"Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or
swear by a false God. Such a one will receive blessing from the Lord... "
Psalm 24: 3-5
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or
swear by a false God. Such a one will receive blessing from the Lord... "
Psalm 24: 3-5
These verses have always been a personal challenge. While some commentators suggest that the Psalmist had in mind life beyond our natural life on earth, I have always taken them as bearing an important truth if we wish to experience the close presence of God in our daily lives. John Eaves, the man of God who gave me the gospel tract that opened my eyes to the fact that I could come to God just as I was (See John 6:37) also wrote a small booklet called "Purity Before Power". John was part of a Christian tradition that taught personal sanctification or holiness, and he taught in the Nazarene College in Birkenhead.
John's premise was that, having accepted the invitation to come as we are to the one who forgives and makes clean, to really experience the presence and power of the Lord it was necessary to deliberately seek to separate oneself from all that is contrary to holiness. Some see this as a kind of spiritual crisis. I remember a young man and son of a well known evangelist once telling me that he had sanctified his life and would be living a holy life in victory from now on. I didn't want to discourage him but feared how he might feel when he would inevitably fail. The next week when we met again he was clearly depressed and felt a failure.
I thank God for grace that met me first as an unbelieving sinner and which still meets me as an occasionally sinning saint. But how should I respond to the words of Psalm 24? We need to remember, and remind others, that God loves us as we are but too much to want us to stay that way. But it is all too easy to take grace for granted. God is holy and longs that we should get to know him and draw ever closer to him. Is that possible if we are careless about the holiness of our own mind and soul?
One of the mysteries of my life is that I worked with a colleague who secretly was deliberately sinning but whose ministry seemed to be blessed by God. But I too fall short of what I would wish to be and thank God that he blesses my ministry. Stand up the preacher who can claim to be perfect! God uses us despite our frailty and will always honour his word when it is proclaimed. At the same time we cannot bargain with God for blessing on the grounds that we have given up an unholy practise of some kind. God's blessings are by grace and that cannot be gained or purchased by works.
The question we need to ask is how much do we know of his presence rather than hisblessing on our service for him? Can we honestly say that we actually feel his pleasure as we spend time together? Is there deep communion between us? How sensitive am I to his feelings at any point in time. And this is not about moments when we feel that closeness but rather a closeness that permeates every moment of our lives and that we miss the moment we grieve him such that we hurry back in repentance until we can almost feel his breath on our cheek.
In my prison work I often see my Muslim colleagues preparing for their daily prayers in the ablutions room, washing their face, hair, hands, arms and feet. While this part of the law of their religion to which we are not subject, what might they think of any Christian who thinks he or she can come before God without some consideration to our state of heart and mind? For a Christian to claim a relationship with a holy God but to use unholy language, to feed our minds on that which is not pure or to engage in acts that are unrighteous might be perceived as almost blasphemous to a devout Muslim.
I want first to revel in God's unmerited favour and the blessings he lavishes on me despite my failings. But I also want a far closer relationship with him - not earned by being good but enjoyed because I don't want anything to hinder or spoil his enjoyment of me and mine of him
Image and Reputation of Your Church
In Acts 2:47 we find the Church described as enjoying the favour of all the people or, as the Message puts it, "People liked what they saw". Sadly, in the UK these days the image and reputation of the church among most of the non-Christian public is not what it ought to be. I have recently written a resource paper on the topic of our image and reputation as this is relevant in our sharing in God's mission. You can see and/or download the article here. Please let me know if you find it helpful or otherwise.
How is the work supported?
This is a question I am asked occasionally. The 'spiritual' answer is to say that we trust in God to meet our needs. While this is true, his faithfulness is seen in the faithfulness of God's people. When I started out in full time ministry I needed only £4.50 per week (well it was along time ago!) and In order to raise that I found 36 relatives and friends who each gave two shillings and six pence per week (12 1/2 p). At present Doreen and I have our personal needs met through the part time ministry at the church at Yelvertoft plus pension income. But my colleague, Monica Cook is employed by our Charity (Sunrise Ministries which includes Rural Mission Solutions), and we are continuing to keep her on stipend during her illness. But the income to Sunrise Ministries both for Monica's support (via the Sussex Office) and to cover my operational costs from the East Midlands is currently short of what is needed.
Rural mission work does not have wide appeal so we value your prayers for an increase in income. If you or your church are in a position to help practically as well as in prayer please let me know. If you already support financially and could do this under Gift Aid please also let me know. We still have much to do and thank God for those who share with us in intercession and practical support.
It is likely that you already have calls on your funds and we always encourage people to act responsibly. In 2010 I wrote a leaflet on 21st Century Stewardship setting out biblical principles. If you haven't seen it before and would like to read it, you can read or download it here.
The Diary
The past week has involved a lot of writing - articles for magazines and constitutional papers for a village church. Some of this will continue into the coming week. I also took part in a planning meeting for an outreach in Market Harborough and attended a day on Child Friendly Church at Ashby de la Zouche, Leics.John's premise was that, having accepted the invitation to come as we are to the one who forgives and makes clean, to really experience the presence and power of the Lord it was necessary to deliberately seek to separate oneself from all that is contrary to holiness. Some see this as a kind of spiritual crisis. I remember a young man and son of a well known evangelist once telling me that he had sanctified his life and would be living a holy life in victory from now on. I didn't want to discourage him but feared how he might feel when he would inevitably fail. The next week when we met again he was clearly depressed and felt a failure.
I thank God for grace that met me first as an unbelieving sinner and which still meets me as an occasionally sinning saint. But how should I respond to the words of Psalm 24? We need to remember, and remind others, that God loves us as we are but too much to want us to stay that way. But it is all too easy to take grace for granted. God is holy and longs that we should get to know him and draw ever closer to him. Is that possible if we are careless about the holiness of our own mind and soul?
One of the mysteries of my life is that I worked with a colleague who secretly was deliberately sinning but whose ministry seemed to be blessed by God. But I too fall short of what I would wish to be and thank God that he blesses my ministry. Stand up the preacher who can claim to be perfect! God uses us despite our frailty and will always honour his word when it is proclaimed. At the same time we cannot bargain with God for blessing on the grounds that we have given up an unholy practise of some kind. God's blessings are by grace and that cannot be gained or purchased by works.
The question we need to ask is how much do we know of his presence rather than hisblessing on our service for him? Can we honestly say that we actually feel his pleasure as we spend time together? Is there deep communion between us? How sensitive am I to his feelings at any point in time. And this is not about moments when we feel that closeness but rather a closeness that permeates every moment of our lives and that we miss the moment we grieve him such that we hurry back in repentance until we can almost feel his breath on our cheek.
In my prison work I often see my Muslim colleagues preparing for their daily prayers in the ablutions room, washing their face, hair, hands, arms and feet. While this part of the law of their religion to which we are not subject, what might they think of any Christian who thinks he or she can come before God without some consideration to our state of heart and mind? For a Christian to claim a relationship with a holy God but to use unholy language, to feed our minds on that which is not pure or to engage in acts that are unrighteous might be perceived as almost blasphemous to a devout Muslim.
I want first to revel in God's unmerited favour and the blessings he lavishes on me despite my failings. But I also want a far closer relationship with him - not earned by being good but enjoyed because I don't want anything to hinder or spoil his enjoyment of me and mine of him
Image and Reputation of Your Church
In Acts 2:47 we find the Church described as enjoying the favour of all the people or, as the Message puts it, "People liked what they saw". Sadly, in the UK these days the image and reputation of the church among most of the non-Christian public is not what it ought to be. I have recently written a resource paper on the topic of our image and reputation as this is relevant in our sharing in God's mission. You can see and/or download the article here. Please let me know if you find it helpful or otherwise.
How is the work supported?
This is a question I am asked occasionally. The 'spiritual' answer is to say that we trust in God to meet our needs. While this is true, his faithfulness is seen in the faithfulness of God's people. When I started out in full time ministry I needed only £4.50 per week (well it was along time ago!) and In order to raise that I found 36 relatives and friends who each gave two shillings and six pence per week (12 1/2 p). At present Doreen and I have our personal needs met through the part time ministry at the church at Yelvertoft plus pension income. But my colleague, Monica Cook is employed by our Charity (Sunrise Ministries which includes Rural Mission Solutions), and we are continuing to keep her on stipend during her illness. But the income to Sunrise Ministries both for Monica's support (via the Sussex Office) and to cover my operational costs from the East Midlands is currently short of what is needed.
Rural mission work does not have wide appeal so we value your prayers for an increase in income. If you or your church are in a position to help practically as well as in prayer please let me know. If you already support financially and could do this under Gift Aid please also let me know. We still have much to do and thank God for those who share with us in intercession and practical support.
It is likely that you already have calls on your funds and we always encourage people to act responsibly. In 2010 I wrote a leaflet on 21st Century Stewardship setting out biblical principles. If you haven't seen it before and would like to read it, you can read or download it here.
The Diary
Sunday 26th - Yelvertoft
Tuesday 28th - HMP Gartree
Thursday 30th - Village Bible Discussion Meeting
Friday 1st May - Committee Meeting at Ashby de la Zouche
There is also work to be done preparing for the various activities the following week.
People and Prayer
Monica Cook has finished her first set of radiotherapy. More information.
John Bradley (a former trustee) and Jim Mullin (a current trustee) both have cancer.
Simon Martin (a great colleague from the Arthur Rank Centre) has also been another bravely battling this disease. God is able.
Thank you very much for your kind fellowship with us.
Barry
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