A sad time of year? For some the changes in the weather and shorter days can affect our mood.
Justin Hayward (appropriately from the Moody Blues) wrote a classic song “Forever Autumn.” Here are the first two verses. Hope they don’t make you sad!
“The summer sun is fading as the year grows old And darker days are drawing near The winter winds will be much colder Now you’re not here I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky And one by one they disappear I wish that I was flying with them Now you’re not here Like the sun through the trees you came to love me Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away…”
Autumn can affect us emotionally and spirituality. That impact can be quite strong and make us moodier. Individual circumstances can cause vulnerability; and being aware of that is important. Our physical existence impacts everything.
It is a time to strengthen family/friendship links- mutual support is so helpful. It is also good to remember that life doesn’t centre on us- we are important and valued, but our focus stands on Jesus and He is with us ALWAYS. In every season, spring or autumn. James has a few worthwhile things to say about fruitfulness AND patience.
James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.”
(Tomorrow I’ll look at the positive aspects of Autumn!)
This is me, after preaching this morning. Fuzzy, a bit cross-eyed, with a blank long-distance stare- a fine upstanding figure of a bear with little brain. I dozed off after lunch so the roast beef will now be dinner tomorrow… the substitute fishcakes were quite tasty though, and MUCH quicker to cook.
Now I’m retired, I don’t preach as often: and it takes more out of me than it used to. But it is still a special calling, and a remarkable privilege and honour to explore Scripture and apply truth to life. Today we looked at Psalm 51 and the rather shabby story of David’s greatest calamity as king.
Summing up 2 Samuel 11 as “When you’re in a hole, stop digging” we looked at the shameful and tragic mixture of lust, deception, adultery and murder. Even the best of human beings is capable of dreadful sin and failure.
“You’re Nicked” is the title for 2 Samuel 12. Nathan, a true prophet, confronts David- read the two chapters for the full account- and helps bring David back to his senses and to God.
So, on to Psalm 51. Written out of guilt and heartbreak, David takes responsibility and pleads for forgiveness. Any believer who has ever sinned against God (that’s all of us!) will benefit from reading this as a prayer and a penance. Our faults may not be same as those of King David- but as a model for honest and sincere repentance, it is deeply helpful.
Sin always has consequences- but forgiveness is the gift of our Merciful Father. A clean slate and a new beginning is ours when we truly desire to change direction and become obedient.
Grace and mercy await. This Psalm has many familiar verses- read it and see how many you recognise.
Reflect on this short extract from Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin… and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again. You have broken me- now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.” (From Psalm 51 v1-2, & v7-9)
So, a serious, even heavy, message to deliver. Like every preacher, I speak to myself as well as a congregation. Preaching should never be a stick to beat on others. Rather, it is a message centred in the truth of God’s self-revelation that the preacher must “live in” even as the Word is shared.
“Lord, have mercy on me; and have mercy on those who had to listen. May the seed of Your Word grow in us all- and may Your mercy grant us joy in our salvation. May we have a holy life and a message of hope to share this week, and always. AMEN.”
If the first peacock you ever saw was white- you’re in for a shock. Most peacocks are very brightly coloured. How will you adapt to something so different? It works the same the other way round- your “bog-standard blue peacock” world will be surprised or even shocked when you first see a white one.
We build a world-view based on what we come into contact with (especially when we are young). So in my worldview swans are white! The ones on the River Adur were always white therefore swans are white. It’s sort of logical… But not necessarily true. Black swans exist too. Oh the shock to my childish brain!
Then my parents gave me a pet ALBINO rabbit… but Peter Rabbit was brown. No wonder I grew up confused.
The world is full of difference! In fact, that is probably one of the most obvious facts. Dogs in various sizes… cows aren’t just black and white… insects… birds… fish… animals… PEOPLE. Yep, people are all different. Skin colour, hair colour, eye colour. Some people can dance- when I try, I resemble a drunken hippo on a parachute.
Have you noticed how the younger generation ALWAYS have lousy music?
And ridiculous fashion sense? (Ahem… remembering some of the stuff we wore in the 70’s perhaps I should drop that example. Nah, those flared jeans and kipper ties were cool, man. The stuffy grown-ups just couldn’t dig it, bro.)
We are surrounded by difference yet all too often “being different” is the reason for rejection or persecution. Often people who look different speak a foreign language (well, duh) and like weird food- we don’t understand them, and standing next door to that is finding them scary and threatening… What we fear, usually we hate. When hatred takes hold, evil follows.
Racism is an evil thing. Discrimination is an evil thing. Being different is NOT an evil thing.
Variety, diversity, creativity… difference. Isn’t this what gives life its spice and fascination?
JB Phillips translated part of Colossians 1 like this:
Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through him, and for him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation. And now he is the head of the body which is composed of all Christian people. Life from nothing began through him, and life from the dead began through him, and he is, therefore, justly called the Lord of all. It was in him that the full nature of God chose to live, and through him God planned to reconcile in his own person, as it were, everything on earth and everything in Heaven by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross.
All the differences in the world- and God’s purpose is to reconcile ALL THINGS to Himself through Christ. Will we spurn, fear, or hate those whom God loves? Jesus- the antidote to hatred, and reconciler of all. Even those who are different.
Green is such a restful colour. With the sunlight passing through the leaf membranes, the greens glow; all the tiny veins form patterns linking to the Y-shape of the major stems.
It looks rather like a picture I saw of the rivers of the Amazon Basin viewed from a high satellite pass. The similarity is not just the appearance: the plant uses a “web” of veins and arteries to pass water and nutrients TO the leaf, and thus aid the chlorophyll “factory” working in the leaf bio-chemistry. The chlorophyll is what produces the green colouration. When the growing season ends, the loss of chlorophyll and water turns the leaves brown (until they shrivel or drop).
Just look at the shapes in the composition: allow your eye to wander and explore. What comes to mind? The leaf doesn’t “tell a story” it just exists… is that enough? Or is this photo a waste of space?
Being itself and being displayed can suggest value and beauty. As for meaning… aren’t some pictures valid just because they are pretty?
Let your eye linger on the photo. Does the “simple complexity” cause you to think of the wonder of life, of beauty, of the One who caused Life to be?
To look at a picture or a living scene is one way of tuning in to God’s reality and Being. Some call this practice “Visio Divina” or Divine Seeing; it is a heart-centred practice that invites the viewer to perceive God’s presence through what they see, parallel to how Lectio Divina uses scripture for meditation and prayer.
The practice emphasizes slowing down, gazing with love, and allowing the image to speak to the heart, fostering a direct encounter with the divine. It goes back to St Benedict (c500AD) or earlier: using icons, stained glass, and other forms of art.
Historically, it has been a way to make the invisible grace of God visible through art and creation. Willing to try it? Pick a picture…
(Definition provided by contemplative.org which is worth checking for more insight.)
For the curious- the leaf is a Giant Rhubarb Plant, photographed at Dunster Castle.
Much too hot to do anything today… now sitting here in the cooler evening air, room-fan blasting away, and filing “forgotten” photos. This unidentified beauty was photographed in mid-December, in a local seafront garden. It took me by surprise: most of the garden was dormant, so discovering this flower was a real bonus.
A star-shaped gem! Golden-throated, white petals with delicate pink veins, it “glows” against its sombre foliage.
I think people start to get old when they lose their sense of wonder.
Young children live for the next wonderful surprise. Anything from a falling leaf to a fire engine is greeted with joyful squeals. “Old” folks can walk past a troupe of performing spaniels and not notice! (“Old” isn’t age as such- it’s an attitude).
I hope I don’t get that kind of “old.” My ideal is to bounce along through the years getting excited by everything that comes my way. Greeting my wonderful wife with a smile, not a grunt, and cooking her breakfast… listening to music, being thrilled by colours, enjoying books and words and jokes and good conversations… excited by the green woodpecker on my lawn last week and the golden-throated flower on a winter’s morning. Glorious wonder!
This is the feeling I get when I read the opening verses of John’s Gospel. Sheer excitement rooted in the Beginning of Beginnings, the Holy Dance of the Trinity, and the personal witness of the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” Here are the first five verses as translated in the “Message”- I hope it makes YOUR heart sing!
The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. Everything was created through him; nothing- not one thing!- came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
At the earliest glimmerings of daylight, some brave women walked to the tomb of Jesus: they intended to care for his corpse with spices and cloth. Jesus was not there! It’s a fact that requires explanation. As that Resurrection Day went on, more people encountered the Risen, Living Lord. You can read their witness statements in the Gospels- start with Luke.
How can I represent the Resurrection in a photograph?
This picture is a collage made up of photos of individual Christians in one church: it hangs in the entry hall so the congregation is reminded every Sunday of two things.
1. Jesus IS alive. 2. All of the church is embraced into this new living reality. Resurrection includes us, past, present, and future.
God’s grace has rescued us; by faith- trusting active obedience- we are a part of the new Kingdom. We are “in Christ” and this fact changes everything. If we refuse to believe the evidence of history, the eyewitness testimony, and the survival & growth of the Church, then Easter is empty. That’s the choice: the empty tomb OR an empty life of futility. Mock my faith if you will; deny the Resurrection if you dare. EVERYTHING hinges on this, as St Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
“But tell me this- since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God- for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”
Read it and rejoice- or read it and weep.
May the blessings of our Risen Christ be yours today and always.
God calls us to a spirit of generosity. This reservoir near Hennock in Devon stores an immense volume of water. A pumphouse below the dam is always rumbling as water is fed into the pipes that take it to the homes and businesses across the county. There are two other reservoirs nearby. All the residents have to do is turn on the tap and receive a generous supply.
Do you realise there is a battle in your mind over generosity? Some fight this battle all their lives. “If I give too generously, will I run out?” There can be an argument internally over responsibility vs generosity. It isn’t an easy decision.
It isn’t my place to prescribe the level of giving for other believers. That route easily leads to a legalistic bitterness where we grudge the gifts we do make. I can, however, realistically re-assess my own level of generosity- and seek to be what Paul describes as a “hilarious giver”… I will give to the One I love and who loves me.
2 Corinthians 9:7 states that “each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful (hilarious) giver.”
Jesus gives us a glorious principle to follow: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38. Do we think we can outgive God?
The Bible isn’t saying that we should give money IN ORDER TO RECEIVE more money (despite the error of some “health and wealth” teachings). We are challenged to generosity so that we are like God who gives everything, even to giving Jesus on the Cross.
Prosperity from God is connected to shalom-wholeness, the perfect peace of restored relationship with our Lord: becoming and being like Jesus. Limiting “prosperity” to money and possessions and fame is like selling a million-pound note for a battered old half-crown. (That’s 2 shillings and sixpence… or 22.5p in our terms).
God doesn’t deal in half-crowns… He gives us living crowns that we can offer back to Him in worship- casting our crowns before Him.
“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” – Proverbs 11:25
There’s something missing. “No Fishing” is plain enough. But for it to be a really good/funny photo, there should be a kingfisher perching or a heron standing next to the sign. Then I could sell that pic for a decent sum. (Even a seagull perching would do at a pinch.)
Modern editing software means I could insert a suitable bird, reasonably easily, although any little mistake would mean you’d spot the cheating. There are real experts in using Photoshop who could make a blended picture so good even I’d be fooled- and I took the photo in the first place.
The altered picture would be untrue, a lie, a misrepresentation, or even a scam (if I tried to sell the photo to the media).
Does that matter? It should do! If not, we decide by default that fictional pics are acceptable “truth”… Imagine if a photographer produced fake nudes- the harm that could do to the reputation and emotional health of the victims! (Please note any similarity to the recent judgement against Gr*k could be purely a coincidence, and is not necessarily my deliberate inference).
Regular readers will know that I try to acknowledge whenever animal/bird subjects have been photographed in captivity. Or I’d be guilty of making you think I’m a better photographer than I am, with fieldcraft worthy of a professional. I’m honest about it.
Truth matters. Honesty and integrity should be integral to our chosen lifestyle.
So when politicians or preachers “add bits in” to make a powerful headline… OR leave stuff out to change the story and unduly influence the audience… it is WRONG. No smart excuses can excuse the lying. It may be expedient to lie/exaggerate/falsify but it isn’t clever and it isn’t right.
You may say I’m showing naivety. Well, I’d rather be naive and enjoy a clear conscience! I believe we should be able to expect truth and integrity from people in positions of influence and power.
After all, as a follower of Jesus (admittedly an imperfect follower) surely I must take his words seriously. “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'” – John 14:6-7.
Is it always easy to understand and apply the truth of Jesus to every part of life? I wish!!! Sometimes I reflect Jesus a bit like the reflection of the sign in the water… Sorry about that. I’ll try to be clearer.
Jesus proclaims Truth. Our Accuser, Satan, is described as the “Father of Lies.” So when we’re listening to someone, who is closest to Truth? The sad fact is that we tend to become like the one we pay attention to… so truth IS rather vital. Who are we listening to- and how are they forming us?
Balanced on the brink… two Canada geese on the weir-step of the River Wye in Bakewell. They have mastered the art. The top of the weir is narrow, slippery, and the current flows quite strongly- any person trying to cross would be odds-on for a cold bath. Kids sometimes try this sort of stunt, much to the alarm of watching adults. That’s because the adults recognise the risks.
Watching the river water cascade down the step is fascinating. Every now and again a duck will use the weir as a “down escalator” by lifting its webbed feet and sliding on the current and over the edge. I never saw any geese trying the same trick- but who knows?
It all reminds me of the perilous politics of brinkmanship. The Middle East is aflame (again) as a result of extreme leaders on both sides daring each other to “have a go.” Balanced on a slippery platform,
I don’t have expertise in international power-politics. All I will say about that is my concern for the innocents caught up in another war. That leads me to urge prayer for peace and justice; without God’s intervention the prospect of peace is vanishingly small. Do our prayers make a difference? I believe so.
This morning a phrase came to mind as we prayed at church. “We are the antibiotics sent by God to address the fever of the world.”
Christians who pray and act on their prayers achieve more than we realise. Our union with Christ makes us part of the Kingdom of God, and our words and actions are an expression of Jesus lived into the world. We pray out of compassion, and, if we’re honest, out of fear. But also out of duty: for our faith means we take an active position as peacemakers. Sharing the heart of God in the face of violence and tragedy, we intercede for all sides and trust that the Lord can in some way use our prayerful concern.
Out of chaos, order. Out of disaster, hope. Perhaps, even, out of the dis-ease of violence there can emerge a just peace.
We are not standing on the brink for the thrill of the ride! But we are here in the Name and authority of Jesus, Prince of Peace. Lord, in your mercy, heal our world. Amen.
Do rules make you dig your heels in and mutter “Shan’t” under your breath? Yes? Then I’m not alone.
I started thinking about this as I was editing the photo, only little tweaks, and the bright idea hit me. Why not remove the barbed wire to make it a charming donkey-portrait? So I tried.
So when you look carefully at the picture, you’ll be thinking “nice bit of photoshopping” right up to the moment when you see the wire is still there. Why? Because I realised it stood for something important.
Fences are there to keep the animals IN the safety of their field. Fences also help stop potential dangers from getting into the field.
It a rule, well, two rules. Stay In; and Keep Out. The donkey benefits from both. It might fancy an expedition to find greener grass- but the road is very busy so the “rule” keeps donkeys safer. And keeping out ijits who want to feed/ride/steal Mr Donk is a good thing.
God gives us “rules” for a similar reason; to keep us from harm, and keep us from harming others. Our record of keeping the rules isn’t good. Many of us think the “Ten Suggestions” are a multi-choice test, “attempt three from ten.”
The deeper purpose of the guidance God has given is to teach us wisdom so we learn the best way to life. I do find I am more receptive to rules if I understand WHY and TRUST the rule-setter. Some of you are probably less stroppy by nature and do “Keep off the Grass” when you see the sign. Also, you never break speed limits, never have naughty thoughts, and NEVER suffer temptation. Do you recognise yourself here?
Well, I’m far from perfect. But I have learned a very important lesson. Jesus said ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31
When life is ruled by love, we only need those two rules.
Jesus also understands our struggles with human nature, and offers forgiveness, new beginnings, and NEW LIFE. This is what the Cross and Resurrection are all about. We are about to enter the season of Lent, a period of prayer and devotion leading up to Easter. (There’s a donkey in THAT story too.)
Meanwhile, remember that barbed wires fences can have painful consequences when ignored (or jumped). So keep an eye out- and keep God at the heart of life, then prove you love Him as you help and care for others.
Look, See, Pray 