Love has a price

The last three weeks have been difficult - in spite of the joy of being accredited as a local preacher.  Amidst the happiness, three people I have known and cared about have passed away - two of them quite suddenly and unexpected.  Love has a price - we love, accepting that any parting that comes will have a certain amount of pain attached to it.

1 Corinthians 13 is all about the importance of love - no matter what we do, no matter what we achieve, if we do not love, it all counts for nothing.  In loving others we leave ourselves open and vulnerable.  Vulnerable to the pain of disagreement, vulnerable to the pain of bereavement and sometimes it's not until we are without the person we regarded as a friend, we realise just how much that friendship meant to us.

Love is the foundation on which the Kingdom of God is built, without it, the Kingdom would be overwhelmed with the hatred and self-interest that threatens our world.  Jesus loved - if we read the story of Jesus and Lazarus, we read that when Jesus heard that Lazarus had died, that he wept.

When we accept Kingdom values as Christians, love for others is an intrinsic part of our discipleship. We cannot escape it, we cannot ignore it.  Our lives become intertwined and our lives are enriched by love shared with other people, and when love hurts, we must reflect on the great truth that love represents the very nature of God himself.

I give thanks for my friends whose passing I now mourn and I give thanks for the love shown to me by others.  I give thanks for friends who see beyond my faults and failings and love me unconditionally. We are reminded of the perfect love of God summed up so perfectly in Charles Wesley's wonderful hymn:

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

and the last verse....

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

God bless you!

The Dawn of a New Beginning

Today is a new dawn, a new beginning as one of Mr Wesley's preachers.  It was a truly special service last night when we gathered with folk from around the Circuit and some visiting friends to say farewell to Rev Bill Tardy, and for the accreditation of Syntiche Dedji and myself as local preachers.  There was a real sense of joy, a real sense of celebration as a packed church opened the service by singing 'O for a thousand tongues to sing'.  The service was led by our Superintendent, Rev Geoff Cornell.

The rain poured down outside, thunder rumbled, but nothing could dampen the spirits of those within Bush Hill Park Methodist Church.  Geoff's sermon was exactly right for the occasion and he always manages to give food for thought.  We learned new hymns too, and that always helps!

It was special to stand alongside Syntiche and make my responses as we were formally presented to the Superintendent and recognised as local preachers within The Methodist Church.  We were presented with our Bible and our letter from the President.  The next hymn was my favourite, 'Blessed Assurance', the singing was absolutely wonderful and boosted by Alan Combes playing his trumpet.

What was most amazing was the love that was so evident.  I came away feeling truly loved.  I didn't think it was possible to be hugged by so many people in one hour.  Friends came, not because they are part of my past, but because they are part of my present. 

So now a new chapter dawns as one of Mr Wesley's preachers.  I go forward empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit to live out the ministry to which I have been called.  It isn't a weekend thing, it is a 24/7 thing.  It is a lifelong responsibility.

We will walk the path that will cost us much,

And endure the pain and sorrow.

We will will trust in one who entrusts to us

The disciples of tomorrow.

Singing the Faith 662

A Special Day

Today's the day when I shall be accredited as one of Mr Wesley's preachers.  It's a day I have been working towards for three years, since I went 'on note' in July 2011.  It's going to be memorable, emotional, possibly even life-changing as I make promises before people from around the circuit and beyond at Bush Hill Park Methodist Church.

It's an awesome experience to sense God's call to such a ministry - it's also a huge responsibility.  I go forward confident of the guidance of the Holy Spirit and confident that I will be able to spread the Good News and inspire others.

Such a journey cannot be made without help.  For me, the most amazing support has been given to me by my husband Peter.  He has loved and supported me through my many hours of study, service preparation and by taking me to the various services around the circuit.  My mentor Margaret, who will reach 50 years as an accredited local preacher in 2015.  My tutor, Sandra Rose, who has been busy in the background offering encouragement, marking assignments and ensuring I had my assessed services at the appropriate times.  My Church family at Goffs Oak Methodist Church who love and support  me as resident local preacher and Senior Steward.  Our circuit ministers - especially Inez Reid (minister at Goffs Oak from 2010 until 2013, and our current minister Alan Combes who has encouraged, supported and guided me through the latter year of my training.  Also thank you to many friends, old and new and to the congregations of the Enfield Circuit who have been consistent in offering the warmest of welcomes.

A Sad Day

Thursday 10th July 2014 was a sad day - a day that brought a double dose of sad news and it left me feeling very low indeed.  Firstly, I learned of the sudden death of my friend Ian Southall.  It was a friendship born via social media, that brought great encouragement.  Ian was a fellow local preacher, organist, singer, musician, and had a real enthusiasm for life, as well as an amazing sense of humour. As a Connexional Assessor for the Faith and Worship Course, Ian brought a wealth of experience and much encouragement to the Facebook Group for Methodist Local Preachers in training who were working their way through the units.  Not everyone found the going easy, but Ian was always there to help people through.

More recently, Ian and I enjoyed chatting online and we shared many a happy hour putting the world to right, sharing thoughts, ideas, news and best fun of all - good humour.  As I struggled my way through the final units, Ian provided some quality light relief.  My husband Peter and I had the great pleasure of meeting Ian in London at the end of April and it was wonderful to meet face to face.

As I faced the final hurdles in my training, Ian was there to stop the panic setting in.  Waiting for the results of Section D felt like a lifetime, and when they came on Wesley Day as I sat in the Museum of Methodism, it was a joy to share the good news with Ian.  As I travelled for my final interview at the local preachers' meeting, Ian was texting words of encouragement and waited by his computer for news of the outcome.  We were counting the days until my accreditation on 20th July with real joy.

I will miss you Ian, you were a real God-send.  Someone who spent so much of your time serving your Lord and bringing God's love to so many people.  You were a joy to know and a treasured friend, even though we only managed one brief meeting.

Thoughts and prayers are with Ian's wife Shirley and his family - it's hard to contemplate life without someone like Ian - I know because I've lost special people in my own family, but the happy memories will live on and the pain will get easier to bear.

Losing friends like Ian, and my other friend Vera who passed away on Tuesday, is hard.  Hearing about both on the same day was really painful.  I will miss both of them and will always remember them.

No Half Measures

As the final hurdle to accreditation approaches, I have been studying John Wesley's Sermons.  The one thing that really strikes you when you read his sermons is that there are no half measures. You either belong to God, or you don't.  You are either a disciple of Christ or you're not, there are no half measures, no picking out the best bits and ignoring the rest.

It is a thought provoking challenge even to Methodists today, how guilty are we of trying to dilute down our response to God in an effort to reach a compromise between living in a secular world and living according to the Spirit.  Is there a compromise, or are we guilty of diluting out the very thing that sets us apart and makes us a people who radiate God's love?

As Methodism published its Statistics for Mission, a gloom filled many hearts, for they made sombre reading.  Has God really finished with British Methodism?  I think not, for he continues to call a new generation into ministry and into local preaching.  There is a new generation picking up the challenge of mission in the 21st century, they are generation who are well equipped to meet the people of today where they are and take the gospel of Christ to the nation.

Let us not be discouraged by statistics, but empowered to do something about it.  Let us be bold in our witness and earnest in our discipleship.  Let us not be afraid to stand up and declare we belong to Christ.  Let us do all we can for the Gospel's sake, and when we do, our statistics will be very different.

A Special Journey

For almost three years now, I've been training to be a Methodist Local Preacher.  The journey to accreditation is almost complete.  On 1st July, I will have my final interview and accreditation should follow soon after on 20th July at Bush Hill Park Methodist Church.

It's  been a demanding journey, working my way through 17 units of Faith and Worship, the training course for local preachers.  Soon, my long evenings of study will be finished and I can contemplate the next stage in my journey.  Answering the call to preach was to be a truly amazing experience, and I'm pleased to report that I am confident of my calling.  When I lead worship, I know I'm exactly where God wants me to be and it has been truly blessed.  It hasn't been a lesson in sermon preparation, but rather a lesson in listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I hesitate to call it a journey's end, for my journey as a local preacher is only just beginning, that chapter of my life has just begun.  It will be just as special a journey as my training has been, but it will be different and will build on what has gone before.  It will be energised and inspired by more ongoing study, through fellowship and through prayer.

I go forward empowered by the words of 2 Timothy chapter 4:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Let Him in and you'll see

I have just been reading a book by Margaret Silf called 'One Hundred Wisdom Stories'.  There is a story about God looking for a home for his son.  He knocks on a door and after a brief conversation with the resident, he is offered a spare room to rent for his son, but God really wants to buy the whole house, though he likes what he sees.  The Son moves in, but soon God is back, seeking yet more room for his son.  There is a sense of unease about the transaction, but the resident needs the house for himself.  God keeps pressing, to let him have the whole house, the resident could stay, it would all work out amazingly well, but he wouldn't understand until the transaction was complete, he had to give the whole house to the Son to discover it for himself.

The truth is that God is seeking a home within our hearts and minds for his Son, Jesus.  All to often, we are content to only give God part of us, keeping the rest of ourselves to pursue our own interests, but what happens when we begin to realise we are meant to give God all of ourselves?  Is it not true that we must make that commitment, only then do we discover what it really means to live in complete union with God through Christ.

Are you wholly God's or are you holding back?  Is it time for you to surrender all?

Easter Reflection

As I prepare for my service at Ordnance Road this Sunday, I am reflecting on the story of Thomas.  The disciple who doubted the other disciples when they told him they had seen the risen Lord.  For Thomas at that time, resurrection just seemed a pipe dream.  He'd seen Jesus, beaten almost beyond recognition, nailed to a cross and die in agony.  He'd seen his broken body laid in a tomb, and the tomb sealed with a large stone, and now the other disciples were telling him that they'd seen the Lord.  Maybe his grief was such that he was unable to process the information, maybe it was all just too painful and he couldn't bear to contemplate what might come next.  Whatever his reasons, he responds by saying that unless he sees the marks of the nails and plunges his hand into Jesus' side, he would not believe.  Thomas wanted real evidence, the testimony of his fellow disciples and of Mary were insufficient.

Jesus appears to Thomas, and Thomas realises that the testimony he has heard is true - you know, we're in a similar boat to Thomas in many ways.  We haven't seen Jesus, we just have the testimony of generations of Christians and the biblical accounts of his life to rely on.  We believe without seeing Jesus for ourselves.  We experience Jesus, not by a physical encounter, but through inner workings of the Holy Spirit.

We must accept the testimony of generations of believers who have experienced the change that comes when we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour and friend.  We must accept the promise given to us that when we take that vital step, that we are brought back into a relationship with God, that he remembers our sin no more and we are adopted into his family.

Peter in his first Epistle, chapter 1 verses 8-9 say this:

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an expressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (NIV, 2011)

When I think of Jesus' resurrection appearances, I think of the two who met Jesus on the Emmaus Road, who only recognised Jesus when he broke bread with him.  When I partake of Holy Communion, I think of the joy of the disciples when they realised Jesus was in their midst, when their eyes were opened and they could return to their fellow disciples and tell them what had happened, and in that moment, I pray that through partaking of the bread and wine, that I too will have an encounter with the risen Lord.

Living in eager anticipation

Now that my units of Faith and Worship are submitted, I must patiently await my results.  In the meantime, I have Wesley's sermons to study, services to lead, my stewarding tasks to be completed and somewhere amongst that lot, find time to be me.  An end to intensive study brings with it a period of adjustment, getting used to having time to do the things that for so long have been pushed to one side.  My camera kit may now see the light of day, and there are many books I have purchased that just require the time to read and learn from them.  As some are keen to remind me, there will be time to reflect more.

Lent is a time for reflection and preparation as we get ready to celebrate Easter.  Many will attend special Lent Groups - setting aside extra time for fellowship and learning.  At Goffs Oak, we are using the Methodist course 'Exploring Spiritual Practices'.  It has been a wonderful series, and when the sessions end, Wednesday evenings just won't be the same.  It was nice to be on the receiving end rather than in the hot seat for once.  It has been energising, inspiring and I feel the benefit of that extra time of fellowship.

Going forward, I find myself on a steep learning curve because we never know everything there is to know, we never achieve that complete understanding of the character of God.  Our amazing, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-loving, inescapable God.

Lent Thoughts

I suspect many enjoyed the fun of making and tossing pancakes on Tuesday.  Shrove Tuesday is of course followed by Ash Wednesday and entry into the period we call Lent.  It's a time when many people forego some pleasure or treat for Lent - and one comes across people who don't even go to church 'giving up things for Lent' which seems a bit of a strange thing to do really!

I have grown up without the tradition of 'giving up things for Lent', but the comings weeks are still a time of careful reflection and devotion as we lead up to the celebration of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter itself.  It is right that we don't rush into the celebration of Easter without fully engaging with the events that led up to it.  Our church calendar makes it very easy for people to jump straight from Palm Sunday to Easter without engaging in the difficult days that lie between them.

During Lent, we are remembering the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted.  A time when his humanity was put to the test - when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to use his special powers to rescue him from the limitations of being human - turning stone to bread to ease his hunger, jumping from a high place and expecting the angels to come to his aid, and then there was the temptation of kingship.  Kingship without enduring the pain and suffering of the cross that was to follow.

We cannot take shortcuts in our Christian life.  We can't claim the forgiveness of God and go on behaving as we did before we declared Christ as our Saviour.  Paul in his letter to the church at Rome implores us to live 'according to the Spirit' and not 'according to the flesh'.  The trials and temptations that we endure as part of that journey define us, they test us and make us stronger.  Let us face those trials and temptations as Jesus did - by referring to words of Scripture and remaining steadfast in our attempt to live 'according to the Spirit', true to our status as one of God's children.

Talking about God

We're shy about talking to others about God.  We'd more readily recommend our local Indian restaurant than a personal relationship with a risen Saviour.  Our world is screaming out for a hefty helping of real hope and it seems all we offer is the usual comfort food.

I went to a service at a different church yesterday to do my Reflection on a Service for Section D of my local preacher's course.  It was a wonderful service and the guest speaker, a Pentecostal Pastor was brilliant.  He preached a message that really struck a chord with where I'm at.  I came away feeling empowered to engage in more God talk.  He told the story of a chance encounter that led to a young man finding his faith and coming into a new and wonderful experience.  It's heart-warming to hear testimony like that.  It's encouraging to hear that people are still finding God through chance encounters with his people.

The chorus of the final hymn really reached somewhere deep - Hymn 662 from 'Singing the Faith', the new Methodist hymnbook.

‘We will walk the path that will cost us much and embrace the pain and sorrow.  We will trust in One who entrusts to us the disciples of tomorrow’.

What are you doing to help the disciples of tomorrow?  It's a path that will cost us much, we may have to endure pain and sorrow along the way, but we owe it to God.  The same God who loved each of us so much that he sent Jesus to win for us the salvation we could never win for ourselves....go talk about God and help others find the faith we hold so dear.

Blessed Assurance

The hymn 'Blessed Assurance' ranks as one of my favourites.  It is a hymn that sums up perfectly the assurance we have through Jesus. It reflects our response to God as his children.  For me, it sums up my relationship with God in that I have felt his presence at the most difficult and most painful times in my life.  The memories of those difficult times do still hurt.  There are times when the pain shows and I realise that it hasn't gone, it remains in the shadows.  My consolation comes from knowing that God is there 24/7 to pick me up and keep me moving forward.

Some might consider that ongoing struggle a sign of weakness, a sign of lacking Faith, but in reality that vulnerability can be beneficial.  I know I need God's help, I know I need his sustaining power to deal with the challenges.  

Paul had absolute confidence in the God he served, in his letter to the Romans he reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God:

Romans 8:35-39 NIV

[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [36] As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” [37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us share in that confidence, no matter what the world throws at us.

Enduring Convictions of a Local Preacher in training

I have now completed all of the reading associated with the final unit of Faith and Worship, the local preachers' training course.  The end of that journey is now in sight and no doubt a new chapter will open up.  I am now contemplating the assignment that is all about enduring convictions and statements of faith, and particularly those that are relevant for a Methodist today.  It's not often that we are challenged to state clearly the convictions that are on our hearts that drive us forward, but having reflected over the last 24 hours, I have come to the conclusion that it is a good thing.

So, what are my enduring convictions?  My enduring convictions relate to the nature of God himself, he is a God of Love who loves us unconditionally.  The Greek word 'agape' is used to describe God's love and it something so much deeper than anything we understand.  He is a God of Grace and for us his grace comes unlimited and free, through the saving work of Jesus.  We cannot earn our salvation, it is a gift we receive by faith and by faith alone.

God gives us assurance of our salvation: through the work of the Holy Spirit that indwells every believer.  We are inspired, we are guided, we are changed.  We become Kingdom people, and will be part of God's kingdom when it is fully realised.

We are adopted as sons - we become part of God's family and are co-heirs with Christ.  That idea of adoption comes from the first century understanding where the old life is completely abandoned and we take on a whole new identity.  We are brought into a life of personal holiness.

We are given gifts, spiritual gifts.  They may be varied in their nature and in their application, but we are called to use those gifts, whatever they may be to God's glory.

We are also empowered, empowered to take the Good News of the Gospel to people who have never heard it.  It's a bit like Quality Street chocolates - made for sharing.  We're meant to be ambassadors for Christ in a world who doesn't  know him.

These are the enduring convictions that influence my life and my preaching.  There are others, but these sum up for me a lot of what my faith is all about - a living faith, and a very dynamic and personal relationship with God.

What if?

Today has been a 'what-if' day.  It comes about as our region is once again battered by severe weather.  I headed out this morning to visit a local church coffee morning in the spirit of good inter-church relationships and just seconds after I'd walked past the front of the church, their large sign with their name on was blown off by a gust of wind and shattered on the pavement where I had been walking just seconds before.  I couldn't help think, "What if I had been just a matter of seconds later, or had lingered to read the notices on their notice board?"  It would surely have ended in injury and a trip to hospital.

What if?  It's a question we often ask ourselves and not only after a near miss such as I had this morning.  We will often look back on our lives and ask 'what if I had done things differently?'  Sometimes those moments are affirmative, and at other times a source of regret.  Sometimes the scenario could have had a different outcome if only we had acted differently.

We look back with the benefit of hindsight.  We look back with that additional experience on our side and often there's no way we could have predicted the outcome.  I have struggled with some very painful 'what-if' scenarios - scenarios that had resulted in horrendous human suffering.  I can come to only one conclusion - I did the best I could at the time, there was nothing else I could have done.

When those 'what-if' moments are a source of pain, as they have been for me, the only solution is to take it to the Lord in prayer and seek the forgiveness we so desperately need.  Not just God's forgiveness, but we need to be able to forgive ourselves.  Sometimes accepting those failures are part and parcel of moving on and growing as a result.  Letting go is the hardest thing in the world, but it is what we must do if we are to be at peace with ourselves and with God.

The Power of Prayer

For many people, prayer is really difficult.  The idea of talking to someone you cannot see, cannot physically feel and who never answers back in the normal sense, well - it just seems like one step away from madness.  Prayer is however, one of the most important aspects of the Christian life.

When I was a child, my Mum had a wooden plaque in the bedroom with the words 'Prayer Changes Things' on it.  As I've grown up, I have realised how true those words are.  Her old scrapbook contains another quote 'Prayer doesn't change things, it changes people'.  I have to admit that from my own personal experience, the latter is so true.  Sometimes God's answer to our prayers isn't to change what is happening, but to simply equip us to deal with it.  It doesn't matter whether it's a problem at work, a sick relative, or frustrations about our future direction - God's answer isn't always what we want to hear, but he does nevertheless equip us to walk the path that is before us.

The hardest thing of course, is when someone we know is seriously ill, many people pray for that speedy recovery, but it just doesn't  happen.  They get worse, or the battle is lost and we must face a future without them.  That can be difficult, difficult for those who have prayed, difficult for those who have sought that prayerful support.

For years, I prayed for my severely disabled Mum - that the pain of her rheumatoid arthritis would be taken away.  It wasn't.  She had some periods of remission, that is true, but the progression continued in a painful downward spiral.  In her latter years, severe leg ulcers removed what little dignity she had left and it was simply agonising to see her suffer so much.  Faith was stretched to the absolute limit, often I feared that it would reach breaking point, and there were times when I was almost at breaking point.  I faltered, but I did not fall.

Paul too pleaded with God to remove his 'thorn in his flesh', time and time again he pleaded that it would be taken away, but the message that came back was that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.  All too often our prayers are for the removal of the difficult things, the painful things that impact on our daily lives, when perhaps our prayers of request need to be balanced with adoration, confession and dedication.

When I was a young person attending the local Gospel Hall in Belfast where I grew up, we were told that seven days without prayer makes one weak.  It's true, for there is nothing more blessed than to feel the warmth of God's presence with us in our daily lives, for I can truly say that God has heard and answered my prayers, even in the times when the difficulties have remained, God has changed me.

Salt and Light

The Inspire Bible Fellowship at Goffs Oak have been studying the Sermon on the Mount.  Last time, we looked at salt and light.  In the course of preparing for the session, I learned a few things.  I have often puzzled as to how salt could lose its saltiness, sodium chloride isn't a chemical that degrades.  It turns out that the reference in the Sermon on the Mount refers to a crude mixture of sand and salt that was used to disinfect latrine areas. The crude salt would be stored in a pile outside and when it rained, it was possible for the salt to get washed away, leaving the sand and grit behind.  When that happened, it was rendered useless for maintaining the hygiene in the latrine and had to be thrown away.

The idea of being salt and light seems quite strange to is in the 21st century, but to the folk of the first century had no such problems.  Jesus used the everyday things to illustrate what he was trying to say. We need to get to grips with Jesus' message and follow his concepts as Kingdom people.

Counting my Blessings!

This week I am counting my blessings - just over a week ago, I was overcome with frustration.  Thanks to some tactful intervention by someone who knew exactly what he needed to do, I was able to put that situation into God's hands and the load was immediately lightened.  I have much to be thankful for and most of all, for friends who are supporting me in various ways, including through prayer.

How often do we stop to count our blessings?  When the going is good, it's only too easy to become complacent and assume we're in much more complete control than we actually are.  So many things are beyond our control and we can at any point find ourselves brought to a grinding halt as our defences are overwhelmed, a bit like the flood defences in some parts of the country.

Let us all take time out and count our blessings, and maybe just as the old hymn suggests, it will surprise us what the Lord has done.

Thoughts on Obedience

When I hear the word obedience, I immediately think back to the days of my youth when I was the owner of a beautiful Border Collie called Cap.  He was a truly amazing dog, not only was he successful in competitive obedience, but I was able to train him to help my disabled Mum.  He could fetch the post, her glasses, bring in the milk, close doors and empty the washing machine.  He was also very adept at stealing food, his worse vice, and it was to our dismay when one day the remains of the Sunday roast disappeared behind the greenhouse, never to be seen again.

He was not only a helper, but a loyal friend who listened without being critical, who stayed close when you needed comfort and who was always generous with his enthusiastic greeting when anyone came to visit, or when I returned home from school or work.  We all need that someone who will love us unconditionally, regardless of how disillusioned or grumpy we may be.

Being obedient isn't something we take to easily, is it?  It cannot be denied that the obedience demanded of us as Christians stretches beyond our human capability.  I've recently been studying the Sermon on the Mount as leader of the Inspire Bible Fellowship at Goffs Oak Methodist Church.  The demands made of us to live our lives according to the values of God's Kingdom and not according to the ways of the World, to be salt and light, it's a tall order, is it not?  But let us not be faint-hearted, or worse still, half-hearted, but strive with the help of the Holy Spirit to live as Christ demanded.  Let us not be distracted as Cap sometimes was.

No easy answers

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where there are no easy answers.  We feel caught between a rock and a hard place and it is hard to contemplate the way forward.  We try to be positive, but  deep down inside, we feel are stressed out and wish things would just settle down again.

I often wonder how the disciples felt when Jesus started talking about his death on a cross, about leaving them and of serious challenges ahead.  For the most part, they were unable to grasp what he was saying to them.  They had left everything to follow Jesus and now their time together was  threatening to come to an end.

I find myself approaching a crossroads, unsure of what lies around the corner.  I do hope my exploration day on Saturday makes the way forward just a little clearer.  All I know is that God wants all of me, not just what is left when the daily grind has done its worst.  Not just what's left when the duties are done and the next rota prepared.

We are called to be disciples and some are called into full-time service.  It isn't an easy thing to contemplate,   I think of the  hymn below, and if that is what is confirmed, my answer has to be yes.

Will you come and follow me  if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? Will you leave your self behind if I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare, will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me? Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen, and admit to what I mean in you and you in me? Will you love the ‘you’ you hide if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me? Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name. Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me. ©1987  WGRG, Iona Community, Govan, Glasgow G51 3UU, Scotland

A heart-warming experience.

All Methodists know the story of John Wesley, who on the 24th May 1738 went to a Bible study rather reluctantly, only to find his heart strangely warmed by the assurance of his own salvation through Christ.  It was an event that changed the man and his ministry forever.

I was ten years old when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour.  It was a very dark week in my young life.  I'd been told that my Dad who was ill in hospital was so ill that he wasn't going to be with us very long.  As if that wasn't bad enough, my Uncle Wesley who always visited us regularly had a heart attack on the way to work that morning and he died three days later.  I saw his body in the coffin - I'd never seen a dead person before and it was all so sudden that I wakened on the morning of his funeral in tears.  I wasn't going anywhere, not before putting my faith in Jesus.

It was 25th March 1975, and in spite of the difficult days we were experiencing as a family, I felt a warmth and a peace that a ten year old couldn't possibly have described to anyone.  Almost 39 years on, I still remember that moment so vividly.

As I look back on that day and all that has happened since, I know I've grown in faith and in confidence.  There have been times when that hope and that confidence was all I had left - and it was even more precious.  In 2013, I want on the Wesley Walk on 24th May along with Methodists from around the District and further afield starting at St Paul's Cathedral for Evensong.  It was a cool, damp evening as we stood by the Wesley Flame by the Museum of London and sang 'And can it be' and I could feel again that strange warmth on the inside and an assurance of salvation.  I was indeed called to be one of Mr Wesley's preachers, called to take the Gospel to those who have never heard it.

These words are etched upon my heart, from 2 Timothy 4:1-5

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

God can use the Technology too

Speak to some people in our church community and the technology of the modern age represents an unwanted intrusion into the world of church.  New hymns, PowerPoint, contemporary styles of worship, digi boxes instead of organs and then there's the dreaded advent of email and social media.

All through the ages, the church has benefitted from new developments. Were it not for the printing press, we wouldn't have Bibles or hymn books.  Can we imagine worship without music?  I think not.  I have found that technology can be a useful tool.  As a local preacher in training, I have gained a great deal from a Facebook group for local preachers doing Faith and Worship.  The group has grown and now boasts over 320 members.  Social media gets a great deal of bad press, but surely that is one example of God using something from our modern age for his own purposes.

I suppose the lesson is that God uses all means at his disposal to reach people and bring them into closer discipleship, and I hope he will use the articles published here to his own glory.  Let us refrain from putting limits on God and instead offer him everything we have and everything we are for the benefit of his Kingdom.

Hope

Hope is a small word of just four letters, but an awful lot rests on it.  To be without hope is a truly desperate situation indeed.  When we lose hope we find ourselves in a very vulnerable place, a place where everything can just fall apart in amidst a sea of chaos.

Christian hope stands apart from many of the other things that can  influence our lives.  It is something that no one can take away from us, it is something that comes with a cast iron guarantee.  When we put our trust in Jesus, then we have a friend who will never let us down.  It doesn't mean bad things won't happen.  It does mean that we will be given the strength to bear the challenges that lie before us.  Even in the Old Testament, we are promised real hope - summed up,perfectly in these words from Isaiah:

Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV
[28] 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. [29] He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. [30] Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; [31] 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.

The very first morning I turned up at Goffs Oak Methodist Church, I was at a very low point.  The words from verse 31 were on a wall hanging above the organ.  I knew at that point I was in the right place.  A place where love and hope is found amidst fellowship with God's people.  

Thoughts at Bedtime

I had a lovely time at St John this morning, and a challenging message for the first official meeting of the Inspire Bible Fellowship at Goffs Oak.  We all need to be challenged sometimes.  I have certainly been challenged by the events of recent weeks.  Too much thinking time must surely be as bad as not enough!  I found myself wrestling with things in a new way, it was very moving.

God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.  I guess this is all part of my preparation for the challenges ahead, whatever they may be.

A Catalyst for the Kingdom

A Catalyst for God’s Kingdom
By Joanne Mead

God speaks to each of us in different ways – and as a local preacher on trial who was just about to go solo, I was surprised when that still small voice made me realise that God wants me to be a catalyst.  As a scientist, I am well aware of what a catalyst does – it reduces the energy required for a chemical reaction to take place, but it never becomes used up or exhausted in the process.  For some time now, I have felt called to the task of evangelism – so did that make me a catalytic converter?  It was certainly a funny thought and some people laughed at the concept, but I’m sure God was completely serious.

As someone who is enthusiastic, and often stubborn and determined, it’s very easy to overdo things and end up over-tired and burned out.  Was this God saying that he wanted me to take things steady?  Well, that’s one interpretation and it certainly has a measure of relevance, but the catalyst idea has another connotation – that of making things happen, but without becoming exhausted myself.  It’s not so much a reminder to be sensible, but a call to be an enabler, an encourager and a driver for progress.  It can be the difference between success and failure, and for the churches with whom I have a connection, it has the potential to be a very positive ministry.

Two years on, I’m almost finished my studies to become an accredited local preacher and the sense of joy and the feeling of at-oneness when I lead worship has been overwhelming at times.  The other thing you become aware of as a preacher leading worship is the way in which the Spirit guides us and directs us, so that our message has relevance to people in the congregation.  In that context, I am beginning to realise what God meant by being a catalyst, for it is he who provides the resources and the Holy Spirit who touches the hearts of the people and empowers them.

When Jesus told the disciples about the Holy Spirit, the Advocate who would come after him (John 14), he promised that their minds would be opened and they would at last understand all that he had said to them.  They would be able to do what was previously impossible and they would take the news of God’s love to all nations.  We too share in the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that same Spirit works within us and through us.  Its influence is just as powerful as it was back then, if we allow it to be so.

I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will indeed use me as a catalyst – an encourager and an enabler, to grow his Kingdom and that like Peter, I will have the confidence to preach boldly and with clarity.

Morning Musings

Just getting ready to lead worship at St John Methodist Church.  A small congregation, but one that is a joy to be with, for what they lack in size they make up for with enthusiasm.  As I travel around our circuit, I meet a diverse range of people and that is part of the joy of preaching.  So this morning I remember all who are leading worship, and I pray that your time with your congregation will be a joyous one.  One that will leave the sweet aroma of God's love lingering on people's hearts.  It should be a bit like Lavender, you cannot touch a Lavender plant without some of its fragrance rubbing off on you.  So it must be with us.  God bless you.

Reflection during Storm Dirk

What sort of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him.

By Joanne Mead

As I write this, the United Kingdom is being battered once again by a severe storm, this one is called ‘Storm Dirk’.  Two people have already lost their lives, more have suffered damage to home or business.  The media takes great delight in putting reporters in exposed places to let us know how awful the conditions are, as if we cannot see that for ourselves.  People’s travel plans are disrupted, trees uprooted and homes damaged.  The reports reminded me of the very first public Bible reading I ever did in church at our annual Sunday School service.  It was from Luke 8 and was the story about Jesus calming the storm.  Jesus and his disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, which was and still is very susceptible to sudden, violent storms.  Jesus was asleep and as the waves washed over the boat, the disciples began to fear for their lives.  Jesus wakened up, calmed the storm and then queried why the disciples were afraid.  Where was their faith?  I could just imagine the look on those poor disciples’ faces when Jesus responded in that way.  It must have been one of complete amazement.  How could he say that?  What sort of man was he? Even the wind and the waves obeyed him.

What sort of man was he?  The disciples didn’t understand Jesus - and if you read through the four Gospels, time and time again you find accounts of the disciples failing to grasp his message.  It isn’t until they receive the Holy Spirit that they can begin to understand all that he has told them.  They spent approximately three years with Jesus during his ministry and he always puzzled them.  They weren’t alone, for the Pharisees also found it hard to understand who Jesus was too.  They treated him with suspicion and they would eventually demand his execution on a Roman cross.

We do not experience Jesus like the disciples did, and I’m sure we all have times when we struggle to really understand what he’s all about.  He seems to turn everything on its head with his parables about the first being last and the last first.  He ministered to those the society of the day rejected as worthless, and most of all, he changed lives.  Some people find his way of living a tough call - after all, society dictates that we are seen with all the right people, that we wear the right clothes and equip ourselves with all of the right gadgets and accessories.  What about the people our society rejects as worthless?  How do we respond to them?  It’s so easy to just put a few coins in a charity collection box and think that is enough, it’s so easy to jump on the bandwagon of political correctness when what Jesus demands that we love one another as he first loved us.  It means welcoming the whosoever of John 3:16 into our midst and loving them regardless of our society’s stereotypes.  It means reaching out into the not-so-nice areas of town and making the person of Jesus real to them through our actions.  It means allowing Jesus into our hearts, only then can he bring calm to our stormy lives.

Credit Worth Considering

Credit worth Considering!
By Joanne Mead


I guess many of you have been bargain-hunting recently?  The January sales are prime time to get things you want at a reduced price.  It is all so very easy stand in queue and when you turn comes put your card into the little machine type in your pin and the deal is done.  Plastic cards! How popular they are as people mount up their arrears on the plethora of credit so freely available.

It always fascinates me that the terms “credit” and “debt” have profound spiritual meaning. We don’t have to contemplate a situation where we sin now and pay later.  The price of our sin has already been paid in full.  Salvation is a gift, offered to us by God.  To accept it is to enter into a special relationship that was made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only son.  It’s the greatest bargain that humankind has ever been offered, but do we accept it gratefully?

When Jesus died on the cross for sins that were not His own, it wasn’t just case of suffering the punishment due to us.  Through Jesus, we are justified; we are restored to a state that is just as if we’d never sinned.  The sheet is wiped clean and our acceptance into God’s Kingdom is assured.  What we are required to do is to repent and believe, and we can then enter into a new relationship with God through His Son.

John 3:16 is a well-known verse to many, but for those less familiar:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (NIV)

I can remember vividly the day when I took that special step.  I was just ten years old.  The spring sunshine pouring in through the windows warmed the carpet under my feet.  I remember feeling like a huge load had been lifted.  I treasure that moment to this very day. It was the day I discovered what real credit was about. Jesus had credited me worthy of being a member the family of God. It became personal “the whoever”  of John 3:16 included the name of Joanne. The best gift she would ever receive unmerited and free.

2014 a new year and a new way forward

I can't say that I wasn't warned about the dangers of burn-out and just before Christmas, I came perilously close.  I won't be that lucky a second time, so with wise words from a trusted friend, I am going forward with a different mindset.  More time out, more quietness, more time for reflection.

2014 promises to be an exciting year as I get ever closer to completing Faith and Worship, the training course for Methodist local preachers.  Now near the end of Unit 16, with just one more unit to go.

I read this morning that when we allow busyness to take over our lives, God can get squeezed out.  Well, hopefully my new way forward will mean a closer relationship with God and my process of discernment can continue in a much more sensitive and spiritually uplifting way.