love them!

During the six years I lived in Campbeltown I became good friends with a young man who worked at the American Airbase at Machrihanish. We met at 6.30am each Tuesday for bible study and prayer. On a number of occasions he placed a small card in the pulpit which I got when I stood up to preach. I still have one of the cards. On one side it has the words of the singer Michael Card: “He loves you with passion, without regret. He cannot love more, he will not love less.”

On the other side it simply says, “Love them!”

The card reminds me of a central tenet of the Christian life and one that has blessed me as I read Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians in the early part of the week. In 1:2-3 he writes:

“We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NLT).

What Paul especially remembered about the Thessalonians was the three primary Christian graces which characterised their lives: faith, love and hope.

Faith, love and hope are the evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Together they completely reorientate our lives, as we find ourselves being drawn up towards God in faith, out towards others in love and on towards the Lord’s coming in hope. The Christian life means little or nothing if it doesn’t pull us out of our own fallen self interests and redirects us towards Christ and our fellow human beings.

John Calvin, the great second generation reformer, referred to this verse as ”a brief definition of true Christianity.” It is a classic description of what a truly authentic Christian life looks like. We find here the principles which form our character as Christians. 

The faith in Christ that changes our lives and shapes our destiny is also the one that shapes our attitude to others…“Love them!”

(Picture, On a walk near our home)

give me a call

 

What verse in Scripture would you look to as a favourite?

I have known some people who would say their choice is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

I recently finished reading the prophecy of Jeremiah and was struck afresh by this most famous of sentences. Most of the time the original context is not acknowledged when people quote it. It is spoken by God to a people who faced his judgment in the form of banishment to a foreign land. So here it is in its fuller setting:

“This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

This passage is a heartwarming promise to an undeserving people and contains much for us to ponder about the nature of God and his grace to his children. 

One word jumped out at me, making me sit up and take notice - “CALL”. “Call on me”, says the Lord. I traced that word back as far as I could in Scripture and came to settle on Genesis 4:26. “At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord.' 

The way the sentence is set out emphasises that this moment saw the definite beginning of something new. Was this the time when prayer really began? It does seem that"calling on the name of the Lord” was the beginning of a conversation between humanity and God?

Genesis 4:26 is certainly built on the recognition that despite the profound break in our relationship with the Lord (read chapter 3) he continues to speak to his creatures, and makes it possible for us to respond to him. We can call on the Lord, but only because he has called to us. We can call on him to come through on his promises only because he has already made his promises (3:15). 

It will be the story of the people of God from this moment on. In Genesis 12:8 and 13:4 Abram "calls on the name of the Lord" at key moments in his life - modelling a "faith response" to God's promises and showing that as he moves through the land of Canaan he does so relying on the Lord to do what he has said.

So prayer, calling on the Lord, is what we do now - until God intervenes to straighten everything out. Prayer is God's gift to help us grow in relationship with him and navigate life with him in a broken world - a world where we ache and get distracted and struggle with sin. Prayer helps in a world in which we hurt people and get hurt; where we let God down and ignore him, even though we belong to him (e.g. Jeremiah 29!). Prayer is an ointment that heals the wounds of loneliness, discouragement and frustration.

Four chapters after Jeremiah 29, the Lord will once again say to his people:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (33:3)

Now that is a verse to get excited about for the week ahead!

P.S. U2 referenced this verse on the album cover of "All That You Can't Leave Behind". You might just spot it!

(Picture - Ben Lawers range)

as usual...

Reading the Bible is a fascinating experience for many reasons.  One of them is the way in which a phrase that you have read many times can come alive for the first time. This happened to me with a sentence in Luke’s Gospel.

In Luke 22 Jesus is approaching events that he long predicted would take place. What will soon unfold in his arrest, trial and crucifixion, will shape the course of history and alter the destiny of millions of people. His death will reverse the effects of sin, restore our broken relationship with God and establish a new society of people called the Church who will seek to exhibit his life to the world.

 

As these epic events are unfolding we learn that '(Jesus) went as usual to the Mount of Olives' (v.39). 

…HE WENT AS USUAL…

This was clearly part of his regular practice; a habit formed over time. But for what purpose?

 

As I've reflected on this sentence in one of the gospels, I believe that we can learn some encouraging truths that will help us on the pathway of discipleship.

 

Firstly, we learn the significance of PLACE.

If our service for God is going to be truly effective, then it must be underpinned by prayer and the reading of God's Word. That will be a major part of what sustains over the long haul of Christian living and ministry. Not only was this central in Jesus' life but there was also a particular place he often visited that helped nurture his relationship with the Father. 

Some of us enjoy recreation and in so doing commune with God. Others value quiet time at the start of each day at home. Wherever it happens to be, Jesus' example of securing an uninterrupted time for communion with God highlights a prerequisite to faithful service.

 

Secondly, we discover the value of SPACE.

Jesus intentionally withdrew from the demands of ministry in order to obtain not only a place to fellowship with the Father but also to find space for the replenishing of his spiritual life and the good of his soul. To do this he recognised the need to escape the rigours of daily demands that can be so constricting to delight in the expanse of the Father's love. 

Securing those moments with God will enable us to experience something of "the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).

Lastly, we recognise the importance of PACE.

Someone once described the life of discipleship as 'a long obedience in the same direction.' It is vital, then, to set a steady, consistent pace that will avoid burnout. 

For Jesus, going as usual to the Mount of Olives helped him to stay on track and avoid the twin dangers that we often encounter…rushing ahead or lagging behind where the Father wants us to be.

If we set the 'as usual' in our lives it will prevent us from running on empty and keep us on track with God.

(picture - Dumgoyne on the Campsie Fells)

the good way

I love history. For several years I had the privilege of lecturing on Church History at Tilsley College in Motherwell. At the beginning of the first lecture I always stressed that life is too short to live by experience alone. We need the collective wisdom of centuries of thought and reflection on how to live well as followers of Jesus in this world. I imagined that all of this insight was like standing on the shoulders of giants. We might be able to see further than they could but if it wasn’t for them we would not be able to see at all! 

Over the last couple of weeks I have embarked on a journey through the Old Testament prophecy of Jeremiah. It’s not an easy read but it is full of precious statements that have guided and blessed the people of God over the centuries.

One such pronouncement invites us to find our direction for today from the insight of the past.

Here is what Jeremiah says,

“Stand at the crossroads and look, 

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls”. 

(6:16)

Jeremiah invites us to a moment of decision: 

“Stand at the crossroads and look…”

What he points to here appears to be a moment of crisis. He urges us to stop and not to make a hasty or rash decision on which route to take. The weight of the verse suggests that the wrong course could lead us down a dangerous path. Indeed, the reality for the people of Jeremiah’s day is that “each pursues his own course” (8:6).  

We make decisions, big and small, every day of our lives. Most of them are of little consequence to our way of living (e.g. what will I wear today?). Some can be quite momentous (e.g. will I accept this job, or not?). 

My commitment to follow Jesus Christ as a teenager has been the seminal decision of my life. He declared, “I am the Way” (John 14:6) and urged his followers to choose the challenge of walking the narrow road above the ease of walking on the broad road (Matthew 6:13-14).

As we step into each new day, we face afresh the call to walk the way of Christ before our own misguided sense of direction. “Let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

The (daily) moment of decision leads to a request for direction:

“…ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it…”

Jeremiah urges us to reject the prevailing trends of contemporary culture and seek the paths that the ancients have trod. It’s the way that Abraham, Hannah, David and Daniel walked. It is the path of grateful obedience to Word of God. They were sure-footed because the ground on which they stood was level, firm and secure. It was “the good way”. It was God’s way.

I begin each new day by reciting the words of the Apostles' Creed in a spirit of praise and gratitude. It reaches back to the second century and has been a summary of orthodox Christianity ever since. When the Christian faith is being undermined in some quarters I would rather trust what the centuries say against the hours.

The journey for Jeremiah leads at last to a promise of rest:

 “…you will find rest for your souls”. 

Those words echo down until centuries until the Word made flesh declared:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). 

Because of Christ, the Way, we can travel light as we walk through this world.

(picture - The Hermitage, near Dunkeld)