Those of you who have been following closely may be aware that I have been sitting with the gospel of John lately. I love this gospel. I love the way John talks about Jesus. The way he portrays him, what he shows, the interactions that Jesus has with people. It seems to me that John lingers over these in a way that is different from the other gospels. And Jesus’ relationship with Mary and Martha, but with Mary, in particular, is developed in this gospel. The famous interaction between the sisters and Jesus is recorded in Luke 10:38-42, and John, I suppose, being fully aware of that fact does not recount that again. Instead, he picks up their story and develops it further.
Continue reading “The invitation and the gift”Where do I begin?
It is so easy to pretend that we are something that we are not. We like to portray an image of who we are to others: to our friends, acquaintances, strangers, to God and even to ourselves. It is often so much easier to live a life of pretence than to face the reality of who we are and the circumstances that surround us. Obviously, our society encourages this by bombarding us with opportunities to escape – whether it be through movies, binge-watching tv series, unending opportunities to lose ourselves in books, gaming, or any other form of entertainment. And our online image can be so divorced from the reality of who we are that we can fool the world into thinking that we are someone other than ourselves.
Continue reading “Where do I begin?”What do I say yes to?
Some years ago, I was feeling overwhelmed by all the possibilities, opportunities and requests that were coming my way. These were things that I could do, things I could do for and in my church, for friends, for strangers, in my community and beyond. But how was I to know what to fill my time with? In a recent post, I wrote about fruitfulness and significance and how Jesus calls us not to focus on the fruit, but rather to focus on him (click here to view that post). But today’s focus is slightly different.
How do we know what we should be doing? How do we discern what is right and what is not? Should we just embrace each and every opportunity as an open door set before us that we should say yes to? If it seems good, then surely it must be from God? As someone who hates to let others down often, it is easier to simply say yes, or at least that is how it appears. The additional stress that it often places on me, and my family, as a result, may perhaps suggest otherwise.
Continue reading “What do I say yes to?”The dwelling place of God
This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. The day when the global church remembers the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to us, poured out upon the people of God. And what a gift! A gift, unlike any other.
All this is true… and yet. I grew up afraid of the Holy Spirit.
Continue reading “The dwelling place of God”The gift of a creative God
It seems to me odd that Christians are often labelled as boring. That our lives could be thought of as dull and uninteresting. Shouldn’t the opposite be true?
In my last post, I mentioned the well that we are invited to dive into when Jesus calls us to follow him, and then again day by day, as he beckons us onward and upwards in our discipleship. There are many words I could use to describe such a life. However, boring is not one of them.
But do we appear boring? Are we? Sometimes?
Continue reading “The gift of a creative God”Is there a formula for the spiritual life?
I wonder if often we distil our relationship with God into a transactional relationship? If we develop a formula for the spiritual life? We listen to God, we read our Bible, and we do what he says. But is there a danger in such thinking? We can come to understand God as a slot machine – I ask him for something, he gives me an answer; I listen to him, he tells me what to do – and we can forget that there is more. God is not looking for robots who simply do his will. He wants children.
Continue reading “Is there a formula for the spiritual life?”Fruitfulness? Significance? Where do I set my sights?
For much of my life, I have felt the compulsion, and the longing, to do stuff for God. But I have also struggled with the profound sense that what I do is not enough. Indeed, the Bible is filled with passages about fruitfulness, and good trees bearing good fruit. How am I to be a good tree? If a tree is known by its fruit then I better produce good fruit, but how do I to do that? And what kind of fruit is good fruit anyway? The only way I have been able to reconcile such thoughts is to do, and to do, and to do. To do something, anything, for God. But how do I know I am doing it for him? After all, what makes an action a God-centred action rather than just a me-centred action?
Continue reading “Fruitfulness? Significance? Where do I set my sights?”The invitation of Jesus
There is a cry repeated throughout scripture and one that is voiced numerous times by the Son of God himself. Jesus says,
“Come to me.”
Here are just a few instances where this is found in the Bible: Isaiah 55:1-3, Matthew 11:28-30, numerous verses in John 6, Revelation 22:17.
I wonder if often we, myself included, fail to do just this. It is as if we are happy to do things for God, to talk about “God stuff”, to read books about God, to sing and listen to songs about God, to even speak to God. But do we take the time to actually come to him? What would that look like if we did and how would it be different? And what does this mean in practice?
Continue reading “The invitation of Jesus”Hearing God part 2 – How does God speak?
When I was younger, I was terribly frustrated that the Bible didn’t give a blueprint for how to hear God. For it doesn’t. I expressed my frustration to a wise person that I know (also known as my Dad). He said to me that the reason God doesn’t do this is that he speaks in an infinite variety of ways. And he speaks to each person differently. If the Bible told us one way we would all be looking for that one way, instead we have to learn, to seek, and to find. Instead, we each get to go on the incredible adventure of discovering how God speaks to us.
Continue reading “Hearing God part 2 – How does God speak?”Worry or Trust – which will I choose?
Fear, worry, anxiety – these are common feeding grounds for many of us. This is where we spend much of our time and much of our mental capacities. But as a follower of Christ, we know that we should be different. If you have followed Jesus for any length of time, I am sure you have heard something to the effect, “don’t worry, you just need to trust God”. But, in my experience, that “just” is far easier to say than to do.
The Bible is full of verses about fear, anxiety and worry. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, we hear the call to not be afraid. This is both comforting and confronting. We can find solace in the fact that worry, fear and anxiety are not new to us, not problems rooted in our day. Instead, they are as old as time itself, or at least as old as the first humans that walked on this planet. It seems that human beings have always walked in fear. But, the resounding cry of the Bible is that the people of God are to be different. That we are a people set apart and marked by peace and trust.
Continue reading “Worry or Trust – which will I choose?”