It’s all about the food!’
This was the observation I made to Jilly as we were eating outside ‘our’ bar/restaurant in Frigliana,
just the other week. We had arrived in the pretty, white-washed, Spanish hill town on a Saturday,
and initially we felt a little flustered and disoriented. It was crowded with people and we didn’t know
where anything was. We didn’t know the whereabouts of our ‘B & B’, and even when we did find
out, we then wondered how we could possibly get our luggage there. Clearly there was no parking
close to the hotel. Eventually we realised that we would have to park in the large central car park,
and just carry a few basic necessities for each day in one or two hand bags.
We finally managed to find a space in the underground car park (which seemed a mini-triumph in
itself). Stepping outside into the warm sunshine, Jilly spotted a very ordinary looking Spanish bar-restaurant over the road. Her well-trained nose told her this would be a good place to eat. She was right. We fell in love with it and
it’s charming owner and his delightful brother, returning on several occasions for meals. Although
we did try a couple of other much smarter restaurants which had great views, the food and service were not nearly so good. They were also more expensive.
‘It’s all about the food,’ I said to Jilly, as we sat outside, on the pavement, on our last evening there.
It made me think that there are many churches around that have too big an emphasis on presentation and style. There is, of course, a need to do everything as well as we can, whatever the
size of the church, but substance will trump style any day of the week. Hungry people will be drawn
to where they can get a good meal.
It’s all about the food (and the service!)
“The conscience is an organ of extraordinary delicacy, representing the deepest feelings of the human spirit. Like a sensitive recording instrument, influenced by every change of weather, it is liable to be damaged by any shock. When we thoughtlessly leave the doors of our inner life open to the ever-changing atmosphere of the times, the conscience is in danger of being thrown off balance.” Eberhard Arnold.
Someone made the point that conscience, to function properly, must be set to the ‘magnetic north’ of Scripture. Such fine-tuning is an on-going process.
Send Me Anywhere
AMY CARMICHAEL
“Often his call is to follow in paths we would not have chosen. But if in truth we say, “Anywhere, Lord,” he takes us at our word and orders our goings, and then he puts a new song in our mouths, even a thanksgiving unto our God (Ps. 40:2–3). There is wonderful joy to be had from knowing that we are not in the way of our own choice.”
This is a great quote. It is a reminder that when we submit our lives to the Lord Jesus we give Him the car keys, put Him in the driving seat and ask Him to take us along the route of His Choosing. At times it may be a bit of a ‘mystery tour’ to us. But with Him alongside, it will be glorious.
Here is a prayer I found:
“Give me clear guidance in my life, Lord. As I submit myself to you, I know that you will direct my paths and I can have confidence that your direction is always the best way to go. Hear my prayer, Father. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.”
Can Loneliness End?
J. HEINRICH ARNOLD
“Humankind is tormented and divided. Part of this torment is loneliness, which can be overcome only by experiencing the living church. This church cannot be identified with a specific group or organisation, but it does exist; it lives and comes down to humble, seeking people. The fact that the church exists is the most important reality on earth. When God speaks in the innermost chamber of our hearts, our sinful separation and loneliness are overcome.”
Have you ever walked into a church and felt unwelcome?. It was like an elite religious club and no-one was going to give you a membership application form. These things should not be. Let us pray that our churches will be places of real welcome where people’s loneliness can at least start come to an end.
Prayer: Lord make your church an all-embracing community of love.
Recently, Jilly and I have been re-visiting F.B.Meyer’s ‘ Daily Prayers.’ This one actually appeared on 1st October, but it is relevant for every day of the year:
‘If I have loved darkness more than light, if I have left some brother or sister wounded by the way, if I have preferred my aims to yours, if I have been impatient and would not wait, if I have marred the pattern drawn out for my life, if I have cost tears to those I love, if my heart has murmured against your will, O Lord, forgive.’
I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptised in my name.
Paul’s all-consuming zeal was for the honour of the Name of Jesus, and not that of his own little name.
Apparently, on the day of the Queen’s funeral, one media commentator said words to the effect that, ‘Today is all about Her Majesty; no-one else.’ Of course, it’s a totally understandable sentiment, and I’m sure that if I knew the context I would understand the statement all the more. But I read an article which pointed out the irony, because the Queen had clearly set up the whole day to point to Jesus. By 5 pm on Monday 19th September 2022, I felt like we had been treated to a day’s Christian viewing on the BBC!
In Boston Spa Methodist Church, near to the new main entrance, there is a plaque commemorating the life and ministry of a former incumbent who served in the early years of the 20th century. It states sparingly that he ‘tried to preach Jesus.’ I am taken by the humility and simplicity of that comment.
Similarly, an inscription on a plaque in ‘All Souls Langham Place’ reads:
‘Many friends of John Stott combined to give this pulpit and communion table out of deep gratitude for his dedicated ministry as evangelist, teacher and pastor during 25 years as Rector of All Souls (1950-1975). He taught us to make God’s Word our rule, God’s Spirit our teacher and God’s Glory our supreme concern.’
“Not to us, O LORD, but to your name be the glory…” (Psalm 115:1a).
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Every conversion is a miracle, a supernatural event. We need the power of God in our preaching, in our churches, in our service, in our personal lives. Let us not settle for anything less. We can’t manufacture anything, but let us pray fervently for “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”
Jim Packer, in a book entitled ‘Keep in step with the Spirit’, wrote about what he called ‘the floodlight ministry’ of the Holy Spirit. He pointed out that when floodlights are functioning properly we are not aware of them, but the building they are illuminating.
The Holy Spirit came He to glorify Jesus (John 16:14). The Spirit has been referred to as ‘the shy member of the Trinity.’ He is self-effacing. He wants to train the spotlight on Jesus. So if we covet the “demonstration” of the Spirit’s power in our preaching, let’s keep the focus on the central realities of Christ and His Cross. The Holy Spirit will inspire and help us to do this.
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
As anyone who has read John Scott’s magisterial book, ‘The Cross of Christ’, will be able to attest, keeping the focus on Christ and His Cross does not necessarily mean saying the same thing over and over again. There are so many aspects to consider and potential angles of approach. The Cross is like a sparkling multi-faceted Jewel. We will find Him – we will find it – in all the Scriptures. We will, for example, find ourselves preaching the Cross if we expound Genesis, as surely as we will if we are working through the gospels and the epistles.
Nevertheless we can affirm that, although there is so much to say on the subject, the simple proclamation of the Cross is full of an immeasurable power. May God help us to keep Christ-centred and Cross-centred. It is relatively easy to get off-centre.
Prayer: Jesus keep me near the Cross…
Thought: “The law discovers the disease. The gospel (the cross and resurrection) gives the remedy.” (Martin Luther)
‘Take my love, like the five barley loaves and two small fish, and multiply it, so that it may be pleasing to you and a blessing to others.’ F.B.Meyer.
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