Heart 2 Heart

  You ask me God, what do I see? When I look around I see a world full of chaos, confusion, and need. Look down and I see my own doubt and self pity, weighing down every bit of me. Yet when I look up I see, landscapes of beauty and grace. With my gaze I can trace, a glimpse of your glory as it melds with my story. Look higher still, I sense more of your will. The grace in your face frowns with care and compassion, your heart stirred to action, as you reach out your hand to touch people and land. A touch that brings promise, and hope, and revival. If we lift up our gaze  and prepare to receive all that we need  for survival and thriving.

The symbolism of the sea in the Bible begins with the creation story.  The creation of the universe by God was seen by ancient Hebraic peoples as creation from the cosmic sea (symbolic perhaps of the spiritual realm).  In Genesis God separates the waters creating the sky (heaven) and the sea/water on earth as 2 distinct realms and then places boundaries on the earthly seas by creating land.  At creation the Spirit is present as he hovered over the waters bringing order to the chaos. The sea is the source of all water on earth.  Water springs forth from below and drops through apertures in the firmament above as rain and snow, even providing water for the great flood (Gen 7:11 & 8:2 – the rain fell in mighty torrents and the underground waters stopped flowing).  God is seen to therefore use the sea in judgment against sin.  In contrast, in Micah 7:19, we see God’s forgiveness by “casting sin into the depths of the sea” but t...

You do not have to earn love. Often though, our experience of love is that it is not given in the way we would wish, want or need.  There is a gap,...a hole,... a place that feels empty.  Something is missing as if you have a gnawing hunger that will not go away. Perhaps you've attempted to fill that gap with a great many things to satisfy that hunger and fill that emptiness but nothing seems to fill you up or satisfy completely. The love we all desire is beyond body and soul, emotions and physicality.  The emptiness in your core goes deeper than that, to the depths of your spirit, that rules over your soul and body.   This spirit within you was created by the One who created you and who saw you as you were formed in the womb.  This eternal, everlasting love is the love of your Heavenly Father who created you as body, soul and spirit.  He's the One whose Spirit you were made to connect with, the One who your spirit yearns for.  His is the love tha...

 

  H olding the hand of the O ne who saves, ... whose P ower defeated sin and grave, ... his E ternity breaks into our today, ... this HOPE does not disappoint.

Who would have thought twelve months ago, that seeing each other face to face at home this Christmas would have been such a treat and a challenge. A treat, as after nine months of social distancing, face to face meetings can no longer be taken for granted, and a challenge, because choosing who of our loved ones we ‘bubble’ with needs to be very carefully decided and planned. So how does a different and restricted Christmas affect how we see this year’s celebrations? Is it time to be more focused on celebrating those we love than rushing around buying a glut of gifts and food, especially if your income has been negatively affected this year? Or are the gifts and feasts even more special in a year when other celebrations have been put on hold? In a year that we’ve come starkly face to face with our own mortality and that of those we care about, perhaps Christmas is a time to celebrate life and life in all its fullness, well, as much as regulations will allow. The good news of course i...

OK.  I admit it.  This second lockdown has been getting me down.  I’m weary and fed up, despite my attempts to try and look for the positive in the current situation.  I’ve felt like this before of course.  Life isn’t always a bed of roses, even with faith, hope and love, but I just need to break out of this new normal.  Unfortunately, I can’t.  Just like everyone else, I have to be mindful of the risk, aware of the restrictions, and careful to do the right thing. So how do I maintain comfort and joy in a season in which comfort and joy is often a theme.  Well, there are ways, but last week I was prompted to remember another time when I was feeling grumpy.  At that time I was inspired by a book.  It wasn’t a classic but when I saw it on the shelf, it stopped me in my tracks. I don’t consider myself a grumpy person generally but the words on the cover of this book spoke to my heart about my negative attitude.  So, 3 years ago, I star...