How's church in the UK?

A friend in Florida just asked me this in an email; I thought I'd answer the question for everyone. In context, the question means, 'How is church life going on for you personally', not, 'How is the church doing in the UK as a whole'. So this post answers the first, personal question, not the second, general one.

The fact is, things are going well, very well.

Am I happy with the state of affairs? Yes I am, I have a sense of peace about it all, like the peace in the scene in this post. Can I see where it's all heading? No, not really. Does that mean I lack a vision for the way forward? No, not in the least!

Let's unwrap that a bit.

It all depends on your point of view.

Let's start with the premise that church growth depends on running the church efficiently day to day, planning for the future, building up numbers, bringing in the necessary funding, putting up buildings, and growing people in maturity through teaching and discipling. That is the standard institutional model that most of us work by. In that case church growth can be measured in the same way that success in business can be measured. Set some targets, aim at them, and then measure success as achievement against those targets.

But there is a problem with that approach. Nowhere in the Bible do we find anything that looks remotely like the 'standard business model'!

If we begin with the premise that church growth depends on Jesus living in his people and guiding them individually and together, we get a very different definition of success. Success must now be measured in terms of the quality of relationship we have with Jesus and with one another. If we are rightly built into the body we'll see that Jesus does indeed build his church. Paul understood this when he wrote Romans 12:1-13. We are to work together in a new way, a totally unexpected way, and it's assuredly not the way of the world or of business.

Paul writes several times and at some length about life in the body and how we should expect to be built as a natural outworking of love. This 'building through loving' requires Jesus' love towards us, our love towards him, and finally our love towards one another. It couldn't be simpler. Does Paul ever (even once) write in terms of setting targets or having goals for building the church? No he does not.

So, in the light of all that, how's church been going for me recently?

Well, I've met some new people in the last few weeks and it seems to me we're likely to be keeping in touch and meeting together as and when we have the opportunity. I suspect we're going to find ourselves built and encouraged in unexpected ways.

At the same time we have a friend who was ill, had no reason (medically) to expect to survive, yet has been told he seems, remarkably, to be in the all clear.

Then there's the difficulty explained in an earlier post. I haven't had a reply yet, so I'm continuing in prayer and will keep thinking about the various issues involved. What I can say is that through some of my new friends I'm now aware of a man who is seriously interested in contacting the young people involved, and has the faith, the personality, and the experience to engage their interest. And I also know other friends on the edge of town who might be keen to help with that.

All of this is encouraging and exciting, so I think the answer to the original question is, 'Oh yes, things are going along very nicely thank you. Jesus is in control, and I have no specific targets because I have no idea what he will do next. But it will be good!

My personal targets are to get to know Yahshua better day by day, and to grow increasingly in relationship with my brothers and sisters.

Living in fear in St Neots

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I've just read a distressing news report about a local family that are having their lives ruined by thoughtless, cruel, young people throwing stones at their home, calling out abusive remarks, and even breaking windows. The news report is online, take a look for yourself.

Let's list out a few basic facts about the situation and about me. After all, I live in St Neots, I am involved whether I wish to be or not, I'm part of this community.

• The young people doing this are probably bored, perhaps they have nothing useful to keep them occupied. They probably get swept along in the moment, they each want to outdo the others. It's cool to do this stuff. There may be one amongst them who leads them into stuff they wouldn't otherwise do.


• The police are only able to respond to crimes that are committed, they don't have the remit or the people to deal with any underlying problem.


• The church will feel sorry that this has happened, but will think, 'What can we do?'


• The people being victimised can do little to help themselves.


• The neighbours will feel, 'I'm not getting involved otherwise I'll be next.'


• I'm thinking hard about what I should do...
  

Mallard Lane is not the most prosperous part of town, hardship is a reality for some and local people are struggling with issues which include vandalism. Here's a map of the area (you can also view a larger map). The pin in the map just marks the street, not the position of the household under attack.

So what can I do? What can anyone do?

Here's what I propose, I will begin by praying.

I'll share this story with the friends I meet with on Thursdays, we can pray together.

If you're reading this and would like to pray too that would be great. The main things I'm asking as a start are

• That I'll be shown clearly what, if anything, I am to do.


• That the trouble will stop and the pressure be lifted.


• That the woman in the story will be healed.

That's a start. But in practical terms here's what I'm thinking.

• Make contact with the people who are being victimised.


• Invite them round for a BBQ some time soon.


• Send letters to the local church explaining the background and asking for prayer and any practical input they feel led to offer.


• Consider encouraging a meeting to include the victims, the police, young people from the area (if possible), the church, neighbours, other organisations that might be able to offer support, help, or advice.

So far I have little idea where the Lord will lead me in this, but I know it would be wrong to 'just forget'. I'll post to the blog again to let you know what happens next.

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FAMILY - Travelling with friends

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Since 27th July Donna and I have been travelling around the UK with friends from Florida. This has been a time of blessing and fun for me personally, a time I'll always remember.

We have packed so much rich experience into just a few short days of living. And it seems to me that this is the way the whole of life should be lived. Life is short, so everything we experience in it should be treasured as a special privilege.

The holiday is not yet over, but it's getting closer to the end. Thinking about that brings some sadness, but reflecting on what we've done together brings great joy. Perhaps all of life is like this holiday. It has a beginning and a not-yet-experienced ending. It is a journey. It's a far richer journey when we dwell on the good things and allow the less good to flow quietly into the past and learn patience, wisdom, and trust in the process. The quality of our lives, like the quality of a holiday, is based partly on what we choose to hold onto and what we choose to let slip away without bitterness, anger or regret.

Here's a list of the outstanding things we've included so far, the things to remember and dwell on later.

• Travelling home from Gatwick Airport with two friends, and catching up with our news
• Taking the park-and-ride bus
  
• Visiting Oxford and eating ice-cream in 'The Eagle and Child', a popular haunt of CS Lewis
• Preparing and eating meals together, another time for informal chat
• Driving through the British countryside
• Visiting the old cathedral town of Lincoln
• Looking at a Norman house - yes, Norman!!
  
• Spending an evening with my eldest daughter, Debbie, and her family
• Travelling through the Pennines
• Visiting Hadrian's Wall and looking around Vindolanda
• Travelling to Edinburgh via Carlisle and Glasgow (don't ask!)
• Living on the Royal Mile as the Edinburgh Fringe gets under way
• Doing the open-top tourist bus thing
• Viewing the paintings in Edinburgh's National Gallery
• Taking friends who've never seen Edinburgh Castle to see Edinburgh Castle
• The Scottish Crown Jewels
• Driving the east coast road and stopping at the English border
• Durham and it's wonderful cathedral

• Spending another evening in York, with my younger daughter and her family
• Visiting York Minster and the undercroft
• Arriving home again
• Meeting with others at home, sharing a meal, prayer together, bread and wine, a great chance for people to chat, a time of blessing and encouragement
• Another trip to Oxford, a pub lunch, the CS Lewis walking tour
• Taking our friends to the station to visit London on their own
• Collecting them again at Kew Green tube station
• Visiting Kew Gardens
• Visiting 'Talkin' Headz', a drum shop in Woburn Sands
  
• Sitting on the patio chatting
• Taking our guests back to Gatwick to fly home
  

It would be easy to write a whole blog post on each of those events. Maybe I'll do just that, it would certainly be fun to write and would make a great diary of the trip.

So many happy memories, and still a few more to come. Life is rich, and good, and full. Life is like a meadow in the summer, filled with every kind of flower, dancing with butterflies and shimmering on a hot, dry day. As I write, the rain is pounding on the conservatory roof - but that, too, is a wonderful thing, what a sound! In the garden it's soaking into the good earth and making the plants flourish. They need the sunshine, but they need the rain too. Sunshine and water combining to generate abundant and carefree life. The rain today and perhaps the sunshine tomorrow.

We're rather like those plants, we need sunshine and rain in our lives to truly thrive.

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What's the purpose of the Scilla blog?

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Most blogs focus on a particular topic, but this one covers all sorts of topics. One reason for this is that to post enough items to keep a blog interesting takes time. Posting to two or three more focused blogs would take two or three times as much effort, otherwise they would be updated two or three times less often.

I have lots of interests, lots of stuff to share. I want this blog to reflect real life, I want it to be a way for my friends to keep track of what I do and also perhaps an introduction to areas of my life they might know little about.

Do you compartmentalise your life? I do. Not deliberately, but when I'm with scientists we talk science, when I'm with Christians we talk faith, when I'm with photographers we talk about images. It's natural. To help you I've provided a tag cloud at the top of the left hand column, click on topics that interest you and you will only see posts on those topics.

Over the next few days I plan to begin posting brief introductions to each of those topic areas explaining why I'm interested, what it involves, and how it affects my life. These are not going to be technical posts, they'll be light and easy to follow - for anyone. I promise!

Have you ever thought that there must be connections between all the different things you do? If in no other way they are linked because they're all things you enjoy, or else you do them because something else about your life demands it. Either way, there's a link.

I'll try to draw out some of the links I see as I go along. Some are clearly linked, like astronomy and photography, or photography and garden, or transport and environment. But what about garden and persecution?

I plan to work through in alphabetical order so I'll be starting with astronomy and working right through to underground church.

These posts will be interspersed with others. There are bound to be items just waiting to be written on a host of other things.

Watch this space...

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Back to blogging

I'm getting back to this blog after a long, long absence. Blogger's management and editing systems have all changed so this is just a check to see how (if) it all works.

Eaton Ford - Dragonfly and pot

< 13th June 2006 | Index | 28th June 2006 >

We heard about the Bromsgrove meeting, some family news, life after death, a broken pot, and a geyser.

Chris shared some details of the previous weekend's conference at Bromsgrove, and especially Andy White's little cards which he gives out to people when he buys them coffee or pays their parking fee. These form a point of contact, they break the British reserve and allow people to get in touch with Andy later if they want to. What a wonderful idea!

Rachael shared some exciting news from her son Tom. He'd dreamed that he was in heaven and was greatly struck by the bright light, great joy, and a sense of purity. He'd texted the details to Rachael and then later texted her again to ask how he should go about finding forgiveness. This is just amazing! We prayed for Tom, something is clearly happening in his life!

Di wondered if people who've died can speak to us in our dreams. Chris was sure they could not, but that there are reasons why we might think that they do. In the end this question was left open, although we noted that the Bible strongly opposes deliberate attempts to 'contact' the dead.

John shared a delightful illustration of the principal of our present earthly lives and future heavenly ones, told to him long ago but never forgotten. Dragonfly nymphs live under water until they pupate and finally emerge, climb a reed or stem, wait for their wings to expand and dry, and then fly off as graceful adult dragonflies.

The story involves two dragonfly nymphs who wonder where fully grown nymphs go. They made a pact, whichever of them matured first would come back and get a message to the other one explaining what happened, where they went, and what it was like.

Time passed until one of the nymphs was mature and nature took its course. The nymph pupated and re-emerged as an adult dragonfly. Flying above the water he was able to see his old friend below, but realised there was no way he could get a message back to the old world below the water. And his old friend below didn't even seem to be aware of him flying by above the water.

Chris had a picture of a broken pot and said that there are two ways of mending it. The way we would try is to find the right kind of adhesive (does it need to be waterproof, withstand heat, etc), buy the adhesive and then glue the pieces back together. But in the vision the pot was not just glued back together, it was actually made new, it was turned back into an unbroken pot. Like the pot, we were broken people, but have not just been mended, we have been made totally new.

Rachael saw a picture too, a huge, hot geyser with the water falling down; so large that droplets were landing as far as hundreds of miles away, and falling onto people and making them wet. She also saw a spiritual 'earthquake' in which a mighty slab of brilliant light collided with a slab of darkness and overcame it. There were loud and continuing earthquakes during the collision.

< 13th June 2006 | Index | 28th June 2006 >

A new member of the family! (SQ)

Yesterday I met Meredith, my first grandaughter, indeed my very first grandchild. What an experience!

A grandchild is such a precious gift, new life. Even if I live to a very ripe old age I'm unlikely to be here for more than another forty years, but little Meredith may still be here in a hundred years time. OK, maybe that's not entirely likely - but it is possible and an awesome thought. What will the world be like in a hundred years time? We don't know, cannot know. Oh, there'll be a blue sky. Some days the sun will shine, some days it will rain. Volcanoes will erupt and earthquakes will rattle the land. People will fall in love, fight with each other, struggle with all sorts of problems, bring up children, complain they are short of time, starve to death, get excited when their team wins, die in accidents, win prizes, become famous.

But what will the world be like? Would someone born in 1906 have guessed in their wildest dreams that people would visit the moon, that I'd be typing this into a computer, or that this blog would be visible to almost anyone in the developed world within a fraction of a second of publication?

No, Meredith lives in a world we cannot predict except in the broadest terms. So broad that we must admit our ignorance. It was a heart-warming experience to hold her in my arms, to smell her milky breath, see her yawn and stretch. Meredith knows almost nothing of this world yet, but she is learning already. Sights, sounds, touch, taste, smell, all sending a meaningless jumble of signals to her little brain. Already it will be integrating and processing the input, recognising patterns and noting responses. How amazing, a human being in construction.

Within a mere couple of years she'll be walking and talking and understanding so much. Amazing! Maybe if I'm still blogging I'll post another photo in 2008.

And, wonder of wonders, another grandchild is expected in June so I shall get to see this early stage again and wonder at another new life.

I'll keep you posted!

What kind of dog would I be? (KN)

Walking along the river bank this afternoon I came across a woman exercising her dog. The dog ran towards me along the river path, then obediently lay down at a command. As I came up behind him and walked past, his eyes didn't waver. He didn't so much as glance at me, he was watching his owner very intently, waiting for the next command. His owner said, 'Get it then! Go on!', and off he went like an arrow released from a bow, off to fetch a ball or something else she'd left behind for him.

As we passed I smiled and said, 'Very good!'. I got a big grin back as I carried on walking.

Is this dog typical? No! I don't think so! I can think of several examples of badly behaved dogs - and I'm quite sure you can too...

We are like dogs too, some of us are more obedient than others. My brother-in-law has a Boxer called Rosie, she has a mind of her own, she will obey - but only if it suits her - or if she can see a titbit waiting for good behaviour! She is wilful, and she wants to be in charge. There are other dogs that don't disobey deliberately, but they never learned the words of command, they don't understand what is wanted of them.

I doubt if any of us is totally obedient. Some of us are wilful and want our own way, others perhaps are not attuned to our Master's voice. Some make a determined attempt, but sooner or later get it wrong for one reason or another.

It seems to me that the obedience of dogs is a very good illustration of the principles. A dog needs a master and must learn to obey without hesitation, certainly a good working dog will never question an order. Think of a sheepdog, or a retriever, or a dog trained to find drugs or explosives. They are only useful if they are obedient and reliable.

So if we want to be useful to the Master we must begin by learning to hear and recognise his voice. We can't obey him unless we first know what he wants of us. And having heard, we must have a heart to do his will, not our own. We might think our own ideas and methods will do the job, but they will not; we would be no more use than a sheepdog that decided for itself where the sheep should go.

Nor should we expect a reward, we may or may not receive one; our main reward will be in heaven - eternal life with the Son in the presence of the Father and surrounded by a great host of brothers and sisters. But here and now there may be no reward that we can identify. Our motives must be pure, we obey because he is our Father and we love him.

And like the obedient dog we must fix our eyes on the Master, unwavering, undistracted, and patient. When he gives the word we will be ready and will obey instantly.

Here in this world we have a relationship, first with the Master but also with our brothers and sisters, we will do well if we keep our eyes firmly focussed on his wonderful face. We will learn so much from what we see there, is he smiling? Being one of his people means we must interact with others. If they are to be built up and encouraged we'd better be obeying orders, not just making it all up as we go along.

Where we are not sure we do well to look all the more carefully. Never take your eyes off the King! Where we are not clear we must practice listening. How does the obedient dog develop such acute powers of observation and attention? By training, by practice. Practice hearing and seeing and you will get better at it. I promise you! Practice obedience and you will get better at that too. So that is our goal, to practice and practice and become more attuned to hearing and obeying.

See! We can even learn from the behaviour of our pets. Our Master is really good, loves us well, and knows how to train us; if we are obedient we can expect to do exceptionally well.

Oh, and one last thing. A good dog must have only one master - so must we. We are not to follow teachers, or preachers, or elders, or any other man or woman. We have one Master, and our attention should be fixed unwaveringly on him. Then we won't be distracted or deflected from his purpose. And as we help and encourage one another, we do well if we remind one another always - 'Look to the King, keep your eyes on his wonderful face, see his love, hear his voice.'

Comments copied from the original Chris Jefferies' Blog.
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Comment from: Steph [Member] Email · http://www.es-creative.com
Having "his heart," not our own, is a phrase that is resonating with me, Chris. How does that happen?

I think that some of it has to do with the 30, 60, and 100 fold story in the New Testament. A 30 fold return on investment is pretty darn good.... but it's not "all" there is to be had.

If we want his heart, we've got to give 100% of ours, with no holes barred. Unfortunately, the forces of our human nature and society's constraints around us are 100% opposite to that. Everything seems to work against that work of maturity and complete surrender.

Isn't that why we need each other? To help each other press on to the upward goal, the *prize* .....

which is "his" heart.
Thanks a terrific blog.
S.
14/10/04 @ 04:27

Everything I have (KN)

'Everything I have, was given to me.'

This simple line came to me today in an e-mail from a friend. It referred to something quite specific, but it's so true in a general way too. The more I've thought about it during the day, the more its meaning has become rooted in my heart, like a seed planted there. It seems right to share these thoughts more widely.

When I was first conceived I was no more than a tiny bead of protoplasm carrying a copy of the DNA that spelled my potential. As I grew, the meaning of the code worked out in detail until the day I was born and took my first breath.

We often think of birth as the beginning of life, but by the time I'd taken that first lungful and tested out my new voice with an ear-splitting wail, I'd already received so much.

First, the DNA code itself, donated by my parents but specifying a new, unique creature. And then all that realised potential - a heart that beats, lungs that fill with air, bones and muscles, fingers and toes, and all those amazing internal organs working away to keep me alive and healthy until adulthood. I earned none of these things. They are rich and wonderful gifts bestowed on me even before I was born!

Throughout my life from the morning of my birth to the evening of my old age I'll have received so much. The air I breathe, the water I drink, the food I eat and the clothes that keep me warm, I earned none of these things. I used my gifts of mind and body to 'earn' my way in the world, but I could create nothing without the means to do so, and the means came to me as generous gifts.

It seems to me that I have nothing at all to boast of, and absolutely everything to be grateful for. And look around at the world we inhabit! See the beauty of the sky, sun shining on leaves, the frost on twigs. Smell the fragrant orange blossom, the wonderful aroma of freshly cut grass, or bread straight from the oven. Ah, what a wonderful, wonderful world. And what a wonderful Creator who brought it all into being and planted me here amongst it for a season. I earned none of this!

And friends, family, just a smiling face in the local shop or at the bank, a kind word from someone who cares. Did I earn these blessings? No, I did not. All are gifts.

How true then it is to say...

'Everything I have, was given to me.'

Praise the King of Kings who has blessed me with so much. Honour and glory and power are yours, for ever and ever. Amen.

Comments copied from the original Chris Jefferies' Blog.
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Comment from: Steph [Member] Email · http://www.es-creative.com
Oh yes -- just look around at the world we inhabit; it *is* amazing. Unfortunately, so many of us miss the little joys that are at our fingertips each day. Sometimes a simple glance, lingering on a thing of beauty or taking an extra moment to smile at a passerby is enough to remind us that there is more to this world than what we see, handle and touch. Just a glance can mean so much!

What I especially enjoy is when someone has the gift - an "eye" really -- to capture some of these glorious things and share them with others. Whether it's a melody, a phrase well turned, or a beautiful moment captured by photography. I appreciate these gifts so much. They inspire people like me to look higher, deeper, and live more meaningfully.

Thank you, Chris, for sharing these awesome photographs. I'm in love with this last one of purple heather and a dogwood bending low. At least that's what they look like from this vantage point.
08/10/04 @ 14:29

Why not come and join us? (KN)

If you are enjoying the items on this blog, maybe you'd also enjoy discussing matters of relationship on the Koinonia Life Discussion Forum.

The list centres on how we share our lives as believers, how we relate to one another, and how together and individually, we relate to the Messiah. These are interesting topics and are at the heart of what it means to be a part of his body here on earth.

Of course, talking about these things in itself gets us nowhere. We must live the life, not just chat about it! But for those who are living the life (or trying to), a chance to bounce ideas around and hear the opinions and experiences of others can be liberating and helpful.

The group is a friendly and encouraging place where people try to help one another. The objective is to avoid argument and confrontation, but focus on building one another up in love.

If you want to know more, why not read the main information page at Koinonia Life and see what you think. If you want to join the list just click the 'Join This Group!' button at the top of the page to start the process.

Come on in and share with us, you'll be made very welcome!

Eaton Ford - Love and deadness

< 16th April 2004 | Index | 22nd September 2004 >

This evening was amazing, we felt we received such a revelation of Father's heart; but it was difficult to hold it clearly in our minds afterwards because the vision was so large and all-encompassing. Truth is sometimes like that, isn't it! Val wasn't able to be with us tonight, yet we felt she was included in everything we heard from the Spirit.

Right at the start while we were still chatting over coffee, Rachael explained that she'd had an image of two sieves in her mind for the past few weeks. First there was a sifter full of flour, and the fine flour was passing through, later she saw another, larger sieve with water pouring through and gold collected in it. She didn't understand what these images meant and had been puzzling over them.

And then, in the quietness as we listened, the Holy Spirit started to speak.

We received a word, 'My love is deeper than the deepest sea, wider than the universe - my love is everywhere. There's always a spark of light to hold onto'. And it occurred to us that we just don't value love enough. Love brought the universe into existence. Love welcomed back the prodigal son. Love let him go in the first place!

He spoke to us again, 'You are free! Free to run and jump in the sunshine. Don't be afraid; you are free.'

We were shown that we are being sifted, and the meaning of the two sieves suddenly became clear to us. When flour is sifted it is what passes through that is useful and the clogged lumps are thrown away. But when water passes through it is the gold that is retained and is valuable. Either way, the process separates what is pure and good from what is worthless, and that's what is happening in our lives. Either way, he is separating what will be thrown away from what is pure and holy.

Meanwhile we have a choice. We can cling to what is good and pure or we can cling to the impure and worthless in our lives, but we can't have both. And it seemed that we are to be washed in his glory and that because of the purity of his gold collected in us we may then reflect his glory - and someone else might notice the reflection and see him in us! But we must let go of the worthless stuff and cling to the pure during the sieving process.

Some people will tell us we should fear him, the Almighty who tears down strongholds, but we don't. He is our Father, when we see him we cry out, 'Abba, Daddy', he loves us and we're free! The only thing that can take away our freedom is fear; but perfect love (his love) casts out fear. Oh, thank you, Father!

The Holy Spirit gave us another word.'Father is walking in the garden and you are like the birds, hopping and flying in the branches. You give him pleasure just as the birds in your garden give you pleasure.' But if they weren't so afraid of us, how much more pleasure the birds would bring by feeding from our hands and hopping around our feet. He wants us to realise that if we are not afraid in his presence, if we are free, we bring him the greatest pleasure.

And then he said something extraordinary, unsettling, and deeply significant. 'Don't be afraid for I will build up my church and I will cast death out from it. The church is the last place where death will be found, but it will be cast out.'

Thinking about this strange, enigmatic word, we felt that death being cast out is really much the same thing as life being poured in. Just the other side of the coin, perhaps? And we remembered Ezekiel 37 again and the valley of dry bones. Ezekiel had to prophecy that the breath would enter into the dead, and of course it did - and they came alive - a vast army (Ez 37:9-10). As with Israel in Ezekiel's day, so it is for the church in our day. We have been such dried-up bones. In the church today he's opening our graves and bringing us up from them. Verse 14 reads, 'I'll plant my Spirit within you and you'll come alive, and I'll bring you to live in your own land. And then you'll understand that I, Yahweh, have spoken, and that I've done it.'

And indeed, death is still in the church even though as individuals we have been born again and become sons and joint heirs with Yahshua. In the church are so many dead ideas, dead traditions, dead teachings, dead ways of thinking! Are we being called to prophesy that the Spirit will enter into the church (that 'dead army') and stir her up into abundant life? I think perhaps we are!

When we are sifted by him, all this deadness is removed and only what is good and pure will be kept. And when all in the church have been fully sifted, death really will have been cast out from her!

So what he told us at the start of the meeting holds true! 'My love is deeper than the deepest sea, wider than the universe - my love is everywhere. There's always a spark of light to hold onto'. Praise him!

Afterwards, Rachael wrote...

I believe what we have is real and genuine and from Him, and that puts us in a vulnerable position and makes us a target for evil to interfere. When I think about His message properly then I am not afraid, because I remember that He is woven into our being. But maybe there was also a warning at our meeting, to be vigilent, to be aware, to maintain the ultimate goal in our minds of 'His will be done' not ours.

< 16th April 2004 | Index | 22nd September 2004 >

Eaton Ford - Trees and leaves

< 6th August 2003 | Index | 31st March 2004 >

Trees seemed to be an important theme in this evening's meeting. We were given a picture of trees planted in a field and Father said that when they were mature, their branches would touch and intermingle.

Perhaps young, immature trees should not be too surprised if they sometimes seem to grow in isolation! True community can only come when the trees are fully grown, first they must all attain their full height and spread.

We looked at Ezek 47:1-7 and 12 where we read of the river flowing from the temple and the fruitful trees growing on its banks. These trees are watered by the river and never wither because they don't suffer drought. When we receive the living water, we too will be fruitful regularly and continually.

We had another word that trees may be shaken by the wind, but if they are firmly rooted they won't be swayed. How important it is to be 'rooted and grounded' in the things of the Master!

Matt 24:32 explains that when the fig tree buds and shoots, we know summer is coming. And Luke 13:1-9 points out that it's urgent to repent and to seize the opportunity of life right now. But then a certain amount of patience is required for growth and fruitfulness.

Other thoughts this evening were that we tend to bring the world's way of doing things into the church. But it should surely be the other way round; we should instead be taking the church's way out into the world!

And we need to be in the same place doing something differently, not in a different place still doing the same old things.

< 6th August 2003 | Index | 31st March 2004 >

Eaton Ford - Tree of life

< 21st April 2003 | Index | 4th June 2003 >

For some time I've been feeling that I want everything to happen right now, that I want to 'get on with it', whatever 'it' is. This leads to frustration, of course, and above all we have to wait for the King to move. Our place is to follow.

This meeting helped me a lot. We talked about Matthew 24:36 where we are told to keep watch and learn that even the Son himself doesn't know when. So why should I be impatient!

We also talked about the way things that once seemed important to us, such as reading the newspaper each week, are really not important at all. Our lives are full of such things, few of them matter.

We were drawn to two passages about a river. In Ezekiel and in Revelation we read about this river, and the passages seemed to be very relevant to what we were being shown. Ez 47:1-12 shows that the river flows from the temple (Yahweh's dwelling place) and brings abundant life. Rev 22:1-6 tells us that the same river waters the trees, and their leaves are for the healing of the nations. We also read about the valley of dry bones in Ez 37, one of my favourite passages.

Clearly, we can do nothing by our own strength or abilities. But when the Almighty acts, he acts decisively! Let's not worry or be fustrated, instead let's recognise that many things we hold dear are unimportant, and that life and renewal flow like a river from the throne of the Almighty and of the Lamb. Only when he breathes into us will we truly come alive.

< 21st April 2003 | Index | 4th June 2003 >

Where does the time go?

It seems I haven't done much here for ages, where has the summer gone? I suppose one excuse is the massive effort that's gone into scanning, organising and storing a massive pile of family photos. Back in 1961 my Dad was taking colour slides of the family, local events, people and places; and the B&W record goes back a good deal further.

Another activity involves my life as a believer, I've been pulling back from formal, organised Christianity and getting more deeply into sharing time with others when the opportunity arises. This involves a certain amount of meeting (obviously), thinking, prayer, reading, and (not least) e-mailing. There's such a lot going on out there and I want to be involved. In the end it comes down to the fact that the Almighty is doing stuff with his people, and if only we will pay attention we find that he means to include us. If we're not listening we end up being busy doing things for him when we'd be better off letting him do things for us instead!