It is Time...

I've experienced a time when I've started to notice the waters are lapping at my feet. There is no threat in this for me, I just feel that I'm entering a phase where change is afoot. I think it all started rougly after a home group meeting, where I'd spoken to a friend and highlighted some of my grievences and my own dissatisfaction both with them and my own contribution to them. To my perception t seems that some of the classic damage I've taken in the past has led me to me throwing up a few robust defecnces. Some of these are understandable. Given my past decisions and the fact it took a case of divine intervention to snap me out of it and give me the courage to break away... I'm cautious in regards to leaving myself exposed to the same weaknesses that led to my earlier downfall. However that hasn't stopped me  from throwing up my own set of "Excalibur tests" for good measure.

I think that night at home group was a way of setting the scene -  a reminder of the state of play as it has stood.

A couple of weeks later, I was due to preach om Isaiah 42, and I chose to use the paternal/maternal instincrts of the eagle as my theme. In truth this has been something that had been close to my heart for many years... and it just seemed to fit naturally to the theme (it was Trinity Sunday), In short, I portrayed the Trinity in terms of the Father being  the parental eagle watching over us, the Son being the first born eagle that has tasken flight and shows us the where to go and how  we grow to go in that direction, and the Spirit as the breeze that lifts the chick when the time is right... to give it the courage to take the step off

Things have taken an interesting turn of late. the ledge. One of the points I made to the congregation was that if we are the chick in the nest, there is no wrong in wheat place we find ourselves. We might need to see where Jesus has led us before going... we may be waiting for the Spirit to  empower us. We might feel that we have takemn a tumble and our ego is bruised... but the Father is able to pick us up and set us ready for another go when the time is right.

I didn't think too much about the implications of that last one for myself... then it happened.

An unexpected opportunity arose that on the face of things completetely terrified me. Somebody had posed me a scenario that completely blindsided me (I'm not going into detail here, as at the moment it is still live). My paranoia, mistrust and fear had kicked in and I went into automatic shutdown.

It took me a week to emerge from that state by which time it might be too late, but I wrote all my feelings down and got it out of my system - why I am the way I am and why I'm so reticent. Kind of hard to do that because nobody ever asks me about stuff like that... and maybe when I do offer a response (or perhaps because of that fact), they are just as uncomfortable about what comes out. However, I did leave my response with a positive end and the prosepect of hope.

Not long after this, I felt God was reminding me of an image from a book I'd read (Grail in Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle). In the book there is a low point where King Arthur has hit rock bottom and is in the doldrums - his sword has been stolen, his queen has been kidnapped and his trusted righthand man has apparently betrayed him. Following this scene, Merlin confronts the king and prophetically strikes the floor with his staff repeatedly and with each strike, he urges the king to shake off what drags him down and look to the state of play an, I got the feeling that God was rep0d encourages him - he needs to rise up and resolve the situation and not leave himself in this fitful sulk.

Likewise, I got the feeling that God was repeatedly striking my floor and telling me to get up and no choke myself on the past. For after all, past is merely prologue... and we are only doomed to repeat if we do not learn from it. I think maybe I've been overlearning it.

On TikTok I've recently come across a few posts with a sermon illustration about the painting "Checkmate". How the human player is in despair becasuse the devil player has seemingly won. The anecdote in  the TikToks talk is basically that the king has one last move to make and the human player is saveable.  Now I've read up on the painting and apparently the literal anecdote isn't true because its hard to tell what the pieces in it resemble on the board. However the moral is true... because the same could certainly be said of the devil's pieces. If we can't see how he's got checkmate, then I would argue his position is not a dead cert either.  I think the truth behind that painting is that it is a character study.  The man who thinks he is losing has given in to his fears and is accepting the devil at his word.  But the thing is that the devil is a confidence trickster. He doesn't have checkmate - he's never hadd checkmate, but his sole objective is to terrify you and bluff you intop thinking he has. Never remove yourself from the game - listen to God's encouragement and accept his guidance and it is never over until God says it is over.

So anyway, a week has passed since all that happened... but confronted about my own sense of checkmate... I feel like I'm clawing my way back and have got a renewed sense of positivity. Whatever happens, I've learned not to retreat and cave on the broad stroke theme of this lesson. Yes, the specific  circumstance may not pan out... I may lose another piece... but I will not allow the devil to put so much emphasis on that piece... I'm going to push on his king instead. In good time and God's grace, I have faith that the landscape will change. Whatever major pieces of lost, I have a fistful of pawns.... and they are only a step away from becoming knights, rooks, bishops and who knows, even a queen.

This morning at church we wee reading Genesis 22 - God's testing of Abraham. We were asked in the sermon what things that we might be holding onto that God might be asking us to let go of. My heart at this point was drawn to an exchange from Babylon 5... because I was thinking there wasn't much I could add to the conversation... and God was reminding me otherwise:

Marcus Cole : You asked me to give something up, Delenn. I don't have anything left. It's all gone. My brother was the last of our family and he died because of my stupidity. He warned me of the Shadows; I didn't listen. And when they came, I lost, him, our home, the colony where we'd grown up, a woman I was quite fond of. I escaped with only the clothes on my back, and went off in search of these "Rangers" that he'd been going on about. Because he believed in them, and in you. Everything I was, everything I had, all of it, died that night. I don't have anything left to give.

Delenn : Then that is exactly what you must give up. Yes, you have lost much, endured much, sacrificed greatly. But you cling to the memory of your sacrifices, of all the things you have lost or left behind. They drag behind you, like chains of your own making. They can have a terrible power over you, Marcus: the power of grief, and loss, and regret. Yes, you have let go of the people, places and things, but you have not let go of the pain. You have not forgiven yourself.

Marcus Cole : For what?

Delenn : Being alive

There it was again, God's not going to let this go... he's not going to let me go either. It's down to me to rise up from the ashes and have faith that he's going to remove the dead weight that has held me in check. All I need to do is to take courage and stand upon the rock. The only thing that stand between a vibrant pridelands filled with life and the current perceived state of affairs, is a roar!

Ceremonies of Light and Ark

They say nobody does pomp and ceremony like the British... it seems we have a pageant or civic ritual for everything and anything. Over the last week or so I've had recourse to ponder over this.

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of bearing witness to the passage of the Olympic Flame through my own home town - Alcester. It was touch and go whether or not I made it as my father had was due to return home from hospital the day before and I was supposed to be at a training weekend for the holiday camp I help out at. In the end things worked out in my favour - my father came out a day early and needed my help providing transport and a close friend's baptism came up on the Saturday evening. These two facts resulted in me leaving the training weekend early and getting a much needed night's sleep in time for the torch to arrive on the Sunday.

Early on the Sunday morning (prior to road closures), I drove my parents to the spot they had picked to watch the relay. Several residents had not heeded the warning to clear the area of their vehicles which were covered in police tape, ready to be towed away. I then planted myself strategically outside Lloyds TSB at the end of the High Street. I felt certain this was a good spot because the bank are cosponsors of 2012 and was hedging my bets that it would be one of the handover locations. I was a good two hours early for the relay and I chatted with those around me to pass the time.

Roughly one hour before the torch was due to arrive, a bus travelled towards my vantage point and I was thrilled to see that it was plastered with Christian slogans and there was a band playing praise and worship songs on board the top deck. I later discovered the bus had been following the relay route all the way from Escall's Methodist chapel, not far from Land's End. You can learn more about the efforts and aims of the Praise bus by following this link. It was wonderful to see a group of Christians throwing themselves into a secular ceremony and contributing to the glory of God.

As the time drew near, the crowds swelled along the High Street and indeed occupied every square inch of pavement, every window opening as far as the eye could see. The streets, already decked with bunting for the Jubilee and adorned with the hanging baskets Alcester is renowned for, bristled with colour as Olympic bunting and flags were draped in any spare spot that could be found. Children jumped up and down with excitement as entertainers kept the crowd's attention in the run up.

It was then that the first coach arrived and dropped off a relay runner right under our noses. Kids encircled her... straining to touch the torch or posing for photographs. A few moments later the outriders shot down the High Street, giving high fives to all the bystanders. This was followed by what I considered to be a fly in the ointment... a light blue bus with an "Ali G" type MC and dancers. I didn't mind the dancers, but the dialogue wasn't appropriate to the  event. It reflected London more than Britain and was to my mind an aberration. It was gilding the lily... it was an unnecessary addition to the occasion.

An Olympic Torch

Finally, the magic moment arrived and we were there... right in front of the flame as it transferred from one torch, to the next. The air was filled with electricity and the crowd went wild... and then as quickly as the moment seemed to come, it passed... the crowds mingled together, sharing their experiences before finally dissipating into their respective Sunday routines.

The Olympic Flame is Passed

You can see more of my pictures of the Olympic torch relay passing through Alcester, by following this link.

Not long after this took place I was down to preach and one passage from the Lectionary struck me as being relevant to the ceremonial nature of the torch relay, it also happened to continue along the theme I have felt burdened to preach over recent weeks. The passage was 2 Samuel 6:1-19 and it concerned King David's attempts (and eventual success), to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

Probably ever since its appearance in the 1980's film: Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark has gained a greater general cultural awareness and a reputation for being a weapon of mass destruction.  However what made it special? Why was David so keen to bring the Ark into his shining new capital?

The Ark symbolised God's presence among the people of Israel; more than this, it symbolically defined their relationship with Him. It contained artifacts that represented God's favour, provision and Israel's dependence and failure to keep his commands (a jar of manna, Aaron's staff and the original stone tablets of the Law). It was also the centrepiece of the rituals and sacrifices that represented the atonement for the sins of the Israelites.

Yet for the entirety of Saul's reign, the Ark had not been enquired after... aside from a troublesome adventure with the Philistines, it had gathered dust in a place called Shiloh. In seeking to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, David was making a statement - "this kingdom is going to be a kingdom with God at its very heart, where God's reign is of more importance than my own."

What I like about the 2 Samuel account, is that it isn't just a story about success... it is also a story about how when we don't pay attention to God's plans, we can fail... and crucially how after we have failed, God doesn't give up on us but provides us the guidance and strength to ultimately succeed.

I'd like you to try and visualise yourself 3 millennia ago. Imagine you are lining the streets with eager anticipation, awaiting the spectacle of the Ark as it passes by you on its way to Jerusalem. If that seems hard for you to do... picture yourself among the crowds awaiting the Olympic Torch, with that expectation of a special moment. Then all of a sudden.... there is a commotion... the crowds part... and you see this:

Imagine if Steptoe & Son had transported the Ark or the Torch.

Not exactly the most dignified form of transport is it?

What a let down it would be if the Olympic Torch had just been towed through town on the back of a tractor. A cart is not the most graceful method of getting from A-B but I suppose in David's eyes it was a quick way to get the Ark home.

The trouble was that the Ark was not just an item of cargo... it wasn't a mere object, it represented God... the divine person. Nobody likes to be treated as an object... we all desire to be valued and that is as true of God as it is of any of us. The truth is that we can all fall prey to the danger of church trappings and ... and glorify a building or a worship style instead of the divine Person. David is not alone by any means and he had got the right initial idea... but in his enthusiasm to get the job done he was ignoring God's ways. This event occurred at the very start of David's reign over a unified Israel... an Israel that as a kingdom had for the very first time an uncontested capital. This was an opportunity for Israel to get to know God in a new way, a special way at the beginning of this new and exciting episode in their story. Speed was not of the essence... acknowledging and praising God was.

Events take an unfortunate turn when a man named Uzzah tries to stop the Ark toppling over onto the road. All he does is reach out and touch it... but that's enough to result in fatal consequences. The Bible records in the episode that God's anger burned against Uzzah. On the surface that seems very harsh, after all, Uzzah's intentions were good intentions. I think there are two very important things to remember that help explain this. The first and most important point is that God cannot look on sin. Before Christ's once and for all sacrifice, mankind's cards were marked. When God looks at those who believe and trust in Him now, he sees Christ's blood covering and atoning for our sins. Prior to that as I have already mentioned, sacrifices needed to be made that foreshadowed the grace that was coming to man. However sin was still there to be seen and without grace, we are literally allergic to the holiness of God. When God saw Uzzah, he saw the sinful nature that was inside of him and had to act.  The second point is that prior to Jesus, God had made special allowances for the transport of the Ark. The Levites were Israel's priestly tribe... and He had given them special dispensation to carry the Ark on poles. Uzzah was not one of those Levites and so his actions were not covered by that dispensation.

In the passage, David moves through several emotions. Firstly he is angry because he had tried to please God and yet it had resulted in an act of judgement and the death of one of his companions. I can easily imagine how that anger may have started out. Isn't it hard to cope with the embarrassment that comes when we stick our necks out for God and put ourselves in a vulnerable position and because of our fallibility, nothing happens or worse, something bad happens... and because we have egos, in our own eyes we are ashamed and it reflects badly on us.  If we let our egos get in the way and sit on the throne of our hearts, we can never really please God because we will always be looking to protect ourselves or advance ourselves at God's expense.

Thankfully David is a bigger man than say a predecessor such as Cain. He doesn't let his anger turn to sin and act out of spite. Instead he tries to come to terms with his emotions. At first his anger evolves into fear. Having had a knock to his confidence, David fears God has abandoned him (irrationally given his prior experience), and so he retreats away from his own plan of action.

Here's the truly great thing about David - he is in God's words "a man after God's own heart". He doesn't give up... because he loves God.

John's first epistle teaches us that:

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

1 John 1:18-19

David's love of God drives out his fear of punishment. After 3 months of prayer, study & meditation... and noting the fact that God has blessed the person whose house the Ark is residing, David realises that his only failure was to not consider or consult how God wanted to proceed... he ignored God's gracious guiding hand.

David's second attempt is 100% successful.

David understood that even as a king, he was subservient to God; he demonstrates this by stripping out of his royal robes to reveal a simple priestly garment... and he dances and praises God with wild abandon before the Ark, as it is processed to its new home.

Even then, David's actions don't go down well with his wife Michal who thinks he is acting beneath himself. However, David's response to her is that he doesn't care how stupid  or ridiculous he looks... if it glorifies God, he'll gladly look even more ridiculous.

King David sets us an excellent example - service to God in his eyes is more important than popularity (even with those he is close to), more precious than personal sovereignty over his own life and actions.

We can learn a lot from him and I think by following his example we can spiritually SPICE up our lives:

SEEK how God wants us to achieve his goals... even when we are confident of what those goals are.


PRAY for forgiveness and for guidance when we get things wrong and need help.


Be INSPIRED by God by spending time with him... and then inspire others to do the same.


CENTRALISE God in our lives. Make it evident to all that he is our No.1 priority.


ENJOY being in God's presence and worshipping him, irrespective of what others think. It isn't just a chore or duty... it is a privilege and a joy.

• Have you seen or been a part of the Olympic Torch Relay?
• What experiences do you have of overcoming failure with God?

Calling in the Night

Seeing as there was only a handful of people at church last Sunday, I thought I'd transcribe my talk on the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, for the wider world to ponder.

Have you ever heard the joke about the burglar and the curiously named parrot?

A burglar broke into a house one night. He picked up a CD player to place in his sack and a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark, saying, "Jesus is watching you."

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, clicked the light on, and began searching for more valuables. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, he heard, "Jesus is watching you."

Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. "Did you say that?" he hissed at the parrot "Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."

The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"

"Moses," replied the bird. "Moses?" the burglar laughed.

"What kind of people would name a bird Moses?"

"The kind of people that would name a rottweiler Jesus."

At church last Sunday we were looking at the calling of Samuel. Now Samuel held a unique position in the history of Israel; he was considered to be the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. In his adult life he would be responsible for the anointing of both of Israel's first two kings and would wield great influence among his people on behalf of God. However, the Samuel we meet is not that Samuel yet; he's only just beginning his journey and all those things ahead of him?  He probably would not even begin to conceive any of it happening. This Samuel is a mere boy who had been raised in the house of God in Shiloh ever since his previously barren mother kept a promise to dedicate her first child to the Lord 12 years ago.

I think that Christians who have been raised in a denomination that supports infant baptism can relate to that part of Samuel's story a little, because in the same way that Hannah committed Samuel to God before he was of an age to choose for himself, many of us have been the beneficiary of a similar act of commitment through baptism (albeit less drastic for our parents).

What is interesting about the first part of the passage is that even though Samuel had clearly spent  several years in the presence of God's most learned representatives; even though he has been involved in the service of God all through his childhood and even slept in the house of God, despite all these things... verse 7 tells us that Samuel still didn't know God.

Then late in the night, Samuel heard a voice calling him in the night... and it wasn't a parrot.

The first real point I want to make stems from this. Like Samuel we need to to be prepared to listen for God's voice... even if like Samuel, we don't feel we really know him ourselves on a personal level (there's no shame in admitting something like that to yourself, in fact I'd argue that it's a good, honest place to start your spiritual journey from). We are told in the passage that in that particular time in the history of God's people, it was spiritually speaking a barren and quiet time - there were very few visions and revelations. There are times when we all feel like that ourselves... you may be experiencing it in the church you worship at yourself at the moment. Yet, in a world that doesn't get any quieter and demands more and more of our time and attention, it's all the more important to find that oasis in the desert, a quiet time of contemplation where we can make ourselves available to God. Even if we can't hear him speaking consciously, it is good to build this discipline within us because God always speaks to us on an unconscious silent level too.

Samuel had his own close encounter with God during the night... so can we.

Samuel in response to what he heard, sought out Eli thinking it was he who called him. Eli, probably feeling quite grumpy about being woken in the middle of the night (an experience I'm sure those of you with children will only be too aware of), tells Samuel to "shut up and go back to sleep!" Eventually though, even Eli realises that Samuel isn't being random or annoying for the sake of it... he understands that it is actually God who is summoning Samuel.

This is the second point I want to make. We need to communicate with one another and take each other seriously when it comes to the things that God says to us and lays on our hearts. If you feel God has spoken to you or otherwise inspired you, you should take courage and share it with someone you spiritually trust and pray through it with them or a small group. Similarly if someone comes before you and is brave enough to share something they feel God has given them with you, it is important to listen... to hear them out and show respect. Let's be honest, it is not always comfortable for us to share such things, as they are often deeply personal and there is always the threat of that nagging doubt "did I make it up?" That is why it is all the more important that we treat one another with respect over such things. We need to build one another up in love.

At the end of the passage, Samuel heeds Eli's advice and responds to the voice that has been calling him... and there the reading at church stopped. However if you know this passage and you read on a little further you will know there's a little more of the tale to tell. You see Eli's sons (priests in their own right), were wicked men who had been embezzling temple offerings and prostituting the women who served at the sanctuary. Eli was the high priest and responsible for the spiritual leadership of his people. The fact that he stood by and tolerated his sons' terrible behaviour (he did criticise them but he never committed to a course of action that would have stopped them), put his whole household on a collision course with God. The message God gave to Samuel was a prophetic word of judgement on Eli's family line.

My final point is this: if we feel God has laid a clear course of action before us, or placed a calling on our hearts... the just like Samuel we need to have the conviction and courage to act upon it. Samuel was a 12 year old boy who was challenging the authority of the most powerful man he knew... it can't have been easy, yet he obeyed God anyway... because having finally discovered who God was in a very real personal sense, he trusted his source.

We may question the value God places on us in a given situation. Why does he ask us to carry a particular burden? Our human frailty and insecurities can often tell us that we aren't good enough, we aren't capable of the task or journey set before us. Aren't we the wrong choice?

However the gospel and psalm readings set for the same day remind us of God's omniscience. He knows our hearts; he knows our thoughts and feelings; he knows our deeds; he knows our limitations and most of all he knows what we are capable of if we turn from our obsession with effort and rely on the abundance of his supreme grace.

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

Some questions for you...

• Do you feel God is calling you at the moment?
• How do you find time to listen to God?
• Do you often share (either listening or speaking) with others about what God is saying?

Give and Take

You can't have failed to have seen the new John Lewis promotional advert that has been inundating TV screens on all commercial channels for a couple of weeks now.

It's a very clever advert that tells the story of a little boy anxiously waiting for Christmas morning. Having all been children, we can immediately connect with the advert because we empathise with that gnawing sensation of our stomach tying itself in knots as the days agonisingly edge towards Christmas. It's a feeling we can all associate with.

The backing track of Slow Moving Millie's cover of The Smith's "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want." harnesses the emotional connection and ratchets it up wonderfully.

However, there's a wonderful twist in the tale. When Christmas morning finally arrives, we discover the boy was not anxious about the presents he was going to receive from his parents... but instead he was desperate to give a gift that he has crudely wrapped up for his parents to receive.

Some Morrissey and Smiths fans have shown a lot of contempt for the fact that John Lewis chose to use a cover version instead of the original. They've also attacked Amelia Warner (Slow Moving Millie), for being one of the commercial cash cows that are engineered by the likes of Simon Cowell and ripping off a classic. I completely and utterly disagree with them. The melancholic nature of the original track makes the song extremely downbeat. It's a lamentation and almost resignation that life doesn't seem to ever go the way the songwriter wants. The cover seems to transform the sentiment and carry with it the hope that luck, consequence and fate will change and the wheel will turn. If you think about it in context, the advert actually needs this sentiment in order to work properly. For those who contend with Ms Warner herself, I would point out that she is an established songwriter herself and I would contend that having written songs that convey her own feelings, she has earned the right to channel someone else's. Oh and apparently Morrissey himself said he liked it.

The time of year being what it is, the advert got me thinking about the nature of expectation and giving and the way we perceive God.

As Christians, we live or lives in the context of eternity... and our hopes and expectations are set on heaven... Advent reminds us of this very fact. Even though this is the case, we also live temporal lives... our "earthly tents" and we naturally have hopes, desires, aspirations and expectations for the time we spend here too. If we aren't too careful there is a real danger that we become like children waiting for Christmas. We sit counting the hours, peeling away the doors on the advent calendar of lives and looking at the pictures... and we miss the moments.

While we wait expectantly and hopefully on God's promises... shouldn't we be more proactive and beneficial? Maybe we can learn a lesson and be like the kid in that John Lewis advert. Perhaps it is time for us to start trusting in God's promises... accepting that they will be fulfilled in the time he has deemed right in his wisdom. Having accepted this, perhaps we can instead turn our attention and contemplation to how we can serve him. We need to move the big red presents from the back of our wardrobe and bring it to God. While we wait on his goodness we can be sharing that same goodness to enrich the lives of others in a godly way. Inasmuch as we are expectant beneficiaries of God's blessings, we are also agents of such blessings... and we have a roll to play in distributing God's gifts & fruit to the people we meet in the world everyday around us.

For it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive.

But it also works the other way too... doesn't it? While we live in these shadowlands, following in the footsteps of an omnipotent God, it's easy to fall to the temptation that everything we do is solely for his benefit... particularly when times are tough. We would certainly not be the first of God's people to question his motives - the Bible has plenty of examples from prophets to kings to apostles. I think we have to take a look at ourselves an honestly ask the question:  Is there a bitter seed of distrust in me that believes God is taking advantage of me?

Is there a part of us that considers God to be a kid pouting in the corner selfishly waiting for what he will get from us, without consideration of our mortal needs and desires?

Scripture teaches us that this is not the case at all:

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:11-13

 and:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

If you do think that, then you are either in for an awful shock or a wonderful surprise on "Christmas Day". You see, I believe God is just like that kid in the advert too! While we may regard him with petty suspicion... he's sat there, not pouting about what he's waiting for from us... he's agonising over the wait to give us his good things. There are times when the time, the person or the circumstances are not right... and God has to patiently wait while he refines us or grows us or makes the necessary changes for him to be able to pour out his blessings.

And if we had any doubt at all about God's ability to give selflessly, then we need look no further than December 25th. At this time of year Christians across the planet recall with special affection the day that God became incarnate as man and gave himself completely and utterly to the cause of totally redeeming us.

I want to leave you with one more thought. There's another advert... a Channel 4 spoof commercial featuring Gordon Ramsay (promoting his Christmas cooking programme). It pretty much matches the John Lewis advert with one exception... as the little boy heads through the house to give his parents his lovingly wrapped gift, he opens the kitchen door to be greeted by Gordon Ramsay who aggressively sharpens some knives and curtly tells him to get peeling the spuds.

Let's not be like that.

If God has something really precious to give us... lets not lose sight of that. Let us not become so obsessed with our small potato spiritual shopping lists that we miss the really big things that God has for us.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

The Dragon Around the Corner

I had an interesting experience when visiting a church on Sunday. Whilst in prayer, I felt I had been given a word... a phrase to be precise.

I heard the words "courage in the quiet places"... and to be honest they've stuck in my head because on the face of it, they form a fairly random sentence and it's hard to discern what it actually means.

So I've been praying about it over the course of the past couple of days.

Eventually out of curiosity I resorted to Googling the phrase. I was taken (courtesy of the top result... and there weren't many), to a link to a 1995 sermon which intrigued me as it referenced a quote from The Hobbit:

Wisps of vapour floated up and past him, and he began to sweat.  A sound, too, began to throb in his ears, a sort of bubbling like the noise of a large pot galloping on the fire, mixed with a rumble as of a gigantic tom-cat purring.  This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front of him.

It was at this point that Bilbo stopped.  Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did.  The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it.  He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.

The dragon Smaug from Tolkien's The Hobbit

The quoting of the passage really resonated with me... and perhaps to a lesser extent the rest of the sermon did too. For whatever reason, I certainly felt invigorated in facing some of my contemporary personal struggles... as the bible quite rightly says:

"A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!"

Proverbs 15:23

How good a timely word is indeed.

The reason The Hobbit quote ties in so well with me, is that I am often very much like a little hobbit stuck in a tunnel... hearing the faint rumbles of dragon breath  and watching the walls shimmering with eerie, ethereal glows from as yet unperceived creatures in the adjoining caverns that surround me.  I could choose to face any one of those dragons but have a reluctance to do so be it out of fear or uncertainty about whether it is the right battle to fight.

I felt quite inspired by my experience. I get the sense that I am being told there is a dragon around the corner; that it's one that I'm going to have to fight... and that I'm being invisibly prepared for it before I even  come to face it. Perhaps it is rather portentous that the chapter the quote is taken from is ominously called "Inside Information". Although this interpretation is by no means certain and I'm thinking and praying it through whilst open to suggestion; I am quite reluctant to share this directly with some of the people I'm closest to... because I have concerns that they will put their own spin on it... based on what they think is best for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt they have the best of intentions... but sometimes the apparent best of intentions are not God's intention... and as I type these words, I am recalling a certain scene from the film, Kingdom of Heaven:

A king may move a man. A father may claim a son. That man may also move himself. And only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember howsoever you are played... or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power, when you stand before God you cannot say "But I was told by others to do thus" or that "virtue was not convenient at the time", this will not suffice. Remember that.

I intend to remember that.

Lately I have been feeling more and more forthright and confident in my opinions. While sounding out some of my friends and colleagues over the issues tied to my previous post, I found that one of my closest friends disagreed with me. At the time I got quite flustered about the gulf of difference between our opinions; then I recalled my words about the film Cool Runnings in a previous post... and I reminded myself that his walk is not my walk and his perception of my journey comes from his position on the road which he is standing, on his.

If I look Nick Payne, walk Nick Payne, talk Nick Payne and AM Nick Payne... I sure as heck better live Nick Payne.

The same applies to all of us. How can we be true to God if we can't even be true to ourselves (and vice versa).

So as we hesitate in our own subterranean labyrinth, steeling ourselves for what lies ahead... we find this one truth at work: 

Dragons may come, treasure may await... but whatever we face - be it adversity or ecstasy.,we must do so in our own inimitable God given fashion... with the weapons and gifts he has blessed us with and in the manner he has prepared us.

Watching the Walls

I've been giving some thought lately to how we prevent the things we value about ourselves being exploited by outsiders... and how we protect ourselves from emotional intrusion or even invasion. This has arisen due to my feeling snooped upon in certain quarters.

Throughout my childhood, for whatever reason, I never really let anyone get too close to me... back then, friends were just people to play with who I cared about and I had no reason or perceivable need to open up on a deep and meaningful level to other people. I built a wall around the city of my heart that protected it from getting too badly damaged. The only people who were allowed in were pretty much myself and God.

However as I grew older I learned how isolated, adopting this position can leave you. A lot of the time when people look at you and cannot perceive anything beyond your walls... they tend to allow their limited experience of your interactions at face value... to be their definition of who you are; or worse, they project upon your walls an image of what they want you to be... something that me be as far removed about the truth of who you are is, as you can possibly imagine.

In short people in their fallibility do not often look for the man behind the curtain, nor understand who he really is if they should stumble upon him. People tend to get very comfortable with their own ideas of who a man is... we do like to keep people nicely filed away in categories... don't we?

Walls are okay... just so long as you don't forget to add a doorway and maybe the odd window here and there, shedding access and light into your heart... and of course as long as you don't remain hidden permanently away behind them.

I believe when you let someone into your heart (be it as an acquaintance, a friend or on a deeper level), you do so on your own terms and that anyone who can't respect that notion, should not be trusted. If someone goes looking through all your windows and scurrying up and down your walls seeking access into your life too deeply... then there is a disingenuous vein running through their actions. When someone doesn't try to get to know you casually in a direct manner, but instead  goes rifling through the elements of your life in depth first, it would appear that they are less interested in who you are... and more interested in what you can give them or what they can take out of you.

It is deeply disrespectful.

I was giving some thought to this with regard to my own beliefs as well:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.  The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”  Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:1-6 

Isn't it interesting that Jesus uses similar terminology when describing the Kingdom of Heaven? I think God feels the same way about the Kingdom as we do about our own lives. This line of thinking has given me extra insight into Jesus other words:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 14:6

People are often quick to use that verse as an exclusive statement... but I wonder how it would change our beliefs... if we who consider ourselves included would take a fresh look at this passage and the motives behind our beliefs.

Why do believe what we believe? What matters most to us as an end result of what we believe?  If our motivation for worship is simply to gain access to the Kingdom and life eternal... then could it not be argued that in fact, we are merely scurrying across the walls having glimpsed through the window of the Gospel message?

If someone married a person merely to get access to a substantial dowry or decided to try and enter into a relationship with someone merely to get affirmation about their own self worth... that would be an abuse. It would not be treating our neighbour as our self. It would just be selfish gratification.

Similarly if our primary aim in being a Christian remains rooted to what we get at the end of the journey, our walk is an idolatrous one... and we are not loving God.  I'm not condemning people whose journey starts out at that point. I think that can be understandable. I am saying that as we grow as Christians and become spiritually mature, we need to develop a proper relationship with God... one not based on what we have and can receive... but one based on who he is... and what that means to us.

In Ezekiel 16 God speaks of his relationship with Jerusalem... at how he first saves "her" from those that despised her and would not care for her... and yet later returns when she is full grown, to claim her in marriage. I think God totally accepts the places we start out from with him... but desires us to grow into individuals who are fully involved with him in their lives.

Back to my main point though. We cannot treat God or other people with disrespect... we cannot see them as a means to an end. 

Nor should we try and force ourselves upon others emotionally, psychologically, physically or spiritually. Jesus gave us the model for how we should approach people on a personal level:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelation 3:20

When God first enters our life, he respects us enough to wait at the front door. Of course, he already knows us intimately... because he created us and is omniscient.... however, isn't it comforting and reassuring that he never once abuses that knowledge to deceive us into choosing a relationship with him. He respects our free will and our individuality and values it perhaps more than we do at times.

So in conclusion, we must be careful to respect people's red lines. Walls exist for  a reason. We mustn't try and gain a foothold where we know it is inappropriate to do so. I know that when I have discovered someone trying to get close to me without my consent, it has made me immensely uncomfortable and distrustful. I watch my walls.

However when it comes to God and those who do not try and push themselves upon us, we must also remember to watch our doors too.

Mirrored Resolutions

"If if you're gonna prove to them that you're world class bobsledders, then you'd better look like world class bobsledders!"

Coach Irv Blitzer - Cool Runnings

We are more than a few days into our mutual voyage of discovery that is 2011. The shores of the past year are now just a line on the horizon... and as I look forward to the times to come, I find myself reflecting on a few resolutions I have made (yes I eventually came up with a few).

I took a long hard look in the mirror and came to the conclusion that whatever I am... I need to straighten a few things out. There are areas of my life where I don't take myself seriously enough; there are also other areas where the reverse is true - the charge could be made that I take myself far too seriously.

At work, in the past... I have normally just worn a smart shirt and pair of trousers. I have been content to be seen as a cog in the machine and to allow people (if they have so wished), to project that image onto me. I had an epiphany (now that's good ecclesiastical timing), and decided to raise my game somewhat. I dashed out in the week and got my self a couple of washable suits... and from now on I'm going to wear a full suit to work. I hope the message is clear.  After several casual inquiries as to whether or not I had a job interview and the odd humorous remark, it should be becoming apparent that the suits are here to stay.

I am not making a statement about my working conditions... I am making a statement about myself. I am saying that from this moment on... in the sight of others.... I am treating myself with self respect.  This is not about vanity and as much as it is about making a point to others... it's about making a point to myself. Nobody suggested I should do this, nobody pressured me or suggested it would benefit me to do this. I felt in my heart it was the right thing to do... and have gone with it. In the Isaac Asimov book Bi-Centennial Man, the (then) robot protagonist - Andrew, begins his pursuit of individual freedom from a place of servitude...and does so by choosing to wear clothes.

I quoted the film "Cool Runnings" for a very good reason... in order to be accepted as athletes, the Jamaican bobsled team couldn't take to the tracks wearing civvies... they needed to look the part. Yet, near the climax of the film they understand something of equal importance: looking the part and being equal in appearance is merely the start of the journey... it is not the end of the journey. They try emulating their rivals warm up routines... but this ends in embarrassment and only furthers the ridicule they receive from the other teams. The truth they realised is that looking the part and stepping up to the plate does not mean that you close the door on who you are as a person. They take to the track one more time and warm up using a routine that reflects their own culture.  Their efforts are rewarded when they race down the track and set a blistering time.

The biblical David was exactly the same. When he faced off against Goliath, he rejected all efforts to kit him out in regular (and ill fitting) armour. Instead he marched out with a sling and five smooth stones... and the armour of knowing his life and his destiny were in the hands of his God.

And as we know the story so well... the rest as they say, is history.

The Goliaths of our  day are not always so literal... nor are they always an external adversary. Low self esteem, doubt, fear... all of these could easily be classed as Goliaths. However, you don't need me to tell you who or what your Goliaths are... if like me you take a good look in the mirror or meditate in prayer... they reveal themselves for what they are sooner or later.

All you need to know about your giants and your demons... is that you have to knock them on their backsides. Sooner or later... if you are going to get to the good stuff or the meaningful things in life, you have to go up to the big nasty man on the bridge... and knock him flying into the water.

You can pace up and down the river bank for hours, days, months or years. You can turn back and settle for less than what you are... but there will always be a nagging feeling... something gnawing at you within, urging you to go back and be who you are supposed to be.... and explore the possibilities of who and what you can become.

But the trouble with demons and giants is that they aren't known  for their respect of human beings. If you go up against them in your own strength... sooner or later you are going to find an opponent that is too hard to beat. You ride to war... but not to victory.

In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn faces similar peril. For all of his years he had been wandering in the wilderness, fighting evil in the guise of a ranger. However, when the things that he cherishes the most are threatened, he finds his assets are wanting.

It is at this point that Elrond offers him a potential solution. If Aragorn assumes the mantle of king, he can overcome the mountain in his way... but only Elrond holds the secret to unlocking that destiny... Anduril, flame of the West.

Similarly we can go up against our mountains, giants, demons, dragons... whatever you want to call them... but we need the One who can unlock the way for us to do that. There is one human name that these beings do respect.

Jesus.

Like Aragorn, we need the authority of a king in our life's journey. If we invite Jesus Christ into our lives... we gain that authority. For as Paul writes:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 5:20

King David knew only too well how much providence and blessing could flow from the hands of God in the face of adversity. If you read Psalm 18, he talks of having the power to advance a troop, scale a wall, bend bronze, subdue nations and make strongholds fall.

I don't know about you... but when I look at some of the challenges and promises that rise up along the road ahead, it's very reassuring to know the God of Heaven and Earth offers to walk with me.

Peace be the Journey (Cool Runnings).

...and Ecce January

This is my second attempt at writing this blog post... the previous one died after Google decided to log me out and my browser crashed. Grr.

Anyway... thank goodness - 2010 is all done and dusted, welcome at last to 2011.

I don't know about you... but I don't really have any major resolutions worked out yet. I don't have a road map as such.  I do know that this year will mark out a few changes for me, personally. Some of the opportunities that have given me greatest sense of joy , fellowship and sowing spiritual seeds, will not be available to me this year; those doors are closed this year it would seem.

The Bible teaches us that there is a time to sow and a time to reap... and that while one person sows, another reaps. Whilst I will continue to look for opportunities to serve, I do wonder if I am entering into a time where I will be able to reap things. As we begin the year, I am feeling an urge to once more spread my wings and broaden my horizon. I am not like Luke Skywalker gazing forlornly into a binary sunset... wondering if things will ever change. Things will change... they always do. We just have to be prepared to make and take opportunities... and most of all, trust in God.

Things will change. They always do. It just takes time, trust and action.

In the words of Bilbo Baggins "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure".

Although, I don't think I'm quite ready to be shipped out to the Undying Lands just yet though. No, there are plenty of japes, jollities, wonders, mischiefs and new discoveries yet to be experienced on this good Earth as yet.

I start this year as I mean to go on... thinking positive and looking for the opportunities and defining moments the year will bring. I've already begun looking at some options. Later in the year, I hope to go on a tour of Italy.

Last night, I found myself at a loose end and decided to lie down for 10 minutes of quiet time in my bedroom. As I did so, I felt an eerie breeze blow down on me and my mind was drawn back to an old, familiar story... the story of an eagle that was raised in the belief it was a chicken:

One day, a man stole an egg from the nest of a golden eagle... and he took the egg and left it nestled among other eggs in a chicken coop. One by one, all the eggs hatched and among them was the infant eagle. It spent every day for many years living among the chickens and scratching for food in the dirt, content with its lot... never having reason to question it's purpose or differences.

Then one day, a piercing cry was heard from above... and a silhouette... a strange yet somehow familiar shadow, swept across the farmyard. High above the farm below, an eagle circled in the bright sunlight.

The eagle asked his chicken "siblings" what this strange new bird was. "That is an eagle, he belongs to the sky... we are chickens, we belong to the Earth" they replied. Our earthbound eagle looks to the sky and ponders... he is about to dismiss all he has witnessed when he hears the eagle cry once more... and a breeze blows beneath his wings... gently ruffling his feathers. Instinctively.... the eagle scuttles across the farmyard beating it's wings. It catches the breeze, takes to the sky... and finds the thermal that takes it up to it's fellow eagle high up in the clouds and sunlight.

We need to learn from the eagle... living on the vertical as well as the lateral.

Like the eagle, our beliefs and opinions are shaped by our experiences; this is never more true than where our self-perception is concerned. We enter this world and live out our daily lives along a lateral axis... because that is what we see in the world around us. However, there comes a time for all of us sooner or later... when we are challenged by a call to live on the vertical as well as the horizontal. Taking into account what I said a few days ago at the end of last year... this is equally true for those of us who have already embraced a call to follow God. How easy is it to get entangled with the red tape in our lives... or to run with an idea given from God on the vertical... but use only the resources of the human lateral to carry it out.

We need to keep our ears to the ground and our eyes to the horizon... listening and watching for the whispers, signs and moments that empower us and transform us - that immeasurable help from above that causes us to amend what we are and shapes what we should be.

It is so easy to forget the vertical and live out life on the lateral... we need to remember there is more than just the complexities of modern life.

The obvious Bible passage to share with you here is Isaiah 40:31. However, I feel just using that one verse alone would be a little clichéd. So here it is with a few of the preceding verses (I shall explain why):

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint. 

Isaiah 40:26-31

I'll let you into a little secret... it's just between you and me. Part of my problem in previous years is that I have felt very much like Jacob and Israel. I have felt that my cause has been disregarded by God... that I'm out here trying to walk in his ways, while others have reaped the benefits that this life has to offer, regardless of what choices they have made.

You see, the temptation is not to stare at the horizon... or not to look to the eagle in the sky. The temptation is to become downcast and gaze at our toes... or look at the successes of the chickens around us and grow in despair. If we are different... then we are not going to find what we are looking for in the same places as others.

We have to decide what we are. We have to find our own voice deep within and sing with all our hearts. When it comes to who we are as individuals... we cannot be a half or a part of something. You either are or you are not. If our heart is calling us to be something and we repress it... it will in the long run reassert itself with a vengeance and either consume us or leave us feeling lost and wasted.

If we can but trust in the Everlasting God who loves us... he will lift us up and give us the strength to claim our true destiny... and become the people we are meant to be.

Though our feelings might suggest otherwise... they are temporary and subject to change. The Everlasting God does not faint, does not grow weary and does not forget his promises to us.

He can be trusted.

Trust him in 2011.

Inception, Deception and Perception

I recently purchased the film "Inception" on DVD:

I originally saw the film during it's cinematic release and thoroughly enjoyed the film (this despite working out what the final shot of the film was going to be, as early in the film as Michael Caine's first scene). The film is essentially a thinking man's science fiction philosophical take on the "heist" movie genre. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cob - the lead confidence man with a tortured past, heading up a hastily put together band of specialists who attempt to pull off the perfect crime... and it's all in the mind; quite literally.

Instead of trying to break into a vault and steal gold or some shady government secret, Cobb and his posse are actually trying to plant an idea (inception, hence the title of the film), in the mind of the young heir to a business empire... an idea that when fully realised, will lead to the break up of said business empire. They do this by using technology to induce several levels of shared dream state which they can use psychology, trickery and subversion to infiltrate a mark's secrets and manipulate them into achieving the desired outcome.

The mission is threatened throughout the film by the demons from Cobb's past which erupt from his subconscious into the different dreams... leading to undesirable outcomes. Chief amongst these demons is Mal (Marion Cotillard), a shade of Cobb's deceased wife who embodies his subconscious desire to live out his memories and artificially reconstruct the life he left behind when the real Mal died (her death being the result of his attempt to use Inception to convince her to leave the dream state of limbo).

The time spent in different dream states increases exponentially with each level of dream experienced. It is stated that in the deepest level of dream state - limbo, that the length of time is so great that you can lose track of reality and become lost there and this is a theme I want to explore in a little more detail.

In the film, each dreamer uses a "totem", a crafted item that acts in a unique way in the real world... a way that is significantly different to how it acts in the dream world; the idea being that it acts as a defence and helps keep it's user lucid. Cobb's totem is a spinning top that only falls over in reality... in the dream world, it continues to spin... endlessly. In the final shot of the film Cobb thinks he has reclaimed his life and goes to be reunited with his children... as he does so, we are left with the image of the top still spinning... and a swift cut to black as it just begins to wobble.

Cobb's Totem

The meaning is clear - we are left to draw our own conclusions as to whether or not Cobb has returned to reality at all... or whether in fact the "real world" of the film was just another dream in itself. I personally take the pessimistic view because of certain things that happened earlier in the film. Characters and events seem to constantly urge Cobb to "come home", most notably Michael Caine's father-in-law figure.

This got me thinking about our reality... how the inherited brokenness we share as individuals -  is effectively a false reality which I as a Christian choose to identify as the sinful nature. It is a world, a mindset, that separates us from the God who loves us.

The dream world can seem very real and in most cases (depending on which survey you read), we are not aware it is a dream until we awake to reality. Similarly a reality where we find our spiritual selves at the centre (even if it's on a subconscious level), is in fact an illusion... a nightmarish limbo that is a distorted and twisted representation of the truth. We cannot escape it in our own strength... because so great is its allure and subtle is its deception that we cannot perceive why or how we should leave.

God is like Michael Caine's character.... imploring us to stop kidding ourselves playing in the sandbox of our dystopian fantasy and return home to him.

Whether we choose to recognise his voice for what it is... or acknowledge the true intent behind it, is down to our individual perception. Sadly for some, their state of mind leaves them in a reality described like this:

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

Acts: 28:26b-27

 Those are God's words spoken through the prophet Isaiah and echoed through Paul. You might think that sounds harsh.... but I do not believe God is speaking in anger here.... but in deep sorrow and grief for their circumstance.

But even if we listen to God.... how can we be certain we are living in his reality? How can we know we are not just kidding ourselves on another level?

How?

The answer is that not unlike the characters in Inception... we have a totem. A unique totem.

Our totem is not a personalised crafted image, it it none other than the living Jesus - his ministry, his life on Earth ran at odds with the man-centred way of managing our lives, the "rules of the game". Jesus was totally sold out for his Father...nothing mattered more to him and he showed us the way to live properly. If our lives are not in step with his loving commandments, then when placed alongside him, the physical laws of our personal world are shown up as warped.

Jesus showed us the way to freedom... by dying once for all, he provided the doorway... the opportunity, the universal offer to leave the dominion of our human imperfection and embrace the freedom and liberty of abundant life:

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:14-19

So the offer is on the table... and once again we draw nearer, ever nearer... to Christmas - that time of year when we celebrate the birth of the child who was and is called the Light of the World. When the light comes... is it not time to wake from our slumber and embrace the new day?

 

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

(Ephesians 5:14b)