I started writing this last Sunday. Some times I think I am obtuse (no need to comment!). Today was a case in point. Whenever I am responsible for speaking at church or leading worship I make a point of seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit in the hope of having what might be called a prophetic edge to my ministry. The Spirit knows what needs to be said and I want to do my best to say what God is wanting said. Probably on most occasions I develop a strong conviction about the topic or theme and often it proves right, for which I am thankful. Sometimes I receive that conviction well ahead of the event. At other times it may only come nearer the time - but that might indicate a lack of prayerfulness on my part! But today was strange.
Right up to yesterday evening (Saturday 8th) I had no sense of guidance as to this morning's service. We don't follow the Lectionary, but out of desperation I looked it up on the internet and the more I thought and prayed the more I felt that perhaps I should be saying on "You are the light of the world". Various related passages of scripture came to mind and I began also to think about hymns and songs. Then I found my thoughts moving on a different theme, that of love (well Valentine's day was coming up). Soon several contemporary worship songs were resonating in my heart and I began to wonder if I should abandon the light theme with the two hymns I had particularly thought right ("Immortal Invisible God only wise" and "Shine Jesus Shine").
Time was running out and I had no complete plan as I left for the morning meeting. Half prepared to speak on love and half prepared to speak on our being lights in the world, I looked at my two lists of hymns and songs and tried to sense what God might be wanting me to focus on. Which was it? It isn't often I arrive at a meeting feeling confused but I had two different threads in my mind without feeling that I should abandon either. I quietly explained my dilemma to our pianist and ran through options we might sing. Just before we began she started to play "Living under the shadow of his wing". Not wanting to make a sudden theme change I went with this song which had actually come powerfully to mind not long before I had left home. It's a song with three verses and is about worship and adoration. As we sang I had a kind of image come to mind of arriving as a guest at a home and on arrival presenting the host with a gift (wine or chocolate perhaps - a love gift). I shared my thought and we sang it again as our love gift to God as we gathered at his invitation in his house.
This opened up the theme of love and I wanted it to lead into a deeper time of sharing. We were all thrilled to see one of our folk who was there after having had major surgery just a few days before. Being there was important to him and so precious to the rest of us. He was invited to bring us up to date on his operation and future. He shared with us how strange it seemed that people of faith seemed to be close to him throughout his time in hospital. As he spoke I became aware that one of the older members of our church was missing. She needs a lift in order to attend and between us we seemed to have missed picking her up. So as one person went to pick her up (now almost 30 minutes after the start) we finally had our sharing time.
People grouped mainly into threes to share encouragements and any worries. We had also highlighted other general concerns for prayer. Once all three had time to share at least one in each group was to gather the conversation together in a prayer. It was a time of precious sharing and real loving fellowship (illustrating my theme of love). So it was strange that I felt we should revert to the 'light'theme next as we sang, "Immortal, invisible God only wise". The key verse was
We have recently been studying Isaiah and had noted the prophecy that the Servant Messiah would be a "light to all nations". I spoke to this briefly but the Bible reading that followed was from 1John 3 (back to the love theme). To my mind it was seeming fragmented but suddenly came together as I realised that the brilliant light that was Jesus was because he is pure love. The two are not separate concepts. In that opening song we had sung verse three:
If we want to let our light shine before all so that they might glorify God (Matthew 5:16) we would need the Holy Spirit enabling to love as Jesus loved, to even love the un-loveable and our enemies (Matthew 5: 43-48). It is genuine godly love that makes the light shine!
To coin a phrase from The Simpsons "Dah!"
Now you may have fully grasped that years ago but forgive me for being obtuse. Where I thought I had two themes I had, in fact, two facets of a single theme. We brought it all together in our final hymn "Lord, the light of your love is shining... Shine Jesus shine".
So, if you're a little on the slow side (like me) or whether this has been clear as crystal for years, we would all do well to remember that its only as our lives are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit that we are enabled to love as we ought to love that the light of God streams out of our lives unveiled from our human baseness. It was love that had brought our friend back so soon after his operation. It was love that compelled us to go and collect someone who would have otherwise missed fellowship. It was love that made the sharing and prayer time precious. It was light that was shining that morning.
Oh, that it might shine brighter and brighter - not just when we gather on Sundays but in every dark corner of our everyday lives - in our homes and places of work or education or in the doll queue or wherever we are found.
Amen?
Now to other things - and in particular things for praise and prayer from recent days.
Right up to yesterday evening (Saturday 8th) I had no sense of guidance as to this morning's service. We don't follow the Lectionary, but out of desperation I looked it up on the internet and the more I thought and prayed the more I felt that perhaps I should be saying on "You are the light of the world". Various related passages of scripture came to mind and I began also to think about hymns and songs. Then I found my thoughts moving on a different theme, that of love (well Valentine's day was coming up). Soon several contemporary worship songs were resonating in my heart and I began to wonder if I should abandon the light theme with the two hymns I had particularly thought right ("Immortal Invisible God only wise" and "Shine Jesus Shine").
Time was running out and I had no complete plan as I left for the morning meeting. Half prepared to speak on love and half prepared to speak on our being lights in the world, I looked at my two lists of hymns and songs and tried to sense what God might be wanting me to focus on. Which was it? It isn't often I arrive at a meeting feeling confused but I had two different threads in my mind without feeling that I should abandon either. I quietly explained my dilemma to our pianist and ran through options we might sing. Just before we began she started to play "Living under the shadow of his wing". Not wanting to make a sudden theme change I went with this song which had actually come powerfully to mind not long before I had left home. It's a song with three verses and is about worship and adoration. As we sang I had a kind of image come to mind of arriving as a guest at a home and on arrival presenting the host with a gift (wine or chocolate perhaps - a love gift). I shared my thought and we sang it again as our love gift to God as we gathered at his invitation in his house.
This opened up the theme of love and I wanted it to lead into a deeper time of sharing. We were all thrilled to see one of our folk who was there after having had major surgery just a few days before. Being there was important to him and so precious to the rest of us. He was invited to bring us up to date on his operation and future. He shared with us how strange it seemed that people of faith seemed to be close to him throughout his time in hospital. As he spoke I became aware that one of the older members of our church was missing. She needs a lift in order to attend and between us we seemed to have missed picking her up. So as one person went to pick her up (now almost 30 minutes after the start) we finally had our sharing time.
People grouped mainly into threes to share encouragements and any worries. We had also highlighted other general concerns for prayer. Once all three had time to share at least one in each group was to gather the conversation together in a prayer. It was a time of precious sharing and real loving fellowship (illustrating my theme of love). So it was strange that I felt we should revert to the 'light'theme next as we sang, "Immortal, invisible God only wise". The key verse was
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee all veiling their sight
All laud we would render, O help us to see
'Tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee.
Heart to heart embracing in his love
reveals his purity.
Soaring in my spirit like a dove;
holy, holy, holy is the Lord
If we want to let our light shine before all so that they might glorify God (Matthew 5:16) we would need the Holy Spirit enabling to love as Jesus loved, to even love the un-loveable and our enemies (Matthew 5: 43-48). It is genuine godly love that makes the light shine!
To coin a phrase from The Simpsons "Dah!"
Now you may have fully grasped that years ago but forgive me for being obtuse. Where I thought I had two themes I had, in fact, two facets of a single theme. We brought it all together in our final hymn "Lord, the light of your love is shining... Shine Jesus shine".
So, if you're a little on the slow side (like me) or whether this has been clear as crystal for years, we would all do well to remember that its only as our lives are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit that we are enabled to love as we ought to love that the light of God streams out of our lives unveiled from our human baseness. It was love that had brought our friend back so soon after his operation. It was love that compelled us to go and collect someone who would have otherwise missed fellowship. It was love that made the sharing and prayer time precious. It was light that was shining that morning.
Oh, that it might shine brighter and brighter - not just when we gather on Sundays but in every dark corner of our everyday lives - in our homes and places of work or education or in the doll queue or wherever we are found.
Amen?
Now to other things - and in particular things for praise and prayer from recent days.
- I have been greatly encouraged by the emails and phone calls recently because the usual flow of these 'epistles' has been rather disrupted. Thank you all who have recently expressed appreciation for them. It means a lot.
- Our hearts go out to those affected by the floods -especially farmers and those in villages. Please pray for and support your local Farming Community Network people. You might also like to look at this link to our friends at the Arthur Rank centre. www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk/communities-and-farming/community-resources/item/9344-how-to-support-those-affected-by-flooding-in-somerset (Sorry about the long URL)
- Doreen and I had a great time at Goodwood Evangelical Chhurch, Leicester on Sunday 2nd February where I led the Family Service on the theme of following Jesus. We are thankful for the prayers and support we receive from this fellowship.
- On 30th January the trustees of Mission for Christ held a telephone conference which included two new trustees who have come on board to assist in sorting out problems inherited from previous administration. It was a good meeting and several important decisions were taken. This was followed up by a positive discussion with the Charity Commission as we move towards the end of what has been a difficult journey. Please give thanks.
- Please pray for Christian friends who run a project at Slack Top near Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire. They were also victims of the same difficulties I inherited when I joined the trusteeship of Mission for Christ. This is the Mission I joined as a teenager and worked in for 25 years. One of the outcomes of the recent trustees' meeting was to execute a Deed of Agreement which we hope will set our Yorkshire friends free to develop the work in new and exciting ways.
- Please give thanks that after countless hours of work running over the past eighteen months I have finally completed the Mission for Christ administrative work this week and 'cleared the decks' so that the work can move into a new phase. Give thanks that I can now (apparently) focus more on the important research I have started.
- Please pray that I will find a way to catch up on the Research and that the way will open up before me on this project.
- In our church we give thanks for effective surgery for Rob and pray as he will begin radio-therapy shortly. We also give thanks that Peter (my bubblingoverwithJesus 92 year old) is out of the High Dependency Unit at hospital and seems more like his old (but spiritually renewed) self. At the end of a recent visit to him in hospital we share reciting Psalm 23 together and then I prayed for him and he prayed for me. As I left the man in the bed opposite commented how wonderful this sounded to him and how it had blessed him. Light shining?
Your friend and his servant,
Barry
