Saturday, February 17, 2024

Love Wins!

It's only the second week of February but the early signs of Spring are all around us here in Guernsey. Bulbs which have been hiding under the dark cold ground for months are starting to bring colour, vibrancy and hope to our wind blasted gardens and hedgerows. These early signs of Spring are really heartening, giving us the sense that better days lie ahead. The cold dark season we are in will not last for ever. The seeds of renewal may lie hidden, but their power to break through is irresistible. 

It's important to have hope in the darkness, expectation instead of dread, and a sense that the future God has planned for us will be so much better than the barren winter barely passing. In our wider world there is such sadness. As I write, the death of a prominent Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has shocked and saddened the western world. Images of his bereaved wife and children add to the sense of profound sorrow being felt by millions. There is a cold, barren emptiness in a large swathe of Eastern Europe as the war in Ukraine rages on, and lives are being lost in the battle against tyranny. Elsewhere, in Israel and Gaza there is such huge sadness as we witness the wanton death and destruction being wrought and their impact on ordinary men, women and children on both sides. Can there be any bulbs of hope beneath this dreadful soil?

As Christians, our hope is in God. He is not finished with us yet and is working out his plan in these end-times through all the earth, whether in East or West. There may be times in our lives when we fear that our cause is futile, our case hopeless. I felt that over the long years of my chronic illness. Sometimes it just feels like the weight and fire-power of our enemy is overwhelming. The price of hanging on and persevering can seem too high. Don’t give up! God is on our side. The enemy of our souls may gloat over temporary or even long-term advances against us, but the end of the story is clear. Love wins, God wins, goodness triumphs over evil! Hang in there!

 

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Feeling Between a Rock & a Hard Place?

 

Are you feeling like you're between a rock and a hard place? Well, welcome to 'Twixmas' - that annual period between Christmas and the New Year holidays when everything seems to shut down! The glories of the festive season are behind us now, and the wonder and nostalgia that coloured the whole period in pastel shades of emotion and reminiscence, are past. In their place is the nagging feeling that we may have overdone it in the eating or drinking department, or both, and certainly the awareness that our wallets are a great deal lighter than they were a month ago! Hmm, the real reason for the season may be slipping away like a burning sunset - glorious in its time but hard to take into the next day.

And then there's the future, growing and growling before us like some kind of new family pet - will it bite us or be the best friend we have ever had? And what about this enormous number - 2024? Where did that come from? They just don't make these years the same size as they used to. I have only just got used to putting a 20 instead of a 19 in front of my year dates and suddenly we are nearly a quarter of the way through a new century! And just like the last one, it is marked by wars and rumours of wars, pandemics, eruptions, earthquakes and the enemy that eats holes in all our purses - inflation. 

The past and the future do loom over us and can make us very afraid. Thankfully there are resources that we can take hold of, even in this in-between period that can be so scary. For the past we need to discover the power of forgiveness. We need it for ourselves in case we feel that we could have done better. But we also need a store of it to give away. Forgiveness only really works if you share it. Being forgiven is not a solo sport. Getting to know Jesus brings us closer to the biggest store of forgiveness in the universe. His doors don't just open on Boxing Day for the sales, they are wide open the whole year round. 

And for the future? Well, there's a ready source of wisdom and help to face all that lies ahead in the book that is still the world's best seller - the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 was written to Israel hundreds of years ago, but gives us insight into how God wants to help us face all that's coming: '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'. And then there is one of the most reassuring verses in the book of Psalms, 37:5 'Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you'.

So, this 'Twixmas', and as we prepare to face the New Year whatever it might bring, why not give God your past and your future, and see what he can do with them. When stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only thing you can really do is look up!

Friday, November 24, 2023

Another Visit from the Prince of Peace Needed Here

As Israel and Hamas enter a period of truce for a few days in Gaza, the loved-ones of the more than 240 hostages being held by the terror group and their allies will be holding their breath. A glimmer of hope breaks over the battlefield like the sun used to rise over the smoking ruins of past European wars to reveal the devastation that war inevitably brings. After the dreadful horrors of October 7th and the incessant pounding of the enclave of Gaza that followed, these few days of peace must seem like a foreign country. Thousands have buried their much loved relatives on both sides, but it may be generations before their hatred and resentment is buried, unless someone or something intervenes.

And that intervention is preciseley why Jesus came. In one of the many ancient prophecies concerning his coming he was called 'the Prince of Peace'. Here is the verse from Isaiah chapter 9:6, 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.


So, how can we pray about this terrible conflict in the Middle East? Firstly the Bible urges us to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' in Psalm 122:6. This must mean to pray for the leaders involved in making decisions about this war, but also to really pray for the followers of Christ who live on both sides of the conflict - Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians. Then, as we approach Christmas, pray that the Lord will break through the desire for revenge, and the fog of hatred and violence, to bring about some kind of reconciliation, however distant that may seem at the moment.

Those of us who read our Bibles expecting that Jesus Christ will return soon to a world tearing itself apart with wars and rumours of wars, and being shaken by earthquakes and pandemics, are also praying that many millions more will hear the good news, the gospel, about Jesus and by believing be added to his family before he comes. In the words of the last book of the Bible, 'Amen. Come Lord Jesus!'

Saturday, November 04, 2023

Dealing with the Hurry Wasp

One day recently I got into my car and turned to drive up the road outside our house in Guernsey and surprisingly joined a queue of cars that appeared to be waiting for something large and slow to come down the hill. After a few minutes of gulping in fumes and fighting my own frustration, down the hill with a gentle clip-clop came the wonderful spectacle of a horse and buggy, with two amiable older gentlemen chatting to one another. Behind them a long line of approaching cars and vans was being forced to slow down and proceed at nineteenth century speed! I feared the worst and thought that someone was going to start sounding their horn, perhaps scaring the poor horse, but I was in for a surprise.

As the procession passed me I wound down my window and switched off my engine just to appreciate the moment more fully. The sweet sound of the horse’s clopping and the gentle rumble of the cartwheels filled my car, together with the friendly banter of the men. For a few seconds I was transported to an earlier quieter age. It was a precious moment of sanity. When I restarted my car and moved on past the approaching line-up of cart-followers, my expectation of angry and frustrated fellow drivers was dispersed. All I got was smiles and kindly looks, with people pointing forward at the lovely anachronism that was hindering their progress. It was as if the apparition from yesteryear was healing something in our crazily hurried culture. It had sutured a wound caused by all our rushing about, even if just for a few moments.

In John Mark Comer’s excellent book ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ he points out that Jesus and his band of followers only ever moved about at walking pace and yet they achieved so much in such a short space of time. Jesus also built times of solitude and prayer into his routine and his journeys around first century Israel, often rising before dawn to pray. Perhaps we were never designed to dash about like we do, driven more by deadlines, demands and diesel than by love, hope and peace! Is it realistic to ask us to slow down though? How will we get our work done? We are not ungrateful for the technology that enables us to get through our days, but the gadgets and tools that we once thought would give us more time have actually stolen it like scammers syphoning away our spiritual savings. We may be rich in technological resources, but we have become poorer in spirit.

Two women in the New Testament illustrate this well. One of them was dashing around her kitchen just when Jesus called to have a chat with her and her sister. Martha is described as being ‘distracted by all the preparations that had to be made’ (Luke 10) whereas her sister Mary found space to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what he had to say. When the over-busy Matha moaned to the Lord about her sister not pulling her weight, Jesus chastised her for being worried and upset about many things and reminded her that Mary had chosen what is better – she had elected to be in listening mode. This has to be a choice and takes effort. Finding time for a place of quiet and fellowship with Christ can be restorative and refreshing but is something we need to prioritise if it is to happen at all.

Maybe we all need to wind down our window and switch off our engine from time to time and adopt the listening mode exemplified by Mary. Without it, the hurry wasp will have us swatting the air and dashing about like mad things, perhaps doing plenty but achieving little of lasting value.


 

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

An Old Guy Trying to Get Through!

As I approached a bend in the narrow Guernsey lane where I had gone walking this week, a dense cloud of mainly sand and grit billowed out from the building site that was a centuries-old farmhouse, filling the roadway ahead. A workman in a spacesuit-like protective kit was sand-blasting the ancient walls in a picture of contrasts. I was about to turn back instead of entering the threatening swirl of choking detritus when a fellow workman switched off the powerful engine of the sand-blaster, shouting to the spaceman ‘Hang on - there’s an old guy who wants to get through’!

I looked all around me to see this old chap but nobody else was waiting so he must have meant me. At 71 I felt a bit miffed at his description and wondered if it really was that obvious that I am getting older, but after I passed the obstruction, and the spaceman resumed his forced removal of centuries of grime, I reflected on what had been said. I am an old guy who wants to get through! I want to get through what is probably the autumn of my life without losing my sense of God’s leading me every day, and the effectiveness of serving God’s purpose and destiny for my being here. 

A few days ago we returned from a week’s holiday in Majorca, rejoicing in the direct flights now available from our island to theirs in the Mediterranean. In the resort were huge date palm trees, soaring high into the Majorcan sky and heavy with fruit. In our hotel room we read together the verses of Psalm 92:12-14 where it says that God’s people will be like palm trees, bearing fruit in their old age. Date palms are usually quite old before they start bearing fruit and can even be laden with dates after they're 80 years old!

So, how can we older folk remain fruitful and ‘get through’ these challenging times? Well, we can remain grounded in faith and relationship with God just like the strong root systems of Middle-Eastern date palms. We can choose daily to live with faith, hope, and love, not bitterness, resentment, and regret. Having faith and hope can be tough as our bodies decay and our thinking processes slow down,  but we choose to press through the clouds of difficulty and keep trusting God and His Word (the Bible).

We also have an important place as mentors and role models for younger Christians. To mentor someone is to draw alongside them with words of encouragement, offering support and confidence when things are hard for them. It is too easy to criticise and lecture young folk as the years go by, when God’s calling on us is to gently lead and inspire by our example and loving patience and perseverance.

And then we can pray. I heard recently from a lady in her 80’s who recently led a prayer team at the Limitless Youth Conference organised by the Elim Churches in the UK at which thousands of young people gathered this summer to celebrate their faith and worship together as well as have great fun. During those few days over 600 young folk made first-time commitments to follow Christ and the prayer team were kept busy praying for youngsters with many problems in the prayer tent. She may be old, but she is most definitely still trying to get through!

So, if you are confronted with a barrier due to age or infirmity, I just want to encourage you to believe that, as a retired minister friend of mine said to me recently, ‘If you’re not dead, you’re not done yet’. There is still a work for Jesus that no one but you can do. As for me – well there is an old guy here waiting to get through!


 

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Worn out before they're worn?

Do you want a pair of jeans with the holes already there? Fancy buying something that is old before its time - worn out before it's been worn? I couldn't help taking this picture of the shop window at Primark in Newcastle this week. Of course I know that torn jeans are 'in fashion' and that pre-ripped clothing is nothing new, but it just struck me as funny that the shopkeeper thinks that tatty and torn goods are a great advert for his store! It is almost like he or she is proud of their already rubbished clothing!

That started me thinking about why pre-torn fashion may have caught on. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn't help but notice how scruffily most people were dressed all around me, including in church! Don't get me wrong - I welcome casual clothing and dressing down in preference to all the pretend preening of yesteryear - but I sense an issue especially for the young in this latest trend.

I am concerned that just as 'power dressing' can make you feel good about yourself and boost confidence, pre-ripped and faded clothing can have the opposite effect on the wearer. It is almost as if they are saying 'this is all I'm worth'. That's wrong, of course, because these young people are of infinite worth to God and special in his eyes, but is that how they see themselves?

When denim jeans were first invented by Levi Strauss and Jacob David in the USA in the early 1870's they were a really welcome invention for the factory workers on the East Coast, farmers in the midwest, and miners on the West Coast. Typically during this period, if you saw rips or any type of holes in jeans it wasn’t really a fashion statement. It was literally a sign that these people did manual labour and were below the poverty line. Apparently, wearing torn and “holey” denim pants didn’t become a fashion statement until the 1970s, when jeans were commandeered by the punk rock movement. There followed an 'anti-fashion' surge in the US which held to the notion of not caring what clothes you wore. From that, ripped clothing became associated with protest and social anarchy. That all seems to be common on this side of the Pond today too!

If you or your teenagers need ventilation in their trousers I wouldn't worry too much, but I would recommend making sure that they know they are loved and valued just as they are. Young people use up a lot of emotional fuel as they go through their pressurised lives, and their tanks get empty quickly. Hugs and assurances of love and care, may not influence their choice of clothing, but might make a big difference to what goes on under the surface of their hearts!

And they're free!
 

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Better than Chips at Cobo!

This is Diane and me preparing to contemplate a Guernsey sunset at a glorious place on the West coast of the island called Cobo (pronounced like 'oboe' with a 'C'). Despite how it looks, we really hadn't fallen out as there was a picnic basket between us on the bench and we were eating fish and chips bought from Cobo Chippy - a local delicacy! (https://www.facebook.com/Cobofishbar)! They were wonderful as usual. It had been a hard day, especially for Diane, as we had been at the burial of her dear sister Angela in the morning, and then taking part in a service of thanksgiving for Ange's life in the afternoon.

Sunsets at Cobo are famous. They are such an inspiring way to end a difficult day. They also mean that someone else to the West of us is still enjoying their day, or else waking up to a brand new start. The writer of the hymn 'The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended' knew this:

The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren 'neath the western sky
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high

As over each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day
The voice of prayer is never silent
Nor dies the strain of praise away

For Angela, whose trust in God was vital and strong, her day goes on. Just as the setting sun for us becomes the rising sun for others, so the world she inhabits now is totally different from the one blighted by disease and dementia that she has left. It's not the end, but rather the beginning of a brand new day, seeing Jesus and serving Him, like she did when she was well, and even more so in the company of the saints.

So, although there is an element of loss and regret as the sun 'bids us rest', we take heart in the promise and hope to which it points. As St Paul says in his letter to the Christians in Rome: 'If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us' (Romans 6:6-9 The Message). 

Now that's even better than chips at Cobo!