Fri 1st May:

#32. Breaking news

I remember chatting to a young couple who said that one of the joys and novelties of moving up to London from Wales was that you could read the days news on the same day it happened (the printed press publish their first editions in the City at around 10pm). Obviously these days of 24 hour rolling news on the TV and the internet, everything is almost instant but this is a recent thing.

In Jesus’ day news had travelled pretty quick because the who of the country had heard of Him and that He was special. They had heard that He could heal people and so people travelled from all over to see Him. Lets read the passage -
Mark 3:7-12
7 Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard all He was doing, many people came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for Him, to keep the people from crowding Him. 10 For He had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch Him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ 12 But He gave them strict orders not to tell others about Him.

So why did people come to see Jesus? It appears that most came to see Him not because of what He was saying but what He is was doing.    He was a miracle worker and so people obviously wanted to be touched by Him.    The masses could see He had power but they didn’t recognise Him as the Messiah. It was only the impure spirits who saw Him for who He truly was.
Jesus’ response is quite telling. We read in v12 that he gave them strict orders not to tell others about Him.
Why would you stop anyone telling others of your true identity? Was it to do with the lack of credibility that these impure spirits had or was it for another reason?
In the first half of Mark’s gospel, only five individuals or groups know Jesus' identity: God the father, Jesus, the evil spirits, Mark (the author), and us (the reader). Not even His closest disciples understand who He is. It is not, in fact, until the middle of the Gospel that His disciples begin to realize that Jesus is the Son of God.
Knowing who someone is changes everything!
Nicky Gumbel of Alpha recounts an embarrassing meeting with a rugby player - I will let him tell the story -

I love playing squash, and I play squash pretty regularly. But at the squash club that I belong to there’s also a gym, and sometimes if there’s no one to play squash with I go into the gym. One time some time ago I went into the gym and I was doing some weights there, and there was a great big guy — actually I didn’t realise who he was — whose name is Paul Ackford. He was an England Rugby International, ex-policeman, weighs about 230 lbs, and I was doing weights with him. He was lifting huge weights; I was lifting puny little weights!

But afterwards we were chatting in the changing rooms upstairs, and I was trying to make polite conversation, so I said, `Do you do any other sport?’ — I meant apart from weightlifting. I think he assumed that I must know that he played rugby, so he said, `Yeah, I play a bit of squash.’ So I said, `Oh, is squash your main sport?’ He said, `No, I play rugby.’ So I said, `Oh, really! Do you play for a club?’ He said, `Yeah, Harlequins.’ So I said, `Oh, Harlequins — I've heard of them, they're rather good, aren't they!’ He said, `Yeah.’ I said, `Don't they have some England players playing for them?’ He said, `Yeah, five.’ So I said, `Have you ever played for England?’ He said, `Yeah.’ I said, `When did you last play for England?’ He said, `Two weeks ago in the World Cup.’ And I looked at him and I said, _`You're Paul Ackford!’ I'd been with him all that time, and I hadn't realised who he was.

So this morning as you come to Jesus - recognise him for who He is (the Son of God) and live for Him. Not because of what He can do for you but simply because of who He is.

Much love

Tim

Thurs 30th Apr: #31. Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed is a strange word (it took me a few attempts to spell it properly!). It is also a horrible feeling to have. And I am picking up hints that this is how many of you are feeling right now; overwhelmed. The meaning of overwhelm is to “bury or drown beneath a huge mass of something.” When we use it to describe how we are feeling we are saying that something (a few things) have “a strong emotional effect on” us.

And as the days go on we are feeling overwhelmed by various things. These things are different for different people. * For some it is homeschooling their children whilst trying to work from home at the same time; or trying to find creative things for the children to do and running out of ideas when the parks are shut down.* For some it is the pressure of working from home that seems to be crazy for many. * For others it is the danger of being a Key Worker and having to go out to a place of work where social distancing is a joke. *Our young people are overwhelmed by school lessons on a screen and whether or not their grades will be fair and reflect their work of the past 13 years. Our students are overwhelmed by their approaching exams or concern about the future. Our older people are also concerned about the future and how much longer they will have to isolate when others have their restrictions lifted. Then there is the overwhelming feeling of not being able to read all the social media messages, prayer requests, or emails in our inboxes. *For others it is the horrible feeling of not being able to get up close to members of their family. For those living on their own it is the reality of loneliness and the long hours of the day, and night.

And if you have a compassionate heart you will be feeling overwhelmed with sadness as you hear that more than 26,000 people have died through the coronavirus. 26,000 people. Behind each statistic there is a real person. And our hearts are also affected by sadness at the thought of the many more thousands who are grieving because of the loss of those loved ones. And for some of you this is closer to home as you grieve for family and friends who have died.

This is not a nice place for our souls to be in right now. And we wonder what to do. Here are a few helps to keep your head above water.

1/ Remember that very spiritual people in the Bible also had this feeling of being overwhelmed. The Psalm singer of Psalm 88 said “I am overwhelmed with troubles.” Ezekiel the Prophet was overwhelmed when he sat amongst the exiles by the Kebar River (Exek 3v15 NLT). And above all, our Saviour Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matt 26v38). So it is not an unspiritual thing to feel overwhelmed, in fact you are in good company if do feel this way! It shows you are made in the image of God and you are not a robot.

2/ Remember the promises of God that will help you. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa 41v10). “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isa 43v2). These promises do not work just by reading them. They need to be downloaded into our lives. The download mechanism is prayer. “It is by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the Heavenly Father.” (Calvin) We must ask for the things that are promised, because prayer is the way the promises actually work in our lives.

3/ Remember that your life is built on a solid foundation that will not give way. Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt 7v24,25).

4/ And sing

When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path;
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.

Love from Paul

Wed 29th Apr: #30. Losing my religion

On New Year's Eve in 1989 where were you? I was working in a 4 star hotel as a silver service waiter (honest). At 11:55pm the song of the year started and it was by the band REM - ‘Losing my religion’.

On New Year's Eve I often got a little melancholy and this particular year was no different. The strong message of the song (losing my religion) resonated with me. I questioned my religion and realized that I was not really following Jesus but the practices of the religion. I was miserable - religion can make you miserable. In this morning’s reading we have some miserable religious people -

Mark 3:1-6

1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’

4 Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent.

5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Religion puts us in control. It’s what I have to do in order to please God. Jesus in our passage is angry with the religious leaders. Tim Keller tells us why -

The sabbath is about restoring the diminished. It’s about replenishing the drained. It’s about repairing the broken. To heal the man’s shriveled hand is to do exactly what the Sabbath is all about. Yet because the leaders are so concerned that sabbath regulations be observed, they don't want Jesus to heal this man - an incredible example of missing the forest for the trees. Their hearts are as shriveled as the mans hand. They're insecure and anxious about the regulations. They're tribal, judgmental and self obsessed instead of caring about the man. Why? Religion..

So did I lose my religion in 1989/90? Yes, well almost. I still fall back into religion even now, but thankfully I follow the One who welcomes me back and restores my shriveled heart.

This morning, ask the One who is in the restoration business to bring you back to how He intended.

Lets pray-

Dear Lord Jesus,
I am sorry for the way that I fall into the trap of the religious.
I can be insecure and anxious and religion sometimes makes me feel better.
May I come to Jesus who is the restorer of my soul.
Thank you for this passage that reminds me that you love to heal both physically and spiritually.
Today, I want more of Jesus and less of religion.
In His name
Amen

Much love

Tim

Tues 28th Apr: #29. Noah and Lockdown

I’m hearing something today that I’ve not heard for ages… the sound of rain pit-pattering on my cabin roof and against my window panes. It’s quite comforting in one way, but annoying in another. And it’s made me (a bit cheesy this) think of Noah.

Noah was in lockdown in the ark. He certainly couldn’t go out. For 40 days and nights it rained and rained. It rained so heavily that the whole world was flooded. But Noah was in lockdown for longer than 40 days. He began his lockdown in the ark when he was 600 years old (Gen 7v7); he left lockdown when he was 601 years old. Just over a whole year in lockdown!

I wonder what he did during that year in lockdown. He certainly had many animals to feed and care for! Maybe he began to give them pet-names and tickle them or play with them? He also had to learn how to live with 7 other people in close proximity. His wife, his 3 sons and his 3 daughters-in-law were all with him on the ark. I wonder how they all got on together. Did the brothers fight? Did the women argue? How did the women get on with their mother-in-law and father-in-law? What about the husbands and wives relationships? It’s amazing that there were no children born in that one year lockdown!

So there they were, the whole global population in a boat together for just over a year. What did they pray for during that time? For the rain to stop and the flood to recede? There were certainly no politicians, or kings or queens outside the ark to pray for; nor any unbelievers to pray for. So they had to pray for themselves and life inside the ark. I guess they prayed for the fruit of the Spirit to be evident in their lives so that they would all get along together. They prayed for “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These nine godly-spiritual characteristics are good for all of us whether we are in lockdown alone, or with others.

Whilst you drink your tea of coffee, have a think:

What are you praying for yourself during this time of lockdown?
What are you praying for others who are locked-down with you?
How could you develop that nine-fold fruit of the Spirit as you live alone?
How could displaying that fruit of the Spirit be a blessing to those you live with?
Is there a particular fruit you need to pray for more than others?

And the rain is still falling…

Love from Paul

Mon 27th Apr: #28. What day is it today?

In this lockdown period if you are anything like me, you can lose track of what day of the week it is. I'm thankful for Sunday’s which gives me a compass to know where I am. In our reading today there was no doubt what day it was (Sabbath) and again Jesus faces opposition from the religious leaders.

Mark 2:23-28 NIV

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

On this section one writer says this ‘Jesus came into the world not to reform religion but to end religion and to replace it with Himself’

The Sabbath is God’s idea but in Jesus’ time Gods idea had turned into something else. The perfect law of God had been hijacked as the religious leaders added their own specific regulations.

Sabbath or rest is a wonderful thing. As Jesus put it ‘the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’.

Sabbath is a gift and we can forget it is a gift. God want us to enjoy Him all day and everyday but we don't and He knew that life would crowd him out. Sabbath gives us the opportunity to enjoy God more and all He has given us. Religion robs us of rest as we seek to ‘work’ at being good through observing religious practices. The Pharisees robbed God’s command into a repressive, dehumanising burden.

To have a Sabbath is a very good thing but don't turn it into something that it's not (more on this on Wednesday). So, on Sabbath make more of Jesus. Have a good day.