As One

The brave fire-fighters who strove to lead those trapped in the inferno out into safety first had to put on their protective gear and breathing masks. Then they found that fiery debris was raining down from above so they had to wait for others to bring riot shields which could be held above their heads like Romans used their shields, to prevent injury from these falling projectiles.

We are called to stand as the body of Christ and move as one to retake the world for Jesus. We need to work together in unity, as those fire fighters did. We need to lay aside our differences and protect each other with a shield of powerful prayer.

Effective weapons of the enemy are to stir up fear and division. Fear can paralyse us and leave us curled up, babbling and ineffective against the enemy. Division dilutes or even negates our effectiveness. If we’re going to bring hope and life to those in despair and darkness, we need to cooperate and we need to listen to our Commander in Chief.

Elizabeth told Mary that she was blessed because she believed that what the Lord told her would come to pass. 

We need to listen together, read and understand our Bibles, and obey our Saviour.

The God of Hope

Just back from a few days’ break in sun-soaked Paris. Heaven. 

Each morning we awoke to an intensity of light from the high windows and sun blazing overhead. It was like California, warm and inviting. Outside on the streets, tall apartment blocks (oh, that Parisian architecture is so attractive!) shadowed the streets, but once down along the Seine one could fully bask in the light.

And that is what the Parisians, and the millions of tourists, do, every day it seems. I wandered onto the riverbank the second day and sat down on an installation, I suppose I would call it. Fairly basic thick 4x4’s of wood offered seats, back rests, even beds for those so inclined. A wee footbridge to a further stretch of riverside, obscured by a planting of trees, sheltered a row of double chaise-longues for those who wished to snuggle up and watch the world go by. Every bed was taken. This was Paris, after all.

The world definitely was going by, one bateau mouche after another packed with tourists all training their cameras and phones onto the Eiffel Tower to get that unmissable shot. Fun to watch the number of selfies being snapped. Two companions, rather than photograph each other, stood side by side taking selfies. Am I just old fashioned or is that definitely odd?

Anyway, we returned to Scotland, land of the mist and gloom. Awoke this morning to a dullness, a gloom of low cloud-cover. Funny that the flight took under 2 hours and yet the intensity of light and temperature is so diverse.

Scotland is in the final throes of an historic referendum, and on Friday morning we will awake either to an ‘independent’ Scotland (how independent can it be if it still uses the pound and belongs to the EU?) or a Scotland which is still part of Great Britain. Either way, we are on the brink of seeing many changes.

Some will awaken on Friday morning and feel the strength of the light has reached a new intensity; others will awaken and perceive a deepening gloom.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and the light of the world. My prayer is that at the end of this historic referendum on independence, everyone will get more than anyone bargained for, as Christians have dropped to their knees in greater number and with greater passion than usual, asking God to bless this great country once again.

Whichever way the vote goes, my prayer is that we will move away from the secular society we have become and embrace the faith of our ancestors, that we will no longer be intimidated by the proponents of political correctness and tolerance but will understand and share our faith in the God of love and creation, that we will come together to work in harmony for a just and fair society.

As Scotland thinks again, let it remember the God who loves unconditionally, who saves all who call on him, and who blesses us every day as the sun rises and sets, rises and sets, rises and sets. May the God of hope fill us all with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whatever Friday holds, God and I can handle it.

Riding the Waves

As I walked Dusty back home this morning, I watched the swallows practicing their acrobatics. Every year as autumn approaches, they begin to train for their long migration. We watch as they duck and dive, lining up on the electric and telephone wires, then switching places; one darting off, sometimes initiating a flurry of feathered friends following, sometimes all the rest remaining on the wire until the one repositions himself.

Tonight, on yet another short walk, it is nearly dusk and one of the big birds of prey, a hawk or buzzard, glided out of the canopy of trees and with apparently little effort, flapped its wings a couple of times and climbed high into the sky, where it caught the thermals or breezes of some kind and slid back down towards earth.

Both birds with feathers and wings. Both fly high, one with joyful zest and speed and much flapping and manoeuvring, part of a choreographic display preparing for opening night; the other alone, solitary, moving with dignity and very little flapping, not ready to migrate but preparing to endure the winter to come.

God made them both. Just as he made all kinds of people. None is better than another. Just different. 

Some of us are socialites who enjoy the give and take of a group, the to and fro of the dance of life. Some of us are loners, preferring to soar or dive, solo, always solo. Some of us are black. Some of us are white. Some of us eat potatoes. Some of us eat rice.

The joy of diversity should be celebrated. How mundane it would be were we all the same. What a shame it is, then, when prejudice and judgment divide us into opposing camps.

Do everything you can, the Bible advises, to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Everything you can.

Our Father

What a great message we had at church this morning. I know the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is called the ‘Our Father’ by Roman Catholics – and what a wonderfully inclusive title that is. Ours. Not My.

A line in a psalm says what a blessing it is when brothers (and sisters) live together in unity. We parents know that first hand. But how much more must our Father long for his children to live together in unity, instead of bickering and falling out.

Just as children often fight over inconsequential things, so do we. So much better to dwell on what we have in common.

Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world. Your saviour, and mine. 

Now that is good news, sisters and brothers.