A Note to Hebrews

This is an article I posted on a Jewish website earlier today, 20th. June, 2010.

I have been through a large number of challenging experiences recently, as many of us do, but believe that Hashem is speaking to us a family through the events which we would not have chosen ourselves.

In a letter written to Hebrews I have just come across the following words.

"It is for discipline you have to endure. Hashem is treating you as sons. For what father is there whom a father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who discplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

I believe that Hashem allows these sometimes bitter experiences and sufferings for a purpose. Without going into gory details, we have been withheld payment on a large itemized invoice, defrauded of over £1,100, had our car broken into with phones cards and life sustaining essential medication stolen while we were away from home on a Bank holiday, we were only going on a 20 minute walk. Yesterday, my son Benjamin ended up in hospital on his birthday with what seems to be quite a serious illness, his immune system is destroying the platelets in his blood. He may have to live with it, he is only 27 and has just provided us with our first grandson. I am convinced that Hashem is looking after us through all of this and is allowing it all for our own good!

Therefore, my friends, I am holding on to my faith in the Infinite Wisdom of Hashem. I hope this will be of some help and comfort to others. Do let me know if you have any questions or comments or experiences you want to share. Every blessing to you all, my friends.

A Small Business Update

Having worked for myself for 23 years I feel really sorry for people trying to start out on their own in today's economic environment. Over the years I have enjoyed the independence, lack of interference from anyone else in my business and the satisfaction of building a business from nothing.

However, following 13 years of bad examples of business practice in Government and the Public Sector (who are hampered in their work by centralized state interference) we have not been set good examples. For example, the answer to debt is to borrow more money (or print more to turn into junk bonds), the answer to what do I do if I don't make my business more successful? is to take even bigger bonuses (bankers). If I feel that I'm not paid enough then I claim more in expenses, courtesy of the taxpayer (MP's).

I hope that we can now put this era behind us and believe that the new coalition have better ideas as to how we should 'do business'. We certainly seem to be seeing better leadership by example, although it's still early days, and the over-regulation is gradually being dismantled, we hope.

From my own experiences working for myself, I have a few tips for those starting out in business now.

1) Start in a modest way, try not to borrow money if you can raise your own capital, or borrow from a lender that has a good track record.

2) Grow the business slowly but surely as you would tender or nurture a plant. Don't expect to be driving in the biggest and fastest car overnight or living in the biggest house within a month (unless you were rich enough to start with!). Start out with a good business plan and be prepared to adapt it according to changing circumstances. Get advice on this if necessary.

3) Although I still work in a one man business, my advice is to only start employing others as the business grows and you have the need and wherewithal to do so.

4) Advertise your business through local publications or if you must advertise on-line avoid buying from cold-callers who promise to put you in their directories and are quick to lower the price if you say you can't afford their package or tell you they can guarantee to put you on the front page of Google. Some will even lie about their company in order to sign you up, as I have learnt from bitter experience. These kinds of advertising options were not available when I started my business and I'm sorry for those who get caught by them, as I have been myself.

5) If your prospective accountant makes you do all the work in order to keep your costs down, if your business is simple and straightforward like mine you can enter your own tax return on line although it took a while to set up in my case, (but then, I always seem to be unfortunate).

6) Don't let big predatory companies 'bully' you, particularly into paying bills when they are tardy and sometimes even claim that your invoices to them are not legitimate. I have been treated in this way and refuse to be intimidated or harassed by them, especially if they don't deliver you the service they originally promised. You are as as legitimate if not more so than they are, stand your ground!

7) If you wish to have your own website to advertise your business, preferably get someone you know to design and fine tune it. Some larger companies set up websites which are not fine-tuned to what you request and even have spelling mistakes and just do not deliver what you want but are quite happy to take your money each month. Make sure you are the one who calls the shots. You can build your own website which will be much more effective and in my experience will encourage the right kind of 'traffic'. Contact me if you want further advice in this area. Networking is also useful to find people with the right skills to do the more specialist jobs.

8) Expect every day to be different, especially if you work on your own. Sometimes you get great rewards and job satisfaction, other times things go pear-shaped or lethargy creeps in. Despite the misfortunes one can have, I still awake looking forward to the challenge of another day of freedom working for myself!

My very best wishes to those of you starting out in business, remember, usually smaller businesses create jobs, medium and larger companies often make people redundant at the drop of a hat.

An Idea to encourage economic recovery

I have an idea of how some restoration of growth could be made in the near future by our new coalition government. I have lots of ideas about how wastage could be stopped, for example by scrapping Ofsted, which would release enough funds to provide an extra 5,000 secondary teachers apparently. Also, head teachers who go around bossing other head teachers and hampering them in the demanding jobs they are involved in. They can do without the stress of the extra interference which also stifles creative thinking 'on their feet'.

Anyway, I intend to put forward these suggestions with a host of others when we are given the opportunity to have our say shortly.

My main idea which I wish to propose to stimulate economic growth is the lowering of the duty levied on car fuel, petrol and diesel in particular, I don't know enough to comment on alternative fuels being used and trialled at the moment, I know some of them are more efficient and don't carry the iniquitous amount of duty we pay on petrol and diesel.

I welcome the proposed re-introduction of the fuel stabilizer whereby the Government collects more tax when the fuel price is lower and less tax when the price is higher. This helps the public sector, but to be really radical I think fuel should be well under £1.00 a litre. Remember how shocked we were when it went above £1.00, those days are now fond memories now that we pay over £6.00 per gallon for our fuel.

By having one lot of duty only, either VAT or fuel duty, rather than both, there is scope for some reduction. By lowering taxes it has often been found that the general tax take overall is increased. I, like a large number of my friends and relatives, use my one car (down from 2 cars a year or so ago) as little as I possibly can. Wherever possible I walk or cycle and delight in the benefit this does to my health at the same time, I have lost a lot of weight as a result. My one car does about 56 mpg on the combined cycle and the tax disc costs me £30.00 per year!

If we all did our little bit, cut out unnecessary car journies like the school runs when the school is very nearby, did car pooling to get to work, etc. we could send a very strong signal to the new coalition who are also not very 'green conscious'. Also, think of the carcinogens in the car and lorry fuels we use! As a result of us thinking before we get behind the wheel each time, a great deal could be achieved, economically and to our health. All goods sent to shops could be lowered in price and we might actually be left with some disposable income to buy goods which are affordable. This could result in retailers doing better and taking on more needed staff, providing more jobs and, yes, generating more income tax!

I really believe that we have got it wrong at the moment and the only way forward I can see is to boycott buying fuel wherever we can to force the price downwards. I have heard that there are already tankers anchored offshore waiting to offload fuel because the refineries can't shift the fuel and the oil suppliers are greedy for oil prices to go up to feather their own nests. All this could damage our economy even more than it has been damaged over the last 13 years of new liebour.

Some of you may have other ideas about how we could regenerate the private sector, I would be interested to read your comments.

BT Customerstreet:: an ongoing saga

Today I attempted twice, without success to get to the accounts dept. of BT Customerstreet. In the course of my investigations I have found out that Black's Collections are part of BT Customerstreet and actually in the same building! Yesterday I was told that they were an intermediary and nothing to do with them, but one of their personnel let this slip. I have also written to our newly elected MP, Steven Lloyd to see what further action he can take in regard to this outfit.

This website shows that health and livelihoods of small business operators have been shipwrecked by the operations of BT Customerstreet.

http://www.btcomplaint.com/2009/01/bt-customerstreet.html

It makes for some sorry reading I am afraid, but this is the sort of world we live in.

When will we see some action in favour of the genuine, honest people who are trying to generate genuine business rather than perpetuate fraud? Preferably by shutting down companies like this who appear to be doing nothing but line their own pockets rather than help small businesses to grow and create real jobs!

Will the Coalition do anything to protect small businesses from big business predators?

I am at heart a Conservative, always have been and maybe always will be, and some of the noises I have heard from the new coalition sound quite encouraging. However, (although I may have missed it) I have not heard much about what they plan to do to defend one man (self-employed or sub-contractors) from the large predative companies that we see behaving like fraudsters. Here is a cautionary tale which comes from my own experience in very recent times, up to and including today.

I was bamboozled into signing a contract to advertise my music teaching business with BT Customerstreet after having been assured by the caller that they were nothing to do with BT as we know them. Today I have found that this is untrue, BT as we know them is an umbrella company under which BT Customerstreet function (tax-avoidance?). Had I known there was any connection I would not have signed up to what has proved to have been an unmitigated disaster.

They promised to produce a website to advertise my services for which I paid approximately £34.00 per month by direct debit. After they set up the site, complete with spelling mistakes, I received many calls from fraudsters trying to sell me further advertising, usually calling themselves Online Business Directory. Some of them claimed I already had an account with them and it was due for renewal. I had no records of any such arrangements. When I called the real Online Business Directory they had no record of my having an account with them and informed me that there were at least 200 organizations pretending to be them! Quite a large police file exists on this matter, apparently.

I was subsequently (last year) asked to consider having a bigger and better website for which I was assured BT would not ‘sign me off’ until I was 100% happy with the results. I was told someone would liaise with me regularly to update and enhance this site and that it was easily editable by myself. I found it impossible to edit myself and called about 3 times for features to be added, including widgets. Each time I was informed that these requests were not possible to implement. I continued to have ‘traffic‘, sometimes up to a dozen calls a day, trying to sell me advertising and renew ‘existing‘ accounts, all of which were bogus. I probably gained one genuine customer during the life of the website.

I was contacted earlier this year, in February by a BT Customer Street employee who asked if I was pleased with all the hits I was getting. I explained to him exactly why I was not happy with the service and after a 10 minute discussion he said, ‘but you are generally happy with the results, aren’t you?’ He had obviously not listened to a word I had said. As a result of insult being added to injury, I emailed BT and requested that the website be shut down with immediate effect; this took them a while to implement, probably a few weeks!

I received no response to my email of 26th. February although I was told today that they sent emails to my wife’s email box. These were NOT received by us. I then received a call from someone at BT and I aired my grievances about their lack of service and the extensive damage caused to my business through time wasted following through bogus enquiries and being diverted from my work. I was informed that I would receive no compensation and I then informed him that I would therefore submit my invoice in due course to cover the costs of my time, correspondence, phone calls and trying to seek help. He said ‘that is your prerogative, I won’t be dealing with that). I subsequently submitted an invoice for just over £1000 which is very low considering the damage that has been caused to my business by this website and negligence by BT. I have even had to add services to my landline to block anonymous and withheld numbers, for which I have not charged on my invoice.

An invoice for £35.19 has subsequently been received from BT Customerstreet and because I haven’t paid it, (I am unable to do so because I have had £1200 defrauded from my bank and we had a car break in last week in which my wife’s cards were stolen). Our cards were obviously immediately cancelled.

Today I received a letter from Black’s Collections (a debt collector) demanding that BT’s invoice for £35.19 be paid in 5 days. My new cards (cancelled due to the fraud on my account) won’t arrive for another 7-10 working days. According to the contact at Black's Collections who I phoned to inform him about my situation, BT have not yet received (or denied knowledge of having received my invoice). He indicated that he didn’t know where I stood legally submitting this invoice and that from his experience they are unlikely to pay it! What?, my time costs money as well as theirs and as a businessman I’m entitled to submit invoices like anyone with a business. I have assured Mr. Woodacre that I will not pay my invoice until they pay mine!

I sent a copy of my invoice to BT to Black's Collections and he assured me that someone from BT would contact me by 13.30 today. I have still received no reply from BT and it is now 20.23! I received a further email from the same gentleman at Black's Collections saying that BT will contact me when they have investigated further.

I hope this cautionary tale will stop others from planning to take on a contract with BT Customerstreet and advise those involved with them already to call them to account and watch them like hawks!

Meanwhile, I hope the new coalition do more to actually encourage people to work for themselves and start small businesses which grow (but not too big for their boots!).

Do we need Revival?

This is a reprint of an article on BLOG.ACHRISTIANBLOGSITE.COM.

Prayer: Prominent Feature Of Revivals, I & II

Many Christians today doubt the need of a spiritual revival in their lives or in the Church of Jesus Christ. As support for their conclusions, they point to the great variety of Christian ministries active today. Or they detail the many varied Church programs available.

Further, they cite the popularity of religion, specifically Christianity. As a result, they reason that things could not be better, and the Church does not need a revival.

To draw such a conclusion, however, builds upon two false judgments. First, it assumes that the present state of spiritual affairs is true, valid, Biblical, and God blessed, lacking nothing but more of the same. Second, it indicates a lack of understanding of the nature of true revival and its Biblical mandate.

Against this false verdict (that we need no spiritual revival), I want to examine with you one of the prominent features of spiritual revival. It is present in every revival in Biblical and Church history. Further, it has a Biblical mandate for its presence in our Christian experience. It applies to our day and to our lives. It must be present in our lives according to its Biblical terms, or else we need spiritual revival.

I call your attention to the Biblical revival under King Hezekiah. The passage I want to study is recorded in 2 Chronicles 29.1-3. Hezekiah was the 13th king of Judah after the division of the Kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. He was a descendant of David and was described as righteous before God.

When he became king, he found the Temple closed. The people had trespassed against God and forsaken worship of Him. As a result, God had delivered them to judgment for their sins. Hezekiah had one purpose, the spiritual revival of his kingdom (see 2 Chronicles 29.10). His actions and response to God give an excellent backdrop for examination of the characteristics and requirements of revival.

From this passage, I want to examine with you the role of prayer in the spiritual revival of the Church of Jesus Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit will use these certain, sure truths in your life to clarify its Biblical mandate, to convict you of its necessity in your life, and to conform you to the truths of Scripture. I pray that God by His Spirit will use them to begin a spiritual transformation in your life today.

Priority of prayer

Note the preference that prayer had in Hezekiah’s life. The Scriptures record his first action as the ruler of Judah in 2 Chronicles 29:3:

"He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them."

Given the disastrous state of affairs, he had numerous options he could have followed. For instance, he could have restored civil conditions. Others in his position resolved political problems first. But not Hezekiah.

His first actions centered around the Temple. To God's chosen people, the Temple was the focus of all religious practice. It was the house of prayer and worship to God. But he realized that God had judged Israel for their failure to seek God's face. They had filled the Temple with uncleanness and had forsaken God. They had ceased to offer burnt offerings, and the candlesticks had ceased to burn. The people had closed the doors to the outside areas where people prayed.(2 Chronicles 29.4-7)

At the outset of his reign, King Hezekiah’s actions proved the burden of his heart. He wanted to make prayer and worship again the heartbeat of God's people. First, he reopened the Temple doors. He wanted to renew the former way of life of prayer to God. Then the King repaired the doors to strengthen them for a renewed practice of prayer.

No spiritual reformation occurs nor exists without the supremacy of prayer. In times of spiritual revival, prayer always becomes a priority. In fact, it becomes a priority before revival comes. Prayer is the fuel and foundation of all such awakenings. Furthermore, Jesus commanded it to be this way. Note Luke 18:1:

"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;"

Does prayer hold such a place in your life? If so, keep on; you’re on the path to spiritual renewal. If it is not, then, my friend, you need spiritual revival.

Practice of prayer

In the record of King Hezekiah, it shows that he practiced what he preached. He did not simply make prayer available to people; he made a practice of seeking God's face for the direction and aid of Judah. The Bible documents it 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32.

Because of the leadership and example of Hezekiah, prayer became a vital part of the spiritual life of Judah. He directed the priests, the spiritual leaders of the nation, to resume regular Temple practices. They restored prayer and praise in the Temple and in their service to the people. Further, the nation became involved in worship, prayer, and praise, too. The people joined Hezekiah and the priests in prayer.

I lament that the Church of Jesus Christ has such poor leadership in this indispensable practice. I have read with great sorrow of the pitifully small amount of time that pastors and spiritual leaders spend in prayer. I should not wonder that it is true. One only needs to examine the prayer life of the Church to conclude that prayer does not have a priority in their minds.

It’s almost as if the weekly prayer meeting of the Church has become the one program that they wish they could eliminate but fear to do so because of the long tradition of older members. It has become nothing more than a perfunctory meeting which many of the spiritual leaders of the church miss, including, sadly, pastors. It seems like it has become a “throw-away” service. It isn’t announced, and folk are not encouraged to attend.

However, that does not describe the conditions during spiritual revival. Check out the reformation of Jacob, David, or even Samson. Prayer played a necessary role in their renewals. Or examine the restorations of the Children of Israel in Egypt, or of the times during the Judges. These revivals always included prayer as an essential ingredient. It always encompassed spiritual leadership and all of the people.

Do these descriptions characterize your spiritual life? If you are a spiritual leader or pastor, do you spend time in personal prayer? Do you encourage your people to pray and to come to times of Church family prayer? If you do, praise God. Don’t quit. Redouble your efforts. If you do not, then you need spiritual revival.

Passion of prayer

The priority and practice of prayer in Hezekiah’s life sprang from a passion of prayer. Note his statement in 2 Chronicles 29.10:

“It is in my heart…”

This desire of King Hezekiah came from the heart. It was no mere mental assent to a “spiritual requirement.” Nor was it merely for show and pretense. No, it came from the heart. Prayer that does not involve the heart is not true prayer. It is superficial in nature and gets no response from God. True prayer wells up from within, from the very inner core of one’s being.

The Scriptures abound with examples of this kind of prayer. For example, who could ever forget the strong desire of Moses as he prayed for God's people after they made the golden calf. (Exodus 32.30-32) Or recall that most humbling of all examples, the Lord Jesus, Who’s prayer life is described in Hebrews 5:7:

"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;"

The Bible contains encouragement to prayer with passion. Heed the exhortation in James 5:16:

"…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

The Church and believers have come to place their confidence in organization. We say that all we need is better organization. In reality, as Leonard Ravenhill said, “We need to agonize, not organize.”

How do your times of prayer measure up with these accounts? Has it become dull, lifeless, and spiritless? Have your times of prayer turned mundane, without any passion? In my own personal practice, God has recently convicted me in this area of my prayer life. I confess that tears have come infrequently. Like Elijah, I want to pray with passion for God's presence and power in my life and among His people. Will you make it your desire, too?

Purpose of prayer

Finally, Hezekiah had a purpose which drove his enthusiasm for prayer. Again, refer to 2 Chronicles 29:10:

"Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us."

He had noted the deplorable spiritual condition of God's people. They justly deserved God's judgment for their sins and their rejection of God. Only spiritual repentance and revival could stem the tide of God's wrath. The king made that his driving purpose and priority. And God heard the prayers of His people, and, according to promise, He forgave their sins and healed their land. (2 Chronicles 7.14)

Why don’t God’s people want revival? Perhaps they have fallen for the fallacies which I outlined at the beginning of this article. They see active programs, growing attendance, and happy enthusiasm and conclude we only need more.

Some, I regret, avoid it out of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of their own spiritual condition, fear of loss of control, fear of loss of fame or position. I do know, much to my sorrow, that most spiritual leaders and pastors do not seek nor desire spiritual revival in their own lives or of the churches they lead.

But not Hezekiah. He had a passion with a purpose, the spiritual renewal of God's people. Nothing short of the same miracle will save the Church of today, either. I, for one, let me quickly state, share Hezekiah’s passion and purpose.

There is nothing in life I desire more than to experience spiritual revival personally and among God's people everywhere. That’s why I produce and preach on “Power For Life” and write this newsletter. I pray that God will use them in some fashion to spur you on to a spiritual transformation in your life, too.

I pray that the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes and clarified these truths to you. I pray that He has identified the fallacy of the view that “We have no need of revival.” I pray that He has moved you to distrust the conclusion that “I’m Okay, you’re Okay.”

These truths give us instruction to believe and obey. They should correct us from error. These truths should mold and shape our lives with a new realization of the importance of prayer and a devotion to its proper practice.

Where has the Holy Spirit identified your failure to apply these truths in your life? Do they describe you? Or do you believe that the Church needs nothing more than more of the same of what it now has? Does prayer hold a priority in your life? Do you practice regular times alone with God in prayer, seeking His face? Has your heart filled you with passion for the lost and the spiritual needs of God's people? Do you seek spiritual revival or do you fear spiritual revival in your own life?

I do not know where God's Spirit has identified your failure to apply these truths in your life, but I believe that He has. Maybe He has shown you that you have accepted a fallacy. Perhaps you have for a time set aside what once was a regular priority in your life.

What conclusions about your condition has the Holy Spirit revealed to you? Has He approved or disapproved? Has He found you innocent or guilty? I pray that He has revealed to you that your neglect grieves and quenches His work and ministry in your life.

The lack of conformity to God’s word brings the judgment of God. Too often, I believe that we accept the mercy of God and His longsuffering nature as a wavering from His demands. Sometimes, God simply gives us up to our desires, but sends leanness to our souls. (Psalm 106.15) God does warn us that He does not always strive with us over our sin. (Genesis 6.3) He may suddenly withdraw and send punishment. I remind you of the clear warning in Proverbs 29:1:

"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."

What changes does the Holy Spirit need to bring into your life today because of these truths? First, He must help you realize the refuge of lies that keep you from faith and obedience to them. To defend your actions or to excuse those which differ from God's word denies the truth and rejects it. A rejection of the truth does not change the truth. It still leaves you accountable to God for your sin and naked before God's judgment.

Second, you need to recognize God's requirements and your obligation to them. He demands personal holiness, and trusting obedience to His word. He grants no excuses for delay. Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Third, God desires you to repent from your sin. Confess your neglect of prayer without compromise or concealment. In humbleness, turn from your sin and find forgiveness from your Advocate, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. You will find cleansing unto spiritual revival. His mercies are great, and He abundantly pardons. (Isaiah 55.7)

I pray that you will experience the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life today. I pray that, in grace, He will apply these Biblical truths to you and begin a spiritual transformation in your life that will spur you on to spiritual revival.

Bibliography

Edwards, Brian. Revival! A People Saturated With God (Evangelical Press, Durham, England) 1990.

Gill, John. Exposition Of The Old And New Testaments (The Baptist Standard Bearer, Inc., Paris, AR), 9 Vols. reprinted in 1989.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary On The Whole Bible (Revell, New York) 6 Vols.

Poole, Matthew. A Commentary On The Holy Bible (Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MS), 3 Vols.

Ravenhill, Leonard. Why Revival Tarries (Bethany Fellowship, Minneapolis).

One Year Bible (with notes by Nicky Gumbel of Alpha course fame)

I am following this Bible reading course at the moment and finding it most enriching. Here is the link if you want to receive more details:-

http://www.htb.org.uk/one-year-bible/overview

Tuesday 1st. June

Respect, Reverence and Awe

One of the things we say when training our hosts and helpers for Alpha is that the small groups should be low key, unpressurised, non-confrontational, and based on respect for people regardless of their background or their beliefs. The Alpha small group always works best when each person listens respectfully to all the others in the group. It is this atmosphere of respect which makes the group a non-judgemental, enjoyable, safe environment where people can explore the Christian faith.

There are many blessings to living in Western Europe in the twenty-first century. However, we live in a society in which respect, reverence and awe do not seem to be as valued as they once were.

Each of the passages for today reflects on what these words mean and why they are important.

1. Respect

Proverbs 13:20-14:4

A culture of respect underlies the book of Proverbs. We see three examples in this passage:

i. Respect for the Lord
‘The person whose walk is upright fears the Lord’ (14:2). As we have seen, the word ‘fear’ is probably best understood as ‘respect’. Respect for the Lord is the starting point for respect in all our other relationships.

ii. Respect for the wise
‘Whoever walks with the wise grows wise’ (13:20). Our society increasingly devalues the wisdom that comes with age. Wisdom often comes through the experience of a long life. There is a huge amount of untapped wisdom in older people in our society.

iii. Respect in the home
‘Those who love [their children] are careful to discipline them’ (13:24). This teaching has sometimes been abused by an over literal interpretation. What the book of Proverbs is encouraging is a culture of respect in the family – respect for parents and also respect for children, which involves loving discipline.

Lord, help us to gain wisdom as we spend time with those who are wise. Help us as a church community to model good parenting, combining love and discipline. Help us to live lives of uprightness in respect for the Lord.

2. Awe

John 20:10-31

John records four resurrection appearances of Jesus – three of which are in this passage:

i. Appearance to Mary Magdalene
In the culture of the day, a woman’s testimony would not have been considered as weighty as that of a man. If the disciples had been making this up, they would not have devised the first appearance as being to Mary Magdalene. It shows a huge amount about Jesus’ respect for women. By this one act, and others during his life on earth, he laid the foundation for a revolution in the world’s attitude to women. Sadly, it has taken 2,000 years and we are still not there yet.

The respect goes both ways. In Mary’s case it is one of awe and amazement. As she realised it was Jesus, she cried out in Aramaic, ‘ “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher)’ (v.16), and rushed off to tell the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (v.18).

The great theologian, C.H. Dodd, wrote of Jesus’ appearance to Mary that it ‘has something indefinably firsthand about it. It stands in any case alone. There is nothing quite like it in the Gospels. Is there anything quite like it in all ancient literature?’

ii. Appearance to the disciples
Jesus’ appearance to the disciples brought them overwhelming joy: ‘The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord’ (v.20). He also spoke peace to them; ‘Peace be with you!’ (vv.19,21). The presence of Jesus always brings joy and peace.

Not only did he give them joy and peace, he also gave them a new sense of purpose: ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’ (v.21). The resurrection is the message of hope for the world. If this life were all there was it would ultimately be meaningless and purposeless. But Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. There is life beyond the grave. This gives our life on earth a whole new meaning and purpose. We are sent out by Jesus to proclaim this message to the world.

Finally, not only did he give them peace, joy and purpose, he also gave them power. He ‘breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” ’ (vv.22-23). The same power that raised Jesus from the dead was available to them. He gave them the power of his Holy Spirit and the power of his word to declare the message of God’s forgiveness to human beings. This is the message which brings eternal life, and the same power is available to us.

iii. Appearance to Thomas
Thomas was a cynic and was sceptical. I think I would have had the same response as him when he said, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it’ (v.25).

He must have felt so stupid when Jesus appeared to him and said ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe’ (v.27).

His response was the pinnacle of respect, reverence and awe. He said, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (v.28).

Jesus went on to tell him that belief leads to blessing (v.29). In fact, it leads to life. Belief and life go hand in hand in John’s Gospel (v.31). If you believe in Jesus you have life. This is real life of high quality, an abundant life (10:10) that goes on forever (3:16).

Lord, thank you that you give us your peace and your joy. Thank you that as the Father sent you, you send us and equip us with the Holy Spirit and the message of forgiveness for the world. May we not be cynical like Thomas, but rather be those who believe without having seen and worship Jesus with reverence and awe.

3. Reverence

2 Samuel 1:1-2:7

David’s attitude to Saul was quite extraordinary. He said to the Amalekite who claimed to have finished off Saul, ‘Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ (v.14) In the light of 1 Samuel 31, the Amalekite may well have been trying to benefit from what would have been a perversion of the facts. He may have been a human vulture, who took the royal insignia from Saul to gain favour with David. In any event, it did him no good because of David’s reverence for Saul.

David’s attitude to Saul is a wonderful example of how to respond to those who try to do us harm. (For example, unfair criticism from Christian leaders.) David did not seek revenge. He was not bitter. He treated Saul with the utmost respect. After all, God had used Saul greatly in the past. The fact that Saul had gone off the rails did not lessen David’s respect.

Supremely, David reverenced God. He ‘enquired of the Lord’ (2:1). He asked, ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ The Lord answered, ‘Go up.’ He then asked, ‘Where shall I go?’ The Lord answered, ‘To Hebron.’ David obeyed and was anointed king over the house of Judah.

Lord, help us to have the same love that David had for all those you have anointed in leadership roles, whether they support us or whether they don’t. Help us to never take revenge but always to treat people with respect. Help us, most of all, to live a life of reverence and respect and obedience to you.

Pippa Adds

Proverbs 13:20a

'Whoever walks with the wise grows wise'

After the Holy Spirit Conference last week (with eminent theologians such as Prof Jürgen Moltmann, Prof Miroslav Volf and others speaking) I am hoping some of their wisdom has rubbed off, even if I couldn't quite follow it all. I did walk Prof Moltmann back to the conference so that should have helped!

Some thoughts about the Trinity

God is Three-in-one

God is One

When Moses asks God for His name, God replies, "I AM WHO I AM.... Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). He is the only true God. All other gods are imaginary, idols that mislead people from the true God. God is truth: idols are lies. God calls people to faith, while idols confirm lost souls in their estrangement from the Creator. God challenges people to live holy lives. In contrast, idols give permission for sinners to sin with abandon. Even though the world thinks that many gods and lords exist (as Paul notes in in 1 Corinthians 8:5), only one God truly exists (as Paul goes on to confirm in verse 6).

In His High Priestly Prayer (John 17), the Lord Jesus confesses the fundamental truth that only one God exists (verse 3). He describes eternal life as knowing the only true God and the One He has sent, the Lord Jesus Christ. He also talks about God as His Father and speaks about the Holy Spirit as someone distinct from the Father and the Son.

God in Three Persons

The Lord Jesus often speaks of God as Father. (John records use of "Father" some 60 times in chapters 12 to 21 of his Gospel). He mentions God the Holy Spirit five times in this section. In prayer, our Lord Jesus also calls Himself the Son of God (John 17 verse 1). Both the evangelist (chapter 20 verse 31) and Jesus' enemies (chapter 19 verse 7) recognize the fact that the Lord Jesus claims a unique Sonship with the Father. His relationship with the Father is so close that He is able to say, "I and the Father are one" (chapter 10 verse 30).

In John chapter 3:16-18, the Lord Jesus identifies Himself as the "only begotten" Son (the translation "only Son" somewhat misses the point). The Father "begets" the Son and always has. Yet the Son is truly God (John chapter 1 verse 1). John even calls Him the "only begotten God" (Chapter 1:18, author's translation). The Spirit, on the other hand, proceeds from the Father (chapter 15 verse 26) and the Son (Romans 8:9-11; Acts 16:7: Philippians 1:19: 1 Peter 1:11)

In this way, God reveals Himself as One God. The Son of God is begotten of the Father from eternity. No matter how far back we look, the Son lives with the Father. Likewise, the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit carries out the will of the Father by always leading people to the Son (John 16:13).

Triune Saviour

God's ways are higher than our ways. Though He reveals Himself to us in the Scriptures, we cannot fully grasp who He is. However, a Mathematical illustration may help us to begin to understand.

1 + 1 +1 cannot equal 1. Nevertheless, 1 x 1 x 1 does equal 1!

Just as multiplication is a higher form of mathematics than addition, so God's ways are higher than ours. Our heavenly Father does not ask us to understand His three-in-one nature. He asks us to trust in Him and leave the details to Him.

A scientific illustration can also be given from the state of water. Below a certain temperature water becomes ice, above freezing point it becomes flowing water and then if it it is boiled to 100C it becomes gas. However, it remains the same substance, so it is with God.

As you ponder the mystery of who God is, also turn your attention to what God does. God has not revealed His three-in-one nature in order to confuse you. He desires to show you the many aspects of His love and work of salvation.

Whatever Doesn't Kill you makes you Stronger

I don 't know where the title I have used originated, but I believe from events that have occurred in my own life recently show that there is a great deal of truth in it.

Without going into the gory details, my wife and I have been through a very testing period in our lives recently and just as you think things are working out, something comes along to knock you to the ground again. The amazing thing is that I can still smile, laugh and yes, even enjoy day to day life on this wonderful planet Earth where we all share in the same kind of experiences one way or another (life's rich tapestry!). I am a firm believer in the words found in the Bible in Romans 8:28; 'We KNOW that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.'

Later in the same chapter, verses 37 to 39 Paul says: 'In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' The Apostle Paul wrote these words. Before his conversion he was a murderer of Christians and actually stood holding the coats of the men who killed the first Christian martyr, Stephen by stoning him to death. After his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus he spent some time in the desert before being called to preach the Good news of Jesus to the Jews and Gentiles. We think he was eventually executed in Rome for his Christian faith.

As a Christian I believe that God does test us to see if we can still put our faith and trust in Him, as a child puts his hand in his father's hand and allows him to guide him, without asking any questions. I do ask questions (because I am an adult of 55 and have seen a great deal of life), but I still believe that God is in control of my ultimate destiny. I need to become more child-like in my faith and I believe God is working on that. As I believe that He sent His son, Jesus to die for my sins, I know that ultimately I will spend eternity with Him in heaven, not through my goodness, but through my faith in His finished work.

In John 3:16 Jesus says 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.'

Is God speaking to you in the same way as He has spoken to me through my life's experiences and what is going on in the world. You too can have the assurance of eternal life with Him in Heaven if you put your faith in Jesus and ask Him into your heart and life to take control. If you haven't done this already, why not-

'Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water,

Put your hand in the man who calmed the sea.

Take a look at yourself and you will look at others differently,

Put your hand in the hand from the man from Galilee.'

God bless You richly wherever you are. Send me any comments or questions about this article, I would be happy to discuss any of the points I have raised and to share your experiences.