A Call to Freedom

As we celebrate Freedom Day in South Africa (27th April) and remember the first democratic elections in 1994, it is important to also focus on what it means to enjoy and experience spiritual freedom? Here are a few thoughts to help us in the process:

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."- Galatians 5:1

Eugene Peterson puts it like this: Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right." - Peter Marshall

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”― Mahatma Gandhi

Prayer: May you experience the freedom of the Holy Spirit as you seek to follow Jesus.

Living in grace

D3LM3

Empty Nets

"Empty nets, Lord.

Moments when the strands that keep my life together seem tenuous,
thin threads incapable of holding anything of note.
My fishing futile, with nothing much to show for all I’ve done.

I sit with Peter and his friends,
cold in the dark, my minds amalgam of faith and uncertainty in equal parts with hope and fear,
not knowing what’s best, what my next move should be.
Times when I sit alone, human and vulnerable,
boat drifting in an early morning mist of fearfulness – net snagged on disappointment.
And yet you’re there, walking the edges of my life.

Calling me to one more effort,
your presence tempering the dark, your sunrise scattering the mist.
And when I move to try again, your early morning promise offers me warmth and welcome,
and the reassurance that my life is lived with you and the darkness,
and the mist don’t count.” - Eddie Askew

I absolutely love and appreciate these words from Eddie Askew. His prayer puts into words some of the fragile moments of my own faith. Eddie Askew served in the Leprosy Mission (TLM) for many years and used his talents as an author, speaker and artist to bring hope to all who suffered with Leprosy. For more on his life, read this splurb.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Rise up and be counted

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ invites all of us to a new life in his name. For us, this must mean a genuine desire to 'be resurrected' on a daily basis. What I mean is that we need to choose to 'die to our ourselves' and then allowed the Holy Spirit to renew us again. 

Perhaps for some people this happens in a once off event, but in my experience, this is something that I need to be willing to do every day of my life. As Matthew Fox writes - I must be willing to 'rise up and be counted.'

“to be Resurrection for another I need to be Resurrection for myself. That means I cannot dwell in [despair] or death and anger and oppression and submission and resentment and pain forever. I need to wake up, get up, rise up, put on life even when days are dark, and my soul is down and shadows surround me everywhere … I have to listen to the voice that says: Be Resurrection… Be Born again. And again. And again. Rise up and be counted. Rise up and imbibe the good news deeply – that death does not conquer, that life, not death, has the last word …” – Matthew Fox

Romans 8:11 - And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Looking for direction

As we contemplate Jesus' appearance to the 7 disciples, at the Sea of Galilee (John 21), there is an interesting connection between night and day - darkness and light. 

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. - John 21:3-4

The disciples were feeling lost and so they went back to the work that they knew. However, even that didn't seem to be working out for them. So, into this situation Jesus appears and starts to renew their purpose and direction. He shares breakfast with them and reinstates Peter, giving him his new mission. 

Eddie Askew – “It was a dark night for them, out on the water, and the enveloping mist must have emphasised their sense of isolation. Yet at their lowest point, their empty nets a metaphor for their empty lives, Jesus is there on the shore. They can’t see him, but he is there, sharing the dark hours, waiting to welcome, warm and feed them round the fire, ready to point them in a new direction.” 

God is always willing to point us in a new direction, especially if we are willing to be used for his glory.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Let us not rush through the story

It is barely 10 days since Easter Sunday, and I feel that many of us have simply rushed through the Resurrection story and had gone back to 'life as normal.' However, it shouldn't be this way! The news of Christ's resurrection makes sure that our lives are anything but normal. We are offered the gift of transformation and the chance to begin again. This is an everyday gift and one that should bring hope into our worlds. 

"Resurrection is the announcement that life cannot ultimately be conquered by death, that there is strength added when the labors increase, that multiplied peace matches multiplied trials, that life is bottomed by the glad surprise." - Howard Thurman 

What gift does the Resurrection offer you right now? Is there some grief in your heart that needs the light of Jesus to shine on?

Acts 23:6 - I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead (Paul). 

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

Christ recognizes you!

"That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was." - Luke 24:13-16 (The Message) 

Frederick Buechner writes an interesting response to this encounter. He says, “I believe that although the two disciples did not recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus, Jesus recognized them, that He saw them as if they were the only two people in the world. And I believe that the reason why the resurrection is more than just an extraordinary event that took place some two thousand years ago and then was over and done with is that, even as I speak these words and you listen to them, He also sees each of us like that.”

What better news is there? We may not 'see' Christ in the midst of our chaotic lives, but he sees us.

May you have a blessed week. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3