Day 46 - Easter Sunday

I love that He appeared to women first.   I love that He said              ' Careful, don't touch - Im not dry yet.'  😊  I love that He walked through walls just because He could.  The risen Jesus is truly wonderful.  I wish I had been there to see Him.

One day I shall see Him.  And I shall know Him better than I have ever known anyone.  I shall bask in His glory, worship Him forever and rejoice in His goodness eternally.  This is the chief end of man and my ultimate destiny.   Yours too,

Happy Easter  xxx

Day 45 - crucifixion

Jesus was naked.  He was beaten to a pulp such that he was barely recognisable as a human being.   He was hanging alongside dozens, if not hundreds of others in the heat of the day - some of those people had been there for three of four days.  The crowds were gathered because this was a public spectacle - people were shouting and laughing and wailing and crying.  Vultures will no doubt have been circling.  There were flies by the thousand.  People were passing by going about their daily business barely paying any attention to what was a common sight.  Others were standing around in

groups trying to offer comfort, water, food to those who were being crucified.  Roman soldiers were moving amongst the people keeping an eye out for any unrest and stopping those who would attempt to get too close to the condemned.  They were taking delivery of nails and rope ready for the next batch of prisoners to arrive.  Dogs and small children running around.  Donkeys braying and people arguing.  It was far from the scene we so often associate with that day - three crosses on a deserted hillside.

Into this chaos the sins of the world came creeping.  Every rape, murder, theft and act of brutality since the beginning of time.  All the greed, corruption , disease,  anger, hatred and jealousy began to assemble at Golgotha.  The skies became dark as the demons of violence, abuse, addiction, sourcery and arrogant pride swarmed to the cross on which Jesus was hanging and began to settle on Him with all their evil filth and slime.   From the future came the plague , the holocaust, Hiroshima , acts of terrorism, child abuse, AIDS,  pornography, blackmail, torture, cancer ,every wicked and depraved act which man has ever devised and committed - all of it swirled and swarmed into the almost lifeless body of The Christ. cutting Him off from the love of His father, drowning Him in evil and sin.

The skies became dark with the evil of the moment and finally Jesus yelled like a drowning man speaking His last word with every ounce of strength He could muster ' FORGIVE'.   And then He is overwhelmed.  God decides that it is enough and allows death to take Him.  Jesus leaves His body on the cross and His spirit is dragged down into hell where Satan is presumably throwing the mother of all parties.  They have Him.  He has been defeated.  God has relinquished His own Son to the power of death and death now has Him forever in its grip.

We dont know what happened on Saturday.  We only get the very briefest of hints about what might have been going on in hell that day when Jesus turned the tables on Satan, took the keys of death away from him, placed His feet on the neck of the devil and pronounced him finally and eternally defeated.  

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:18–20).

Jesus said to the thief on the cross that they would be together in paradise ' today'  - so perhaps the defeat of Satan was instantaneous and Jesus was in heaven in the twinkling of an eye, the enemy defeated even as He was taking His last breath.  Perhaps Jesus took His time - it doesnt really matter much to me.  What matters is that on Friday, Jesus always knew that Sunday was coming.   On the cross, suffocating under the weight of every sin ever committed in the history of the world, Jesus saw the joy of salvation on the horizon and focused on that.   How great must that joy be if it enabled Jesus to go through all of that.

Day 45. - who is in you

Trawling Facebook yesterday I came across this sixty second clip and it really made me think

 https://www.facebook.com/IncrediblenatureY/videos/1836586679886833/    ( dont read the comments - they are not relevant to the point Im making today :) )

Did that bring a Bible verse to mind??

1 Peter 5 :8

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

I dont know about you, but whenever Ive thought about that verse in the past Ive seen the lion as the more powerful agent in the equation.   However, that wee puppy puts things in perspective doesn't he?   He perhaps represents you and I.   We might be small, we might be young, we might look as though we couldnt stand up to a lion......... but we are focused, fierce and fearless and we can defend ourselves quite nicely against the prowling lion.  It seems unlikely.  But it is clearly true. 

SO the moral of the story today is.... if you can feel the lion lurking at your doorway, if fear and darkness are encroaching dont cower in a corner.  Come out all guns blazing, dressed in the armour of God, armed with the sword of the spirit, barking like a maniac and tell him where to go :)  He who is in you is MUCH greater than he who is in the world.   

Day 44 - heaven

Yesterday I woke up with a headache.  This is never good. It usually means that Im headed for an all day migraine.  But I had to work so I got up, took a couple of Paracetemol and went off to do my last two Jo Jingles classes of term.  Came home with head still thumping and went to bed.  Slept for an hour but when I woke up the head was worse.  I had to take Ben to his guitar lesson and walk the dogs and make the tea - but after that I got into a really really hot bath.

As I slipped under the surface of an almost unbearably hot tub I felt instantly eased and relaxed.  There really is nothing better is there?   98% of the time I shower because its easier and quicker - but on days when I just need a proper deep relax the bath is just the job.  It reminded me of the feeling of getting into a newly made bed.  All clean and crisp and tucked in and super comforting.  It also reminded me of being in the womb.

When Sam was born my waters broke at home.  Hilariously ( and because he was the first born and you do all sorts of ridiculous things when you are expecting your first baby) I had put a plastic sheet on my bed just in case my waters broke in the night.  I was lying in bed in the early evening, Sam was ten days overdue and I was supposed to be going into hospital to be induced the next day, when POP!  my waters broke ( there really was a popping sound!)  To my utter surprise gallons of hot water suddenly gushed out onto the bed.  And because there was a plastic sheet underneath me that water had nowhere to go, so I found myself sitting in a lake of hot water!  😊  I yelped in surprise and Keith came running in.  He helped me off the bed and all the water ran straight onto the floor !  Hee hee hee.  It really was very funny.   But the thing I remember most of all was the fact that the water that Sam had been floating around in for nearly ten months was so warm.   Obviously, when you think about it, its going to be body temperature isnt it?  Which is really much warmer than you would imagine.   Lying in my hot hot bath yesterday evening I thought about how wonderful it is to be immersed in warmth.  It must be nice for baby to be floating in a constant temperature in the dark with Mum's heartbeat for company.    I wonder if heaven is like that.

Billy Conolly once said that he thought heaven would be like custard.  Warm and thick and yellow  .  I suspect he might be right

When the Glory of God is seen in the Bible it usually knocks people off their feet.  In the temple the weight of God's glory was such that the people couldnt stand to minister.  If You have even been put on the floor by God you might have a sense of what that feels like.  You could move - you just dont want to.  Because you are suddenly being overshadowed by the presence of the Most High.  Shrouded by the Holy Spirit.  Under the weight.  It is a glorious place to be.   Heaven is full of the glory of God, full of light and warmth.  I can't help but feel that it will be like being in a hot bath ( of custard? 😋) totally relaxing, completely safe, gloriously comforting, yet also invigorating and healing and holy.

When I got out of my bath yesterday the headache had gone.  I felt like a new person.  Not only was I considerably cleaner than when I went in, my aches and pains had been washed away and my mind was pondering heaven.

Jesus died to buy us all a ticket to heaven.  He paid such a huge price for you and I to be able to get there and experience all the wonders that an eternity with God have to offer.  We cant begin to imagine what it will be like.  We have no concept of how awesome God is or how much He loves us.  But we can be thankful here and now that because of what He has done for us we are going to find out one day pretty soon!

Day 43 - exhortation

Yesterday was about kindness.  Today is about encouragement.

'Arent they the same thing ? ' I hear you cry

No. I dont think so.  Although they can sometimes look very similar.

Yesterday I went to visit my pal Denise.  We pray together every week ( recent thing which has turned out to be exceedingly amazing - answered prayers all over the place!)  and we also paint together on a regular basis.  Yesterday was a praying day so we took some time to chat over the people and situations we wanted to pray for, then we prayed and then, at the end, Denise said ...  ' Ive got something for you'  and she produced a card which she had made for me.  On it was a picture which she felt God had given her for me along with an interpretation which she had written down in a notebook.

It is a very very long time since anyone has given me a prophetic word.  I was really blessed by the thought that she had been praying for me, had taken the time to listen to what God said and write it down, then paint it onto a card and share it with me.  How lovely was that? !    The word she gave me wasnt a flowery sugary ; God-is-nice-and-He-likes-you' word.   It was challenging because it touched on the place where I am at with God just now and mentioned various things which Denise didnt know I had been thinking about but which are currently on my mind.  Her word did not say that everything is going to come up roses.  But it did indicate to me that God knows where I am.  He sees the reality and wants to encourage me to move on from here to the next place.

Kindness prays.  Kindness says nice things from a position of caring.  But exhortation is not afraid to put a gentle toe to the backside because it wants to push someone forward to be a better version of themself.   Exhortation is someone standing just that bit further along the road, yelling encouragement to the one coming along behind.  Shouting ' you can do it!'   And sometimes pushing from behind with a ruthless determination to get the very best out of the person who just wants to sit down by the side of the road and rest.   Exhortation sees what God sees in somebody and calls it out. It is not afraid of rejection or being misunderstood because it recognises that its all about the other person and not about the self.

I like watching those fat to fit programmes on the telly where a personal trainer works with a morbidly obese person for a year and tortures them with an impossible exercise and diet regime until they have lost half their body weight and end up getting their life back.  It can be a really brutal process.  But there always seems to be a lot of love between trainer and fat person.  The success of the whole thing depends on there being trust and respect and genuine affection between the parties otherwise it just doesnt work.   I think this is how God works with us.   He knows all that we can be and He is determined to get us there.  He needs us to love and trust Him so that when He shouts at us to get off our backsides and work hard we dont feel bullied and harassed.   We need Him to understand that it is hard for us and that sometimes we are just going to have to have a good cry and a piece of cake before we get up and start again.  Its a partnership.  It is tough love.  But it is really good.

I need my friends to encourage me from time to time.  It is especially good when they tune into the encouraging heart of God and give me both barrels of whatever it is that He has for me.  I want to be that person for my friends too .  Seeing past the familiarity and complacent knowing, and building on the trust and love to push them forward into more of God.

Sorry.  Couldnt resis this  :) 

Day 42 - kindness

A really nice thing happened yesterday.

I went to the garage to pay the mechanic who fixed up my car for its MOT and Keiths car with something or other that needed doing.  The mechanic is a christian.  Young guy with a young family, hardworking and always really busy because he is totally reliable and doesnt charge what he could be charging for doing a good job.    As I was writing a cheque he was asking how we were doing , especially mentioning Keith as he had always serviced Keiths Mums car and had been saddened to hear of her death in February.

I was chatting away telling him about whats going on with us and I happened to mention that Sam is going to Moldova with an Exodus team in July.   Exodus is well known to church people round our way as it sends teams of school kids all over Europe and further afield on short mission trips over the summer.  Kids get to go and work with orphanages or on building programmes or running summer schemes.  If they go back year on year they work their way up into leadership of the teams.  its a great experience and this year Sam is finally old enough to go.   Part of the team preparation is a
commitment to raise at least £200 to pay for resources which the teams take with them to bless host churches etc.   I just mentioned in passing that Sam is going to have to start thinking hard about fundraising over the next few weeks.  And Ray immediately put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a note and gave it to me saying ' Here, give him that to start him off'.

I was SO blessed.  It was such a spontaneous act of generosity and kindness from someone who really doesnt know us very well but who is part of this big mad crazy family of God.  He wanted to bless and encourage Sam in his mission trip - but he ended up blessing me too.  And Keith when we got home and told him about it.   It wasn't about the money ( although that was fabulous too), it was about the kindness.  It blew me away .  I shall be smiling for a week

Im sure Ray had no idea that his small gesture touched us all so deeply.  He would be embarrassed if he knew because he certainly was not looking for any sort of recognition or praise.  He just wanted to help out.   And that made me reflect that its probably been quite a while since Ive helped someone out.  Since Ive just seen a need and been able to meet it in some way or another and have lent a hand for no gain to myself.   I should be kind more often.   Its a good thing to be and it is fundamental to who Jesus is so it should be fundamental to who I am too.

I remember last year I was driving up the dual carriageway and I saw a lady broken down by the side of the road.  She was on her phone standing by the car so I pulled over and asked if she was OK.  She said that she was waiting for the towtruck to come because something horrible had gone wrong with the car and then she mentioned that she had been on her way to take her daughter to a piano exam in Dromore.   The daughter was sitting in the car looking fed up.   I asked what time the exam was and she said in half an hours time.  I told the lady that I knew where the exam center was as my boys go there, that I was happy to take her daughter to the exam whilst she waited for the tow truck and that I would bring her back after the exam was done.   The lady was delighted, the daughter was relieved.  It took an hour out of my day but made a huge difference to them.  We didnt even exchange names!!   I was just there at the right time - as God clearly had arranged it - and was happy to help out.

Being helpful and kind can really really make a difference.  As you will doubtless know if you have been on the receiving end of someones kindness.  It doesnt need to be a big gesture.  Sometimes its the smallest things which can be significant.  That extra ten pence for the parking meter.  The person letting you out of a tricky junction.  The person with the huge trolley full of shopping letting you go in front of them in the queue.  The lift offered to someone who is struggling with heavy bags in the pouring rain.  Kindness oils the wheels of life and we could all do with more of it.

Be kind to someone today.