It is well

I’m lingering over the picture of Don and Gregor, hand in hand on the clifftop path. It’s intriguing that despite his great love for his granddad, when Gregor was in trouble he turned back to Daddy. He trusted Daddy to pick him up, to carry him and keep him safe.

Sometimes I can fall into step with the world. That might look like me going along with worldly ways. Or it might look like me arguing, despairing, anxious and concerned over the direction of our politics or the plight of the environment. Keeping up with the world is exhausting.

Like Greg, I eventually give in and turn to Jesus and let his presence bring peace, restoration, and hope. Since Jesus is master of the universe, hope never dies. He is faithful. He will do what he has promised. I can trust in that, as I wait in him.

Take heart, he advised his followers. In the world there is all kinds of trouble. But I, Jesus, have overcome the world.

All will be well. All manner of things will be well.

Washing Cycle

Washing machine churning away again. When the weather is as settled as this, I just have an urge to throw all the blankets, mattress protectors, bedding into the wash to get it dried and aired in a few hours. There is something so lovely about the fragrance of clean linen air dried amongst the flowers in the garden.

Spending time in Jesus’ presence, focused and aware of him, is a bit like being hurled into the washing machine! Some stubborn stains get released. Some may take future washings, hotter water, more soap. Then hanging out with him, hopefully draws in some of his beautiful fragrance which can be detected when we are out there in the world.

Bambi

Bambi has discovered a larder which is just to her tastes.

We were delighted to see her when we opened the curtains on Sunday morning. She was munching weeds and the leaves of an unproductive damson tree, so what’s not to love about a graceful Bambi in your garden?

We laughed off Jamie’s suggestion of haunch of venison for Sunday lunch.

However, when Don reported later in the day that she was eating my strawberries...yup, she cleaned us out of the ones along the pathway. And suddenly I realised that slugs or birds were not the culprits in the vicious pruning of one or two of the lettuces...

Well, we’ll still welcome her in, but try to protect those things most tempting to her palate.

It’s made me think of the beautiful world God has created for us to live in. He has welcomed us in – we didn’t invade. But now that we’re here, we’re carelessly trashing the place. 

I guess some of the angels may be asking God if he’s planning haunch of human for dinner...

Blazes

A log fell out of the fire last week, fusing the fibres of the rug and singeing the underlay. Had Don not been sitting there at the time, he might have been dealing with an inferno.

We love our open fire. It’s cheerful and alive, flaring and blazing and then settling into hot embers. It makes the room cosy not just because of the heat given off but also by the sense of companionship a living fire gives. It’s kind of a quiet, comforting friend.

But an open fire has obvious risk factors, and requires vigilance and care. On balance, we’re happy to manage the risks with smoke alarms and a fire guard and a regular chimney sweep.

People can be on fire for God. One might argue that a person filled with the Holy Spirit will be on fire for God – whether that fire is blazing or has settled into the warmth of glowing embers. That inner fire should draw those who are still ‘out in the cold’ to come near and warm themselves in God’s presence as expressed through a believer’s life. In God is found mercy and grace and forgiveness for all.

Jesus came for all, and he lived his life riskily. Many were drawn to his warmth; when they experienced his love, they were willing to abandon home and job and join him on the road. Others, though, were scorched by the truth he taught and lived. Full of pride or self-righteousness, convinced of the correctness of their own understanding, they criticised and judged others and eventually hung the prince of peace on a cross.

The world is a cold place just now, where at least one leader has rejected compassion for the vulnerable in preference for protection of his own kind. This is the time for the rest of us to fan our faith into flame, to stick close to the source and move through the world with compassion and love, exuding hope in our faithful and loving Father.

The Star

Visitors last week who belong to a sect which focuses on matching current world events to Biblical prophecy. Their attitude was fatalistic, as they believe that God has a pre-ordained plan and all we can do is try to read the signs of the times and distance ourselves from the world. 

Their focus  is on digging into Scripture in order to identify its correlation to world events; mine is to dig into Scripture in order to deepen my relationship with Jesus. I don’t want to get hung up on the scenery and staging and miss the star. 

I recently took a cookbook out of the local library which is full of recipes to combat the onset of dementia. (No signs of it so far ... but dealing with it in loved ones makes me aware.) The writers prefaced the recipes by going into great detail about each food and vitamin which either nurtures or shrinks our brains’ cognitive capacity. I nearly fell down the rabbit hole of thinking I needed to learn it all to apply it to every meal I prepare from now on.

For me, that would drain the joy out of cooking and eating.

I stepped back and picked out a few recipes which appealed. We have just eaten a very delicious spicy lentil soup, followed by a Moroccan couscous. I can just about cope with learning four or five new dishes and adding them to my repertoire, hoping that they, along with a greater intake of fish, fresh fruit and veg ... and that daily glass of red wine and bit of dark chocolate ... will keep the little grey cells connected.

Food is for enjoying; life is for living; Jesus came so that we could have life to the full. Joy to the world, the angels sang. The Lord has come!

Octopus

Psalm 63 has been a favourite of mine for nearly thirty years, having become very meaningful to me when my sister died. This morning I read it again as part of my planned reading, and a few verses which I always tend to skim over jumped out at me.

I had been  praying the world, holding a globe in my hands and focusing on the black dots of trouble spots which I’ve marked. Lingering over the Middle East, thinking about the threats and barbaric beheadings being carried out by the members of IS, verses 9 and 10 suddenly carried meaning for me.

‘They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.’

I have never wished harm on anyone, but seeing the deliberate brutality and hearing about their plans to extend their ‘kingdom’ throughout the world has perhaps altered my thinking a bit. Especially in light of the recent charges brought against men in the UK who had plans to behead a citizen in public here. 

I saw the evil as an octopus, head in the Middle East but with writhing tentacles insinuating themselves into otherwise peace-loving countries, seeking to destroy. And I prayed that those tentacles might be amputated, in effect, beheading the evil organisation.

The difference between my praying those pretty negative words and David praying them thousands of years ago, though, is Jesus. Because of Jesus, I am not praying against individual perpetrators but against the evil spirit behind them. And because of Jesus, I am praying for my enemies as individuals, that they would be set free from the bondage to terror which they first embraced, before it got a hold of them. 

Jesus came to set us free, all of us, and when we let him, we are free indeed.

Leaves for the Healing of the Nations

The leaves of a fruitful bush growing beside a spring of fresh water will be used for the healing of the nations, the Bible tells us in Ezekiel.

The fruit from the bush nourishes the hungry; the leaves are used for the healing of the nations.

I’ve been thinking of this for hours as I picked blackcurrants, and am up to my eyeballs in blackcurrants readying them for jam making. I think I need to revisit a bit of botany and photosynthesis and what the purpose of leaves really is!

I believe that leaves absorb some of the pollutants in the air, and then along with using the sunlight they convert it into the green goodness of plants. I think I need to make sure of this, but it does have some obvious parallels to the purpose of leaves in this biblical sense.

Perhaps never has the world been in more need of healing. We Christians need to spend more time in the Word to figure out just what this verse means. The healing of the nations...

As we Christians immerse ourselves in the living water, fully refreshed in Jesus, we bear fruit which nourishes the spiritually famished around us. And maybe there is a sense that we also act as leaves, attracting pollutants – bad attitudes, thoughts, atmospheres, etc – and converting them into healthy attitudes.

How does that bring healing to the nations? One person at a time?

 

What do you think?