Where have you been?

You may well ask. I've neglected my blog over the last two months. Someone recently said that a blog should be updated every week, and I can see the point, but I don't think I would ever be able to keep that up and do all the other things I do. So at the moment 'intermittent' is the best I can achieve.

Anyway the silent weeks have in fact been very significant. We were looking forward to a two week holiday in Perth, Australia, with our son Alistair in February, followed by two weeks of ministry in Singapore. Two days before we left, Evelyn my wife had news that she has breast cancer. As you can imagine this was a real shock. We were advised that it would be OK to go ahead with the trip, which we did, and it was a marvellous time; but as soon as we returned Evelyn went into hospital for surgery.

I'm glad to report that the operation was successful, less invasive than we feared, and that they said there was no further trace of cancer. However, she will have a course of chemo therapy, starting next week - six treatments, one every three weeks. It will be a long journey for her.
What has been amazing to us both is how God has helped us through this period, and given us a deep sense of peace.

We have noticed the timing of God. Her operation coincided with a 'blank' two weeks in my diary, something that doesn't normally happen.

Then we were strengthened by the word of God, the beginning of Psalm 71 in particular for me, and Zephaniah 3:17 for Evelyn.

Added to this, the compassion and generosity of God came to us through our friends, both in Singapore and here in Ackworth, where we worship.

Finally we have been conscious of the presence of God, mediated to us through the prayers of his people around the world. Sometimes you can almost 'feel' prayer, and that is how it has been for us.

This is not meant to be a sermon, but a testimony. We are optimisitic for a good outcome, but are not underestimating the challenge ahead. Faith has to be worked out in real life situations, and it comes alive when we face difficulties; otherwise it lies dormant and can stagnate.

The Masculine Soul

Just home after an exciting weekend retreat with about 25 men. There's a lot of discussion these days about why men hate going to church - that it is a feminine environment, that men don't like to sing 'love' songs to Jesus, and that the talks are too pastoral and not challenging enough. Well there is some truth in this, but it is not the whole story. One thing that never seems to be addressed in discussions about the lack of men in church, or the low level spirituality of those that are, is the nature of what we might call 'the masculine soul' - the pride within men that also holds them back from a life-changing encounter with God.

I shared at the retreat from the life of Jacob, because of all the characters in the Old Testament, he most clearly illustrates the 3 key expressions of the masculine soul: (1) natural strength and a 'I don't need any help' mentality; (2) naked ambition and a grasping after success; (3) a complete lack of self-awareness.

We traced the course of his life to see how God shaped this most unlikely candidate for spiritual fruitfulness, using both 'process' and 'crisis' to bring him to a place of submission and usefulness. The process involved 20 years of hardship in a foreign land. The crisis centred on two dramatic moments of direct encounter with God, at Bethel and then Peniel.

In the end God got his man, albeit by striking his thigh and leaving him with a limp - the wound of love. Only then would his natural strength be broken and his stubborn will yield to the Almighty.

God is the God of Jacob, forever linked to an individual who epitomises the masculine soul, which is reassuring for us all. It means there is hope for us too in our rebellion and waywardness, and sufficient mercy and grace to subdue the Jacob in us all and bring the Israel to birth.

Resilience

I'm writing this from central Africa where I have been visiting the four families who work with MAF. It's been a difficult time, confirming that life in Africa is very unpredictable, and to survive in ministry you need a degree of resilience. I arrived as one family left at short notice because a close family member is critically ill. Last week another family were forcibly evicted from their home because the owner wanted to give the house to someone else. Yesterday, the wife was stopped by the police as she drove to the school to pick up her 3 children. When she complained she was roughed up and 'arrested'. It was several hours before she was released, and the issue is still not resolved. This morning I heard how the third family had been burgled a few months ago, possibly by people they had been trying to help. I will spend the afternoon with a family where the wife is homeschooling five children and struggling with diabetes.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a setback, the courage to get up again when you've had a fall. The apostle Paul said 'We are knocked down, but not knocked out' (2Corinthians 4 :7-12). Where do we find such resilience?

Partly it has to do with our personality, but much of it comes from how we understand and interpret what is happening to us. As Christians we interpret the events of life through the grid of the sovereignty of God, and the belief that somehow, he is able to work all things together for our good. See Romans 8:28. This doesn't mean we don't feel the pain of difficult events, but that we can find meaning in them, even if it is more with hindsight than at the moment.

One reason we spend time regularly soaking up God's word is so that we have this 'God perspective' within us when life throws up the unexpected. We may well be shaken, but we don't have to be swamped because we are convinced that we are in the grip of grace.

Remember the sabbath 2

Yes, I know it's been a long time...

Anyway, I continue to think about the sabbath, and the other night whilst in bed but not sleeping, I had a rather profound thought. The reason we hear so little about sabbath today is because the church has withdrawn it from the list of Ten Commandments and sustituted another in its place. Guess which one? Tithing! Tithing is the new commandment of the modern church, and its there at the expense of the sabbath, which seems a bit whimpish in the present climate (who needs to rest?) where we have so much to get done.

And the reason that tithing is so popular - at least with church leaders - is that with all the programmes we have going, and building projects, and outreach events, we just to have to keep the money flowing in... So let's emphasis tithing (so we can keep going) and conveniently forget about rest (so we don't have to slow down, even for God).
What do you think? Is that's what has happened? Or was it just a vision of the night?

Finding sabbath (1)

I've given this post the number (1) as I hope it will be one of a series - but don't hold your breath as I haven't exactly been good as posting my thoughts. Today though I'm in a writing mood and have just completed an article on Remember the Sabbath? for submission to a Chrisitan magazine. I don't know if it will be accepted or not. The editor was a little suspicious when I mentioned the word 'sabbath' as I guess lots of people are. Perhaps he thought it would be a bit heavy and full of condemnation for those who don't uphold the sabbath and go to Tesco's or use ferries to get to Lewis on the Lord's Day. Of course it's nothing like that, because sabbath has nothing to do with law, and everything to do with grace. After God finsihed creating the world, he rested (Genesis 2:2), not because he was tired out, but because he had finished and wanted to admire his handiwork. Also, because he wanted to establish a pattern for us too about how to live in the world he has made, according to his rhythm. Having been created on day 6, Adam begins his life on earth with a day of rest. He enters in to what God has done, to enjoy all that he had made for him, and to receive everything he had provided. That's grace, and it is at the heart of sabbath. Resting in what God has given us, in its sufficency and its adequacy. That is why we speak about the rhythm of God's grace. Keeping sabbath is part of how we enter into that rhythm and experience that rest. Doesn't sound heavy to me? Does it to you?

Good intentions

I had intended to keep up-to-date with this blog, aiming for a posting about once every 7-10 days, but as you may realise I have fallen hopelessly behind. The reason? Just too busy to sit down and be creative, and not enough time to reflect on what's happening in my own life. Although I teach all the time about the importance of working from a place of rest, and although I do practice it for the most part, sometimes my work schedule takes over and something has to give - in this case it has been my blog.

Interestingly, I still felt a little guilty for not doing it. It's not as if thousands are reading it, but it was a target I set myself and I failed. How easily we place ourselves under laws, and then when we don't measure up, allow those same laws to condemn us! As a result we lose a little of our sense of peace and our joy is diluted. That's when we have to learn to give grace to ourselves. It isn't that we have sinned and done something wrong before God; just that we have transgressed our own standard of perfection. We need to forgive ourselves and move on, doing what we can in the time available.

So here I am writing again and feeling a bit more creative. And if you don't hear from me in the next 7-10 days don't worry. It shows I'm living under grace, not law, and I'll be back at some time. be patient with me.

Suffering unjustly

I'm thinking today of a young lady I know who has been treated really badly by her church. She's served faithfully for a number of years on the staff of the church, but has found herself sidelined and replaced by someone else, and all this without any personal word of explanation. I'm sure she is hurting deeply, and probably a bit confused. Her story is not an isolated one. Sadly, it is common for churches to treat their staff badly. There are no trade unions to protest and no employment laws to protect, so when unaccountable leaders operate in autocratic ways, people get hurt.
When we suffer unjustly we have a major choice to make. How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become embroiled in a major conflict. Alternatively, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of identification with Christ in his sufferings. Somehow, Christ's sufferings continue beyond the cross (Colossians 1:24), and we can share our sufferings with him. This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. This is the 'fellowship of his sufferings' (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to intimacy with God and the release of his power in our lives.
Easter reminds us that Jesus was a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. As we remember how he carried his cross to Calvary, we are challeneged to take up our own cross and follow him. Sometimes life will cause us to walk with him along our own version of the Via Dolorosa, the path of sadness.