The first widow: a story of flour and oil

No, the flour and oil in this story aren't in a recipe for making pancakes; they're in a recipe for an adventure in trusting God! In a recent Quiet Time, I was doing a study on the financial principles and promises that we find in the Bible, and I came across the stories of two different widows: one in 1 Kings chapter 17 and the other in 2 Kings chapter 4.

In the story of the first widow, in 1 Kings 17, this lady was facing some real needs, but I saw that she stepped out with the little that she already had (some flour and oil) even though it wasn’t nearly enough... and God caused that supply to keep flowing. When the prophet Elijah asked the widow for something to eat, she didn’t say, “Sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t have enough to live on myself.” She just stepped out with that little bit of flour and oil that she already had, and God did a miracle: her flour and oil simply never ran out, but continued flowing and were always enough.

In a sense, this was what God often did for us during the years I lived in South Africa. If you had looked at our bank statements, and seen on paper what our monthly income was, you’d never have believed it was possible for people to live on that amount and to pay the rent and electricity, run a car, buy food, etc… but the supply kept flowing, and somehow it was always enough.

I realised I’d been feeling lately as if my life was “on hold” - knowing that I couldn’t step out to rent a flat in Spain if I didn’t have even a reasonable percentage of the money needed to pay for it and furnish it. (I’ve lived my whole life with the principle of never getting into debt.) But I also knew that I couldn’t wait indefinitely and so, when I read this widow’s story, I felt challenged to “step out” with the resources that I already have - even if my “flour and oil” isn’t nearly enough yet - and to trust that God will keep the flow coming. It doesn’t sound a particularly responsible thing to do, but - as I’ve discovered over the past decades - steps of faith often don’t look the slightest bit responsible on the surface.

And so I’ve stepped out now and booked my plane ticket to Malaga: I will be moving down to Spain on Sunday 5th October. I don't yet know where I will live, or how I will pay for it, but I know that God's saying it's time now to take a new step of faith.

What about you? Are you facing any situations at the moment that just seem "too big" for you? At times when our "flour and oil" seem totally inadequate for the task ahead, that's when we need to remember that God is always bigger than any challenge we might face, and sometimes He asks us just to step out in simple trust and faith.

Endings and beginnings...

Just a few days ago, I attended the funeral of a friend who died of cancer last week. Although funerals are always a time of sadness, the service was also a celebration of this lady's life and of her faith in God. Such times always make me think about my own "legacy:" what would I like to be remembered for when my own time comes?

In a sense, a funeral is like an ending: it brings an end to someone's life on earth. This week in my quiet time, I was reading the story of a new beginning: in Nehemiah chapter 7 verses 1 -2, we read about the new season that began when the people of Israel had finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. "New doors" (gates) were put in place, and different kinds of people were appointed to guard the city (gatekeepers) and to keep its focus on the Lord (singers and Levites.) A man called Hananiah was appointed - because he was a person of integrity and "he feared God more than most men do." (vs 2, NIV)

In just a few weeks' time, "new doors" will be opening for me and I will be moving to live in Spain. I have no idea how long I will live there, but as I look into the future, I know that this is the legacy that I pray for. Just like Hananiah, I want to be remembered as someone who loved and honoured God "more than most people do." This is the deepest desire of my heart.

Is your heart slippery?

Deuteronomy 4 vs 9 says, "Be careful! Watch yourself closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live." There's a reason this warning appears several times in the first few books of the Bible: God knew that the reality of life is that our hearts tend to be "slippery." We too easily forget the things He has taught us through the experiences of life and through our reading of His Word.

This week I began writing in my tenth journal since leaving Cape Town and moving back to Europe. Each time I re-read these notebooks, I am reminded of the words of encouragement God has spoken to me and the lessons He has been teaching me over the past year. I am so thankful for these journals that help me hold on to all His instructions and promises so that they don't "slip from my heart" as I move into the next season of my life. If you don't already keep a personal journal, let me encourage you to get a notebook and take time to write down the things that God is speaking to you from day to day. Sometimes our hearts are just too slippery to do without one!

Blurred vision... new vision

It's June 26th. On this date last year, I boarded a plane and left South Africa to return to Europe. Leaving the place that had become my home was such a sad thing for me, that I could barely see for tears. Today, one year on, I have an appointment with the optician to get my eyes tested. It's time to get new glasses and sunglasses before I move to Spain. Although this "anniversary" brings a little sadness, I had to smile when I realised that it was also a day that was symbolised by new and sharper vision. I pray that this will be true spiritually as well as physically. May you also enjoy "clear vision" this week.

A new way, a new day, a new home...

Can you believe that it’s already the month of June? This blog began almost a year ago, when I left Southern Africa and came back to live and work in Europe again. As you know, this past year has been a time of transition for me: a time of stepping out in faith to discover the new things that God has for me here in Europe.

Leaving my home in Cape Town was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and I’ve really missed South Africa a lot. I had been there for most of the past fourteen years. During this year back in Europe, I’ve been reaching out to embrace the new things God has for me here and, in particular, I’ve been asking God where my new home should be. Three S’s emerged as the most likely options, and I’ve been praying about whether I should settle in Scotland, Spain or Switzerland for the years ahead.

Interestingly, I’ve spent this transition year doing the very same things that I was doing back in 1998: working with FireStarters youth ministry in Glasgow, and staffing a leadership development course (LDC) in the West of Scotland. The LDC is over now; the delegates and staff – who came from around 20 different nations – are all returning home this week. I’m back in Falkirk now, and will be in Central Scotland for most of the month of June.

The theme of the leadership development course was, “a new way for a new day,” and the course leader wrote a theme song, based on Isaiah 43 vs 18 – 19:

Forget what’s before;
there’s so much more
I have to offer…
I am doing something new.

For me personally, being staff on this LDC was in some ways like returning to the “old.” Staffing an LDC was the very last thing I did in 1998, before leaving Scotland and moving down to live in Cape Town. So, in this way, my LDC involvement was a fulfilment of what God had said when He told me (through Bible verses in Isaiah 43 and 51) that He was leading me into something new, and that this new thing would involve returning initially to people I had worked with and things I had done in the past.

But this year’s LDC was also a time when God confirmed the new things that He has for me in the future. Just last week, I made a decision to move down to Spain and make my home there for the coming years. I will continue to work with LDCs and other aspects of leadership development, and I will also continue to work with King’s Kids International in the area of training leaders for ministry among children, teenagers and families.

Thanks again for praying for me during this year of transition. More details about my future plans are in my June newsletter. Just contact me by email or phone if you happened not to receive it and would like me to send it to you.

Allowing some distance to creep in

Only a few more weeks until Easter, a time of year when we think again of how Jesus suffered and died for us, and rose again to give us new life. A couple of weeks ago, I was reading part of that story in Matthew’s Gospel, and I was struck by one verse in particular: after Jesus had been accused and arrested, once he was being taken for questioning at the high priest’s house, it says that Peter followed at a distance. (Matthew 26: 58)

It has always seemed to me that Peter was a little more committed to Jesus than the other disciples were at this time: at least he was there; at least he seemed to care about what happened to Jesus. All the other disciples had run away (vs 56) when Jesus was arrested in the garden. I truly believe that Peter’s heart was sincere (vs 33) when he told Jesus, “I will never leave you, even if everyone else does.”

Peter meant well, but his big mistake was that he began to distance himself a little from Jesus. He allowed his fears for his own safety to make him back off from the closeness that he and Jesus had shared for the past three years. What began in vs 58 with “following at a distance” ended in vs 69 – 75 with a violent denial that broke both of their hearts.

I always remember one of our KKI leaders from the 1990s who, when teaching about relationship with God, would tell the young people, “You can be as close to God as you want to be.” Just like Peter, each one of us has a choice whether we will commit our lives to drawing close to Jesus or whether we will decide to “follow at a distance.” This choice makes all the difference in the world.

We can even see this clearly in our own human relationships. If you begin to distance yourself in your heart from a friend or family member, the effect on that relationship will not be a good one. The distance can begin suddenly, as the result of a conflict or disappointment, or it can grow up slowly without our even being aware of it. Judas distanced himself from Jesus because he was offended by things that happened… and the result was the betrayal that paved the way for Jesus’ trial and death. Peter distanced himself from Jesus because he was afraid of those in authority… and the result was that he also ended up denying his Lord and friend. Judas planned to do it, Peter didn’t – but both of them began by allowing a little distance to creep in.

There are all kinds of reasons why we might allow distance in our relationship with God. Some people feel disillusioned when a prayer seems to go unanswered; perhaps they get angry at God when a loved one dies or when something bad happens to them or their family; perhaps they get hurt or disappointed by someone in their church. Sometimes there’s not even a real reason for the distance; sometimes it’s just laziness: we don’t put enough time and effort into drawing close to God; we stop going to church or we neglect our personal times of Bible reading and prayer… and, before you know it, a distance has crept in and you’ve settled for following God “from afar.” No matter how good Peter’s intentions were, his story stood out as a warning to me that keeping our distance can so easily lead to denial, tears and heartbreak. Peter finished this night as a broken man, who probably thought at this point that he would never see Jesus again.

How much better it is to hold on to the promise we read in James 4 vs 8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Goodbye to Andalucia

My time in Spain has almost come to an end. It's been a good time of renewing relationship with missionary friends here, of linking in with the church plant in Alhaurín de la Torre, and of working on the computer to replace (re-create) some of the teaching notes and other materials that I lost in the computer crash at the end of last year. I also took one day to play tourist and visit the picturesque little mountain village of Mijas (See photos here.)

Our house church gathering yesterday was the largest this year: more than forty adults, and around a dozen children and teenagers. The service was bilingual (Spanish and English) with messages of encouragement being shared by a Spanish pastor and an Egyptian missionary. The group is looking forward to a celebration on the 24th of this month to launch a new phase in the church's development: beginning to meet in a public venue instead of in a home. This will place the gathering in a more public arena and allow more scope for growth and expansion.

I'm returning to Scotland at the end of this week, and from 8th - 10th February I'll be busy with a FireStarters discipleship and outreach weekend in Glasgow. Around a hundred teenagers and young adults will be attending this weekend and the young people will split into eight teams, working in different parts of the city.