See John 21.15-18
- Michael, son of Arthur, do you love me more than these idols you worship, more than all these other things you fill your life up with?
- Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. [no comment on the comparison]
- Feed my sheep.
Michael, son of Arthur, do you love me? [no comparison asked for this time]
- Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
- Then take care of my lambs.
Michael, son of Arthur, do you love me?
- [putting on hurt feelings, but knowing exactly what Jesus is getting at because of the comparison at the beginning – the clutter, the idols, the selfishly doing what I want to do] Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.
- Then take care of my sheep. Look, in the past you did whatever you liked. You chose what to do – and you did it. But things have got to change. If I’m going to use you – and that’s why I called you – you can no longer rule your own life. I’m in charge. And that means you go where I want you to go, not where you want to go. It means you do what I want you to do, not what you want to do. You say you love me – and that’s true: I know that you love me. But you need to demonstrate that love by feeding my sheep, you need to live that love by taking care of my lambs.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Name of God
OK, for all who are reading but not commenting, I'll write something new.
I've been reading John 17. Jesus says (in prayer to God the Father), "I have revealed your name." In other words, the way he lived his life defined the name of God. Later he says, "Keep those you have given me true to your name." In other words, the way we live our lives should be according to the definition of the name of God.
And what is the name of God?
Moses was the lucky man. God told him his name.
In Exodus 3.15 God says his name is Yahweh - which, the experts tell us, is probably some form of the verb "to be". God is Being itself. He is the key to existence. So far so good - but it doesn't give us much to live by.
So in Exodus 34.6 Yahweh unpacks his name. The name defines the character, and by defining or explaining his name, God is defining or explaining his character, his personality, who he is, what kind of Being he is.
And what's the answer?
"Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, long-suffering, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining his faithful love to thousands of generations, forgiving fault, crime and sin, yet punishing the fault of the parent to the third and fourth generation."
Wow! This is our God. Our oft-misrepresented and maligned God.
Jesus lived tenderness and compassion, long-suffering and forgiveness, faithful love and loyalty, without being soft on sin.
I must do the same.
Michael
I've been reading John 17. Jesus says (in prayer to God the Father), "I have revealed your name." In other words, the way he lived his life defined the name of God. Later he says, "Keep those you have given me true to your name." In other words, the way we live our lives should be according to the definition of the name of God.
And what is the name of God?
Moses was the lucky man. God told him his name.
In Exodus 3.15 God says his name is Yahweh - which, the experts tell us, is probably some form of the verb "to be". God is Being itself. He is the key to existence. So far so good - but it doesn't give us much to live by.
So in Exodus 34.6 Yahweh unpacks his name. The name defines the character, and by defining or explaining his name, God is defining or explaining his character, his personality, who he is, what kind of Being he is.
And what's the answer?
"Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, long-suffering, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining his faithful love to thousands of generations, forgiving fault, crime and sin, yet punishing the fault of the parent to the third and fourth generation."
Wow! This is our God. Our oft-misrepresented and maligned God.
Jesus lived tenderness and compassion, long-suffering and forgiveness, faithful love and loyalty, without being soft on sin.
I must do the same.
Michael
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Miracle Maker
Miracle Maker, by Delirious:
I’m waiting here
For my life to change
When the waters stir
You can rearrange me
Just one touch is all I need
I’ve nothing much
But the wounds I feel
I’ve come to find the hand of the Miracle Man
Holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Holy, you are holy
Saviour Healer
I’m standing at the feet of the Miracle Maker
I’m holding on
With your life in mine
Living waters come
And you’ve rearranged me
Oh, you are holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Holy, you are holy
Saviour, Healer
I’m staring in the face of the Miracle Maker
(instrumental break)
You are holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Jesus, precious Jesus
Thank you, Saviour,
I’m walking in the shoes of my Miracle Maker
I’m standing with the faith of a miracle maker
This is one of the best all time songs ever written. It's best played alone in the car, with the volume up loud! And because it starts so quietly it's easy to put it on top volume. By the time the instrumental break comes I'm always singing at the top of my voice - but the volume is such that I can't hear myself sing. If the lyrics don't make you sing, the instrumental break will!
I progress from coming to find the hand of the miracle man. I'm standing at the feet of the Miracle Maker. I'm staring in the face of the Miracle Maker. And staring into his face, what can I do but fall down in worship - that's what the instrumental bit is for. And staring into his face will rearrange me. With the result that when I recover from the experience I am walking in the shoes of my Miracle Maker. He's the leader, I'm the follower. He's the teacher, I'm the disciple. He's the mentor, I'm the protege. What comes next? I'm standing with the faith of a miracle maker. That's the scary bit. I become a miracle maker. That's what God calls me to.
Do I get stuck looking for his hand? Or do I get restless and can't stand at his feet? Or can I not bear the heat of his holiness and fail to star in his face? Wow, the music! Or are his shoes an uncomfortable fit? Where is my faith?
Michael
I’m waiting here
For my life to change
When the waters stir
You can rearrange me
Just one touch is all I need
I’ve nothing much
But the wounds I feel
I’ve come to find the hand of the Miracle Man
Holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Holy, you are holy
Saviour Healer
I’m standing at the feet of the Miracle Maker
I’m holding on
With your life in mine
Living waters come
And you’ve rearranged me
Oh, you are holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Holy, you are holy
Saviour, Healer
I’m staring in the face of the Miracle Maker
(instrumental break)
You are holy, you are holy
Who was and is and is to come
Jesus, precious Jesus
Thank you, Saviour,
I’m walking in the shoes of my Miracle Maker
I’m standing with the faith of a miracle maker
This is one of the best all time songs ever written. It's best played alone in the car, with the volume up loud! And because it starts so quietly it's easy to put it on top volume. By the time the instrumental break comes I'm always singing at the top of my voice - but the volume is such that I can't hear myself sing. If the lyrics don't make you sing, the instrumental break will!
I progress from coming to find the hand of the miracle man. I'm standing at the feet of the Miracle Maker. I'm staring in the face of the Miracle Maker. And staring into his face, what can I do but fall down in worship - that's what the instrumental bit is for. And staring into his face will rearrange me. With the result that when I recover from the experience I am walking in the shoes of my Miracle Maker. He's the leader, I'm the follower. He's the teacher, I'm the disciple. He's the mentor, I'm the protege. What comes next? I'm standing with the faith of a miracle maker. That's the scary bit. I become a miracle maker. That's what God calls me to.
Do I get stuck looking for his hand? Or do I get restless and can't stand at his feet? Or can I not bear the heat of his holiness and fail to star in his face? Wow, the music! Or are his shoes an uncomfortable fit? Where is my faith?
Michael
Friday, October 13, 2006
Awake me
Today: just the song. Awake me by River Deep
intoxicated with my sleep
dreaming of my world on heat
release me please
burning out from spinning in circles
blinded by my apathy
release me please
heaven calls my name
I feel alive
I’m rising like the sun
awaking from my sleep
awake me
awake me
my selfish man is comfortably happy
fighting for passivity
release me please
awoken from the stench of corpses
my inner man arose to scream
release me please
heaven calls my name
eyes wide open, no more dreaming in the clouds
praying for a glimpse of you
intoxicated with my sleep
dreaming of my world on heat
release me please
burning out from spinning in circles
blinded by my apathy
release me please
heaven calls my name
I feel alive
I’m rising like the sun
awaking from my sleep
awake me
awake me
my selfish man is comfortably happy
fighting for passivity
release me please
awoken from the stench of corpses
my inner man arose to scream
release me please
heaven calls my name
eyes wide open, no more dreaming in the clouds
praying for a glimpse of you
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Chosen by God
Did God choose me or did I choose him? I might as well ask, "Did I choose my wife or did she choose me?" We both had something to do with it. The Scriptures clearly teach that God chooses us - and that we have freedom of choice too, and can choose to obey and choose to disobey. To choose to follow him or choose to reject him. Well, I chose my wife. I wasn't going to make do with second best. I waited until the perfect girl came along and I chose her. But that doesn't mean I go up to her and say (in a pious whimper) "God has called me to marry you." For a start, that's spiritual blackmail and deserves a sharp slap in the face or knee in the groin. Instead I behaved in such as way as to draw her to me. But all the time she had a choice. She might have chosen to keep well clear of that long-haired yob.
Anyway, enough about me. What does Jesus say: "You did not choose me; I chose you - to go out and bear fruit; fruit that will last." (John 15.16) OK, Jesus chooses those who follow him. Why does he choose folk? Not for pie in the sky when they die. Not for "salvation". But to bear fruit. God's fruit. And I will bear fruit if I remain closely attached to Jesus. That's what the first part of John 15 is all about - read it for yourself. Love is rather central.
In his book The Gospel in a pluralist society, Leslie Newbigin has a chapter entitled, "The logic of election". In it he writes, "[The chosen] are chosen not for themselves, not to be the exclusive beneficiaries of God's saving work, but to be the bearers of the secret of his saving work for the sake of all. They are chosen to go and bear fruit.
"To be chosen, to be elect, therefore does not mean that the elect are the saved and the rest are the lost. To be elect is Christ Jesus, and there is no other election, means to be incorporated into his mission to the world, to be the bearer of God's saving purpose for his whole world." (p86-87) Called to bear witness. Called to "be the bearers of [God's] salvation for all".
Am I executing my duties faithfully?
Michael
Anyway, enough about me. What does Jesus say: "You did not choose me; I chose you - to go out and bear fruit; fruit that will last." (John 15.16) OK, Jesus chooses those who follow him. Why does he choose folk? Not for pie in the sky when they die. Not for "salvation". But to bear fruit. God's fruit. And I will bear fruit if I remain closely attached to Jesus. That's what the first part of John 15 is all about - read it for yourself. Love is rather central.
In his book The Gospel in a pluralist society, Leslie Newbigin has a chapter entitled, "The logic of election". In it he writes, "[The chosen] are chosen not for themselves, not to be the exclusive beneficiaries of God's saving work, but to be the bearers of the secret of his saving work for the sake of all. They are chosen to go and bear fruit.
"To be chosen, to be elect, therefore does not mean that the elect are the saved and the rest are the lost. To be elect is Christ Jesus, and there is no other election, means to be incorporated into his mission to the world, to be the bearer of God's saving purpose for his whole world." (p86-87) Called to bear witness. Called to "be the bearers of [God's] salvation for all".
Am I executing my duties faithfully?
Michael
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
A word from God
I've been reading Adrian Plass's An alien at St Wilfrids. At the climax God gives the main character a 7-fold list of things he needs to change in his life. God, give me a 7-fold list of things you want to change in my life. A dangerous request I know, but it’s like the one where one guy asked the other to pray that he might really experience what it means to be crucified with Christ – and that was such a liberating experience.
Well, Michael, says God, first you need to deal with idolatry. Focus on me. You’ll never be your best for me if you continue to dabble in the sin of idolatry. Cut it out. Secondly show a whole lot more patience with your family. Think hard, count to ten and relax before speaking. And then speak in a calm, peaceful manner. Thirdly, focus more on your relationship with me. You’re reading the Bible regularly right now, that’s good. But get deeper. Let it affect your life. And pray. You say that praying for others was your high point of the recent conference you were at. Well, keep up the praying. Yes, it may be more difficult when you’re not in a spiritually charged worship service with your friends, but it’s still just as important. Pray at all times and on all occasions and in all manners. For others. As praise and worship. Pray. Nurture that relationship with me. And fourthly, nurture your relationship with your wife. Your spiritual relationship. Don't forget that the relationship between man and wife is a model of the relationship between Christ and his people. So develop that spiritual relationship. You got Willard’s study guide yonks ago. What about using it? You encourage other couples to pray and worship together. Look to yourself as well. Fifthly, organise your private world better. Show regularity and self-discipline. Sixthly, pursue your calling. I have called you. You are mine. Follow me. I’ve given you many signposts. Don’t get sloppy. I’ve got work for you to do. Follow me. And seventhly, relax. Relax in my love. I want you to be at peace and be a channel of my peace. So relax. You know when you’re relaxed and when you’re not relaxed. When people spend time with you may they come away peaceful, as though they’ve met with a bit of me. And I’m going to give you an eighth one as well: pray for your family. Hold them together in my arms. Be a spiritual leader to them. Lead your children closer to me, into my arms. I’ve a lot for them to do, and I want you to help them start that path. Got it, Michael? Will you obey? Will you follow? Will you put me the first in your life? You’ve defragged the computer. Now defrag your life.
Well, Michael, says God, first you need to deal with idolatry. Focus on me. You’ll never be your best for me if you continue to dabble in the sin of idolatry. Cut it out. Secondly show a whole lot more patience with your family. Think hard, count to ten and relax before speaking. And then speak in a calm, peaceful manner. Thirdly, focus more on your relationship with me. You’re reading the Bible regularly right now, that’s good. But get deeper. Let it affect your life. And pray. You say that praying for others was your high point of the recent conference you were at. Well, keep up the praying. Yes, it may be more difficult when you’re not in a spiritually charged worship service with your friends, but it’s still just as important. Pray at all times and on all occasions and in all manners. For others. As praise and worship. Pray. Nurture that relationship with me. And fourthly, nurture your relationship with your wife. Your spiritual relationship. Don't forget that the relationship between man and wife is a model of the relationship between Christ and his people. So develop that spiritual relationship. You got Willard’s study guide yonks ago. What about using it? You encourage other couples to pray and worship together. Look to yourself as well. Fifthly, organise your private world better. Show regularity and self-discipline. Sixthly, pursue your calling. I have called you. You are mine. Follow me. I’ve given you many signposts. Don’t get sloppy. I’ve got work for you to do. Follow me. And seventhly, relax. Relax in my love. I want you to be at peace and be a channel of my peace. So relax. You know when you’re relaxed and when you’re not relaxed. When people spend time with you may they come away peaceful, as though they’ve met with a bit of me. And I’m going to give you an eighth one as well: pray for your family. Hold them together in my arms. Be a spiritual leader to them. Lead your children closer to me, into my arms. I’ve a lot for them to do, and I want you to help them start that path. Got it, Michael? Will you obey? Will you follow? Will you put me the first in your life? You’ve defragged the computer. Now defrag your life.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Not there yet
"You are able to do a lot more than you think you are able to do."
- was the conclusion of a discerning elder friend when I shared with him how God had been leading me thus far, and my interests and passions.
If I’m to be doing a whole lot more than I’m doing now I need to: a) prioritise a lot more carefully and strategically abandon things that get in the way of the vocational work; and b) avoid idols like the plague that they are, and focus on the work God has called me to do and on the relationship with him that he has called me into.
How can I focus on my colleagues more effectively? Perhaps their photos would help. My passion is people (well, within reason: I’m a hermit too). I would love to shake off my administrative responsibilities vis-à-vis people and just have the caring for and stirring up side of things. If the two can be separated.
A friend shared with me his desire to be less of a people-pleaser and be willing to stick his neck out more. I can really identify with that. Can I be a stirrer-upper, one who enters a situation, stirs things up (motivation, passion, enthusiasm), and leaves the local team to enjoy the result?
"You are able to do a lot more than you think you are able to do." I’m too cautious; I’m not free: lacking spontaneity, and a sticking out of the neck. Improving though!
Michael
- was the conclusion of a discerning elder friend when I shared with him how God had been leading me thus far, and my interests and passions.
If I’m to be doing a whole lot more than I’m doing now I need to: a) prioritise a lot more carefully and strategically abandon things that get in the way of the vocational work; and b) avoid idols like the plague that they are, and focus on the work God has called me to do and on the relationship with him that he has called me into.
How can I focus on my colleagues more effectively? Perhaps their photos would help. My passion is people (well, within reason: I’m a hermit too). I would love to shake off my administrative responsibilities vis-à-vis people and just have the caring for and stirring up side of things. If the two can be separated.
A friend shared with me his desire to be less of a people-pleaser and be willing to stick his neck out more. I can really identify with that. Can I be a stirrer-upper, one who enters a situation, stirs things up (motivation, passion, enthusiasm), and leaves the local team to enjoy the result?
"You are able to do a lot more than you think you are able to do." I’m too cautious; I’m not free: lacking spontaneity, and a sticking out of the neck. Improving though!
Michael
Monday, October 09, 2006
I am a god
Jesus says he's God. The Jews complain and want to stone him because he, a mere man, is claiming to be God. Jesus then complicates things: “Jesus answered, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said: You are gods”? It is those to whom God’s word came who are called gods – and Scripture cannot be set aside.’” (John 10.34)
Jesus is citing Psalm 82 where “God takes his place in the court of heaven to pronounce judgement among the gods”. And the judgement is that “the gods” are failing uphold the level of conduct God expects and commands; that is care for orphans and widows, rescue the weak and needy – the very things the Jews are commanded to do in the Law of Moses and the words of the prophets. The border between divine and human is very fuzzy: God’s word calls the recipients of God’s word gods. But because they have not upheld divine standards, “You shall die as mortals die, and fall as any prince does.” (Psalm 82.7)
There is a sense in which I am a god. For starters I am made in the image of God. My vocation is to fulfil the law of God and get others to do likewise. I am immortal – as long as I uphold God’s standards faithfully. But if I fail to care for the widow and orphan, the weak and needy – then I will fall and die as mortals die. Too often we create a deep divide between the divine and the human: we are worms; we are wretched spiders which God dangles over the fires of hell. No! We are gods! And the way we show it is to behave like Yahweh, caring for the weak and needy, widows and orphans, the poor and oppressed.
Yahweh behaves in a certain way toward me; I behave in that self-same way to those around me. To that extent I am a god to them. God shows mercy; I show mercy. God forgives; I forgive. God oozes lovingkindness and unfailing love; I ooze lovingkindness and unfailing love. God upholds strict standards of justice and honesty; I uphold strict standards of justice and honesty. But if I fail in any of this and look out for self-interest and personal gain, then I will fall, and die as mortals die. In other words, my basic state is eternal; that is the norm, to be immortal as Yahweh is. However, if I don’t watch my behaviour I will fall; fall and die – mortal, the end.
Yahweh -> me -> others. I am a god, as I bring God to others.
Michael
Jesus is citing Psalm 82 where “God takes his place in the court of heaven to pronounce judgement among the gods”. And the judgement is that “the gods” are failing uphold the level of conduct God expects and commands; that is care for orphans and widows, rescue the weak and needy – the very things the Jews are commanded to do in the Law of Moses and the words of the prophets. The border between divine and human is very fuzzy: God’s word calls the recipients of God’s word gods. But because they have not upheld divine standards, “You shall die as mortals die, and fall as any prince does.” (Psalm 82.7)
There is a sense in which I am a god. For starters I am made in the image of God. My vocation is to fulfil the law of God and get others to do likewise. I am immortal – as long as I uphold God’s standards faithfully. But if I fail to care for the widow and orphan, the weak and needy – then I will fall and die as mortals die. Too often we create a deep divide between the divine and the human: we are worms; we are wretched spiders which God dangles over the fires of hell. No! We are gods! And the way we show it is to behave like Yahweh, caring for the weak and needy, widows and orphans, the poor and oppressed.
Yahweh behaves in a certain way toward me; I behave in that self-same way to those around me. To that extent I am a god to them. God shows mercy; I show mercy. God forgives; I forgive. God oozes lovingkindness and unfailing love; I ooze lovingkindness and unfailing love. God upholds strict standards of justice and honesty; I uphold strict standards of justice and honesty. But if I fail in any of this and look out for self-interest and personal gain, then I will fall, and die as mortals die. In other words, my basic state is eternal; that is the norm, to be immortal as Yahweh is. However, if I don’t watch my behaviour I will fall; fall and die – mortal, the end.
Yahweh -> me -> others. I am a god, as I bring God to others.
Michael
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Wounded Angel
More on the angelic theme today.Tampere’s Tuomiokirkko is an excellent building, and contains a number of excellent paintings, full of deep symbolism.
There's the altar painting: The Resurrection of the Dead. Exactly a visual depiction of Bring me to life and Awake me.
There's the 12 boys carrying the wreath-chain of roses. Initially the 12 disciples, but it goes deeper than that, given the significance of 12 in the Scriptures. And what is it they are bearing?
And then there's the wounded angel (see left). Angels get hurt. But if they are carrying out the Master's business they are honourably wounded. The wounded angel is being carried by a couple of grim-looking boys. Spirituality is grounded in the hum-drum of everyday existence. Even a couple of factory chimneys in the background. This is no idealised fantasy world where the physical and the spiritual never meet. Here in the physical we are called to follow a spiritual existence – and it’s tough. Another River Deep song begins,
Here in the physical longing for a spiritual encounter with you, my God.
Can't separate the two. I am a physical and a spiritual being. Angels get hurt. And I will get hurt. Physically. Spiritually. But how many angels are there in this picture? Angels are messengers of God, and God will send his angels to take care of you. There are angels who take on human form, and there are humans who take on an angelic role. (And the Angel of Helsinki could have been one or the other. What is clear is that he was God's gift in that situation.)
In the painting the servants, the helpers, the carriers of the stretcher - the humans fulfilling an angelic ministry - are not robed clergy or important figures. They are the despised, the lowly – a couple of scruffy, dirty kids, and they don’t even look as though they enjoy their task. Unless you become like such as these you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Michael
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Reflections after a holiday in the Norwegian fjords
Two things made this a perfect holiday:
a) a great time together as a family
b) the grandeur of creation
I publicly celebrate the joy I have in my family! My wife. My daughter. My son. I love them. We love each other. We are an encouragement and support to one another, and it’s great, it's fun, being together!
And the grandeur of creation. “And behold it was very good.” Mountainous land is so much more interesting than flat land. The fjells plunging straight down into the sea. The islands rising up vertically from the waves.
Was the holiday renewal for “normal work”? I don’t know yet! The pedantic details of admin life seem so foreign, so silly, so irrelevant when faced with the wild and the free. Why do we get ourselves so bogged down? What can we do to avoid getting so bogged down? Is this where Mick is coming from all the time? He has experienced the wild and free, but he is chained to a desk job. How can we bring the wild and free into “normal” life? And not just normal work life but normal family life.
I now have an inbox with 171 new messages. How does the wild and the free, the wilderness and the mountain, the fjord and the fjell help me address this? I can’t stop others from getting bogged down in beaurocracy; I can make an effort to keep out myself. But in my position I ought to be able to cut through the red tape, to set others free from insufferable admin.
Send me your comments! How?
Michael
a) a great time together as a family
b) the grandeur of creation
I publicly celebrate the joy I have in my family! My wife. My daughter. My son. I love them. We love each other. We are an encouragement and support to one another, and it’s great, it's fun, being together!
And the grandeur of creation. “And behold it was very good.” Mountainous land is so much more interesting than flat land. The fjells plunging straight down into the sea. The islands rising up vertically from the waves.
Was the holiday renewal for “normal work”? I don’t know yet! The pedantic details of admin life seem so foreign, so silly, so irrelevant when faced with the wild and the free. Why do we get ourselves so bogged down? What can we do to avoid getting so bogged down? Is this where Mick is coming from all the time? He has experienced the wild and free, but he is chained to a desk job. How can we bring the wild and free into “normal” life? And not just normal work life but normal family life.
I now have an inbox with 171 new messages. How does the wild and the free, the wilderness and the mountain, the fjord and the fjell help me address this? I can’t stop others from getting bogged down in beaurocracy; I can make an effort to keep out myself. But in my position I ought to be able to cut through the red tape, to set others free from insufferable admin.
Send me your comments! How?
Michael
Friday, October 06, 2006
The Angel of Helsinki
At about the same time as the Wilderness Hike I met the Angel of Helsinki.
My friend, Eric (who I'd gone Wilderness Hiking with) had gone to Helsinki to submit their Russian visa applications, but the photos were rejected. They were on the wrong kind of paper. His wife and children were just waking up at our place, over 100km away. So I whisked them off to the only photo machine I know in Lahti; they had their pictures taken (the ones on the wrong kind of paper were much more flattering) - and I headed off to Helsinki in the car to take them to Eric.
It was about 10.30. The consulate closed at 12.00. Time was short. It was about an hour's drive to the edge of Helsinki. The Russian Consultate was right down by the harbour, though, and I had never driven there before, and Eric had my only map.
As I joined the motorway on the edge of Lahti I saw something I’d never seen before: a hitchhiker. So I stopped to pick him up. He was a pleasant young-ish man, spoke perfect English. His clothes were pale in colour. I took him to be some kind of nurse since he said he had just been helping someone in Lahti and was on duty in Helsinki at 3 o'clock. As we talked I mentioned that we would be going on holiday in Norway soon, to Mo i Rana and Bodo. He had lived there for a few years.
He was a native of Helsinki. He assured me that he was in no hurry to get to his destination in Helsinki, and since he had a transport pass he could pick up a bus or tram anywhere in the city at no cost. He directed me through all kinds of back streets (when I jumped a red light he reprimanded me), straight through Helsinki, straight to the consulate. All the time he knew exactly which way to go. And in time for Eric. Five minutes after Eric went in they closed the gates to visa applicants.
Without the hitchhiking angel’s help and guiding presence I would never have got there on time. And when we arrived at the consulate he bid me farewell, and vanished. Eric glimpsed him briefly. “Who was that in the car with you?” "An angel," I replied.
OK, now for the scientific bit. Was he an angel or a person fulfilling an angelic role? I honestly don't know. Either would be possible. Interestingly, though, about a month later I was at a conference where John Woolmer, author of Angels of Glory and Darkness, was the guest speaker. I discussed the Angel of Helsinki with him; I read his book. I'm open, either way.
What do you think? (How do I know that there's anyone out there reading this?!)
Over to you! Michael
My friend, Eric (who I'd gone Wilderness Hiking with) had gone to Helsinki to submit their Russian visa applications, but the photos were rejected. They were on the wrong kind of paper. His wife and children were just waking up at our place, over 100km away. So I whisked them off to the only photo machine I know in Lahti; they had their pictures taken (the ones on the wrong kind of paper were much more flattering) - and I headed off to Helsinki in the car to take them to Eric.
It was about 10.30. The consulate closed at 12.00. Time was short. It was about an hour's drive to the edge of Helsinki. The Russian Consultate was right down by the harbour, though, and I had never driven there before, and Eric had my only map.
As I joined the motorway on the edge of Lahti I saw something I’d never seen before: a hitchhiker. So I stopped to pick him up. He was a pleasant young-ish man, spoke perfect English. His clothes were pale in colour. I took him to be some kind of nurse since he said he had just been helping someone in Lahti and was on duty in Helsinki at 3 o'clock. As we talked I mentioned that we would be going on holiday in Norway soon, to Mo i Rana and Bodo. He had lived there for a few years.
He was a native of Helsinki. He assured me that he was in no hurry to get to his destination in Helsinki, and since he had a transport pass he could pick up a bus or tram anywhere in the city at no cost. He directed me through all kinds of back streets (when I jumped a red light he reprimanded me), straight through Helsinki, straight to the consulate. All the time he knew exactly which way to go. And in time for Eric. Five minutes after Eric went in they closed the gates to visa applicants.
Without the hitchhiking angel’s help and guiding presence I would never have got there on time. And when we arrived at the consulate he bid me farewell, and vanished. Eric glimpsed him briefly. “Who was that in the car with you?” "An angel," I replied.
OK, now for the scientific bit. Was he an angel or a person fulfilling an angelic role? I honestly don't know. Either would be possible. Interestingly, though, about a month later I was at a conference where John Woolmer, author of Angels of Glory and Darkness, was the guest speaker. I discussed the Angel of Helsinki with him; I read his book. I'm open, either way.
What do you think? (How do I know that there's anyone out there reading this?!)
Over to you! Michael
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Winderness Hike
My portrait was taken when I was on a wilderness hike in the summer. Two fathers. Two sons. (In case you're wondering: despite my T-shirt, I am not Welsh, but I did live in Wales for three years. And despite the fact that I'm living in Finland, I am not Finnish - but I have been living here for the last three years.)
There's a song by Iona called The River Flows. It includes the line, "Down through the ages, the truth will survive."
Down through the ages, the truth will survive. God can take care of that. At the same time truth is self-evident. The truth that Paris is the capital of France. The truth that E=mc². The truth that God exists. The truth that he is good. The truth that I fall short. The conclusion that therefore I need to throw myself onto his mercy.
At the same time, fathers and sons together. In earlier times our fathers and forefathers were the guardians of the truth. They may not have got it spot on. I may not have it spot on. My son may not get it spot on. But down through the ages, the truth will survive. One generation may have one emphasis; the next generation may have a different emphasis. Some expressions of the truth will look quite different from others. But God will ensure that down through the ages the truth will survive. The truth will adjust itself to different cultures and contexts. The wrappings may change but the truth will never change.
Down through the ages the truth will survive
Turning the pages the light cannot die
Michael
There's a song by Iona called The River Flows. It includes the line, "Down through the ages, the truth will survive."
Down through the ages, the truth will survive. God can take care of that. At the same time truth is self-evident. The truth that Paris is the capital of France. The truth that E=mc². The truth that God exists. The truth that he is good. The truth that I fall short. The conclusion that therefore I need to throw myself onto his mercy.
At the same time, fathers and sons together. In earlier times our fathers and forefathers were the guardians of the truth. They may not have got it spot on. I may not have it spot on. My son may not get it spot on. But down through the ages, the truth will survive. One generation may have one emphasis; the next generation may have a different emphasis. Some expressions of the truth will look quite different from others. But God will ensure that down through the ages the truth will survive. The truth will adjust itself to different cultures and contexts. The wrappings may change but the truth will never change.
Down through the ages the truth will survive
Turning the pages the light cannot die
Michael
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The truth sets you free
Apologies to all my readers that five days have gone by and I've not posted anything. This week has been hectic and non-stop. For your meditation today, though, some thoughts from John 8:
Action: Keep on obeying my teachings.
Result: You will know the truth.
Long-term impact: You will be set free. (The truth will set you free.)
These are continues actions, like “If you go on believing in him you will go on having eternal life.” It was the long-term impact (you will be set free) that the people challenged. Being set free, it seems, didn’t meet a felt need. If I think I’m already free I will have no desire to follow a route designed to set me free.
Jesus elaborates, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Freedom from slavery; freedom from sin. Again the aspect is continuous: “whoever goes on sinning”. Then Jesus says, “A slave is not a permanent member of the family.” What a liberating statement! What a liberating statement! I may be a slave to sin, but I am not a permanent member of the family of sin. Since I’m only a slave of the family of sin and not a son in the family of sin I can be set free! And Jesus gives me the route: obey his teaching which will help me know the truth which will set me free: the slave is liberated.
I am a son in the household of God, and a slave in the household of sin. My home is where I am a son. But it took my big brother to come and rescue me from the other household where I was a prisoner. And if my big brother sets me free – he’s the Son with a capital “S” – I will indeed be free. No doubt about it.
Enjoy his freedom! Michael
Action: Keep on obeying my teachings.
Result: You will know the truth.
Long-term impact: You will be set free. (The truth will set you free.)
These are continues actions, like “If you go on believing in him you will go on having eternal life.” It was the long-term impact (you will be set free) that the people challenged. Being set free, it seems, didn’t meet a felt need. If I think I’m already free I will have no desire to follow a route designed to set me free.
Jesus elaborates, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Freedom from slavery; freedom from sin. Again the aspect is continuous: “whoever goes on sinning”. Then Jesus says, “A slave is not a permanent member of the family.” What a liberating statement! What a liberating statement! I may be a slave to sin, but I am not a permanent member of the family of sin. Since I’m only a slave of the family of sin and not a son in the family of sin I can be set free! And Jesus gives me the route: obey his teaching which will help me know the truth which will set me free: the slave is liberated.
I am a son in the household of God, and a slave in the household of sin. My home is where I am a son. But it took my big brother to come and rescue me from the other household where I was a prisoner. And if my big brother sets me free – he’s the Son with a capital “S” – I will indeed be free. No doubt about it.
Enjoy his freedom! Michael
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The Eagle
Freedom can never be based on a lie. If I think I’m free because I’m living a lie or it’s based on a lie I’m deluding myself.
I can't be free in my own strength. I long to soar like the eagle. I dream of it, total freedom, no inhibitions, no restraints, soaring, diving, frolicking… “I was at his side each day, his darling and delight, playing in his presence continually, playing over his whole world, while my delight was in mankind," says Wisdom in Proverbs. What is the relationship between Wisdom and Freedom? Are they inseparable?
If I am going to be free I need to make wise choices. To choose to follow the Pioneer and Perfecter wherever he may lead – because I know he is the true, the only, Pioneer and Perfecter.
To choose to leave certain things behind. Things that can be represented by the cosy cage in which the Sea Eagle lives – the caged eagle; it has the potential but is choosing slavery and bondage because it is lazy and can’t be bothered to leave the security of bondage: “intoxicated with my sleep / dreaming of my world on heat / release me please / burning out from spinning in circles / blinded by my apathy / release me please / heaven calls my name” Heaven is calling me, calling me to freedom, to service, to effectiveness, to go do what makes me come alive, to obedience, to glory, to glorious fulfilment, to apprenticeship, to be a protégé of the Son of Man, to get out of my cage and into the wild – more dangers, more excitement, real life, less certainty.
There’s a stirring within me – but will I just slip back into dreaming of my world on heat? I like the metaphors, the Eagle soaring free. The free eagle has no certainly as to where the next meal will come from (unlike his counterpart in the zoo) – but has not Jesus promised, “Look at the birds in the sky: they do not sow and reap and store in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”? So it’s OK for the Eagle. No worries!
But here am I still standing on the edge of the precipice, I know all the theory, all the theology; I’m even “living by faith” but I don’t think I really am: the saints provide regularly, and there’s no sense of getting down on my knees before my heavenly Father because I don’t know where the next meal is coming from… Anyway, here I am on the edge of the precipice. I know that if I jump the wings of God will take over and I will soar and glide and dive and cavort and frolic and dance and be truly free, gambolling in the air… But I will not be in control. I won’t know what’s coming next. And can I really believe that if I jump God will kick in, and I will rise on wings like eagle’s?
Yet I still pray, “Release me!”
And yet I still hold back, fearing that release.
Michael
I can't be free in my own strength. I long to soar like the eagle. I dream of it, total freedom, no inhibitions, no restraints, soaring, diving, frolicking… “I was at his side each day, his darling and delight, playing in his presence continually, playing over his whole world, while my delight was in mankind," says Wisdom in Proverbs. What is the relationship between Wisdom and Freedom? Are they inseparable?
If I am going to be free I need to make wise choices. To choose to follow the Pioneer and Perfecter wherever he may lead – because I know he is the true, the only, Pioneer and Perfecter.
To choose to leave certain things behind. Things that can be represented by the cosy cage in which the Sea Eagle lives – the caged eagle; it has the potential but is choosing slavery and bondage because it is lazy and can’t be bothered to leave the security of bondage: “intoxicated with my sleep / dreaming of my world on heat / release me please / burning out from spinning in circles / blinded by my apathy / release me please / heaven calls my name” Heaven is calling me, calling me to freedom, to service, to effectiveness, to go do what makes me come alive, to obedience, to glory, to glorious fulfilment, to apprenticeship, to be a protégé of the Son of Man, to get out of my cage and into the wild – more dangers, more excitement, real life, less certainty.
There’s a stirring within me – but will I just slip back into dreaming of my world on heat? I like the metaphors, the Eagle soaring free. The free eagle has no certainly as to where the next meal will come from (unlike his counterpart in the zoo) – but has not Jesus promised, “Look at the birds in the sky: they do not sow and reap and store in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”? So it’s OK for the Eagle. No worries!
But here am I still standing on the edge of the precipice, I know all the theory, all the theology; I’m even “living by faith” but I don’t think I really am: the saints provide regularly, and there’s no sense of getting down on my knees before my heavenly Father because I don’t know where the next meal is coming from… Anyway, here I am on the edge of the precipice. I know that if I jump the wings of God will take over and I will soar and glide and dive and cavort and frolic and dance and be truly free, gambolling in the air… But I will not be in control. I won’t know what’s coming next. And can I really believe that if I jump God will kick in, and I will rise on wings like eagle’s?
Yet I still pray, “Release me!”
And yet I still hold back, fearing that release.
Michael
Monday, September 25, 2006
God be merciful to me a sinner
God be merciful to me a sinner. God be merciful to me a sinner. God be merciful to me a sinner.
The illogic of grace as someone put it. If God worked logically he’d zap us all rather quickly; well, me at least. You sin – you get punished. The End. Simple cause and effect. But God chooses to show mercy. He chooses to forgive. He chooses to give me a second chance. And a third chance, and forth, and fifth and 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 etc. The Christian life is not a matter of believing certain things but of living a certain kind of life. A life centred on loving God and responding to his love.
How can I love God? Well, first and foremost, as Scripture says, by doing what he says. “If you love me you will obey my commandments.” So why do I find it so hard to put this key revelation into practice, and so routinely fail to do what I know God wants?
Secondly I can show my love of God by respecting him and all that he has made. If I claim to love God but do not give two hoots for the world he has made and the millions made in his image across the world, I am no more than the Newhaven fog horn letting off steam.
Loving God is not giving mental assent to the “truth” I love God. Loving God is a matter of action. Just as having faith in God is not a matter of giving mental assent to a bunch of doctrines. It is a matter of action. Why do we get so bogged down in the mechanics of the Christian life that we omit to live it? Like having a brand new iPod, and working out as exactly as I can how it works and why it can achieve what it does – but failing to fill my soul with the beautiful music it was designed to produce.
God have mercy on me a sinner. God have mercy of me a sinner. God have mercy on me a sinner.
The illogic of grace as someone put it. If God worked logically he’d zap us all rather quickly; well, me at least. You sin – you get punished. The End. Simple cause and effect. But God chooses to show mercy. He chooses to forgive. He chooses to give me a second chance. And a third chance, and forth, and fifth and 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 etc. The Christian life is not a matter of believing certain things but of living a certain kind of life. A life centred on loving God and responding to his love.
How can I love God? Well, first and foremost, as Scripture says, by doing what he says. “If you love me you will obey my commandments.” So why do I find it so hard to put this key revelation into practice, and so routinely fail to do what I know God wants?
Secondly I can show my love of God by respecting him and all that he has made. If I claim to love God but do not give two hoots for the world he has made and the millions made in his image across the world, I am no more than the Newhaven fog horn letting off steam.
Loving God is not giving mental assent to the “truth” I love God. Loving God is a matter of action. Just as having faith in God is not a matter of giving mental assent to a bunch of doctrines. It is a matter of action. Why do we get so bogged down in the mechanics of the Christian life that we omit to live it? Like having a brand new iPod, and working out as exactly as I can how it works and why it can achieve what it does – but failing to fill my soul with the beautiful music it was designed to produce.
God have mercy on me a sinner. God have mercy of me a sinner. God have mercy on me a sinner.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Passion of the Christ
In The Passion of the Christ the person I identified with was Simon of Cyrene. A family man, just happened to be there, and then gets roped in, reluctantly, against his will. But then finding himself yoked together with the blood-stained Christ he becomes strong. He encourages Christ. He yells at the soldiers who are mocking and frolicking and treating Christ as something less than a savage wild beast. The soldiers could have killed Simon, but he puts them in their place. And then Simon presses on, shoulder to shoulder with Christ, who cannot make it on his own. At the end, though, the soldiers just shove him back ignominiously into the crowd. But we know that that’s not the end. He became a follower of Christ, and his sons were well known members, maybe pillars, of the church by the time Mark wrote his Gospel. “They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.” Mark 15.21.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Holding on
“Crucify the flesh.” A painful but necessary process. I don’t want to give God only half a heart – but that is what I am doing. The two most crucial passages in the OT are Exodus 34 (God’s love for us) and Deuteronomy 6 (our love for God). If I love God I will obey his commandments. I will do what he says. Not because he is imposing anything on me but that is a simple and straightforward application of love for our Holy God. Or do I forget he’s holy? Do I focus so much on the fact that he forgives me and gives me freedom that I forget to bow down before his holiness? And not just when singing Matt Redman’s Facedown but in my life, which is real worship.
I happened to pick up Kevin Prosch’s Kiss the Son to play over dinner. Passionate, heartfelt, authentic music. By the time I got to Holding on I was on my knees:
I’ve been tested and tried when you counted on me
But I failed you, oh I failed you
And the prayers I prayed, promises made
I could not keep them though I’ve tried
I should know by now that I can run to you
And you’ll embrace me, not forsake me
That it’s not my goodness, that caused you to love me
But in my failures you loved me still
And the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of man
And the shame is leaving now
This is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free
There is now no condemnation for those who are in you Lord
I still want to walk with you, to talk with you, to hear your voice
I’m holding on to the hem of your garment
I won’t let go till the blessing comes
I’m bowing low at the foot of the cross
For you my Lord I would give it all
I’m holding on to the hem of your garment
I won’t let go till the blessing comes
I’m bowing low at the foot of the cross
To be transformed this is what I want
How many ways could I tell you that I love you, oh I love you
How many ways could I tell you that I need you, oh I need you
You always provide and you care for me
I’m so grateful, so thankful
Everything is mine because I am yours
What else do I need when there is no more
You could offer me things, silver-lined dreams
But to be transformed into the image of God, this is what I want
To be drawn near to be set free
And in all my mistakes I know you love me still
I want to know what pleases you
I’m broken Lord I’m broken Lord.
I used to think that the line, I’m holding on to the hem of your garment, I won’t let go till the blessing comes was rather aggressive towards God. What right have I to hold him to ransom like that? But no, this line simply expresses my recognition of my desperate need. And isn’t it this “blessing” that I’ve been waiting for (rather half-heartedly) ever since I saw it in a vision in October last year (1st blog)? This is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free – that is what the vision was about and what I’ve been yearning for (rather half-heartedly) since: to be transformed into the image of God, this is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free… My problem is that I keep on letting go. I do not keep hold of the hem of Your garment, and so I flounder around with no progress and no blessing... holding on...
Holding on with you . . . Michael
I happened to pick up Kevin Prosch’s Kiss the Son to play over dinner. Passionate, heartfelt, authentic music. By the time I got to Holding on I was on my knees:
I’ve been tested and tried when you counted on me
But I failed you, oh I failed you
And the prayers I prayed, promises made
I could not keep them though I’ve tried
I should know by now that I can run to you
And you’ll embrace me, not forsake me
That it’s not my goodness, that caused you to love me
But in my failures you loved me still
And the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of man
And the shame is leaving now
This is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free
There is now no condemnation for those who are in you Lord
I still want to walk with you, to talk with you, to hear your voice
I’m holding on to the hem of your garment
I won’t let go till the blessing comes
I’m bowing low at the foot of the cross
For you my Lord I would give it all
I’m holding on to the hem of your garment
I won’t let go till the blessing comes
I’m bowing low at the foot of the cross
To be transformed this is what I want
How many ways could I tell you that I love you, oh I love you
How many ways could I tell you that I need you, oh I need you
You always provide and you care for me
I’m so grateful, so thankful
Everything is mine because I am yours
What else do I need when there is no more
You could offer me things, silver-lined dreams
But to be transformed into the image of God, this is what I want
To be drawn near to be set free
And in all my mistakes I know you love me still
I want to know what pleases you
I’m broken Lord I’m broken Lord.
I used to think that the line, I’m holding on to the hem of your garment, I won’t let go till the blessing comes was rather aggressive towards God. What right have I to hold him to ransom like that? But no, this line simply expresses my recognition of my desperate need. And isn’t it this “blessing” that I’ve been waiting for (rather half-heartedly) ever since I saw it in a vision in October last year (1st blog)? This is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free – that is what the vision was about and what I’ve been yearning for (rather half-heartedly) since: to be transformed into the image of God, this is what I want, to be drawn near, to be set free… My problem is that I keep on letting go. I do not keep hold of the hem of Your garment, and so I flounder around with no progress and no blessing... holding on...
Holding on with you . . . Michael
Friday, September 22, 2006
Fire: the character of God
God forgives sin because of who God is. His character. See Exodus 34.6-7: "Yahweh, Yahweh, a God compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, ever faithful and true, remaining faithful to thousands of generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion and sin but without acquitting the guilty, one who punishes children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the iniquity of their fathers!" Note in passing that forgiveness lasts for thousands of generations but punishment for only three or four. Maximum.
Dallas Willard says, “I am thoroughly convinced that God will let everyone into heaven who, in his considered opinion, can stand it.” And continues: “But ‘standing it’ may prove to be a more difficult matter… The fires in heaven may be hotter than those in the other place.” (The Divine Conspiracy, p330) Which means that a) Steve Chalke may be write when he says that the only thing that keeps us out of heaven is our own refusal to respond to God (or something like that); and b) my own "our God is a consuming fire" thesis may not be too far wrong after all.
Our God is a consuming fire is a book I have drafted bits of but never got round to working on properly. Its argument is that "hell" (Dallas's “the other place”) is not separate from God himself. If there are fires in heaven (which is rather likely since our God is a consuming fire) what need is there of another place (hell) with fire in it? What we know as "hell" is the flip-side of God. God is a consuming fire. Get on the wrong side of him, and his fire will consume you (consume, NOT torment endlessly); get on the right side of God and his fires will complete the refining process that he is already doing in you.
God forgives sin. He does that because it is ingrained in his character. Jesus’ death is the means by which he forgives sins but not the reason why he forgives sin. And so on that basis everyone, anyone is welcome into heaven. “If you can stand it.” Or it may be that the fires of heaven are too hot and our God who is a consuming fire will consume you. It seems likely that if I have got used to living in the light, looking to the light, moving closer to the source of the light, that I will survive the fires of heaven. For fire gives light. Light gives heat. The two cannot be separated. More than that, the Light is the Centre of my being. I love the Light. The Light shines in me and through me. And so when I approach the Light, the Fire in heaven, it will be a coming home.
Michael
Dallas Willard says, “I am thoroughly convinced that God will let everyone into heaven who, in his considered opinion, can stand it.” And continues: “But ‘standing it’ may prove to be a more difficult matter… The fires in heaven may be hotter than those in the other place.” (The Divine Conspiracy, p330) Which means that a) Steve Chalke may be write when he says that the only thing that keeps us out of heaven is our own refusal to respond to God (or something like that); and b) my own "our God is a consuming fire" thesis may not be too far wrong after all.
Our God is a consuming fire is a book I have drafted bits of but never got round to working on properly. Its argument is that "hell" (Dallas's “the other place”) is not separate from God himself. If there are fires in heaven (which is rather likely since our God is a consuming fire) what need is there of another place (hell) with fire in it? What we know as "hell" is the flip-side of God. God is a consuming fire. Get on the wrong side of him, and his fire will consume you (consume, NOT torment endlessly); get on the right side of God and his fires will complete the refining process that he is already doing in you.
God forgives sin. He does that because it is ingrained in his character. Jesus’ death is the means by which he forgives sins but not the reason why he forgives sin. And so on that basis everyone, anyone is welcome into heaven. “If you can stand it.” Or it may be that the fires of heaven are too hot and our God who is a consuming fire will consume you. It seems likely that if I have got used to living in the light, looking to the light, moving closer to the source of the light, that I will survive the fires of heaven. For fire gives light. Light gives heat. The two cannot be separated. More than that, the Light is the Centre of my being. I love the Light. The Light shines in me and through me. And so when I approach the Light, the Fire in heaven, it will be a coming home.
Michael
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Jesus, be the centre
Hi there! Aplogies to all my faithful followers that I didn't post anything last night. My ISP was down. Just come home now from a Grieg concert. Rousing, passionate stuff.
I feel as though I’m on the edge of something big, something important, something exciting, mind-blowing, life-changing. To live one’s life oriented around Jesus, the centre.
Jesus is the centre. All mankind is around him, some close, some far away. Imagine him as the light – don’t need to imagine, He is the Light. And his radiance goes out to the ends of the earth, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.” What is important isn’t how close you are to the Light. That is not your fault (as it were). What is important is which way you are facing. Are you looking to the Centre or are you looking away? Looking toward the Light or into the darkness? And more than looking: which way are you moving? Jesus is the Centre. He is the One. He is the one around which all revolves, all must revolve, I must revolve, to whom I must be looking. Am I drawing closer to him, getting further into the Light, or am I moving away from him? That is what is vital.
A journey, not a position.
“Jesus be the centre” must be the key to experiencing God’s freedom, and then setting others free to experience his freedom. Even now, it’s only as much as I put Jesus at the centre that I am able to experience freedom and help others do the same.
Authenticity.
All for now! Michael
I feel as though I’m on the edge of something big, something important, something exciting, mind-blowing, life-changing. To live one’s life oriented around Jesus, the centre.
Jesus is the centre. All mankind is around him, some close, some far away. Imagine him as the light – don’t need to imagine, He is the Light. And his radiance goes out to the ends of the earth, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.” What is important isn’t how close you are to the Light. That is not your fault (as it were). What is important is which way you are facing. Are you looking to the Centre or are you looking away? Looking toward the Light or into the darkness? And more than looking: which way are you moving? Jesus is the Centre. He is the One. He is the one around which all revolves, all must revolve, I must revolve, to whom I must be looking. Am I drawing closer to him, getting further into the Light, or am I moving away from him? That is what is vital.
A journey, not a position.
“Jesus be the centre” must be the key to experiencing God’s freedom, and then setting others free to experience his freedom. Even now, it’s only as much as I put Jesus at the centre that I am able to experience freedom and help others do the same.
Authenticity.
All for now! Michael
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The enigma of freedom
Freedom is an enigma. I’ve been speaking to others of my desire, calling even, to set others free. I recognise from the vision that I cannot do that unless I am free myself. I believe I can be and am already involved in setting others free. Since I have that focus in my own life it will inevitably spill out. But I’m not free in worship. At least, not in the environment of my Lahti fellowship. Others laugh, shout, wave banners, dance – actually, make fools of themselves in the Lord – but I do no more than raise my hands, clap, sing in tongues… Is it the environment that is holding me back? Is it that I don’t feel at home there? It’s true that I don’t really feel at home there. If I never went back again, there are no relationships that I would miss, and so there is no bond between me and them. In contrast perhaps, when it comes to worship with my work colleagues I do feel freer, within the boundaries of what is expected there. In Lahti I am one of the most conservative worshippers; when worshipping at work I am one of the most open. Because I feel at home in that environment. Because there is love (given and received). And I believe because I am able to use my gifts. In Lahti I am just pew fodder. Everywhere else I am able to help lead in some way.
But it’s as though I’ve woken up. But I have this earnest (passionate) desire to go out and make a difference. To cut the talking (we’ve done far too much of that as it is) and do something. Hence the strong focus and push on mentoring, growth plans, empowering, motivating – to get the desire and ability to make a difference out to the whole Group.
The battle with sin of course remains. I wonder whether following Dallas Willard’s curriculum for Christlikeness will make a difference? (http://www.dwillard.org/books/DivConsp.asp) It should, I guess, since what is being addressed is a transformation of the heart. And a change of heart is what is needed. Rules and regulations won’t make any difference. There’s always a way around them. It’s the heart that needs to be addressed, so that there will be no desire to search for a way around the rules and regulations, and so there will be no need for the rules and regulations themselves.
Michael
PS: Now I've worked out how to do hyperlinks (quite easy really)... Here's where you can get "Awake me": http://direct.crossrhythms.co.uk/cd.php?cd=7198. Go for it!
But it’s as though I’ve woken up. But I have this earnest (passionate) desire to go out and make a difference. To cut the talking (we’ve done far too much of that as it is) and do something. Hence the strong focus and push on mentoring, growth plans, empowering, motivating – to get the desire and ability to make a difference out to the whole Group.
The battle with sin of course remains. I wonder whether following Dallas Willard’s curriculum for Christlikeness will make a difference? (http://www.dwillard.org/books/DivConsp.asp) It should, I guess, since what is being addressed is a transformation of the heart. And a change of heart is what is needed. Rules and regulations won’t make any difference. There’s always a way around them. It’s the heart that needs to be addressed, so that there will be no desire to search for a way around the rules and regulations, and so there will be no need for the rules and regulations themselves.
Michael
PS: Now I've worked out how to do hyperlinks (quite easy really)... Here's where you can get "Awake me": http://direct.crossrhythms.co.uk/cd.php?cd=7198. Go for it!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Helping others join the dance
I've been realising more and more clearly that it’s right here in my current job that God wants the vision to come true. In my current job I can be setting others free to be filled with and transformed by the Spirit so they can join in the dance. Back in 2003 when I was in the UK the "Prophetess of Birmingham" said that:
* God would use me double
* He’d call me to do a new thing
* God hadn’t finished with me in Russia (where my current work is)
What she didn’t give were the specifics. The vision recorded on Day One of this blog pointed to the nature of what God wanted me to do: set others free. In His strength, and having been set free myself by the Spirit of God. My friend in the the vision... I have a close friend here in the Russian work; we identified the same passion, and continue to share freely with each other. Is he the one?
And then the more recent "prophetic word". The message confirmed that God had given me his message. I wasn’t to wait for further revelations. God had spoken. The ball was now in my court.
And so recently I’ve taken specific steps. If I’m to be involved in liberating folk in my current work to join in the dance I need to equip myself. I’ve asked someone to mentor me in mentoring and doing growth plans. And she’s started on the mentoring in mentoring bit. Growth plans will follow soon.
How else can I liberate people in my current work? (I’m aware that I’m not really free myself: I need to address a number of fronts.) Is my close friend a key? Liberation comes together, in community, in the context of God’s worshipping people. However when I went to minister to someone in the vision it was by myself. And then came the incredible thirst – thirst for God.
“The truth shall set you free.” I’m seriously searching after truth. Real truth. The foundation is the truth that God is Love. That is who/what he is. He himself declared that in Exodus 34.6 when he gave his name to Moses (“The LORD, the LORD, a God compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, ever faithful and true”). That is why he forgives sin. It is in his very character. It is who he is. And so even the Psalmist could be so sure, the Psalmist who had never heard of Jesus (“As far as east is from west, so far from us has he put away our offences.”) God doesn’t forgive our sin because Jesus died. He forgives sin because of who he is. Jesus life and death in some mysterious way is simply part of the mechanics.
Looking forward to your comments . . . Michael
* God would use me double
* He’d call me to do a new thing
* God hadn’t finished with me in Russia (where my current work is)
What she didn’t give were the specifics. The vision recorded on Day One of this blog pointed to the nature of what God wanted me to do: set others free. In His strength, and having been set free myself by the Spirit of God. My friend in the the vision... I have a close friend here in the Russian work; we identified the same passion, and continue to share freely with each other. Is he the one?
And then the more recent "prophetic word". The message confirmed that God had given me his message. I wasn’t to wait for further revelations. God had spoken. The ball was now in my court.
And so recently I’ve taken specific steps. If I’m to be involved in liberating folk in my current work to join in the dance I need to equip myself. I’ve asked someone to mentor me in mentoring and doing growth plans. And she’s started on the mentoring in mentoring bit. Growth plans will follow soon.
How else can I liberate people in my current work? (I’m aware that I’m not really free myself: I need to address a number of fronts.) Is my close friend a key? Liberation comes together, in community, in the context of God’s worshipping people. However when I went to minister to someone in the vision it was by myself. And then came the incredible thirst – thirst for God.
“The truth shall set you free.” I’m seriously searching after truth. Real truth. The foundation is the truth that God is Love. That is who/what he is. He himself declared that in Exodus 34.6 when he gave his name to Moses (“The LORD, the LORD, a God compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, ever faithful and true”). That is why he forgives sin. It is in his very character. It is who he is. And so even the Psalmist could be so sure, the Psalmist who had never heard of Jesus (“As far as east is from west, so far from us has he put away our offences.”) God doesn’t forgive our sin because Jesus died. He forgives sin because of who he is. Jesus life and death in some mysterious way is simply part of the mechanics.
Looking forward to your comments . . . Michael
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Freedom is dangerous
Galatians 5.13: “You, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom – not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.”
I am a battlefield, but at the moment I’m winning. The sinful nature and the freedom I have in the Spirit of God are battling it out - all the time.
“These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict” (v17)
True. But I do have a choice. As C S Lewis writes, “Our [Screwtape’s] cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our enemy’s [God’s] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”
What is asked of me is to serve others in love. That is the positive that must counterbalance the urge to satisfy the sinful nature; counterbalance in the sense that when the sinful nature rears its ugly head and tries to dominate, the thing to focus on is serving others in love. I am free in Christ!
* But not set free to sin but set free to serve.
* Not set free for selfishness but set free for selflessness.
* Not set free to misuse others but to love.
But when twilight comes again, how will I stand firm? When I look around and see no support, just the allure of sin – how will I still obey? The answer in Galatians 5 is clearly the power of the Holy Spirit. God in me. God give me that song in the night! So that even when darkness closes in around me I will still remain true and spread God’s love! And even though I may ask why I have been forsaken, I will still obey.
Michael
I am a battlefield, but at the moment I’m winning. The sinful nature and the freedom I have in the Spirit of God are battling it out - all the time.
“These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict” (v17)
True. But I do have a choice. As C S Lewis writes, “Our [Screwtape’s] cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our enemy’s [God’s] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”
What is asked of me is to serve others in love. That is the positive that must counterbalance the urge to satisfy the sinful nature; counterbalance in the sense that when the sinful nature rears its ugly head and tries to dominate, the thing to focus on is serving others in love. I am free in Christ!
* But not set free to sin but set free to serve.
* Not set free for selfishness but set free for selflessness.
* Not set free to misuse others but to love.
But when twilight comes again, how will I stand firm? When I look around and see no support, just the allure of sin – how will I still obey? The answer in Galatians 5 is clearly the power of the Holy Spirit. God in me. God give me that song in the night! So that even when darkness closes in around me I will still remain true and spread God’s love! And even though I may ask why I have been forsaken, I will still obey.
Michael
Saturday, September 16, 2006
The power of vision
The power of vision. In order to reach for the future we need that glimpse of the future. In her song Sand in my shoes, Dido got her glimpse in a two week experience by the sea. (Praying for a glimpse of you...) If Dido had just been told about the other life she could have been leading, away from her flat on the road where the cars never stop going through the night, it would have sounded nice but would not have had the oomph for I wanna see you again, and neither would it have left the sand in her shoes, that perpetual itch so that she would never forget. The best way to instil vision is through experience.
But how to give folks that visionary experience? “Two weeks away, all it takes to change and turn me around I’ve fallen…” Dido’s vision for a new lifestyle came from experiencing that new lifestyle for two weeks. It included a human relationship. And then the second challenge is when I’m back home after the visionary experience: “Two weeks away it feels like the world should've changed, but I'm home now and things still look the same” – how to sustain the vision during the ordinariness of normal existence. The beginning of transformation and the sand in my shoes. The prophetic sand. And the I wanna see you again. The desire to live the vision.
My vision is to be set free and for you to be set free. God is putting that sand in my shoes so that I won't lose the vision. We don't need to be content with ordinariness. I still haven't found what I'm looking for, sang U2. If I think I've found all there is to look for I've lost the sand in my shoes. There is more to life that what I'm experiencing now.
But how to give folks that visionary experience? “Two weeks away, all it takes to change and turn me around I’ve fallen…” Dido’s vision for a new lifestyle came from experiencing that new lifestyle for two weeks. It included a human relationship. And then the second challenge is when I’m back home after the visionary experience: “Two weeks away it feels like the world should've changed, but I'm home now and things still look the same” – how to sustain the vision during the ordinariness of normal existence. The beginning of transformation and the sand in my shoes. The prophetic sand. And the I wanna see you again. The desire to live the vision.
My vision is to be set free and for you to be set free. God is putting that sand in my shoes so that I won't lose the vision. We don't need to be content with ordinariness. I still haven't found what I'm looking for, sang U2. If I think I've found all there is to look for I've lost the sand in my shoes. There is more to life that what I'm experiencing now.
Friday, September 15, 2006
An everlasting cycle?
It's scary. If the Spirit of God were to take control of me I would not be in control of myself. But on the other hand it would make the battle with sin a whole lot easier. What matters to me: What I really am, or what others think of me? So often I play to the gallery, and evaluate a particular course of action by what others will think. Is that authentic? Is that being free? Is that what God intends? Is that taking God seriously?
But life goes on. Until God steps in. This time in the form of someone at church with the gift of prophecy. The prophecy was simple: "You know what God is saying to you." It took me a full week to realise what it was that God was saying to me! How could I have been so blind, so entangled in the sin that so easily pervades, that I'd entirely forgotten, I'd failed to see! I long to rise up on wings like eagles. But to whom does that happen? “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up on wings like eagles.” My “waiting on the Lord” has been virtually non-existent.
Is there always this everlasting cycle? The night, the dawn, the day, the fading light, the night, the dawn… The night, the time when we cannot see the unseen, when temptations ravage as all we can see are the bright colours that entice and drag us away. The dawn when God brings us back to our senses. The day when we can see God and the vision he has for us. But then the light fades and the synthetic attractions raise their ugly head once again and the sin that so easily entangles entangles us once again. But it doesn’t have to entangle! Sing your praises in the night! But even Paul was perpetually battling with sin in Romans 7. Who will deliver me from this body of death! Come, Lord Jesus! Be the centre, the source, the vision, the path, my guide, so that
Grant Heaven’s joy to me Bright Heaven’s Sun. Michael
But life goes on. Until God steps in. This time in the form of someone at church with the gift of prophecy. The prophecy was simple: "You know what God is saying to you." It took me a full week to realise what it was that God was saying to me! How could I have been so blind, so entangled in the sin that so easily pervades, that I'd entirely forgotten, I'd failed to see! I long to rise up on wings like eagles. But to whom does that happen? “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up on wings like eagles.” My “waiting on the Lord” has been virtually non-existent.
Is there always this everlasting cycle? The night, the dawn, the day, the fading light, the night, the dawn… The night, the time when we cannot see the unseen, when temptations ravage as all we can see are the bright colours that entice and drag us away. The dawn when God brings us back to our senses. The day when we can see God and the vision he has for us. But then the light fades and the synthetic attractions raise their ugly head once again and the sin that so easily entangles entangles us once again. But it doesn’t have to entangle! Sing your praises in the night! But even Paul was perpetually battling with sin in Romans 7. Who will deliver me from this body of death! Come, Lord Jesus! Be the centre, the source, the vision, the path, my guide, so that
High King of Heaven, when battle is done
Grant Heaven’s joy to me Bright Heaven’s Sun. Michael
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Be authentic!
Dream? Vision? Who can tell? Well, not every dream is a vision, and not every vision is a dream. But a dream can be a vision and a vision can be a dream. And I firmly believe my dream was a vision. For starters, I woke up with it clearly and vividly in my mind, with a clear awareness that God had spoken to me. And so I wrote it down right away. We know that God does speak through dreams. We find it in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and in Christian history. In the modern era it is particularly noticable amongst Muslims, whom God may speak to directly, through a dream.
But back to my vision. I was on a training course that week. And it began with devotions. We were randomly divided into groups. The subject was stones. My group was given Genesis 28.10-22 where God speaks to Jacob vividly in a dream and sets up a stone to commemorate the fact. That was confirmation no.1. Confirmation no.2 was this: the topic of the training course was training to be trainers, and we were put into pairs to write training modules on topics of our own choice. My partner's topic was "Being authentic." We made the Gil Bailie quote a central part of that module. (By the way, I've no idea who Gil Bailie is. I found the quote in John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart" - great book!) A key component of being set free is being set free to be yourself. And so to me this module topic that I kind of got landed with was a second confirmation that the vision was a vision.
What happened next? More tomorrow! Michael
But back to my vision. I was on a training course that week. And it began with devotions. We were randomly divided into groups. The subject was stones. My group was given Genesis 28.10-22 where God speaks to Jacob vividly in a dream and sets up a stone to commemorate the fact. That was confirmation no.1. Confirmation no.2 was this: the topic of the training course was training to be trainers, and we were put into pairs to write training modules on topics of our own choice. My partner's topic was "Being authentic." We made the Gil Bailie quote a central part of that module. (By the way, I've no idea who Gil Bailie is. I found the quote in John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart" - great book!) A key component of being set free is being set free to be yourself. And so to me this module topic that I kind of got landed with was a second confirmation that the vision was a vision.
What happened next? More tomorrow! Michael
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I had a dream
Hello. Welcome. Awake Me. This blog is dedicated to helping you, helping me, to live the life God intended us to lead. Why these two particular quotes that I've put at the top of your screen? The first, Eyes wide open... comes from the song, Awake Me by the British band River Deep. The song is a prayer that God will set me free, wake me up, a vibrant, passionate prayer. Am I comfortably happy, fighting for passivity? Am I losing my focus of who God intends me to be? Heaven calls my name!
I had a dream, call it a vision if you like. I'm in a big Christian meeting, feeling self-conscious, not quite knowing what to do next. The worship leader is very close to me, and then as they begin the next song it isn’t a song of words and music but rhythmic clapping. My friends and I are a little unsure as to how to respond, but it feels right to join in the clapping. Then the Spirit of God releases us and we are set free, and my friend and I clasp each other in wild embrace and fall to the floor, rejoicing, free in the Spirit. I know clearly what to do next. Just as I received the Spirit of God from the worship leader, so I am to pass it on. And I go out amongst the congregation. They appear to be asleep. I go to one particular man, the one I am prompted to go to, and taking him by the hand say, “Arise, shine, wake up o sleeper, the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!” Whatever his needs were, they are met. He seems a little surprised, and very glad that he has been chosen, and filled with and transformed by the Spirit of God he gets up and joins the dance. After this I feel incredibly thirsty and need to find some water...
"Don't ask what the world needs..." Do I do my work out of duty or passion? OK, there's times when I must simply follow duty. But if that's all there is to my life I'm missing out on what God intends for me. He gave me my skills, my gifts, my passions. The world doesn't need a whole bunch of do-gooders; it needs people who have come alive, who are passionate about what they are doing. Who love what they are doing. Who believe in what they are doing. Who believe in what they are. As Evanescence pray, "Bring me to life!"
I had a dream, call it a vision if you like. I'm in a big Christian meeting, feeling self-conscious, not quite knowing what to do next. The worship leader is very close to me, and then as they begin the next song it isn’t a song of words and music but rhythmic clapping. My friends and I are a little unsure as to how to respond, but it feels right to join in the clapping. Then the Spirit of God releases us and we are set free, and my friend and I clasp each other in wild embrace and fall to the floor, rejoicing, free in the Spirit. I know clearly what to do next. Just as I received the Spirit of God from the worship leader, so I am to pass it on. And I go out amongst the congregation. They appear to be asleep. I go to one particular man, the one I am prompted to go to, and taking him by the hand say, “Arise, shine, wake up o sleeper, the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!” Whatever his needs were, they are met. He seems a little surprised, and very glad that he has been chosen, and filled with and transformed by the Spirit of God he gets up and joins the dance. After this I feel incredibly thirsty and need to find some water...
"Don't ask what the world needs..." Do I do my work out of duty or passion? OK, there's times when I must simply follow duty. But if that's all there is to my life I'm missing out on what God intends for me. He gave me my skills, my gifts, my passions. The world doesn't need a whole bunch of do-gooders; it needs people who have come alive, who are passionate about what they are doing. Who love what they are doing. Who believe in what they are doing. Who believe in what they are. As Evanescence pray, "Bring me to life!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
