Facebook and Fellowship

I confess to being baffled. I don’t understand quite what is happening when I feel a sense of loss because a “friend” whom I have never met, but only exchanged written words with, leaves Facebook. I am even more perplexed when I consider how I would feel if I didn’t have access to Facebook at all. I suddenly realise I have become dependent on Facebook and blogging for a great part of my Christian fellowship.

Facebook for me started out as a way to get in touch with old school friends. It developed into something completely different when I “friended” someone I heard interviewed on a Christian radio show. I’d never done that before, for it’s very un-British to barge in on someone without waiting to be introduced! And then suddenly I was exposed to a whole new circle of friends, who were open about sharing their love for Jesus with others. Some of those friends also had blogs which I started reading. And now, almost a year later, I realise that these “friends” have become a big part of my life, I love them dearly, I am edified and encouraged by them so much in my walk with Christ Jesus, and the thought of not having this fellowship is very unsettling.

Is on-line communication “real”? Well, that’s an interesting one. I wonder if it’s the kindest form of communication – you get to see my heart, without the irritations of how my heart works things out in practice. You get to see the good intentions, but not the failures as I struggle to daily work out loving God and loving neighbour as myself. Do you have an accurate picture of who I really am? I don't know - I think so, for I pour out my heart and soul into what I write. But if we were to meet in person - well, one friendship with an online blogging friend has transcended from virtual reality to real life and we remain good friends, so that gives me hope that you are not getting a completely unrealistic view of me!

Is it possible to "love one another" through the written word? Well, let me just testify to you how I have been "loved" through the written word.

I am loved when I am encouraged and exhorted to remember Christ and who He is, what He has done, what He will yet do. Reading blogs and comments on Facebook, I have been challenged as to whether I am living each day in the sacred, abiding constantly in Him; whether I am living each moment ready for the return of Jesus; reading beautiful words from Octavius Winslow has fed my love for Christ; I have read a testimony from the heart of a Christian, full of grace and truth, which has challenged me not to water down the truth for the sake of misguided sympathy; I have been challenged in my mothering of my own son as I read of how a friend nurtures her boys in the giftings and talents their Heavenly Father has bestowed upon them; I have been encouraged in my praying for the church through a beautiful prayer which a fellow sister has shared, and exhorted in my praying for the persecuted church. And all that is just this last week!!

I have also been loved in other ways through the written word. When I meander around theologically as I try to grapple with the Truth, people who have never met me are so concerned about what I believe that they take the time to write to me, to guide me along the path to Truth, to pray for me! When I once shared personal information about a home situation, I was stunned by the loving response I received, and God alone knows the difference that has had on my prayers for this situation.

I hope I am also able to love others through the written word. I am becoming increasingly conscious that the temptation to jump into a discussion on some theological issue or other to share my views may not always be the wisest course of action, and that with the written word as well as with the spoken word there is "a time to be silent and a time to speak" (Ecc 3:7). It is my prayer that every comment I make through my keyboard may be "full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Col 4:6). I also realise that through Facebook I have been able to share my faith with my non-Christian friends in a way that would never have been possible before, surely the heart of love. Opportunities to speak of the Lord are few and far between in person, yet through this medium I find I am able to express my true heart before them.

There is, however, the ever-present issue of spending way too much time in front of the computer - it seems to take a lot longer now for me to complete my accountancy work than it used to, as I break off to read another reminder of God's goodness. However, on one of those breaks from my work last week, I read this article by Teresa, over at Music from Broken Chords, where she quotes a passage by Octavius Winslow on the lonely walk of the Christian. That touched some buttons. Then I was reminded by Elizabeth of Tozer’s “The Saint Must Walk Alone”. He says: “The pain of loneliness arises from the constitution of our nature. God made us for each other. The desire for human companionship is completely natural and right. The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His Godgiven instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone... He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk.”

And I now realise why it is that Facebook and blogging have become such an important part of my Christian walk of faith. This lonely pilgrim has suddenly found a group of likeminded believers whose hearts are utterly captivated by their Lord and Saviour, who are likewise eager to speak of Him and His beauty.

We may not be meeting in person, but I do believe that “virtual, on-line” meeting is accomplishing the exhortation in these following verses!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Contemplating the Throne of God

The first thing that comes to my mind when I contemplate the Throne of God is Isaiah’s vision when he tells us “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isa 6:1). What privilege to be given a vision of this nature, of the very Throne room of the Holy and Awesome God of Israel. It is no wonder that Isaiah cried out “Woe to me!...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isa 6:5).

I also think of those great men of God - Daniel, Ezekiel, the apostle John - who were given similar visions, and I watch as they stumble around trying to express with mere human words what our language can never capture, for there are simply no words to describe the Otherness of their vision – the Heavenly Throne Room.

Who can dare to look in on this Throne Room? Who is worthy? How can we approach One who is Holy – no, more than that, who is Holy, Holy, Holy? How can these eyes of ours, belonging to bodies of sin as they do, dare to behold such Awesome Splendour and not be engulfed in fires of Holiness?

The answer – we can’t. We join Isaiah in crying out “Woe to me!”

Yet all is not lost. Because there is One who is Worthy, Jesus Christ the Beloved Son of the Father! Faith in Him and in His atoning death means - our sins are taken away, we are washed clean in His blood, and clothed in His Righteousness we can approach this Heavenly Throne. The glorious gospel message.

Yet the Bible teaches us there is even more to it than simply being able to approach this throne, which is news enough to leave someone on their knees in gratitude for life. For Hebrews rings out with this call of faith: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (Heb 4:16). With confidence! I am reminded of Queen Esther who approached the throne of her husband and King with the thought “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Her life depended on whether she won his favour, which would be shown if he were to extend the gold sceptre in his hand towards her. We have no such worries! We KNOW that we have won the favour of our King, that His gold sceptre is always pointed towards us – because we approach Him in the Name of His Beloved Son, who always has His favour.

And still there is more! For not only do we have access to the Throne of God, which we can approach in confidence – we have a High Priest there who empathizes with us, with our weaknesses. Our Mediator, Jesus Christ, who has enabled us to approach the Heavenly Throne, is fully Divine, fully man, and He understands us. Our Mediator is full of compassion as He intercedes for us. His Father, our Father, has no less compassion – for He knows how we are formed, He knows we are as dust, and as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. We have a hope of receiving mercy and finding grace to help us in our time of need at this Throne. Oh the depth of the riches of the grace of God!

I don’t know about you, but this knowing “in part” provides such joy and delight in this heart of mine – I can’t begin to fathom what it will be like when we shall see face to face and know fully, even as we are fully known now. For as if all this were not good news enough, we still have this promise to look forward to:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away... The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. " (Revelation 21:1-4; Rev 22:3-5).

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

I wrote the tune and lyrics for this hymn a year or so ago as I contemplated the throne of God. Unable to sing well or write the music down I didn’t quite know how to take it forward. Then during the summer a good friend of mine, Ken Johnstone, transcribed the music for me. And recently I discovered that the talented writer and fellow pilgrim Petra Hefner of Penned Pebbles has a talented musical husband Rick who agreed to arrange and perform my hymn. I am absolutely delighted with what he has done with it, and I hope it blesses you!

The King's Table

I will always refer to John Bunyan as “Dear Mr Bunyan”. Pilgrim’s Progress is one of my all-time favourite books. Reading it to my 5 year old last year I couldn’t hold back the tears as I described to him how Christian arrives safely at the Celestial City and the King commands the gate to be opened to let him in. It was when I read “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners” during the summer however that he became “Dear” to me. Reading of his struggles with his faith – and oh! how he wrestled to understand what grace meant! – it was almost like reading my own spiritual autobiography. There were points at which I wished I could have taken him by the shoulders, looked him in the eyes and said “It’s alright, Mr Bunyan, God loves you, you are His, you believe, you have faith, you trust, you are in Christ, you are safe”. It is hard to explain the impact it has on you when you realise that someone who lived and breathed over 400 years ago has walked the same path as you are walking, with a common faith, a common struggle, a common hope, a common assurance of victory!

In the Old Testament, there is one character especially who will always be “Dear” to me. Mephibosheth.


“David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’... Ziba answered the king, ‘There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.’.. So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honour.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“Your servant,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Sam 9:1, 3, 5-8).

The whole gospel is surely contained within these few sentences. And how I see myself in Mephibosheth! I see God the Father asking to whom he can show kindness for the sake of His Beloved Son Whom He loves. I see myself, fearing for my life before this Holy God, as I have been His enemy all my life. I see myself, crippled in my soul from my sin, helpless, unable to do anything about my situation. I see God the Father having me brought in to see Him – not simply sending a request - but because I am so crippled, having me brought in as I am unable even to do this without assistance. I see my Heavenly Father address me personally, by my own name. I see Him gently reassuring me not to be afraid, showing me kindness for the sake of His Son, forgiving my sin. And then, wonder of wonders, I hear Him telling me – me, the dead dog that I am – that I will always eat at His table!

“So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.” (2 Sam 9:11).

Not in the same room at a table tucked away in the corner, hoping no-one sees you there – at the table of the King, like one of the King’s sons! Not skulking in the shadows, happy simply to be allowed to be in the same room as the King – at the table of the King, like one of the King’s sons! Not hiding away behind your wretchedness, wondering whether you are fit just to be a servant in the King’s household – at the table of the King, like one of the King’s sons!

 
Can this be true? Oh yes, it is true - for God’s Word says so! It can only be true because of Jesus Christ and His perfect life, His obedience to His Father even to death, His resurrection and ascension. And as dear Mephibosheth bowed down in awe and wonder at this grace, surely so do we!

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love”

(Song of Solomon 2:4)

Father lost and found

John Reynolds: 30/12/34-23/9/85

September 23, 1985
Another day at school finished, and we were just having the register at the end of the day before going home. The Head of Year came into the room and asked me if I’d accompany her to her office. Uh-oh, had I been in trouble? But then she said we needed to walk to my mum’s workplace, which was quite close to the school. This was odd. For some reason I didn’t ask why, we walked silently. The police cars outside my mum’s office didn’t help the feeling of foreboding that was growing inside. Walking into my mum’s office, seeing the police men there, seeing the look on my mum’s face – I braced myself. As she told me that my dad had been killed in a car crash on his way to work, the floor beneath me seemed to fall away, or rather the rock on which I had based my life did, and my mum and I just clung tightly together.

December 30, 2010
I may have lost my earthly father, but in the last 2 months I have found my Heavenly Father. Which is probably an odd thing to say, for someone who has been a Christian for 18 years. I have started rereading The Forgotten Father by Thomas A. Smail the last couple of weeks, and he expresses so well my experience. He lost his own father as a young boy, and he says “Experientially it is possible to confess Christ and not live in the power of the Spirit or have confidence before the Father. All Christians believe in the fatherhood of God, but not all have entered into the confident trust and willing obedience that belief implies. And they can do so, not by being taught or exhorted but only as a result of a distinctive activity of the Holy Spirit within them. God must send the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying Abba Father...In Christ God has made himself our Father and us his children. For that to come home to us in the power of the Spirit is one of the most healing things that can ever happen to us.” Mmm. This happened to me 2 months ago. I have always known my Heavenly Father since He opened my eyes to the gospel when I became a Christian, but I never had confidence before Him, I was always hiding behind the righteousness of Christ, so that He wouldn’t see my dirtiness. Now I have come to the realisation that the blood of Christ has actually washed me clean, and I have discovered a new-found delight and confidence in approaching my Loving Heavenly Father, and an ability to receive His love for me.

I am stunned at the way God is speaking to me at the moment. For example, last night I was led to do an impromptu bible study on the word compassion after the lovely Christina Langella posted on Facebook a comment about God’s compassion. Not only did I discover to my shame that I don’t know very well those verses that speak of His compassion, I discovered He is called the Father of compassion (2 Cor 1:3) and amazingly that the Bible proclaims “in you the fatherless find compassion” (Hosea 14:3).

I miss my dad. I miss most of all not being able to discuss my faith with him. His dad was a priest in the Anglican church, and my dad also wanted to become a priest – but returned from a liberal theological college disillusioned with the teachings there that denied the virgin birth. He loved all the bells, incense and singing in the High Anglican church, and had been a choir boy at Ely Cathedral. My dad was a brilliant pianist and I used to love to listen to him play The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. He struggled with life – we believe he had Aspergers Syndrome, and had mild obsessional behaviour, and we used to get so frustrated as a family waiting for him to join us in the car to go out as he did all his last-minute checks in the house, but he was a great dad.

Today would have been his 76th birthday. I have tears today – but they are tears of joy at finding my compassionate Heavenly Father.

 

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds;
rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
(Psalm 68:4-6)

Incarnation

(photo by Becky Pliego)

The mystery of the incarnation has been occupying much of my thoughts lately, for obvious reasons! I can’t even begin to fathom how the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. I can’t understand how He could leave the glory He had with His Father before the world began, in order to be born of a woman as a vulnerable baby, dependent on His mother for her care. I can’t comprehend the humility with which He made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

This mystery is too great, too awesome, and these words of mine are too inadequate to do it justice.

So I have to turn my attention to a part of the story on a more human level. Mary, to whom the angel declares “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28). What a greeting! What greater commendation could a person receive? To hear that you are highly favoured by the Mighty God, that He is with you, and that you are blessed – surely this is the heart’s desire of us all. No other testimony matters, other than that which God declares.

Then to be told: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end...The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:31-33,35). Not only favoured by God, but chosen to bear the Son of God! What greater honour could a woman receive? What greater privilege?

What follows such an awesome encounter with the angel of God and such words as these?

Shame.

Despair.

Suspicion.

Betrothed to Joseph, yet pregnant. A young, unmarried woman clearly carrying a child, bringing shame on herself, her family’s name, her husband. One can imagine the talk in the village. Matthew tells us that “And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).

Mary’s life has gone from the heights of joy and gladness at finding favour in the eyes of God to having to deal with the unbelief of men. Faith in God immediately comes up against the negative reaction of the world.

Isn’t this the way of our Lord Himself who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame? Isn’t this the way of all those who would follow their Master? “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Cor 1:23-25).

May our hearts firmly seek the favour of the Lord and not of men. May we seek His praise, and not the praise of men. For we have this great promise to hold on to: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (1 Pe 2:6).

Thirsty

At a bible study recently, our pastor asked whether we were content with our knowledge of God, with our understanding of who He is. Surely the response from the heart of those who have been touched just a little by the love of God is that as we grow in our love of Him, and as we receive more of His love, our hunger for Him grows. This is another of those glorious Divine paradoxes! A.W. Tozer puts it so well:

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” (The Pursuit of God)

Moses was a child of the burning heart. Having already seen the visible glory of God when manna from heaven was rained down, and when he met with God on Mount Sinai to receive the Law, he asks God “Now show me your glory” (Ex 33:18). He has seen what I would dearly love to see – the visible glory of God, yet it is not enough – he asks for more.

David was a child of the burning heart. He loved his God. He knew his God loved him. And his longing to know more of his God poured forth in these words:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?”
(Psalm 42:1-2)

Paul was a child of the burning heart. He says “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Phil 3:8). Yet he then goes on to say “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10-11). He knows Christ, yet his heart cries out that he wants to know Christ.

To those whose hearts have been touched by the God of Love, there will be a continual hunger and thirst for more of God whilst we are away from home. Now we see but dimly. Now we see but glimpses of God’s glory. Now it is as if we are climbing in the mountains, and we make it to one peak and our hearts cry out in gladness and joy. Then our perspective widens and we see we are not at the summit at all, but rather still in the foothills, and a higher peak comes into our vision – sometimes requiring a downward traverse first. But the exhilaration at reaching the peaks is treasure from heaven, and we continue our upward climb. Now we cry out with Job:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).

For we have faith that one day, we will see our blessed Redeemer, Jesus Christ our King and Saviour, and when we are gathered before Him, we are told that “Never again will they hunger, never again will they thirst” (Rev 7:16). On that day, we will be satisfied. On that day, the yearning of our hearts will be quieted. On that day, we will drink deeply from the River of Life and our thirst will be quenched. Until then, may God grant us the grace to keep straining towards what is ahead.

The embrace of my Heavenly Father

As a mother of a young child, there is no greater feeling than being able to offer comfort, hope, safety and encouragement through a warm embrace. To know that as I hold my child in my arms, I am able to convey to him more deeply than mere words ever could that he is my child and he is much loved.

As a child of my Heavenly Father, there is no greater feeling than receiving comfort, hope, safety and encouragement through His warm embrace. To know that as I am held in His arms, He is conveying to me more deeply than mere words ever could that I am His child and I am loved.

This prodigal daughter has returned home. When my eyes were finally opened and I recognised that I was a sinner before a Holy God and shamefacedly returned to Him to plead for mercy, He came running towards me, threw His arms around me and kissed me. He ran towards me! He embraced me! He kissed me!

How is this possible? Because of Christ. Because the Son of God made Himself nothing, took on the very nature of a servant, was made in human likeness, and humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Is it possible year after year to be filled with ever-increasing awe and wonder as we contemplate the miracle of the incarnation? This heart of mine is overwhelmed this Advent-time. So much to wonder at – Mary, the young virgin, receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel to tell her she would bear the Son of God in her womb; the shepherds receiving a visit from a great company of the heavenly host singing praises to God; but above all that the Son of God would leave the glory He had with His Father before the world began to come to earth to save us.

And because He came, because He lived, because He died, because He was resurrected, because He is ascended, I can enjoy the embrace of my Heavenly Father.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)