Author: Nick Booth

Psalm 67.1-2 and Mathew 5.14-16

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ ^{Mathew 5.14-16}

I woke this morning in a hotel room and it was dark, the noise of the motorway outside had been continuous all night and so its roar gave no indication of time. I could have reached for my phone to let its light shine on the time, instead I closed my eyes and let the dark control me. Slight chinks of light crept round the curtain edge jogging me into reluctant action. Eventually my conscience overcame my inertia, I rose, pulled back the curtains and instantly light flooded the room and galvanized me into life and I was ready to engage with the world.

Psalm 67 is about the light of God’s face shining on us so we take the light of the gospel to the world. There are two biblical roots the psalmist has drawn on, almost repeating word for word the blessing God gave Aaron and his descendants as priests to the nation, Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. ‘Say to them: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’ ^{Numbers 6.23-26} However the wording is changed to a prayer for the nation to be priests bringing God’s blessing to the world. Peter confirmed this calling for the modern church to be, ‘a royal priesthood, a holy nation’. ^{1 Peter 2.9} The second is Abraham’s promise, I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Gen 12.2-3)

The opening two verses of Psalm 67 would make a brilliant prayer to be repeated each time a church gathers. ¹May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah, ²that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.’ ^(ESV) To push the blackout curtain analogy a little further, a prayer that stops at the end of verse one draws the blackout curtain tightly around the church and says God’s grace and blessing is all ours or mine.  How often is that the motivation of our prayer, that we will be blessed? How often is the motivation that we will be a blessing?When talking and thinking about the ‘light of the world’ we frequently think about Jesus words in John 8.12 ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ But in Mathew, Jesus spoke to his  followers and said, ‘You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’

God’s blessing on his church ought to be apparent to the world, the ways of Christians should be so distinctive that it is clear that the good news of Jesus is God’s salvation. This is a major challenge to a church too frequently consumed by its own internal issues. Our light for the world is the Holy Spirit within us, a mirror only reflects a light that that faces it, turn the mirror away from the light and it can no longer reflect it. May our faces shine as we gaze upon the goodness of God.  How often do we take time to be in God’s presence so that his face can shine upon us?

How do we join in making his ways known on earth?

Shine Jesus Shine (from the Indian released album Shine) Lyric Video – Graham Kendrick

Psalm 66

We may not have a book in us but we all have a host of stories. Listen in to casual conversations around the table, when dog walkers meet, between family members over the phone and the conversation will be filled with stories from their lives. They may be about small incidental happenings but they are relevant, informative and create bonds between people. When the psalmist writes, ‘Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me’ ^v16 he is keen to share the story of how God has answered his prayer. This is a congregational psalm designed to be used in shared worship and so it celebrates and encourages us to share our own stories of God’s answers to prayer and how important this is in building up the community of faith. Have you a story to tell about answered prayer during this Covid 19 time? If so who have you shared it with and how naturally does it flow in conversation.

The telling of salvation stories is an essential part of mission in our local community. It opens up our faith to others. It is easiest to do so within the faith community because we have confidence that our story will be well received but it is also provides a place for it to become a normal part of our life and makes it easier to share with those beyond the comfort of church. We need to be careful that the stories we tell are those that reflect God’s will and righteousness. The psalmist says, ‘If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.’ ^v18

The ‘awesome deeds’ that God has done are salvation deeds. The reference to the sea being turned into dry land ^v6 evokes memories of the Israelites escaping enslavement through the Red Sea or the crossing of the Jordon into the promised land. There is no pretense in these stories, everything did not go well but they do show the faithfulness of God. As the psalmist says, ‘For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads, we went through fire and water,  but you brought us to a place of abundance.’ ^{vv 10-12}

All of this is ultimately completed through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. We have a story to tell. We will fail many times on our discipleship journey but God is faithful and we have many reasons to praise the Lord. We no longer bring burnt offerings instead our worship is now to be our lives lived out being transformed into Christlikeness. In Paul’s words, ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’ ^{Romans 12.1,2}

To discern the impact of personal story telling in spreading the good news of Jesus read Matthew 9 which contains several accounts of how personal testimony of encounters with Jesus were passed on and ‘news spread throughout the region’. It is important that Christians normalize the telling of their faith rather than be fearful of reactions as we seek to change the culture.

Have you heard a story recently that encouraged your faith?

Have you passed it on?

Build your Kingdom here – Rend Collective

Psalm 65

A vast explosion in Beirut with more than 4000 injured and an unknown number dead. Over 1 million Uighurs’ forced into highly secure camps for “re-education” in the Xinjiang province of China. Governments across the world trying to balance lock down and economic recovery. Each story humanized through an individual’s eyes, a phone’s video clip, an eye witness account or a personal story. Is there a God for all peoples?

Psalm 65 is the middle one of a group of three all of whom address God being the God of ‘all people’. Throughout the bible there is a call to be outward looking to grasp that God’s love is for the whole world and all peoples. Even in David’s time where commonly gods were thought of as belonging to one nation or group, the biblical perspective was looking forward to a time when all people will come to recognize God and this theme continues through the New Testament. Psalm 64.9 says, ‘All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done’. Psalm 65.2 says, ‘You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.’ Psalm 66.4 says, ‘All earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.’ Revelation 14.6 declares, ‘Then I saw another angel flying in mid air, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people.’

Peter explains that it is God’s desire that all people would turn to him now and be in relationship with him and that is the reason for his patience in the face of continued rejection by people towards him. ‘The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.’ ^{2 Peter 3.9} But what does it mean to be in relationship with God now? Psalm 65, a harvest psalm, provides us with some insight into the relationship experience.

A foundational position is grasping that God is the creator God and his creation conveys his eternal greatness, power, wonder and continuing presence. He is not a God who has done something and wandered off bored or disinterested and his continuing engagement with this small planet bountifully provides for us. ^{vv 6-13} Contemplation of his provision evokes in us who trust in him a response of joy that the whole of nature seems to join in with. ‘The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.’ ^v8 ‘The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.’ ^v13 We should not be ashamed of simple adoration and thankfulness, the growing urbanisation of human life has separated many from the immediate impact of God’s provision. ‘The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.’ ^{vv 9-10}

Sin separates us from God and it is easy to minimise sin in our minds because it is uncomfortable and challenging. Sin is all pervasive in the world, not only in our individual lives. It is also evident in the way many companies, organizations and countries conduct themselves. The Beirut explosion will have sins of neglect as a minimum behind it, the Chinese abuse of minority groups involves governmental sins of torture, imprisonment and abuse of women over their reproductive rights. God through Jesus has provided a means of re-establishing a relationship with him. ‘When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.’ ^v3 John in the New Testament writes to the churches that we should not fool ourselves even after we have committed our lives to Christ we will still sin, however if we are honest with God about it we do receive forgiveness. ^{1 John 1.8,9}

Knowing God through Jesus Christ is also to be individual loved and special to God. It is not just being a part of a group it is being a child of God. David writes, ‘Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!’ ^v4 David is drawing on the imagery he knows as a king chosen and anointed by God. Jesus said, ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day’. ^{John 6.44}

Whilst the thrust of the psalm is a celebration of God’s goodness through the harvest, David uses this to celebrate the greater harvest of righteousness that comes from God as our Saviour. Being in relation with God is living in a Christ like manner. In the same passage that John speaks about the confession of sin he also uses the phrase to walk in the light, meaning to live according to the gospel. ‘If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. A fulfilling outcome of being in fellowship with God is also the fellowship with other believers.

Do we provide time each day to consciously be in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ?

Are we brave enough to face up to the impact of sin on our lives and confess it to Him?

River of God – Paul Oakey

Psalm 64

If someone’s got a problem with you because what you’ve done is wrong then fair enough but if what you did or what you are is God’s will then what are we to do about that? This is a challenge for an individual but it is also a challenge for the collective body of believers in Jesus, in other words the church. What is experienced in terms of a threat to Israel as a nation or the king as the representative of the nation in the Old Testament is reflected as a spiritual threat in the New Testament. It may not be either right or fair but spiritual conflict is the status quo and we should expect it and treat it as the continuing normal. Paul makes this very clear, ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’. ^{Ephesians 6.12}

In Psalm 64 David is complaining to God about his enemies and seeking God’s protection and whilst he is seeking God for himself as king he is also seeking him for the nation. ‘Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy’. ^v1 Those who want to overthrow him also want to lead the nation in ways that rebel against God. For the modern church the enemies are those who want to undermine Jesus’ teaching and reject him as the Son of God and restorer of mankind’s relationship with God through his sacrifice and resurrection. The difference between the Old Testament way and the New Testament way is that in the Old the battle was waged with war and in the New it is waged with love. The spiritual battle and enemies are diverse. There is widespread violent opposition to Jesus through sections of other religions and atheist states e.g. North Korea and China. There is also spiritual and intellectual opposition where sanctions are imposed on those who would profess to follow Jesus. There are those who oppose Jesus through the promotion of sinful practices, these may include entirely legal methods of abuse and oppression including behaviour that leads to addiction, self-abuse or an obsession with materialism.

David wants to hide from the conspiracy of the wicked ^v2 and one can understand that, they want to kill him. It is interesting to contrast that with Jesus who thankfully did not hide but boldly declared the kingdom of God and deliberately obeyed God even though he knew it would cause him suffering beyond our understanding and physical death.

David highlights a number of the characteristics of the enemies of God. They speak with the intent to destroy. ‘They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows’. ^v3 In modern terms that would include through all forms of written and visual media. It is not done haphazardly but deliberately and remorselessly. It is an ambush. ^v4 How is this expressed today? It is organized by such groups as the British Humanist Society and a range of intellectual institutions. Let’s be clear Christianity is not anti-intellectual it is intellectually coherent and has many leading scientists and other intellectuals as personal believers. Anti-Christian sentiment is often institutionalised much like other forms of prejudice including in certain settings into the legal framework of a country.

We should not be surprised if opposition to Jesus and his teaching is planned in terms of deliberate attacks on faith. These plans may well disguise themselves as other campaigns but in essence they are opposing the gospel. ‘They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it”?’ ^v5

What is the Christian response to such opposition? David points to a concern for all people and points to a time when all will come to a knowledge of God. This remains the Christian confidence and hope. ‘All people will fear; (hold God in proper reverence and awe) they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him’. ^{vv 9,10}

Whilst David looks forward to God’s judgement and even punishment of his enemies, ^{vv 7.8} Jesus’ teaching was to follow his example and sacrificially love those who opposed and even hated him. Paul who is a classic example of a person who hated and plotted against Jesus prior to his conversion wrote, ‘while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ ^{Romans 5.8}

Jesus’ words were, ‘But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.’ ^{Luke 6.27,28} Peter wrote to the churches, ‘But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.’

A vital part of loving people whether they are friend or enemy is to communicate the gospel as the good news of Jesus Christ in obedience to Jesus’ closing words in Luke’s gospel. ‘Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’ ^Luke24.45-48           How can we be a blessing to the world?

For the joys and for the sorrows – Graham Kendrick

Psalm 63 and Hebrews 10.19-25

Going to church is great but what is the best thing? Is it that the place feels special or maybe it is meeting trusted friends and knowing you are welcome? For lots of people it is simply being with the family of God knowing that what you treasure most is the thing you have in common. For others they love to listen to the bible being explained as they have their life changed by the word of God. Many find that it is in shared corporate worship that they most intimately meet with God whether that is through music and song, prayer or focusing on the words God has provided. Worship is highly personal and intimate because God has enabled that by becoming more understandable in the person of Jesus. As Christians long to worship God part of that longing is for the shared experience because it has so many benefits.

David from, ‘a dry and weary land where there is no water’ ^v1 is desperate to experience again worship of God in his sanctuary. This for David was a literal experience, he had fled to the wilderness following Absalom’s attempted coup. David’s dejected and mournful state of mind is lucidly described in 2 Samuel 15.23-37. He had commanded Zadok to take the Ark of God back to Jerusalem with the words, ‘If I find favour in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again’. ^{2 Sam 15.25} When David calls out to God, ‘O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you’ ^v1 it is the definition of the wilderness experience. For us now many things can be described as a wilderness experience where we are separated from the worshiping community of God’s people. Most of us at this moment cannot physically be together to worship but like David we recall worshipping together beholding his power and glory. Even in the wilderness we can rejoice with David that his steadfast love is better than life and look forward with eagerness to the time when together our lips will praise him.

David is confident and we can share his confidence that the Lord will fully satisfy us. ^v5 Frequently it is during the night that the sense of being in a wilderness is at its greatest. It is then we can copy David perhaps with the aid of our bible or Christian book in remembering God and meditating on him until we have joyful praise on our lips.  Past experience teaches us that we are living in the shadow of his wings as our inner being ‘clings’ to him. David knew his own son was trying to overthrow him. If our troubles are caused by others then we can rest assured that God will be the final judge. ^{vv 9-11}

What was David’s experience of worship in the sanctuary of God is now surpassed by Jesus’  once for all sacrifice. All Jesus’ disciples now have full access to God’s inner sanctuary or his presence and we are fully encouraged together to enter his presence. Hebrews put it like this, ‘Therefore, brothers, (all disciples) since we have confidence to enter holy places by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure spiritual water’. ^{Hebrews 10.19-22}

Hebrews expands on the benefits of worshipping together. We are to think of ways to stir each other up to love and good works. ^{Heb 10.24} We are to encourage one another with a particular view to the return of Jesus. All this with the purpose to live a life set apart for Jesus resisting sin. Hebrews is very clear being a disciple of Jesus will need endurance ^{Heb 10.36} and it is likely to be a hard struggle with sufferings. ^{Heb 10.32,33} However, through it all we are to show love and joy in the Lord for we know we have a, ‘better possession and an abiding one’. ^{Heb 10.34}

For reasons of victorious discipleship we are not to neglect meeting together. ^{Heb 10.25} Whilst meeting virtually in our current circumstances and to be encouraged where possible it is right to long for the time when we can meet fully in person.

Do we take up opportunities to virtually meet together to worship and encourage each other?

Are we minded to support those who are not able to share in fellowship at this time?

Are we praying for the time when we can once again be fully together and behold the Lord’s power and glory?