Rutland Woods | Work Party Results

Rutland Woods | Work Party Results

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Article

A message from Tim Biddlecombe | 6th July 2020

A huge thank you to everyone who helped at the Woods on Saturday, and to Gwyneth for the amazing fridge cake and blueberry muffins. If you weren’t there, you really missed out!

As well as some general tidying up, we now have created 3 separate areas; two around the lake, and one at the top end of the wood. Each has its own fire pit and seating. The walkways between these areas have been cleared and widened.
The largest of the sites near the parachute canopy is a great place for camping, and the others for meeting with home group, family or friends for a camp fire.

When I volunteered to help manage the woods, I was surprised that Neil described it as a ministry, but soon came to realise that it really is. For some of the young people from King’s Reach, it may be their only place of safety, peace and contact with Christians. For others it is a place of reflection and connecting with God, or a time of fun and fellowship with friends, Home Groups and families in a unique and special environment.

So please make use of the woods. You can reserve your time there through the office at office@cotnjubilee.co.uk.

Left uncared for the undergrowth would soon cover the paths and choke the beautiful flowers; the lake would become virtually invisible and the open spaces smothered in brambles. So our next work party is on Saturday August the 8th.

Contact Tim at tim.biddlecombe@cotnjubilee.co.uk or the Jubilee Office if you are interested in being involved.

The newly cleared camping and picnic area close to the lake
Campfire site at the other end of the lake.
AC Talk | Are these the last days?

AC Talk | Are these the last days?

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Article

A message from John Scholtz | June 2020

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was still an epidemic and known as the novel Corona virus, I received several links from various folk.

The first was from a UK pastor to his flock informing them with absolute authority and supposed scientific backing, that without any doubt whatsoever, this virus was caused by 5G. The theories continued to grow, and conspiracies have raged on social media blaming everything and everyone you can imagine. If it was not the influenza vaccine being the cause, then it was an international conspiracy of the Illuminate or Bill Gates. Bill had predicted a pandemic back in 2015, so he’d obviously planned this. We are warned by propagators of this conspiracy, never to take another vaccine ever. This is a very irresponsible statement in my view, given the horrific plagues of the past with huge morbidity and loss of life, prevented now by vaccines, but always lurking in the background.

The Americans have blamed the Chinese, and the Chinese the Americans and no amount of scientific evidence from experts working in the field seems to sway the opinions of those looking for someone to blame.

Some Christians have taken it to another level and declared the establishment of the New World Order or God’s judgment on the world,
because of His anger over a particular sin. Still others have declared it to be the start of the Tribulation or The End Time. It’s a sign, they say, of the Lord’s coming.

As believers, what should our response be?

I don’t think turning to examples of God’s judgment on Israel in the Old Testament is helpful or applicable. It’s not as simple as “bad things happen to bad people” as we well know. Remember Job.

No, our response I believe, needs to be based firmly on Jesus, because “now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…” (Romans 3:21).

People asked Jesus for a sign. He saw it as a sign of their unbelief.

The signs Jesus gave us, were largely about the new creation: water into wine, healings, food for the hungry, sight for the blind and life for the dead.

We should not be living in the “then” of the Old Testament but look for the “now” of Jesus. He was not looking backward to sins which might bring about judgment but forward to the new thing the “now” thing that was happening: The Kingdom of God!

In John 9 the disciples asked Jesus about the blind man (just as is being asked today of the COVID-19 pandemic) “Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Then He heals him.

Should we not also be looking forward to see what Jesus will do?

He points us to a new world in which He will be the one true sign. “And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” (Matthew
24:6)

Conspiracy theories have always been around, but Jesus says stay calm and
trust in Me. Pray like this, He says: “Thy Kingdom come on earth as in heaven.” Of course, we must repent, and we should also lament for the world, but we’re already living in the last days “God has spoken through His
Son.” (Hebrew1:2)

Jesus warned that people would ‘look here!’ or ‘look there!’ but His death and resurrection, the single, ultimate sign of the arrival of God’s Kingdom, remain the call and pointer to penitence. They were the sign.
Claims to tell from world events when “the second coming” will occur are claims to know more than Jesus Himself. The resurrection is the beginning of God’s new creation, His saving rule on earth.

I’m grateful to Tom Wright for some insights from his recent book “God and the Pandemic.” He says: “The cross is where all the world’s sufferings and horrors have been heaped up and dealt with. The resurrection is the launch of God’s new creation, of His sovereign saving rule on earth – starting with the physical body of Jesus Himself. Those events are now the summons to repent and the clue to what God is doing in the world. Trying to jump from an earthquake, a tsunami, a pandemic or anything else to a conclusion
about ‘what God is saying here” without going through the gospel story is to make the basic theological mistake of trying to deduce something about God while going behind Jesus’ back.”

In Mark 12:1-12 the owner of the vineyard, having had his messengers rejected by the tenants, makes his last and final move by sending his son and they kill him too. After that there can be no more messengers, no more warning signs.

From now on the summons to repentance comes through Jesus, God’s ultimate plan (see Eph 1:10).

There’s no point in asking why this happened. We live in a fallen world.
Let’s rather ask: “What can we, as the church, do?”
It was their love and care for others not clever interpretations that turned the world upside down in the early days of the church. Only in Christ and the coming Kingdom will we find our peace, as we look forward in these difficult and challenging times.

There are 1,7 million unknown viruses in wildlife of which 700,000 have the potential to infect humans, the BBC reports. All known
Corona viruses come from wild animals and it is likely that pandemics will become more frequent the scientists say. This is just one of those.
This fits with what I learned in Medical School 45 years ago, that influenza viruses mutate in the vast bird populations of China, constantly creating new strains, to which we have to become immune. It’s part of the fallen world.

But don’t despair, let’s look forward with great hope: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” Revelation 21:1 (ESV).

Faith – Hope – Love

Faith – Hope – Love

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Article, Sunday Preaches

Emma Wilson | 28 June 2020 | Sunday Celebration Testimony

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” – 2 Cor. 3:17

During this time in lockdown, I came across a song called “Be kind to yourself” by Andrew Peterson. I would really recommend listening to it if you struggle to cut yourself some slack every once in a while.
A little while ago, we heard a lot about kindness and the need to be kind to others, because we often have no idea what they are going through, what their story is. In this life we can often feel heavy and pressured, so let’s be on one another’s side, show each other kindness.
But I want to take that a step further and encourage each of us to show that kindness to ourselves, too. Often, we are our own worst critics, the least loving voice in our own minds.

But, before I go further in this train of thought, let me paint you a different picture of my mind and experience, particularly over the last few months.

As lockdown began, I felt quite shaken in many ways. A lot of uncertainties and a lack of point of reference quickly led me down a spiral of feeling pressured, incapable of balancing different things without a feeling of failing or coming short in one area or another – or all at the same time. As well as that, I felt this weight of expectation for this time of lockdown to be such a God-given gift of time for Him to speak, to reset priorities, to go deeper in my relationship with Him, to do a new work. It felt like all around me, there were people who now had this extra time on their hands to fix their house, their garden, resurrect new passions, invest in godly disciplines, and more. Having a 2-year old and being 6 months pregnant, I didn’t feel like I found myself there at all. And that was eating me from the inside. This comparison and feeling of not doing enough to see God do something in this time.

On a different page, I was being confronted with parts of my heart and mind that were not very pretty at all – parts that pointed fingers, parts that fear, hurts and insecurities, parts that were driven by performance and comparison, parts that felt so overwhelmed and anxious. Having less time to be distracted by or busy with other things left space for lies to sow seeds and my emotions to water them. In my head I was desperate to put things into place to see God do something, to do the “right things” to become closer to Jesus and more like Him in this time. There was this striving to stand pleasing before God in how well I spent my time or how much I did to pursue Him. But in that, there was no space for grace. No space for kindness towards myself. No space for love for myself.

A couple of weeks in, in various circles, we looked at the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 3:17 says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” I knew that was what my heart was longing for, but didn’t know how to get there (once again…). Each day, I woke up saying, “Holy Spirit, I can’t do this myself. I want more of You. I know You have more for me and for my life than this. Fill me. Help me.”

And He did. Bit by bit, I could see how these heavy weights were taken out of my backpack, as it were, and replaced with freedom:

  • Freedom to do what I can and not push myself silly; to give myself grace and time to rest.
  • Freedom in knowing that God will complete the work He has started in me – Phil. 1:6. It is His desire and His doing and He won’t let me miss out when my HEART is postured towards Him.
  • Freedom that this season is not a reflection of me as a whole person nor will it last forever.
  • Freedom in knowing that God is not finished; and He is not finished with me.

Freedom on the other side of FAITH, not works.

From different platforms, the Holy Spirit highlighted all the ways He brings freedom. He showed me the Father’s heart that cares for me, that desires to carry my burdens, that abounds in grace and kindness and LOVE. Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, I don’t have to earn my standing before Him each day; I don’t have to prove myself to anyone, including God actually. He sees my heart; He made it and knows what beats within. In Jesus, there is rest and freedom to learn from Him each day, to walk each day by His side, in His power, in His finished work.

So, in conclusion I want to encourage you:
When we look around us, it is easy to feel burdened by how we perceive others’ lives to be and how far our own is removed from that.
When we look within ourselves, we can feel the need to sort things out ourselves and make a plan to ease the feeling of guilt or fear or failing by doing “the right things”.
But when we look to God, we inherit a freedom on the other side of FAITH – faith in the work that Jesus has completed for us; faith in the Father who fully sees, fully knows and fully loves us; faith in the Spirit who searches the heart of man and desires to draw it closer to a gracious God.

My prayer for you is that you find this freedom that truly does set free from all heavy things and that brings life to the full instead.

Click here for the video and audio podcast of our Sunday Virtual Gatherings.

Number 40

Number 40

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Article, Sunday Preaches

Dave Cape | 21 June 2020 | Sunday Celebration

“YOUR HEART WILL DETERMINE EVERYTHING.”

We live in a day when almost everything is being redefined. Your thinking, your attitudes, your social interactions and your views. Yet, we as mere mortals find ourselves trying to navigate paths we often never thought we would have to, whilst trying to fathom what we should be making of it, or how we should be responding to it.

Your timing in God will be determined by your level of obedience.                                                                                                             

“The greatest enemy to God’s will for my life, is MY will, for my life!”

God moves in space and time.

Space and time are not “one and the same”. Space and time are distinct. Space is what you move in. Time is something that elapses or “goes by”, by which movement and change are defined.

God compacts His Omniscience, His Omnipotence and Omnipresence into one action – when we are obedient and cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
E.g.: Acts 8:26-40: Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip is then transported from Gaza to Azotus.

God compacts time.

There are things which only God can explain. He can hasten – and be God of the suddenly.

Acts 12: Peter in Prison:
He was in maximum security. 4 squads –  bound between two soldiers.
Bound in stocks, fervent prayer was being offered up and the next thing they are free.He was so shocked he thought he was seeing a vision.

Sometimes we are free, but we still act as if we are bound. Sometimes we can become so distracted with our circumstances that we lose sight of where we are going.

But God is able to override our circumstance in an instant no matter how complicated or bleak it may look. It all depends on how deeply we are prepared to allow Him access to our lives.

He turns 40 years into 40 days.

What took the children of Israel 40 years in the wilderness, took Jesus just 40 days. God compacted time.

Luke 4:1-12:

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, He was hungry.

The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.’”
And the devil took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to Him, “To You I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If You, then, will worship me, it will all be Yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”
And he took Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’” and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.‘” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

All by the baptism and power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He conquered the devil, embedded God’s word, and established His Kingdom, conquering all temptation, in 40 days.

Jesus’ grounding carried Him though. He knew the word and was prepared in advance.
We have to be prepared before the battle, so we can draw it out in the battle. It’s no good in the heat of the battle or when you are suddenly confronted.

The enemy will always challenge:
– Your credentials or integrity – “If You are the Son of God”
– Your authority and power – “I will give You all this domain and glory, if You worship me.”
– Your security in God – “Throw yourself down. Nothing will happen. He will give His angels charge over You.”

Your response to the trials or the test will determine your destination. E.g.: the children of Israel could not enter into the Promised Land. But Jesus emerged and His ministry was launched.

You might think there’s no way out. No one understands.
Luke 4:13: “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him”.
Jesus was tempted in every way; He understands your situation and your pain.

That relationship, financial situation, business or job crisis, addiction. God can break in an instant.
E.g.: Joseph went from being in prison with no hope of being released to being Prime Minister in 24 hrs – Genesis 41

40 minutes and 4 hours

1 Samuel 17 – David and Goliath

Sometimes we can feel so locked in and even stumped, discouraged or fearful. Yet by the Holy Spirit, God can alter it in an instant.

Goliath taunted the Israelite army for 40 days, morning and evening, yet when a young teenager led by the Holy Spirit got the word of the Lord, it took just 40 minutes to sort out the situation and have the Philistines on the run.

David responded with boldness, filled with the Holy Spirit, when he ran towards the Philistine: “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” (1 Sam. 17:45)

V52: “And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.”
It would take a soldier 4 hours to run this distance.

The leading of the Holy Spirit compacts time in God’s economy.

The army endured Goliath’s taunting for 40 days, yet in 4 hours, by the Holy Spirit leading David, the Philistine army was totally defeated.

Conclusion

So, God has a 40 zone for each of us. It’s up to you, which zone will it be and how deeply are you going to allow God to access your life and how ready are you to respond. Don’t be like the children in the desert. Don’t be like the armies of Israel. Be ready to run, like Peter or Joseph.
You can either believe your situation is locked in, or that the Angel is waiting at the door to lead you by the Holy Spirit.

Are you grounded in the word and prayer and ready to respond and move?

For the full message which includes Dave’s stories and real-life testimonies, click here.

One New Community

One New Community

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Article, Sunday Preaches

Andy Faulkner | 14 June 2020 | Sunday Celebration

Ephesians 2:11-22

“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself is our peace. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations.

He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.”

Introduction

We have all been affected by the events of recent weeks following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent outpouring of public anger around the world demanding racial justice. We as a church were profoundly affected by Siji’s testimony and sharing last weekend on this topic. I have felt God draw me to this passage during the last few days and I want to share some specific thoughts from it with you. I am troubled as to what I, a white, middle-class man, can do to speak into this situation. What do I have to contribute to this conversation when I have never faced discrimination simply because of my skin colour or sex?

My only answer is to share with you the gift that God has given me of expounding His word to speak into this present age. As an eldership, we believe that God’s call to us as His people is to demonstrate a different lifestyle that shines like a light in these dark times. The church, as we will see, is the jewel in God’s crown; the apple of His eye. She is meant to shine with a brighter light and speak of a different way of living, the way of love enabled by the power of the cross.

The beauty of the church lies in her diversity. She is the manifold (variegated, multicoloured, polupoikilos) wisdom of God (Eph. 3:10). She is the statement, above all of the statements that men could make, of God’s abhorrence of division and hatred, of racism, sexism and discrimination. On that great and final day, when we are gathered around His throne, a great cry will go up:

“Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10

I want to say to every one of my brothers and sisters this morning who is from a different tribe or language or people or nation to me, “We stand with you. We celebrate all that is positive and delightful about your culture and your heritage. We love the colour that you bring to us. We love the variety of God’s brilliance that you reflect. We are thrilled and proud to have so many nations represented in Jubilee and we hunger for more.” 

I want to use these verses from this passage to inspire us to live differently and reflect the beauty of the diversity with which God has blessed us and to root out every form of injustice that does not measure up to God’s standard of love as reflected in these words.

Exposition (v19-22)

No longer foreigners and aliens

  • Once you were foreigners and aliens; without hope and without God in the world
  • “Christ-less, stateless, friendless, hopeless, and Godless” Hendriksen
  • Excluded/separated from God, and excluded/separated from others (N.B. contrast love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself);
  • Individualism was our creed and our lifestyle.

Fellow Citizens with God’s People

  • Now we are included; now we are in fellowship with others.
  • We are not just individuals; we are a community of God’s people.  Consumerism is the shaping influence behind much modern expression of Christianity: me, my, mine… (e.g. songs, books, sermons).
  • We are no longer defined by reference to our individual styles, tastes, or preferences.  
  • We are part of a one another community. The “you” most often used in the N.T. is plural, not singular; e.g. in French: “vous”, not “tu”.
  • No Christian bubbles of me and Jesus! It’s all about us.
  • No division based on race, or education, or wealth, or intelligence – we are one new community 

Members of God’s Household

  • We are also not separated from Him. Once were excluded from Him but now we are members – we’re a living, active, organically joined part of His work and His way. His Spirit is in us; we are spiritually joined to God.
  • His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are His children.

Built on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets

  • We have a foundation. That foundation is doctrine, but it is not documentation.  
  • What we are founded on is a living ministry of the Spirit, not a set of words on paper. The word of God is alive; one of the ways in which it lives is in the hands of those who preach and teach and disciple it into others.
  • We welcome apostolic and prophetic ministry in the form of people such as Dave Cape and Tony Fitzgerald. The preaching and teaching of God’s word like this. 

Christ Himself as Cornerstone

  • Underpinning everything and supporting everything is Christ Himself.  But note that He is supporting the church, not individuals!  He is supporting the collective structure and not simply individual needs, wants, preferences and desires.
  • Christ is the beginning and the end; the keystone and capstone; He is the one in whom “all things now hold together” (Col. 1:17).

In Him the Building Rises

  • Christ’s intention is not simply individual salvation or personal holiness. Of course, a personal relationship with Christ is the entry point, but what we are discipling and building people into is a corporate structure – the church of Jesus Christ.  All the wonders of the truth of individual salvation serve to underpin the greater purpose: a people for His own possession (Eph. 1:14).
  • Christ is the common ground; the glue that binds us together; the energy that causes growth and life.
  • The expectation of what we’re doing should be growth: the building rises to become a temple (literally a dwelling place) of God.

A Dwelling of God by the Spirit

  • The means by which all this is made real in our lives and experience is the Spirit.
  • We are committed to building a Spirit-filled church: not a modern church; not a contemporary church; not a lively church.
  • The centrality in work, worship, guidance, preaching, salvation, teaching, training, planning, strategising, and discipling is always the Spirit. We must be men and women who are full of the Spirit, and who live Spirit-filled lives.
  • A key qualification for leadership is the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3-5). We should be able to see in our own lives and the lives of those we lead the evidence of Spirit-baptism. Ask the question…
  • We are looking to see a dwelling of God (God’s manifest presence) by the Spirit (the dynamic, in breaking, empowering, experience of God).

Conclusion

  • God has smashed forever the dividing walls between us and Him, and us and one another.
  • The church is the multicoloured wisdom of God revealed.
  • We are committed to seeing that community of the Spirit in all her beauty built here at Jubilee.
  • It’s about community in diversity not individual Christianity.
  • We’re going to celebrate our diversity in coming weeks.

Click here for the video and audio podcast of our Sunday Virtual Gatherings.

Words of life | God’s Perfect Care

Words of life | God’s Perfect Care

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

Reflection:

In this time where many have been self-isolating, there has been a bigger need for people to be taken care of. There has been a dependency on other people’s kindness and care. So many have selflessly and sacrificially taken care of those who have fallen ill and needed treatment of any kind. And to different measures, we have all carried a burden together to see this virus pass.

Yet in this time, we have also seen that we cannot bear the burdens of this life on our own. And in many ways, our care is so limited. Yet there is One who is able – and willing – to carry each and every one of our burdens. He desires to care for us and will do so with a perfect care that “does not permit us to slip and fall”. What a promise in this time where everything else has shown itself fallible. God’s arm will never be too short to care for us when we reach out and give our burdens to Him.

Prayer outline:

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your unlimited care for me. You invite me to give You my burdens, because You care for me. You desire to be my strength and my sustainer, my courage and my care. I choose again today to put my trust in You and to give You my burdens, for You are able and You care for me. Holy Spirit, help me to let go of control and put things into Your capable hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Find the whole Words of Life series here

Words of life | A Strong Tower

Words of life | A Strong Tower

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Proverbs 18:10 (ESV)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

Reflection:

The scripture above caught my attention following the horrific attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in 2001. That tragic event proved that those towers were not a strong or safe place. I was reminded that Jesus Christ is LORD, which means that His name – the name of Jesus – is a “strong tower.” That “strong tower” will never become “ground zero” – no attempts by the powers of darkness using misguided people will obliterate the name of Jesus. Therefore believers can take refuge in that name and be safe. We are now under another attack – from Coronavirus – and society has been asked to stay home in order to be safe. Wise advice indeed but let us not forget the eternal safety provided in the name of Jesus. His name is ABOVE every other name, so the name of Coronavirus, of Covid-19, must submit to the name of Jesus. Glory!

Prayer outline:

Thank You, Father, for the protection found in Your “strong tower”, the name of Jesus. We thank You that there is eternal safety in His name, that no weapon, no pestilence, no disease can remove us from the “strong tower.” Amen.

Find the whole Words of Life series here

Words of life | Sing His praises

Words of life | Sing His praises

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Psalm 147:1-6 (ESV)

“Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground.”

Reflection:

What strikes me in these few verses is the pictures that are painted of who God is – from the macro to the micro. He is the God who “determines the number of stars” and also He who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. As we have been looking at the Trinity, I am continually so amazed at the vastness beyond understanding of our God and at the same time incredibly humbled at His regard for me, little old me. What kind of God who holds all power in His hand would choose to invite me into His perfect relationship of love? Surely to this God “a song of praise is fitting”. At the start of this new week, I decide to choose to sing those songs of praise and turn my heart to the truths of who my God is; star-breather and healer of my heart. And as I do so, I want to encourage all of us to do the same – this week, let us declare to one another the praises of our God. Send someone a message, share a verse or a song; let’s point one another to the truth of who God is and “sing” His praises in our situation.

Prayer outline:

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, how truly majestic You are in all Your ways. When my mind tries to understand the fullness of who You are, I feel so small and incapable, so humbled. Yet You, Creator of the universe, care closely enough to notice and know my pain and sorrows and to “heal my wounds”. How truly majestic is Your name in all the earth. I sing Your praise, for You are worthy. Let Your name and Your fame be known in all the earth. Amen.

Find the whole Words of Life series here

Words of life | God, my refuge and my fortress

Words of life | God, my refuge and my fortress

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Psalm 62:1-8

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah”

Reflection:

Like it has for everyone, lockdown has stripped much of my life as I knew it away, and replaced it with a strange new ‘normal’. It’s been a big adjustment relinquishing control of pretty much everything and having to rely on the kindness and help of others. During this time of uncertainty and the unknown, I’ve found real comfort in this psalm, knowing that God is my refuge and my fortress. He is my mighty rock. When uncertainty and whispers of fear swirl around me, and things seem out of control, God is the calm in the storm. He is in control and He is the hope in our future.

Each of us has a different day-to-day reality in this storm. As I read somewhere the other day: “We are not all in the same boat, but we are all weathering the same storm”. The amazing truth is that God is interested in us as individuals. He meets each one of us in our individual circumstances. We don’t have to strive to find Him, or go out looking. He comes to us and meets us in the place we are in. Whether you are content and at peace, frightened and lost, stressed or exhausted; He is your refuge. He sits beside you, holds your hand and restores your soul.

Prayer outline:

Have a listen to the song “Find You on my knees” by Kari Jobe.  Be encouraged; no matter how hard and dark your circumstances may seem (or indeed may be), your almighty Father can and will lift your spirits, restore your soul and lift you up. Trust in Him and receive His love. Find Him in the place you’re in.

Find the whole Words of Life series here

Words of life | Full Acceptance

Words of life | Full Acceptance

Posted on By Emma WilsonIn Words of Life

Romans 8:14-16 (The Passion Translation)

“The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the ‘spirit of religious duty’, leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the ‘Spirit of full acceptance’, enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as He rises up within us, our spirits join Him in saying the words of tender affection, ‘Beloved Father!’ For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being, ‘You are God’s beloved child!'”

Reflection:

There is something about the need for belonging and acceptance that is deep in the hearts of all mankind. I love this translation’s description where it contrasts “the spirit of religious duty leading us back into the fear of never being good enough” with a “Spirit of acceptance that enfolds us into the family of God”. How quickly do we find ourselves operating from a deep fear of not being good enough, both towards God and one another? All too often I discover I have somehow strayed and crept back to this place of distortion. It is often marked by feelings of isolation and non-belonging. But the truth is that if we have received the Spirit of God we have been adopted into His family, the ultimate place of belonging.

Prayer outline:

Take a moment to reflect on this truth. The challenge here is two-fold – firstly, am I living in the joy of this truth that I belong and am accepted? Secondly, as a part of God’s family, am I playing my part in embracing others and welcoming them in the same way Father God welcomes me?

Dear Abba Father, I pray today that I will know afresh your Spirit affirm to me that I am your child. Let this fatherhood become real to me as you whisper into my innermost being that I belong to You, and help me, from this place, extend my reach to invite others into your family of belonging too. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Find the whole Words of Life series here