Fracking

Fracking.

 

Sounded a bit rude when I heard it on the radio this morning.

 

Apparently it's a controversial method of extracting gas from under ground.  A mixture of water, sand and chemicals is pumped into a well, under high pressure to force the gas from the rock.*

 

One of the reasons that it is considered dangerous is the possible links to earthquakes: apparently, the splitting of rock which takes place in the process was linked to the Blackpool earthquake.

 

However, some are pleased with the decision today to lift the ban on fracking, as this naturally occurring shale gas is considered gold dust and will provide a much cheaper alternative to imported fossil fuels.  Whilst there are benefits to this process, many will wonder if extracting the gas is worth the risk.

 

It's the same with us: when we are doing 'deep' work in our own hearts and lives, when we are extracting painful lies or experiences and replacing them with God's truths, we have to accept that, often, it will create 'quakes' and shifts in the rest of our lives.  We can't expect to carry out this deep work and for it to go unnoticed.

 

Paul uses very vivid and violent language when he describes this process of replacing our lies with God's truth:

 

"We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.  Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity."

 

[2 Corinthians 10:5-6 MSG, emphasis mine]

 

 

This is powerful and uncomfortable work, and we have to ask ourselves if the discomfort is worth it.

 

I am someone who likes to get to the end of a process.  I am solution-based in many areas of life and am Queen of the to-do list.  So I struggle to be in the middle of a process.  I find it really uncomfortable to be part-way through something - part-way through the excavations and extractions - and to not yet be at the end of things.

 

But I know that whilst I am in this process, it is God who is completing me.  He is the One who is extracting the negative things and replacing them with His truths.  And He is trustworthy.

 

"May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.  The One who called us is dependable.  If he said he'll do it, he'll do it!"

 

[1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 MSG]

 

'Fracking' in our personal lives may be controversial, it may be dangerous, it may be painful.  But it may just be worth it.

 

 

 

* There's a very helpful 15 second summary of fracking here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20710481

 

 

 

Winter

I was just flicking through the channels this evening when I spotted that the first Narnia film is on.  It started a while ago, so I've missed the beginning, but I've seen it before so I can keep up.

I've joined the story just at the point where Christmas has finally arrived in Narnia, because of the hope that the Pevensey children have brought to the land.  Father Christmas presents Lucy, Peter and Susan with gifts and then declares, "Winter is almost over."

As we watch, the snow and ice, which have characterised life in Narnia for over a hundred years, begin to melt and disappear.  Trees bud and blossom and the world becomes green again.

It's a beautiful image as we watch things that have been dormant or dead slowly coming to life.

It reminds me of this beautiful passage in the Song of Solomon:

       "Look around you: Winter is over;
       the winter rains are over, gone!
       Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
       The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
       Spring warblers are filling the forest
       with sweet arpeggios.
       Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
       and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms."

       [Song of Solomon 2:10-12 MSG]


I often feel that there are things in my life, or in my heart, that are frozen over

But in the same way that the ice in Narnia is melted by hope, the ice in my life and in my heart is melted by the hope of new life that comes from God's love and forgiveness.

Whatever the season.



 

If At First You Don't Succeed...

When I was at school, I used to hate making mistakes in my exercise books: if I spelt something incorrectly or got the wrong answers, I used to cross it out really well, so that nothing could be seen.

 

I didn't want anyone else - or even myself - to see my mistakes.

 

And sometimes I do the same in life - in my mind, I scribble out the things that I don't want to see, the mistakes that I'm embarrassed about, or ashamed of.

 

But I was really challenged this week when I was marking some exercise books and found one student had labelled her work "Try 1" and then, when that hadn't gone quite as she had hoped, she had simply written underneath "Try 2" and had rewritten her ideas and improved them. 

 

In one case, there was even a "Try 3".

 

She hadn't minded me, or anyone else, seeing her mistakes.  She hadn't tried to hide them, or to cross them out.  She was happy for me to see that she had had a go and had kept working to improve her writing. 

 

She was happy to try again.

 

We've all heard the phrase If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.  But how many of us actually like people seeing us not succeeding, or trying again and again?  How many of us are brave enough and secure enough in ourselves to let people see "Try 1", "Try 2", "Try 3" etc.?

 

Many of us, when we know we have 'failed' or have fallen short of our own expectations, want to hide. 

"I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

 

[Genesis 3:10 NIV]

 

When we feel embarrassed or ashamed of our failings, we hide.  But we don't need to hide.  We don't need to fear.  If we trust in God and His love for us, our fear will we wiped away.

 

"There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love."
 

[1 John 4:18 MSG] 
 

We no longer need to fear or to hide.  Instead, we can let people see our efforts and our failures and our successes.  We can show people our "Try 1" and our "Try 2" and our "Try 3" and so on, because we are secure in ourselves and in our God's love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mulled Wine

Ah, 'tis the season for mulling things.  Mulled wine - both red and white* - mulled cider, mulled juices ...

 

I love mulled wine.  I love the beautiful, rich smell as all of the spices and flavours mingle and merge together.  And, of course, I love drinking it and feeling the warmth spread through me.

 

I like that it's a drink for sipping slowly and enjoying all of the different flavours.

 

I think that the Christmas story is a bit like mulled wine.  We so often gulp it down in one or two big mouthfuls: Mary and Joseph.  Engaged.  Pregnant by the power of God's Spirit.  No room at the inn.  Stable.  Baby born.  Shepherds.  Wise men.  Gifts.  Throw in a few classic farmyard animals and a few angels and you have got yourself a nativity play.

 

It's a story which we have all heard hundreds of times before.  It's a story which is woven into the fabric of our culture.  But it's also a story which we often don't pay much attention to, because we think we know it already .  And we think that we know all of the details already too.

 

But, like mulled wine, there are subtle flavours to be discovered, if we sip the story slowly and spend time mulling it over.

 

Even before Jesus' birth, God was at work in the Christmas story.  Rereading the book of Luke the other day, I came across this passage where Zachariah (Mary's cousin's husband and the father of John the Baptist), praises God:

 

      "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
      he came and set his people free.
      He set the power of salvation in the centre of our lives [...]

      a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
      So we can worship him without a care in the world,
      made holy before him as long as we live."

 

       [Luke 1:67, 70 MSG]

 

We are set free and rescued, through Jesus.  We need not have a care in the world, if we put our trust in Him.  We are holy and pure and beautiful in His eyes the moment we turn to Him and start to trust Him. 

 

This is just a tiny part of what Zachariah says, but there is so much to take in.  So much to sip and savour. 

 

Rather than 'downing' the Christmas story in one big gulp this year, let's take the time to sip it slowly and savour every flavour.

 

 

  

 

* I thoroughly enjoyed some mulled white wine last year as a seasonal twist on a classic and would highly recommend it.

 

It's What's On The Inside That Counts

I've just started rewatching the Disney childhood classic 'Aladdin'.

 

At the beginning, the travelling salesman/narrator introduces the magic lamp and tells the audience that, like many things, It might not look like much from the outside, but it's what's on the inside that counts.

 

His line reminds me of Isaiah's description of Jesus:

 

       "He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him;
       there was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.

       He was hated and rejected by people.
       He had much pain and suffering.
       People would not even look at him.
       He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him."

 

       [Isaiah 53:2-3 NCV]

 

There was nothing stereotypically attractive about Jesus.  Nothing on the outside to make us stop and notice Him.

 

But on the inside.

 

On the inside, He is the most attractive person who has ever lived.

 

But we have to look beneath the surface.  We have to choose to look beneath the surface.

 

The Jews rejected Jesus because He wasn't what they expected: they were waiting for a royal King to rescue them from oppression and to bring God's rule and reign to earth.  They were looking for a figure of strength and power and authority and instead, they found a tiny, weak, helpless baby in a manger.

 

They rejected Him because He didn't look like a King.

 

Sometimes we can reject Jesus because He doesn't fit our stereotype or our preconceptions.  We can reject Him as the One who can fulfil our needs and satisfy the longings of our hearts.  We can reject Him as the answer to our prayers.  We reject Him because He doesn't fit into our preconceived idea of what He should be like.

 

And He doesn't fit into our preconceptions, because He is bigger than them.  He is bigger than our ideas and our imaginings and our hopes and our dreams. 

 

But we only see it when we look beyond the surface.

 

 

 

 

Post And Parcels

I had to collect a parcel from the Post Office this morning.  I have never seen a longer queue there before.  It stretched halfway down the street and I thought I was going to be there for ever.

 

I always find it frustrating when I have to go and pick up a parcel, because I've missed the delivery, or because it won't fit through my small letterbox.  I wonder if there are any parcels that remain uncollected, or undelivered, or unreceived.

 

It made me think about this verse in John's Gospel about Jesus -  

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent,nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."

 [John 1:12 NIV]

 

Whilst Jesus came to bring peace to men and reconcile us to God, we have to receive what Jesus did.  We have to accept the delivery, so to speak, or go to the metaphorical Post Office to collect what He has sent us.

 

I read this in a book this morning, which I think explains this idea beautifully:

"When Jesus died on the cross, he made it possible for everyone to be forgiven.  In a sense, he extended the offer of forgiveness to everyone on earth.  The question is not: Has God forgiven you?  The question is: Have you received God's forgiveness?  I like to compare it to my writing you a cheque for one million dollars.  If I have a million dollars in the bank and I write you a cheque, I have done all I can to make you a millionaire.  But if you want to become a millionaire, you need to engage in the process.  You have to take my cheque down to the bank and open up a savings account.  You only become a millionaire by making use of the money I give you."

 

God has done all He can: He has reached out to us by sending His Son to live with us and die for us.  But we need to 'cash in' what He has given us.  We need to consciously and actively and intentionally receive Him if we want to enjoy the peace and restoration He offers.

 

 

Away In A Manger

I don't often think of God - or Jesus - as a baby.

I think of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  God my Strength, God my Stronghold, God my Tower.  God my King, God my Lord, God my Saviour.  God my Hope, God my Peace, God my Healer.  God my Bridegroom, God my Friend, God my Redeemer.

But I received this beautiful Christmas card yesterday, along with my birthday cards and the image of Jesus as a baby really struck me.

 

 

Jesus as a baby is weak and vulnerable.  He is completely dependent on the loving kindness of His parents.  His life is in their hands.

 

I often wonder why Jesus came to earth as a baby: God could have stepped down into this world as a fully-grown man and could have started His ministry immediately.  He could have had one or two years of preaching Good News and healing the sick and then still died on the cross.

 

So why did He come to earth as a tiny, helpless baby?

 

God isn't interested in a quick fix.  He's playing the long game.  He was more concerned about living His life alongside us and being a part of our lives, than He was about His own comfort and convenience.

 

The Bible describes Jesus becoming human this way,

 

        "[Jesus] who, being in very nature God,
        did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

        but made himself nothing,
        taking the very nature of a servant,
        being made in human likeness.

        And being found in appearance as a man,
        he humbled himself
        and became obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!"

 

       [Philippians 2:6-8 NIV]

 

In order to empathise with us and to understand our struggles and temptations, Jesus made Himself completely like us.  He humbled Himself so that He could fully understand our humanity.

 

I love this verse from the beginning of John's gospel, too -

 

"So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son."

 

        [John 1:14 NLT]

 

Jesus made his home among us.  He didn't just pop to earth for a brief visit.  He came to stay and to live alongside us, in all the messiness of our lives.  He came as a baby so that He could grow up among us and enter into our humanity.

 

I love this section of Hark the Herald Angels Sing about Jesus becoming a baby:

 

       "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
       Hail the incarnate Deity
       Pleased as man with man to dwell
       Jesus, our Emmanuel
       Hark! The herald angels sing
       'Glory to the newborn King!'"

 

Jesus died for us as a man.  But He came to us as a baby.  Vulnerable and humble and longing to be loved.