scrabbling round in the dust when we could be reaching for the stars. Our God has control and ownership of everything which He longs to share with us. May we gladly receive His gifts.

Prayerful Sleep

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I am blessed with sleeping soundly nearly every night. Even so I tend to wake up about four o clock and then finding it difficult to get back to sleep. I have now found a remedy.

When I wake I purposefully start to pray. I have a short list of people on my mind who I’ve not had time to pray for during the day. I never pray for myself or my problems at this time, only for others. Many nights I fall asleep before I get through the list. I then have to finish the prays before I get up in the morning. I’m sure God doesn’t mind me falling asleep as I have been spending time talking to Him. Maybe I’m doing what Paul says ‘Pray without ceasing.’

Fasting

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I’ve not grown up with a history of spiritual fasting but recently I have become more interested. This is because when my church fasted ahead of some big decisions I had reason to think about it for myself. One reason for fasting is seeking repentance. This happens in 1 Samuel 7:6 where, commanded by Samuel the people of Israel needed to repent before God after they had turned their backs on Him.

Another reason for fasting is when seeking guidance as was the case with my church at this time. In Nehemiah 1:4, the prophet on hearing the news of destruction in Jerusalem sat down and wept and fasted.

When a revelation from God is desired the people can fast in order to seek His will for them.The disciples of John the Baptist fasted and prayed as we see in Luke 5:33 in preparation for what was ahead of them. Jesus told the Pharisees that His disciples would fast when He was taken away from them which would be in preparation for their future ordeals.

Fasting is not a way of manipulating God but of drawing closer to Him.

Renewed

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‘Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.’ 2 Corinthians 4:16

This is one of my favourite Biblical verses. Having suffered with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) for twenty-seven years, I do struggle with my health daily. But these words are a tremendous encouragement to me. It is not my body that matters, that is passing and fleeting. When I have forced periods of rest I have time to pray for others, God has time to speak to me and I have time to listen. I am more tolerant of others who are ill.

I would like to think that daily I am growing nearer to God in wisdom and understanding. He is continually teaching me new things. The time is coming when I will not need this body; my soul and spirit will be all that remains. They are what is required by God.