A Cloudless Sky

Some recent mornings were clear, crisp and very, very cold. On one occasion I found myself walking to church, under an apparently cloudless sky. In fact I eventually spotted a mere handful of small clouds near the horizon to the south. Yet the general impression I had walking along was that there was nothing above me but atmosphere.

What a contrast to the lowering, threatening clouds that had hung over me for most of the winter on my route to church! This new experience gave me a sense of space and freedom that was a delight to the soul.

It also brought back memories. When training for the ministry back in the 1970's, I was in a college environment in the university city of Cambridge. Life among a bunch of theological students can feel very oppressive. You sense that you are living on top of everyone else and everyone else is living on top of you. It was a state of affairs calculated to change me from a model student into a rebel one. Yet, since I am very conformist at heart, I fit most awkwardly into the role of rebel. It all made for a miserable and confined feeling.

Then one day I went for a walk in Grantchester Meadows. Again it was a clear day, this time in early summer. In the spreading fields under an open sky, I felt like a different person from the one trapped wretchedly in the rooms and corridors and lecture theatres and dining halls of the academic institution. For one precious afternoon, I was free.

It gave me a great sense of spiritual kinship with King David in Psalm 18. This was penned on an occasion where God had "delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul". I love that psalm because it portrays the lengths to which God goes to help just one individual crying out to Him in trouble:

"In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet" (Psalm 18:6-9 NIV).

The happy result is seen in verses 16 and 19:

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters."
"He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

There is an extremely old verse version of this Psalm which I cherish. It renders this sense of freedom like this:

He brought me forth in open space,
that so I might be free;
and kept me safe, because He had
a favour unto me.

Thomas Sternhold, c. 1500-1549

In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul had to reason with early Christian church members who were being influenced by misguided leaders. These men were trying to impose Jewish laws on them that they no longer needed to observe. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free," Paul wrote (Galatians 5:1 NIV). In other words, the grace of Christ hasn't set us free from heavy burdens of law simply so we should go back to them again!

For all too many people today, though, the church has become oppressive. This may be because of various forms of abuse. It may be down to "heavy shepherding" where leaders intrude into the private lives of their members and dictate how they are to conduct their relationships or their finances. This domineering spirit is a denial of freedom in Christ.

Liberated from sin, death, hell and the fading Jewish law by the risen Christ, may we find the open spaces. By gentle, enlightened leadership, may we bring others into them too.

Darkest before the dawn

I have many memories – some happy, some annoying, some amusing – of the beginning of my ministry in Cornwall in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. There are many very real and lovely Cornish Christian folk, who have been an inspiration to me. Some of them I am still in touch with to this day. But nobody can stay in Cornwall for long without coming across the ubiquitous, heavy overlay of cultural tradition. The Cornish see themselves as a Celtic nation and feel a sense of solidarity with other nations on the Celtic fringe. They love their choirs, for example, in the same way as the Welsh. My boss in Cornwall commented, a touch acidly, “Everyone in Cornwall is a singer, or at least thinks he or she is”.

In one of my chapels there was a resident organist, a keen musician who tried to set up a children’s choir. I don’t think the children were particularly thrilled; they probably went because they were expected to. There were some good singers among them, though. He taught them various songs that he imagined would appeal to people their age. I remember one was the country and western number, “Turn your radio on”.

But the self-appointed choirmaster kept coming back to a song with the line “It’s always darkest before the dawn”. This was not the same as the current song with that line that is enjoying popularity in our day. He commented, “That’s becoming our signature tune as a choir, really”.

No doubt the man was doing sterling work in keeping children occupied and out of mischief. Even so, the whole thing struck me as being quasi-religious without ever quite giving the clear Christian message I would have liked to see and hear. But that phrase “It’s always darkest before the dawn” stuck with me somehow. It reminded me of the three hours when Jesus hung on the cross at Calvary and the sky went black.

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46 NIV)

The darkness stands powerfully for the condition of the human race. It was a very dark 24 hours when Jesus was betrayed by one of His followers, Judas Iscariot, given a sham trial and crucified. Human nature was seen at its worst in those who betrayed Him, condemned Him and called for His blood.

But Jesus was in the business of redeeming human nature – yours and mine as well as that of the baying crowds.

He died that we might be forgiven,

He died to make us good.

And then He rose from the dead the first Easter Sunday. The three-hour darkness of Calvary was replaced by eternal light and life for those who trusted their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In times of deep distress we comfort each other that “It’s always darkest before the dawn”, but that was never so true as on that first Easter. And life dawns still today for those who will put their trust in the Saviour.

Talking yourself round

I am a great one for talking to myself. Most of the time there is nobody around to listen and to conclude that I am slowly going round the bend, so it can be done without fear of repercussions!

Quite often, talking to yourself is beneficial. You can sometimes tell yourself off if you are thinking gloomy thoughts: "Cheer up, Timothy, it may never happen", or "Cheer up, Timothy, thinking like that will get you nowhere." Sometimes talking to yourself helps you to solve a problem: "Now, then, what am I to do here?" Voicing a matter like that can pull together the welter of thoughts that are going round and round in your head, taking you no further forward.

But best of all is when the voice of God speaks into our souls. Recently I read a devotional by C.H. Spurgeon on Psalm 35 verse 3. In this psalm King David has his back to the wall, faced with violent enemies. He addresses God and appeals to Him to fight for him. The verse in question reads, "Say to my soul, I am your salvation" (NIV).

Spurgeon helpfully writes, "… The text informs me first of all that David had his doubts; for why should he pray, "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation," if he were not sometimes exercised with doubts and fears? Let me, then, be of good cheer, for I am not the only saint who has to complain of weakness of faith ...

… David was not content while he had doubts and fears, but he repaired at once to the mercy-seat to pray for assurance; for he valued it as much fine gold. I too must labour after an abiding sense of my acceptance in the Beloved …

… David knew where to obtain full assurance. He went to his God in prayer, crying, "Say unto my soul I am thy salvation." I must be much alone with God if I would have a clear sense of Jesus' love. Let my prayers cease, and my eye of faith will grow dim. Much in prayer, much in heaven; slow in prayer, slow in progress.

… David would not be satisfied unless his assurance had a divine source. "Say unto my soul." Lord, do thou say it! Nothing short of a divine testimony in the soul will ever content the true Christian.

… David could not rest unless his assurance had a vivid personality about it. "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." Lord, if thou shouldst say this to all the saints, it were nothing, unless thou shouldst say it to me. Lord, I have sinned; I deserve not thy smile; I scarcely dare to ask it; but oh! say to my soul, even to my soul, "I am thy salvation." Let me have a present, personal, infallible, indisputable sense that I am thine, and that thou art mine."

Too many people deprive themselves of God's comfort because they do not believe He relates to us personally. It is my greatest, sometimes my only comfort, that God in Jesus Christ died for me, rose again for me and lives to bless me.

No unfinished business

The wheelie bins were out ready for emptying first thing on the morning of collection day. Perhaps I worry too much when setting off for a day’s work leaving the bins by the kerbside. Will they fall over in the wind, leaving an embarrassing spillage? Will the collection people turn up? Will they somehow bypass my property? Will I find the bins again when I get back? These are pointless fears, because nearly all the time things go right, and I am duly grateful to the Council for the service it so consistently provides.

This particular morning, the collection people turned up early, before I had left the house. As they returned the last bin, I gave them a cheery wave, took the bin round the back and left for church. All done. No unfinished business. Nothing to worry about for the remainder of the morning. It may seem strange to you that a bin collection could bring me such joy and reassurance, but it was a very happy feeling.

This feeling of contentment reminded me of how Jesus Christ’s work on the cross brings relief to believing sinners – that means, all of us who believe. He died for our sins exclaiming, “It is finished”. There remains nothing more to be done. Other religions leave you living life under a cloud of guilt, always feeling there is some other step that you need to take to satisfy a god who is impossible to please. Christianity is different.

Working that out in day to day life, however, is at times problematic. Many saintly men and women live life tortured by guilt. Critics of religion think that guilt goes hand in hand with religious belief and is cast off whenever anybody “grows up” and rejects religion as immature superstition. This is not true. Guilt is not an inevitable companion of faith. Instead it is the enemy’s way of exploiting issues from the past that we have not properly worked through, to burden us in the here and now.

In that sense guilt can be lifelong. But Christ died to free us both from the penalty of sin and from its power to destroy us. 1 Peter 2 verse 24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (NIV).

Father God, in your forgiving grace allow us at this Easter time to face remaining guilt and fully appreciate the scope of Christ’s victory.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach the eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

                                                 Charles Wesley

The Peace Chair

The provision of cities of refuge for people in Israel accused of crimes is fascinating and thought-provoking. God's Law sets it out in some detail in Numbers 35 and verses 6 to 15.

Policing in ancient times didn't exist in the way it does today. If one person suffered at the hands of another, the first person's family was strongly tempted to take the law into their own hands. It seems the same is happening again today with social networking on the internet. If someone is thought to have done wrong and it becomes known, their characters may be destroyed in a flurry of messages without their having a chance to put their side of the story and defend themselves.

It is a fearful thing to fall foul of somebody who becomes emotional and lashes out. Once King David angered God by taking an unauthorised census of the people. God set three alternative punishments before him. Two were long drawn out and would leave David and his people very exposed to retribution from men. The third was short and sharp. David commented,  “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men” (2 Samuel 24:14 NIV).

So those who killed, perhaps accidentally, might find themselves on the wrong end of a vendetta by the whole family of the person who died. They needed a safe place to stay while heads cooled down and a fair trial could be arranged. Six towns were earmarked for the purpose, places that were easy for a fleeing person to reach. Intriguingly, the custom carried on into Christian times. It was known as sanctuary. My favourite piece of furniture in Beverley Minster is called the Peace Chair because a fleeing person could sit on it, get his breath back and know that he had the protection of sanctuary. But in fact the whole town of Beverley counted as a sanctuary. There were boundary markers indicating the area into which a fugitive must come and stay in order to be safe.

The right of sanctuary has long since gone. But this fascinating concept continues to give us a lovely picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us by dying for us at Calvary.

• Like the towns of refuge, the Lord Jesus is easy for us to reach: He is just a prayer away.
• Those who flee to Him are sheltered from the wrath of God. There is no condemnation.
• The towns belonged to the Jewish priests, who could comfort and teach the fugitive. As we come to Jesus for refuge, we have the benefit of learning the good news of salvation.
• People of any race could make use of the town of refuge. Those redeemed in Christ are made up of every nation, tribe, people and language.
• Even the outer suburbs of the town of refuge afforded protection. In the same way even people who just touched the fringe of Jesus' clothes found healing and salvation.
• What made the city a protection was not its physical strength, for instance its walls or fortifications, but divine provision. In the same way, you and I are saved by sheer mercy.
• Anyone who strayed outside the town lost the benefit of its protection. In the same way those that are in Christ must remain in Him.

Give me the provision of God rather than the wrath of man!

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in His excellent word;
what more can He say than to you He hath said,
you who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

Rippon's Selection, 1787

Snowball fights on the motorway

When two stretches of motorway near Wigan were closed due to snow, news came in of snowmen being built and friendly snowball fights taking place on the actual carriageways as stranded motorists awaited help. Events like that seem bizarre, as normally no vehicle is allowed to stop and no pedestrian may walk on a motorway. Usually, on these through routes, drivers keep determinedly within their little boxes, and certainly do not socialise with each other! But on that rare day the usual course of life was turned topsy-turvy.

I love it when the Bible in its poetry sees nature acting in ways never expected in the general run of things. There is a lovely little psalm (114) about what it was like for the waters of the Red Sea and the River Jordan to part and let God's emigrating people cross:

When Israel came out of Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
Judah became God's sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled,
the Jordan turned back;
the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
Why was it, O sea, that you fled,
O Jordan, that you turned back,
you mountains, that you skipped like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water. (NIV)

Isaiah talks in similar style about strange happenings in the days of the Messiah:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them (Isaiah 5:6).

In all these Bible passages the writers teach us a lesson that they know full well but we all too often overlook. We assume that nature carries on in predictable ways that we can record, analyse and then control. We forget that nature is God's creation and He can change the course of it when He pleases. The apostle Peter criticises those who scoff that everything carries merrily on just as it has done since the beginning and that God never intervenes. in fact He judged the earth once at the Genesis Flood and will do so again at the day of judgement.

To those who like to keep everything as it is and deprive others of hope, this is bad news. As for those who have committed their case to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is music to their ears. The Great Reversal is on its way, and will empower the powerless.

Action Replay

There seems to be quite a tie-up between the daily Bible reading notes I use, Our Daily Bread, and the city of Liverpool. Last year some of us went to listen to Bill Crowder, an ODB staff member, who was leading a day conference in a church over Liverpool way. It turns out that Bill is a fan of Liverpool Football Club!

This came through in one of his meditations, though Bill is by no means one of those preachers who keep referring to football in an effort to show they are “one of the lads”. He is a serious Bible student and teacher and he puts his love of the sport at the service of communicating the Saviour.

He starts with the Bible – always the right place to start. “These things I have written to you,” says John in his first letter, “who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). His point is that the Christian who has placed his or her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ has, you might say, won the game already, because eternal life in heaven is open to all believers.

“I love watching soccer,” he writes, using the American term for the game, “and I am a fan of the Liverpool Football Club in England’s Premier League. When the Reds are playing, it is an anxiety-filled experience for me. Because one goal or one misplay can change the game’s outcome, I feel a constant tension as I watch. That is part of what makes the games enjoyable. Recently, though, I saw a tape-delayed replay of one of Liverpool’s games. I was surprised how much calmer I felt seeing the replay. Why? Because I already knew the outcome, and as a result I was able to relax and enjoy the action.

“Life is often like observing live sporting events. There are shocks and surprises, frustrations and fears, because we are unsure of the outcome.”

I say a hearty "Amen" to Bill's words. How many decisions would be easier, how much mental anguish we would be spared, if only we knew how situations we face were going to turn out in the end! God alone knows the outcome; past, present and future are all present to Him. However, He thinks it wisest that we should not see everything that will happen. As a well-known hymn puts it,

What if tomorrow’s cares were here

without its rest?

I’d rather He unlocked the day,

and, as the hours swing open, say,

‘My will is best, My will is best.’

- Joseph Parker, 1830-1902

“Followers of Christ can draw comfort, however,” continues Crowder, “from the fact that though many of life’s situations are uncertain, our eternal outcome is settled by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross … Life may present us with surprises along the way, but because of Christ’s work we can have peace. He has already settled our eternal outcome.”