‘May the ‘Wonder’ of God fill you today! When we let the ‘Wonder’ get leeched from the soil of our understanding we are left with the 'right' word and posture, ie. that ‘God is wonderful’, but lack the conviction to back it up! Too often I have felt a fraud when using superlatives about God without having waited long enough in ‘Sabbath rest’, abiding, drinking, in order to comprehend and commune with the One whose Glory and Grace puts the 'Wonder' back into my day. When I do, I notice the sparrow who has found a home, the lily of the field in splendrous array, my working takes on Wonderful-purpose and my life becomes liberated from mundanity and fatigue to Wonderless living.’
JS
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
'Dragons Den' God moment?
OK so you are mildly but not wildly interested by the title, anything to get a few readers, no, I'm serious, I had a moment the other day watching the Dragons Den that I can only describe as a 'God moment'...
A young lady, aged 24, appeared before the snarling, fire-breathing dragons, all ready to devour another 'wanna-be' entrepreneur'ling! What bright idea had this one come up with?! What followed stunned me and reminded me so much about Father God's heart, stunning, absolutely stunning...
The young lady gave a humble 'pitch' seeking investment of £65,000 for 15% share of her enterprise. She had developed a healthy alternative to ice-cream, a dairy free frozen yoghurt type product that would also be accessible to many people seeking a healthy alternative. She had appraoched Tesco, the supermarket giant, and had been given great encouragement by orders promised to her. Her presentation was simple, her sincerity shone through. The Dragons seemed stunned. In a 'Susan Boyle' moment you could sense impending cynicism just melt away on a wave of admiration that manifested in awed silence and open-mouthed amazement. The questions came gently, somehow mirroring the momentum of admiration that instinctively they felt for this young lady, 'Had anyone helped her on the project?' 'Surely she had not done this all by herself, had she?' The humble retort was affirmative. She had worked two and a half jobs as a single Mother developing her business sideline in her 'spare time'...Three Dragons made her an 'offer' and she ended up leaving the Den with her 2 preferred Dragons and the dream deal in the back of her pocket. Stunning! They had looked beyond her frailties, her lack of experience, the fact that she was a young single mother, her lack of pedigree, and saw the awesome resonance of potential being pursued, the innocence of a young one who believed almost naively that the impossible COULD happen. Here was an underdog who was actually getting a break.
I felt emotional and shed some tears as this encounter unfolded. Its amazing how an event like this can produce such a depth of emotion in us. Where did the tears come from? I know instinctively this was a response that came forth as a result of experiencing something so much like our Father's Grace! Have your ever noticed how emotional you feel in a 'Susan Boyle' moment? How honour stirs something deep within you that you know instinctively is from a 'higher agency', something transcendant that raises its head above the mundanities and ordinaries of life.
I thank God today for a God who favours the underdog. A God who wants to bring dignity for shame. A God who sees the treasure buried deep within us and allows us pass through the furnaces of life to bring forth pure gold. A God of opportunity and second chances. Do you know Him?
A young lady, aged 24, appeared before the snarling, fire-breathing dragons, all ready to devour another 'wanna-be' entrepreneur'ling! What bright idea had this one come up with?! What followed stunned me and reminded me so much about Father God's heart, stunning, absolutely stunning...
The young lady gave a humble 'pitch' seeking investment of £65,000 for 15% share of her enterprise. She had developed a healthy alternative to ice-cream, a dairy free frozen yoghurt type product that would also be accessible to many people seeking a healthy alternative. She had appraoched Tesco, the supermarket giant, and had been given great encouragement by orders promised to her. Her presentation was simple, her sincerity shone through. The Dragons seemed stunned. In a 'Susan Boyle' moment you could sense impending cynicism just melt away on a wave of admiration that manifested in awed silence and open-mouthed amazement. The questions came gently, somehow mirroring the momentum of admiration that instinctively they felt for this young lady, 'Had anyone helped her on the project?' 'Surely she had not done this all by herself, had she?' The humble retort was affirmative. She had worked two and a half jobs as a single Mother developing her business sideline in her 'spare time'...Three Dragons made her an 'offer' and she ended up leaving the Den with her 2 preferred Dragons and the dream deal in the back of her pocket. Stunning! They had looked beyond her frailties, her lack of experience, the fact that she was a young single mother, her lack of pedigree, and saw the awesome resonance of potential being pursued, the innocence of a young one who believed almost naively that the impossible COULD happen. Here was an underdog who was actually getting a break.
I felt emotional and shed some tears as this encounter unfolded. Its amazing how an event like this can produce such a depth of emotion in us. Where did the tears come from? I know instinctively this was a response that came forth as a result of experiencing something so much like our Father's Grace! Have your ever noticed how emotional you feel in a 'Susan Boyle' moment? How honour stirs something deep within you that you know instinctively is from a 'higher agency', something transcendant that raises its head above the mundanities and ordinaries of life.
I thank God today for a God who favours the underdog. A God who wants to bring dignity for shame. A God who sees the treasure buried deep within us and allows us pass through the furnaces of life to bring forth pure gold. A God of opportunity and second chances. Do you know Him?
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Dream of a man hanging on a cross
In a few weeks time I am looking forward to catching up with a good friend now back residing in his native homeland in Nepal. I will be visiting some friends and churches there and speaking at a Youth conference in Kathmandu.
Chandra was from a Brahmin background. Despite this status in the 1990s he was forced through economic circumstances to migrate to Northern India and seek employment. He ended up as a labourer breaking rocks, a laborious back-breaking task necessary in Indian labour intensive road construction. During this period Chandra had a recurring dream. In the dream , he saw something he had never seen before, what appeared to be a man hanging on a wooden structure - a cross. Chandra sought guidance from a Hindu guru through whose knowledge of spiritual matters he hoped he would get some kind of interpretation for the dream. The Sadhu's response was that this was the 'Christian god' and his advise was to journey to Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayas, known for its Christian presence, and to seek out advise and information there. Chandra did just that and continued his working as a labourer breaking rocks by the roadside. This is an amazing story of God's leading and Sovereign plan! What happened next is that Chandra met our dear friends there who gave him the answer he sought about the meaning of the man hanging on the cross fully and properly explained to him for what it means. Many people know about the cross Jesus hung on but not enough realise the full significance of it. Christ became a substitute, a penal sacrifice to atone for the sins of anyone who will believe in Him and receive Him as Saviour. He did for us what we cannot achieve by our own merit.
Chandra received this gift and became a new believer fully experiencing the new life and Grace in the Holy Spirit. He is now married with children and has preached this same Gospel to many others. He has now begun, raised up and handed over 2 vibrant churches, travels in support of similar pioneers as himself and is now back in his native Nepal doing the same again, pursuing the next chapter of his life, living simply, humbly but 'dangerously' for God. I look forward to seeing Chandra as he journeys on...
JS
Chandra was from a Brahmin background. Despite this status in the 1990s he was forced through economic circumstances to migrate to Northern India and seek employment. He ended up as a labourer breaking rocks, a laborious back-breaking task necessary in Indian labour intensive road construction. During this period Chandra had a recurring dream. In the dream , he saw something he had never seen before, what appeared to be a man hanging on a wooden structure - a cross. Chandra sought guidance from a Hindu guru through whose knowledge of spiritual matters he hoped he would get some kind of interpretation for the dream. The Sadhu's response was that this was the 'Christian god' and his advise was to journey to Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayas, known for its Christian presence, and to seek out advise and information there. Chandra did just that and continued his working as a labourer breaking rocks by the roadside. This is an amazing story of God's leading and Sovereign plan! What happened next is that Chandra met our dear friends there who gave him the answer he sought about the meaning of the man hanging on the cross fully and properly explained to him for what it means. Many people know about the cross Jesus hung on but not enough realise the full significance of it. Christ became a substitute, a penal sacrifice to atone for the sins of anyone who will believe in Him and receive Him as Saviour. He did for us what we cannot achieve by our own merit.
Chandra received this gift and became a new believer fully experiencing the new life and Grace in the Holy Spirit. He is now married with children and has preached this same Gospel to many others. He has now begun, raised up and handed over 2 vibrant churches, travels in support of similar pioneers as himself and is now back in his native Nepal doing the same again, pursuing the next chapter of his life, living simply, humbly but 'dangerously' for God. I look forward to seeing Chandra as he journeys on...
JS
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