The Ark, the Presence and the Voice...

I've been reading recently in the 1st Book of Kings, and today I came to chapter 8, the part where the Ark of the Covenant is brought with great ceremony to the newly built Temple in Jerusalem.

The Jewish faith laid a strong emphasis on not having any graven images, and so it's interesting to me that the Ark played such a prominent role in their worship. You'd imagine that they'd be wary of the danger of people worshipping the Ark instead of worshipping the Lord.

But now that they've built a Temple as a place to focus their worship of God, they don't simply discard the Ark that was made some 480 years previously. Instead, they move it from its old location (the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting) to a new location in the Most Holy Place of the Temple.

This is significant because of what the Ark had always represented to them:
1) God's presence among them
2) God's word spoken to them

The cloud of God's presence has historically hovered over the Tabernacle and the Ark (see Numbers 9:22, for example) and when it moved, it was a sign that God's presence was also moving on; that the people needed to break camp and move with Him.

The only contents of the Ark (see 1 Kings 8: 9) were the two stone tablets from Mount Sinai that bore the Ten Commandments and the other laws that God had given to them through Moses.

So, although most people could barely see the Ark, deep within the inner sanctuary, it continued to represent these two very important things to the people.

We don't have the Ark today as Christians, but we do still have the two precious things that it represented:
1)  We have God's presence constantly with us, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
2)  We have both His written and His spoken Word: - we have the Bible available in our own languages, and we have the ability, through the Spirit, to hear God's voice for ourselves.

So it got me thinking this morning:

• Do we value these things as much as the people of Israel valued the Ark?
• Are we conscious of carrying God's presence into every situation with us?
• And do we make enough time to read His Word and listen to His voice?

Food for thought ...

Breakfast with Jesus... (part one)

Yesterday, on my last morning of reading in John's Gospel, I was struck by the touching scene that brings a conclusion to the book. The background to this episode is that all of Jesus' disciples and friends had deserted Him in His time of need. Either they had run away to save their own skin, or they had followed at a distance and vehemently denied even knowing Jesus when anyone asked them about it. Now, just a few days after Jesus' death and resurrection, and even after they already had proof that He had risen from death, the disciples seem to have abandoned their calling to preach the gospel and started to go back to their old lives, to the way things were before they met Jesus and began to follow Him. John chapter 21 begins with seven of the disciples going out onto the lake to do some fishing.

They weren't very successful, though, and were probably feeling discouraged as they headed to shore in the dim light of dawn. Their new lives with the Teacher had fallen apart, and now their old lives weren't working out either. They hadn't caught a single fish, despite being out in the boat all night long.

The next part of the story is well known. In the light of the sunrise, they see an indistinct figure on the beach. He tells them to throw their nets out on the other side, and they bring in a huge haul of fish. That's when they realise that the man is Jesus.

But the part of the story that really struck me most is what Jesus says to them when they reach the beach. There are so many things that He could have said to them. He could have reprimanded them for abandoning Him and denying Him. He could have reproached them for going back to their old lives as fishermen. He could have said, "What on earth are you doing here?"

But He doesn't. Instead, what He does say to them is simply, "Come and have some breakfast." (vs 12) It's not a call to get their act together; it's not a command to get on with the work to be done. It's simply an invitation to relationship and to spending time together. This is not an invitation to religion; it's an invitation to friendship. It's an invitation to breakfast with Jesus. In this case, to breakfast right there on the beach.

Jesus has already started the fire going. He's already bought or baked some bread, and a few fish are already roasting on the fire. But he asks them to bring their own contribution too; he asks them to bring some of the fish that they have just caught. It would have been so easy for Jesus to provide everything; to emphasise the fact that He was the one with resources and that they had failed miserably to catch any fish, despite hours of hard toil. Instead, He asks them to bring something of what they have to offer, some of the fish that they have just caught. That's what friendship is about; it's about giving and receiving, caring and sharing, each one in the friendship doing his or her part to make it work.

Of course, Jesus had provided everything, as their huge haul of fish had been a miracle catch, but He graciously invites them to bring something to the breakfast that they're going to share together. That's how it should be in our friendship with Jesus: although in one sense He has done everything to make the friendship possible, He invites us to do our part - to give the time and attention necessary - to help the friendship grow deep and strong.

Read on below for some of my memories of "breakfast with Jesus."

Breakfast with Jesus... (part two)

Reading yesterday in John's Gospel, the part where Jesus invites His disciples to, "Come and have breakfast with me," got me thinking about the many years, decades in fact, that I've had my morning coffee with Jesus. I don't actually eat any breakfast, but when I get out of bed, I go downstairs, make my cup of coffee, and then settle down with my Bible and my journal - to spend time talking to and listening to Jesus at the start of my day.

Somehow, that memory prompted the thought yesterday that I should tidy up the cupboard where all my old journals are stored. I discovered, to my amazement, that I've filled 36 notebooks since first coming to visit Spain in mid 2007. Every now and then, I read in one of those old journals and am blessed a second time to be reminded of things that God was showing me in His Word during those precious "breakfast" times of the day.

Why on earth am I filling so many notebooks, you may be wondering. Well, in the early days, when I was a teenager and in my twenties, I used to write directly in the margins of my Bible. (The Bible in the photo isn't mine.) I would underline verses that stood out to me, or write little notes in the margin about things that God was teaching me. The great thing about this was that I was constantly being reminded of truths and values that God was showing me for my own life as a follower of Jesus. Of course, it meant that my Bible margins quickly filled up and I had to buy a new Bible every four or five years. (That wasn't such a bad thing at the time, as it was a season when several new translations were being released - Good News Bible, New International Version, etc - and it was quite enriching to read familiar texts in new translations.)

After a while, though, I realised that there were other disad-vantages to having my Bible filled with underlinings and neatly printed notes in the margins. I occasionally found myself witnessing to Muslims (in France or in West Africa) and I knew that it was shocking for them to see such "defacing and disrespect" for the Holy Scriptures. I also noticed that each time I read a passage, I found myself falling into the same pattern of thinking as the previous time I'd read it; the notes in the margin reminded me of what God had said last time, but didn't help me keep my heart and my spirit open to something new that He might want to say to me this time.

I'd always kept a journal too, but there came a time when I decided to write only in the journal and no longer scribble in the margins of my Bible. And so that's the explanation of why I've stockpiled so many "quiet time notebooks" over the years. Some years I filled only one notebook, while other years I filled two or three. (The advent of pound shops and other discount stores was wonderful, as it meant I could pick up a nice notebook for only £1.)

So now you know why I'm filling so many journals, but perhaps you're wondering what I'm writing in them. (If you're a journaller yourself, you won't need to ask that question, of course.) 

Well, I write down the insights that God is showing me through my Bible reading and/or the things that He is speaking to me personally through that passage. Sometimes I write down my prayers of response to God or questions that I'm grappling with. Sometimes I use a different coloured pen to write out a whole verse that speaks to me (instead of underlining it in the Bible.)

I also use my journal to write down my goals at the beginning of each year: areas where I desire to see spiritual growth, further development of ministry projects or steps to living a healthy, God-honouring lifestyle.

It can also be useful to write down things that happen outside of my "breakfast with Jesus" times. Perhaps God speaks to me during a church service or during something that happens. It's good to write those things down so that the valuable lessons won't get lost. Part of the reason I have so many journals from the past decade here in Spain is because the early years were a big transition time for me. I also wrote a lot during the many months that my Dad was in hospital. These were "life lessons" that happened outside of the context of "quiet time" and reading the Bible. Sometimes I've combined my diary and my journal in the same notebook, just because I was in a season of many such life lessons and teachable moments.

Some people use their journals to take notes during church services, during their house group Bible study, or during a seminar or retreat that they attend. Other people combine their "prayer" journal with their "Bible" journal, noting things that they pray and answers to those prayers. 

If you've never kept a journal, let me encourage you to give it a try. It's probably true that journalling appeals more to some personality types than others, but I know journallers of many different personality types and they all share testimony of how helpful it has been to them in their relationship with God.

Buy yourself a notebook, choose your time of the day (you may not be a "breakfast with Jesus" kind of person; perhaps it works better for you before lunch or in the afternoon) and get started. When you come to your time alone with God, open your notebook, write down the date, and write down the Bible reference that you're reading. After you've read the passage a few times, thoughtfully and prayerfully, just write down whatever stands out to you, what you sense God wants you to know, or how you plan to apply that truth in your own life. 

Some days I fill two pages; other days I write only two lines. The amount doesn't matter. Like the disciples in the post above (who brought their own fish to the breakfast with Jesus), it's simply about coming prepared and expectant, with a heart that longs to grow closer to Jesus.

FOCOS feedback....

I've arrived back in the south of Spain, after spending ten days up north in the Cataluña region of the country (north of Barcelona.)

The intensive workshop in foundational coaching skills went very well and the feedback from the trainees was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did they experience transformation in their own lives, they also felt equipped with the skills and confidence needed to begin coaching others in the context of their church or missions setting.

This year's trainees were all Latinos - from places like Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. Some had flown all the way from South America for the workshop, while others were working as missionaries in places like Turkey, Germany and Italy. In the photos above, you can see scenes from the teaching input and the practical application groups.

Last year, Patti and I were the only trainers in the workshop; this year we were "apprenticing" some new people who may be involved as trainers in the future. It was good to see how this new team formed and began to work together to serve this year's trainees.

We stayed at the same campsite as last year, right on the beach (which was still strewn with uprooted trees and other debris from the recent devastation of Storm Gloria.) They'd changed their catering system, though, and instead of helping ourselves from a buffet, a waiter brought our meals to the table. The food was good and the portions were huge. Several of us quickly decided that it would be wise to switch to half board instead of eating two enormous three course meals every day.

I opted to skip lunch, and this allowed me, often together with one of the other trainers, to go walking in the local area, discovering some of the old watchtowers that the region is famous for - a relic from the days when they had to be on the lookout for pirates. This meant that I was able to get some exercise, even though it was a week with no dog-walking. I did meet plenty of other dog walkers, though - mostly Germans and British people there on holiday in their camper vans.

It was a fruitful week, and we're thankful to God for all that He did in people's lives.

Stewardship or sacrifice...?

This  morning,  in John's Gospel chapter twelve, I read the account of where Mary of Bethany extravagantly anoints Jesus' feet with a half litre flask of very expensive perfumed oil. We see that Judas Iscariot was offended that she would "waste" something so expensive. (Although he justifies his negativity by saying that the money could have been given to the poor, we read that he in fact wanted to steal some of it for himself.)

The message of the story is unmistakable: No expense is too much, no sacrifice is too great for Jesus, who Himself gave up everything for us. But as I read the story this morning, I realised that, in my own life, I sometimes find myself in a dilemma between stewardship and sacrifice.

I love to be generous and so my dilemma doesn't arise when it comes to giving money or gifts to others. Where I do find myself hesitating is when it comes to apparently spending money on myself, and especially when it comes to those big budget expenses of plane tickets. I often find myself having to buy a plane ticket and make a trip for ministry reasons; some years I might have only two or three trips, while other years I might need to make four or five. This year, for example, I've already bought three plane tickets for short trips within Europe, and I still need to make plans for two other trips - one to the Middle East and one to Asia.

Whenever it's time to buy a plane ticket, I find myself switching into stewardship mode: I spend hours searching on the internet to find the very best deal possible, and I'll willingly put up with inconvenient hours or airport layovers if it means I can get a ticket at a good price and be a better steward of the money that God has provided for me. I feel disappointed if the dates of a trip mean that a plane ticket costs more than I would have wanted to spend.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a good steward of resources, but today I was thinking that a different perspective on plane tickets would be to see them as an opportunity to switch into sacrifice mode. After all, those ministry trips are not really for myself: they're steps of obedience to God's calling, and the money involved can be seen as my sacrificial gift to the Lord.

I'll always continue to look for "the best deal," but there's greater joy in the cost if I think of it as perfume poured on the feet of Jesus.

Stewardship and sacrifice.... Where do you face challenges in one or both of these areas? Do you spend impulsively, or get into debt, and fail to be a faithful steward of God's resources in your life? Do you struggle to be generous in giving to others, to the church, or to "good causes" ? Or, like me, do you find it challenging sometimes to discern the right balance between sacrifice and stewardship? 

Bring your questions to God today, and seek His direction for how you use the money, possessions, time and gifts that He has entrusted to you.

Travelling with turbulence...

Once the amazing miracle has happened (feeding thousands of people - see Tuesday's post from John chapter 6) Jesus realises that the crowds of people would want to make Him their king by force, and so He slips off, further up the hillside, to a quiet place where He can be alone - or no doubt where He could spend time in conversation with His heavenly Father.

Once Jesus was no longer there, I can imagine that the crowds began to disperse little by little and eventually the twelve disciples were left alone. Night fell and Jesus still hadn't returned to rejoin them. I don't know how many hours they waited there; we only read that, despite the darkness, the disciples made their way down to the lakeside, got into their boat and began to sail off across the lake to the opposite shore - in the direction of Capernaum.

There are two things about this decision that may seem strange to us: 

1. Why did they set off on their trip in the middle of the night, when it was already dark?
2. And why did they go away, leaving Jesus behind on that side of the lake?

Setting out in a boat in the middle of the night might seem crazy to us, but we need to remember that some of the men in this group were fishermen; they were used to going out on the lake in the dark of night. Perhaps the disciples didn't want to spend the whole night out on the hillside under the stars; perhaps heading for Capernaum was "heading home" for them at that point in time. After all, we read in vs 1 that they had taken a boat across the lake before the experience of feeding the five thousand.

But, if they didn't want to spend the night sleeping out in the open air, why did they set off and leave Jesus behind? How did they imagine that He was going to get back to the other side of the lake? Was it perhaps that they thought Jesus had left them? Did they think that the wonderful times they'd spent with Him were over now? Or had He been gone so long that they began to wonder if He'd been making His way back to the other side of the lake without them?

We don't know their reasons; we only read that they got into the boat under cover of darkness and started to cross the lake... only to run into a fierce storm when they were just a few miles out. The wind and waves were all around them. We've seen our fair share of storms here in Eastern and Southern Spain this week; in some coastal towns the waves were ten metres high, and the streets were so flooded that cars were being swept away. I can only imagine how scary it must be if you're actually out in the middle of the water, far from the nearest shore.

I found the metaphor kind of interesting, though: after setting out without Jesus and with it being too dark for them to see properly, they found themselves in the middle of a violent storm. When we run into storms in our own lives, perhaps it would be helpful to evaluate whether we set out without seeing the way clearly, or without having Jesus "on board" with us.

The rest of the story is well known. Fortunately, Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and said, "It's me. I'm here. Don't be afraid." Even when life gets a little stormy, we don't need to give into fear or worry if we know that Jesus is with us on the journey.

I found the end of the story (verse 21) really interesting. We read that they invited Jesus into the boat with them and, in a relatively short time, they arrived at their destination. We don't read that the storm stopped. (This isn't the time when He spoke to the wind and waves and they died down.) The storm continued, but Jesus was with them and they arrived safe and sound on the other side of the lake.

Sometimes we do face storms in life, even when Jesus is with us. God's presence with us doesn't guarantee that everything will be smooth sailing, that our journey will be free of turbulence... but it does guarantee that we can give our fears and worries to Him and that He promises to bring us safe and sound to our destination.

Broken!

I've got a little tired this week of dealing with things that are broken and don't work properly. 

First it was my car: it won't start - not because there's anything wrong with the engine, but because the key simply won't turn in the ignition. I'm waiting for a new ignition unit to arrive, and it should hopefully be installed within the next week or so. 

Then it was my computer. It's been giving me problems on and off since last summer, and today they told me I need to take it into the shop and they'll try completely replacing the keyboard. As I don't want a Spanish keyboard, I'm waiting for the shop to get the UK keyboard. The repair will hopefully also happen within the next week.

Of course, some broken things can't be fixed - like my broken tooth, which needs to be extracted this month. No replacement parts are in the pipeline for that one.

Realising this morning that I felt a bit fed up of putting up with all the broken stuff, I couldn't help thinking of God and how He has to deal with broken people, every moment of every day. People who don't do what they're supposed to do; people who cause problems for themselves and for others.... I am so thankful that God doesn't get tired of us. He is unfailingly patient and gentle with us in our brokenness, always seeing who we can become instead of only who we are in our weakness and dysfunction at the moment. Thank you, Father.