Memories.

"Memories are made of this (sweet, sweet, the memories you gave me)"

Thus we sung when I was much younger (if my memory serves me well!).  It is certainly true that all of us have memories - some pleasant; some less so.  Yesterday, one of my lovely memories was evoked as my wife set out a small jar of apple and bramble (blackberry) jam that a friend had made, and brought as a wee gift when visiting us recently.  My mind immediately went back to my early childhood, when I lived next door to my paternal grandmother.  I remembered sitting down at the table in her front (=only!) room with a large slice of her home-baked bread, spread with her home-churned butter, topped with her home-made apple and bramble jam, all washed down with a glass of the buttermilk left over from the butter churning!  Memories!

Tomorrow, millions of people, all over the world, will remember.  They will break bread together.  They will share in some wine - frequently non-alcoholic.  Some will do so with great pomp and ceremony, in splendid buildings; some will do so simply, and secretly, in a home, concerned lest the authorities discover what they are doing and have them arrested, imprisoned, even put to death.  Some will be doing so as a daily event; some as a weekly one; some as a quarterly one.

But all will remember.  They will remember One Who hung on a cross - His body broken, His blood shed.  They will remember that He did this for each of them.  They will remember that He gave his life that we might have life.  They will rejoice that that which they celebrate is only "until He comes".

For disciples of Jesus - the One Who hung on that cross - the communion service (aka the Lord's Supper; the Eucharist) is a potent memory.  However, it is also a call to examine ourselves - to recognise that not one of us is worthy to approach that Table, and partake of those elements; to rejoice in the grace of God that still invites us.  It's one of the paradoxes of the Christian faith, that it is my recognition, and confession, of my unworthiness that makes me worthy!

May all of us who partake, wherever we may be, and in whatever form the celebration tales, do so to His glory.

A spiritual MOT test!

Every year, I am obliged to present my car to a suitably registered garage for its MOT test.  If all is well, I receive the appropriate certificate - if not, I have to attend to the fault(s) which the qualified mechanic has discovered.

Although not legally necessary, I also take our touring caravan to our local dealer, on an annual basis, for a service.  Various matters are checked - electrics, brakes, evidence of damp, etc. - and whatever requires attention is attended to.

I am now at the stage in life that it is wise to visit my doctor from time to time, to have a physical check-up.  He is able to check my blood pressure, my joints, my lungs, etc. and decide if I need further treatment of any sort.

Dr W.E.Sangster, in one of his books, suggested that every disciple of Jesus needs, from time to time, to check up on his/her spiritual life.  He suggested the following check-list (slightly amended) as being helpful in this kind of self-examination:

• am I clean in word, thought, and deed?
• is Christ, as far as I can make Him, the Head of my home?
• do they know that I am a disciple of Jesus where I work?
• are other people likely to be drawn to better things for knowing me?
• do I guard time, each day, for reading my Bible, and for prayer?
• do I regularly attend worship services, and attend at the Lord's Table?
• do other people find it easy to work with me in Christian service?
• am I generous, as far as I am honestly able, to Christian work?
• am I growing in Christ?

In the familiar words from Paul's first letter to the early believers in Corinth, he gives the words that are frequently read as disciples of Jesus approach the Lord's Table (I Cor.11:23ff), we often stop at "... you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (v.26).  However, the apostle continues : "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself [or herself], and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgement upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." (vs.27-30; emphasis added).

Perhaps more of us need to attend to that matter of self-examination - that spiritual check-up!  Of course, when we do so, we quickly realise that we are unworthy.  That's when grace comes in.  In one of the many paradoxes of the Christian Faith, it is only when I become aware of, and confess, my unworthiness, that I am made worthy!

A spiritual MOT test!  Don't make it just an annual affair!  Let those of us who bear the name of the Saviour be regular in our self-examination, and quick to deal with those matters that such an examination will reveal - knowing that we have the willing help of God the Holy Spirit in what is, in fact, the process of sanctification (but don't forget the previous post!).

The death is announced!

No-one will need me to tell them that the major news story at the beginning of this week has been the death of former British Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher.  It's a story that has been broadcast all around the world - and one that has been met with either sadness or an almost obscene expression of joy.  Mrs Thatcher, it would seem, was one of those about whom it was difficult to be ambivalent!

My mind has gone back just over a week, as many of us remembered in a special way, the death by crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, almost 2,000 years ago.  He, too, was One about Whom it was (and is) difficult to be ambivalent.  He was, and is, either loved, or hated.  He cannot be ignored.

Much has already been written about Mrs Thatcher's legacy and, doubtless, much more will be written.  However the record may be biased, by friend or foe, she made, and left, her mark on not only the U.K. but also the wider world.

Much has been written about Jesus.  Some by friends; some by foes.  However, His legacy is one that no politician, however famous; no member of the aristocracy, however wealthy; no celebrity in sport, entertainment, or whatever; could ever leave.  He, and He alone, has left the offer of full salvation, purchased by the shedding of His own blood at Calvary.  That's what we remembered a week past on Friday.  It's what those of us who partake in the Lord's Supper (aka Communion; the Eucharist) remember every time we come to the Table.  It's the central message of the Gospel - "... God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8; RSV).

But then, of course, came the Resurrection!  And here there is a great difference between the Lord Jesus and the former PM.  You see, Mrs Thatcher will rise - but to a judgement, the outcome of which it is not for me, or anyone else, to speculate.  The Lord Jesus has risen - and He is the Judge!  Those who have placed their trust in Him, in this life - be they figures on the world's stage, or social nonentities - will spend the timelessness of eternity in His glorious Presence; those who rejected, or simply ignored Him, will spend that same eternity without Him.

The question for each one of us is simple: "What will you do with this Jesus Who is called the Christ?" (see Matt.27:22).  On your answer to that question, depends your eternal destiny.  Choose life; choose Jesus.

Memories!

This is the first opportunity I have had, since coming away on holiday, to add a post to this blog!  I am grateful, therefore, to McDonald's, not just for the meal that I am currently enjoying, but for the included wi-fi connection!  (Mind you, we may have spent all of those euros unnecessarily, as the gentlaman at the next table has been online for as long as I have, without having purchased anything!!!!

On our journey from Ploermel, today, we travelled along many stretches of road that had trees on either side, with the top branches meeting to form a long archway - like the nave of a grand cathedral building.  These are known by some of us as "mummy's roads", due to the fact that my late mum loved to drive along such foliage-shaded avenues.   I cannot take such a journey without thinking of my mum.  Now, of course, I don't actually need such a stretch of road to remember her!  I loved, and miss, both her and my late dad, far too much to need some external prompting of the memory.  But they are always there as an extra, special, reminder.

Today, however, I found myself thinking of the Lord's Supper (aka, Communion, the Eucharist, the Breaking of Bread, the Lord's table).  That is a symbolic meal (although there is a good argument for making it much more than that.  The Lord Jesus, when He celebrated that last Passover Meal with His disciples, didn't have wee squares of bread and a thimble-full of liquid.  Indeed, what they did share at that time was in the context of a full meal enjoyed beforehand!), that is shared by disciple of Jesus today on a regular basis.  And the reason for it, Jesus Himself told us, is that we might remember Him, and the sacrifice that He made for each one of us, at Calvary.  Now, of course, no true disciple needs such a meal in order to remember Him.  We love Him far too much for that.  But it's good to have such special aids to memory, and we should be grateful for them

The Lord's Supper has an added element.  We are reminded, by the words of Paul, that we only participate in that special meal "until He comes" (I Cor. 11:26).  This is the great hope of the genuine believer - that "This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11).  Those who have the gift of discerning the times are certain that that Day is not far off.  Certainly, it is closer now than it was when the angelic messangers spoke those words to the early disciple band.  It is incumbent upon each one of us to be prepared for that rapture of the people of God.  I trust that all who read this post will have come to Him, the crucified and risen One, in repentance and faith, and thus be prepared for His appearing.

Spiritual Warfare!

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the Police Services and this morning, along with a few others, I participated in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Communion/Eucharist) in the High Kirk of Glasgow - commonly referred to as Glasgow Cathedral.  After the celebration of the Sacrament, some of us went downstairs to one of the small chapels where, as a group with a particular interest in the Police, we spent some time in prayer for our colleagues both within Strathclyde Police, and in other Forces throughout the United Kingdom.

As we chatted together, afterwards, I noticed that the particular chapel in which we had met, was dedicated to Bishop Robert Wishart.   This particular clergyman was a supporter of Robert the Bruce and, indeed, it is said that he supplied the robes - from his own wardrobe - in which the Bruce was crowned King of Scots, at Scone, in 1306.  His active participation in the Wars of Independence (from the English! - nothing changes!!!) by, for example, taking personal charge of the assault on Cupar Castle, in Fife, 'like a man of war', gave rise to the nickname that is displayed in the chapel: "The Battling Bishop"!

How appropriate, I thought to myself, for a place of prayer.  To so many, prayer is little more than a series of vocalised platitudes, and requests, made to a God with Whom they have no vital relationship.  Yet this is not the picture that we find in the pages of God's written Word!  Prayer can be exhausting.  Jesus, we read, when in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed with such passion "... that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood." (Luke 22:44; NLT).  Read the prayer of Daniel, in Daniel 9:4-19 - and imagine (if you can!) that godly man speaking those words to his God in calm, impassionate, tones!  James assures us that the great prophet, Elijah, "... prayed earnestly/fervently/passionately ..." (5:17).

Someone had said that much of our prayer has no power in it because there is no heart in it. If we put so little heart into prayer, then the legitimate question arises: "How can we expect God to put much heart into answering?"

We don't need to go into a physical battle, like Robert Wishart.  We can all be "Battling Bishops" (or, at least, battling disciples!) in prayer - Prayer Warriors, as used to be said.  Rather than offering up some casual, "God save everybody, and bless all the missionaries; Amen" kind of prayer, we need to pray specifically. We need to pray fervently. We need to pray continually (I Thess.5:17).  Pray with energy. Put your heart into it. That is what really matters.

Spiritual warfare, whatever else it involves, certainly involves passionate praying!