In preparation for my Sunday Service, when I'll be speaking about the chain reaction the Bible has in our world when we take it seriously, I've been searching for updates from Wuvulu, and came across this.  I don't think we'd heard this bit of news, and it certainly brought tears to my eyes.  This man is inspirational. Evidence indeed.

http://thesaltproject.blogspot.com/2006/04/tribute-to-william-edoni.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this article recently and although it was written 12 years ago, I think its really helpful.  It's based on the idea of Christianity needing to be a well, drawing people closer and closer, rather than a fence, when you are either 'in' or 'out'.  

 

I know I find it easier to live by rules (INFJ here, and the J is strong), but I don't think that should stop me being dynamic.  One of the scriptures used is 2 Cor 3:18 "And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. (NLT)  An old favourite passage of mine!

 

Click here for the Wells and Fences pdf file

Ok, so the washing machine is on its 10th load in around 24 hours, and it's not finished yet!  I'm glad we left the rest of the house fairly tidy, or I'd really be doing my nut by now.

 

Returning - an anticlimax?  We've had a family holiday, plus seen friends and relations galore and now its back to the weekly roundabout of school, nursery, Asda, Brownies...  It was good to stop off for a bit and now we've returned.

 

Yes God, I know you've put me here and this is where I'm meant to be, but right now I miss my family.  I'll feel better in a day or two.

'J told me a joke just now.'  (J is a couple of months away from her 3rd birthday)

'Oh, J, would you tell the joke to Mummy... hang on, let Daddy say grace while you finish your mouthful, and then you can tell the joke.'...

'The chicken crossing the road.'

'The chicken's crossing the road, J?'

'the lady have a bump'.

Ok, so you have to know the joke for it to be funny.  It brought a smile to my face.  We were eating late as at 5 o'clock I'd had enough of kids (today us four girls went on a dragons and fairies easter trail, had our haircut, did some crafty bits, tidied a bedroom, i go i go).  On went the electronic babysitter, and I scrubbed the kitchen.  Tea was served at bedtime, but at least the things look clean on the surface now!

 

I started the day on the subject of Sheol, Hades and Paradise!  David Watson is quoted 'From the teaching of Jesus, it seems that at the moment of death there will be a great divide between those who know and love God and those who do not.' I journalled 'What of those who try to live a good life, help others, seek God, but don't actually find Jesus. Or those who find Jesus but have odd [to me] ways of following him, like war or killing.'  If I can't know for these people, can I know for myself?

 

John Ortberg asks, 'The problem is, where in the New Testament does Jesus say, "Now I'm going to give you the minimal requirements you have to meet so that you can get into heaven when you die"?  He doesn't.  Jesus' gospel includes forgiveness of our sins as a gift of grace.  It includes the promise that death will not have the last word, that our eternal life with God will never cease.  But it includes more than that...Jesus said, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.  My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." '

 

That is in the here and now.  I'm jumping back a chapter in the Lawrence:Heaven book... So what about heaven?  An invisible reality of spiritual existence, the dimension in which God exists, in all his glory. "The presence of God's Holy Spirit in the life of a believer bridges tha gap between the invisible world of heaven and the physical world of humanity, making the powerful 'heavenly' presence of God a very real 'earthly' experience."

 

A long way away from chickens and scrubbing?  As the VofD and I talked this through this morning, he recommended NT Wright 'For all the saints'.  As well as this our conversation included China (biggest economy within 20 years) and the US 'long war' soundbites.  Then there's a friend washing clothes by hand in Cambodia, thinking about ecological issues.  There are big things going on. And why am I here?  God has put me as minister's wife and mother, roles I actually seem to be embracing for the moment.  And the occasional joke helps me keep smiling.

 

[E will tell you the full joke, if you'd like!]

Currently reading:  Heaven: it's not the end of the world, by David Lawrence, published by Scripture Union.

 

Our lent group this week discussed 'Where is God when we contemplate death?' and I wished I'd got a bit further into this book.  I'm a chapter and a half in, and having to think hard.

 

I have difficulty describing heaven to my children, and maybe now I'm beginning to find out why. Is heaven a place on earth?  David Lawrence seems to be saying it will be.  The Jews expected the fulfilment of God's covenant to be on earth and Jesus said "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth." (Compare Ps 37:11 with Matt 5:5)  I've yet to read the bits about Paul and John.

 

I don't remember ever having heard a sermon about heaven in these terms.  Or read anything, for that matter.

 

Have you?  I'll blog some more when I get further!

I was reminded last night (via these verses from Proverbs 3 NIV) of an old promise.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.

I had scoliosis (curvature of the spine) from my mid-teens following a trampolining accident.  I always believed God would heal it, and these are the verses I remembered yesterday, words precious to me many years ago:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain:   (Isaiah 40:3-4)

That's the King James Version, as it is the only one to use the phrase "the crooked shall be made straight".  The New Living uses "Straighten out the curves", NIV is "the rough ground shall be made level".  Maybe the imagery is of a spirit level or plumb line.

Anyway, in December last year, this promise came true for me.  When the surgeon corrected my scoliosis, the crooked became straight.  Where I did stand lopsided, now I stand up straight, shoulders level.

It's not the only promise fulfilled.  Having been told by the consultant I would need two operations, a prayerful friend said he believed only one would be necessary.  I found it much easier to believe the consultant.  And a few weeks later when my operations were rescheduled, they made it clear they expected to perform two lots of surgery a week apart.  So imagine my amazement when the consultant arrived at the bedside on the morning of the first operation and said he hoped that this operation would be sufficient.  Three months down the line, he says a second operation will only be necessary if I begin to get severe lower back pain.

The promise that I pray will be fulfilled daily in my life is that God would be glorified in me...

Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
The LORD has spoken!"  (Isaiah 40:5, NLT)