Need a hug today?

I spent a few days as a patient in my local hospital a few months ago and watched a very moving scene. I was near the nursing station and opposite me was a bay containing a couple of elderly men obviously struggling with the effects of dementia. One of them was very vocal, night and day, much to the annoyance of others. He was also quite mobile, wandering the unit and bothering staff and patients alike in his confusion.

One morning he was standing unsteadily beside his bed obviously trying to dress himself and failing to manage the buttons on a shirt. I watched as a young nurse, dressed in the dark blue of a senior staff nurse, placed herself directly in front of him, taking the time to button up each one of them for him. Unexpectedly, she then reached out to embrace him and hugged him at length as if he was her own father! I was deeply moved by the demonstration of such love from this skilled professional, and the patient seemed strangely quietened and comforted by it too. The hug was not prescribed medicine, but it did appear to be effective. It was care without reserve, compassion without embarrassment. 

Human beings thrive on physical connections, and hugging is one of the most powerful ways to show physical support. Babies do well when they are touched and held. It appears that there is no better way of showing them our love and care, helping them to feel protected and cherished. This continues through life, even though the traditional British stiff upper lip of years ago played down the importance of outward displays of affection. 

Some studies have shown that hugging and being hugged can relieve stress levels, even lowering blood pressure. It can also boost self-esteem at all stages in life, and in the case of the nurse even managed to convey her compassion and love when the normal faculties had been reduced by the scourge of dementia. A hug can also communicate feelings of safety, love, and connection to a greater community. When we are feeling down or lost, a hug can help ground us and remind us that we belong.

Hugging improves relationships. This is largely because it is another form of communication that can transmit messages and feelings that words can’t. It’s a deeper, more intimate level of connection that you simply don’t get from talking. A Christian counsellor I know even suggested that we need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance, and 12 for growth!

The Bible has a lot to say about hugging. When brothers Jacob and Esau had been through a major breach, falling out over inheritance, their emotional reconciliation was sealed with a hug in the book of Genesis. The same happened when Joseph was reunited with the brothers who had betrayed him into slavery in Egypt and he could not refrain from hugging them. When St Paul was leaving Ephesus for the last time in the book of Acts, a whole lot of people lined up to hug him.

But the best portrayal of the power of hugging comes from Jesus himself. He told the story of a young man who took his share of his father’s money and wasted it in a far country with a binge of extravagant and reckless living. Finally, he ended up penniless, working for a pig-farmer. When he came to his senses in the pigsty he realised that he needed to go home to his father but was really scared about how he would be received. While he was still a long way off, however, the Dad saw him and ran out to hug and kiss his rebellious boy. The embrace of forgiveness and acceptance was enough to change the young man for ever.

A church I know about handed out cards with this message: ‘Hugging feels good, dispels loneliness, chases fear, builds self-esteem, slows down ageing, eases tension, exercises arm muscles, and is environmentally friendly. Hugging is portable, energy efficient, free at the point of use, makes even happy days happier, and saves heat!’ 

Maybe we should all wear a badge saying, ‘I need a hug today’!

 

Anointed to serve?

The anointing of British kings and queens at their coronation has remained shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years, but modern media are spilling the beans, or at least the recipe! The holy oil, or charism, which will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation on 6 May has reportedly been consecrated at a ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Friday this week.

According to international news media the anointing oil was created using olives which had been harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.

The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem before being perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber as well as orange blossom. The news outlet reports that the special anointing oil, was prayed over by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. 

None of this will surprise us as Christians as we have known from our studies of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that anointing oil was used to inaugurate new kings, priests and prophets, as well as part of the daily temple worship of God. In the New Testament, despite the total change that the coming of Jesus brings, and the end of the religious practices of Judaism, anointing oil continued to have a place. In healing, for instance, (James 5:14) but also in connection with the death of Jesus. In advance of his sufferings, a woman who was really grateful for his help and forgiveness took an alabaster box of anointing oil (probably being saved for her own nuptials) and broke it over the head of Jesus. Jesus commended her for her faith and the prophetic element of her action.

But it is as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and power that I tend to think of the fragrant oil. That dear woman who anointed Jesus would have smelt just like him afterwards, and people might have said ‘she smells just like Jesus!’ when they passed her by. I want King Charles to reign under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and will pray for him to do so. But I also want to bear the fragrance of Christ through my own life by the anointing of His Spirit. So, I pray the words of an old chorus: ‘Oh for a new anointing, Lord’, once again.

Go Easy on Yourself!

My New Years’ resolutions are already in tatters. Unlike the Christmas trees that were mulched recently that will at least benefit the environment by their swift passing, my resolutions are not doing me much good already. My path into 2023 was paved with good intentions, until the tarmac of daily reality spread its bland choking cover over most of them. Ah well, try again next year I suppose.

But there is one thing that I am resolved to do this year and that is be kinder to myself! Now, in case of being misunderstood, let me explain. Jesus once famously said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. In other words, if you don’t love yourself you are not going to have much to offer your neighbour. As the flight attendants on the holiday flight jets put it during their safety briefings, ‘you must put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else’.

I have always struggled to put into practice the second part of this command of Jesus. I come from a tradition that teaches that if you want joy – JOY – then it comes from putting Jesus first, others next and yourself last of all. The problem with that is that sometimes you just can’t put others before yourself simply because you are exhausted and have nothing left to give.

Huge numbers of people have limped into 2023 utterly exhausted. We are tired from nearly three years of fighting a global pandemic that threatened to kill us, along with the grief felt for the millions who did die from it. Having spent huge amounts of time isolated from human company, travel and seeing family and friends, has taken its toll. Our children have missed out so much socially and even educationally. Our confidence in governments and institutions has taken a pounding. People to whom we thought we owed our life and safety have now disappeared from public view or worse still, are grubbing around on reality tv shows. Even royalty is taxing our patience and trust.

And what of this New Year? A cost-of-living crisis that scares most sensible people and a virtual general strike in the UK, and all this against the backcloth of a cruel war in Ukraine that is tugging at all our bank balances as well as our hearts. Thank God there are signs of hope in the strength of communities like our own where we do gather round those in need, but even here in Guernsey the gap between those who have a lot, and those who have little or nothing, is getting wider.

So, let’s pause, breathe, and remember where we have come from. And let’s be grateful that we are not alone. If we remind ourselves of who we are and where we have been, we should be thankful for what we have overcome. In some ways it is amazing that we are still going (I often think that when I look back over my long journey with chronic ill health and multiple hospitalisations). The Bible says: ‘It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day’. 

Understanding this brings us peace, but it also helps us to have compassion, upon ourselves and on others. Most of the world’s citizens need a little extra kindness at the moment. So, instead of berating myself for messing up the diet, or failing to read as often, run every day, plunge myself into cold water and so on, or even pray as much as I had hoped, I am determined to tread gently, to go more slowly, into this year. Maybe that will even help me see the needs of others around me more clearly, as well as have the resources to do something about them in time.

Amidst the chaos and demands of modern life, try to find space for small pockets of silence. Allow the healing you need to do its own God-given work in your weary mind and body. Be kind to yourself and discover the stream of love that flows from the heart of God above. Give yourself a break!

 

It's Time to Put it Away!

 

It's been a tough old year! With war in Europe and threats of nuclear conflict hot on the heels of a global pandemic it could hardly have been anything else! But, for the Queen to die, and the British government to crash the currency and the economy on the way through three Prime Ministers - yes it has been tough. Now, on the brink of the New Year, it's time to put it away.

I love New Year. Christmas is good but New Year is better! (Don't tell anyone in my church I said that!) Yes, I know that nothing beats the coming of Christ into the world to save and heal all who follow him, but there's a whole lot of good stuff about making a new start in the Bible too.

In fact, God is described in the last book of the scriptures as 'the One who makes everything new' (Rev 21:5). St Paul also once wrote that if any person becomes a Christian 'the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!' (2 Cor. 5:17). So, God is in favour of us making a new start. Like a child at school opening a brand new excercise book, we get to start over in 2023. But there are problems -

Fear is a big one! We have taken such a pounding in the last couple of years that we can hardly be blamed for being scared, but fear is not just the opposite of faith, its the enemy of it too. Jesus taught a lot about fear because he understood its power to hold people back, even to destroy them. There are 366 'fear nots' in the Bible, one for every day plus one for a leap year! God doesn't want fear to make the decisions around here. Let faith in Christ be your choice and you will find that fear is lessened, and with time and God's help, can be overcome completely.

Exhaustion is another one. I saw this in a Facebook post the other day: 'A gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted… None of us began this year on a full tank.  Given the vicious onslaught of the previous two years  (let’s just call it what it was) most of us dragged ourselves across the finish line of 2021… frazzled, spent, running on aged adrenaline fumes… 

We crawled into 2022 still carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief… The memories of a surreal existence… 

And then it began… The fastest hurricane year we could ever have imagined. Whether we have consciously processed it or not, this has been a year of more pressure, more stress, and a race to “catch up” in all departments… Every. Single. One. Work, school, sports, relationships, life… ' So, after all we have been through, that's why you might feel exhausted. Here are some wonderful words from Jesus about exhaustion.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:29 The Message)

 Loneliness is a big contender! A psychiatrist friend of mine warned me during the pandemic lockdowns that there would be a pandemic of loneliness after this! We must do something about this, but God has done so in setting the solitary into families - church families. I know you might not want to read this, but you don't have to be lonely if there's a really good lively church community nearby. Get there and check them out if you can, or at least take a peek at their Livestream (for my own church search YouTube for 'Vazon Church'). But let's face it, loneliness really hurts and can be fatal. There are lonely people around us all. Let's ask God for eyes to see them and a heart to care enough to reach out to them in 2023. 

So, I'm quite relieved to put 2022 into its sack and move on, aren't you? When it comes - have a Happy New Year!

When Christmas Hurts

We have just returned home after an eventful few days in the Channel Island of Jersey. We were there to visit our family and take gifts ahead of Christmas, but we found this island community, best known for its dairy herd (above), potato crops and finance industry, plunged into shock and grief by a double tragedy. At the end of last week the ferry from the UK and Guernsey collided with a Jersey fishing trawler and the crew of 3 fishermen appear lost presumed dead. In the early hours of Saturday morning this was followed by a massive explosion in the capital, St Helier, in which it is now known that 9 are dead, and possibly a few more will be found in the wreckage of their apartment building, almost certainly devastated by a gas blast. We stood quietly with thousands of islanders in Jersey this morning at 11am in a one minute silence to mark the sense of loss, grief and sadness that has engulfed this small community.

It is strange that Christmas so often seems marked by tragedy. I remember the Penlee lifeboat disaster from the 19th December 1981, and the downing of the PanAm flight 103 on December 21st 1988. Perhaps that is because our emotions are heightened in this season as we think of family far away and indulge in a bit of communal nostalgia, but it seems unjust for pain and grief to mar our anticipation of this special time of the year, or intrude upon our planning for the festivities. And yet - and yet this brings the true message of Christmas so much more into focus for us. The first 'noel' was marked by the pain of rejection, poverty and violence. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were forced to flee to Egypt as refugees shortly after the birth. Every baby boy under 2 years of age was brutally murdered in the area of Bethlehem as vicious murder squads fulfilled the orders of an insecure, drunken overlord, King Herod. Why didn't God prevent that? 

The 'silent stars' and melody of the 'angelic host' soon gave way to the howls of bitter sorrow from the mothers of Judah, and the screams of their infant sons. The road ahead of the infant Christ was already marked by blood. Why?

As we wrap ourselves in the warmth and familiarity of Christmas, we should never forget that God could not prevent the pain. Not if he was going to achieve the very reason for the season. Christ Jesus came into the world to save. He came to intervene in the headlong rush of mankind into a life and an eternity devoid of hope. Like the emergency services that have rushed to the aid of those affected by these unseasonal tragedies, Jesus came to bring us rescue and life, not just warm good wishes and a few cheery carols.

So, if you are in pain this Christmas, or grieving and alone, please know that Jesus came for you, to be with you in your need, and offers you and me his life, death and resurrection as God's response to the tragedies that so often mark this time of the year.

Whose Birthday is it Anyway?

 

The card shop in Town was extremely busy when I was there, trying to find gift ideas and get some cards myself, and the flustered Mum next to me was having great difficulty choosing her Christmas cards with a disgruntled toddler in tow.  “Be quiet!” she urged menacingly, as he protested at being prevented from moving on,  “I need to choose my cards!”.

The little boy looked confused and called out in a loud voice “whose birthday is it anyway?”. 

“It’s nobody’s birthday”, came the weary reply, “it’s Christmas!”.

At least that tired Mum was a tiny bit closer to the truth than another child who was interviewed on TV in the UK not long ago.  “Whose birthday do we celebrate at Christmas?” was the question being posed. “Father Christmas!” declared the delighted little girl, her eyes shining with excitement and glee.  

Who can blame her, though?  Despite the cost-of-living crisis it seems that very little of the frantic rush to spend lavishly on celebrating Christmas has diminished. The magic of the season must seem far more connected to gifts and glitter than to God, both for adults and children. As I perused the Christmas cards it was hard to find any with Christian themes. That may be sad, but does it really matter?

We used to live and work in Zimbabwe.  There, in Shona culture, birthdays are unusual.  Birth certificates are rare, and few celebrate the date of their birth annually in the way that we do.  They are, however, very much alive!  Life itself is celebrated, and frequently enjoyed in a much fuller sense than it is here where far greater material riches exist.  In that setting, the question “whose birthday is it?” is irrelevant.  The living presence of the person concerned is sufficient reason to rejoice.  Perhaps for Christians, that outlook is nearer what should be our concept of Christmas.  We may be feeling a little concerned as we approach the date itself, especially since it is being increasingly hijacked by commercial interests, but a personal relationship with the living, resurrected Jesus, - now that’s something worth celebrating, - and not just once a year!

Lubricated by Tears

When Jewish people begin their year with the Passover feast it serves to remind them of the tears they shed during the 430 years of captivity in Egypt. They take a little salt water and dip herbs in it, drinking the fairly repulsive brew as a sharp memorial to a troubled period in their race's history. Yet, their tears were a big part of their eventual freedom. When God called Moses to become their deliverer, he said that he had been moved by their crying due to their sufferings as slaves, and wanted to set them free. Tears became a down-payment on liberty. Tiny drops of salty water secreted from their facial glands actually changed their lives. History was transformed by a few hot droplets squeezed from suffering faces by oppression and desperation.

Since passing through the trauma of decades enduring some of the worst pain known to humanity, and long periods of hospitalisation, I have rediscovered my tear ducts. I say this reluctantly because men are not supposed to cry. When I sat down to write this blog I searched the internet for images of male tears and found very few indeed. Children and women aplenty - but not many blokes! And I know why. These little droplets are seen as a sign of weakness or defeat. So, how come God pays them so much attention then?

The Bible says that God collects all our tears in his bottle (Psalm 56:8 in some versions) which means that he records our distress. The mighty King David wasn't ashamed to soak his pillow with his tears at night, (Psalm 6:6), both Isaiah and Jeremiah wept freely due to the sinful conditions of their day, and the great apostle Paul often preached through his tears (Acts 20:31). But the greatest justification for men to weep when they need to do so is the shortest verse in the Bible - 'Jesus wept' (Jn 11:35). If the Son of God made use of his tear ducts then why are ours still sealed in their newly minted 'men don't cry' wrappers?

Since passing through those tough years of pain I find myself deeply moved by other people's suffering. My tears flow when I read certain biographies, or see hard scenes from Ukraine or Somalia. Sometimes my breath is caught by reminders of some of the horrors I experienced in ICU, and tears come unbidden, especially at night. I often wake to a soaked pillow. This is all part of dealing with post traumatic shock etc, but there is no need to fear or to suppress such tears. God made our tear ducts to enable us to wash out our emotions and distress and alert others at times to our vulnerability. This is not weakness but part of our created humanity - a gift from a weeping God.

So, if you are holding back tears, perhaps even now, please know that there is one who cares. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and then went on to raise him up. What matters is not that your face is wet, but that your heart is open. When we weep our physical vision is blurred but our spiritual perception can actually be heightened. So, why should we be ashamed of our tears?

 

Is This the End of the Road?

 

Walking through a leafy lane near my home recently I marvelled at the thick covering of Autumn leaves on the ground around me. It seemed like walking on a luxurious carpet of gloriously coloured threads and felt like crunching my way across snow. No wonder our Trans-Atlantic cousins call this time of the year the Fall as the trees let go of their fabulously shaped and shaded appendages. The chill in the air took nothing away from the sense of wonder at the overflowing generosity of this season - sending an abundance of leaves my way as if a crowd of unseen footmen were strewing my path with their hilariously embroidered cloaks!

In the last few weeks I have turned 70 years of age, celebrated our Golden Wedding (50 years) anniversary with Diane, and retired (again) from being in active ministry as an Associate Pastor at my local church. It is, for me at least, a bit like Autumn has finally come in my life, and Winter will not be far behind. There is a sense of loss as leaves fall from my tree too! Folk make kind comments about the new season ahead, but there is no escaping certain mellow emotions at the passing of yet another phase of activity and usefulness.

I have found help and encouragement from a recent study of St Paul's last letter, 2 Timothy, written from prison before his final execution at Rome. It seems so unfair that this great servant of God should be so reduced and, in his case, maltreated. He has been falsely accused of wrongdoing, deserted by virtually all the Christians he knew (1:15, 4:16, 4:9-10), even betrayed by one in particular (4:14). His sufferings were no doubt part of the emperor Nero's persecution of Christians in 64AD. Yet Paul, despite being in the Autumn of his life and ministry, manages to keep his spirit clean. How?

• He was grateful for the little he did have, and for the small group of folk who were helping him (1:16, 4:11-12). In this Autumn season I also need to let gratitude be my attitude.
• He soaked himself in the Scriptures! Paul asks Timothy to bring him his 'scrolls and parchments' (3:16, 4:13). Paul's reading of the Bible was not something he did only to preach from. He lived in God's words to him in every season.
• He focussed on the future. He tells Timothy about that - 'Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing' (2 Tim 4:8).
• He entrusted his concerns to God. In 2 Tim. 1:12 he says that he is believing God and is convinced that he is able to guard what he has entrusted to him until that day. I have concerns too, maybe you have also, and there's a lesson for us here.
• He gave himself to mentorring others. Timothy was his special project, and Paul gave himself to writing letters and receiving occasional visits from him. He was restricted but not cancelled! The great man had really moved into a new season.
  

As I walked through my leafy lane, I realised that these trees were doing something vital in their Autumn shedding. They were laying down the seed-bed for the next generation of seedlings and supplying the mulch for their safety and development. The shedding was not 'loss' in nature's mind - but gain! Maybe that's why she celebrates the act with all those amazing colours.

So, I am not going to deny my age, sweeping away the leaves contemptuously as if they simply should not be falling, but rather engage with God's plan for this next season with the excitement and joy that comes from the certainty that this is not the end of the road, but simply a bend in the road, that leads me on in God's wonderful purpose for my life.

Anointed to Serve!

 

The eyes of the world are on London this weekend. The death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth is a global phenomenon. We were on holiday in French Corsica when the news broke of her passing and we did not have access to British television at all. We were amazed at how the German, French and Italian channels on our room tv were suddenly switched to reporting from outside Buckingham Palace, and for the next few days were primarily focussed on this sad event. Despite not understanding the languages we certainly caught the emotion and interest being expressed. Our Queen had died, but as President Macron stated 'The Queen' had passed away as far as the world was concerned.

One amazing point about this moment in the nation's history is how the monarch's passing has brought back our focus onto values which many believed were out-dated or old-fashioned. She stood for 'doing one's duty', was unfailingly polite and kind, believed in 'civility and modesty' (as expressed by Andrew Neil in the Daily Mail) and was loved and respected by millions for these things. Perhaps in her leaving us there is a real sense of the loss of integrity, faithfulness, service and balance that she represented. And people are feeling it.

In the Coronation Service - now 69 years ago - Elizabeth was anointed with special fragrant oils in a secret moment during the proceedings. She believed herself to be called by God, chosen by Him and anointed, quite literally for His service. And in this she was right, but she was not alone. Jesus said; 'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last...' (John 15:16). Every Christian believer is called to bear fruit, and Queen Elizabeth certainly did do that. The fruit of God's anointing in our lives is listed in the New Testament - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we prepare to watch the funeral and burial of this great little lady, whom we have all loved all of our lives, we should not only thank God for her and her example, but we should pray for an anointing that enables us to live differently too. In a world of celebrity, our Late Majesty has shown us a different path. It began with her simple but sincere commitment to Jesus as Lord. It starts there for us too.

70 Not Out!

My sincere thanks to all who sent greetings, cards and messages yesterday on my 70th birthday. I am so grateful for the blessing of your friendship and the privilege of knowing you all. But I am also thinking deeply about the amazing fact that I am still alive to see this date! I very nearly died when I was 45 during my first brush with acute hemorrhaging pancreatitis and then on other occasions too over the 22 years that followed. On more than 100 times I was admitted to hospitals in Cardiff, Guernsey, Southampton, London and Newcastle, during two decades of battling one of the most painful conditions known to humanity. By all rights I should not still be here, but there must be something for me to do!

One of the effects of a long fight with pain and frequent hospitalisations is a sense of gratitude for any relief. I am so grateful for the cutting-edge transplant surgery that transformed my life 5 years ago, and am happily living without a pancreas, spleen, gall-bladder or bile ducts. But I am free from that dreadful, gut-wrenching, tearing, red-hot agony of pancreatic pain, thank God.

In my book Through the Storms: a manual for when life hurts I deal with some of the other issues that arise in long-term pain or distress of any kind. Fear, loneliness, post-trauma disorders, all complicate the already fraught matter of physical recovery. Added to that, for those of us who know that God is our loving heavenly Father, who only has good plans for us, are the questions that the writer of the Psalm might have had in mind when he coined the phrase 'deep calls unto deep'. 'How long, O Lord?' and yes - 'why me?' 

I don't have the answers, but I do know someone who does. Hope is spelt J-e-s-u-s and he has been faithful to me throughout this long ordeal. Today I am privileged to continue sharing life with my lovely wife, Diane, and with Matthew and his wife Chula and our precious grand-daughters. Life is good, but I don't take it for granted. The very air I breathe is a loan, and I know that it will be called in one day. Till then, I am going to share the good news of hope and life in Jesus as widely as I can. For me, that's what 'many happy returns' really means!

The Greatest Challenge in Leadership

Photo by Mathew Browne on Unsplash

 He may look content here, but don't be fooled - it's a waxwork!  Whatever we may think of the lifestyle or the leadership of the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, or the way he has been made to step down, none of us can have missed the race to become the next leader of the Conservative party, and the new PM. The news media are in a feeding frenzy, poring over each candidate and their credentials. Social media is abuzz with speculation and options, and the only thing that seems certain is that the British people will have a new leader soon, probably by September.

In all this, Christians should remember the wise advice of St Paul who urged his followers to pray for ‘kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives’. He did so in a day when the government was in the hands of cruel emperors and their delegates, who were overwhelmingly godless and immoral, violent, exploitative, and abusive. Yet, Paul is so convinced of the power of prayer that he urges his readers, and us, to make praying for secular leaders a priority. As the incoming British Prime Minister faces problems like the soaring cost of living, cataclysmic climate change, war in Europe and its subsequent food shortages, not to mention the ongoing pandemic, he or she will need our prayers more than ever.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

But leadership is so much more than dealing with issues, urgent and important though they may be. Leading ourselves can also be a great challenge. Just getting through each day without giving in to fear, despair, and hopelessness can be a huge task. Coping with change in society, church and family life can leave us feeling all at sea. Choices and personal morality may seem so much more demanding as the boundaries of behaviour appear to be moving. But Jesus offers us his leadership one day at a time, built on his integrity, sacrifice, promises, and his continuing presence with us in all our struggles. He reveals a programme of love, forgiveness and personal transformation that can affect whole nations. A leader like that gets my vote every time!

Fifty not out!

 

It was no seaside holiday 50 years ago this week when I was inducted to my first pastorate - as Assistant Pastor at Eastbourne Elim Church in the south of England county of Sussex as it was. I was 19, and had just graduated after 2 years at Elim Bible College in Capel, Surrey. I had only been a Christian just over 3 years, and for the first few weeks was single, as I married the wonderful Diane on September 9th that year (1972). The Senior Pastor, John Lancaster, had just been elected as the President of the Elim churches, and so was expecting to be away from the town around half the time during his year of office, leaving this young sprocket in charge of the church of 2-300 folk, and responsible for the pulpit! As you can imagine, he was a man of great faith!

As Eastbourne was (rather unkindly) known then as the 'costa geriatrica' where many folk went to retire, I spent most of the early part of my twenties visiting people in care homes, sitting with the dying, and taking funerals, as well as leading and preaching at services in the busy church. It was a steep learning curve, but made all the easier by the amazing folk that I served. Among my 'heroes of the faith' at that time was Samuel Gorman, an early leader of the Elim movement and author, who had been forced to retire early through ill-health. He took me under his wing and mentored me, sharing his wisdom and insight graciously and patiently. Two other early Elim pioneers were also in the church - E.J. Phillips and his brother F.B. Phillips, with their wives. E.J. was just a shell by then of what he had been, but he would be brought to the prayer meeting midweek and would sit at the piano before the start and just begin to play worship songs and choruses from years before, all by heart. Great people!

Eastbourne Elim today

Our neighbour was a Miss Chrissie Jardine, who had been wheeled in to one of George Jeffrey's early Gospel and Healing crusades in the 1920's in a wheelchair, quite paralysed. (Principal George Jeffreys was the founder of the Elim Churches). She was healed instantly after prayer and rose up from her chair never to need it again! She was full of stories of those days, and remained an ardent follower of Jesus all of her long life.

So, after a half-century in full-time Christian ministry, on three continents, I give thanks for the people and places that have been a big part of my journey, especially Diane and Matthew. And, as I set off hopefully and excited into the next 50 years, trusting in the faithfulness of God, I thank God for the many who have made this journey with me, and alongside me, in my first innings.

An Offering and a Sacrifice

June 23rd is the day we remember the 9 Elim missionaries and 4 of their children who were killed in the Vumba in Zimbabwe this day in 1978. 

When we worked in Mutare, the nearest city to the Vumba, Diane and I planted a congregation in a building that had been purchased at the time as the Elim Memorial Church. That church has since been renovated to a high standard and has become a real focus for the Elim Church's work in that area. At the time of our being there Elim had around a dozen churches in the country, together with schools and a hospital. Now there are over 65 congregations all over Zimbabwe and the work is thriving. Stephen Griffith's excellent book The Axe and the Tree tells the story of all that led up to the massacre of 40 years ago and the great suffering and faith of the national church and its leaders at that time. I recommend it.

Peter & Sandra McCann, Philip & Joy died in the Vumba

One of my responsibilities was to keep an eye on the upkeep of the mass grave of those who died in the Vumba. Once a year, on the occasion of the graduation of the young men we were training as evangelists in what was known as Project Timothy, they would gather with me around the grave. I would explain to the young men that they were the fruit of the sacrifices these people had made, and then pray for them that, as they went out two by two into the community, they would remember the example of these friends of ours who paid the ultimate price for the gospel and the service of the nation of Zimbabwe. Each year it was common for tears to be shed and the impact upon the young evangelists was clear to be seen. 

Today, I pray for the relatives of all who lost their lives in that dreadful time in Zimbabwe, but recall that there has always been a price to pay for following Jesus and doing what is right. 

"They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated— the world was not worthy of them...

These were all commended for their faith" (Hebrews 11:38-39) 

Stronger than Ever?

 

Five years ago today I was the patient on the operating table in this photo. It was taken during a 16.5 hour transplant op at the International Transplant Centre in the Freeman Hospital Newcastle. It has absolutely transformed my life! I have been out walking in the wonderful warm sunshine on Guernsey's magnificent sea-shore this morning, and really thanking God for the Professor, his team and all involved, and for the many who prayed for my recovery from 22 years of the most appalling pain and suffering. Their prayers were answered that day, and on this anniversary I give thanks to God.

Before the surgery my life was blighted by daily agony, requiring industrial doses of opiates to give me even a modicum of pain control. Today I am largely pain-free and able to live a normal life, as I tell in my fifth book Through the Storms: a manual for when life hurts but I shall never cease to be grateful for these bonus years following surgery.

The thing about surgery is that you have to go down into a very deep valley before you can come up the other side. I very nearly died in the aftermath when I contracted pneumonia in ICU. It was hugely painful and challenging, but you don't get a testimony without a test! If you are facing a similar valley of pain or perhaps medical intevention, I hope you find the courage to press ahead in faith that although maybe the medics have got this - God has got you!

Today I thank God for his mercy and grace. He did not take me out of the situation quickly or easily, but he was with me throughout, and has delivered me in the end. Very early in our two decades long ordeal, God gave us a promise from the Bible - 1 Peter 5:10 which we have called our 'stronger than ever' text. Here it is; "After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever" (Living Bible).

"Don't do as I do - do as I say!"

 

Does integrity matter in public life today? In an age of terminal truth decay and the practised art of lying, have we given up hoping that those who lead, in government, business or church, can be trusted? And if they can't, do they deserve their position and the rewards that come with it? Or, have we become so innured to the problems of betrayal and half-truths that we shrug our shoulders and say, wearily, 'well, what more do you expect?'

I define integrity as the state of being where your outsides match your insides, and what you see is all there is. It is often revealed by how we behave when we think that nobody else is watching.

Dallas Willard, author of the book Renovation of the Heart, tells of a pastor who became very angry over a perceived mistake during a service and at the end got hold of the person responsible in a side room and let rip with a tirade of a merciless rebuke. The trouble was that the preacher had left his radio mic on and his furious rant was broadcast over the church audio system for all to hear, even in the church car-park! That pastor moved to another town shortly afterwards. 

But then, shouldn't we always be aware that the audience to our words and actions may be a lot wider than we imagine? In this day when cameras are everywhere and CCTV watches every move we make, we can hardly do or say anything without some kind of witness. Emails and WhatsApp messages come back to haunt people years after they were written. In a sense, our words and actions simply reflect our inner thoughts and motives. As Jesus said, it is not what enters into our bodies that defiles us, but that which proceeds out of our hearts.

Integrity and character do matter in leadership if people are to trust us. The apostle Paul set out his own approach to the subject in 2 Corinthians 6 when he said that he was determined not to put any 'stumbling-block' in anyone's path, so that his ministry would not be discredited. He also described himself as 'genuine, though regarded as imposters' (v 8). But the ultimate example of trustworthy leadership is Jesus, who lived and died for the sake of others, not for himself.

I am not wanting to make a political statement here, as others must make their own decsions on such things, but we should pray for those in authority both in the church and the world, that truth, honesty and integrity might be restored in our day.

Trust me - it matters!

Tactical Training in Tough Times

The Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, once said: 'To fold one’s hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world'. And don't we have some disorder now? As the pandemic rumbles on like a receding thunder storm, the rising sound of distant shellfire comes from a Europe where we were assured there would never again be a major war. The cost of living is going into inflationary orbit causing children to be hungry in one of the world's most developed nations. And leaders in the world either appear weak, elderly, divided or compromised, or else look like sinister replicas of Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot!

The writer of Psalm 11 asked the question that seems so appropriate today - 'When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ Well, they can pray. Prayer still moves the hand that moves the world. Jesus challenged his followers to pray bold prayers, and to pray them with faith. 'Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’ (Matthew 17:20). 

So, why is it so hard to pray? Possibly because we need to relearn the value of silence. Mother Teresa wrote: 'We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence'. Our lives are constantly punctuated by pings and rings, notifications and noises off. Maybe we need to switch off those devices and find a quiet place to fold our hands and pray.

And then - could it be that we have forgotten the prayer skills that previous generations took for granted? Seduced by the empty promises of much doing, we have neglected the graces of simply being - climbing up onto our Father's knee and whispering 'Abba, Daddy, I need you'.

On Sundays through May and June our church is doing the Prayer Course. We will gather in groups to simply watch, learn and pray. You might want to check it out online as a useful and helpful resource and a way of relearning the simple art of folded hands. 

The world is waiting.

 

A Garden with no Easter Bunnies?

 

There may be a few Israeli rabbits nesting nearby, but there are no Easter Bunnies here! This is the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, believed by many to be the actual site, or very similar to it, of the grave where Jesus' body lay on the first Easter Saturday.There is a tomb at the centre of the Easter story. A place of cold grief and bitter tears. A real tomb for a really dead man, not just somewhere for a swooned imposter to await rescue by his fellow conspirators. This is God's tomb, where God the Son tasted death for me. This is the devil's best, an attempt to wipe out the catalogue of miracles and mercy that Jesus wrote in Galilee and substitute his own pathetic offering of "always look on the bright side" and "did God really say..?" doubt.

And the view from the tomb of Jesus is magnificent. Its light casts a quick flicker of hope over a place of suffering and pain, Golgotha or Calvary, and slowly expands towards the brilliant dawn that is already starting to change the colours we see only through our tears. Yes, this is God's tomb, but much more than that - it is MY tomb as well. For, in the words of the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). The old me is dead and buried, and just as Jesus breaks forth from the tomb outside Jerusalem, so I am set free by Christ from self, from having to impress others, even from the fear of death itself.

And here's an offer you won't see in many catalogues - it can be YOUR tomb as well! "Oh thanks Eric" I can hear you say "that's all I need on top of everything else I am suffering". But that's the whole point, this tomb is the place where you can lay your sufferings down, and your achievements, and stop trying to impress God and others. You can be identified with Jesus in His death also, and rise with Him to a completely new life!

I am grateful that God knows what it feels like to suffer and die, and be laid in a tomb by weeping loved ones. I am glad that he understands my pain, and yours, and that he comes to us on our 'silent Saturdays' and dark nights of the soul. But I'm also rejoicing that the tomb is no longer in use as a grave. The Lord of life and glory could not be held by those chains of death. It may be Easter Saturday, but hey - Sunday's coming!

The Trivialisation of Easter

 

The sanitisation of Easter is underway again. Bunny rabbits, eggs, chocolate, and daffodils are piled up in supermarkets, while store assistants dress up in Disney costumes (at least in our local Coop) and the lambs on UK hillsides shiver in the cold. And shiver they should, because the British tradition of roast lamb is probably closer to the symbolism of the original Easter story than you might think.

I was taking a look at that story this week and I noticed much more similarity between the news reports coming out of Ukraine and the first Easter, rather than any semblance of a link to the whitewashed, commercialised, trivialised and largely dismissive 'celebration' of the holiday where I live.

I saw Jesus - God's Son - lied about in court. That court was a stitch-up of people probably paid to testify against him, and he just remained silent in front of them, a picture of steady purpose and dignity. Then I watched him being tortured and abused by invading foreign soldiers. He was a civilian, not a combatant or a terrorist, but brutalised invaders don't care about that. Jesus was stripped in public, beaten, paraded by his executioners and finally nailed to a wooden cross, wearing a cruel crown of thorns. No bullet to the back of the head for him, his blood was mingled with sweat and gore as he hung on a gibbet meant for a criminal, for hours on end. There was no bunny rabbit at Calvary, no Disney character to swing down and save him. 

Perhaps the cruel images from Bocha and the station at Kramatorsk are more helpful in understanding the true nature of what was happening at Golgotha around 33 AD. Of course we have to find ways of interpreting that to children, - enter the rabbits etc - but we should not lose sight of what it cost Jesus to deal with our sin. 

'O make me understand it,

Help me to take it in,

What it meant to Thee, the Holy One,

To bear away my sin'. *

This was God's lamb put to death for the sins of the world. Here was a sign of God's presence amongst the bloodshed and horror perpetrated by sinful men and women driven by the lying spirit of Satan himself, such as we see laid out before us on our tv screens today. There is no sanitising sin. But if Easter means anything, it means that God knows what it's like to suffer injustice and rejection from people gripped by evil. And still he went on to the cross.

And on the third day he rose again! But that's for another time. And maybe the new life of the egg does have some symbolism? hmm Let's see.

* 'Give me a sight O Saviour' by Katherine Kelly © 1944 HarperCollins Religious       

When Pressure meets Presence

 

Two years ago this week, after the UK went into lockdown, we had our first cases of Covid 19 here in the islands. Within a few short days we were also confined to our homes and the nightmare had begun. Now Europe is at war again for the first time since 1945, at least from the invasion of a sovreign country by a neighbour. And the cost of everything is soaring, so that the dreaded word 'inflation' - the plague of 1970's Britain - is back with a vengeance. Tough times are here, and nowhere more so than in the residential areas of Ukraine.

Part of the learning experiences of the last two years has been the understanding that we can't go on behaving in the way we used to. Hand hygiene and mask-wearing in enclosed spaces have become common-place, driven by the fear of infection. Adversity forces change. It makes us think again about our safety and comfort. It changes our priorities. Think about the people huddled in a Kyev basement, hiding from Russian bombs. They have fled their homes with only what they could carry, pets and all. Now, all that matters is life and freedom. Their ordeal has totally realigned their priorities.

But we should not be surprised that suffering produces change. The Bible teaches that it at least can produce patience and perseverance, and those are good, but we would far rather dispense with the adversity in the first place and go straight to the 'lesson learnt' stage without the pain. Yet nobody gets a testimony without a test. Perhaps it is only in retrospect that we can see glimmers of light in the black overlay of struggle and pain that life can be for so many.

So, two years on in this global pandemic, with war raging in Europe and the cost of living soaring, are there any signs of hope? God may not have given the deliverance we longed for, but he has given us his living presence. Once when Moses was facing a great challenge he famously prayed, 'if your presence does not go with us, Lord, please don't take us there!'. But he did, and he was, - with them in their battle to claim a promised land.

The name 'Emanuel' means 'God with us' and it was given to Jesus. Born in a borrowed stable, fleeing with his parents as refugees into another country, rejected by his own people and then crucified by a cruel foreign invading army - he truly is with us! And the best news is that the grave could not hold him - he rose again. Thank God for Jesus!

A Bad Case of Truth Decay

 

‘The first casualty of any war is truth’. This statement, maybe by an ancient Greek dramatist called Aeschylus around 550BC, or else a US Senator from just after World War 1, is proving to be so accurate in describing the current war in Ukraine. For weeks US and British intelligence agencies were warning of impending invasion whilst all the time being mocked by Russian leaders claiming this was a figment of their febrile imaginations! ‘Russia has no plans at all to invade Ukraine’ was reported around the world.

Once the invasion began, pictures of Russian aggression were being shown on their TV station but claiming that NATO and Ukrainian ‘Nazis’ were bombing their own cities. The Russian forces were on a ‘peacekeeping mission’ to protect Ukrainian civilians. If this were not so sad it would be ludicrous, but of course, claim and counter claim will be used by both sides in this conflict to try and gain popular support, and even being used as weapons.

But truth decay has also affected our society incrementally. It is not only the bomb and the bullet that can impact human lives. When Royal celebrities are asked to reveal ‘your truth’ by TV interviewers, as if truth were a commodity to be owned and shaped by individuals to suit their lifestyle, behaviour, preferences or even sense of gender, then truth is indeed ‘fallen in the street’. In fact, ‘justice is beaten back, righteousness is banished to the side-lines, truth staggers down the street, honesty is nowhere to be found, good is missing in action’ (Isaiah 59:14 The Message).

It was a great Russian, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn who said, ‘One word of truth outweighs the world’ and that philosophy undergirded his resistance to the Soviet system and his belief that ultimately, the truth will out. And he was right. Joseph Goebel’s elaborate propaganda organisation, for instance, died along with the Nazi regime in the burning rubble of 1945 Berlin. Truth has power. It can, eventually, overthrow systems and states built on deception and lies.

Jesus distinguished himself from these corrupt leaders when he declared, ‘I am the truth’ (John 14:6) and that his Spirit was and is ‘the Spirit of Truth’ (John 16:13). He also said that his followers ‘will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:31). Only the truth will liberate, morally and spiritually and culturally. 

For now, though, the liars have the floor. Satan, the father of all lies may be delighted. But his rejoicing will be short-lived. For the Truth is returning, and possibly very soon! When he comes, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Till then, let’s pray that the Spirit of truth will open blind eyes and hearts all over the globe so that the tinsel deception of truth decay will be replaced with radical love and the return of peace, especially to the dear folk of Ukraine. And may God intervene to expose lies and deliver the innocent by miracles of protection too!