It's an ill wind

There is an old saying “it’s an ill wind that blows no good.” Well we have had an ill wind blowing across the UK recently, bringing with it tons of ash from a volcano in Iceland. The outcome of this is that thousands of people have been stranded abroad and thousands more been prevented from going on holiday – I am one of the latter. Instead of sitting in my study typing, I should be sitting on a ship in the Mediterranean and anticipating a visit to Ephesus and to Athens.

I have yet to find out about anyone who claims this event has brought them good. Time will tell if the old saying proves true. I believe it will.

More importantly for me is that Romans 8:28 states: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This I believe to be true and I look back over the years and see how it has worked out in my life. I also believe in the truth of Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The volcano eruption is being described as an act of God – and so it is. It is God who orders these events (Job 37 and 38 makes this clear). The eruption is no accident, no freak of nature, no product of human intervention. God has done it – and done it for a purpose. I don’t know what that is – nor am I going to make a suggestion!

I’m disappointed not to be where I planned to be – but I am happy that God knows, that He plans, that He understands, that He is in control of the forces of nature and of my life. As the old hymn says: “I am not skilled to understand, what God has willed what God has planned, I only know at his right hand is one who is my Saviour.”

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath

I preached on prayer this morning from Colossians 4:2 "devote yourslves to prayer." Confessing that I was preaching to myself. This old hymn reminds us (amongst other things) that Jesus was our great example in prayer.

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, expressed in thought or word;
the burning of a hidden fire, a longing for the Lord.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear,
the upward glancing of an eye, when none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try;
prayer the sublimest strains that reach the Majesty on high.

Prayer is the contrite sinners' voice, returning from their way,
while angels in their songs rejoice and cry, "Behold, they pray!"

Prayer is the secret battleground where victories are won;
by prayer the will of God is found and work for Him begun.

Prayer is the Christians' vital breath, the Christians' native air;
their watchword at the gates of death; they enter heaven with prayer.

Jesus, by whom we come to God, the Life, the Truth, the Way:
the path of prayer thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray!

May we learn from him and also remember that we are praying to the sovereign Lord.

God is....

I am grateful to Tim Chester for this gem of an insight:

1. God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
2. God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
3. God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
4. God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves

Our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with songs of joy

Since I woke up this morning I have been trying to convince myself that I didn't dream last night that England won the Ashes....it has actually happened (and with a day to spare). After the tears and despair of Headingly, there was resounding joy at The Oval.

Psalm 126 tells of the joy of the people returning from Babylon to Jerusalem - tears of despair had turned to tears of joy. They were beside themselves with happiness and laughter. They felt like they were in a dream - the impossible had happened. They rejoiced and sang "The Lord has done great things for us."

A timely reminder to look back and rejoice at what God has done in our lives.

Think of all the blessings of knowing Jesus....and it's not a dream - it's real!

The Gospel Coalition

In case you have missed this.
Check out: www.thegospelcoalition.org/
Adrian Warnock has quite a bit of info on his site: www.adrianwarnock.com

Developing a passion for the beauty of God

Sam Storms

One of today’s readings in ‘Cover to Cover’ was Psalm 25 and number of things stood out to me as I read.

It starts: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God”
and it continues: “you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.”
It states: “you are good, O Lord”
and ends: “My eyes are ever on the Lord” and “my hope is in you.”

It was a reminder to me, that whatever my circumstances, my eyes should be on the Lord.

I then went on to read a page or two in Sam Storm’s book “One thing – Developing a passion for the Beauty of God.”

He writes that we were made to be:
Enchanted…enamoured…engrossed with God
Enthralled…enraptured…entranced with God
Enravished…excited…enticed with God
Astonished…amazed…awed with God
Astounded…absorbed…agog with God
Beguiled and bedazzled
Startled and staggered
Smitten and stunned
Stupefied and spellbound
Charmed and consumed
Thrilled and thunderstruck
Obsessed and preoccupied
Intrigued and impassioned
Overwhelmed and overwrought
Gripped and rapt
Enthused and electrified
Tantalized, mesmerised and monopolised
Fascinated, captivated, intoxicated, infatuated and exhilarated…with God!

He goes on to say this:
“I often try to envision what my life would be like if this were an accurate description of my relationship with God. I suspect I would find it much more difficult to sin than I now do. I imagine that reading the Bible would never be remotely boring. I trust that I would display an uncommon boldness and courage in sharing Christ with my unsaved neighbours. I believe I would be less enamoured with the glamour of Hollywood and the allure of Wall Street and find that generosity for those in need would come far more easily than it does today. And I am certain that my worship would be theologically precise, physically expressive, emotionally intense, and filled with passion, intimacy, and an extravagance like that of Mary’s when she poured the alabaster vial of expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus.”

Too often we focus our attention on ourselves and our activities – on what we are doing for God and trying harder to do things for God, when really we should focus our attention on our relationship with God, on keeping the first commandment, of lifting up our soul to God, of keeping our eyes upon Him, of developing a passion for the beauty of God.

I am who I am because....

This is my wife’s first photograph with her new camera. It is yours truly at Gatwick airport waiting ‘patiently’ for our flight to go on holiday. I was actually making a note of a large advertisement for a mobile phone company. It read “I am who I am because of everyone.”

The meaning of this as an advertisement for a mobile phone was lost on me, but I was intrigued by this message. Am I am who I am because of everyone? I don’t think so!

Certainly the apostle Paul would not have said: “I am who I am because of everyone.”

Paul never forgot his past and in 1 Corinthians 15 wrote: For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

This applies to all of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour – well we have probably not worked as hard as Paul and maybe we didn’t persecute the church, but we can say “by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Question is: do we? Or do we think of our own efforts with a certain pride?