Musings

Hi Tweeps and Friends, Hope you're not all feeling like the two in the pic above! Have a great day tomorrow as you celebrate the birth of our Lord. Sometimes the 'Christmas' passages in the Bible are so familiar that we gloss over them. I must confess, as I shared the story of the angel appearing to the shepherds on Saturday with some kids, I was so filled with wonder. What a sight and sound that must have been as the heavenly host started to praise and sing. They couldn't contain their joy and no wonder! The most astonishing event in the history of mankind had just taken place. They understood the significance of the arrival of this baby.  These words echoed among the hills of the plain: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! Charles Wesley penned the magnificent carol: Hark! the herald angels sing  Glory to the newborn King  Peace on earth and mercy mild  God and sinners reconciled.  Joyful all ye nations rise...

Recently, I was invited to a beautiful Macedonian supper in the company of our Dutch friends Dr Peter Pilon and his wife Els.  As English, Macedonian and Dutch exchanges were made over platters of roasted peppers and okra, ajvar , home-made rolls and slices of fried hake among other Macedonian delicacies, it became obvious that our hostess wanted to ask our guests about their experience with God.  Peter told us briefly how he and Els had become Christians and I was so touched by some of the details that I decided to share their testimony and something of their current work for God.                                                                                             Peter and Els     Peter grew up in Veenendaal and was affiliate...

I've often read that Ohrid is the 'pearl' of the Balkans and this is certainly a fitting description of this ancient town from before the time of Philip II of Macedon.  Lake Ohrid is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes with its shoreline shared by Macedonia and Albania. Yesterday was a treat in the beauty and peace of these surroundings. The following are a few pictures I took, mostly on the theme of colour.   This balcony made me smile.  Church of St Sofia dating from as early at the 9th/10th century. A riotous flower. I'll never understand people who think their Creator wants uniformity, black dress and sombre faces. Look at that flower! I wanted to stay here forever. The peace of this situation is amazing, just at the front of St. John's Caneo. A real haven. And the colour disappears.

Today, I grabbed my camera, hopped on the 9am bus by the skin of my teeth and landed in Ohrid. I rarely exhibit such spontaneity, but I am so glad that the mental coin I flipped was heads up, otherwise I would never have taken the above picture. When it comes to photography, I just click the world the way I see it.  I have no idea about technique and all the other elements involved and there are probably many technical faults in this picture, but yet I feel drawn to it in a special way.  The couple are oblivious to the fact that they are creating the romance of the moment being captured as they lean forward in the ray of golden light to attract the approaching swan.  Another second or two and the picture would have been entirely different. Perhaps this is what fascinates me about photography.  If these moments are not captured, they will be lost forever.  

I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the LORD . Psalm 116:17 As I read this verse this morning, I asked myself, ‘what exactly is the sacrifice of thanksgiving?’ Why is it called a 'sacrifice'? Sometimes when we really want to understand the meaning of a word, it is useful to look at the etymology. ‘Sacrifice’ comes from the Latin sacer (sacred, holy) and facio (do, make). The word seems to have taken on the meaning in English of costing something and while that is true, perhaps the original meaning has more significance in terms of presenting an offering to God. Our sacrifice of thanksgiving is to be holy, sacred, from a pure heart.  Old Testament sacrifices were offered with fire. Perhaps I can extend the imagery to the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is the One who makes our sacrifices holy. The rest of Psalm 116 gives expression to the reason for this sacrifice of thanksgiving. The Psalmist recalls   answered praye r (v ...

This morning I read 2 Chronicles 34 and was moved by the story of Josiah and his truthful heart before the Lord. The temple was in ruins at this time as Israel had turned away from the Living God and had returned to worshipping Baal under the reign of Manasseh. Despite his idolatrous surroundings, Josiah ‘began to seek the God of his father David’ at the age of 16 (see verse 3). He then destroys all the wooden, carved and molded images of idolatry in the ‘high places’ and the altars where incense was burned. The temple is restored and the Book of the Law is found. Shaphan appears before the king with the Book and reads the contents. Josiah’s reaction spoke to me most. We read, ‘he tore his clothes’. This was an outward symbol in the Old Testament of repentance. The words of God brought true repentance when he realized he and his people had not been keeping God’s Laws. The prophetess Huldah warns that God has been provoked to anger through their idolatry and an outpouring of His wrath...

I came across the expression 'seek God's face' twice this morning in my reading. Before I get on my kness to do so, I want to put these two powerful readings on my blog with the hope that God's people will seek His face today. ..if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face . Selah Psalm 24:3-6 God bless you today. xxx

I love this little anecdote from F.W. Boreham's 'A Pathway of Roses'. The incident happened to his mother at Canterbury Cathedral. ‘ “Excuse me,” he said, “but whilst I was chatting with the friend who has just left me, I could not help noticing that you were eagerly watching for somebody who, evidently, has not arrived. Were you thinking of inspecting the Cathedral?” I admitted that I was, and explained to him the situation. “I wonder,” he said, “if you would very kindly allow me to show you around. I am deeply attached to this place and happen to know something of its story.” His manner won my confidence, and I accepted his offer. And what an experience it was! As he conducted me from point to point, I seemed, under the witchery of his silver tongue, to see the coming of Augustine to Canterbury in the days when England was very, very young; I actually beheld those quaint and picturesque pilgrimages that Chaucer has described so vividly in his Canterbury Tales : I...

I must confess, I woke up this morning feeling grumpy and coming down with another cold, sick and tired of the winter... Then I read this reminder of how blessed I am. Blessed beyond words. Blessings If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who won't survive the week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the world. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If you hold up your head with a smile...

As we go through life, the small moments logged in our memories are creating that mosaic of life experience which we will take with us into eternity. I love small moments. The one I want to share with you this morning is about the barefooted young man in the picture. We were in a banana plantation village not far from Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh to visit some Christian friends. Word of mouth in India is still faster than Wi-Fi, Skype or Twitter as we were swiftly surrounded by a cluster of giggling children. I noticed a young man staring at us from a short distance. He lowered his shy gaze, then plucked up courage and approached us. He spoke to me in an unintelligible language (Telugu) and my Indian friends quickly interpreted: he's asking you for a Bible . I handed him the blue, soft-back Bible someone had pressed into my hands. I will never forget the smile that lit up his face and my heart.

Yesterday, I was contemplating the importance of spiritual health in a world so obsessed by materialism and consumerism. At the risk of sounding Scrutonesque, I concluded that observing beauty is an integral part of spirituality. Our spirits soar within and a light enters our being when our eyes behold an object of resplendent beauty. This might be in the form of a delicate butterfly, a majestic painting or a ray of light on a crisp, winter morning. The older I get, the more I consciously look for beauty. I may be accused of escapism, but I think this is what keeps me sane in the face of realism. The day my spirit is not inspired is a dark day. It appears that the world is trying to fill us with darkness and pessimism - just watch the news for five minutes or go to a modern art gallery where ugliness is presented as art. The majority of our cities are ugly, vulgarity prevails in our songs, films and theatres, nothing is sacred anymore. If this is where we keep our focus, our spirits w...