Storms

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:39 NIV

Who hasn’t been hit by a storm in their life? Not just a single storm, but they can come in multiples and even then when we don’t want or expect them. The kind of storm that affects us can be varied, but they all hit hard.

The basic ingredients of any storm system will be wind and rain. Lots of rain. It is distressing to see families uprooted and washed out of their homes because of the flood water, caused by too much rain. Water is a strange thing. In the right amounts, it feeds the vegetation to keep the Ecosystem working and producing Oxygen while getting rid of harmful CO2. However one of the side effects of any amount of rain is mud and not so glorious mud! But always keep in mind that if not for the rain, neither would we have a rainbow.

We have a choice to make when hard times hit us. A difficult choice. Do we keep looking down to see how deep the mud is? How thick the mud is? Is it clinging to our shoes and clothes? Come to think of it, how are we ever going to get rid of the mess that mud makes on us, and our belongings? Can I suggest that instead of looking down at the mud, we look up?!

The sight of a rainbow in the sky is guaranteed to lift the spirits of the most life hardened mud watcher. But to state the obvious, we must look up to see the glory of the rainbow! You will never see a rainbow if you only look down at the mud. If you know me, you will know how much I love rainbows because the promise it stands for in God’s Word is close to my heart, and a clear answer to a loud and heart-wrenching prayer. The true rainbow is God’s covenant, and not to be confused with some contrived symbol of unrighteousness that we see flaunted at a Pride March. We can find comfort in what God says about His rainbow:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Genesis 9:13-15 NIV

Glory? What Glory??

Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’

John 11:40

Sometimes we come across a verse we know well, or think we do, and find ourselves asking questions. Jesus was talking to his friends Martha and Mary as they looked at the tomb where Lazarus lay. Soon Lazarus would be raised from the dead, but can our verse be applied to us today? It comes down to this: If we believe, will we be able to see the Glory of God too?

It’s too easy to shy away from this interpretation, and think that it only applied to the power that can raise the dead, especially at our own passing through the gates of heaven, or the second coming but is that it? Is that all? How do you and I as believers see the Glory of God?

When I became serious about finding out about salvation as a 14 year old, my Sunday School teacher Alex Barclay prayed with me, and besides reading from Scripture and encouraging me to read and pray daily, he read from the hymn “Loved with Everlasting Love” which has stuck with me down the years since that life changing night. The words of the second verse resonate even now:

Heav’n above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green!

Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen;

Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, Flowers with deeper beauties shine,

Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.

The Glory of God lives in every aspect of the believer’s life, and is obvious. We may not witness the raising of the dead, but what about some of the things we can sometimes take for granted? A glorious sunrise and sunset, the budding flower, the healing of the sick, saving grace seen in another’s life, the pure love of a husband or wife, the birth of a baby, laughter, tears of joy, song, poetry, or friendship, and the list could go on. Can science measure any of these? No, because feelings and emotions come from within, and as the old hymn says, for the Christian, things become softer, sweeter, gladder, and deeper. Who but God can do these things? The very Glory of God is there for us to find and see when we know Christ!

Packing

It’s a job I really don’t like, and my heart isn’t in it, but my head (you know that reasonable and logical part if you) knows the dreaded suitcase packing has to be done. So, it becomes a chore, and especially when you find that the suitcase isn’t big enough, plus the weight limit is too small for all the stuff you NEED to take with you. The airlines are all too eager to let you take extra weight, as long as you pay heavily for the privilege. Being a canny Scot, I don’t like paying for these so called ‘extras’, and I don’t think you do either!

Why is it easier to pack when you are going on holiday, but not so much when you leave? Don’t say anything. I already know the answer, even if I don’t want to admit it. Here’s a thought to throw out there. My suitcase is weighed down to the ounce by the airline, but I am not. In fact I will go a stage further and ask, why are really BIG people (who always seem to be sat next to me on those little airline seats) not weighed at check in? Or even sat altogether, so that they can experience the challenges of eating those in flight meals while your elbows are tucked uncomfortably in your pockets? Am I being mean? Maybe, but it’s one of those realities of economy flight travel. That was a diversion, but back to packing.

I am thinking this is a bit like life and day to day living. We come into this world with only the essentials. Life, love and freedom, but during our time here, we gather all kinds of stuff. The older we get, the more we gather, but the truth is, at best we leave this life the way we came in, with no worldly goods. As a person of faith, the end of the journey is not one to be feared. We don’t have to pack for it, but we do get to take love right into the courts of heaven, and the freedom granted us in Jesus to walk those celestial streets. So, the message is clear. Don’t go through life thinking that the material things in life are important when your chariot is about to leave for Glory. In the meantime, be glad for the life, love and freedom!

Church Reality

We all know that the church is not the building, but the people, as the old chorus tells us, but hold that thought. I would ask you to consider that we belong to two churches, and neither of them is the brickwork. Both are people centred.

The first church is the establishment formed by their statements of faith, and the standards to which it adheres. So, you might belong to a mainstream national church, or be labelled as an Evangelical, Baptist, Salvationist, Catholic, Holiness, Calvinist, Arminian etc etc. Belonging to one of these groups will broadly determine your church’s belief system, but not necessarily yours, or indeed the majority of the congregation. I have found that most folks go to a church because they feel comfortable there. It may be the music, or the minister, or the friends you make. Only very occasionally will it be the denomination.

The second church, and in my opinion, the more important church, doesn’t filter down from the statements of faith of a denomination, but from the congregation, or roots, upwards. In other words, it doesn’t really matter what it says on the tin (the manual), the content will likely be different. It may even bear no resemblance to the church’s core beliefs. Too strong? Think I am wrong?

I believe I am right in thinking that members of my own church who are over 55, will know and understand fully what their church’s core belief is, and claim the experience. There is usually one main difference between the protestant denominations, and in mine it’s Holiness. Sanctification. Second Blessing. This teaching sets the bar high, but it is no more than is required by God’s Word: ...as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy”. 1 Peter 14-16 NKJV

My particular church denomination is over 100 years old, and does not resemble the faith group it once did. Maybe we have become middle aged, or elderly (in church years), or maybe we have ‘moved with the times’, or maybe just maybe ‘the Glory has departed’. How bad and sad does that sound? So do you recognise my concern that we become the church we deserve? Maybe I am wrong, and things are really much better now, than they ever were before, and I would like to understand if this is the case. I understand that we all then have a responsibility to become the ‘Church’ in its true form, and I also recognise that I am an individual part of that body of believers by denomination, but more importantly by personal conviction, decision and witness. I pray I will be found worthy by the Head of the only Church that matters.

I know this piece will be read by people of various church groups and denominations, and so I would appreciate your own thoughts and experiences (if you feel you can comment freely).