Old Testament narratives were not written primarily to us

One of the greatest learning curves for me at Bible College in my Old Testament lectures is this:

Read the Old Testament narratives (stories) in their original context first

You may think 'doh...yeah...obvious!!' But it is very easy for us to read into scripture what really isn't there. I suggest that we do this in three ways primarily:

1. Firstly we read scripture as if it was specifically written to us. Fee & Stuart (2003) put it like this:

"Perhaps the single most useful bit of caution we can give you about reading and learning from narratives is this: do not be a monkey see, monkey do reader of the Bible. No biblical narrative was specifically written about you" (p105).

Even with the divine help of reading scripture through the Holy Spirit's guidance that does not take away from the fact that narrative scripture - and particularly Old Testament narrative -  was written to a particular people with a particular world view. If we read scripture with a primary attitude of 'what is God saying to me today through this passage' we miss what God was saying for the original hearers. This causes us to often miss out on a great deal of truth the Bible can teach us.

2. Secondly we can read our theological doctrines into scriptural narrative. This is very common particularly in evangelical and charistmatic churches (I would suggest!). The teaching cab be focused primarily on application rather exposition. We might decide we have a certain doctrine say on healing or the atonement. We would then pick scriptures that back our theology on that and conveniently ignore those which don't (please I am generalising in order to get the point accross!).

3. We often read New Testament theology into Old testament narratives before looking at its original context for the Hebrew people. What do I mean by this? In many ways we cannot avoid reading the Old Testament in light of our understanding of the gospel. Since we were born after Christ came we have a different understanding of God and of salvation. Also many of the New Testament disciples and apostles like Paul quoted Old Testament passages in their writings showing the links between Old and New. However it is still important to read the Old Testament narratives in light of the context for the original hearers before bringing our New Testament theology and gospel straight in there. For examples the narrative story of Joseph is primarily about Joseph, the narrative story of Job is about a figure called Job. You may laugh! But us evangelicals we can go 'no it's actually all about Jesus' because we see the links between Old Testament characters and the personhood of Christ. But if we do that without looking at the original context we again often miss out other truths and might I suggest make some severe theological errors.


So what are the dangers of the above?
1. We can be in the danger of reading scripture very selectively. Those scriptures that support our theological doctrine or worldview we accept and those we don't we conveniently skip.

2. If we ignore the worldview of the time and it's historical anbd literary context we can actually read Old Testament narratives and totally miss the point! Scary thought.

3. We can read scripture rather selfishly - what is it saying to me? What is it saying to support my doctrine? What is it saying to my church? Don't get me wrong application of scipture to contemporary contexts is important but firsty we look at its context for the original hebrew hearers who had a completley different worldview to ours.

So here are a few things to recognise when reading Old Testament Narratives which I've taken from Fee & Stuarts book 'How to read the Bible for all its worth (2003, p106).

• An Old  Testament narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine 
• Narratives record what happened - not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time
• What people do in a narrative is not necessarily a good example for us
• All narratives are selective and incomplete
• Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions
• God is the hero of all biblical narrative!

Anyway in order to illustrate my points with examples I will blog on this further. 

But the key is I think we do the above because we do not have access to suitable materials in order to study the bible affectively. Please don't think you have to go to Bible college in order to be able to read the Bible in its historical and cultural context. Sometimes its about knowing the tools out their to help us out. Just as a GP doesn't know all the medications and their side-effects off by heart but they have the appropriate reference books to hand.


Two excellent books written by Biblical scholars and which are great staples to have and also very accessable reads are.


'How to read the bible for all its worth' by Gordon D Fee & Douuglas Stuart (2003)
(please note if you have an older copy it is worth getting the latest addition as they have made many changes, particular in relation to biblical translation)


'How to read the Bible book by book' by the same authors (2002)


The great thing about Fee and Stuart is that they are bilbical scholars primarily and not theologians. Also each specailises on different parts of the bible - one on New Testament and the other Old. Furthermore they also have a reference section at the end of the first book mentioned above. This adds a great list of other commentaries you can get hold of e.g. Gordon Wenham who is a key biblical scholar on Genesis.

Building community in a rootless world: where is home?

What is Home? How can we identify 'home' when we live in such a mobile culture? How can we live out 'community' getting to know those around us and building relationships in a continuously transitional world?
Some thoughts to start us off...........

'Home Sweet Home'
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home! ........

How sweet 'tis to sit 'neath a fond father's smile,
And the caress of a mother to soothe and beguile!
Let others delight mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh, give me, the pleasures of home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home! 

(Parts of Poem 'Home sweet home' by John Howard Payne, 1979-1852)
 
 Quote
"Maybe the single most important thing we can do if we want to grow spiritually is to stay in the place we are." (From book: The Wisdom of Stability - Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture by J Wilson Hartgrove)

........I've always had quite an adventurous spirit. Something I think I inherited from my darling mother! I love to travel and I always imagined myself having quite a nomadic lifestyle moving from place to place (maybe country to country) in my life. I love exploring. I love meeting people from different cultures and with different backgrounds. But something in me is changing. How can I explain?

Let's start with the Poem. John Payne obviously lived in a different time period to us and as I read his poem I reflected on the differences in today's world. How many people identify 'home' with 'A fond father's smile' or 'a caress of a mother.' How many people identify home as being 'sweet place' which is unchanging. In this climate, Christian family or not, there are a lot more broken homes. Furthermore if you have lived in a lot of places, you may not associate home with where your parents live (especially as an adult). My family lives all over the world - Ireland, Switzerland, Kenya, Canada and my parents live in another part of England to me, somewhere I have never permanently lived myself. In Payne's time I imagine that most people did not travel that far away and probably had brothers, sisters and friends all living locally.

With the rise of Facebook and the internet life is changing. I realise that my generation was probably the last to remember 'life without internet' or when people first got mobile phones. Not only do people live and move with regularity but our technology for communication and relationship building can often be superficial with out mobile culture. Now you can get the latest Apple phone which you can not only tell it to ring someone but tell it to write the text message for you! Heaven forbid you would want to talk to that person, besides you are far to busy. So let the phone do it! Also if I might suggest, we are breeding a generation of 'restless' people. I sense in me a restlessness I could not explain until recently. Is this restlessness a product of being in this mobile and transitional culture?

In J Wilson-Hartgrow's book he addresses the issues of the mobile culture and sees wisdom in rooting ourselves in a community for a long period of time. He looks at the issues of boredom, achievement and idolatry as being consequences (or causes of) this mobile culture. Perhaps a bit harsh? I'm not sure but I certainly think boredom and achievement can be part of the 'restlessness.' The media and every advertisement around us all encourage us to earn good money, get a brilliant career and look fabulous. This is not just part of the secular world. I've met too many people in churches whose ambitions only circulate around work. Once they have got to the top of the ladder and have a nice big house then they will be happy. God doesn't condone  or encourage laziness (Ecclesiastes 9:10) and stewardship is a good thing. But it is worth asking, 'what will I have to show when my work and my house turns to dust' (Matthew 6:20) - heaven is not a place where we will be boasting about our achievements.

But moving on. Where does this restlessness come from? I think the root of the restlessness is thinking 'there is something better around the corner.' Even as I'm at Bible College I find myself trying not to think 'what is round the corner, will I meet someone? What will I do next year?' Part of this restlessness, as has been said, may be rooted in the false ideologies of achievement and success. But another thing I've observed in Christendom and the secular world is this attitude that 'life is all a party.' Don't get me wrong I think that we should have fun. I love spontaneity. I have a motorbike which I love to ride around and one could say I’m risking my life unnecessarily. Its good to have fun but I don't want to waste this life on triviality. I think people grow up a lot later these days. Life is a party, they have fewer responsibilities. Every now and again, its good for us to stop and think, 'where am I headed?' However neither do I want to always thinking about what is ahead and working out my selfish ideals and not enjoying the present. The pace of this life and mobile culture is that very few have the time for 'now.' God is in the now. Building relationships is in the now. 

In his quote above, Wilson-Hartgrove suggests that stability is good for our spirituality. He suggests that because we move from place to place we are not so easily able to impact the world around us, the community in which we live. What community?! I mean the neighbour next door, the person along the street. The beggar sitting on the roadside. If our world is so wrapped up in work, house, mortgage, our small world and successes, how can we carrying out Jesus' presence into the world and live in the 'now’? It is worth noting in Jesus life that he lived in a very small and closely difined area yet his ministry impacted the whole world. When we love the person in front of us it should have a ripple effect.

When I lived back down south (I have recently moved) I continually felt that the pressures of work and church involvement prevented me having time for my neighbours (yes even church, ironic!). It was lovely though when i went home recently to go visit one of my neighbours and have her throw her arms around me tearily. I often felt I didn't see her enough but for her to be so warm with me showed me the value of building friendship with our neighbours. But I was also saddened to think that really she was the only neighbour I had had time to really get to know. There are lots of lonely people out there but do we have the time to engage with them?

And so I think my attitudes are changing. I'm realising the importance of stability. Even as a single person without family responsibilities, there is wisdom in stability. Not all may be called to stay in one place but perhaps we all need to consider it. Perhaps our relationships and families would be less broken if more Christians learnt to live this way. Wilson-Hargrove makes another quote, "Stability is a commitment to trust God not in an ideal world, but in the battered and bruised world we know." Part of the problem with achievement and success is this sense 'we have to make everything better.' But we know the world is battered and bruised, are we going to ignore it or engage with it?

So when I went back to my home town two weeks ago (that is the place I have lived the most in my life - though no biological family there now!) I realised that I'd been homesick for the place. Not the buildings, the people. I had lots of family there made up of my friends, particularly those in my church and previous workplaces. I felt like God say to me, 'would you come back here if I asked you too?' I thought to myself, 'God I was always supposed to go away to Bible College and never come back I was supposed to travel here and there and everywhere!' Then I thought to myself, why? Why did I feel this restless need to not go back. Why this need to move about and not be rooted? Because actually it does not help me build community and be Jesus' presence to the world if I'm permanently mobile. The funny thing is out of all the people in that town I miss the most, my dear elderly neighbour is one of them. The effects of community!

"Lord help me to enjoy where God has placed me now, to build up relationships here and to learn to enjoy your presence and be your presence to the community you have placed me in. Lord show me the community you wish me to be rooted in the future. Take away the restless side of me that is not of You. Help me to realise what things are eternal and what things are worthless in Your eyes. And thank you for the web of family and friends I have. They are so precious to me. Amen"

Many winds but One Voice

I've been thinking this week about listening to God's voice and the Presence of God. I've been feeling a bit spiritually dry the last few weeks and struggling to hear the Lords voice. Being in a new environment without the familiarity of people you know well and starting a new course, I've found myself doing a lot of thinking. Thinking about where God is taking me next in life. Thinking about the wonderful things I'm learning on the course. It is easy to find oneself drifting into thinking about the future or abstract things and not enjoying the moment.

Last weekend I was wrestling with lots of ideas about engaging with community and mission and what I'd read and heard about this. Whatever I do in the future I want to learn to engage with my community. To live out the gospel not with words but action, with everyday people on the street, my neighbours, the sick, the tired, the poor (spiritually, physically…) and whatever community God puts me in. I was thinking about all the different ways of doing community and wrestling with all the different ideologies I'd been learning in my module on Spirit and Church in a Mission Context. I'd been researching different approaches to church; seeker-sensitive, New Monasticism etc.. and also looking at Church history and its affect on mission and New Testament passages on these things. It was all fascinating stuff. But one night I realised "I just need your voice Lord!"

I found myself saying, "Lord its all very well thinking about these things but how do you know which is the right way? I don't want to just learn, I want to put the things I learn into practice! And Lord why can't I hear your voice?" Then its like the words of the Lord just fell on me some sort of revelation, like sweet water to my soul and it went something like this,

"There are many winds out there...lots of different ways of thinking, philosophies, ideologies…..and these winds change with culture and time. There is often truth in these winds. But if you follow these you will be tossed around on the sea….from one idea to the next. But I want you to bend you're ear to the winds and listen to My still small voice...often quieter than all the others. My voice is timeless; it doesn't change with yesterday, today and tomorrow because I AM who I am. When you hear my voice you will know the way you have to go. My voice brings discernment and wisdom. It enables you not to be tossed from one idea to the next...or one neighbours difficulty to the next…..for you will be able to discern what is true and know what path I want you to take. You will know who I want you to draw near to as you learn to increasingly hear my voice."

The following day I received an email from a friend with the scripture Proverbs 19v21, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

On Tuesday of this week we heard a talk from the Principle of the college on the Presence of God and listening to Him and waiting in His Presence. I was like "OK Lord I'm getting the message now!" Alan quoted Exodus 33v13-18 and particularly the verse where Moses says, "If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here."  He also referred to Gabriel in Luke when he appears to Zechariah (1v18-20) and the angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the Presence of God...." He said that the Greek for servant means "to stand by". Alan said living in the anointing of God is about learning to 'stand by' in the presence of God. He said "people are in such a hurry that they don't take time to listen...we learn to wait for commodity but not for the Lord." He went on to speak about how there is value in waiting on God. It is a frightening thing because it means your life is not ordered or patterned out! You’re not in control!

He went on to quote Exodus 24v12, "The Lord said to Moses, 'come up to me on the mountain and stay there...."  Let’s not be present but absent to the voice of God. We only come alive by understanding and knowing the voice of God. Alan talked of his experience of ministry and said it is always about being a servant and a true servant learns to stand in the presence of God and partner with him, learning to anticipate what is required.

So is hearing the voice of God all rosy and easy for me now?!!! No certainly not! But My hunger is being awakened again, like the psalmist in chapter 63 v1 who says, “my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” I want to be like the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 and eagerly say, “Speak God your servant is listening!” Please make me long for Your presence Lord, more than anything else. For Your Voice above all the others. Amen.

I breathe you in God, I choose you

Wow! It is the end of week three of college. It is really strange moving into a different way of life..studying, and moving to a new place and with different people. But I think I'm slowly getting used to it;) I felt quite homesick last week for a few days which surprised me. I was so excited about living in a new place. However I realised what super friends I'd left behind. After all I've been a southerner since I was two! 

This week though I've got plugged into a new church and had an opportunity to practice with the worship team and join a mid week house group. I've also been able to do some wonderful exploring of the countryside and enjoy some facinating lectures. This term I have modules on the 'Old Testament' and 'Spirit and Church in a Mission Context.' I feel like lectures are completely and utterley widening my view-finder in terms of my understanding of scripture, church and the Lord. It's such a priveledge to be studying.

I started blogging about some of these lectures last night but felt God tug at my heart to blog about something closer to home, what he has been stirring inside me these last few weeks. I think it is best summed by two passages I have literally just read a few minutes ago in Rees Howells book 'Intercessor'. Rees originally founded the college when it was in Wales earlier in the 20th century. He says this,

"No natural love is in the same world as His love. It was not merely that the Saviour helped me outside Himself; no, He took my place. I saw every other love so rough in comparison." (page 30)

"He (the Holy Spirit) made it very plain that He would never share my life..... The change He would make was very clear. It meant every bit of my fallen nature was to go to the Cross, and He would bring in His own life and His own nature. It was unconditional surrender" (38-39)

Above describes Rees stages to accepting the Holy Spirit to live in His life,some years after he became a Christian. I recieved the Holy Spirit into my life much earlier than Rees and perhaps I didn't see the reality of the decision I made to recieve Him quite so clearly as Rees did. When the Lord made it evident to Rees the changes that the Spirit would have to make in His life, he spent 5 days on His knees deciding whether to allow the Spirit in!!! As Rees said, "I'd lived in my body for 26 years, and could I easily give it up!?" (p30)

Even if you have received the Holy Spirit at a young age you need to continually surrender to Him and allow His nature and will to absorb every part of you. These last two weeks I have felt, and if I'm honest still feel that my human self is at war with the Spirit over a particular issue in my life. I believe I'm still in the surrendering process regarding this particular matter. I was reminded of these verses in Song of Solomon 
ch 8 v6-7;

"For love is as strong as death,

its jealously unyeileding as the grave.

It burns like a blazing fire,

like a mighty flame. 

Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot wash it away. "

I felt God remind me that only His love is as powerful as the grave and He is jealous for my heart to only desire Him and Him above anything else. He wants me to set Him as a 'seal apon my heart' (Song of Solomon 8v6). He reminded me that as Rees recognised; no natural love and the things of this world can compare with Our Saviour's love. Anything else that takes the place of Jesus is an idol. I feel like God is continually asking me, "Pips I want to be your consuming desire and Only Me....I want you to love me above anything else you desire."

This song below has been capturing my heart over the last few days...especailly the last verse. We choose God and Him alone even when we don't understand our circumstances. That is faith. We don't wait for Him to come through over a matter before we choose Him. (you're probably thinking 'Al you blog about is surrendering to Christ!' It does seem to be that way. Maybe that is what life is all about.) If I could but change one line of this song it would be line 3. I don't think we can change ourselves, we need to be willing to be changed but it is the Holy Spirit that does the deep work in us.
 

"The presence of the Living God
It satisfies the depths of my heart
And all of me I change when you came
And I'm led free by Your glory and grace

And I breathe You in,God
Cos You are there all around me........


The kindness of Your love's pure light
Pierces through the darkest of all night
And everything is possible now
For God is here
And God is good

...........And when I don't understand
I will choose You
And when I dont understand
I will choose to love You, God"

("I breathe you in, God" by Bryan & Katie Torwalt (to play song follow this link)

A new season.....

Well today as I braced against the cold winds on my motorbike I found myself sending silent prayers above for the Lord to quick help me find a garage to check my tyres. Since I got the bike I seem to have had rather a few problems, the latest being a flat tyre. I managed to get the tyre pumped up and hopefully with enough time to find a garage. The one I went to wasn't open so I found myself trying to find another garage with someone's vague directions...leading me outside of the town and into quieter villages. I'd helpfully left my mobile phone charger in Kent at a wedding last weekend and was waiting to pick up another charger sent by parent by post!

Am I crazy i thought? Driving around a town I don't know, with a tyre that might go down at any minute and no phone on me. Was it a sign I was pretty nuts to have a bike in the first place? Probably:) After various wrong turns and mishaps I found myself back at the college, only to notice another garage much closer to home! The guy at the garage reckoned it wasn't a punture but that the tyre wasn't fitted properly and there was a leak on the seal. I'm hoping that the tyre will stay up long enough for me to drive the 12 miles to the garage I bought it from in the next day or too. It seems I need a good old rant with the guy I got it from...who also needs to fit a centre stand (which should have come anyway), and amongst other things find out how to open the seat so I can get the manual out, sort the dashboard which doesn't show when you signal, stop it reverring to 4000 in 1st...etc....... Thank God for a warranty!

However I shouldn't complain cos today I got some great driving done and practice. As I started going outside the town, I enjoyed the sun shining accross the meadows and the amazing feel of the wind, the best bit about riding. It was also an amazing gift to have been bought the bike, something I couldn't have done alone.

So though I wasted a morning of study I am thankful that the Lord was with me and I managed to get plenty done this afternoon. So yes I have moved up north. I'm now studying theology and live in central England. I'm enjoying the change from work though I did enjoy working in Psychiatry. Living in a new place also means new places to explore and new people to meet. The Bible college is in a great little town and shares a building with a church which I've enjoyed attending so far. There are only about 20 people in all three years - two thirds of which commute in, some from quite far as all the lectures are on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the time is ministry experience and self directed study. As the course is non-residential, people live in and around the town. I'm staying with a lovely girl who is similar in age and we seem to have a lot of things in common.

Now that freshers week is finished and the studying begins I'm beginning to take stock of where I am. Having 3 days of the week away from lectures means you do have to be organised with your time so you do study. It also means a challenge for building community when so many live away from the town. There are only about 7 of us that actually live locally. Some of us are meeting for coffee tomorrow which will be nice, and perhaps think too about how we can continue to meet in the week when we are not in lectures, to keep up community and compare how we are getting on in our studies.

Today I recieved a lovely gift in the post. A beautifully done album of black and white photos of the town down south, where I've come from. It choked me up inside to see such a precious gift made by two friends of mine. It also bought home to me what great friends I have back home. I had to remind myself that getting to know firends in new places takes time (after all I've only been here two weeks!) so not to feel sad about leaving but look forward to new adventures, knowing I will be able to keep in touch with my exisiting friends too.

Well now I think I'll settle down to a non-academic book for the evening, Amber the cat is doing little snores next to me on the sofa, completely confused by this added addition to the household!

Right willing is a foundation for right knowing

Over the last week I've been thinking particularly about the will of God and the Glory of God. I listened to a sermon by John Piper (Willing God's Will.............) which revealed a part of scripture to me I'd previously rushed over, and set me thinking on the subject of my will, God's will and how we can know truth, and what a revelation I found!

I don't know about you, but I love to think and reason through things. God doesn't go against attaining knowledge or using our brains but with reason and rationality comes this basis of thought, 'If I can work through this problem I will know the truth!'  But you know something Jesus seems to say in John ch 7 v 1 - 24 that our knowing and working things out has little to do with knowing what is true! In fact Jesus turns it all on its head as he so often does!

In John Ch7 v 14 - 18 it says Jesus went up into the temple to teach and the Jews marvelled saying "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but he who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood."

So what is this passage saying to me? The bottom line is this:
'Before you can know Christ and that he is true, you're will must be in alignment with His. And your desire must be to exhort Him above yourself.' 

The Jews in this passage are so like we are today when it comes to leaders, pastors, celebrities.  They marvelled at Jesus because he did miracles (7v3), because he sounded learned (v15). They only saw the shell. So often we do the same, we see a great pastor speaking and think 'His teaching is very learned...he is very intellectual....he speaks very articulately!' We see a beautiful worship singer we say 'how beautiful she is, what an amazing voice.' We see celebrities and envy their looks. We compare ourselves to these standards. In our natural humanness we are 'shell seekers' as John Piper put it.  And we crave for praise. I don't know about you but I used to be such a people pleaser. I still can be sometimes, can't we all? But often people pleasing has a hidden motive. It's about self-exhortation. We want to be liked. 

But this is where Jesus is different. He didn't care about being 'liked.' He said to his brothers in 7v6-7,"the world cannot hate you" (cos they were people pleasers!) but he said of himself that the world, " hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil." And the great thing about Jesus is he didn't have an academic qualification, he spoke truth and was truth. Sometimes we seek for beauty and intellect. But neither of these things can bring us to God in themselves. We can be impressed by teachers and speakers, and by their words but not touched by the truth at all. Scary thought. 

In the Bible it says that God doesn't care one jot about our outward shell. 1 Samuel 16 v 6-7  describes Samuel looking at one of David's brothers as they search for a new leader, "When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." This verse was my favourite as a child and teenager and I believe God gave it to me for good reason. I was crippled by comparing myself to others. By the beautiful girls in my youth group, by the intelligent people on my courses and God taught me a precious thing, 'I take no value, absolutely no value in those things. What I care about is your heart.'

Jesus modelled the perfect manhood. In John 7v16 he says this, "my teaching is not mine but he who sent me." This blew me away! So here is Jesus, son of God, who could have easily said, 'this teaching is mine!' After all He is God! But no, Jesus chose to align himself to God's will in everything, he only desired to give His father glory. Whoah! And he was God's son!! 


So how does that bring us back to the verses above? Why does this all shake me up so much? For this reason: that if I align myself with God's will before anything else...if that is the way that I will know truth and know Him better, it takes me totally and utterly out of control!! Bang go my rational theories, my systematic thinking! 


What am I left with? I'm left with faith, faith to believe that the most important thing for me to do is to align myself to God's will. By giving Him glory above anything else. This is all I need to know and do. This means a huge trust and surrendering going on. No what-ifs, or what if he doesn't show up! It doesn't mean an easy life either. Jesus did the Father's will but people despised Him. But there is a great safety, a great peace, a great joy in being right in God's will, in His arms! I is better than anything else, so much better than doing things through my own might and thinking!


Oh how I need every single day to bring Him glory alone. No wonder he taught us these words first in the Lords prayer, 'Hallowed be thy name, thy will be done, thy kindgdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.' Because everything else hangs on that. In John Piper's Sermon (from much of which this is taken) he suggests that we need to pray these words daily and ask God to help us to desire His will and His glory above anything else. 

Do you ever wonder what is going on with God's timing?

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3v1)

Do you sometimes look back on a period of time and wonder, "What was that all about, God?" I do! As I filtered through my emails earlier today and realised the majority of it was junk mail, I thought I could do with filtering through the last two weeks in my mind too. The last two weeks have gone by in a bit of a blur. I have  moved the majority of my belongings to two different places, attended a wedding, visited sick friends, prayed over family situations and made a new friend. Lots seems to have gone on and I'm looking forward to the next week of rest and R&R to process and filter through it all. I've not really had time to sit down and spend quality time with God over the last few days but the verse above has been ringing in my head.

I don't know about you but I often associate Ecclesiastes 3 with funerals and find the passage rather depressing. Is the writer of Ecclesiastes an atheist or existentialist? He sometimes expresses some confusing theology. The book reminds me more of 'The Outsider' by Albert Camus than the Bible! However he has a point. There seems to be times when God decides things are meant to happen and times when they are not. In other words his timing is perfect! Sometimes this is absolutely frustrating! Why do I make a new friend down south when I'm about to move up north? Why is my friend sick when I'm moving away from her? Why why why?

I think the writer of Ecclesiastes is reminding us that God knows that there is a time and place for every activity. We may wonder why this thing happened when it did, but he may have another plan, completely different to the one we intended. Maybe even better than we imagined. God only knows and once again what do I have to do??? Trust Him!!! Ahh back to that again. My blog seems to have a repeated theme: Surrender!

Lean not on your own understanding.....

As I was praying and fasting yesterday I found this passage creep into my mind:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

I have been meditating on this verse as I go about doing things and asking myself questions like 'What does it mean to really trust God?' 'What does it mean to lean on God and not our own understanding?' 'What does it mean by acknowledging Him?'

I'm the sort of person that when I have to think about an important decision I can sometimes find myself relying more on the wisdom of my good friends than going straight to God. Having counsel from others can be important but God wants us to ask Him before anyone else. Often the advice of our own minds and that of others may sound good, great common sense and seem totally rational but the Bible is clear that man's wisdom is not the same as ours . In fact in 1Cor 3:19 it says, "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with (or to) God." That means that the counsel of God and His wisdom may not seem wise to the world and those around you. God thinks differently.

So what does it mean to acknowledge God? I think it means to recognise his presence and sovereignty over all things. As we worship Him and lift our eyes off ourselves and the decisions we have to make, we are laying ourselves open to recieving His wisdom and direction. Sometimes this makes us vulnerable and we will be asking questions like "will He really speak to me?" but God loves us to spend time in His presence and so desire His wisdom above all else. Even as we focus on His glory and praise Him we are looking away from ourselves.

In the Bible wisdom is closely associated with the fear of God, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Prov 9v10). I don't think this is a fear that makes us run away from the Lord like a scared rabbit! It's a spirit of reverance and awe and desire to do what He wants above anything else. Proverbs 3 goes on to explain that Wisdom is worth far more than worldly riches (v13-14), it brings life, peace and health (16-18, 22), and that the wisdom from God also allows you to walk securely without fear (v23-26) so your sleep is sweet because your confidence is in Christ (v26). Wisdom from above always ultimately glorifies God and not man (1 Cor 1v17, 2 v 1,4,7). Wisdom from above is also extremely powerful. It says that by wisdom God created the world (Jer 51v15) and that having wisdom is better than weapons of war! (Ecc 9v18).

So how do we recieve more godly wisdom? Well, the bible includes it amongst the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthinas 12v8 and clearly states that it is a gift from God. However we can all ask the Lord for more wisdom and the bible says its something that we should certainly seek (James 1:5). Wisdom appears to be also given to the humble and not the proud (Jer 9v23, James 3v13) so my prayer is that I will have a contrite heart and learn to come to Jesus assured that He knows best and not me!

Spiritual conviction is about a tugging of the heart

Gosh I haven't blogged for so long! I've missed the opportunity to write and express thoughts and ideas and musings. Life becomes so busy sometimes there is little time for writing.

This week I've been thinking about the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Often I think we can assume that the Holy Spirit speaks through our mind, that its synonymous with our conscience. When I first became a Christian I assumed the Spirit would speak through my mind. But though he can use our mind to convict, I don't think we should rely on our conscience all the time. Our minds are a busy place, not only influenced by the Lord but by other forces....the morals we have been brought up with, popular culture, the evil one...When we understand the Spirit and learn to live by the promptings of the spirit we will recognise a heart and soul tugging as our witness of the Lords promptings.

It talks in the New Testament about the Sword of the Spirit. In Ephesians 6v7 Paul writes "take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." In Hebrews 4v12 it is written "for the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

You see the Spirit is not just the written Bible sitting on our laps it’s the truth of the word penetrating the very depths of us...the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. It makes me think of the image in Ezekial 3v1where the angel of the Lord said to Ezekial, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." The word has to be in us by the Spirit. Have you recieved the truth of the Word through the Spirit like that?

So often the Church and Christian culture is so full of popular culture that we no longer live by the promptings of the Spirit. Our minds our full of the cultural norm and we don't know what is right or wrong or holy living. This is why we need the Spirit. Without the Spirit scripture and the truth are just words, churches are just business and relationships are not communities and environments where we are living out Spirit filled lives.

So what is the answer? How do we live Spirit full lives that our holy? I think the Lord has been speaking to me a lot about clothing myself in Him. Reading Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6 has made me think about the importance of regularly clothing myself with the armour of God. Ephesians 6v12 says clearly that our battle is not against flesh and blood but the powers of this dark world. Sometimes I go to work and I feel that oppression of the world around me. It is not in my imagination, it’s real and that’s why I need the clothing of the Spirit and the armour of God as my protection.

 You see once we know Christ I believe we already have that Christ like clothing readily available. In Colosians 3 it starts "since then you have been raised with Christ"...note the 'have' this is something that has already been done!  We need to remind ourselves daily 'You belong to Jesus, you are filled with his Spirit because you have been raised with Christ!' And that clothing...those spiritual fruits of compassion and peace and truth etc..can so often get left in the wardrobe. We go out into our daily lives without the knowledge of the Spirits presence because we haven't daily clothed ourselves in resting before Him. So lets believe the truth that we are saved and walk in the Spirit and allow him to convict and comfort and strengthen us and so become more Christ-like.

Where is my allegiance?

I recently had to write an essay on the subject of Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God, with particular reference to 'The Sermon on the Mount' (Matthew 5-7) and Matthew 13 (sometimes called 'the Parables of the Kingdom'). Since then I can't get these passages out of my head! I've stopped reading the Bible through from Genesis as I was doing and seemed to have stalled quite literally in the Sermon on the Mount for weeks! But in a good way! God is revealing things to my tough-skinned mind and heart and trying to soften me, humble me and teach me things I've not yet grasped. I think the sum of what I'm being challenge about is this:

"Where is your allegiance?"

Ok I know I'm in a relationship with the Lord, he has saved me..but it's more than that. As Stott says on the Sermon on the Mount, "the citizens of heaven are called to put God first in their motives and their actions, in their business and their language, in their thought life and their priorities. All life comes under his royal control" (p89 of BST The Message of Matthew, 2009, 7th ed). Jesus' teaching is clear that citizens of heaven enter the Kingdom through repentance and belief in Christ (Matt 3:2). However Jesus clearly shows there is more to it than that. The mark of a believer is a life that lives out and practices the teachings of Jesus. Our Christian walk is a journey and living Kingdom lives is about obedience to Christ and putting Him first above all other things.

We can have allegiance to lots of things and put our value on those things over Christ. I find myself asking questions like 'Am I putting greater value on being respected and approved by others? Am I putting too great a value on my possessions and what I own? Where is my primary love? Is it for Jesus and His Kingdom or other things?'

The Sermon on the Mount is best summed up in Matthew 6:33:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you........."

I don't believe that this means that we will never suffer or have hard times...after all it says in the Beatitudes "blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness" (Matthew 5:10) and Jesus himself felt the pain of those cruel nails in his hands on the cross. But I do think that if we have His Kingdom and His righteousness as our primary focus then we don't have to worry about the necessities of life (what we will eat, wear, etc.....see Matthew 6 v 19-32).  

Reading passages like the Sermon on the Mount can leave us thinking 'is this lifestyle attainable, realistic?' However if we are in relationship with Christ and have the indwelling of the Spirit we do not need to fear. As Paul says in 1 Corin 4:20, "the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of Power" and the Spirit will help us in our weaknesses and provide us with victory in areas of our lives that put a drag wind on our walk with Him.
 
So as I blog on the Kingdom of God, starting with the Beatitudes next, I hope and pray that the Lord will challenge and change me. I want a re-focusing in my life. Hopefully it will bless and encourage you too.

Ladies...Men need our respect!!!!

This is a subject I've been thinking about for some time. Through observations of couples in my life and the differences between men and women I've noticed something that I think perhaps as women we need to understand and grasp better in order to encourage and affirm the men that we know. This is particularly pertinant to marriage and those in relationships with the opposite sex but also I think in general we need to know these things as we interact with the guys around us. I am talking, I know, from the place of a single, unmarried lady so do bear with me and comment if you disagree! However I think from my observation of others and what I've read in the Bible it is a subject God is teaching me about too........

As women (and I'm one myself so I can say it!!) we can be controlling, critical, nagging and wanting to 'fix' the men in our lives. Too often we do these things totally unintentially and not realising the affect it has on them.

In the Bible it says many times husbands 'love your wives' but wives 'respect' your husbands (see Ephesians 5v 33). It really emphasises it this way round. Why?? I think for the very reason that respecting men is intrinsically linked to loving them and perhaps God knew that women are not very good at grasping this. In Shaunti Feldhahm's book 'For women only: what you need to know about the inner lives of men' (2004) a survey was carried out with over 1000 men. What they discovered was this...

'Men would rather feel alone and unloved than inadequate and disrespected'

She gave an example of this from a retreat she went on. The speaker divided the room in half placing men on one side and women on the other. He said,

"I'm going to ask you to choose between two things,".... "If you had to choose, would you rather feel alone and unloved in the world OR would you rather feel inadequate and disrespected by everyone?" Shaunti explains that she recalls as a woman thinking, 'What kind of choice is that? Who would ever choose to feel unloved?!' But the speaker turned to the men's side of the room and a sea of hands went up when he asked "would you rather feel alone and unloved?" The women watched in utter bemusement! (see pages 21-23 of Shaunti's book).

In the book Shaunti goes on to explain that in the survey many men found it incredibly hard answering the 'unloved verses disrespect' questions because to them they equate the two.i.e. 

'If a man feels disrespected he is going to feel unloved'

I think deep down most women do respect the men in their lives they just often convey the opposite. Even things that might seem silly to us like not allowing the man to take a lead in the directions on a journey (does it really matter if he's going to be late as long as he has your respect and trust?!!!). Or nagging them about fixing something in the house can say to them 'actually I don't trust your're good enough to do this' and therefore respect you. A common one that really hurts guys is critizising them publically...you might be thinking you're just teasing them in front of others about something silly they have done but that is the worst insult for their need for respect. For women we forget these things.....

In the book of Proverbs in the Bible it says quite a few things about a 'nagging wife'...
-Better to live on the roof than share the house with a nagging wife. (Prov 21.9)
-Better to live out in the desert than with a nagging, complaining wife. (Prov 21.19)
-A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day. How can you keep her quiet? Have you ever tried to stop the wind or ever tried to hold a handful of oil? (Prov 27.15)

Don't you just love the last one! But it's serious stuff and I wonder if it really does cripple relationships.
For me I've always thought of Genesis 3 when it comes to this subject. In Genesis 3 it talks about the 
well known passage when Eve in v8 takes the forbidden fruit and just goes right in there and eats it. 
She doesn't consult her husband, she just bulldozes right in! And he stands back and lets her do it! Not only 
that she persuades him to join her by giving him some of the forbidden fruit....

I think this passage tells us a lot about the weaknesses of both sexes but its also related to this subject. 
As women we can be quite controlling and think 'well he might not do that thing so I'm just going to go
in there and do it myself.' However as a consequence the man don't have a chance to say 'actually
that's not a good idea, or this is what I think....' I think the weaknesses of men can be that they 
don't step up to that challenge and lead us...and instead sit back and watch. But if we as women bulldoze
into situations we are not helping them to step up to leading us, making decisions and entrusing situations
into their hands......


So lets learn to entrust things a bit more to the men in our lives so they feel respected and loved!

Have you buried Jesus deep inside?...

"Have you ever tried to bury Jesus? Many Christians do. They receive Him in their youth, then the world begins to seep in. Slowly their Christian beliefs erode, like water can to rock over time. They bury Jesus deep inside, seal Him up and walk away. They try to deal with the world on their own, ignoring what once spurred their souls"............For more read....Roll away the stone

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!

"See if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed!"  (John 8 v 36)
 "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 (Galations 5v1)
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corin 3v1) 

Do you really believe that there is freedom in Christ from things that hold you in bondage? This week in our midweek Church group we found ourselves being led back to the Cross and I believe the Lord was reminding us of all that Christ accomplished there. I think often we know that we have been saved from our sin through Christ's death but we forget that his death also was to provide liberation and freedom from the bondage and slavery caused by sin in our lives. In Col 2 v 13-14 it says “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sin, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood apposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” As we worshipped I had a picture of people coming to the cross with sacks on their backs weighing them down that He wanted them to give up. I felt that the people in the picture were those who knew the Lord. You see I think sometimes as Christians we know that God has saved us but we continue to walk around with things that He wants to set us free from! We can do this for years and years and years and it can stunt our spiritual growth with the Lord. How He longs for us to be truly free!

I will give worry and addictions as an example…..

I know a lot of people consumed by worry. Not just fleeting worry but continuous worry that exhausts. I know what fear is like. I've experienced fear so intense it was nauseating. I meet a lot of people who are busy. So busy that their minds don't have time to stop. If this continues they rarely feel peace. I know what busy is. Busy leaves little space for Jesus. I heard it once said that the words BUSY could well stand for 'Being Under Satan's Yoke.' This sounds heavy but I think there is truth in this. If we are too busy then Satan has a field day because we have no time for Jesus.

In Isaiah the prophetic words of the lord are spoken, “He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61v1). Are you broken-hearted? Are you fed up of being captive by things in your life that keep stopping you run in your relationship with God? Is your mind so full that there is no room for God's light to shine? Well don't despair there is freedom! This is what Christ died for!

But how? I understand this dilemma. I was captive to an addiction for years...I knew all the theology but couldn't quite see how to be free. What was the answer? I think the first thing was that my fear of God grew greater than my addiction. I wanted to please God and honour Him and this eventually outstripped my unhelpful behaviour. Every time I gave into that behaviour I realised that I was giving in to the lies the devil was saying about me I was not worth anything. People often think of addiction in relation to drugs and alcohol. But there are many addictions. It may be a body addiction but it could also be the mind…..worry itself can be an addiction...

I think it is natural to worry from time to time but constant persistent worry is a big hindrance to the move of God in our lives. Persistent worrying can be related to CONTROL i.e.“God I don’t quite trust you to fix this so I’m going to control it myself!” I realised that was pride.When we realise that we can totally trust God there is freedom. We no longer have to sort it all out ourselves.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corin 3v1) 

OK so you say…I get all of this and I’m really trying very hard to stop the things that are keeping me in bondage. But I’m still stuck! Well I think the HOLY SPIRIT is the key. We can’t live life without recognising that we need “the demonstration of the Spirit’s Power” (1 Corin 2v4). When we let God in by allowing the Spirit to do work and not our human effort there is freedom from bondage. This is particularly difficult with worry because that is all about our effort! But we need to come to the place where we say, "Lord I give up! I need help and cannot do this alone! Please send your Spirit to help me..!" I spent weeks just saying this prayer over and over again a couple of months ago and I often still need to do it! The more we allow the Spirit to do and the more we soak in God's love for us we will not want to try and solve these problems anymore.... in fact the act of soaking and receiving will bring freedom in itself.

Listen to this song and recieve....Freedom Rains

The blubbering controller learning to trust again....

Tonight I blubbered all the way down the motorway as God humbled me and made me realise how my attempt at trying to 'control things' had got me in a twist over the last 2 weeks. Worries about the future - what am I doing next year? Worries about my health. Worries about relationships.....Each time I think I've surrendered something, other things come a long and I learn once again how I need God's help in trusting Him about the future and not planning so much...

As I drove down the motorway from visiting a Bible College I felt God remind me that He knows everything. He knows the number of hairs on my head, He knows what I'll be doing in the next 10 hours and where I'll be in the next 10 years. He knows what I need. He knows me better than I know myself. So why O why do I feel the need to control and analyse and figure out everything!!!! How gracious He is at persisting to teach me to trust over and over again!

I'm growing to understand that surrender seems to be a life long thing and I think I've realised there is always more to surrender, always more that God can do to bring us to greater dependance on Him so there is less of Me and more of Him. It would be so much easier if we could learn this in one full swoop, in a blink of an eye, like a flash of lightning. But life doesn't work that way and maybe the process is essential to understanding ourselves and God in greater measure.

So as I put the my blubbering controller self to bed I can rest assured that GOD IS IN CONTROL and everything is going to be OK because He has got me right in His hand and that is the safest place to be.

Because of God's love we are not consumed. He absorbs all our why's and what-if's....

....I have not blogged for a month! The last two weeks I have been back at full time work and didn't realise how much energy it would take out of me. I've just finished my second week though and think I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. The first week I managed to go to work, get home, feed myself and pretty much go straight to bed! Over the last week an old song came back to me...a golden oldie in fact! It goes "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning, great is thy faithfulness." As I searched the scriptures wondering where this came from I found Lamentations Ch3 v19-24 and this is what I read....

"I remember my affliction...and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfullness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."

Even when are days become full of work and threaten to consume us the Lord's love overflows and his grace and faithfullness are with us again and again. They are new every morning.


Today I sensed His presence with me and His compassionate love as I had an unusual interaction with one of my patients. A man who rarely speaks about his past was for 30 minutes coherently able to articulate how a horrifically abusive past had affected the man he is today. A man who so often presents chaotically and delutionally was able to explain himself and as I prayed for listening ears I struggled to not show the tears in my heart. I could so easily ask "God how could a guy have gone through this much pain?" but somehow I saw that God's great love and faithfullness is still there and maybe my listening ear was enough for that moment.

God's love is all consuming and seems to flatten the 'Why's' in me. God's love is able to consume all our why's and what-ifs. What if this man's life had been different? What if...what if......As I walked on this beautifully sunny afternoon all I could say was "OK God I don't understand but I love you so much and I trust you anyway."

Have you encountered the love of God? Because if you do you'll never be the same!

10 years ago this month I had a massive bout of sickness which left me off studies for a year, a forced gap year. Even though I was a Christian at the time, I learnt through that experience more of His love and presence. I am still learning this even now and continue to do so. We always need more of His love. I've realised this month that I would actually rather live all that hell again 10 years ago for the difference it made in my relationship with God. I am a different woman now. Through suffering the Holy Spirit changes us. I'm totally different from the person I knew 10 years ago. Yes I knew Jesus then but now I am more whole, closer to God. Perhaps it took me being broken to get me to this place and make me more surrendered to Him. Believe me I'm not all there. God continues to encourage me to surrender and plug deeper into Him and submitting to Him is a continuous process.

For those of you suffering from sickness out there be encouraged. I don't believe that God causes sickness but He can use it to bring us closer. The apostle Paul was the most gifted and intelligent guy around and wrote a large part of the New Testament yet he had a 'thorn in the flesh' - most probably some sort of sickness. However he realised that through his weakness God's power and glory could be more powerfully revealed. He said, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12v10). Perhaps it was this weakness of his that made him realise that it wasn't about his eloquent or superior wisdom (and he had lots!) but resolving to know nothing except Jesus Christ cruicified and the supernatural power of God (1 Cor  v1-5).You see as my good friend Andrew said at a conference this weekend "Freedom from pain should not be our highest goal but glorifying our Lord Jesus." Phew! That's hard stuff! Especially when your going through it but this is truth.

These last 10 years I have been reminded time and time and time again of God's love for me through different circumstances. As a teenager I was an A- type personality, a driven work-aholic who didn't know how to stop and thought their relationship with God was dependant on 'doing.' Not all this doing was necessarily wrong. I was actually reading the Bible in a yearn at the time...but even that was a lot about me 'working' and not enjoying Christ. Sometimes the times when we are broken, desperate, at the end of one's tether is when we realise that ultimately its not about what we do, our theology (or thinking) or even our love for Jesus but HIS LOVE FOR ME AND THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT. 1 John 4 v10 says "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Why does it take so many life experiences for us to get to the state of dependance?! We are so fickle!!...And guess what the best bit about it is? We can always recieve more and more of God's love! It quite simply never stops! Jesus wants to love us so there is no control left in us, no got-to, have-to, ought-to, must-do. Even in the things of the church! He wants to completely wreck us with his love so we are changed forever. His love is causing me to become a completely different person. I easily over busy myself and go into legalism even now, but God is changing me to become more of a peaceful, relaxed person who is growing to be more confident in who I am in Christ because its not about what I do but HIS LOVE and Jesus' amazing sacrifice on the cross. As I call out to the Holy Spirit again and again He reveals more of God's love to me and more about Jesus' sacrifice.

Don't get me wrong the Bible is clear that we are to live what we preach and not simply sit back and do nothing. The book of James clearly talks about how the way we talk and act is important to God and living righteously is worthy goal. But what we do should be the outpouring of our understanding of His love for us and what He did on the cross... and not the other way round (i.e. we do so we can get a better relationship with God...) You see if we really encounter the love of God, we'll want to live right, walk right, talk right because we can't do anything else! We're that in love with Him that we simply don't want to do anything else!

Spent 10 minutes of your time listening to this song and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you the deep love of God!! See  Jesus Culture - How He Loves Us

Let me also take this opportunity to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all those people.. friends, family and church folk who supported me and loved me 10 years ago when I was sick that year. You know who you are! I'm not sure I would have been able to have got through some of this and still be following the Lord if it wasn't for you!

A Series on the Holy Spirit: Part 1: Manifestations of the Spirit and a Changed Heart

Early on in my blog I started writing about the Holy Spirit. I want to continue that now and run a bit of a series of entries on the Holy Spirit. I've been on a bit of a journey the last few months in growing in my awareness and understanding of the Spirit and would like to share that with you.

Two weeks ago I attended two different church services where the Holy Spirit's felt presence was clearly evident. In the evening service I went to people demonstrated different manifestations of the Spirit which as one on-looker said, "Seemed pretty bonkers!" Some were laughing, others crying, some jerking, some on their knees/faces. As for me, I was trembling so much with the awareness of the Spirit's presence I had to ask a friend to help me find a scripture passage I wanted to read out. That whole weekend for me though wasn't so much about the manifestations of the Spirit itself but the affect the experience of His presence had on my heart and soul. I felt like God pierced my heart with his truth (see Heb 4 v 12-12) and revealed to me God's greatness and my great need of Him in an even more powerful way. I felt like Isaiah in Ch6 where he sees a vision of God's throne room and says "Woe to me..I am a man of unclean lips!...my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!'" (v5). I was so aware of the need for the Holy Spirit to change me and my character and at the same time so in love with and in awe of God. 

You see true works of the Spirit must change our hearts. In Guy Chevreau's book "Catch the Fire" on the Toronto revival he quotes the great 18th Century preacher Jonathan Edwards in the Great Awakening revival as defining four clear signs of the true and right Spirit (as apposed to wrong spirits or the work of Satan)....

·         Firstly, "If the spirit that is at work amongst a people is plainly observed to work so as to convince them of Christ, and lead them to Him...it is a sure sign that it is the true and right Spirit' 

·         Secondly “are there signs that the interests of Satan's Kingdom are assaulted?”As Edwards puts it, "Are persons drawn off from the world and weaned from the objects of worldly lusts… taken off from worldy pursuits, by the sense they have of the excellency of divine things, and the affections they have to spiritual enjoyments?"

·         Thirdly, “is there evidence of a greater regard to the Scriptures, establishing believers more and more in truth and godliness?..The devil certainly isn't doing to have us fall in love with the Word!”

·         Fourthly, “ is there a greater spirit of love to God and man?”Citing 1 John 4v12-12 Edwards takes Christian faith back to basics and says,

“the last mark which the apostle gives of the true Spirit he seems to speak of as the most eminent: love to God and men....The surest character of true divine supernatural love - distinguishing it from counterfeits that arise from a natural self-love - is that the Christian virtue of humility shines in it; that which above all others renounces, abases, and annihilates what we term self. Christian love or true charity is a humble love."

So for those who are frightened by the manifestations of the Spirit (and I will provide scriptural evidence for these later in this blog), when you see others having spiritual manifestations you find unusual ask yourself are they bearing the above fruit. For as Edwards says, "The devil neither can nor will give men a spirit of divine love, or Christian humility and poverty of spirit....these things are as contrary as possible to his nature.” 

He goes on to describe people’s reactions back in the 1700’s, "Many felt unsettled by the manifestations accompanying the Great Awakening. And so the accusation was rendered, 'God cannot be the author of it, because He is the God of order, not of confusion.'" During the much more recent Toronto Blessing revival in the early 90's Baptist minister G Chevreau also witnessed this and commented, “regrettably those bringing forth the accusation rarely stay around long enough to interview those who are the subjects of the unsettling behaviour, and in so doing, are drawing conclusions prematurely." 

Thus the sign of true works of the Spirit are that they are heart changing ones. A manifestation of the Spirit is only temporary, heart changes are enduring and eternal. As to manifestations don't dismiss them as they did in the Great Awakening and Toronto. Ask yourself am I drawing conclusions prematurely? You may well miss out! You see my experience is that when I am awed by the presence of God, my physical strengths are sometimes sapped. When the Holy Spirit comes he touches not only our minds, but our bodies and souls and hearts. 

My next blog will explore this a bit more and will be addressing “physical manifestations of the Spirit...is there scriptural precedence for it?”

 (Quotes taken from 'The Toronto Blessing: An Experience of Renewal and Revival' by Guy Chevrau pages

105-108)

Guard your heart Part 2 - On relationships with the opposite sex

What to look for when finding someone who will guard your heart in a relationship and has a desire to be like Jesus and develop a godly character. This is not meaning a perfect person!! Only Jesus is perfect! But someone who desires to be more like Him…..

·         Someone who desires to be patient and self controlled in the relationship by taking time to get to know you. This doesn’t mean just not rushing into the physical (your probably thinking about all those youth group talks too!) It’s also guarding their emotions by not sharing your deepest desires and thoughts too quickly! See passages below which highlight the importance of having a character that is self-controlled..

·         They will be seeking to develop a godly character by the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (and not their own might!). They will see this as more important than developing their gifts and talents. Something I’m learning is that the Bible is clear that character is more important than gifts and talents. Time and time again men and woman in leadership positions, even with amazing spiritual gifts have fallen away behind the scenes because the character stuff is lacking. I think of it like a beautiful blossom tree. People see the blossom first, i.e. the gifting but the branches of the tree are only there because of the trunk supporting it i.e. the character. If you have a strong leadership position or gifting but a weak trunk, your ministry or gifting may well topple because the tree is not supported by those godly characteristics outlined below. Often gifting is the stuff we see in the public arena but character is in the private places so work on your relationship with God in the private places first! That is your relationship with God in the private places before your relationship with God on Sunday mornings. Your relationship with your close family and friends before those who see you in a public arena. Oh how we need God to therefore transform our characters by His Holy Spirit so we can be made more into His likeness!

·          In the Bible it says the gifts and call of men are without repentance (Romans 11v29.) 1 Corin 13v1 and 8 is clear that we can speak in tongues of angels and prophecy but these will cease whereas love never does. In fact v1 implies that you can speak in tongues of angels and not have love. You might think ‘but that person has an amazing gifting!’ Don’t just go for the gifting if you’re looking for a relationship. Ask yourself what are their character traits and how does this show in the fruit of their relationships with others. For love and the fruits of the Spirit endure when a man or woman is leading a godly life whereas gifting can still carry on even when a man or woman has fallen in the things of God.  The Bible is clear that godly men and women and particularly godly leaders need to demonstrate a sound character before anything else. If you want to look more into this check out what the bible says about the characteristics of godly men and women in the following passages. What I noticed is that none of these passages said, ‘he or she must be an amazing speaker, prophecy well, worship excellently.’ Instead they highlight the enduring character traits that are required e.g. self control, being temperate, worthy of respect, sound in faith, love and endurance, kind, pure, not malicious talkers, trustworthy etc....

-          For men in leadership…1 Tim ch 3 v 1- 10, 12-13

-     For men  in the church.. Titus 2v1-2 and 6-8

-          For women in the church..1 Tim ch3v11, Titus 2v3-5, 1 Tim 2v9 (note in 1 Tim 2v9 when it talks about modest dress it is not saying its wrong to wear nice clothes. The woman in Proverbs 31v22 was dressed in fine purple clothes. I think God just wants us to know that having a beautiful, God desiring heart is of more importance than outward appearance..see    1 Samuel 16v7).

-          For both men and women– Titus 2v11-15 and 2 Tim 2 v22-26

·         Look for someone who desires greater humility because humility is protection against so many ungodly characteristics. Someone who doesn’t act like they know it all but has the humility to say, “I’m sorry I was wrong” and accept rebuke and correction with grace.

·         Look for someone who seeks after righteousness.The bible is so clear that this is of greater importance than gifting and outward things. For righteosness guards the man (or woman) of integrity (Prov 13v6)

So in regards to ‘how far can I go sexually?’ and all those youth group talks on relationships!!! You’ll see, like I am noticing, that a man or woman who desires godly characteristics won’t need to think so hard about this question! If they have self control, patience and are able to guard their own heart and that of yours then this question will be easier to address! The bible is clear that sexual immorality is not good. Check out 1 Corinthians 6 v9-20 and that will keep you guarded!...

God is clear in this passage that as Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (v19) and we are ‘not our own.’ Paul gives this illustration “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unit them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with him in body? For it is said, ‘the two will become one flesh’ But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in Spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his own body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.”

I would argue, using this illustration that sexual union is a spiritual as well as a physical act. That as a consequence there is something that happens in that intimate place that we must keep for marriage therefore. Does that mean we can do as much as we like as long as we don’t go ‘all the way’. By no means! We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and let us not get into ‘sexual immorality’. Keep the sacred and the intimate for marriage!

But remember God is a redemptive and forgiving God. If you’re reading this and know you’ve messed up in any of the areas outlined i.e. not guarding yours or others hearts emotionally, physically, mentally. (By the way we all have in at least one of these areas!)  Remember God can heal and forgive our damaged hearts and our mistakes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lets ask God to help us to keep ourselves holy and not repeat our past mistakes by leaning on the great guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Wow! You may be thinking this is all rather a tall order! I’m writing this blog entry as someone who has struggled to guard my heart and am learning that I need to be character stretched and humbled! So by all means I’m still working through all of these things too!

'Above all else, guard your heart’ (Part 1)

 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

Are you good at guarding your heart? Do you know what it means to guard your heart anyway? I've been asking myself these questions. I tend to be a very transparent and open person. In the right context this is ok but there are times and seasons when we particularly need to guard our hearts and I am learning this! 'Guard your heart' is a phrase I've read about in Christian books (though it’s not normally taught on in churches much) but I really wanted to know what does the Bible say? So I had an explore...

Let me outline a few passages in addition to the one above. I will be looking at this in two blog entries. First of all at, 'What might an unguarded heart look like?  Then 'What might a guarded heart look like?  (we will look in terms of guarding our own hearts and that of others in relationships generally). Then we will look at relationships with the opposite sex and issues around guarding the heart there. In part two blog entry I will look at 'How to look for someone who will guard your heart and who demonstrates godly characteristics?' Guys in terms of the 'guarding your heart' aspect, your probably thinking ‘this is just for women’ but please you need to know that we tick differently and this is important for you to know too.

An unguarded heart or a heart that does not guard that of others

A definition: An unguarded heart will give themselves away easily to people they don’t know well and may encourage others to do the same. They will too quickly open up about their deepest desires and thoughts (emotionally, mentally and/or physically) to people they do not yet know and can trust (i.e. they have taken time to build a relationship with). Don’t get me wrong in the right context it is good to share things but as it says in Ecclesiastes Ch 3 there is a time and place for everything.

The bible is clear that we need to be careful about what we say because “out of the overflow of our heart, our mouths speak” (Luke ch6 v45). That is if we speak too rashly we can cause damage. We’ve all done it. We’ve all gossiped, let out a secret we shouldn’t or just said more than we should have. In Proverbs 13:3 it says “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” In Ecclesiastes it is clear that a "wise heart will know the proper time and procedure…for every matter."  (8v5-6) Lets ask God to give us wisdom about the right time and ask that we will not be hasty in our hearts to utter anything before God (Ecc 5v2-3). Remember what we say before man is also before God for nothing in all creation is hidden from his sight (Heb 4v13). 

An unguarded heart can be hot-headed and reckless (Prov 14v16) and can demonstrate, at times, characteristics opposite to the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5 and 1 cor 13). An unguarded heart, for example, might show characteristics of impulsivity, lack self control and be selfish in guarding not only their own hearts but that of others.

So what does a guarded heart look like and a heart that guards others?

A definition: A guarded heart is someone who guards their own hearts and that of others (mentally, emotionally, spiritually and bodily).

A guarded heart treasures things up and speaks to the Lord about them first before others. In Luke Ch 2 we are told that Mary treasured things in her heart first. A guarded heart seeks God first and not man for wisdom and enlightenment (Eph 1v8). A guarded heart seeks counsel from those they can trust and have spiritual wisdom. They will take time over important decisions, weighing them up.

A guarded heart will want to seek purity in their lives and in their treatment of others (Matt 5v8). A guarded heart will want to put God first and love Him before relationships (plutonic or not) - Deut 6v4. A guarded heart is aware that nothing is hidden from God’s sight and therefore will be careful about their actions and words before others. (Heb 4v12-13). 

On to guarding our hearts with the opposite sex

I think guarding your heart is something women talk about more than men (and might I say have a greater understanding of the need to do so!) Why is that? I think because women and men tick differently. Women are more emotional and more trusting so their need to guard their hearts and have others (especially men!) guard them is important. Women can much more easily give their hearts away (this is a generalisation might I say). So guys please be aware of the need to guard ladies hearts!

This is not a subject much talked about in churches but it really needs to be! I’ve been to lots of talks as a youngster on guarding yourself sexually (what you should and shouldn’t do!)  I think it is so much bigger than this though. Guarding your heart includes sexual purity but so much more. Let us take a broader framework to look at this…….

It is much easier to understand not being sexually pure but guarding our hearts (emotionally, mentally and spiritually) is another matter! It can be an enathema for us! I think for Christian guys this can particularly be something they haven’t thought about because again women tick so differently! You see when a woman comes out of a relationship they will miss ‘those conversations’ often more than the physical contact. (I've heard it said that even within marriage, for the woman its often not just the act of making love that is so vital to the intimacy between a man and woman but the cuddles and conversations that go with it!)

If a woman and man overstep the boundaries, the woman will feel that they have left a piece of themselves with that man, not just physically but mentally. So guys please encourage your girls that you are dating to guard their hearts in this area too. What does this look like? It means not sharing too many intimate thoughts and desires too soon in the relationship. It is important to save some things emotionally and mentally for when you are serious and know your going to marry that person. For marriage is not just a sexual union but a sharing of deep intimacies in all areas. You see if the dating doesn't work out you have less to regret then.

So its not wrong to have friends of the opposite sex who you are not dating but just be careful how much you open up to them and how much time your spend with them alone. Often I’ve heard it said in churches “guys and girls shouldn’t go out alone together if their just friends!” I’m not sure this is helpful. It is better to ask oneself, “If I have a friendship with someone of the opposite sex, am I guarding my heart with them and sharing things that really I should with my future boyfriend and husband?” If you are spending lots of alone time it could be that you are. For a guy this is hard to understand but for women it’s an issue. For guys they will have concerns about meeting one on one because of the sexual or physical attraction but for girls it’s emotional too. So be on your guard! 

An example of not guarding your heart emotionally in a relationship (dating or boyfriend/girlfriend) is saying ‘I love you’ too readily and too quickly! Wait until these hormones and chemistry has died out. (In the first few weeks or months it’s a biological fact that they will! Brain scans comparing those in love are very similar to those showing signs of madness because of the chemical levels!). When the endorphins, serotonin and testosterone has calmed down, get to know them in the highs and lows. See them through their colours, then ask yourself ‘Do I love them?’