World Book Day

Today is World Book Day (23 April), which I didn't really know existed, but it sounds like a good day to celebrate the advent of books, writing and literature. The first World Book Day was celebrated on April 23, 1995, coinciding with the anniversary of the deaths of notable authors such as William Shakespeare. 

I am very grateful for the gifts of books, but obviously I am most grateful for the fact that Bible was translated into my mother-tongue, and that it was compiled into a book form. Although many of us may take this for granted, it was not always the case. For many generations, believers had to rely on a Priest to read from the scrolls of the Scriptures for us, and even when the Bible was first produced in book format, it was so heavy that it couldn't be carried around so easily.

John 21:25 - " But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

Revelation 22:7 - ‘See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’

Thought: What about the Bible (the Good Book) do you appreciate the most?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Tuesdays with Morrie

I have just finished re-reading Mitch Albom's classic, Tuesdays with Morrie. In this moving story, Mitch connects with his old University professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is slowly dying with Lou Gerig's disease. As they meet together for these remarkable conversations, Mitch discovers so much more about life, death and everything in-between. 

As one reads deeper into the book, you also begin to wrestle with the bigger questions of life and how one can live a meaningful life.

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” - Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

Colossians 1:10 - "so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Climb into my skin

 

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

When Atticus Finch spoke these words in Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, they resonated with many of us. How often have others spoken about us as if we didn't exist, or their unkind words have left us feeling wounded? 

When someone wants to truly understand our pain, or our unique circumstances, they are simply saying: "I am willing to climb into skin and live your life for one day! Then I will truly understand what you are going through!"

This is truly a gift - to have someone who is willing to do this, is a great blessing.

On the other hand, for us NOT to be willing to do this for others is very tragic. We imply that their lives don't matter and that we have not got the time of day for them.

Thankfully Jesus showed us a different road to walk.

"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. " - James 2:8

Thought: Have you walked around in anyone's skin lately?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Camino tales

People of all ages love to listen to stories (well most of us anyway). As children we are encouraged to use our imagination and to place ourselves into the stories we read or listen to. As I mentioned yesterday, I am super excited to enter into the story of the Camino de Santiago and to listen to the stories of thousands of pilgrims who have walked the path before us. 

Of course, literature is full of classic stories of Pilgrimage, and one doesn't have to physically walk the miles in order to experience something of the journey. Two of the more popular books in this regard, Canterbury Tales (by Geoffrey Chaucer) and Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan) tell of people making a journey of spiritual discovery. And of course, the Scriptures are also filled with accounts of the Israelites walking to the Promised Land, recounting stories of life, faith, trial and joy - all as the travel along the ancient paths to their end goal. 

If you didn't know this already, The Canterbury Tales, were crafted by Chaucer as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims travelling towards Canterbury. They were on a journey to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket, which was housed in the famous Cathedral. Apparently, the prize for the best tale was a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.

To be honest, I am not really interested in any particular prize (not that there is really a prize), except for the joy of completing the walk, encountering fellow pilgrims along the way, enjoying God's presence and discovering more about myself. 

I will let you know if I get the prize in the end.

"We are invited to make a pilgrimage – into the heart and life of God." - Dallas Willard

I want to enter the story of the Camino, so that I can reconnect with my part in the Greater Story. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity is a book written by C.S. Lewis and published in 1952. The origins of the book began as radio broadcasts that Lewis did for the BBC, and eventually came together in the book form. His work is known for its brilliant apologetics, as well as clear description of what it means to be a Christian. The influence of C.S. Lewis is immense, with many people speaking of how his gift with the pen, changed their lives. 

Out of interest, here is one of my favourite quotes from the book:

Keep nothing back.

Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.

Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.

Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, 

despair, rage, ruin, and decay.

But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.

Luke 9:23 - Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Living in grace

D3LM3

Pray and read - read and Pray!

 

John Bunyan is famously known as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, a book that allegorically tells the story of a person's journey of faith. According to some sources, Bunyan's work (printed in 1678) has never been out of print and has influenced writers, scholars and believers for 350 years. 

Bunyan has numerous quotes that speak into my life, but this one caught my attention as it speaks of the unique combination of prayer and reading. I have been fortunate to have had a chance to read a few books whilst on leave and many of them have been catalysts to prayer. It is remarkable how a good book, and especially the Scriptures, can prompt us to speak to God.

What books inspire you to prayer a little more?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Laughing at ourselves

The last 3 books I have finished reading have all taken a lighter look at the church and the 'goings on' inside the Christian community. None of them have been irreligious at all, but have certainly made me laugh and groan at the same time. We are indeed a strange bunch :) 

Each of the authors have taken their own slant on the characters within the stories, but I have certainly been able to laugh at myself and some of the interesting people in the books. I feel that laughter is a great way of drawing aside the curtain and taking a deeper look at myself. Of course, sometimes it makes me feel sad that the church has missed the mark many times, but it also fills me with hope when I see how many people are sincerely seeking to follow Jesus. 

In the end, it is important for all of us to remember that God didn't call a group of perfect disciples to lead the church, but a group of believers who knew that they had to rely on the grace of Christ. 

Psalm 126:2 - We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”

In case you are wondering which books I have been reading, here they are:

• Till the Fat Lady Sings - Bob Jackson
• The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass aged 37 3/4 - Adrian Plass
• Heavens Doors - Lynda Rose

Living in Grace

D3LM3

So little time

In her book, The Quotidian Mysteries, Kathleen Norris reflects on our universal lament of how little time we all seem to have. She argues that it is not the time that is the big issue, but rather how we reflect during the 'hours' of everyday. She writes:

“The often heard lament, “I have so little time,” gives the lie to the delusion that the daily is of little significance. Everyone has exactly the same amount of time, the same twenty—four hours in which many a weary voice has uttered the gospel truth: “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Mt 6:34, KJV). 

But most of us, most of the time, take for granted what is closest to us and is most universal. The daily round of sunrise and sunset, for example, that marks the coming and passing of each day, is no longer a symbol of human hopes, or of God’s majesty, but a grind, something we must grit our teeth to endure. 

Our busy schedules, and even urban architecture, which all too often deprives us of a sense of the sky, has diminished our capacity to marvel with the psalmist in the passage of time as an expression of God’s love for us and for all creation: It was God who made the great lights, whose love endures forever; the sun to rule in the day, whose love endures forever; the moon and stars in the night, whose love endures forever. (Ps 136: 7—9, GR)

How can this change the way we think about our lives and encountering God in the ordinary moments?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Great Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain Faith, Hope and Love but the greatest of these is love."

In 1911, a little book,  The Greatest Thing in the World was published. It was written by Henry Drummond a Scottish Theologian, but only published after his death. It is based on the well-known scripture passage 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. In it he describes love as the supreme good and asks Christians to read this passage once a week for three months as it can change their lives.

I purchased a copy in 1963 after leaving school and it has remained next to my bed for the past 57 years. I have not read the scripture nearly as often as I could, but just seeing the cover reminds me of the words inside. It is beautifully written and as pertinent today as it was more than 100 years ago.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13.

Jesus our King, our Saviour and our friend paid that ultimate price for each and every one of us, rich, poor, young, old, good and bad, when he died on the cross and purchased forgiveness for us. His resurrection tells us of the power of Jesus and his victory over death and evil, the promise of eternal life and his presence ever with us to give us hope and joy in life, whatever the circumstances.

Eugene Petersen in The Message puts 1 Corinthians v 13 this way. Trust steadily in God, Hope unswervingly, love extravagantly and the best of the three is love.

Prayer: Dear Lord, every Easter reminds us of what your death and resurrection means for us, of your great sacrifice, your love and compassion shown to each one of us. Help us to reflect that love to those around us. Amen.

I am grateful to Hilda Boyd for her thoughts and message today. Thanks for taking the time to write these words Hilda.  

Mountains of the Lord

I read a lovely book called "Mountains of the Lord" (Rob Taylor) and have posted a review on Scripture Union magazine about this book. If you have a moment please follow this link and read the review to discover more about this fantastic book. 

In essence, Rob takes a look at the significant Mountain top moments in the Bible and reflects on what each encounter means for the people of God. These include Moses on mount Sinai, Elijah on Mount Carmel, the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration and obviously, Jesus on Calvary. 

Psalm 43: 3 - "Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell."

Living in Grace

D3LM3

P.S. For our Lenten journey which starts on Ash Wednesday (17th February) I will be sharing a variety of devotions written by people from our Church community - this will be a lovely way of hearing a different voice on a familiar topic. Watch this space :) 

Taking risks

One of the books I have just finished is The Choice, by Edith Eger. When you understand the pain and trauma she had to endure as a teenage prisoner of war, surviving the hell of Auschwitz, then her words make a huge impact on your life. 

Edith embraces the desire to forgive and to work hard at allowing healing to take place. In her book she never glosses over the journey of healing and the commitment to live a better life. One of the things she wrote really stuck with me:

“Taking risks doesn’t mean throwing ourselves blindly into danger. But it means embracing our fears so that we aren’t imprisoned by them.”― Edith Eger, The Choice

Here are a few other insights she shares in her book.

“We can’t choose to vanish the dark, but we can choose to kindle the light.”

“Time doesn't heal. It’s what you do with the time. Healing is possible when we choose to take responsibility, when we choose to take risks, and finally, when we choose to release the wound, to let go of the past or the grief.”

I am grateful that Jesus has offered us the gift of healing and forgiveness. Jesus took numerous risks and I know that following him is also a risk worth taking.

Luke 7:9 - "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Final list of books for 2021

I should have realised that I was not going to be able to narrow down my reading list to just 21 books for this year :) Thank you all so much for the delightful suggestions and comments. I truly appreciate the wide range of authors, genres and topics which are covered by your input. 

I have now compiled a list of over 50 books (see below), which have been suggest by you all - if I have missed out one or two, I am sorry for my error. I have already read a few of the books that have been mentioned, but I am still listing them because I believe they are great reads in any case.

If you are looking for something to tackle during this year feel free to see what other people are reading. Go for it. 

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

Living in Grace

D3LM3

LIST OF BOOKS:

1.      The War of the Roses (Stormbird) – Conn Iggluden

2.      The Choice - Edith Eger

3.      Missing Pieces – Tim Weaver

4.      Hope in The Dark - Craig Groeschel

5.      My African Conquest: Cape to Cairo at 80 - Julia Albu

6.      The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Charlie Mackesy.

7.      Dominion - Tom Holland

8.      Ragamuffin gospel - Brennan Manning

9.      A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water - Patrick Leigh Fermor.

10.  I'll Push You – Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck

11.  Radical Optimism - Beatrice Bruteau

12.  Captivate - Vanessa van Edwards

13.  Knowing God - J Packer

14.  Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

15.  Finney lives on – V. Raymond Edman

16.  Man - The dwelling place of God - AW Tozer

17.  Wholly for God - Andrew Murray

18.  The Universal Christ - Richard Rohr

19.  God on mute - Pete Greig

20.  The Infinite Game - Simon Sinek

21.  The 11th commandment - Jeffrey Archer

22.  The smell of apples - Mark Behr

23.  The girl with seven names - Lee Hyeon-seo

24.  The Jesus I never knew - Max Lucado,

25.  Mr Men books J

26.  Overcomer- David Jeremiah

27.  American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

28.  The heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne

29.  Shrink: Faithful ministry in a Church-growth culture - Tim Suttle

30.  Gary Kirsten Autobiogrpahy

31.  The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry - John Mark Comer

32.  The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz - Erik Larson

33.  From the Holy Mountain - William Dalrymple

34.  The 4 Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

35.  Who Moved the Stone - Frank Morrison

36.  Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman

37.  The Evening and the Morning - Ken Follett.

38.  Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell;

39.  The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg;

40.  Who do we choose to become - Margaret Wheatley.

41.  The Boys in the Boat - Daniel Brown and Edward Wilson

42.  Of the Antarctic by George Seaver ( if you can find it !)

43.  Dining at the Masters Table by Paul D Norcross

44.  Ask for more by Alexandra Carter

45.  The book of longings – Sue Kidd Monk

46.  All the Light We Cannot see - Anthony Doerr.

47.  The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

48.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – Mark Haddon

49.  The Meaning of Night: A Confession - Michael Cox

50.  Edward Rutherford - London 

51.Washing of the Spears - Donald Morris

 

Books for 2021

I suppose it is not a surprise to you, but I love reading. I managed to get through a large number of books in 2020 and am setting my sights on a lot more this year. As a way of discovering what you are reading and perhaps what you can recommend, I am creating a list of 21 books I would like to read this year. If you have some suggestions, please send them my way. I have had some great ideas already via Facebook, but I realise not everyone is on FB.

This is the book I am reading at the moment (see the picture) - it is a great holiday read and I love historical novels.

Remember that reading is not only good for our brains, but also wonderful for our souls (or so I believe). It can also help you fall asleep at night, if the book is very boring :)

Acts 8:30 - Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

"She read books as one would breathe air. To fill up and live." - Annie Dillard

Looking forward to you suggestions. God bless. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Needing advice?

It is sometimes so hard to get good advice now days. There is plenty of information and content out there, but one has to still sift through it all. During the early days of lock-down I was drawn back to the book of Proverbs and spent 70 days reflecting on those incredible words - some of you would remember that this was in March and April of 2020. I discovered that all the advice I needed was in the chapters of Proverbs. 

I have eventually put these thoughts into book form and the hard copy is now available if you would like to read it. The ebook has been available on Amazon for a while, but the hard copy has just arrived. You can order it through the website or just email me personally. Thanks again for the support and taking the time to read my daily thoughts.

God bless you

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Honesty Box - book giveaway

Lockdown has changed the way many of us view life and it is teaching us to embrace a slower pace of being human. One of the dangers of being in Lockdown is that we feel disconnected from community and people who would help us along the journey of life and faith. So, in a small way, I want to offer you something that may help along the way.

I have been privileged to write a few books over the years and I would like to offer you the chance to read any of them via PDF. All you need to do is send me an email requesting a book and I will send it you via PDF, which will allow you to read it on your computer, tablet or phone.

No doubt, you will be asking the question: “How much will this cost me?”

My answer is this: “Let’s work on the Honest Box principle. If you decide you want to give something, then you are welcome too. If things are little tight at the moment and you don’t have spare resources, then that’s also okay - You are still welcome to read the books for free.”

How does that sound?

It is my prayer that the books may encourage you to get through this time of ‘Lockdown’ and also offer you some spiritual guidance for the future. Remember that Jesus Christ is with us during these unprecedented times and He longs to draw near to us.

Living in Grace,

Delme

Website: www.livingingrace.co.za

Email: delmelinscott@gmail.com

24 - Is this the end?

Many people are jumping onto the religious bandwagon at the moment with some predictions of the end of the world, especially in the light of the Corona pandemic. Again, I will not get into that debate at the moment, but I find it interesting, that in the days before he went to the Cross Jesus preached about the end of days. I find these final teachings of Jesus so interesting and challenging.

This is what he told his disciples:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." - Matthew 24:42-44

I honestly don't know when the world is going to end, but the one thing I know I can control is how I respond to the Son of God, today. By choosing to receive the gift of grace offer to us through Jesus, we are promised a placed in Christ's kingdom.

C.S. Lewis wrote in "The Case for Christianity" - 
 
"That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The quiet anaesthetic of prayer

I am busy working through an old book written by Jean Vanier entitled "Followers of Jesus". The depth of his insight is truly remarkable and I am challenged by many of the words in his book. One of these goes like this:

"We must have long moments under the anaesthetic of quiet prayer, because Jesus can teach us certain things only if we are under an anaesthetic."

At first glance it may not seem to make much sense, but read it again imagining that you are under anaesthetic for an operation. Duirng this process we place our trust fully in the doctors, believing that when we "come around" again we will be on the road to healing.

Translate this image into our times of prayer with God. Too often I don't abandon myself to Christ during my times of prayer - it becomes too controlled and quick. However, I am challenged today to allow the Holy Spirit to do some surgery in my spirit and to release myself fully into God's care.

Here is another awesome quote from another of Jean Vanier's books:

“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. ” 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Indelible Ink

The word "Indelible" is often used in the context of writing and means - "what has been written cannot be forgotten or erased". I guess it could also refer to tattoos and how they leave a permanent story on your body.

I had the pleasure of stumbling upon a book in the local library entitled "Indelible Ink" (by Scott Larsen) and it has an interesting take on Faith and Influence. Scott Larsen asked a number of prominent Christians to reflect on the 3 books that had influenced their Christian lives the most.

Reading the insights of these well known Christian leaders was fascinating. One of the things I realised is how God used the written word to impact the lives of every one of these people. It was as if God intentional brought a special book across their paths, so that it would bring them closer to faith.

If we had to ask ourselves a similar question, how would we respond? Has their been a influential book in your Christian experience (apart from the Bible). What was it about this book that shaped your relationship with Christ?

I suppose I can't ask you the question without answering it myself; so here are my 3 books (although it was tough to decide on just 3).

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
What's so Amazing about Grace, Philip Yancey
Ordering your Private World, Gordon MacDonald


Even as I list these 3 I find that there are another 10 that come to mind, but I will stick with these for today. Perhaps my list will be different tomorrow :)

Grace and Peace
Living in Grace
D3LM3

Exodus 32:33 - God said to Moses, “I’ll only erase from my book those who sin against me. For right now, you go and lead the people to where I told you. Look, my Angel is going ahead of you.

Victorian Parlor or Family Room?

 

In doing some reading around the 7 Churches of Revelation, I came across this delightful piece from Eugene Peterson. He makes this lovely observation about the church and challenging us on what we expect from a church community:

"The churches of the Revelation show us that churches are not Victorian Parlors where everything is always picked up and ready for guests. They are messy family rooms. Entering a person's house unexpectedly, we are sometimes met with a barrage of apologies. St. John does not apologise. Things are out of order, to be sure, but that is what happens to churches that are lived in. They are not show rooms. They are living rooms, and if the persons living in them are sinners, there are going to be clothes scattered about, hand prints on the woodwork, and mud on the carpet." - E.Peterson in Reversed Thunder

I think there is a lot for us to chew on in this passage. It calls me to reflect on our desire to make church 'nice' and  'clean' - or to remember that because we are all "sinners in need of grace", there is going to be a mess in some parts of our community.

Seeking to make our churches look like "show rooms" is not going to help us live in them and make them spaces for the entire family of God. What do you think?

1 Corinthians 1:10 - I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Born a crime

What are you reading at the moment?
I am reading Trevor Noah's autobiography entitled 'Born a Crime' and it really is a fascinating read. It has challenged me on a number of fronts, especially as a South African. However, the one thing that keeps coming back to me, is the title of the book. Trevor was born into a South African context that didn't allow black and white people to be married to one another - it was a crime in those days. So, when Trevor took his first breath, he was considered to be the result of a criminal act.

It got me thinking about Jesus' birth.
For some, he was also born a crime. He was also seen as an upstart and someone who was challenging the religious law of the day. Even King Herod wasn't too happy about his birth. In a similar sense, Jesus was born into a world that didn't want him. And when he died, they crucified him as if he was a criminal. He was willing to go through all of this hatred just for us.

^"When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born." - Matthew 2:3-4 

What does Jesus' birth mean for you this year?

Living in Grace
D3LM3