Real Food

I found myself ordering a salad the other evening from a food outlet which advertised its "real food".  Now, I haven't been tempted to eat pretend plastic food since my childhood, so I found the promotional technique a little odd.

What else would I be looking for other than "real food"?

I think the advertising ploy was intended to conjure up images of handmade, lovingly crafted, good-for-you food, the kind of food you'd cook at home and know was both healthy and tasty.  I think it was a statement of a shift away from the mass-produced, deep-fried, instant food of many fast food outlets. 

It got me thinking about what we mean by 'real', especially by 'real food' in a spiritual sense: something that will satisfy our deepest hunger and will 'do us good'.

We all hunger.  For meaning, for significance, for purpose.  We want to know that we matter, that we belong and that we are loved.  It is a hunger and a desire in each of us, which reaches to the depths our beings.

We try to fill this hunger in many different ways and with many different 'foods'.  We turn to money and wealth and jobs and fame and popularity and 'coolness' and relationship and friendship and children and sex and alcohol and TV and clothes and books and the list goes on and on.

And all of these things fill us for a little while.  Some even taste good.

But they don't satisfy our hunger for long.  We always want more.  They can't satisfy the very depths of our longings.

There is only one 'real food' who can satiate our hunger: Jesus.

He described Himself as providing this "real food" and nourishment for our spirits and our souls:

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

[John 6:35 NLT]

And He warned,

"Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food [...] work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides."

[John 6:27 MSG]

One of my favourite songs which considers this issue is by Plumb and is called 'God Shaped Hole' (you might recognise it from the film 'Bruce Almighty').  These are the words -

Every point of view has another angle
And every angle has its merit
But it all comes down to faith
That's the way I see it

You can say that love is not divine and
You can say that life is not eternal
"All we have is now"
But I don't believe it

There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
And it's a void only He can fill

Does the world seem grey with empty longing
Wearing every shade of cynical?
And do you ever feel that
There is something missing?

I would love to say that when I feel hungry, I always opt for the "real food" option - both literally and spiritually - but all too often I prefer the cheap, fast easy alternatives.  As I continue to grow in my relationship with Jesus I want to be able to say, in the words of the song,
"Hungry I come to You, For I know You satisfy."

Sewing

I have surprised myself recently with a new-found talent for sewing.  I have been hand-stitching cushion covers, bunting and fabric gifts, and have been thoroughly enjoying myself.

The project that I have been working on for the longest is a large patchwork cushion cover.  I have only got two rows left to go and I am excited about seeing what it will look like when it is all finished.  It is not the neatest thing ever (especially if you take a look at the back), but I am proud of it, especially as I never thought that I would be very good at anything involving a needle.  It is a jumble of odds and ends of different fabrics: some 'vintage' fabrics from Mum's old sewing basket, some off-cuts from previous sewing endeavours and some beautiful Cath Kidston squares.  They have different patterns and colours, but they all work together to create an overall cushion cover.

In the same way, the Bible describes us (as a church, both locally and globally) being sewn together in a tapestry that reflects God and His love:

"I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God.  Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery."

[Colossians 2:2 MSG]

My patchwork cushion would be rather dull if it was all made from the same fabric.  It is the different patterns and colours of each of the pieces which make it beautiful.  Individually, they are pretty fabrics but, together, they look even prettier; each square draws out the different colours of the surrounding squares.  Similarly, the church would look rather dull if we were all identical.  It is our differences which best reflect the different aspects of our diverse God.

Rather than feeling that we all ought to be the same, we should embrace and celebrate our differences.  One of my favourite verses expresses this beautifully -

"Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvellously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't."

[Romans 12:6 MSG]

Whilst I continue to sew, I hope that this verse weaves its way into my heart, so that I can celebrate my own gifts and those of others.  So that I can 'draw out' the aspects of God that I see in those around me and so that, together, we can weave a tapestry of love that reflects who God is. 

Blue Skies

This evening, I flew home on a short internal flight. It was grey and raining when we took off and the plane wobbled as we flew up through the different layers of clouds.


The rain spattered and pattered on the windows and ran down them as we rose up through the clouds. And then all of a sudden, as we broke through the clouds, the rain ran off the windows and we were surrounded by blue skies. The clouds were puffy white islands beneath us that made me think of Aladdin and Jasmine's magic carpet ride.


Whenever I fly, I am always amazed by how, no matter what the weather is like on the ground, there are always clear blue skies above. It can be heavy thunder and lightning and a turbulent flight, but as soon as you get up above the clouds, there is an endless sky of perfect, uninterrupted blue.


In the same way, regardless of the storms in our lives and the 'bad weather' on the ground, if we can get up high enough and rise above the rain, we will find peace and hope in God.


But, in the same way that we can't make ourselves fly (a design flaw in my mind), we often can't lift ourselves up spiritually either. We get stuck beneath the clouds and can't see anything above them. In these times, we can ask others to support us and pray with us but, above all, we can ask God to lift us up.


Isaiah describes God lifting us up when we are exhausted and caught up in the storms.


"He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."

[Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT]

When we feel tired and run-down and caught in the storms of this life, God can lift us and carry us above the clouds, to a place of peace.

White Doves

Today, for the first time that I can recall, I saw a dove up close.


There were three of them in a dovecote and I was amazed at how close I got to them. I started off by tentatively tip-toeing towards them, pausing every time they looked up. But soon I was right underneath them and they didn't seem bothered by me at all.


I have always known that they were a symbol of peace (and sometimes hope too), but I was surprised by how busy they were, preening themselves and ruffling their feathers. They were peaceful, but not still.


It got me thinking about the real meaning of peace.


"Peace" is often partnered with "Quiet". We long for a moment of "peace and quiet" and seem to assume that to be peaceful requires being quiet, or that being quiet will result in a feeling of peace.


But watching the doves made me realise that peace is not so much to do with volume or stillness. It is about a deeper contentment and assurance. A confidence in who God is and who we are in Him. It is an internal confidence which cannot be shaken or altered by external circumstances. It is based on putting our trust in a reliable, faithful and unchanging God.


It is, as Paul said, the ability to feel content whatever the circumstances:

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."

[Philippians 4:11-12 MSG]

In The Message translation, Peterson defines peace as "a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good" [Philippians 4:7 MSG]


God desires to give us this peace, to guard and protect our minds and to make us complete. But we have to stop worrying and fretting and put our trust in Him, instead of in ourselves.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

[Isaiah 26:3 NIV]

Red Lips

Yesterday, I discovered a red lipstick that I had bought a while ago in the bottom of my make-up bag.


Despite buying it a few months ago, I haven't really worn it much. It is a bold, vibrant colour, which doesn't really call for half measures. Properly applied, it is a glamorous pillar box red, reminiscent of the 1920s. Tentatively applied, it looks like Pat Butcher.


I haven't worn it much because I have always felt it was a bit too obvious and I wasn't sure I wanted to draw that much attention to myself. It calls for boldness and forces me to decide: am I in or out?


In the same way, in Revelation, Jesus wrote to the church at Laodicea, asking them to decide: are you in or out? He criticised them for being "lukewarm", for not being fully committed to Him or His church.

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

[Revelation 3:15, 16 NLT]

In the same way that red lipstick is better not applied than applied cautiously, Jesus said it was better for the church at Laodicea to choose one way or another.


Fully committed or not at all.


His challenge is for us too: are we in or out? Will we commit everything we have to Jesus, trusting in Him to meet our needs, or will we only offer Him half-hearted commitment when it suits us and is convenient? If it is the latter, Jesus goes so far as to say that He would rather we didn't bother - He either wants all of us, or none of us.


Jesus, like red lipstick, demands that we choose: either in or out.  All or nothing.

Waters Rising

Lindisfarne is a small island just off the coast of Northumberland.

It is only accessible at certain times of the day as, when the tide comes in, the island is completely cut off and is isolated in the North Sea. Cars are advised to leave the island an hour before the tide comes in (unless they are staying on the island), as the water rises so quickly, completely covering the causeway.

Despite many warnings at either end of the causeway, cars have had to be abandoned and stranded passengers have had to be rescued over the years as reckless drivers have tried to outrun the tides.

Today, we watched in amazement as the water rose so quickly. Within seconds it crawled across the causeway and inched its way towards our feet (You can just make out the disappearing road at the bottom of the photo). It was easy to see how some people get stranded, when you saw how rapidly the waters rose.

Sometimes things in life can creep up on us, too. Before we know it, we find ourselves surrounded. We are stranded in the middle of situations with no memory of how we got there and no obvious way of escape.

But the Bible tells us that we need never feel out of our depth, or in over our heads, as God will always step in and rescue us.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."
[Isaiah 43:2 NIV]

And I like the same verse in The Message translation, as it explains why God will save us.

"When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Saviour.
I paid a huge price for you (...)
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!"
[Isaiah 43:2-4 MSG]

Some of the lyrics from "Your Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture reflect this idea -

"The wind is strong and the water's deep,
But I'm not alone here in these open seas.
Your love never fails."

When we are surrounded, we need never feel stranded, because God will rescue us and His love never fails.

S

Crowds

In my opinion, there are good crowds and bad crowds. Bad crowds include: Christmas shoppers, the rowdy crowd making their way home past my flat and singing loudly at 3am and, most annoying of all, the slow-walking, pavement-blocking crowd.

But good crowds can be supportive and collaborative and encouraging. They can work together to achieve far more than individuals can; they can support and encourage each other; they can be a powerful force for good.

One of the most amazing things about watching the Olympics this week has been the reaction and support of the crowds, especially the crowd supporting the home team. The sheer volume of the cheering and shouting every time someone from team GB has been competing has been immense.

So many athletes have commented on the support of the crowds too and the effect that is has had on them. When the athletes have been nervous or overwhelmed, the crowd has encouraged them; when they haven't done as well as they had hoped, it has helped them to pick themselves up; when they have grown tired and weary, it has motivated them to keep going.

In the same way, the Bible tells us that we have a huge crowd of witnesses, spurring us on and encouraging us to persevere in our walk with God. A crowd of witnesses who have gone before us and who are on our side.

Yesterday, I wrote about the Holy Spirit being on our side and being our coach. We also have a crowd supporting us - other Christians who have gone before us and who can give us advice and encouragement, or those who walk alongside us and cheer us on.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

[Hebrews 12:1 NLT]

Pete Greig writes in his poem "The Vision" -

"They (Christians) don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

We weren't meant to run this race alone. It's a team sport. Let's cheer each other on and listen out for the roaring support of others.