Complete trust in the darkest moment in all of history

Much has been written about Jesus words from the cross. There are 7 different sayings recorded in the 4 gospel accounts in the Bible. All of them are significant. 

Great words of grace:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

Beautiful words of care.

“Woman,[a] here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother." John 19:26-27

Words in fulfilment of Scripture, which are stunning considering Jesus offered living water to those who would come to Him.

“I am thirsty.” John 19:28

Wonderful words of certain hope to one of the thieves who hung beside Him.

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

The words that signalled the completion of the plan that He and has Father made before the beginning of time, achieving salvation for all who believe.

“It is finished.” John 19:30

Words that showed He was in control, the He laid down His life, and that He chose to be obedient to death, even death on a cross.

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46

But the one I want to mention briefly is possibly the most famous.

“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Mark 15:34

But what is it in essence? 

A cry of abandonment? 

A cry of despair? 

A cry of fear? 

A cry of complete trust?

The words are a direct quote from Psalm 22:1. The psalmist is experiencing an horrendous situation in which he feels he has been forgotten, rejected and abandoned by God. 

This feeling is very real. From his view things seem hopeless.

And yet if we read the whole Psalm, the writer goes on to express trust in God despite feeling forsaken. The writer knows Gods character, not just in some intellectual way, but in a real experiential way too and he knows God is faithful to His people. The cry is genuine. The feeling is real. But it is not one of cessation of trust in God.

Some have suggested that Jesus' quoting of this shows that in that moment on the cross the eternal Son ceased to trust His eternal Father, whom He has been in perfect relationship with forever. 

Or even that this was purely the cry of a man, Jesus ceased to be the Son of God at this point.

I think this is dangerous and incorrect when we consider the Psalm in context. 

Jesus, on the cross, models for us complete trust in the darkest moment of His life and the darkest moment in history. Jesus' experience on the cross is beyond anything we can imagine.

Jesus experiences something He's never known before in relationship His Father because He becomes sin for those who trust Him. And yet, Jesus still trusts His Father.

When we read those words we can be truly comforted. 

Those words show us we can trust our Father when absolutely everything in the world is against us, when all around is dark, when we feel alone and overwhelmed. Why? Because He loves us and always has what is best for us. 

Looking ahead

As I saw the New Year in with friends and family from Calvary back in Sunderland I was encouraged but also massively challenged.
As a few people shared their reflections on the goodness of the Lord in 2012 and also the delight with which they looked forward to 2013 and beyond. The themes of the sovereignty of God, and the gift of slavation in the gospel were prominent, but the thing that really struck me was the joy and delight which shone out as one person in particular shared how, even though they love their life, they can not wait for Jesus to come back and that they want to be ready for it. That got me thinking:

Do I long for, and eagerly await, the return of the Lord Jesus above anything else?
And, does that affect the way I live and the urgency with which I seek to share the goodness of the gospel?

In all honesty, that focus has been lacking. I stand rebuked yet forgiven by the grace of God in Christ.
So my prayer for this year is that I live in the light of the second coming, that I delight in Jesus more and more and seek to encourage others to grow their joy and faith in Him too.

Happy new year to you all. May you know the amazing love of the Triune God in 2013.

End of an Era

What a wonderful 5 years! I still can't quite believe it, but, I am leaving UCCF. Well, by that I mean I will no longer be employed by them from August 17th, but, as UCCF is a family of Christian Unions, their members, Relay Workers, Staff Workers and Supporters, I will always fall into that last category, having already fallen into each of the former.
I thought it fitting, on my final working day, to say a few words in the public arena of the world wide web about my experience over the last 5 years.

(The picture above looks ominous to say the least and almost apocalyptic in many ways. It will suffice to say, please don't read that into anything I'm about to say! Only the message of the sign has any relevance!)

During my time on staff I have learned so much about the gospel and about myself. There have been many ups and downs. There have even been times when I felt like giving up. But, by God's grace, and by understanding more of what Jesus has done for me, I have reached the end.

One lesson I have learned the hard way is, that no matter what happens, whether CUs grow or shrink numerically, whether the students you study the Bible with grow in Christ-likeness or decide to give up on Jesus, whether they all attend a training conference or none of them do, my standing in Christ before the Father does not change! The Father loves me as He loves His own Son no matter what! How that truth is beautifully liberating and wonderfully joy-giving. That is not to say I always remember this and live it out accordingly, but even grasping it initially changed my approach to my work, relieved the stress and kept me going.

The privilege of working with so many gospel-hearted, Jesus-loving and Spirit-filled people is beyond amazing. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the family in this role, but those thank yous I will save for another post.

No organisation is perfect. Not even UCCF. But, when an organisation is led by people who love Jesus, who are seeking to submit themselves and all they do to the Lord's will and are seeking to live by the Spirit, you can't get any better than that. I am sure that they would be the first to admit that they are not perfect, there have been mistakes made and there are still things to learn and change. But I can absolutely say that working for UCCF is excellent. They really care for you as an person. The study program is not just for you to gain head knowledge, but to warm your heart and develop your character. They model Christian generosity and make sure you have your priorities in place. For example, when you work overtime for a weekend, if you don't take time off in lieu, you're in trouble! Or, take the fact that I have been repeatedly told that my primary ministry is not my work with the students that I get paid by UCCF to do, but my wife and child. That, sadly, can be rare in Christian organizations I'm afraid to say.

There are many more things I could say, attempting to wax lyrical about the virtues and benefits of such a great organisation whose passion for the so called 'missing generation' is infectious. Their untold benefit to the church at large in the UK as well as to thousands of students and parents is enormous. But I think I have given enough of a flavour already and if not, their mission, vision and values speak for themselves.

Feel free to use the comments to ask any questions if you want to know more. Those who have had my prayer letters will know more specifically some of things I have learned and some of the experiences, good and bad, which have shaped me and my ministry in this area over the last few years.

Oh UCCF, how I will miss you, but long may your work continue!

In spite of my sin

Earlier this evening I had the great privilege of speaking on Ephesians 2:1-10, twice!!!

But this story really begins earlier today. My wife had earlier asked my how my preparation was going for speaking at Teesside CU. I replied and told her that I was using a talk I had given previously on the same text and would re-read it and make the application more specific to their context. In my sinfulness I think I was relying on having a talk up my sleeve and partly in the fact that it is almost impossible to preach a bad sermon on Ephesians 2:1-10 because it is such a wonderfully clear passage! My wife rightfully rebuked me, in love, and told me that what I needed to do was pray and ask God what it was He wanted me to say, from the text, to the students.

Not having a lot of time to start writing a talk from scratch, I prayed and asked God to speak through by His Spirit and that all the glory would go to Jesus. I was in the car at the time, heading to Middlesbrough to meet some students.

I spoke at Teesside and although my lack of preparation was evident to me, God graciously used me in my weakness and sin to speak to the students. I hope that there is real fruit as a result.
But God's grace did not end there...

I headed over to the Queen's Campus CU in Stockton to catch up with the students and arrange some meetings. When I arrived I found out that my colleague, who was due to be speaking from Hebrews 11 on a hero of the faith, had broken down on the A19 and was awaiting the AA to come and sort his car out.
To cut a long story short, I spoke on Ephesians 2:1-10 again and God graciously used it. There was a real sense of His presence.

So, I learnt a good lesson, once again, that I need to prepare well and yet totally rely on the Holy Spirit to take the Word and bring it to life in people. On top of that I was reminded, that in spite of my sin, God graciously uses feeble jars of clay, like me, for His glory. I got what I didn't deserve because God is good, gracious and loving and His plan is far greater than I can know.
How great is this God who brings spiritually dead people to life (one major point of the passage) and who works in spite of our failings to bring about His purposes?!

Quotes from Forum 2011

Here's a list of really helpful quotes from Forum 2011.
It doesn't do all of the talks justice, but it will give you at least a little taste of the kind of things we were thinking about.
I've noted a little bit of context or passage reference underneath, thought it might be useful!

(Disclaimer: these quotes are as I wrote them down, they may not be word for word what was said, but my aim is that they convey the point of what was being said)

"Glory is all to do with God's essential nature....When God is most clearly seen for who He is. And here we see that it is most clearly seen in Jesus' death."
Tim Rudge showing us that it is at the cross we most clearly God's essential nature, that He is love.

"Come warm yourself at the great fire of my self-giving love"
Tim Rudge telling us that this is what Jesus wants us to do.

"We as Christians need to be radically identified, with the world, in love, but radically different in holiness."
Rebecca Manley Pippert explaining how we really have to be out there loving people, yet distinct in character, set apart, holy.

"The solution to life, ministry and mission lies in Jesus. Jesus is at the very centre of all we are about"
Mike Reeves, pretty self-explanitory stuff from John 15.

"True branches are never cut off....True, living branches are pruned....God wants us to know the pleasure of being fruitful....Because He loves us so much He will go to war on the things that enslave us. He does it for our joy out of love"
Mike again from John 15 helping us to understand the part of discipline in the Christian life as well as showing us the security of being a child of God (He used John 6 and 10 to back up the point that true branches are not cut off)

"Having His word abide in you means having your heart won to Christ"
Once again Mike from John 15, he went of to speak of the fact that we are to feed on the love of Christ and that wins our hearts.

"We must understand that our motivation is God, our model is Jesus and our means is the Spirit"
Becky Pippert on evangelism.

"Be prepared, the world will oppose you as you point people to Jesus"
Jason Clarke warning us that we will face persecution if we live and speak for Jesus. He also spoke of how knowing we are loved by God means we can face being hated by the world.

"If you want to be a messenger of the gospel you need to be in authentic personal relationships with non-Christians"
Danno speaking to us about the gospel and personal evangelism from 2 Tim 4.

"We need to be God's people in God's world cultivating it for His glory"
Once again Danno showing us the need to be in the world using our gifts and abilities to bring glory to Him.

"No-one is qualified for Kingdom work! A bombshell to the proud and a comfort to the despairing"
Mark Meynell helping us to be real about out role in God's mission to the world.

"God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called"
Mark again, after speaking about Thomas and Peter, clearly telling us we need to seek where God is calling us and trust He will equip us for the job.

"I'm no less than a forgiven sinner saved by grace and given a ministry by mercy"
One of Mark's closing sentences, helpfully summing up the standing of a Christian.

"The centre of the glory in heaven is the Lamb slain, the cross is where the glory is most clearly seen, because it displays His love, mercy and grace"
Richard Cunningham taking us through John 17 on the final morning.

"We are to be distinct from the world....Love what God loves, hate what He hates....It's about transformation of character not isolation"
Really helpful stuff again from Richard about not becoming a holy huddle but being salt and light in the world because we are being transformed to be more and more like Jesus.

"The Word of God is the instrument of the Spirit to transform us....If we love Jesus we will obey His Word"
Again Richard pointing out that we need to obey out of love which is radically different from legalism.

"All wills bowing in the same direction, all affections focussed on the same thing burning with the same flame, all actions heading for the same goal. Unity of heart, mind and will"
This is what Jesus' wants for believers in His High Priestly prayer in John 17 and what Richard encouraged us with as he effectively commissioned us for our ministry on campus as CUs, united to share the love of Jesus.

If or when these talks are available to listen to, I wholeheartedly recommend you download them and work through them.

Mumford and Sons - Roll Away Your Stone

Finally, the third installment of the series looking a some Mumford and Sons songs.
You will have noticed that after doing the first 2 songs on the album, this one is number 4. My plan is not to look at each track on the album, but just a selection.

Here are the lyrics:

Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find
Don't leave me alone at this time
For I'm afraid of what I will discover inside

You told me that I would find a home
Within the fragile substance of my soul
I have filled this void with things unreal
And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don't you think
And yet it dominates the things I've seen

Seems that all my bridges have been burned
You say that's exactly how this grace things works
It's not the long walk home that will change this heart
But the welcome I receive with the restart

Darkness is a harsh term don't you think
Yet it dominates the things I've seen

Stars hide your fires,
These here are my desires
And I will give them up to you this time around
So I'll be found with my stake stuck in the ground
Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

You, have gone too far this time
You have neither reason or rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine.

There are just a couple of things I'd like to comment on.

The second verse in which the song-writer speaks of filling the void in his soul or his life with "things unreal" is a very poignant thought.
Here is a quote from Bernard Levin which speaks of something similar:

Countries like ours are full of people who have all of the material comforts they desire, yet lead lives of quiet (and at times noisy) desperation, understanding nothing but the fact there is a hole inside them and that however much food and drink they pour into it, however many motorcars and television sets they stuff it with, however many well-balanced children and loyal friends they parade around the edges of it...it aches.

The world in which we live is all about instant gratification. We want everything yesterday. The advance of technology serves to fuel those desires within us. I wouldn't say that family, friends, and possessions are unreal in the sense that they have no value at all, but if they are what you live for, ultimately they are unreal. All these things are good gifts from a wonderfully loving and gracious God. They are to be enjoyed in the context of a relationship with Him.
Tied in with this is a sense of something greater that we all feel, even if we have suppressed it so far that we would claim not to. The interesting thing is the the song-writer realises it steals his character.
I think that is because we are made to delight in God alone. We are made for a relationship with the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can only find true rest, satisfaction, joy, meaning and purpose there.

The chorus is also a very honest assessment of the world. Darkness does sound like a harsh term, it sounds a little bit extreme. But as the writer says, it dominates what he sees. That's right isn't it, the news spekas of it daily, facebook pages, tweets and other sources often contain stories that make us sad, angry and despairing, do they not. Yet, this is exactly what the Bible speaks of; the world being a dark place, full of sin, sadness, sorrow, suffering. And even more strikingly that we are the source of it.

So what is the solution? Well, the song hints at. It does seem that all bridges have been burned. Paul writes in the letter to the Romans that no-one is righteous and before God we stand guilty, how can a holy God forgive, justify and yet remain just? (See Romans 3v21-26) It is grace in Jesus Christ.
The song speaks of grace, and it is right. That is exactly how grace works, its not a long walk home that sorts the problem of the heart, but the welcome you receive with the restart. In Christ Jesus we are freely redeemed by grace through faith in Him. What an amazing salvation!!!
We get a new heart and a new start in Christ!

I am sure there are many more things that could be discussed here, but I feel the post is long enough. I haven't really touched on the final lines of the song or the bridge. The last lines I missed as I don't now if the writer is speaking to God telling Him that He has no right to take His soul or not.

Comments welcome as always!

An Amazing Testimony of God’s Grace

Check out this awesome testimony. It is long, but totally worth it!
If you ever feel someone is too far from God, listen to it!
If you think God's grace can't cover your sins, or someone you know, listen to it!
If you want a reminder of God's sovereignty, listen to it!
If you wonder how to reach the people who seem unreachable, listen to how God used Christians in Mez's life!

Relating to People

I have just been listening to this talk by Jerram Barrs. There are some very challenging things in it and I think it's a very good starting point in thinking about how we relate to people and love them like Jesus while remaining strong in our faith.
Post any comments you have on it. I think its great that as Christians we can help one another think through being ambassadors for Jesus.

Listen here.

The Glorious Nature of God's Grace

Wow, it's been nearly a year since I blogged. I think its time I got back into it slowly!
Check out this document courtesy of World Harvest Mission, I believe. It talks about how the grace of God transforms us inwardly and propels us outward to love and serve others. I have had to cut and paste it onto here, well worth a read!

The Gospel Propels Us Outward

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)


When we truly understand the depth and richness of the gospel, we naturally feel joy and delight and freedom because of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. But as this verse teaches, it’s possible to use even our freedom as ‘an opportunity for the flesh’. Our sinful hearts can take the good benefits of the gospel and use them for selfish purposes.

Nowhere is this more evident than in our tendency to make the gospel a private reality. When we hear words like transformation, renewal, or growth, we conceive of those benefits as being primarily personal and internal – my transformation, my growth, the gospel’s renewal of my heart. And the gospel is personal and internal. But it’s also much more than that. When God’s grace is working on us and in us, it will also work itself out through us. The internal renewal of our minds and hearts creates external propulsion that moves us out in love and service to others. The following diagram is helpful in illustrating this concept.

God’s grace is the driving force of all change. The chart reminds us that God’s grace has both an inward and an outward movement that mirror each other. Internally, the grace of God moves me to see my sin, respond in repentance and faith, and then experience the joy of transformation.

Externally, the grace of God moves me to see opportunities for love and service, respond in repentance and faith, and experience joy as I see God work through me.

In other words, the gospel is not just the answer to your internal sins and struggles and heart-idols. It is also the answer to your failure to love others and to engage the culture and to live missionally. If the gospel is renewing you internally, it will also be propelling you externally. It must do so, for it is “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 9:35). And the kingdom of God is not personal and private! Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). When we pray for the coming of God’s kingdom, we are praying both that Jesus would reign in the hearts of people (internal) and that his will would be done everywhere just like it is in heaven (external).

What does this external movement of the gospel look like in practice? Let me give an example. I know that I should love my neighbours. Jesus commanded it. In fact, he said it was the fulfilment of the law (Galatians 5:14). But my next-door neighbour and I just don’t have a lot in common. He is much older and has different taste in everything – music, movies, food, cars, lifestyle. While I enjoy talking about a new musician I’ve discovered or a good book I’ve read recently, he’d rather reminisce about the old days when he served with the marines in Vietnam.

For months I laboured under guilt in my relationship with my neighbour. I knew I should reach out and befriend him. But that sense of ‘should’ had no motivational power. It was law, not gospel. It could show me what I ought to be doing, but it could not change my heart so that I actually wanted to. I was faced with a dilemma: either force myself to love and serve my neighbour even though I didn’t want to, or ignore him and do nothing at all. I knew that ignoring him was sin, but the first option didn’t feel much better. Was joyless, mechanical obedience really honouring to Jesus? Did God intend his commands to feel like drudgery?

When faced with this dilemma, most people settle for either legalism (evangelise even though you don’t feel like it) or license (don’t bother evangelising at all). But neither of these is the gospel! The gospel of God’s grace is the fuel for mission, and when we run low on that fuel, our love and service to others grinds to a halt.


The answer to my dilemma with my neighbour came through the gospel. As God’s grace began to renew my heart, I saw that the root problem was my own selfishness and lack of love. My love for my neighbour was conditional – if he were younger, or smarter, or had more in common with me, I would have appreciated him more. I began to repent of this sin and renew my mind by the promises of the gospel – especially the fact that God loved me while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8). God had graciously moved toward me when I had nothing in common with him. Certainly, by God’s grace, I could love my neighbour in the same way! As the gospel renewed my heart, a strange thing happened. My attitude toward my neighbour began to change. I began to feel a true love and appreciation for him. And it wasn’t a feeling I had mustered up, but one that came naturally. The internal renewal of the gospel propelled me outward in love and service toward my neighbour. Mission became not a burden, but a joy.

Grasping the external propulsion of God’s grace is crucial to our understanding of mission. It means that mission is not a duty (something we ‘should do’) but rather a natural overflow of the gospel’s work inside us. If you aren’t motivated to love, serve, and speak the gospel to people, the answer isn’t to ‘just do it’. The answer is to examine your heart, repent of your sin, and discern where your unbelief is short-circuiting the natural outward movement of the gospel. As the gospel renews your heart, it will also renew your desire to move out in faith into the relationships and opportunities God places in your path.

To put it simply, the grace of God is always going somewhere – moving forward, extending his kingdom, propelling his people toward love and service to others. As we learn to live in light of the gospel, mission should be the natural overflow. God’s grace brings renewal internally (in us) so that it might bring renewal externally (through us).


Examining your heart for mission:

1. Identify a missional opportunity in your life in which you do not want to do what you ‘should’ do. Here are some categories to jumpstart your thinking: neighbours, co-workers, social justice, family, leadership, etc.

2. What keeps you from rightly motivated action in this situation? The barriers can be emotional (for example, fear), physical (for example, proximity), intellectual (for example, you don’t know what to say), or spiritual (for example, not feeling motivated). Be as specific and exhaustive as you can concerning the things that keep you from expressing gospel-centred love toward others.

3. What do you need to pray as a result of considering these questions? What do you need to receive from the gospel?

Snow!

The last few weeks have brought more snow than I can remember for a long time. I love the snow, I am a big kid at heart. Snowball fights and sledging are great fun! Something struck me each time I looked out upon the beautiful, clean, white snow recently.

First was from Isaiah ch1v18:
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;..."

As I looked out on the purity of the snow, how clean and white it was I was reminded of the glorious exhcange that has taken place for those who trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Jesus perfect record is given to me. Though my life is full of sin, though I am dirty in the sight of God as a rebel, God now sees me like the snow I saw around me recently, pure, white, clean, washed, because of the blood of Jesus, and because He lived a life without sin. Awesome! Thanks be to God for His amazing grace towards me a wretched sinner!!!

So next time it snows, remember that verse.

Second, along the same theme, I was reminded of a song by Jon Foreman where he sings "Wash me as white as snow and I will be made whole". Jon Foreman is an excellent singer songwriter from California and has 4 EP's out titled with the names of the seasons. This song is based on Psalm 51, echoing David. Check out his music here. I hope it may be an encouragement to you.