Awaiting Further Light - a great practice to cultivate

What do you do when you can't figure something out in the Scriptures? In our modern times we are very fortunate to have bible commentaries and guides online - there are so many of these that they can be overwhelming at times. 

Ministering in a different generation, Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, used to cultivate the practice of 'parking' some of the difficulties he had, trusting that God would reveal a greater insight in the future. 

“When I read something in the Bible I don’t understand, I put it in a mental box marked ‘awaiting further light’” – Leslie Weatherhead

Colossians 2:2 - My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.

Thoughts: What does this mean for you? What would you place in the 'Awaiting Further Light' box?

Living in Grace

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A thought for Ascension Day

The world may not stop to remember the significance of Ascension Day, but as Christians, we really should understand the powerful meaning of this day. In Acts 1, we see that Jesus 'ascended' into heaven, as a clear moment of coronation and victory. Jesus did not simply disappear, or stop appearing to his disciples, but rather ascended to the right hand of the Father. 

I know it seems hard to fully comprehend, but I do believe that this was witnessed by his followers and the testimony passed on to others. 

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” - Acts 1

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, preaching under the shadow of Nazi oppression, once said: “The Ascension is the promise that the world belongs not to chaos but to Christ.”

Question: What does the Ascension mean for you?

Living in Grace

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Making plans

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" - Proverbs 16:9

I came across a lovely prayer, inviting God to guide our lives through honest prayer and submission.

"Lord, do you work in me so I may do your work in the world.
Help me to accept all results of prayer, including disappointments,
with trust and love for you.
Help me to live in your peace, in your Spirit. Amen."

“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” – Alice Morse Earle

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Wait with Hope.

"Wait with Hope.

Hope now.
Hope always." - Psalm 131 (The Message)

There are very few of us that enjoy waiting and the longer we end up waiting, the more we struggle to remain positive. In a Christian sense, our waiting has to have a long view of things. We know that not all our longings and prayers will be fulfilled in this life, but we continue to HOPE in the final resolution of all things.

What are you waiting for at the moment? Do you still believe that Christ can fulfil your deepest longings? 

Job 6:13 - For I am utterly helpless, without any hope.

Living in grace

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What is NEW about it?

In reflecting on this very well-known passage of scripture (John 13:33-35) I was greatly challenged around the idea of this 'new' commandment. Why did Jesus refer to it as a new commandment? If you want to get the full version of my thoughts on this, then please watch this video.

John 13:34-35 - “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (Living Bible)

Tertullian reports the pagans of his day (a century after this Gospel was published) as saying of Christians, ‘See how they love one another!’” 

Living in Grace

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Strengthen by Grace

"It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so." - HEBREWS 13:9

The writer to the Hebrews uses an interesting concept in this chapter when he speaks of our 'hearts being strengthened by grace.' I wonder what he is hinting at? 

Is it possible that the believers had become stuck in their belief that certain foods would have spiritual benefits in their lives? And so, he is trying to counter this thought by arguing that our hearts are actually strengthen through the grace of God instead. 

What do you think?

Living in Grace

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A Spiritual Stent

A Stent is a wire-mesh tube that is inserted into a blocked artery with the hope of assisting blood flow. This procedure is especially important for the arteries around the heart, and it can be a life-saving procedure. While this makes sense for physical blockages in our arteries, what can we do when our 'spiritual hearts' are in danger and there seem to blockages in our spiritual lives? 

Well, William Temple has this to say: “To worship is to open the heart to the love of God.”

So, he is suggesting that when we gather for worship, we intentionally open our hearts to the work of God's Spirit. This becomes a stent for the blockages in our hearts. What do you make of that?

Jude 1:2 (Message) - Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!

Living in grace

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The Highest Privilege

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them." - Revelation 21:3

These words remind us of the coming glory of heaven, and the ultimate restoration of what was lost in the beginning (Genesis 3). However, they also reveal something deeply profound and exciting. There is the promise of walking with God again - if you read the verse again, you will notice this.

Charles Spurgeon puts it likes this:

“I do not think the glory of Eden lay in its grassy walks, or in the boughs bending with luscious fruit-but its glory lay in this, that the ‘Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.’ Here was Adam’s highest privilege, that he had companionship with the Most-High.” (Spurgeon)

Thought: What does it mean for you to walk with the Lord and to know that God lives amongst us?

Living in Grace

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Restore us

"Restore us, O God;

make your face shine on us, 

that we may be saved." - Psalm 80:3

When one of the biblical authors emphasizes a point, they repeat it a number of times. If you read through the whole of Psalm 80, you will notice that Asaph repeats these words in verses 3, 7 and 19. He clearly wants us to take these thoughts to heart. 

Restoration, God's presence and favour, Salvation

Bearing in mind that the Psalms were written as songs, these words would act as a chorus, and we would keep repeating them throughout the time of worship. 

What captures your attention in these words? 

Living in Grace

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The stars are God's fingerprints

In preparing for a memorial service this week, I came across a lovely piece of writing about God's creation. It reminded me of the Psalms in some ways - the Psalmists were very good at seeing the glory of God in his creation. 

"The stars are God's fingerprints. The sun is a mere smidgen of His radiance. The moon is to remind us that He doesn't sleep at night. The vastness of space proclaims the infinity of His wisdom, while the sand pebble indicates His thoroughness with the puniest details. The lion hints at His fearlessness, the bear at His power, the hawk at His keen insight. And yet, those possess only a tidbit of God's omnipotence and omnipresence. Every tree points toward heaven; every bird has a song to sing; even every moment of wind goes in some direction. There is nothing chaotic about our beautiful designed world. All creation has a message to tell. It says, "Listen, there is a God. There is a God!" - Brent D. Earles

Thought: When last did you look out for God's fingerprints? 

Psalm 8:3-9

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Living in Grace

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Stopped in our tracks

Leading on from my thoughts yesterday, about Saul's Damascus Road experience, I wanted to add the following insight: 

It is easy to see Saul's blindness as a punishment from God, but what if this was actually a moment of God’s mercy? I am sure that God had been trying to get Saul's attention for years, but it was in this particular divine interruption, that we clearly see God's intention. God was calling Saul to see things differently - to realise that the followers of Jesus were not the enemy. 

Thought: Sometimes, God has to stop us in our tracks to help us see what we’re missing or to note what God wants to do in our lives.

Acts 9:11-12 - And the Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street and find the house of a man named Judas and ask there for Paul of Tarsus. He is praying to me right now, for I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he can see again!”

Living in Grace

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Unexpected Grace

N.T. Wright writes: "God never wastes anything—not even our mistakes. Saul’s violent past would become a testimony of transforming grace."

As we reflect on the remarkable story of Saul/Paul (Acts 9) it always serves as a reminder to me of God's unexpected grace. We could have imagined any number of punishments for Saul, especially when he was murdering Christians, yet God had other ideas. 

The Lord's way of dealing with an angry zealot was to change his heart and give him new spiritual insight. In time, Paul would become one of the greatest ambassadors for Jesus. 

“He is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings...” (Acts 9:15)

Thought: Who are we eager to write-off at times? Is it possible to imagine their lives changed for the Gospel?

Living in Grace

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