Come let us go up to Jerusalem!

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him;  they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."  The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Luke 18:31-34 NIV

Shortly after  is the start of a journey for Jesus which will lead to his death and resurrection.

But it starts triumphantly, the crowd rapturous, waving palm branches "the whole crowd of disciples joyfully giving praise to God"

A journey that in some eyes can be seen as a demonstration of how fickle we can be as humans. They say "a week can be a long time in politics..." but in the Spirit led life of the Son of Man a week was the difference between the excitement and adoration of the crowd, and them baying for his blood.

If we run with the crowd we can be very contradictory! We need to be independently minded and led by the mind of God. Not swayed and washed around by the tide of human opinion.

For example in the readings for the procession it says that as Jesus entered Jerusalem the crowds that processed with him were all shouting:

  "Hosanna to the Son of David
  Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
  Hosanna in the highest heavens!"

When the people who were already in the City saw this they started asking, "Who is this?" The answer was,"This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Yet, as I said we know less than a week later the crowd turns on Jesus and cries out for his blood.

There is a message for us in this. Political leaders like Pilate are pragmatists and like to go with the crowd.  Although they may try and influence and move opinion, ultimately for them the majority opinion rules.  The crowd shouting "Crucify him" about  Jesus, swayed Pilate.

I think that the message for us is that we should be sure to listen to God's voice and let it be present in our lives.  God does not speak in a strident way and we need to discover how to let his truth filter into our hearts so that we are people who are constant and in tune with the will of God in our lives.  If we are like this we will be able to stand firm in our faith and stand in the "truth of God" which is present in our faith and not to lose sight of it.  When we are in the "eye of the storm" we will be able to hold onto what we have already discovered to be true and not be blown off course and lose sight of God's insight into our situation.

The irony is that in their procession with the palms the crowd had correctly identified Jesus' ministry.  They give him honour and called him a prophet.  Remember they said "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee".  A prophet is one who speaks God's truth into a a situation (to people) allowing  God to have a say in the affairs of men. They treated him as a King too! And that is true he is the King of a spiritual Kingdom of God.

Christians are called to be Kingdom Builders.

One of the psalms says of God "indeed you love truth in the heart" and elsewhere it says, "wear your integrity like a blanket."  I think that this means we should be taking care to be so anchored in God that when we are in the crowd we can still keep sight of what God wants in our lives.

We pray as we start Holy Week that we will be able to focus on what God is saying to us at this time. That he will be present to us and that we will find new meaning in our faith.

We are blessed to be living in a time when our faith can be set to "expectant" - they say "May you live in interesting times" - well Jesus means to challenge your preconceptions and your contentedness with a life that is bitter tasting to him. Why would you accept a life that is second best when you can become a son or a daughter of "the living God"

Dear Lord, strengthen and renew our faith this Easter, may we be challenged by the enormity of the journey that you took from Palm Sunday to resurrection. May we understand that there is a place on that journey for us too. Bless us O Lord, may we surrender our complacency and come to know you as you really are! Amen

I want you to know

When I was 17 or 18 and found my way back to going to church. One of the things I learnt pretty soon was that God expected me to be very ecumenical in my heart. That's a fancy way of saying I understood pretty soon that God works across man-made boundaries.

A lot of my early bible study was led by the Holy Spirit. And my thinking has been formed by three statements:

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 NIV

The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3.8

" no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12.3

Jesus instructed my heart to respect anyone who professed that Jesus is Lord. To try and listen to what the Spirit is saying across boundaries.

To understand that the letter to the Hebrews is right when it says:

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets,  but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end.  He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power."

I want you to know what I know in the core of my being. That when you accept Jesus as your saviour your life is changed. Changed for the better.

You may feel "poor in Spirit" but Jesus says to you right now - "blessed are the poor in Spirit because they shall inherit the Kingdom of God"

The Spirit is waiting to renew you.

Let Jesus have a foothold in your life and it will be changed beyond all reckoning.

Dear Jesus, accept me as I am. I am weak but you are strong. Help me to surrender that which is not of the Kingdom of God. Amen

⅞

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord

We are well into Lent and I haven't mentioned Psalm 51 yet. Something must be wrong!

It is the most beautiful Psalm of repentance. The musician Michael Card recorded a version of it. The refrain to his song being "create in me a clean heart, O Lord"

The Psalm is one of repentance. The writer expresses sincere sorrow to God for the things in his life that hold him back from being closer.

The things that hold us back from God prevent us from being intimate with him. Sometimes we, or I, characterise these things as sin. But I wonder sometimes if that makes me believe foolishly that I am subject to an external force that makes me do wrong. Whereas in reality it is quite often down to me what has happened. Either through something I have done or, sometimes worse, something I have failed to do.

Sin is to miss the mark. Sin is unlove. To fail to love when we should. To hold back from loving. The consequences in our life of sin ranges from totally derailing it, to a minor diversion. But even a series of minor diversions can lead us far from where we want to be.

Where is God in this? He is our loving father and like any father worthy of the name, he wants us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. He wants us to bring our failure to love to him so that he can forgive us and heal us. In God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

If we ask God to forgive our sin he will do so. Even when we struggle with besetting sin, repeat temptations, that we just can't seem to defeat on our own. God is here amongst us in our mired world. If we cry out to him he will answer. He will teach us to love.

These words are for myself as much as for you. As the Psalmist says "create in me a clean heart, O Lord!"

For reflection:

Psalm 51
1 Corinthians 13

Dear Lord, help me to believe in you. Help me to deal with the things that hold me back from knowing you. Amen

Restorer of ruined houses?

On 16th November 2001 I was on holiday in Sydney and whilst wandering around the harbour area I found a lovely and enchanting garden. It is called the Chinese Garden of Friendship.  It is enclosed and an entrance fee is charged but once you are inside it is an enthralling place. It is very peace inspiring, you can walk around and find different themed gardens. I spent quite a long time there and towards the end of the afternoon whilst sitting there I began to wonder how this garden got planted.

I found out that it was planted out of the desire of the Chinese community in Sydney to make a gesture of friendship and forge a bond between the people of China and Australia.

The site they acquired is a one hectare block. It turns out that this beautiful garden had been planted on what was once a derelict area of of demolished buildings.

That set me thinking. Somebody had the vision to take derelict land and make it into something beautiful. They had to believe in the vision, know it was possible, and then put their muscle and resource into it.  I wonder how many times in my life I have seen something or some relationship that is derelict and thought that there was no hope of change.  No hope that things could be different. Maybe this garden is the evidence that things can always be different. We need the vision to be able to see this for ourselves. We need the grit and determination to put this into practice. This garden was achieved on human terms and ability. They may have prayed as well.  But just imagine what we can change in our own lives and those of others when the vision comes from God. Just imagine what happens when God adds his grace into and onto our plans.

I want to return to  a chapter in Isaiah that we looked at before. There is a promise in that chapter about restoration. And about the part that we can have in it. God talks about us becoming "restorers of ruined houses" and "breach menders". This is a way of saying that with God's help we can find that things can be better and different. No matter how derelict things have become.

Here below is the promise I am inviting you to think of.  Please read it. I ask God to bless you as you read it. I wish you well.

"The Lord says this: If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if you give your bread to the hungry, and relief to the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon. The Lord will always guide you, giving you relief in desert places.

He will give strength to your bones and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never run dry.

You will rebuild the ancient ruins, build up on the old foundations. You will be called ‘Breach-mender’, ‘Restorer of ruined houses.’"

(this was previously published by me on www.diakonia.clara.net which is now defunct!)

The Lightship

It has been quite a varied week. Monday we found ourselves in Cardiff - where we had to be for an early appointment Tuesday morning with UKBA.

A friend of mine used to say to me "sometimes the main thing isn't the main thing" and I think that was true of this visit. We thought Debs and I, that the whole visa thing was the whole reason for being in Cardiff. It turned out not to be.

We spent Monday with Mavis and Colin who live in Cardiff. We had a lovely supper with them and then a chat and a pray. The chat was quite wide ranging, about angels, about prophetic ministry, about the Pope's decision that day (12th February 2013) to stand down from his ministry. God is stirring up the whole church across all denominations. His prophets have been speaking. And I believe his winnowing fan is out over all his followers. Some will leave their churches and give up the practice of their faith, to others God will make himself clear. Their eyes will see him afresh or for the first time.

The companionship that Mavis and Colin shared with us was a blessing to us both and it continued the next day. After the visa stuff was with great relief sorted out we met again.

God prepares things a long time in advance. He wants us, if we have the capacity, to join in with the delivery of his plans for us and others.

Here is an example:

The lightship Helwick LV14 was built and commissioned by Trinity House in 1953. It was brought to Cardiff Bay in 1993 and restored to create a floating Christian Centre.

Somebody had the vision for that. They had to hold onto it whilst finding others to share it and maybe even other people to restore and tow the boat to its intended location. It has no engine!

Now all these years later it is moored in the regenerated area just near the Welsh Senate in Cardiff Bay.

For me it was a little reminder of how God has the plan and we can't see all of it. In my thinking he just wanted that boat near the Welsh Senate but in order to achieve it he had to move someone into action before even the referendum was taken.

Debs and I are so pleased her visa is sorted out for the next 30 months. I am glad that the only appointment we could get was in Cardiff. She will tell you I kept plaintively saying beforehand can't we get an appointment in Croydon? It may sound a small thing but the whole trip turned out to be a blessing when I thought it was going to be distinctly otherwise. We need these blessings on our journey through life.

There is other stuff I could say - for example God really wants me to study Galatians 5 & 6 (ask if you want to know why I know) - stuff we said about angels.

For reflection:

What is God wanting you to prepare for him?

Dear Jesus, we seek time with you - help us to learn at your feet. Help us to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit. Amen

Remember the rock from which you are hewn ..

I have been having trouble this week choosing what to write about. Well actually the trouble has been to try and choose between two different passages of scripture that speak to my heart. And then, "the penny dropped," and I realised that they are actually connected. So here goes! To avoid confusion I will give you both passages first.

“Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.” Romans 12:9 GNT

and

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn" Isaiah 51:1 NIV

I think these days we are hungry for authenticity. So much about our culture and politics is so fake and superficial that we long for the genuine version of something. We want people we can trust around us. People who "get us" and  don't undermine us. I think the first passage is a call to arms to remind us that if we want this from other people we need to be like that ourselves. It's no good expecting one standard from them and being flakey ourselves.

The word itself "Love" is elusive in meaning. When we use it it can have four or five shades of meaning, But for our love to flourish, as it is meant to, God wants it to be deeply anchored in what is good. We need therefore to keep him in sight trying to to let his love rule our lives and our behaviours.

It isn't easy and we must be realistic about it and acknowledge that every now and then we will fail and people we know quite well will also fail. By holding onto "the good" we see beyond our failures and acknowledge that the human heart is born to be noble. The good in people mostly outweighs the evil they do. As it says in the gospel of John "the light is stronger than the darkness."

Of course sin by it's nature is wrong. We are however called by Christ to love the person who sins. We can love them without condoning or "agreeing" to their sin.St Thomas Aquinas says - "To Love is to will the good of another" - to keep treating people with goodwill in difficult or perplexing circumstances is a sign of God's kingdom of love being built in us.

To give us strength to do this we look to the rock from which we are hewn. We are cut from the rock of God, the sure rock who saves us! A rock that is steadfast in whose cleft we can shelter when the storm comes. Not a crumbly rock! Because it is good quality rock that we come from it can take a while to quarry us. God is a rock of love ... from which more love can be quarried. 

Dear Lord, strengthen and purify my love. Lead me into your kingdom of love. Let me be real with people, whole hearted, sincere, loving and teach me how to eject evil from my life! Amen

Forty Years, forty days or forty seconds?

I have an Android phone and if I download an App for it I am happy if it downloads in forty seconds. My expectation is set at that level by modern technology. In the early days of computing our expectations were much lower. It could take hours to download new software and even then it could sometimes crash and the whole process would have to be started again. The expectation nowadays is instant results. But it is not that long ago that we had to work harder at all things. I remember hearing on the TV, on "Who Do You Think You Are?" About a couple whose relationship had started as pen friends during the war. They exchanged a letter a week with each other and some of the letters even got lost between the war front and home. Their friendship and love had to blossom into romance and eventual marriage with these inevitable gaps in between hearing from each other. I am not sure we could easily do that nowadays. But if something is good it is worth waiting for isn't it? The experience of waiting can promote a greater degree of understanding.

Now we are all probably in either a love or hate relationship with God. I have met very few people who are genuinely indifferent towards him.

He is an amazing God it is true, yet at the same time enigmatic and elusive. A God of mystery who sometimes makes himself very clear. Sometimes we just don't get him however hard we try. Some spiritual writers talk about a Dark Night of the Soul which can last for years, where they cling almost to their belief and memories of a merciful God, like those two lovers clutching their photographs, waiting for him to speak again.

Moses spent forty years as a shepherd before God spoke to him and called him. Maybe he needed that time to prepare himself to be open enough for the task that God had assigned to him. Or maybe it took forty years to develop the ability to hear the Lord.

Jesus spent forty days in the desert before he began his ministry. During the forty days the devil tried to distract him from starting his ministry by tempting him. The desert became a war zone between Jesus and temptation.

It seems that God sends us love letters all our life, sometimes they get intercepted between the war front and home and so we never get to open them or understand them. The ones we open - we sometimes understand and appreciate. Sometimes we write back and have an enthusiasm on our heart for a few days. Other times we think "that's nice" and put them to one side thinking we will reply later.

God is the "gentle invader" of our life. Seeking always to start a relationship with us, without forcing the issue. Because for love to be real it needs to be freely given and not forced. Sometimes we just can't see who or what is good for us. God is good for us! He heals us and makes us whole. He invites us constantly but our intentions and our hearts go astray and we can't answer. But still he calls us into relationship.

I realise I have spent a lot of my life blowing hot and cold for the Lord. But that has changed. I am seeking his face, his love in my life, his healing, his plan. Because I have discovered in my detours that, in fact , he is the ultimate good that I need.

No compromises any more, my yes will be yes, my heart is being converted - will you allow Jesus to break through your defences? May I be a man after your own heart. But it will take more than forty seconds. Possibly more than forty days. But if I listen it will be less. You at last have my attention Lord. Teach me to listen.

For Reflection
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 NIV


Dear Jesus, I want more of you in my life. Help me to let you in. Keep fear out and let me know the love of God in a new way that makes me more compassionate. Amen