John the Baptist

Matthew 11:2-11 is a reading which often gets overlooked.

John the Baptist is in prison. He has been in prison for some time and knows he will not leave it alive because Herod’s wife wants him dead. She has not yet, however, found a way of securing his death and Herod is intrigued by John and so listens to what he has to say. Consequently, John is treated with respect and his disciples were allowed to visit him freely. His disciples keep him up to date with what is going on in the world outside and report to him what they have witnessed of Jesus.

John sends his disciples to Jesus with the question “Art thou he that should come?”

This is where opinion amongst well-known commentators differ.

Some state that John sent the disciples only to remove their doubts.

Others state that this question came directly from John with the answer being directed to John; who may have been feeling impatient at hearing about the signs and wonders but not seeing the appearance of God’s kingdom in a way he expected and so was falling into despair in prison.

Many Christians struggle with this passage and John’s question. This is not surprising considering what else we know about John.

John the forerunner. The one sent to “Prepare the way of the Lord”.

John, who, before he had even been born, recognised his cousin as Lord and Saviour and jumped for joy in his mother’s womb.

Seeds of doubt planted by the devil reach their peak at times of great despair and can cause people to question even the most important fundamental truths.

We hope that, nay we know that, John’s faith did not fail him.

However, at a time of despair, languishing in jail, confirmation of what he knew to be true would consolidate and strengthen his faith and hope.

Yet, if John had sent his disciples to Christ with the question for their satisfaction then we know that Christ pointed them to what they had heard and seen; directing them to the way in which salvation was to be found.

John, who at Jesus’s baptism witnessed the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and heard the voice from heaven confirming Jesus as God’s beloved Son with whom He is well-pleased, had shown Christ to his disciples.

John saw that some of these disciples were envying for his sake and some were making the same misinterpretations as many of the Jews did about the Messiah. John wanted to ensure, before his own inevitable death took place, that his disciples were satisfied from their own experience of and sight of the works of Christ; and so he sent them on this errand.

“Poor men have the good news proclaimed to them,” Jesus added when He spoke to John’s disciples. He invited them to His kingdom and told them of peace and pardon.

It was predicted in Isaiah that the Messiah would indeed preach good tidings to the meek (the gospel to the poor).

Jesus knew that John the Baptist, whose heart was with the poor, knew that He was the one who united power and tenderness and could be none other than the expected king.

From verse 6: Blessed is he who shall not take offence at my poverty and lowliness of life and who will not reject me and my doctrine.

John wanted, not to force Christ’s hand into revealing Himself before His time came but, to ensure that he had completed his mission and passed the baton over to the one for whom he had been preparing the way.

Jesus then gave testimony to John, and to all he had achieved.

What Jesus said about John was not only to praise John but also for all the people.

Those who listen to the word will be called to give account of their improvements. Do we think that once the sermon is over the work is done? No! It most certainly is not. In fact, that is when the great work really begins.

Fervency and zeal are required by all. Self must be denied; the bent, frame and temper of the mind must be altered.

Those who have an interest in salvation will not mind what the terms are nor how hard they seem.

Things of God are of both great and common concern.

God requires no more from us than the right use of what he has given us.

People are ignorant because they will not learn.

John was sent to prepare the people to receive the Messiah and he fulfilled this commission. He preached repentance and faith in Christ.

As John prepared the way for Jesus then so we must prepare now.

We must prepare our hearts and minds, making them right and open ready to receive Him again this Christmas and for when He comes again in glory.

Not only that but we must spread that good news so that others also have the chance to repent and prepare.

Handing over the baton (Photo by BOOM ud83dudca5 Photography on Pexels.com)

Once Upon A Time …

… there was a little baby born in a stable who would become the saviour of the world. He was visited by shepherds and magi, whilst the angels sang and a star shone.

And that is precisely the problem – too many people treat the reports of Jesus’s birth as if it was a nice little fairy story for children. There is too much complacency, too much commercialism and too much watering down the truth because it’s easier to fall in with non-believers, materialism and instant gratification than it is to stand firm in the faith. Humans like an easy life but the ironic thing is that taking the easier road leads, at the end, to suffering.

The road less travelled, narrow and difficult though it may seem at times, is the path to God’s house. Whilst the journey may seem hard, the end is worth it. It is better to travel the more difficult road with Christ by our side and wait for our reward at the end of the journey than it is to opt for the easy journey and the consequences that await.

Advent is a time of waiting, watching and preparing, of truly listening to God with our heart and with all our senses, of opening our hearts and minds, of making changes and being prepared to be changed, of praying and inviting Jesus into our lives and our hearts. It is a time to get ready to climb that difficult path up the mountain.

Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving. He is real and the path to life, not just a story for Christmas. He is our Saviour, our Redeemer, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who rules through love not war. He sacrificed himself to defeat death and the devil to save us. He shows us God’s mercy, love and grace. He grants us forgiveness and shows us how to live.

This year, why not use this time of Advent to evaluate yourself and your faith, to choose Jesus, the greatest gift of all, to choose life not death. Yes that means making difficult choices and choosing the harder path over the easier one. It means loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and loving your neighbour as yourself. It means loving, forgiving and praying for your enemies. It means listening and obeying our Lord and Master and following him.

But what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs he bears. What Joy, Love, Light and Peace we gain as a child of our Heavenly Father.

Hell is truly an absence of God, of not being in his loving presence. So stop treating Jesus’s birth as a fairy story and give it back the significance it requires.

I pray that you all receive God’s blessing this Christmas.

Image of a stained glass window depicting Jesus’s birth (Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)

King of Kings

The Sunday before Advent, we celebrate Christ the King, which concludes the church year as we begin the Advent Season and the new church year the following Sunday.

Whilst one of the more recent festival days of the church, having been added to the church calendar in 1925, it is when we join together to give thanks to Christ our King and to be reminded that all nations fall under the reign of God’s Son, and to remind the world that we all live under this reign, whether or not we acknowledge it.

Jesus is our King and is the King of kings.

So, what kind of king is he?

In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul tells us that in Jesus, our King, all things in heaven and earth, both seen and unseen, have been created through Jesus and for Jesus. There is nothing, no nation, no government, no earthly ruler that has not been created through Jesus and for Jesus. He is the Lord over all. King of kings and Lord of lords.

Paul goes on to tell us that without Jesus being an active part of our world everything would fall apart. Jesus is the glue that holds all things together. The ultimate sticky back plastic.

Paul tells us that our Almighty and all powerful God rescued us from the power of darkness into Jesus’s kingdom, where there is love, forgiveness, grace and mercy. All ruled over by the gentle, loving hand of Jesus. An all – powerful king who chooses not to rule by force but by love.

In Luke chapter 23, Jesus is being crucified and mocked. Jesus, our all – powerful king, allows himself to be crucified – killed in a cruel, torturous, shaming way; choosing to reign from a cross, willingly dying for us.

Yet it is this that shows us what it means to have Jesus as our king and what kind of king He is.

A king who is literally dying to save us. A king who took our humiliation and punishment for us. A king who was tortured and died and refused to save himself. A king who gets what he does not deserve – death on a cross – so that we can have what we do not deserve – life in his kingdom. A king of overflowing love showing us God’s overflowing love for us.

And he does not stop there, as demonstrated when, even though he was dying, he still found the breath to forgive the repentant thief.

Jesus is a king who is always ready to forgive and to welcome a repentant sinner home.

Christ, our king of love has let us off the cross, giving us the opportunity to be his disciples and live each day for him.

I invite you to think about what that means for you.

We give thanks for Christ our King, the all-powerful, who chooses to reign by love. The king who died so that we might live.

So, let us live not for ourselves but for him. Let us make the most of the opportunity to live each day for the king who died to save us and continue to do so until that blessed day when his kingdom will come in all it’s fullness and glory.

Christ The King (Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)

Remembrance Sunday

Luke 20:27-38

A question about the resurrection.

When I was looking deeper into this reading from Luke, I noticed that one of the commentaries entitles it “The Sadducees ask Jesus a ridiculous question”.

The Sadducees were like an ancient version of modern liberal theologians. They only accepted the first five books of Moses as authentic; disregarding what was written in them whenever they chose to do so. They did not believe in the resurrection, spirits or angels. They liked worldly things and cooperated with the Romans in order to keep their privileges.

There is a saying that there are no stupid questions only stupid answers but, in this case, it is the other way around. The Sadducees ask a ridiculous, hypothetical question based on Deuteronomy 25:5-10 in the hope of tricking Jesus into justifying their views. It is even feasible that the story they told was one of their stock in trade, told regularly purely in an attempt to cast ridicule on the resurrection of the dead.

Jesus’s reply, however, was a reminder that life in the resurrection is quite different to this worldly life with practices that are different to earthly life practices.

Revelation tells us that the glory of heaven will be a relationship and connection with God that surpasses anything else.

The question was not actually asked, however, to debate about those in heaven who had been married more than once; although Jesus tells us here that jealousy and exclusion have no place in heaven.

It was asked in order to attempt to refute the resurrection.

Jesus’s reply: “Nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels, are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”

Jesus reminds us that life in heaven is eternal and shares some of the characteristics of the existence angels experience; although by being called children of God and children of the resurrection is a greater honour than that of the angels – these titles not having been given to angelic beings.

Jesus confirmed (and goes on to prove in the passage) that the resurrection is real and that there is no death in that life to come. And of course, this was a double blow for the Sadducees having had Jesus also confirm the existence of angels.

This teaching of Jesus , confirming the resurrection, is particularly poignant on Remembrance Sunday, when our thoughts turn to those who gave their lives, the mystery of death and what happens next.

We remember those who, throughout the centuries, received the news of their loved one’s death or that they were Missing In Action.

We remember those, who, today, yesterday, and in years long past made the ultimate sacrifice; and those who, sadly, will be making that sacrifice tomorrow.

They gave, and give, their lives for our tomorrows, for peace, freedom, justice and stability.

The scale and horror of the First World War was such that, at the time, it seemed impossible and unthinkable that such atrocity could be repeated – giving it the name “the war to end all wars”.

Sadly, reality turned out very different. Many millions more lives have since been, and continue to be, lost in all the many conflicts that have continued since around the world.

Most of us, most people, at least most of the time, want to live in peace.

So, what is it that is within humanity that creates this, appearingly, insatiable, appetite for conflict and war. Both for actual conflict and war and that which is created for, rather shamefully named I think, “entertainment purposes” such as video games.

Deep down beneath all the surface reasons or, dare I say, excuses, for conflict is that much used and much misunderstood word sin. The difference between the people we are and the people God made us to be. And what did God make us to be? He created us in His image. In the image and likeness of a loving God for the express purpose of being a loving people that love one another.

As Jesus said in John 15: “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” and “I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another.”

There are far too many shocking stories, accounts and images of the atrocities of war – including those that continued to be committed after peace treaties were signed. We are supposed to learn from our mistakes and yet these still continue to take place.

But, there are also the poignant images of the Allied and German cemeteries filled with crosses.

Picture those rows of white crosses, be immersed in the silence.

Rows and rows of white crosses.

Take the command to love one another seriously.

Row upon row.

Understand that Christ went to the cross to overcome our separation from God and from each other.

Rows and rows and rows of white crosses.

If only this commandment was followed and the sacrifice understood all around the world then maybe, just maybe, the glimmer of hope given by the light of Christ will stay lit, not all will be lost and we would actually be able to allow Remembrance Day to fulfil it’s dream and truly mark the end of war!

War cemetery, rows of white crosses. (Photo by Pascal Ingelrest on Pexels.com)

Riches and Heaven

A Sandwich for Supper

A story tells of a man who went to the office every day in his expensive car, and made important decisions and signed big contracts. Often, the important man would enjoy business lunches with his clients, and would try to distract the attention of his influential guests away from the unsavoury spectacle of the beggars on the streets of his city. One evening, after a hard day making money, he packed his briefcase to go home, where supper would be waiting for him. As he was locking his desk for the night, he caught sight of a stale sandwich lying abandoned at the back of the drawer. Without much thought he crammed it in his coat pocket. No need for it to go mouldy and mess up his desk. And on the way out to the car park he saw a street beggar on the steps, huddled in an old blanket. ‘Here my friend,’ he said to the beggar. ‘Here is something for your supper.’ And he gave him the stale sandwich. That night, the man dreamed that he was away on a business trip. After the day’s meeting, he was taken with his fellow directors to the town’s most luxurious restaurant. Everyone gave their orders and settled down with their aperitifs to look forward to a convivial evening. The orders arrived. Pate de foie gras. Medallions of venison. Lamb cutlets with rosemary and garlic. The dishes being brought to the table brought gasps of delight from all the company. Then his own order appeared. A waitress set in front of him one small plate, on which was served a stale sandwich. ‘What kind of service is this?’ the man demanded, enraged. ‘This isn’t what I ordered! I thought this was the best restaurant in town!’ ‘Oh sir,’ the waitress told him, ‘you’ve been misinformed. This isn’t a restaurant at all. This is heaven. We are only able to serve you what you sent on ahead while you were alive. I’m very sorry, sir, but when we looked under your name, the best we could find to serve to you was this little sandwich.’
Retelling of a Jewish folk story, Margaret Silf

Luke (chapter 16 verses 19 to end) tells us about the rich man and Lazarus. It is a stern teaching and word of warning from Jesus; although it is often misinterpreted.

We have a rich man living in luxury and a poor homeless man living right under the nose of the rich man, by his gate where the rich man could not miss him.

These are opposite extremes. The poor man has nothing, wears rags, is covered in sores and lives on the street. The rich man has fine clothes in colours that show off his wealth to the world, a luxurious home and an abundance of food.

The rich man had so much more than he needed, yet, despite seeing the poor man every day he completely ignored him and did nothing.

The poor man was so neglected that those passing did not even chase the dogs away from him.

Jesus has talked in other passages about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

However, that is not because of the wealth itself but because of man’s love of wealth and the ignoring of those suffering and in need.

It is the state of our hearts and not the state of our wallets that interests Jesus.

The wealth and luxury the rich man enjoyed was not, in itself, what condemned him.

What condemned the rich man was that he totally ignored the poor man, despite him being right in his path.

We all have opportunities to help others laid in our paths. If we neglect these opportunities we are as guilty as the rich man. As Jesus said, “The poor will always be with us”.

The selfish use of worldly possessions is equally sinful. To do nothing when there are people like the poor man at our gates is equally wicked no matter how much wealth or how many possessions we have.

Spiritual things are also being represented in the different states of good and bad, in this world and the next.

The rich man’s sin was in providing only for himself. The poor man is in the depth of adversity and distress.

We are not told that the rich man caused any harm to the poor man but the rich man did not care for the poor man.

There is a time coming when those who hate and despise the people of God would gladly receive kindness from them. But the damned in hell will not have their torment eased.

Nothing can bring about true repentance without the special grace of God renewing the sinner’s heart.

Jesus is using this teaching to consolidate the dangers of the love of money, the deceitful, treacherous nature of riches; that those not using their property in the right way may not enter heaven, that they ought to heed the warnings from the prophets and their duty to care for and show kindness to the poor.

Both the rich and the poor man die. Jesus does not reveal what the after lands are really like. Instead He uses the preconceived ideas of those He is teaching; The point was to emphasise the total reversal of position of the rich man and the poor man.

The rich man, who lived in luxury whilst alive, now lives in torment and suffering. The poor man, who lived in suffering and torment whilst alive, is now the possessor of abundance and delight.

The rich man now wants from the poor man the help which he refused to give the poor man in life. Each must, however, reap in death what he has sown in life.

How we live our lives here determines life hereafter, the character we make out of ourselves, once set and hardened in this life, cannot be remoulded in the next.

The rich man’s request for his brethren serves only to try and excuse himself by claiming ignorance, and that had he known he would have been different. He tries to put the blame on insufficient warnings instead of owning it himself.

However, the teachings of Moses and the prophets are sufficient, holding a divine message for those who wish to listen.

It is not a lack of warnings but the aversion of will.

The rich man is in torment, not because he did not know his actions were wrong, but because he did not choose to do what he knew to be right.

Let us ponder the story of The Long-Handled Spoons:

A rabbi asked God to give him a glimpse of what heaven and hell would be like. God agreed to this request, and asked the prophet Elijah to be the rabbi’s guide on this adventure. Elijah first led the rabbi into a large room. In the middle of the room was a fire with a big cooking pot bubbling away on it. And in the pot was a delicious stew. All around the cooking pot sat a crowd of people. They each had a long-handled spoon, which they were dipping into the delicious stew. But the people looked pale and thin and wretched. There was an icy stillness in the room. The handles of the spoons were so long that no one was able to get the lovely food into their mouth. When the two visitors were back outide again, the rabbi asked Elijah what strange place this was. ‘That was hell,’ Elijah explained. Then Elijah led the rabbi to a second room, which looked exactly like the first. In the middle, a fire was blazing and a cooking pot was bubbling away, full of the same delicious, aromatic stew. People sat around the fire, with the same long-handled spoons in their hands But they were enjoying lively, animated conversations with each other. And the difference? Well, the people in the second room were not trying to feed themselves with the long-handled spoons. They were using the spoons to feed each other. ‘Ah, heaven,’ said the rabbi.
retold by Margaret Silf from an unknown source.

Pride and Humility

In Luke, chapter 14, verses 7 to 14, Jesus is teaching us about pride and humility.

Jesus was at the house of one of the pharisees to eat a meal. Jesus often had disputes with the pharisees but He still spent time with them; not as a pharisee Himself but being God’s Son on earth He was showing them God’s example and love. And whilst at this meal Jesus watched.

He watched and saw how the others at this meal behaved and how they strategically placed themselves to get the best seats in the house; that is the places which would grant them the most honour or, if you like, jostling for the Top Table.

In Jesus’s day, seating arrangements were very important in society as the most honoured person sat in a particular seat, then the next most honoured, then the next and so on. A wedding banquet was the most important occasion and where you got seated at such a party was indicative of your standing in the community. This made it the perfect example for Jesus to use to teach His lesson.

And, of course, if you were to take the most honoured place and the host wanted someone else to sit there you would be asked to move – which would be embarrassing and would make you feel great shame.

Not everyone has the same exact customs to denote social standing and highlight how important or honoured someone is. But, there are many occasions in modern life where one’s own sense of self importance, pride and high opinion of one’s self can be displayed.

Pride comes before a fall. Shame comes after self exaltation.

Instead of playing the self promotion game, work hard for the Lord and let God raise us up.

When sitting in that lower place we are not there to make ourselves noticed in order to try and get ourselves placed higher. Nor are we there to pout and show dissatisfaction with the aim to let others know we don’t belong there. On the contrary, there is something wonderful and joyful about being content in whatever place God allows us to have.

Joyfully embrace the lower place. If the Master moves us to a higher place think how much more satisfying it is to know that God has raised you up than if you raised yourself up.

When we seek to honour ourselves we will always be humbled.

Jesus was the perfect One to teach this lesson, because He fulfilled it perfectly. He (God’s Son incarnated as flesh) deserved the highest place but He took the lowest and was ‘granted’ the highest.

Jesus had also noticed that the pharisee had chosen guests from a sense of pride, lacking in love for others and only inviting those who could give something in return. So Jesus went on to warn the host about the danger of pride when choosing guests.

Jesus is not saying that we can never invite certain friends/relatives/associates. What He is saying is not to make a habit of only inviting the same clique of people all the time.

He is telling the pharisee, and us, not to only associate with people for what they can do for us. He is telling us not to put self at the centre of our lives. We are called to follow Jesus and His example was that of putting others in the centre of our living.

It is better to give than to receive.

It is a wonderful feeling to give a gift that can never be repaid. Such a feeling helps give us a small insight into the pleasure of God in giving the gift of His grace, mercy, salvation and blessing to His people.

We never lose out when we follow the pattern of God’s generosity. Jesus shows us that we need to live with an eternal perspective of life as He promises God provides us with full repayment at the resurrection of the righteous; when our lives are weighed up on the balance sheet and audited by He who knows our hearts and minds, our actions and our motivations.

So, in summary:

Practise and prioritise humility over pride in everything.

Our works should be for the glory of God not for the praise of others.

We should embrace a lifestyle of radical hospitality, welcoming all.

And we need to understand that God’s kingdom operates with a different set of values to the world’s values. It operates with God’s values.

Be prepared!

As I was reading the passage Luke chapter 12, verses 32 – 40, some words from The Lion King popped into my head:

“Even you can’t be caught unawares, so, prepare for a chance of a lifetime, be prepared for sensational news. A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer. And where do we feature? Just listen to teacher. Be prepared!”

There are many distractions in our world, many temptations and many things clamouring for our attention.

Where your treasure is there also will your heart be.

Jesus is calling us to prioritise and to focus on the things and activities that give eternal life. He is reminding us that we should be centering our lives on God. The world will not make this easy. There will be distractions in the world around us which may make this seem difficult. But (there’s always a but!) it is essential for our lives as Christians and if we don’t we will be caught unprepared!

This passage from Luke is about vocation! It is not simply ‘be prepared and you will be saved’.

It is actually about being ready and alert, being aware and listening so that when God calls us to action we can seize the opportunity and spring into action, spreading the good news full of the energy of the gospel – healing, justice, love, grace, peace, mercy …

Those who are ready for the return of the Lord will be served by God. Remember the words of the hymn:

“This is my God, the Servant King.”

This gives the impression of being a contradiction but it does not mean that we stop serving God. Instead it is a promise of what will happen when you re-centre your life around God. The good news of Christ will serve you in your life so that you are not afraid.

Jesus promises that God has given everything so that we do not need to be afraid. He then goes on to talk about how God will serve us reminding us about the gift of life and creation, the gift of eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and the gift of Christ’s body and blood in Communion. This highlights how abundantly God showers gifts upon us, how abundantly He loves us and desires good for us. It echoes His covenant with Abraham.

So, how ready are we?

Are we ready to help others in need? Have we considered the issues of peace and justice going on in the world? Are we ready to be part of God’s solution?

Jesus is encouraging us to live with an expectation that God is always and already with us … and watching as God has always been. Jesus being incarnated as man was a reminder and embodiment of that reality and an example for us to follow.

This passage of priorities is a call to keep God’s priorities ahead of our own every day in all the choices we make. God’s list of priorities may seem long or challenging at times. It means accepting God’s forgiveness for our own sins and forgiving those who sin against us.

It means loving one another and loving our enemies. It means standing up to injustice when we see it, praying for and voting for and working for peace in the world.

It means living and shopping and consuming in ways that care for creation; eating and drinking and exercising in ways that care for the temples our bodies are meant to be.

Going back to just before Jesus gave us this list of priorities He says to us:

“Do not be afraid little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”.

God wants us to be with Him in His kingdom. God’s kingdom is already here among us thanks to Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection.

Being typical human beings we don’t see and experience it clearly because we’re looking the wrong way or wandering off on our own instead of following our God Guide.

But, like the pleasure we get giving someone a gift, God has immense pleasure in gifting us His kingdom, right here, right now as a foretaste of things to come, because of His grace. And God’s list of priorities is the key that opens the gate.

By being generous we can glimpse God’s kingdom. By sacrificing something, giving something freely and willingly to someone who needs it, enables us to experience and share in a measure of His kingdom.

By seeking out the least among us and giving them a hand we can feel the kingdom among us. By forgiving all who cross us we experience the peace of the kingdom – the peace that passes all understanding.

Converse with those with different opinions to yourself, send a note to someone who’d be surprised you thought of them, keep them in your prayers and God’s kingdom will be in your midst and theirs.

Be Ready

Be Alert

Be Prepared

Listen for God’s call and spring into action.

Do You Want To Be Healed?

John 5:1-9

This short but potent passage from John contains themes of healing, restoration and the transforming power of faith. It symbolises humanity’s need for divine intervention and the opportunity of spiritual renewal through encountering Christ. The pool represents the need to seek God’s grace and trust in His ability to heal both physically and spiritually.

The man in this passage had been unable to walk for 38 years and had given up hope that he could be healed.

From John’s brief account and if we were to read on further we can ascertain that this inform man was old (well over the life expectancy of the time), a dependant who was unable to care for himself, he liked to complain and put the blame on others, he was an unrepentant sinner who was ungrateful and disloyal.

Jesus’s healing of this man would have been at the direction of God the Father and is an example of God’s complete and utter grace.

God saves sinners.

God saw us in our hopeless, helpless condition and rescued us. He gives hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.

Jesus cares about people even when problems make them feel hopeless or sad.

Jesus healed the man and he was able to walk again.

Jesus brushes off the excuses of the lame man. Don’t make excuses – work around them.

We wait too long to ask for healing. Instead seize the moment and ask God to work in your life. It’s not easy to live with illness and hope for healing.

Spiritual healing may occur without physical healing. A positive outlook in the face of our own disease or injury, and as our bodies age, is a miracle in itself. We have to do our part to maintain good health. Small changes to improve our health is part of the healing process.

God helps those who can not help themselves.

God helps those who see their inability to save or help themselves, who turn from self to the saviour and trust in God.

All the healings Jesus performed remind us that God saves sinners.

Without God it is impossible for man to save himself.

We need God to give us feet to walk in His ways, we need to receive eyes to see His truth and have strength to walk in obedience to Him.

This is a picture of God’s initiative in salvation and He saves us by His grace.

Jesus saw the man. He knew him. He spoke to him.

God sees us. God knows us. He then speaks to us.

Jesus came to give us life abundantly.

Boring and Mundane

Advance warning – my story of faith is not dramatic! I know I am not the only one here who has sat in a church meeting where the minister has asked for people to give testimony or to talk about finding the light and thought “but I’ve always believed”. The reality is my story is ordinary and mundane.

I had a Christian family and learnt about Jesus from an extremely young age. I’ve belonged to and been part of church my whole life.

And, having explained that I have no dramatic Hollywood style event to entertain you with, I could stop here …

…or I could, which is what I’m going to do, continue anyway and tell you more – including why it is that ordinary mundane testimonies can be a blessing to us.

Being a Christian and following a Christian life is difficult – and it’s supposed to be. Remember that old adage that implies that something’s worth is measured by how hard you had to work for it. God, through His grace and His Son Jesus Christ, has given us the most valuable gift of all; but to follow in our Lord’s footsteps takes hard work and perseverance.

We are called to faithfulness. We are persecuted, we suffer, we face trials tribulations. temptation and false teachers trying to send us off track.

When times are difficult we are tempted to give up and many do fall away. The epistles remind us to persevere, to put on God’s armour. to stand firm and to ensure in following Jesus Christ.

Remaining steadfast, staying on the narrow path and being faithful teach the need to focus on persevering, to continue to put our trust in God and to not falter.

The well known poem about the footsteps in the sand really is true. God never leaves us. Whilst people fall away and leave Him; He does not abandon us.

When I give my burdens to Him I feel a physical lightness and literally feel the weight removed from my shoulders as He takes the load for me.

When times are easy, I feel His presence walking beside me and we enjoy the journey together.

If things are more difficult I feel His hand in mine.

In times of great trial He is supporting me or carrying me if you like.

And in times of great sorrow I feel His arms around me as He embraces me with His great love and comfort.

This is certainly a great blessing and in return I pray that God will continue to fill me with His love so that it can overflow through me to others.

We are called to carry each other’s burdens, encourage and bring back the wanderers. We are called to follow Christ’s example to aspire to God’s standard and to repent of all – however mundane – that makes us guilty of not reaching that standard.

God told us to pass His teachings to our children. Having parents, teachers, ministers and peers who did this points to God’s continued faithfulness as does having been preserved in the faith. God catches me when I stumble.

He has blessed me and kept me. He has blessed you and kept you.

So let us sing of His great love for evermore and make His faithfulness known through all generations and let us give thanks to God.

He Is Risen!

Listening to the readings again on Easter Sunday with the women going to the tomb to prepare Jesus’s body reminds me of something I read recently about Mary – Jesus’s mother.

It is interesting, is it not, that Jesus’s mother – arguably His greatest disciple, a woman of tremendous faith, who stayed by Him to the bitter end, is not listed amongst the women going to attend to Jesus’s body.

And this poses the theory that the first person Jesus appeared to may well have been His mother and that this is why she was not among those going to the tomb at dawn. Such an appearance would be part of completing her participation in the essential parts of the paschal mystery.

Mary suffered above all others in the suffering and death of her son. Christ kept the commandments. He honoured His heavenly Father, His earthly father and His mother, so it makes sense that he’d visit her first.

If a son lived far away and his mother was told he’d died but he was actually alive and healthy and he returned to the area, it would highlight that he was not a good son if he visited his friends first and his mother last.

Jesus was the perfect son. So, why would He not visit His mother first. There’s also her faith, which, despite the apostles losing theirs at Jesus’s passion, Mary had in abundance. Scripture tells us that the Lord shows Himself to those who have faith in Him. And, of course, she loved her son so much and scripture tells us that those who love Him will be visited by Him.

How joyful she must have felt at seeing her son alive once more.

There is a special kind of joy at Easter. It’s not just the spring flowers springing up into life or the longer days. What it is is a deep, radiant joy born from our Lord’s victory over sin and death so that we might have eternal life with Him.

Jesus leaves the darkness and rises to new life. Through God’s grace, this gives us the gift that, no matter what our past was, we have permission to leave it behind and embrace the hope and joy of new lives in Christ. His sacrifice and act of intermediary reconciliation grants us forgiveness of our past sins, our present sins and our future sins.