Thought

Life is a training session

October 21, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

A window through trees on the top of Raven’s Causeway, reveals fields a few hundred feet below. Image credit: Ian Greig

Where is God when trouble turns up?

Verse

My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when He corrects you. For the LORD corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom He delights.
— Proverbs 3:11-12 NLT

Good News

If we belong to God through Jesus, that makes us God’s children and He treats us accordingly — including growing us by allowing us to trust Him in some challenges along the way.

Reflection

Ian Greig writes: I have some friends who met years ago on the national cycling team circuit and 40 years on they still enjoy getting out on two wheels. But in their language, a ride that doesn’t have a specific destination or purpose is a ‘training ride’. Cyclists learn to read the route ahead and prepare early for the hill section or sharp bends or rough surface. And some sections will not go as well as they should — hence the thought of a ride for pleasure also being a training session.

Life is a training session — training in holiness for eternal life in glory. And it can deal us some unexpected potholes and challenging inclines.

So does God deal us a difficult section from time to time, to teach us? That doesn’t sound like the heart of He who describes Himself as merciful and compassionate, who the apostle John described with the pure force of plain words: “God is love”, 1 John 4:16.

There are instances in Scripture where God is said to have sent afflictions.

There were times of rebellion in the desert, like Korah’s ‘insolent’ rebellion which costs almost 15,000 lives, Numbers 16, and later when the people derided God’s provision in a blasphemous complaint, and the the the Lord sent venomous snakes among them, Numbers 21:4-8 (but He also sent a sign to help them put their rebellion right and look to Him again). The exile was a national affliction which the prophets had long warned about. After the event, Ezekiel explained that it resulted from God’s wrath following generations of misrule and bloodshed and abandonment of the covenant for idolatry, Ezekiel 36:18-19. Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, where the new life of the Spirit was being snuffed out by legalistic, unspiritual teachers trying to turn it back into a religion, warning them of the cause and effect relationship of rejecting what God had given, Galatians 5 and 6:7-8.

Mostly, it is the devil who brings affliction and oppression wherever our sin gives him a way in — and in our fallen world opportunities abound. But God will take these events and use them for good, as a spiritual alert for us to seek Him afresh.

When things seem to be going fine, we get complacent about our relationship with God — but when things get difficult or frightening, as with the present pandemic coming, and receding, and then coming some more, it is a wake-up call for us to seek God.

That’s what Jeremiah was trying to get the people of his time to see when they were in a desperate situation — and the frustration for him was that the right response was as plain as a pikestaff:

in Jeremiah’s words:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3

God is sovereign over all events, and where there is affliction, He always shows a way out. It’s like the serpent on the pole. What God wants is our hearts, our affection, our response to Him. And that is part of a turning to Him, calling upon Him, and listening for His further answer.

Which will surely come if we seek Him.

Take away

When the next testing circumstance presents itself, will you wobble — or will you welcome it as a test of you trusting God?

Link

For a prayer based on this verse, go over to this page on www.glowweobley.com

A glimpse of heaven’s working raises our assurance

October 17, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Red kite soaring in blue sky — Red kite has a high-level perspective. *Image credit: Ian Greig*

How can we see God, when He is unseen?

Good News

God is always about His work of salvation, and reveals His plans and purposes to those who are His and who seek Him.

Reflection

While I was writing this the news included Dame Louise Casey, the former Homelessness Commissioner warning that some families face being made destitute by the loss of income and opportunity from the pandemic. The backdrop to this was stricter ‘tier’ restrictions, mainly in the most economically vulnerable areas — and this kind of pattern being replicated across Europe with hospital admissions rising sharply.

How do we see God working?

Where is God in this? Or perhaps a better question, how do we SEE God working, as we cry out to Him with whatever grain of faith we have?

Business strategists have a phrase which describes a way to make sense of confusing detail — the ‘helicopter view’. From ground level, where we can’t see a way through the maze, imagine taking a helicopter flight to look at it from 1,000 feet above. A high-level perspective reveals the picture of the whole, integrating the confusing and competing parts, and it gives a clarity missing from the close-up view.

God has both the big picture perspective — on an eternal timescale rather than our short-term thinking — and the close-up definition to see right inside every individual part. We can’t do that, but we can seek to join Him and allow ourselves to be informed by His far superior wisdom.

What is a pure heart?

Jesus said that those whose hearts are pure can see Him. What is a pure heart? It’s having no mixed motives, being free of selfish ambition or personal agenda, willingly submitted to God and in right-standing with Him.

And what does it mean to see God, who is spirit (John 4:24, 1 John 4:12) and therefore by definition unseen? In the OT, giants of faith like Moses and Elijah were terrified at the prospect of seeing God — Elijah, when he encountered God on Mount Horeb, wrapped his face in his cloak.

“When your heart is pure… your eyes will open to see more and more of God” is how the Passion Translation renders this. More and more of God’s glory — and more and more of God’s working, much of which is mysterious and beyond human understanding.

How the Spirit expands our short-sighted view

This side of heaven, what we see of God will be limited and what we understand of Him and His working will be a restricted, myopic view. But set alongside that, here are two particular enabling Scriptures. One is the spiritual gift of wisdom, listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 alongside knowledge, faith etc.

“To one is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith…” 1 Cor. 12:8-9

If the word, or message, of knowledge is something revealed by God’s Spirit, the message of wisdom is what to do with that revealed knowledge — in other words, how God is working in that person or situation and how we work with Him.

Then there is the important promise in James’ letter:

“When you face trials…if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt…” James 1: 3, 5-6.

It is a straightforward condition that we need to be single-minded about listening to and following God. If we are listening to all kinds of voices, the opinions of the media and and the prejudices of others, this is not the “pure heart” that will see God. But if we get our focus on Him through worship and separation from the world’s noise, we are putting ourselves in a good position for Him to give us a spiritual ‘helicopter view’.

Take away

• How will you go about listening to God and asking Him to show you something ahbout Himself and His working in this present situation?

• Who will you share this with?

Link

For a prayer based on this verse and reflection, head over to this page on www.glowweobley.com

A ‘stress test’ of our resilience in caring

October 14, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Cider mill with red apples in the trough — *Apples in the cider mill. Image credit: Ian Greig*

Verse

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
–Proverbs 3:27 NLT

And God will generously provide… everything you need… and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
—2 Corinthians 9:8-10 NLT

Good News

The context of this verse is the Lord’s provision and protection: “You need not be afraid of sudden disaster, or the destruction that comes on the wicked, for the Lord is your security,” vv.25-25. Therefore we, who rely on the Lord, are positioned to do good to others, out of the security we have.

Reflection

In the last recession a number of banks got into difficulties (some are no longer with us) and measures were introduced to ‘stress test’ financial institutions to ensure that they had enough resilience as lenders to be able to give us our money back in tough conditions.

Can we give, when all the instincts are to hoard? Can we behave unselfishly, even generously to others, when what we ourselves need is under threat?

We have seen this test worked out at supermarket checkouts — some being measured in what they load up, others perhaps influenced by poor choices in their information depriving others by bulk buying for themselves, creating the very shortage that they fear so much.

The moral question is about who we really care about, and who are we prepared to exclude. Does it matter if someone else can’t bake, or has no stock of paracetamol if symptoms arise? Does it matter if others lose their jobs and can’t make ends meet? Do we rationalise what is in our power to do for others, or find ways to stand together with those who need non-judgmental help?

This present pandemic, which seems to go on and on, is like a test of what we really believe and where our values lie — either in self-protection or, trusting God for our needs and safety, in generosity to others.

Take away

• Ask the Lord to show you this week someone whose need He is leading you to meet — and the faith to go with it.

Link

For a prayer based on these verses, go over to to this page on www.glowweobley.com.

God’s fundamental promise

October 9, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Why do we not need to be afraid?

Red and orange sunset over Welsh hills — Image credit: Ian Greig

Verse

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
— Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT

Good News

This protection is not awarded on the basis of our good life or earned favour: it comes out of relationship, and Jesus gives us the invitation when we have nothing to offer in return.

Reflection

The overriding principle that we learn from the OT is covenant. It is not an everyday term — something unfamiliar to us in daily life, except as ‘restrictive covenants’ or ‘covenanted giving’. This has the sense of agreements that endure, and which cannot easily be broken or changed. This is not far from the meaning of this verse, which also has the sense of being enduring, as expressed in “He will never leave you nor forsake you”.

What is covenant? In a very compact form we have it here. This is a promise, an all embracing promise of God’s provision and protection, a blessing that precedes our circumstances. So whatever happens that causes us to remember His promise, He already has it covered.

It sounds like God making a one-sided commitment for our benefit without us doing anything in return. This is partly true, but it is not completely one-sided — there is a sense of commitment on our part as well. The clue is in the word “Lord”. The promise comes through the relationship

At a time of heightened anxiety and risk, it is comforting to be reminded that God goes before us, to prepare the way for us, as well as being with us, in all the experiences of life. And we can always turn to Him. Even if we haven’t turned to Him before, or may have turned away from Him in a past time of feeling the need to be in independent — that’s where we all start.

In the gospel accounts, Jesus says “Do not be afraid” in one form or another, a lot of times. Angels appear, and say “Do not be afraid”. John, by now an old man, has a revelation of Jesus at the beginning of along recorded prophecy we know as Revelation. What are His first words? “Do not be afraid”. Broadly, He is quoting our verse, which is linked to the Lord being with us with constancy. It goes back further, to the time the Lord appeared to Abram and covenanted with him, saying, “Do not be afraid… I AM your shield“.

Fear is the symptom of the constant attack we are subjected to from the enemy of our souls. It is his tried-and-tested go-to weapon of oppression: first the lie, then the fear that grows from the lie. That is why Jesus constantly says “Do not be afraid!” and why we should should agree with Him in saying ‘no!’ to fear. Why? Because we have the Father’s promise. Whatever it is, He saw it coming, and positioned Himself with us, never to run out on us or be called elsewhere.

The present pandemic is a source of fear and anxiety. In general terms, we can’t see an end to it. We know that epidemics run their course after a period of time, but we can’t see the trajectory of this one. We know its going to be a difficult winter. And personally, there is a fear factor — some are at greater risk of developing a more severe illness needing hospital treatment.

Where do we turn? The world has TV briefings and charts and opinions of people who know science and statistics. It looks for hope in every broadcast, in the distribution map, in the latest medical insight or experience of another country.

We can do better. We have the promise. Our God, who we know through Jesus, goes before us and has promised to be with us and not leave us to our devices. Because of this we can believe Him when He says, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Take away

When the next tranche of news comes out, about statistics we would rather not know and threat levels we we would rather not understand — how will you process it in the light of the truth we have been studying?
How will you use it to encourage an anxious friend or neighbour?

Link

For a suggested prayer based on this verse, go over to this page on www.glowweobley.com

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Keep on, keeping on

October 2, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

What am I supposed to do when nothing changes?

As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
James 5:11 NIV

Good News

Whenever we find ourselves in a situation that call for faith and perseverance, we are also drawing near to the God of compassion and mercy, and trusting not in anything of ourselves but the victory of the Cross won by Jesus.

Reflection

The Christian life is about love — knowing we are loved by God, recycling that agenda-free, condition-free love to others, and helping to build a spiritual environment where the value of love is dominant. There’s a definition of the kingdom of God to mull over!

The Christian life is about some other things as well — telling others about Jesus, fellowship as a body, coming together for praise and worship, learning to be disciples of Jesus, discerning what God is saying to us now through words of Scripture spoken and written long ago — and not giving up, but stretching our faith at times.

This is what makes Christians the people who keep on, keeping on.

Perseverance in the face of difficulty is following a Saviour who faced constant, bitter opposition from those with the education and tradition that made them the best placed to understand who He was and what He was doing.

He spoke God’s word in the synagogue to family and neighbours he had known for years, and they rose up in a riot and tried to push him over a cliff. After He shocked His hearers by telling them they should accept Him totally in a flesh-and-blood way, the crowd, failing to grasp the spiritual sense of what He was saying, said it was a hard teaching and “At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted Him”, John 6:66.

Opposition that also feels like a betrayal is a particularly deeply-felt pain. So is false accusation and the denial of justice. And we have not yet got to the whipping post, the Cross and the shame of a very public and Gentile execution. Jesus said that disciples of His had to be prepared to pick up their own cross of dishonour and punishment.

Job is referenced as an example of suffering and perseverance. He is an outstanding example of the paradox of bad things happening to good people. The world wants to see reward for our good works. The spiritual world knows that Satan, the accuser, targets those who others look up to and works hard to bring them down and so nullify their example.

Job is recorded as a righteous man who Satan obtained permission to test. He experienced an extreme stretch of faith, a severe and prolonged testing, in which those close to him were advocates for the devil’s deception, not the encouragers Job needed.

“You… have seen what the Lord finally brought about” and Job gained more than he had lost and stands for all time as one of the most high-ranking and decorated officers of the army of faith God uses to bring His order and values into the world.

“You… have seen what the Lord finally brought about” and we are told that Job received twice as much as he lost and also was a person who influenced heaven by his prayers: “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer”.

Job stands for all time as one of the most high-ranking and decorated officers of the army of faith God uses to bring His order and values into the world.

Did Job earn favour with God through his perseverance in trial? That would overturn what we learn about God’s grace elsewhere. There is a blessing of obedience, but it’s more about how this changes us, than how it changes God. Job persevered, through extreme difficulty experienced God in a deeper way — and in the final analysis, was profoundly blessed through this experience.

God does not pick difficult situations to test us with — the devil does enough of that. In His sovereignty our Father will at times allow the oppression, and use it as a test and a means of growth. He expects us to do what we know to do, spiritually — and it can be a battle. We are bombarded with thoughts of helplessness and hopelessness; as we pray the situation seems to get worse, not better. This stretches our faith and tests its resilience — while we persevere in trusting what he Lord will bring about, not doubting His compassion and mercy.

Take away

What is your story of perseverance in the ‘stretch of faith’ that could encourage someone else? Your testimony of how God came through for you in your difficulty, could be the most powerful thing someone else hears in a worship service — if you have the courage to share it.

Link

For a prayer based on this verse, head over to this page on https://glowweobley.com