Our Dreams Interpret Us

Credit: Free images from acobox.com

I don't know how popular books are that teach dream interpretation. There's certainly plenty of advice on the Web and many people are curious as to the meaning of their dreams. It's said that old men will dream dreams and young men see visions but I suspect this means old men will be naturally wise (just as dreaming is naturally induced) rather than having flashes of inspiration. When Pharaoh dreamed of cows and ears of corn they were believed to be inspired of God and neither Pharaoh nor his wise men could fathom them out. Joseph confessed that he had no such skill but it was God who gave him the explanation. He wouldn't have been able to reproduce this so called gift under controlled scientific conditions because it wasn't under his control.

The Bible knows nothing of a gift of interpreting dreams. Repeatedly it is a young man who is employed to do the interpreting suggesting it is more akin to a vision than an interpretation. Many of us have experienced crying with laughter over a joke we heard while in a dream either unable to recall what was so funny or coming to the realisation that the laughter was purely spontaneous, there being no joke as such. More often than not dreams occur just as we go to sleep or just as we wake up and so are, themselves, a semi-conscious interpretation of reality. To interpret them would be to see how we view reality when our imagination is allowed to run riot without the constraints of rationality. To make sense of a dream would be like seeking counsel from a person with delusions.

I remember sleeping at my grandma's house with my cousins. I was having a nightmare involving Herman Munster and I dreamed he was following me up the stairs. As I looked across the room there he was coming through the door. Being half asleep and the light being poor it was impossible to reconcile imagination with rationality. It was no coincidence that my cousin happened to walk through the door at the conclusion of my nightmare. My dream was an interpretation of that event. Being surprised and slightly afraid my mind instinctively imagined the worst and most vivid scenario. It seems the key to interpreting ours dreams lies in the rational and reasonable. Our version of reality is, after all, only an interpretation of what our senses communicate to us. Sleep is an altered state of consciousness cut adrift from the constraints of reason like a boat in mid ocean with no means of navigation. When we reach land we may be able to reconstruct the journey we could not have anticipated.

As I get older I don't dream more. I put less store in my dreams and nightmares are rare but I think I understand them more, probably because the dividing line between dreams and reality become more blurry. In looking back we can make sense of our journey through life, which has brought us to this point probably more by luck than judgement. The dream, where my limbs become like lead and the more I struggle to move forward the less progress I make, is little more than a metaphor for many of the challenges I face. The dream that I would dearly love to continue, but everything suddenly changes with no way of getting back, is very close to the experiences of many of us. I find myself waking from a nightmare only to find that Herman has followed me into reality. What do our dreams mean? They mean nothing, they are the life we live in an altered universe. Far from interpreting our dreams you could say that our dreams interpret us.

As an aside:

When I put 'interpreting dreams' into Google I got predictable results but there was also a link 'interpreting dreams Christian' which I clicked out of curiosity. This was like stepping into an alternative universe. The stuff of nightmares.

Is God Nice?

Credit: Free photos from acobox.com

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about why God doesn't answer prayer and, if he does, what sort of prayer does he answer. Is your prayer answered because you prayed it or because you just happened to be on God's wavelength? John the Evangelist said that God answers your prayers if you pray them according to God's will. Well what use is that? If he decided he wanted to do it why did he require your prayers?

I've watched a couple of Derren Brown programmes that apparently blow the lid off faith healers, spiritualists, mediums and snake oil salesmen in general. He is pretty convincing though you have to take into account that his skill is in deception so he could be deceiving us. But that's why he's so on the money because it takes a charlatan to catch a charlatan. The problem with faith healing is that it requires an unquestioning belief that you will receive what you are asking for. If you're not healed or you've not heard from your deceased love one or the finances you were expecting don't materialise, you have to find an explanation that maintains the belief and excuses the disappointment. If you accept that you were simply misguided you are forced either to accept that the cavalry isn't coming or that they never existed.

Derren claims he has no intention of discrediting faith itself but wants to expose those who make claims that are not credit worthy and, in many cases, who prey on the gullible. He says he's read the New Testament but dismisses it out of hand. While his cynicism is justified by his experience of those who would somehow prove the existence of the supernatural he cannot fully rely on his rational and logical reasoning to explain the mysteries of the universe. Unfortunately he doubts the existence of the cavalry.

Faith raises many problems that would be rationalised by the atheist or agnostic and therefore explained away. The faithful may defend their position by appealing to logic, proofs from history or empirical evidence but these are meat and drink to the seasoned sceptic and only confirm his position. That spiritual truths can only be received by faith would be a legitimate defence if it were not the fallback position and the refuge of the desperate. When faced with the question of unanswered prayer many of us find ourselves taking contrary positions simultaneously, drawing different conclusions depending on our state of mind. But I wonder if we are not just avoiding the hard questions - not that they are technically difficult but that they challenge the very core of what we believe.

You often hear people say that they can't believe in a God who would allow all the suffering in the world. But their belief in God makes no difference to his existence just as believing your prayer will be answered doesn't make it happen. When you begin with a false premise you invariably end up with a deficient conclusion and that, I believe, lies at the root of our dilemma. Many of God's characteristics are repeated over and over in the Bible without contradiction. God is holy, unique, supreme and all-powerful. He is the only true God, the Alpha and Omega. That God is love is echoed through both the New and Old Testaments despite the many references to his jealousy and anger. But one common misconception is that God is nice.

No one actually says God is nice but its clear that this characterisation often shapes our view of God as we read about him. It means that if God loves me he will be nice to me. It means he will not hurt my feelings or allow me to suffer. It also means that he will always be there to kiss me better and hold my hand when I am upset. When God appears to be absent or allows me to go through situations I wouldn't put my enemies through I have a problem that is almost impossible to solve. A simple but outrageous explanation is that God is actually quite selfish - he has his own agenda and if that means that I must suffer then so be it. Job understood this; his one problem was that God had been unfair in his case. I find it extremely difficult to reconcile the picture of Jesus being devoted to me when I can put myself in Job's shoes and I see myself looking at Jesus across the room with a devil in the foreground.

This is strangely comforting because it makes so much more sense and rings true in the light of my experience. Rather than clinging to the belief that God is holding my hand while every sense in my body tells me differently, I can see him at a distance yet fully aware, and in control, of the situation. I can picture God doing what he has to do in order to ensure the final outcome rather than being fixated on my petty inconveniences. Paul says that our momentary troubles will pale into insignificance when compared to the wonders that await us and Paul's troubles were anything but petty.

I like to think of Jesus as the anti-hero. He's the guy that walks into town and everyone eyes with suspicion. He proceeds to rub everyone up the wrong way, disregards the sheriff, and slights the mayor and stands and watches while the Hole in the Wall Gang robs the bank.

I find it easy to reconcile this scenario with that of God knowing every hair of my head and every sparrow that falls. Would I rather have a god who appears to care or one who really does care even when it appears he doesn't. Would I have a nice God who has sand thrown in his face by atheistic bullies or one who scoffs at their antics? It's commonly supposed that Christians are nice people. From this, two conclusions are drawn: that to be a Christian is to be nice or that to be nice is to be Christian. If Jesus Christ is not nice then both are inherently false and as the beaver might have said, in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, "of course he's not [nice] - but he's good."

I Know Him Very Well

This is a song I wrote some years ago and is on my album Beauty of Grace. I'd heard about Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of Christ' and how graphic it was. Some Christians strongly recommended seeing it as it brought the reality of the crucifixion to life. However, the more realistic something is the more you think you've experienced it first hand. But the Christian faith is about commitment not emotional attachment; more about faith than experience.

The Passion of Christ is a dramatisation of an event, produced to create an emotional response. In that, there is nothing wrong but you cannot say you know Jesus if you've never met him in person.

I've created a video on YouTube to illustrate the song.

I know it very well: the carpets, curtains, paper on the wall, the living room and hall. But I have never lived there, never been at all. I've seen it on TV and it seemed like home to me.

photo © francesco for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

I know her very well: her children's names, the things that make her laugh; the shadows of the past. But I have never met her now that you ask.

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

I read it on the train, I recognised the name.

photo © Filippo Lodi for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

I've seen so many places in my living room.

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Know what a broken heart is from my Mills & Boon.

photo © Sarah Klockars-Clauser for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

I know him very well: his flowing hair, his eyes of powder blue, the people that he knew. You'll know his name is Jesus if you've seen the movie too.

photo © reynaldo f. tamayo for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

A shame he had to die. It really made me cry.

photo © MIROSLAV VAJDIĆ for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Credits for images used in my music video I Know Him Very Well

© Chris Price 2004.

It's Not Common Sense

What you Herd

Credit: Free photos from acobox.com

Do you know why sweaty feet smell like cheese? It's the same bacteria producing the smell. Very often two things are quite different yet there is some commonality that links one with the other. We wonder how two things can be so different yet so similar at the same time but its not surprising when you consider that most of what we eat is made up of the same two elements, carbon and hydrogen. And if you appreciate that food is body fuel you won't be terribly surprised that petrol and diesel are also combinations of the same elements. We put carbohydrates in our bodies and hydrocarbons in our cars.

With this in mind you can understand that though people are quite different, one from another - in a given situation the majority of people may act in a very similar way. It has nothing to do with our similarities or differences but what we have in common; its what makes families sticky even when siblings are quite different to each other. Language is the glue (or commonality) that allows people to interact with each other without having to guess what the other person is trying to communicate. Your insurance premium is a case of commonality. If your premium is very similar to your neighbours it has little to do with you living next door - it's because they see you as a similar risk. Your profile may be completely different but to them you smell the same. It sometimes feels unfair but insurers are in the business of risk - you are not a person in their eyes but a potential risk.

This may sound like a very simple principle yet we often act as though it were not the case. When you say, "It wouldn't happen to me" you fail to recognise that its not your uniqueness that determines your fate but what you have in common with others. If you cross a busy road without looking for traffic you are as likely to get hit as the next person, not because of similar looks or personality but because of your common stupidity in the same situation. Its paradoxical that while young people rebel by being independent and different from their parents, they hang out with and want to be like their peers. One teenager may be quite different from another yet an older person sees only the commonality, which is mistaken for similarity. This is essentially the same prejudice as saying people of another race all look the same. Demographics may tell us that a particular ethnic group is most likely to commit a crime but its commonality that is the factor not ethnicity per se*.

A better understanding of this principle would adversely affect the self-help industry. If I may grind my axe a little, it would also reduce the sales of Christian 'miracle' books. The sales pitch goes something like this:

"My life was in a mess until I discovered this new approach. I put it into practice and it turned my life around. Forget everything you have learned and follow my plan. Read the testimonies of those who have followed this plan and seen dramatic effects. If it can work for me it can work for anybody."

They give you reams of stuff that seems to make sense and could potentially change your life for the better but leave the key principle for when you part company with your hard earned cash. It may well have changed their life and the lives of those who have given their testimony - the problem is the logic. They have followed the plan and it worked for them. The plan therefore has only one conclusion: success. The most successful people tend to have lives pitted with failures and if they were honest they would say it was their drive that got them there in the end. It was their commitment to completing the task that got them to the finishing line despite the pothole-ridden road they travelled. The truth is you could possibly follow a useless plan and still succeed. You can get from London to Brighton via Edinburgh but I wouldn't recommend it. Success is retrospective. You can't predict it but you can recognise it when you see it. True, there are principles that make success more likely but its never guaranteed.

My Father taught me an excellent principle for safe driving. He said that you should assume there was a potential hazard around every corner and over every ridge. You should therefore be ready to stop at any point. This is known as defensive driving. Its similar to Murphy's Law, which states that if anything can go wrong it will. Overarching this is the truth that if it has happened to anyone else it can happen to you. Yes you have unique talents and abilities; you may have an excellent strategy for earning your first million but unless you negotiate the potholes of commonality you're heading for potential disaster. It's not your unique talent that will get you there but your common sense.

*I am talking here about external factors such as racial discrimination within a police force where ethnicity is definitive but not causative

The Wrong Way Round

A critical look at the Full Gospel

I've just been listening to an address by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. He tells three stories, the last of which refers to death as a gift. He says that death clears out the old and makes way for the new, that to be reminded of death gives life more focus and immediacy. He makes good sense and in many respects I would agree with him except in one respect. Death is not a gift.

The shortest verse in the Bible is 'Jesus wept', a phrase abused by many who have never read the book. But even for those of us familiar with its context there is some confusion over its meaning. It comes in the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus and its often assumed that Jesus was sorrowful at the demise of his friend and sympathetic to the grief of Lazarus' sisters. However, seeing that Jesus was intending to raise Lazarus on that day its not likely he would be sorrowful. But the verse does indicate a strong emotion which some render as Jesus being angry.

Jesus found himself in a chaotic situation. Lazarus' sisters were mourning their brother, cut down in the prime of his life and were asking why Jesus had not come earlier when he would have been more use. Professional mourners were wailing and stirring up emotions of grief and sadness so that those, for whom the loss was poignant, could express their emotions and come to terms with the loss. That place stunk of death - no wonder Jesus was angry. In a few days time Jesus would be crucified and you can imagine him saying, 'Death, you can have me but you are not taking my friend'. Jesus came to defeat death and in Revelation we are told that death is finally thrown into the lake of fire. Death made Jesus burn with anger, it drew him to the cross and in him it met its match.

But this is not what I meant to say. Jobs was confronted with death when he discovered he had cancer (which has since killed him). At the time of this lecture he thought he'd beaten it but that, sadly, was not to be the case. Steve was obviously pleased that his cancer was operable but that wasn't the focus of his story - his focus was death and that within it there was hope. The hope of all Christians centres on death, the death and resurrection of our Lord and the demise of death itself. Lazarus died eventually, as did all those whom Jesus healed. But what's been eating away at me for several months is Christians' obsession with healing.

Over the last 200 years we've been introduced to a new gospel ('gospel' means 'good news') what has been coined the 'full gospel', the good news that Jesus came to give you healing and wholeness. But my recollection is that Jesus came to give us life and to live life more abundantly. These are not the same. Abundance doesn't require healing or wholeness but the realisation that however pain racked or guilt ridden we are, the kingdom of God is within us. You see salvation comes with good and bad news. The bad news is that you will suffer persecution and Jesus isn't going to rescue you from trouble or strife. The good news is that he will help you carry your burden and, when all things have been put under his feet, all sorrow and suffering, disease and discomfort will pass away.

Search on the Web for healing and wholeness and you will find countless self-help books and websites, holistic remedies and cures. You will also find a plethora of websites promoting Christian ministries of healing and wholeness, with stories of miraculous signs and wonders. They will tell you that God heals today just like Jesus did when he walked this earth - just like the Apostles did in the book of Acts. It's like visiting a carnival where the church has one of the stalls. So what makes the church stall different to all the others? The sad truth is, very little. I recently asked myself what difference it would make to my faith if Jesus were not God. I couldn't think of a good answer until I read Paul's letter to the Colossians and realised the Bible is like a stick of rock with Jesus written right down the middle. Break into it at any point and Jesus is there at the centre. The big difference isn't that Jesus' miracles are real and the rest are bogus or that emotional healing is more profound if you're a Christian. Many Christian healings are bogus and you don't have to look far to see screwed up Christians. The only real difference comes when Jesus is at the centre. It's all about him.

The greatest threat to road safety is speed. Our answer is to make cars safer to mitigate speed's effects but someone has said that what we could do with is a spike sticking out of the steering wheel. At least then we would have a healthy fear of our foe. For the Christian all roads lead to the cross. That's where Jesus defeated death, that's where we lay down our lives in the hope of the resurrection. For Steve Jobs it was death, not healing, that was the heart of his message. For him, facing death meant valuing life. For the Christian the cross is the gateway between death and life. In dying we live, in brokenness we find healing and in grief we find joy. Its not the other way round.

Psalm 6 (6): The Lord Accepts my Prayer

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

=== 6 ===

Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Who is my enemy? Jesus reminded the Jews that they were taught to hate their enemy but love their neighbour. It was God's plan they should be set apart for him and the only way they could do that was to have a completely different lifestyle to their neighbour nations. Their neighbour nations practiced idolatry and witchcraft. They sacrificed their children, had little value for human life and were generally reprobates. This was not the pool where you would choose the mother of your children. So wherever Israel conquered they were to put to the sword every one of the inhabitants to rid the land of evil. This sounds like ethnic cleansing but the Jews were often reluctant to carry out the task. These were promiscuous and fun loving people - this was party time. But God had already called time on their debauchery - this was the morning after - clear up time. These enemies that David speaks of are not those he has fallen out with - they are enemies of God and everything God stands for.

But who is my enemy? Your enemy is not the mugger who wants your wallet or the colleague who steals your promotion. Your enemy isn't the politician who takes an opposite view to you on government policy. Your enemy is whatever stands between you and God. You can be your own worst enemy. It could be your lifestyle choices, your attitude, even your religious zeal. More importantly, your enemy is God's enemy. What does God hate? God hates oppression, injustice, apathy, greed, abuse and self-interest. Seek first the kingdom of God because that's where he rules in righteousness. Sit where he sits and see with his eyes. Feel his pain and weep with him over the sons of men. Feel the heat of his anger as he looks upon oppression and injustice. If you have a heart for God you will say, like Isaiah, "Here I am. Send me!"

Prayer

Lord, may our hearts burn as we look at the world through your eyes and teach us to love our enemies but hate yours. Let us see and worship the God of both the New and Old Testaments because you are unchanging. Help us to see the logs in our eyes without being obsessed with them. May we know your unmerited favour so that we can extend that grace to others.

Verse

"Woe to me!" I cried. "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."Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the alter. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sins atoned for."Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am, send me!"(Isaiah 6:5-8).

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 6 (5): I am worn out

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

=== 5 ===

I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

There are no requests here, no plea for mercy or deliverance, no statement of faith, no occasion for dialogue. There are times when we have no wish to listen to reason or examine cause and effect. You would suppose that you know better than anyone what you are going through yet you can only see it from the inside and untangling reality from your perception is an almost impossible task. When someone casually asks how you are you might weigh up how you are doing financially, emotionally, professionally, arriving at an average where negatives are cancelled out by positives and you end up with a simple "OK". But David throws out all reason and appears to lose any sense of proportion. At first this appears to be a full-blown pity party but despite David's lack of objectivity we can see where his anxieties lie. His eyes grow weak for fear that he will be overtaken by his foes. In plumbing the depths of his emotions he arrives, not at objective truth, but at an understanding of where he's at and, therefore, where he must begin his recovery.

David was not a perfect king by any means but he was a man of integrity and depth. Before God he was prepared to face his demons and admit to his weaknesses. It's the way of kings and despots to be arrogant and dishonest. They feel they have to portray a man of strength with no weaknesses even though their people know this isn't true of any man. When people see you face life's difficulties with an honest and open heart they are more likely to respect you when tough decisions are to be made. It's said that Jesus was a man of sorrows yet we are prepared to follow him to the ends of the earth.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please bear with us when we open our hearts, even when they are filled with bitterness and lies. On the cross you bore all our sins so you know, first hand, all that burns within us and motivates us to do good and evil. It was not we who sought you out but you who sought us out so that we cannot claim to have found your grace by insight or sound judgement. While we were deep in sin you pulled us out. Father, lead us into all truth so that we can face life with integrity and sound judgement. Keep us from being arrogant and conceited, always having hearts open to you, so that we can be corrected and encouraged in the knowledge that you are our strength.

Verse

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:21-23).

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 6 (4): No Praise from the Grave

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

=== 4 ===

Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?

Notice how directly David speaks. He doesn't plead for God to deliver him or put in a request for God to answer when he gets time or has the inclination. But we should not imagine that David is presumptuous or, as the name it and claim it preachers would have it, is merely drawing on his account. For all the respect that David has for his Lord, the case is too urgent to shrink from pressing God for an answer to his troubles. He knows God is his deliverer and there is no one else to turn to. Better that God be angry at his impertinence than to test him with pathetic ifs. When he answered Job directly after days of listening to his defence of his own righteousness, God didn't demand that Job be silent, he said to Job, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me." God had listened to Job already and was prepared to hear him again. It was Job's humility that would not allow him to reply.

So did David think, "if God's love is unfailing why does it feel like he's deserted me? If he wants my praise why would he let me die?" Some would quote Paul, "To live is Christ to die is gain"; if our praise in heaven is to be more glorious than our less than perfect praise here on earth, what does it matter whether we live or die? Firstly, David doesn't have the benefit of Paul's wisdom nor the revelation that came with the death and resurrection of Jesus. David believed he would rest in Sheol with his fathers, a shadowy place that was a kind of refugee camp for dead souls awaiting their resurrection. Even the New Testament doesn't make it clear where we will be between death and resurrection. Paul says that we will sleep which suggests that David was about right. In any case, if salvation is merely a ticket to heaven why do we have to hang around here when we could be living it up beyond the pearly gates.

It's wrong to suppose that, because of our fuller knowledge through Jesus, we really see eternity much different to David. The only world we know is the one we live in; our only point of reference lies within this world. We still live in much the same world, neither in the paradise that Adam knew or the paradise that Jesus promises. This world will be swept away some day and any chance to praise God from here will be gone. Let us support our team even when we seem to be on the losing side because we will eventually be rewarded.

Prayer

O Lord, remind me of how precious life is, not just the sanctity of life itself but how precious each moment is. Let us not compare the life to come with our low expectations from this life because that would be a pointless comparison. Let us be a people who don't simply yearn to be in a better place but cry out to you to make our lives better in the place where we are. Let us not settle for being survivors but to live in the fullness of what you have done for us but then to know success in your terms not as the world would define it. We want to praise you throughout eternity, beginning at now.

Verse

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 6 (3): Lord How Long

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

=== 3 ===

How long, LORD, how long?

A recurrent theme throughout the Psalms, this sentiment is echoed throughout scripture. The first words we read in Genesis are "In the beginning"; the penultimate phrase in Revelation is "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (it is settled - we only await your coming Lord). We know God started it and have faith that God will finish it but even though God's revelation is completed and sealed it still awaits the finale. There's more to come but we must wait patiently. When Jesus was first presented at the temple he was welcomed by the prophetess Anna. She had been married for seven years when her husband died. Now at the age of 84 she saw what she had been waiting for her whole life. Moses, the only man who ever met God face to face, was 120 when the Israelites finally reached the Promised Land only to be forbidden entry. Abraham who alone was called the friend of God was 100 when his wife bore his child of the promise.

You often hear preachers telling listeners to claim their healing, their inheritance, their prosperity, their job or whatever it is they are praying for. These so called anointed preachers claim to have a hot line to God yet their ignorance exposes the truth that they don't know the God they preach. They wrongly assume that the new covenant, instituted by Jesus' death and resurrection, means that everything is theirs to claim here and now. They claim to honour Moses and Abraham and are forever referring to them yet they claim that their own experience of God is greater because of their greater revelation. They are modern Gnostics promising a superior relationship with God through revelation. There is no room in their thinking for long suffering, patience, failure, persecution or adversity. They are quacks and peddlers of God's word, tricksters and illusionists, deceived and twice damned. They preach a false gospel and would deceive the elect, if that were possible.

There is no real answer to the question, 'how long?' God doesn't treat us like pawns and it's not for us to wait for God as if there is a set time for everything; that if we hold on it will surely come to pass because God has willed it. I no longer pray to know God's will, I pray for wisdom, help and guidance in the knowledge that I have God's Spirit within me and as I learn to walk with him I hope our hearts will begin to beat as one. Jesus said that he and the Father were one and that he did the will of he who sent him yet from the Gospel accounts we see a man who is no automaton following instructions but one so close to his commander that no instructions are necessary. Yet in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus submitted himself to God's will against every other voice to the contrary. The waiting was over; now was the time.

Each of us will have a garden experience where time is no longer the issue - when everything is racing at the speed of light and you are being asked to make a decision that will have eternal consequences. We must learn to use the "how long Lord" times as preparation for when the "what - NOW?" arrives. Life seems to come in teaspoons and buckets and there's no point in wishing for jugs.

Prayer

Dear Lord I believe that what happened on the cross was complete in itself for you said yourself that it was finished. Yet if you had not risen again we too would indeed be finished. You went to the Father and sent us a comforter because for us the work had only begun. You foresaw hardship in the form of persecution and being children of God we are also disciplined in order that we should be conformed to your likeness. Father please do not test me to my limits for I can bear far more than I care to, but allow me to share in the long suffering of your Son that I may share in his glory.

Verse

When times are good be happy; but when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 6:14).

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 6 (2): Lord Have Mercy on Me

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

=== 2 ===

Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;
heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in deep anguish.

It may be that David was physically ill. If so, this was either life threatening or so debilitating that David felt compelled to ask for mercy. We all know how paralysing a headache can be - that it can cause or be made worse through stress - so we hardly need to know the detail of his discomfort to understand his anguish, only that he is deeply troubled. That the Psalms don't rhyme has nothing to do with the translation; Hebrew poetry often uses repetition to emphasis a point. Here we see a theme repeated twice but from a new perspective each time.

David is faint, in agony and deeply troubled, everything you would associate with a severe illness, but just as illness causes distress, so does distress manifest itself in physical symptoms. We hear much these days about holistic medicine whereby the whole body is treated as a combination of physical, mental and spiritual. Modern medicine acknowledges that a person's state of mind can have a significant impact on their physical wellbeing. It's been said that the majority of cases seen by a GP have a significant psychological dimension and increasing numbers of surgeries have been employing specialists to meet needs that have now been recognised as genuine.

In biblical times it was common for illness to be thought to have a moral connection and the word disease (dis + ease) suggests being out of sorts with yourself and your environment. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul says, "May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless." Many have used this to justify their view that we are made up of three distinct parts but I'm sure that Paul means our whole lives. Both Jesus and Paul argue that it is not your body that's evil (even though its wasting away) but what is in your heart. We think of the heart being our core being yet in Hebrew scripture, that which is rendered 'heart' in English often means intestines (our gut), which is where we feel things most deeply. We will have a resurrection body but if God only saves our soul what role will our body have? Jesus, after his resurrection, had a spiritual body that could disappear through walls yet eat a fish. We acknowledge Jesus with our mind yet scripture says nothing of the brain. There is clearly no biblical systematic theology of man in a physiological sense.

David clearly sees every aspect of his life as merely an expression of where he is in his relationship with God. His life force is fading; his frame is crumbling; he is struggling as a person. As we shall hear later, he feels oppressed by his enemies. Whatever ails him, his LORD is the remedy. If God were to write a prescription the remedy would be shalom - peace, healing and wholeness that can only come from knowing God who will enrich his life in every way.

Prayer

Lord, in a world that divides families, communities and nations - prescribe shalom for my life. Restore what has been broken by others and by myself. You have promised healing for the nations; ignore my craving for physical health when it would make me complacent and unmindful of the suffering of others. Have mercy on me Lord for you alone can bring true restoration.

Verse

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9)

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 6 (1): Lord Deliver Me

Thoughts from Psalm 6 in six parts (Each section begins with the verses I will comment on, followed by a prayer and a concluding verse).

= Introduction =

Turn O LORD and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave?

Not every Psalm entitled 'A psalm of David' can reliably be ascribed to the king himself but this one bears all the hallmarks of this resilient yet vulnerable, confident yet contrite ruler of Israel. It seems to be in the darkest times we meet face to face with our maker, when we have a true heart-to-heart - as if we have to come to the end of ourselves to find the beginning of God. Psalm 6 finds David at this place but the scenario doesn't present a jelly of a man pleading for mercy. Rather, we see someone who, even in the depths of despair, has a quiet and undying confidence in a God who is not to be served in blind allegiance. "Test me in this", says the LORD (from the mouth of the prophet Malachi). "Press hard after God" others have said.

=== 1 ===

LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

In John's Gospel we read of a man born blind. The disciples ask whose sin it was that resulted in his blindness. It was generally accepted that suffering was a punishment from God. Job's friends had no doubt that his troubles were the result of sin that he would not admit to and it may be that David had his own detractors who were more than happy to say "I told you so". It's not clear where David sees his troubles coming from, but what is clear is that he believes God to be sovereign.

If this is from God, David wants assurance that he is not angry with him; it's one thing to suffer and another to have God as your enemy. In Samuel 24, David sins against the LORD and he has the choice of being humiliated by his enemies or being struck by God. He decides to "fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

Whatever its origin, David takes his suffering to God because he knows that God will deliver him. His only fear is that God is angry and vengeful; but if this is the case he has no recourse anyway. Why fear men who act on a whim when you know exactly where you stand with God. Why fear men who may condemn you but cannot ultimately deliver you. Its best to cut out the middleman: forget the monkey; speak to the organ grinder. David knows that in all things God disciplines him for his own good but first he must settle accounts.

Prayer

LORD, if I have caused you to be angry or occasioned your wrath, please forgive me because I cannot stand against you. If you are against me I have no hope. If you will forgive me, by all means rebuke and discipline me because I know that I will benefit in the end. Prune me so that I will bear fruit; polish me so that I will reflect your glory; teach me and I will be wise.

Verse

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses (Proverbs, 27:6)

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Exceptionally Ordinary

There are numerous times when I have vowed to press on with my foot to the floor only to find myself stalling at each bend. It's an easy thing to take a long view on the destination and make good initial progress, pumped with adrenaline and inspiration. Many fall at the finish unable (or unwilling) to make the last bit of ground but more die in the middle. Corpses pile high in the side streets and cul-de-sacs of life. Unmentioned to the starters and forgotten by the finishers, they are an embarrassment and only leave an unpleasant smell. What do you say of someone who aborts when the job is half done, for whom there is no return on the investment - a write off - a liability - collateral damage.

Life is an opportunity but while for some it's a revolving door, for others it's a quarter light. The vista may be the same but some need to stand closer to the window to see it. I'm not speaking of those who don't realize their potential but manage to get through life without causing any visible damage. I'm speaking of those who just run out of steam, the bright starters who take wrong turns or take on one too many hills. I'm thinking of myself, stalling at yet another bend and wondering how the gearbox has managed to survive, not that I was a bright starter.

If life were simply about bright starters, good finishers and urban casualties it would be a sad story indeed. We enter the world naked and exit alone but no one passes through without their life touching someone else's. No one can say they were successful entirely on their own. To be alone is a measure of failure on someone's part. We look up to the successful for inspiration and try to learn from other's mistakes in order to make the finish line with dignity and a sense of achievement. We hope that our children take the right path and make the most of every opportunity.

I can't see the finish line from here and it all started so long ago. I seem to keep heading down cul-de-sacs but there always seems to be a path at the end leading to another way. The 23rd Psalm is the favourite of many - "He makes me lie down in green pastures" - but when you walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" the path is hard to follow. Its not a route you would choose to take - failure and loneliness are heavy weights to carry - but it's the way of the common man and the lot of many who fall by the wayside. The lost don't look to the successful; they find strength in the humanity of fellow strugglers, the frequenters of cul-de-sacs. They are inspired not by those who are ordinarily exceptional but who are exceptionally ordinary.