Waiting to Hear

•January 20, 2015 • Leave a Comment

I tried, how I tried, to run away.

I heard your call, knew what you were asking me, but ran the other way.

I knew you needed me, but surely there was someone else, another person who could go and do what you were asking of me.  Someone just as qualified as me, if not more.  There were people waiting, needing to hear, but I chose to go a different way.  I just didn’t want to do what you were asking of me.

But despite that, you continued to call.  Your work for me did not change.  My opting out had not made the need go away. You were still willing to call me, equip me, use me.

So I went, did as you asked, followed your call – and the people heard and responded.  How wonderfully you worked, despite my reluctance and disobedience.  You didn’t cast me aside, or the people of Nineveh.  Your word was heard and lives were changed.

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (GNT)

Jonah Obeys the Lord

3 Once again the Lord spoke to Jonah. 2 He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to the people the message I have given you.” 3 So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to walk through it. 4 Jonah started through the city, and after walking a whole day, he proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!”

5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message. So they decided that everyone should fast, and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show that they had repented.

10 God saw what they did; he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior. So he changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would.

So, here I am Lord,
reluctant,
unsure,
really rather wanting not to;
but you continue to call me,
to invite me
to share in your work.

Here I am Lord.
Use me
I pray.
Despite my weaknesses
and fear;
may I work with you,
as you work in me;
because there are people
waiting to hear,
waiting to respond
as you long to reach out.

Posted in bible, faith, follow, God, hope, Lectionary, Religion, theology
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Come and See

•January 16, 2015 • Leave a Comment

“Come and See”, I’ve found something exciting, mind-blowing, life-changing.

“Come and See”, this is brilliant, I want to share it with you, show you, help you understand.

“Come and See”, this is it, that thing we’ve been waiting for, that’s going to make all the difference.

“Come and See”, experience it.

Lord, you call me to come and see, to come with you, to discover all you are and all you show me of God.  Am I enthusiastic, or reluctant?  Eager, or hanging back? Ready to go with you, or wanting to wait and see?  You invite me to come with you, what will I do?

And if I am with you, what do I do?  Keep it quiet, I don’t want anyone to know?  Or do I invite others – to come and see, to discover you for themselves, to know you and follow you?

Come and See, Come and See what God can do.  Lord, I come.  Work in me, through me, with me – that others may come and see too.

John 1:43-51 (CEV)

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”

45 Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

Posted in bible, faith, follow, God, Jesus, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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Just Because You Can

•January 15, 2015 • 2 Comments

This is what I wrote on this passage in 2012.  It’s still what I’d say today, so I’ve copied it here!

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

is a great maxim for life.  There are many things we can do, but not all of them is sensible or good for you.  I could eat cake morning, noon and night – but it would not be good for my health.  I could drive down the road as fast as I like – but that would cause danger and probable injury to myself and to others.

This is the point at which Paul starts in part of his advice to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (CEV)

Honor God with Your Body

12 Some of you say, “We can do anything we want to.” But I tell you that not everything is good for us. So I refuse to let anything have power over me.13 You also say, “Food is meant for our bodies, and our bodies are meant for food.” But I tell you that God will destroy them both. We are not supposed to do indecent things with our bodies. We are to use them for the Lord who is in charge of our bodies. 14 God will raise us from death by the same power that he used when he raised our Lord to life.

15 Don’t you know that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? Is it right for me to join part of the body of Christ to a prostitute? No, it isn’t! 16 Don’t you know that a man who does that becomes part of her body? The Scriptures say, “The two of them will be like one person.” 17 But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit with him.

18 Don’t be immoral in matters of sex. That is a sin against your own body in a way that no other sin is. 19 You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. 20 God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.

Everything is permissible for me— but not everything is beneficial

There are lots of possibilities in life, but not all options are good ones. As Christians we should be pursuing the things that lead us deeper into our relationship with God, not those things which take us from his ways and distract us.

Neither should we pursue those things which can distract those around us from the right way.  Just because we can live with something doesn’t mean it’s helpful to others.  Indeed it is possible that our actions may turn others away from God, and of that we need to be mindful.

Is there anything that I do that is distracting others from God, or totally putting people off him?

That may be a hard question to face, but an important one to honestly consider.

We have a responsibility to one another.  We are all part of one body, all part of God’s temple.

We know that when we are ill, it is not just one part of the body that is infected, there is a knock on effect around the body.    Likewise with property, a hole in the roof or a water leak bring consequences around the building.

We are not Christians in isolation, our lives effect each other.  But God invites us and allows us to work with him.

So, Paul invites us to use our bodies, our whole lives, for God’s glory; to honour him with all we do.

What an amazing invitation – and an awesome responsibility…

Thank you Lord,
that you live in me.

I stand in awe of the responsibility
that how I live
effects how others experience you.

May I make choices
that attract people to you.

I give to you all those things I have done
that have pushed people from you,
and offer my life anew.

Lord I pray
that you will use me for your glory –
and that I will let you

Posted in bible, faith, God, Lectionary, life, Religion, theology
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