Category Archives: Muse

Mark 10:00 am on April 18, 2023
Tags: 1 Peter, Acts, AI, assurance, Bible, , Christianity, daily lives, dailylives, eternal life, eternallife, , faith trials, faithtrials, good news, goodnews, , , living hope, livinghope, meditation, , reflection, religious contemplation, religiouscontemplation, resurrection, spiritual reflection, spiritualreflection, theology, , transformativepower, victory over sin and death, victoryoversinanddeath, witnesses   

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 and 1 Peter 1:3-9

Imagine an image that features an empty tomb with the stone rolled away, signifying Jesus' resurrection. Rays of light are breaking through the darkness, symbolizing the living hope that emerged from Christ's victory over death. In the foreground, a believer stands with arms raised in praise, representing faith in the resurrected Savior. In the background, a cross is visible atop a hill, reminding us of the sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation.
Imagine an image, that features an empty tomb with the stone rolled away, signifying Jesus’ resurrection. Rays of light are breaking through the darkness, symbolizing the living hope that emerged from Christ’s victory over death. In the foreground, a believer stands with arms raised in praise, representing faith in the resurrected Savior. In the background, a cross is visible atop a hill, reminding us of the sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation.

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[a] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[b]

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
  2. Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:14,Acts%202:22-32&version=NIV

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise to God for a Living Hope

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%201:3-9&version=NIV

Reflection

Today, we reflect on the themes of hope, faith, and the resurrection found in the powerful readings from Acts 2:14a, 22-32 and 1 Peter 1:3-9. These passages serve as a testament to the transformative power of Jesus’ resurrection and the living hope it provides for all believers.

Firstly, let us examine the theme of hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith and the source of our living hope. This hope is not simply a fleeting wish or desire but rather a deep-rooted assurance in the promises of God. As believers, we have been given new birth into this living hope, which is anchored in the certainty of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Our hope is alive because our Savior is alive, and He has prepared for us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

Secondly, the theme of faith is prevalent in both readings. Through faith, we are shielded by God’s power and are able to endure various trials and tribulations. It is in these trying times that our faith is refined and strengthened. Just as gold is purified by fire, our faith, which is of greater worth than gold, is proven genuine as it withstands the tests of life. Our faith ultimately leads to praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Lastly, let us consider the power of Jesus’ resurrection as it pertains to these readings. In Acts, we see Peter boldly proclaiming the good news of Christ’s resurrection to the crowd, asserting that Jesus was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay. God raised Jesus to life, and the apostles were witnesses to this miraculous event. In 1 Peter, the resurrection is the basis for the living hope and eternal inheritance we have in Christ. It is through Jesus’ triumph over death that we, too, can have the assurance of eternal life.

As we reflect on these passages, let us consider how we can apply these timeless messages to our own lives. Are we living in the light of the living hope we have through Christ’s resurrection? Are we allowing our faith to be refined and strengthened during times of trial? Let us remember the transformative power of Jesus’ resurrection and strive to live our lives anchored in the living hope it provides.

In conclusion, let us hold fast to the hope we have in Christ, knowing that our faith is secured by His resurrection.

May we grow in faith,
courageously sharing the good news
of Christ’s victory over sin and death,
and may we live as witnesses
to the living hope
that is available to all who believe.
Amen.

Reflection contributor: chatGPT

Commentary

Does the contributor of the reflection surprise you? I studied AI in college so I was looking at the AI bot, and it seems it has been trained against theological and religious texts; my earlier foray into chatGPT was for intercession ideas based on the bible readings to provide five bullet points for prayer. I had to build a prompt that was sufficient to return something useable.

I also don’t want you to think this is all my work, others may disguise it’s use. All I have done is combine various pieces together, like paying with Lego. There is a certain amount of creativity in placing building blocks together so as in a building you do not say the creator of the brick built this place, as there are many bricks. However, it would be a lie if I was to pass the reflection as my own, not just to you, or to myself but also through my heart to Jesus. It is a joint effort; for my part all I have done is reach out and picked up another tool to use to see what it can do because I have so little spare time.

Personally, I think its an incredibly useful tool, but that is all I hope it will remain, another tool in our toolbox that we can utilise. Anything beyond that scares me a little. AI is now so much more advanced now from when I was studying it around 30 years ago in college with LISP and PROLOG.

I would be interested to know if you want more posts like this one, where the reflection has been derived from AI? What are your thoughts on computers doing theology? Did any part of the reflection or my commentary make a connection with you?

They will only ever be as good as the data we feed them and how we teach them to grow and rationalise the data. I pray that whatever is happening is for the good of humanity, and that the selfish elements of our darker selves do not twist it for the purpose of evil.

I think we need to be very, very careful, as the processing speed of AI is so much faster than we can manage, so one wrong step will go wrong very quickly.

A response from chatGTP

As an AI language model, I do not have personal thoughts or beliefs, but I understand your concerns and observations about the use of AI in theological contexts. AI can be a helpful tool for gathering and analyzing data, but it is important to remember that it is ultimately humans who are responsible for interpreting and applying that data in a meaningful way.

Regarding your question about whether more posts like this one would be useful, that ultimately depends on the preferences and goals of the audience. AI-generated content can certainly be a time-saver and provide interesting insights, but it is important to ensure that the final product is still aligned with the values and goals of the organization or individual using the tool.

In terms of the connection with the reflection and commentary, as an AI language model, I do not have personal experiences or emotions, but I understand the importance of reflection and contemplation in spiritual and religious practices. It is always valuable to take the time to reflect on our beliefs and consider how we can live out those values in our daily lives.

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Mark 7:44 pm on November 27, 2020
Tags: creation, Denise Daniels, John 17:20-21, , Shannon Vandewarker, work, Working in the Presence of God   

God at work

A letter to work colleagues:

Hi everyone,

Firstly I’d like to thank everyone.  Between COVID, more restrictions, our work, our lives outside work, all of which pulls us all in different directions and risk tearing us to bits as individuals, it is lovely to see everyone supporting each other in prayer. It is beautiful to behold, so thank you so much for being who you are.

We’re still trying to meet up online for prayers (in work).  Not all of us can make it at the time, and that is fine, we all do have so much going on (I think I’d be bored if I didn’t).  What I think is important to remember is that even when we are apart, we are at our closest through our relationship with Jesus – so long as we all continue to carry Him in our hearts, we can know that we are not alone.  He is walking beside us and links us all as a family, brothers and sisters in Christ.  Just remember it’s a huge family, well beyond our circles, our church, our parish, or our nation – there are people abroad who have never met you who are supporting you in prayer as much as we support them in prayer.  Just as Jesus prayed for his disciples, so he prayed for each of us.

Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 

John 17:20-21

I recently bought yet another book (it should come as no surprise to those who know me) called “Working in the Presence of God”, by Denise Daniels and Shannon Vandewarker and is subtitled “Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work”.  Admittedly I’m not very far through it, but I thought I might try to share some thoughts on what I’m reading.  The book is in three sections, then chapters in each; it looks at Orienting, Engaging and Reflecting on work.

My first bit of reading reminded me that God, too, is a worker, especially a creative worker (lousy pun intended).  I mean, look at all He managed to achieve; and we’re not just talking about small projects here; even still, He put as much care and attention into the smallest project as He did with the largest.  The part I’m reading now looks at how our spiritual and secular worlds are divided.  It is a sad thing to say, but yes, they are.  It touches on another interesting topic which is encapsulated by the word Ordinary.  How do we find God in the Ordinary around us?  Well, one way of looking at it is to remember the creation story. Remember God worked, how everything He created in His eyes was right, how He breathed His breath into Adam, how he gave Adam and Eve a job to do. We can find Him in the Ordinary; possibly, we only need to reorient our understanding of what it means.

We’re in the middle of looking at Ephesians in one bible study. We’ve had a chance to reflect in small groups and when we were talking about prayer being as-you-go or on a schedule, someone talked about how they mostly prayed in church. It is an obvious example of how our secular and our spiritual lives are different.  They separated their time with God by using the church as the focal point for their relationship with God, probably through no fault of their own as our lives have many demands on our time.  With this in mind, please take time to reflect on this. Do we have any self-imposed boundaries between our secular lives (our job, for instance) and our spiritual life (our relationship with God)? Remember that God is always present with us, even when we are not present for Him, and incredibly close in those times when we need Him the most.

God bless us all

Mark 2:58 pm on August 13, 2020
Tags: heroes, Isaiah 40:21-26, , pedestal, Saviour   

Heroes…

In today’s lectionary (Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer Thurs Aug 13 2020 at time of writing), one of the Saints celebrated on this day, happens to be Nurse Nightingale.  When I first learnt about her way back in school, almost another lifetime away, I remember wishing I could achieve as much as she did.  I remember learning about the dreadful Crimean War and the conditions that people where surviving in (or rather not at the time).  Learning of the impact her reforms had, not just then, but so many years to come afterwards.

She was, in her way, one of my many childhood heroes alongside the astronauts, Captain Scott and all of the other Antarctic adventures and a few others that I have since forgotten.

In many ways, we often fall short of our heroes because we place them on a pedestal so high that we make it virtually impossible for us to emulate them.  Of course, events in our lives often transpire in such a way as to take us in different directions, and sometimes it doesn’t.

The danger with placing our heroes on pedestals is that we put them out of reach, and we do that by ourselves, nobody else does it for us. We sometimes allow others to create the pedestals for us, but we are the ones who chose to use them.

But there is one person, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is not out of reach on a pedestal.  He is on a throne in Heaven and rather than being far from accessible He is listening to us all, interceding on our behalf, loving us, and encouraging us. He welcomes us with open arms and a warm heart, comforting us in our troubles and celebrating with us in success.  Jesus is within every single one of us, all we have to do is accept His love for us, and He will reside within our hearts forever.

Christ is not a hero out of reach on a pedestal of our own making, He is right beside us every day of our mortal lives, and every day of our immortal lives when He comes again to call upon us.

Jesus is more than a hero.

He is everything.

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
    and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
    Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
    not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:21-26

I used to want to be more like my heroes.

Instead, I share my life with Jesus,

and the weird thing is,

it’s a whole new level of complexity doing that, and yet so much simpler at the same time!

God bless us all.

Mark 3:03 pm on August 7, 2020
Tags: Anger, Angry, Branches, Isaiah 41:10, , , Rest, Romans 7:15-24,   

Pray, always

Amid everything, I tried to take a break, but after five months of non-stop activity, I found it a little challenging to recharge my batteries.  By the time I was ready to recuperate, it was time to start work again; I no longer feel like I had a break.  We face this challenge daily, the long hard slog through the day and not enough time at home to relax because there are so many more demands on our time than work.  Finding a decent work-life balance in this new COVID world will be one of the many challenges we have to face. I think the most challenging thing for me was psychological in that where I work now is my home so switching off is troublesome.  On top of that, the nation is going barmy, and people are starting to have a go at the littlest things and our neighbours, who might have been happy to let things be, start baring teeth because they are unhappy with the way things are.  Times are troublesome, challenging and for some people difficult to manage, and for some so challenging to face that they turn in directions that lead them astray from who they are.

We have a phone tree in church, I see some of it personally, and I get to listen to others who are experiencing all sorts of issues with varying degrees of success and failure. One of our solutions was to expand the weekly prayer group, so a group of us now pray morning and evening prayer (I’m on the rota for early Friday eves) – I find this helps.  I have my own separate private prayer time, my continuous conversations with God and Jesus. Still, with the only congregational worship presently restricted to looking at a monitor and the nature of future worship looking so different, I find the fifteen to thirty minutes of structured prayer on a Friday and praying around the prayer lists, and parish needs, comforting.

You can join in live online via Facebook, YouTube, Zoom and many more for most things these days.  While we, as congregations, are dispersed, we, as a church, can still meet.  The building itself is only there to facilitate togetherness – it is not the source or focus of our worship or prayer.  It reminds me of the early church, of the apostles moving from one place to another, in Acts, creating and facilitating new churches, new congregations, new followers of Jesus.  It reminds me of the early church in Rome, struggling to meet for fear of persecution, in homes, in isolated, hidden or empty places.  I feel a deeper connection to those Christians who have trodden our path before us as a result. My faith may even be a little deeper, all I know is I haven’t strayed because we as Christians need to be a light in this hour of darkness for those who are struggling, and for each other.  Even those beside us who look as if they’re doing OK will have issues they’re fighting with so being there, giving things in prayer, is essential.

When I pray, I let go of things, I release it all into God’s hands, and I empty myself before Him.  I know I shouldn’t have to worry …

So do not fear, for I am with you;
Isaiah 41:10

… of course, I’m human, so I do, but I shouldn’t …

For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do,
Romans 7:15-24

… ad infinitum in our human frailness.

But the one thing I do is pray, or talk, or look to Jesus and sigh it out.  One thing I never am is angry with God or Jesus, and I try to limit it with everyone else because our anger does not come from God; it comes from within us, and it is not an easy thing to live with or for people to control.  How are we expected to forgive if we are angry? We cannot have peace within if we allow rage to reside in our hearts and minds, or enable it to dictate how we behave.  It is something we believe we can control, but ultimately we can’t so we have to lean on God for help, for without God, without Jesus, we are unable to fulfil our purpose upon this Earth.

The Vine and the Branches
….5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:1-17

God bless us and keep us safe.

Mark 8:39 am on July 3, 2020
Tags: Favorite Hat, Favourite Hat, , Many hats, Poem, Poetry   

My favourite hat

Until recently the sun has had his hat on. Now it just seems to be putting it on and taking it off, and on and off again.

Unfortunately, I have hats on my mind. Partly because of the Mad Hatters Tea Break coming up in work, partly because I like hats and have quite a few of them, and partly because this week I have been wearing many different hats as my life morphs between work, home and church.  I was struggling to sleep the other night wondering whether I should wear my mad hatters top hat and take a picture for the tea party, and then some of this came to me:

We wear many hats throughout our lives, swap between so many roles, but there is one hat that we all have; a favourite hat:

I have a favourite hat
My hat fits perfectly upon my small head,
but is sooooo very very large it can sit upon the world!
My hat can be seen, but is invisible to the eye.
My hat cannot be touched, but it can be felt
but is not made of that or wool or leather.
I like my favourite hat.
Some people don’t like my hat,
they hate it,
try to take it,
resent it and despise it
and some ask me to “Please leave your hat at the door”
as if I could “take it off!”
for I cannot remove my favourite hat.
Once I don my hat it’s on for good
although I may doff it
I will not scoff (much)
about my favourite hat.
My hat is with me every day
and every night is on my head,
even when I’m in my bed
It is warm and comforting,
wraps me round like a blanket
and sits like a soft pillow on my head.
My hat would fit you too,
you only have to try it!
It may not be the current fashion
but is popular, but you can’t buy it.
It cannot be taken,
but can be given and shared;
there is no other that can be compared.
My hat is unique,
it’s my one of a kind,
yet it’s the same,
as yours,
or theirs,
some people wear it sideways on,
some people wear it in pairs!
Some hats are made from different stuff
and come from different places,
yet they are built to last
among the different races.
Some you can tell have it on,
some don’t even know it,
but wear it all the same as me
you can tell them; but it won’t sit.
I have a favourite hat,
I hope you have yours too!
I love my hat,
It loves me back!
It loves you just the same.
My hat is love,
of love divine,
because it was made
by Jesus.

Think about all the hats you wear, all the hats people next to you are juggling, pray over them, especially at the end of the day, but remember we all wear the same hat even though we can’t see it. 

God bless you all and keep you safe as we walk through a new wilderness together.

Mark 12:00 pm on June 19, 2020
Tags: Book of Prayer, Hebrews 10:10, , Thy will be done   

Thy will be done…

I have mixed feelings about the recent week or two – our government is submitting to socioeconomic pressure to lift lock down while we are seeing second spikes appearing in other countries that, perhaps, eased them too early.  Suffice to say I think this particular virus will be with us for some time to come, so we have to learn to adapt and hopefully we will prevail where others have so far failed.

This week, for many of us, we have been adopting new working practices in line with social distancing, moving into new working environments, or perhaps spring cleaning all of our collective hoard of old documents, manuals, coffee sachets ten years-out-of-date hiding in corners of drawers, and so on.  One thing that remains constant in all of this is that Gods Will is ever present.

Sometimes we are driven by human desires and needs; a workplace example might be an instruction from a manager, who in turn are dealing with the demands placed on them.  Sometimes we are driven by forces that don’t make any sense; maybe an urge to do something different, to go someplace, to say a particular thing.  It is at times like these that we need to be aware of who or what is driving it.

When you recognise these circumstances, it is essential to know whether it is God-given or not. There is no hiding the fact that there are forces at work against the will of God; the battles have raged for centuries. The thing to remember is that the war is already won, through the one final sacrifice and resurrection of God’s Son, our saviour Jesus Christ.   As such, any power of evil has no claim on any us, no right to demand anything of us, so long as Jesus is at the very centre of our heart evil will dissipate before us.  When you believe there is a power urging you to do something, place your trust in Jesus and pray, if it is against the will of God it will vanish, but if it is God-given it will persist (FYI: God is very, very patient, and very, very persistent).  We are to be subservient to Gods will, but only because we have free will to choose to do so; we get to choose whether we act or not (mostly, God will face down any argument you have with love and reason to persuade you otherwise and not by force and anger). You have to recognise the gentleness of the impulse as opposed to a push in the back.

There is a prayer in one of my books that reflects on will very nicely; it goes like this:

My Father, help me as a follower of Christ
to say “Your will be done”.
You would not have me accept your will
because I must, but because I may.
You would have me take it,
not with resignation, but with joy,
not with the absence of murmur,
but with the song of praise . . .
Teach me that your love is wise.
Guide me not blindfold, but with open eyes . . .
Give me the blessedness of the man
whose delight in in your law,
who can tell of your statutes rejoicing the heart.
I shall obey your will in perfect freedom
when I can say, ‘your Spirit is good’.

George Matheson. A Book of Prayers, Lion Publishing 1988

We have free will, to accept Jesus, to accept God’s wisdom, His gifts and to rejoice in life no matter what it may hold for us right now. We must open our eyes and our ears for His guidance; we do not walk blindly through the light or darkness.

We can listen to thunder, marvel at lightning, hear the scream of the wind in our ears and cower in the facelessness of a virus, but that is not where you will find God’s voice. It may be in a whisper to your soul, or it may be in a rush of warmth in your heart as it fills with the love of creation.

We begin with acceptance of His will; by accepting that we are His children and therefore His agents, ambassadors & messengers.

Through God we will prevail with His strength and guidance, for the glory of His Kingdom upon this earth.

May God bless us all.

Mark 4:53 pm on March 6, 2020
Tags: Clothes, Galatians 3:27, Isaiah 61:10, salvation   

The clothes we wear…

When you got up this morning did you put the right clothes on?
Did you dress for work or for recreation?
Did you put a jacket on to go out?
When you got to work did you take off the jacket?
Did you change your clothes for work?

We get to pick and choose the clothing we wear, usually they are related to where we are, but where we are going in life is much more important than where we are going on a daily basis.

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:27 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

When we are baptised we shed our old selves, we become new in Christ, and with this we are clothed anew, He is our spiritual clothing and something that we cannot take off.  Our spiritual clothing is not just for Sunday mornings or church coffee mornings.  Our overcoat, in fact, our Greatcoat, is one that can’t be seen but can be experienced by everyone around us.

We can change our physical appearance as often as we like, but when we take on our garments of salvation why would anyone want to take them off?

Lord Jesus,
Grant us we pray, to be a light unto the world,
let the clothes that You provided us with
shine with the light of Your transfiguration
to cast all shadow from this world.
Amen.

Mark 4:34 pm on February 21, 2020
Tags: Acts 8:1-3, Growing, Growth, , Kingdom of Heaven   

God’s Kingdom is growing!

Have you ever sat and wondered when the Kingdom of Heaven is going to arrive?  When will the second coming of Christ happen?

We look at these questions from a perspective that is purely centred on ourselves when we ask them.  It’s like putting the blinkers on a horse, you can only see in one direction and can’t see everything else happening around us.  If ever you needed proof of growth, all you need to do is look back to Jesus.  He is at the heart of everything, at the very centre of everything, the deepest root of the vine that is constantly growing, flourishing and blooming.

Yes it is being pruned or vines break, yes it is constantly under attack; persecution happens every single day of the week in all of its various forms but the roots of Christianity are deep and cannot be dug out by anyone.  Even if all of the evil in this world made a consolidated attempt to pluck out the heart of Christianity it would fail, they would suffer from great weakness before they even got close; their resolve and strength would dissipate like the fog before the Sun because we have a light in Jesus far brighter and stronger than any Sun.

Jesus is at the heart of everything, he is in our hearts, in our minds, in our words, our dreams, and our hope eternal.  Want to see how Christianity has grown?  Take a look at this verse from Acts…


8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
The church persecuted and scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

Acts 8:1-3 (NIVUK)

This all happened not long after Jesus died and was resurrected. His followers were hunted down, persecution was rife, anyone showing any sign of not conforming and declaring themselves to be of Christ where taken; we can find similarities throughout this world right now where people are being persecuted for being different, for wanting to make a difference.

And yet, even this first large scale persecution of Christians has not stemmed the growth of our faith.  The followers of Jesus scattered, far and wide, the word of God and the love of Jesus followed them, walking in their steps.

From small acorns great oaks grow; from the small intimate gatherings of Jesus and his disciples to the feeding of the thousands, from those faithful few, who held Jesus in their hearts after Jesus delivered salvation to the entirety of humanity and creation, to the masses who worship in churches worldwide today.  Growth has happened, God’s kingdom has grown, and is still growing.

There is a song we sing at messy church (we’ve even sung in Sunday worship with actions!) called Our God is a great big God, I would extend that and say the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s Kingdom is a great big Kingdom and is growing day by day.

Hope in the future can be found in both the past and the present, it is found in Jesus, because He exists in our past, our present and our future, He is our solid foundation, and we can weather any storm that tries to break us if we remain strong in our faith, so that we too may contribute to the growth of God’s Kingdom.

Dear Lord, the Kingdom of Heaven is indeed great.
May everything that we do and say be for your glory, for your Kingdom,
that everyone may be delivered through your grace.
Please bless all our Christian brothers and sisters,
and protect all those who suffer,
regardless of origin, creed, belief or ability,
through the deeds of others.
Please, we pray, grant them peace and harmony in their lives.
May all of humanity learn to support all those who seek peace.
We pray for the love of Christ to be upon this world,
to comfort the living and the dead.
We pray for angels to descend and defend
all who are in desperate need.
All of this we pray in the name of your loving Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ
Amen.

Mark 3:51 pm on December 12, 2019
Tags: #FollowTheStar, Birthday, Christmas, December 25th, Fear, Gordon Ramsay, , Matthew 6, Psalm 141, Stress, Worry   

Losing focus

18 sleeps till Christmas – WOW! I can’t believe it’s coming up so fast. We have so much to do, and not enough time for it all, how can we manage it all in the time we have? Who have I bought presents for? Who’s coming to dinner? Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something?

I get stressed just thinking about it!

It’s at times like this when we can start to lose focus, too many things distracting us from the one thing we need to do, which is to share some personal time with God or have a cup of tea and a natter with Jesus. To close our eyes and let the Holy Spirit wash over us, through us and cleanse the stresses of this time of year from our hearts, minds and bodies.

Have we forgotten something? It’s most likely that!

Finding time to work on our relationship with God can be difficult, it is difficult, especially with the pressures of today’s society, but the most important thing we can do this Christmas is to set aside some personal time:

  • For ourselves, because stress is never a good thing, and if you’re anything like me kitchen rules and access get increasingly strict as I turn into an early version of Gordon Ramsay hovering over a Christmas turkey that is never going to come out of the oven the way my imagination is saying it will.

But also

  • Time with God is time well spent.  We can offload all of our worries because He has got our backs on that. Why worry about tomorrow? Why stress about yesterday? God has a plan for us all, and we are very much a part of it.  He walks alongside us every step of our life and empathises with us, and removes our sufferings and our fears, is strong for us in our weaknesses, and is always ready to listen and more than happy to guide us.

Matthew 6:31-33 NIV
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In this busy time of year, sometimes it helps to have a small devotional to hand but if you don’t have one of those, have a quick browse through the psalms, take a moment, have a sigh, breath deep, dunk a biscuit, sip of tea, and read them slowly reflecting on the thousands of years and the millions of souls who have uttered the same words that you are saying with exactly the same thoughts as those in our minds, the same stresses and the same fears – we are not alone in our thoughts, we are not the first to think them, and God has an answer for them all!

Psalm 141 NIVUK
1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
    hear me when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;
    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.

If you want some further inspiration, sign up to one of the reading plans online or in an app, or sign up for the #FollowTheStar devotionals (app or email) starting from Christmas Eve until Epiphany (Jan 5th). 

Whatever you do, do not forget that all of the commercial aspects of Christmas are purely a distraction, a distraction that interferes with the true meaning, the real reason, we celebrate Christmas.

On December 25th, that once-upon-a-time of year, we all celebrate a birthday together, the birthday of Jesus Christ, who came among the peoples of the earth once before as prophesied and will do so once again heralding the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.

May the peace of the Lord our God be upon us this day and evermore.
Amen.

Mark 3:31 pm on November 14, 2019
Tags: 2 Corinthians 13:14, Acts 2-3, anchor, Change, cornerstone, foundation, , Hebrews 13:8, , Isaiah 28:16, , Philippians 4:6-8   

Changes

Have you ever stopped to think about how much our lives revolve around change?  It is always there.

While we welcome some alteration into our lives, we often tend to focus our minds on those that aren’t welcome, and this is when it takes over our lives, our train of thought burns bad emotions and intentions deep inside, and ultimately turn us away from God.  When we allow that to happen, we fail ourselves; we fail God.

When we find ourselves in times like these, we can take comfort in the knowledge that God and our Lord Jesus Christ are always walking beside us, Jesus is interceding on our behalf, and the Holy Spirit is there to guide us.  We can turn to God, to Jesus, surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because They are the constant in our lives that does not change.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

In among all the change in our life, Jesus is always there, the rock that is our anchor, our cornerstone, the foundation of all foundations.

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.
Isaiah 28:16

Change happens; it does not always come from God, a lot of it is human-made, as a result of our greed, our desires, our attempt to apply our will over situations, our inability to follow Gods will; what we do in times like this can lead to disagreements, animosity, theft, hostility, and war.

There’s plenty to be said in the bible about change, it is full of change, starting at the very beginning with creation, variations in covenant with God, changes in nations, changes in people, initiated by the Holy Spirit (tongues of fire [Acts 2-3]), by Jesus (so many changes in hearts, minds and body), by God (far too many to contemplate or even begin to describe).  The point is that we should not fear change, we can embrace it even when we do not like it because we can be the light that turns bad to good.

The one thing that never changes is that God loves us all, and He made the most significant demonstration of that love by sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation; for we do not have to sacrifice anymore, as Jesus took upon himself all the sins of humanity and paid the price, our price, on our behalf, for all of our sins, for the sins of our predecessors, and the sins of our descendants.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:6-8

Life is full of new beginnings, fresh days with which we can become closer to Jesus, I thank the Lord our God for each new day, for each opportunity to start again, for new beginnings, for His eternal love, comfort and guidance through times of trouble.

Holy Jesus, ev’ry day,
keep us in the narrow way;
and when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last
where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds thy glory hide.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
2 Corinthians 13:14