Beware of the leaks

As the winter rains start in the Western Cape, so we also begin to notice the places in our buildings where leaks have started to show. This can be a devasting time for people, as many don't know how they will contain their fragile coverings and homes. 

It struck me again this week, as I was trying to deal with a leaking washing machine, that unless we deal with these leaks when we first notice them, they will only get bigger and more destructive. 

I guess, the same would apply in our spiritual lives too - unless we take note of the places where we feel we are weak or cracks are beginning to show, then we could be in for some very difficult times.

"Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot." - Ecclesiastes 10:18

Thoughts: Do you have some cracks beginning to show in your faith? What can you do to mend the problem areas? 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Contemplations for Lent

Thomas Merton was a prolific author, speaker, mystic, poet and theologian. His writing provokes us to reflect deeply on our faith experience and our journey with Christ. I feel that the liturgical season of Lent is a good time for us to use some of his words as a catalyst for our own contemplations: 

"In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be places of silence, inner discipline and peace. In such places love can blossom. "

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy."

“The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds.”

Luke 17:11-13 - "As they continued onward toward Jerusalem, they reached the border between Galilee and Samaria, 12 and as they entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, sir, have mercy on us!”

Living in grace

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Planting in the soil of Contemplation

Meister Eckhart once remarked: "What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action." 

This time of the year has always been a time of contemplation for many of us. In reality, we must make a conscious effort to slow down, or else our opportunity to reflect could be taken from us. Contemplation is both a discipline and a choice. When we allow God the space to speak into the stillness of our lives, many of these seeds will bear fruit later in our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:18 - And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Aristotle added his thoughts to this discussion: "The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival."

As you reflect on all that has gone before you, and contemplate the future, my God be very near to you.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Getting rid of the junk

In the last few days, we have had the chance to tidy up a few cupboards and drawers in the house. It is amazing how much junk we end up keeping, don't you think?! 

I found pieces of paper and ten-year-old bank statements, along with things that should have been thrown away years ago. I kept asking myself: "Why did I keep that? What was I thinking?"

Anyway, the purge has been done (for this year) and I am sure that I have kept some items that will confound me in ten years' time - I will probably be asking myself similar questions to the one's I asked this weekend. 

The whole process got me thinking about the rest of our lives - spiritual, emotional and relational. 

What junk do we hold onto? 

Are there things in the dark recesses of our hearts that we need to clean out? 

What is stopping us and why do we hold onto unnecessary garbage? 

Here is a delightful piece of Scripture that was re-worded by Eugene Peterson: 

"So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered" (Hebrews 12:25-27).

Living in Grace

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The Quest - my story of Epiphany

 

The light draws me in – mysterious, divine, compelling.

I feel as though I am given a simple choice – follow the star and find the elusive answer or potentially live with a lingering, nagging wonder… where would the star have taken me?

Keeping the star in my sights, I persevere into the future. I am not yet sure if the brilliant light is just a mirage, a guide, or my ultimate destination. All I am sure of is that I must find the answer.

The journey is hard, but I continue to wander over mountains and through deep ravines. On occasion I stop to refresh and refocus on the great, glimmering goal. The wilderness is the toughest part of the quest; it is the audible silence that casts doubt on my desire for the light, but I push on.

My companions offer words of encouragement as we edge closer to the star. The mystery grows daily – larger and more pronounced, like a young pregnant mother watching the growth of her child from outside her stomach. Our questions are laced with nervous excitement and our words offer a hopeful consolation: have we made the right choice?

Wearily, but rhythmically, we plod on. At some point in the early evening, we are arrested by the silent, stationary star. Its arc has come to rest above an obscure and unlikely home. There are no magnificent palatial walls to mark the birth of this unique child. Where are the consorts and servants? Why are there no royal guards or physicians? There is no smell of a thousand fires, lit to feed the multitudes come to honour the king.

Perhaps this is all wrong? Has our wisdom been nothing but foolish guessing?

Yet, there is a faint sound emanating from a home on the eastern hillside. We see a dull light coming from the rudimentary shelter. In truth, it’s more like a stable, but there are signs of life coming from the open doorway. It is the voice of a weary young man, followed by the prayer of an emotionally drained teenage mother: Thank you for this gift, Yahweh!

In my heart I sense we have come to the appointed place, but my gut-feeling is confirmed when the sound of the angelic choir rises overhead. I have never heard hundreds of voices combine to this effect before. The overall message resounds as one, yet it is as if each distinctive voice is heard: Glory to the King!

Our hope is finally rewarded in this delightful moment. We choose to respectfully bow to the young parents, before we kneel before the child. It seems fitting that we honour the infant boy and as we rise from the dusty floor, the star reflects in his new-born eyes.

The gifts are for him, but we wonder if they are worthy enough for this special child. Will he even need them? Perhaps in the end he won’t, but it is what they truly represent that we have come to offer. Each precious treasure conveys the message of our hearts. We have found what we were looking for and now He deserves our genuine response.

And so, we offer Him:

Our allegiance. Our resources. Our All.

 

Living in Grace

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I find it incredible that when I ponder on the familiar stories of our faith there is always something new that touches my heart. These special events, in our Christian tradition, can deepen our faith and give us renewed purpose as we follow Jesus. God bless you as you keep your eyes fixed on the Light. 

 

Old habits die hard

The phrase 'Old Habits Die Hard' is an expression that has remained in common use for many centuries. There is a lot of debate as to who initially coined the phrase, with some people giving Benjamin Franklin the honour, as he wrote the words in a published article in 1758. Others claim that it may have been in use as early as the fifteenth century, but there is no concrete proof of this.

Anyway, regardless of its origins, we all understand it's meaning: Any established habits are hard to break. 

It is interesting that if I asked us if this phrase was used in a positive or negative context, most of us would lean towards the negative. I certainly relate this expression to the bad habits that I have a tendency to keep repeating - these old habits are hard to shake off and change. 

However, what if we took the expression solely in a positive perspective? The good habits that we have created over time (that are now viewed as old or established) are equally hard to break. They will not easily die off, if we keep nurturing them.

As we start 2023, I feel it is good practise to reflect on all our habits - both healthy and destructive - and to ask God to help us with each of these. The healthy habits need to be maintained, but the destructive ones need courage to quit or to change. 

Proverbs 18:9 - "Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism." (The Message)

Questions:

1. What healthy habits do you need to feed and grow this year?
2. What destructive habits must you stop?
3. What new habits can you create, that will become 'old' and resilient habits for future years?

Living in Grace

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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

All forms of Grace

In these slower paced days between Christmas and New Year, we get to contemplate many things. These would include:

• The gift of God's grace
• Family and friends
• Health and wellness
• Purpose and priority

As we spend the time contemplating these things I want to add something into the mix. John Blanchard offers us these wise words concerning how God meets our deepest needs. He writes:

"For daily need there is daily grace;

for sudden need, sudden grace,

and for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace."

John 1:16 - Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 

Living in Grace

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Traveling beyond Bethlehem

Now that Christmas has come and gone, we are left with the question: 'What next?' 

If Bethlehem was our final destination, then many of us will wake up in the week after Christmas feeling very flat and empty. It is not that we are disappointed with the gift of Jesus (how can we be?), but that we feel a greater longing for some other place. We want to be with Jesus, but not here on earth. It is in this time that we must be thankful for the presence of the Almighty throughout all our circumstances and situations that befall us. Bethlehem is not out final stopover, but it is a necessary place to rest for awhile.

"For outlandish creatures like us, on our way to a heart, a brain, and courage, Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning - not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.” - Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

Living in Grace

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Silence is golden

Silence is Golden!

Why is it that we can often hear God more clearly when we actively seek silence? Is it perhaps that the noise of our own agenda's fade into the distance, or that our daily distractions slowly drown out the voice of God? 

As we move into the last week before Christmas, let us reflect on the 9 months of silence that Zechariah was forced into, and ask how this changed his heart and soul. Remember it was a moment of doubt that caused Gabriel to mute Zechariah's lips and how might those 270 days have shaped his spiritual life forever?

"Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God." - Luke 1:62-64

Even though God had chosen John the Baptist for his unique role as the fore-runner for Jesus, John still needed a wise earthly father to guide and walk alongside him. Is it possible that Zechariahs time of golden silence was crucial in preparing John too?

How might silence help you prepare for Christmas?

Living in Grace

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A time to Remember

Armistice Day will always be a time where the world should pause and remember the great cost of war and violence. As we pause for a minute of silence at 11am on the 11th November I believe we should reflect on all tragedies and ask how we can learn from the past. In our posture of gratitude, for those who have paid the ultimate price, we should also prepare ourselves to tread gently into the future. If we can't learn from history we will be doomed to repeat all the mistak
es of the past. 

I came across this beautiful piece of writing from Malcolm Guite today. His moving words struck a chord with me.

November pierces with its bleak remembrance
Of all the bitterness and waste of war.
Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.
Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,
And all the restless rumour of new wars,
The shells are falling all around our vespers,
No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,
In every instant bloodied innocence
Falls to the weary earth ,and whilst we stand
Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,
And Abel's blood still cries in every land
One silence only might redeem that blood
Only the silence of a dying God. 

If you like Malcolm's writing please click onto his home page and enjoy his gift.

Living in Grace

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What hinders our relationship with Christ?

There are so many devout Christ-followers that we know so little about. One of the 13th century mystics, Mechthild of Magdeburg, wrote passionately concerning her love for Jesus. She desired to truly follow Christ and to eliminate all things that came between her and God.

"What hinders spiritual people most of all from complete perfection is that they pay so little attention to small sins. I tell you in truth: When I hold back a smile which would harm no one, or have a sourness in my heart which I tell to no one ... then my soul becomes so dark ... and my heart so cold that I must weep greatly."

This is an interesting take on our attitude to 'sins.' So often, we as Christians, like to focus on the bigger sins of others and forget the 'little sins' that trip us up on a daily basis.

Matthew 7:1-5 - “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Living in Grace

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What stands between us?

I love being able to reflect on both the wisdom of Scriptures and the insights of those 'saints' who have gone before us. Today's quote, which comes from Catherine Doherty, challenges us to ask if there is anything that stands between ourselves and God.

"Lent is a time of going very deeply into ourselves... What is it that stands between us and God? Between us and our brothers and sisters? Between us and life, the life of the Spirit? Whatever it is, let us relentlessly tear it out, without a moment's hesitation."

In fact, she goes even deeper to ask the next question: Are there obstacles between ourselves and those around us? You see I think we sometimes forget that in choosing to love God, we are also choosing to love our neighbours too. This is the harder part! 

Remember John's words:

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." - 1 John 4:11-12

Living in Grace

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Taking Stock

Many of the devotions you will be reading over the next few weeks have been written by members of our Church community in Fish Hoek. As we are celebrating our Church Centenary in 2021, I asked people to share part of their own faith experience by reflecting on this Season in our Christian calendar. I am sure you will be as blessed as I have been, in reading these devotions. 

Matthew 4:1-2. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a word that does not appear in the Bible. The Afrikaans word for Spring is “Lente” which is connected to an Old English word “Lencten” meaning the season of Spring. The Old English word really meant “Lengthen” because in the Northern Hemisphere at this time it was Spring and the days started to get longer. 

Lent as we know it in the church, came into being about the 4^th century as a time of preparation for Easter. It originally consisted of 36 days of prayer and fasting but by the 7^th century it was lengthened to 40 days to correspond to Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness. 

In every commercial undertaking there comes time for the annual stock take. It really is a time of reassessment. Lent is the time when we ought to be taking stock of our lives. Perhaps the most important question we should ask; 

“Where am I in my walk with God?” 

It was William Sangster who suggested we ask these questions of ourselves;

“Am I really a converted person? 

Am I known as a Christian in the circles where I move? 

Who is Jesus to me?” 

These questions are very personal and only you can answer them.

 

Most Gracious Lord, at the beginning of this season of Lent, help me as I examine my relation with You and forgive me for my shortcomings. Despite my failures I do love you with all my heart. I pray this in Jesus Name. Amen

(Thanks to Rev. Ralph Thornley for his lovely devotion today.)

Living in Grace

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What season are you in?

There is ...

"...a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing." - Ecclesiastes 3:4-6

The familiarity of Solomon's words may dull our understanding of his actual meaning. However as we pause and reflect deeply on the words, we see how he acknowledges that over his life-time he has seen definite times when he had to cry at the loss of someone, or laugh as he danced at a wedding. 

He also understood that there would be moments when we would need to gather stones in order to build a wall or clear a vineyard, but also there would be a time to cast stones into an enemies plot of land. 

The last part of today's reading is interesting for us. For this to make some sense, perhaps think about how we had to endure the early days of Lockdown, where we were not allowed to see loved ones and friends. That was a 'time' and 'season' to refrain from embracing, through circumstances that were beyond our control. Hopefully we can move into a new season that allow us to embrace again. 

Perhaps Solomon was thinking about times in his life where he had the gift of his family close by, but then there were times when he travelled far away and wasn't able to be with his loved ones?

What season are you currently finding yourself in?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Beautiful Reflection

As we say goodbye to 2019, many of us are reflecting on the good and tough times of this year, as well as thinking about what 2020 will hold for us. If you are looking for a passage to pray over and to help you with your reflection, take a read of these powerful words from Micah.
 
"With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:6-8

I believe that if we could live out these 3 qualities in the New Year we would be honouring Jesus with our lives.

Have a Blessed 2020 friends and thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Self-reflection

Our world has fast fallen into a place where we enjoy elevating the sins and faults of others, most especially on social media. Sadly, us Christians have also taken up this practise in a mistaken claim of piety. However, I think it has more to do with us feeling 'better' about our own sins when we can point out the 'worse' sins in our neighbour. This is purely deflective behaviour - if I can cause enough noise on this issue, it will distract you from noticing my true faults and shortcomings.

Thomas a Kempis wrote clearly on this issue:

"Turn your attention upon yourself and beware of judging the deeds of other men, for in judging others a man labours vainly, often makes mistakes, and easily sins; whereas, in judging and taking stock of himself he does something that is always profitable."

In my words - We should all practise more self-reflection! This is what will change and transform our lives.

Living in Grace
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Half way there

Today is the middle of the year - can you believe that? It always amazes me how quickly the year speeds up from this point onwards. It is also a stark reminder that the year is not done yet. There are still another 183 days to go, so we can put our minds towards accomplishing many things. 

 

Why don't you reflect on your year so far and see what God wants you to finish in 2016. Perhaps there are a few things that need correction in our lives and we still have time to make things right.

A game is not finished at half time, nor is a music concert. Perhaps the best is still to come.

 

Proverbs 15:31 - Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.

Zephaniah 3:2 - She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.

Living in Grace
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