Creation speaks

One of my Dad’s first jobs after leaving school was as a gardener.  Although he subsequently changed career, he never lost his love for gardening, and he was extremely gifted in that area.  In our early married life, whenever Sue and I moved house, Dad would come and sort out the garden for us.  It never ceased to amaze me how quickly the transformation was accomplished.

Sadly, I didn’t inherit his gardening talent, although I do enjoy spending time in the garden.  I can also appreciate the wonders of God’s creation.  A Flower Festival has been taking place this weekend at Markfield, one of my churches, and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking time to examine the wonderfully creative floral presentations (not to mention sampling some of the equally wonderful cake creations!)

This morning we had our Flower Festival Service.  The congregation was surrounded by the floral displays, and our senses were given a rare treat, both visually and through the lovely aroma emanating from some of the flowers.

 

It wasn’t difficult to find Bible verses suitable for the occasion.  For example, we read from Psalm 103, which includes these words: ‘As for us, our life is like grass.  We grow and flourish like a wild flower; then the wind blows on it, and it is gone - no one sees it again.’ (v15-16).  These words remind us of the reality of human mortality; our earthly lives are but a speck in the annals of time.  The psalmist continues: ‘But for those who honour the Lord, his love lasts forever, and his goodness endures for all generations…’  (v17).  God is not restricted to the confines of time and space, nor is his eternal love for us.  Life as we know it is a cycle of new birth, flourishing, fading and dying; but through it all, God’s faithfulness remains: ‘The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.’  (Isaiah 40:8)

Our earthly lives are finite; we know that they will come to an end.  But if our faith is in Jesus Christ, then our eternal destiny is secure.  For death is not the end of life, it is a doorway into a new life in the very presence of God.  In the beauty of creation, we can see the hand of the Creator.  The One who created all the beauty around us also created you and me, and he loves us with a love which will never end.  How amazing is that?

"It's me" ???

[No more blogs relating to the Football World Cup 2014; the subject is far too painful for any England supporter!]

I tend to receive quite a few phone calls in the average day.  Usually when the person on the other end of the line begins to speak, they give their name.  There are some occasions, however, when the person concerned launches into a conversation without first giving their identity.  They might say, "Hello, how are you?" or simply "It's me".  Of course when that happens, and you don't immediately recognise the voice, a dilemma arises.  They obviously think that you should be able to recognise their voice, so do you risk offending them by asking them to identify themselves?   Or do you continue with the conversation, hoping to pick up clues which will enable you to recognise the person to whom you are speaking?

Over the past few weeks I have been running a Prayer Course in one of my churches.  The course looks at different elements of prayer, using The Lord's Prayer as a basis.  The theme for last week's session was 'Listening to God', recognising that prayer is supposed to be two-way (a dialogue, not a monologue).  I must confess that hearing God's voice is an area where I have sometimes struggled.  Of course God rarely seems to speak through an audible voice; usually the voice of God can come to us through many different ways (e.g. through the Bible, through everyday incidents, through friends, through an impression or thought in the mind etc.)

Having said that, one big question is how do we recognise God speaking to us when we may also be hearing many other 'voices'.  It seems that one key Bible verse comes in Psalm 46:10, when God says, 'Be still and know that I am God.'  Sometimes we live such busy, hectic, 'noisy' lives that we fail to hear God's voice.  We need to create times when we can simply be still in God's presence.  I have always found first thing in the morning, before the day's busyness kicks in, to be a good time to 'be still' with God, though I acknowledge that time will not suit everyone.  We all need to work out what's best for us.

Another important pointer which came through the Prayer Course was that the more we learn to focus on hearing God's voice, the more we will be able to recognise when he speaks.  If a member of my family, or a close friend rings me and says, "Hi, it's me" the chances are that I will recognise their voice, because I have spent much time with them, have established a close relationship, and have come to know what their voice sounds like.  The more time we spend in conversation (prayer) with God, the better we will become at recognising his voice.  What could be more special than hearing the voice of God?

When appearances deceive

The 2014 football World Cup is well underway.  (Those few words will entice a yawn from some and perhaps an increased level of engagement from others - if my wife, Sue, has started reading this blog she probably stopped after that first sentence!)  Perhaps not altogether surprisingly, England lost their first match to Italy, though if the truth be known they did put on a reasonably good performance.  Hope is still alive for England's further progression in the competition, with two more group games to play; we shall see!

One of the talking points in the lead-up to the England v Italy match was the fact that the game would be played in the north of Brazil, at Manaus.  There was some concern about whether the relatively high temperatures and humidity of northern Brazil might have an adverse effect on the team's performance.  In reality the players coped reasonably well, although a few did suffer from cramp late in the match.  As the game drew nearer, the focus of concern switched to the state of the playing surface.  Apparently the pitch has been fed with too much fertiliser, causing a swathe of dark patches where the grass had been burnt.  It certainly didn't appear to be a pitch which was likely to be conducive to good football.

This led to perhaps the most comedic moment of the World Cup so far when some workmen were pictured apparently spraying the pitch with green paint to improve its appearance!

By the time kick-off arrived, the pitch certainly had a much improved appearance, though I'm not convinced that making it look better helped the players play any better.  I'm sure they would have been very upset if they got paint on their expensive designer boots!

There seems to be something in our human nature which encourages us to try and cover things up.  If someone asks us how we are, we might reply, "fine, thanks", when underneath we're feeling anything but fine.  If we've done something which we knew was wrong or would cause hurt in some way to others, we might try and cover it up in the hope that no-one finds out about it.  There are lots of ways in which we can be tempted to cover things up, and this doesn't just apply to individuals.  The Freedom of Information Act created a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities, information which in some cases might otherwise have been kept under cover.

In this regard, one of the most startling, and perhaps unnerving, things Jesus said to his disciples was, 'There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.'  (Luke 12:2&3).  It's not a clear cut black-and white issue, but maybe there are times when we need to avoid the "cover it up" approach, and be more honest and open.  Certainly Jesus' words give plenty of food for thought!

Missing out on the essentials?

Junk mail is one of the facts of modern life.  Most of ours finds its way very quickly into the recycling box (so it can return some day as a different piece of junk mail, perhaps!)   Sometimes we may give the item a cursory glance, especially if Sue gets to it first!  One particular item arrived last week, and on the way to the bin I noticed with some interest the strap-line on the cover, "Essential items at everyday low prices"

Well, I thought, if they really are essential items I'd better have a look!  I soon discovered that items classed as essential are such things as laptops, LED Smart TVs, fridge freezers, a number of other electrical goods, various items of furniture and other sundry items.  So does this mean that anyone without these items if somehow incomplete?

Of course I recognise that most, if not all, of the items named would be regarded by many on the UK as fairly important, if not essential.  Yet I have a nagging feeling that this leaflet is a symptom or example of the materialistic culture in which we now live.  And so many have discovered to their cost that however many "things" they possess, ultimately these possessions don't bring lasting satisfaction.

Many years ago I heard a story about a man who decided to visit a missionary who was living and working in a very remote part of the world, in a situation which lacked many of the creature comforts which people in the West often take for granted.  When the visitor arrived at his destination, he was show around the very basic accommodation by the missionary, who said, "If there's anything you need, let me know, and I'll show you how to manage without it!"

Perhaps surprisingly (or perhaps not), Jesus seems to have spoken quite a bit about wealth and possessions.  For example, he warned, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’

Many people think that that Bible tells us that money is the root of all evil.  In fact that isn't what the Bible teaches.  What St Paul actually wrote to Timothy is, 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.'  If we allow money or possessions to become a controlling passion, we are in great danger of missing out on true life as God intended it for us.  As Jesus himself challengingly asks, 'What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

The leaflet did find its way to the bin.  On this occasion I think that we can manage without one or two "essentials!"

Confessions of an Ikea hater

They say that confession is good for the soul.  I am not sure, however, that confessing that I hate the Ikea brand will win me a lot of friends, because the company's popularity in the UK continues to grow (UK sales in 2013 were nearing £1.3bn).  Perhaps "hate" is too strong a word, but there is no doubt that there are elements of Ikea which I heartily dislike.

I'm not quite sure why, but I don't find most of their products very stimulating or attractive; they just don't appeal to my taste.  To be honest, we did buy a small Christmas lamp from Ikea recently, but I certainly wouldn't cry if I never owned another Ikea item in my life.  I do understand that many people do like Ikea, and that's fine.  But there is one thing about Ikea which really winds me up, and that is how their stores are laid out.

Last Friday Sue and I travelled up to Ikea Nottingham, as Sue wanted to buy some mugs for church.  I do admit that their cafe facilities are very good, and we really enjoyed tucking into our very reasonably priced full English breakfast!  Then came the immensely frustrating part of the Ikea experience.  We made our way to the area were the products are kept.  In most stores you can locate the product you want and then head for the payment area.  Not at Ikea, oh no!  There is a laid-out route to follow, with arrows on the ground to tell you which direction to go.  I felt like a mouse caught in a cruel experiment, walking slowly along a designated pathway along with hundreds of other mice!  When eventually we got to the check-out area, we faced long queues before eventually escaping into the fresh air. 

Of course it's good sales technique from Ikea, and no doubt many people, as they tread the designated route, put various items into their trolleys which they never intended to buy.  But I still heartily dislike it.  On reflection, maybe next time it would be better if Sue does her shopping while I have breakfast?

As I was on the Ikea "conveyor belt" I sought to stifle my growing frustration by trying to think of a "moral of the story", an element of the experience which I could relate to matters of faith (always a good challenge for a preacher!)   Perhaps not the greatest illustration ever, but I think that maybe the experience could be related to how, in the Christian life, we will sometimes face difficult or frustrating times (Jesus never promised that the life of following him would be easy - quite the reverse!)  But in those times, we need to remember why we are on the journey, and keep focussed on the goal. In the end, Sue and I did get some mugs which will come in very handy at church.  No pain, no gain?