Biblical Gardens              Word on the Week                     10^th October 2020.

This week the garden signed off in a blaze of colour as the Virginia Creeper, which clothes the gable end of the house, dropped its leaves.   These tumbled in profusion in a plethora of colours brightening up the garden in a last extravaganza before the Autumn gales take over and put the place to bed for the Winter.

As a result of travel restrictions imposed by Government in order to curtail the spread of the Covid virus people have been encouraged to stay at home.   This has meant much more time spent in the garden.   There has also been increased interest in the Gardening Programmes on TV with would be Monty Don’s pricking out cuttings for next year’s planting!

The fruit and vegetables have not done too badly.   The tomato crop has lasted well but now has come to an end.   The apples are ripening well and will keep us busy for some time to come.

Some say it was the apple that was Adam’s downfall!    Whatever the fruit was it conferred on the eater the knowledge of good and evil.   This was probably all knowledge from good to evil, the two extremities of knowing which could be summed up as total knowledge – something we could not handle.

What compounded the problem was the tree of life.   It was within reach of the disobedient pair.   Immediate action was taken and they were cast out of the garden (Genesis Chapter 3 verses 22 to 24).

With sin a present reality mankind now is no use for the primary purpose for which he was made i.e. to love God and his fellow man with all his heart and soul.    The garden of Eden had become the garden of grief.

The garden of Gethsemane was to be the place where the cup of God’s wrath against sin was to be drunk.   Christ’s battle, fought in prayer, alone, was won in the climax, ‘nevertheless not my will but thine’ as he yielded himself totally to do his Father’s will.  

What that would mean, the full ransom price, the curse, the thunder and lightning, forsaken by God who was to condemn the world’s sin in his body (1Peter Chapter 2 verse 24).   Why couldn’t it have remained in Gethsemane? Why did he need to go to Calvary?   Why the cross, the blood, the shame, and death.   The garden is so nice and Golgotha so utterly evil.

But justice had to be done.   Sin had to be expiated.  Atonement could not be made by repenting in our place – only by dying in our place.   Jesus did it all for you and me.   How then should we respond (St John Chapter 20 verse 28).    

Doxologies             Word on the Week          3^rd October 2020.

A doxology is singing which bursts full of praise to our triune God.   It is capable of lifting the spirit into the heavenly places.    It goes to the bone and marrow of Christian identity.   It seizes the golden chain which links earth to heaven above and the singer is momentarily caught up in the bliss it creates.

Once upon a time we marked the year end by meeting at Grace to recount God’s goodness to us as a congregation of his people.    At midnight the ships in the Liffey sounded their sirens and as the sound faded we sang the doxology: –

May his name endure forever;
    may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,
    and they will call him blessed.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does marvellous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.                                              Psalm 72 verses 17 – 19.

Because of the great work that God has done in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the writer to the Hebrew’s doxology asks for the saints to be equipped, both inside and out, to be able to do his work in a way that pleases him: –

Hebrews Chapter 13 verses 20/21.

‘Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.’

Jude

Jude opens his letter by quoting the three tenses of salvation in verse one.   Believer, you are called in times past, are now loved by God the Father and kept (preserved) by Jesus Christ.   He encourages the faithful to contend for the faith and warns against godless people who have been around from earliest times.

He concludes by mentioning three categories of sinner, requesting his readers to show mercy to the doubters, to snatch others from the fire and save them, and others save, hating even the garment polluted by their sensuality.                                        

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Covid Continues              Word on the Week          26^th September 2020.

We never supposed it would be like this!   The virus seemed to depart from our shores for warmer climes only to come roaring back just when things were returning to normal.   It’s becoming wearing on our emotional intelligence!

Our ordinary intelligence hasn’t got us very far.   We are not quite sure how the virus started, or why the whole world is affected.    We don’t know how to get rid of it. It appears to be designed to break up close relationships and is highly successful at playing havoc with work and the sports scene.

The virus has a particular attachment to the infirm or elderly.   It is selective in choosing who will get a bad dose and its fatalities seem to be picked at random.

How can we figure out these things and get accustomed to talking to each other over the internet?   How can we share feelings when it gets harder to work out what each is experiencing?  Try empathising via zoom!

The ancients did much better with their emotions.   The Psalmist was able to write, when depressed with others mocking his faith, that his tears sustained him when memories couldn’t.   But he knew he was saved! (Psalm 42 verses 3 to 5).

Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, mourns over the plight of his people.  Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.   Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travellers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. Jeremiah Chapter 9 verses 1 – 2.

Jeremiah let it all out!    His desire was to bring his sin-sick people to the ‘Balm of Gilead’. Their sickness (adultery and faithlessness) required His attention.   On their own they were lost (Chapter 8 verses 20 – 22).

The last time Jesus visited Jerusalem prior to the crucifixion was an emotive time.   From his vantage point on the Mount of Olives he saw, not just the current rejection of his mission, but that he stood in line with the prophets back through the avenues of time.   All had suffered the same fate in the long run.

Then comes his lament – ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem’ and the illustration of the mother hen with its great care of its chicks.  Jesus sees himself as a broody hen such is his unquenchable love for his rebellious people and his longing to gather them to himself for safety, security and salvation (St Matthew chapter 23 verse 37).

In a pandemic there is no better place to be for us rebels.   Let the word of God prevail on your emotional intelligence to commit your life to Jesus (St John Chapter 1 verse 12).

Farming for Nature               Word on the Week                19^th September 2020.

Write something cheerful she said as we contemplated the Dublin lockdown which had separated the family into two halves.   And with the Covid infection rate fast increasing in the capital it would seem that we have got the better of this deal!

There are worse places to be in lockdown as we discovered when we were restricted to Co Kildare for a couple of weeks in August.   What make it more interesting is that we are wilding a portion of the farm. We can anticipate an increase in flora and fauna as growth occurs.

We have had a number of schemes on the farm over the years and the improvements are becoming evident.   The streams and river have been fenced from the land they flow through and the water is cleaner.   The river banks have grown trees, mainly Alder, and other plants have taken root in the safe environment.

The other spur to wilding has been the dramatic decline in wildlife largely as a result of modern farming methods.   These have not always been kind to the land with the introduction of heavy machinery that require large open spaces and the removal of hedges to operate efficiently.

The warmer and sometimes wetter climate has created challenges for both the farmer and nature.    The fight back against this decline has had some success with some bird species which were threatened with extinction in Ireland.  

Farming for Nature has an annual competition at which the public are invited to vote for the farm making the best attempt at wilding.   Those entering their farms are judged by the public on the basis of an exhibit video which the farmer explains on the internet.   Anyone can take part as this is an effort to raise the awareness of the need for conservation.

If Adam had entered this competition, he would have won hands down.   He knew his stock – he had named them!   The well-watered garden of Eden had every plant and tree.    The Lord made a boundary separating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   This was not a physical boundary but a moral one which out first parents transgressed bringing sin and death to the world.

Christ has restored what Adam lost and ushers in the Gospel age where the children of Adam may become by God’s grace the children of Christ (1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verses 21 to 28).  

Good Grief                       Word on the Week                    12^th September 2020.

The title of today’s blog was immortalised for those of a certain age in Charles Schulz’s character Charlie Brown.   Charlie featured in the cartoon ‘Peanuts’ and the expression ‘Good Grief’ expressed his frustration at being continually upstaged by his companions and life in general.

The ‘good grief’ we learned about today at the Church in Chains webinar was of a different order.   It was emphasised by Jesus during his last week before the Cross, ‘Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy’ (St John Chapter 16 verse 22).

This grief is being experienced in many parts of the world but no-where more single-mindedly than Pakistan.   Imtiaz Ashraf is from Pakistan and was the speaker today.   He spoke of Zafar Bhatti, a Christian, who has spent the last 7 years in Rawalpindi prison where he is serving a life sentence.  

He was found guilty of breaking the blasphemy law by sending blasphemous text messages on his smart phone.   The fact that the phone was not registered in his name and did not belong to him was dismissed by the corrupt judge.   His appeals against his sentence have been adjourned repeatedly.   A verdict of not guilty by the appeal judge would place the judge’s life in danger. Indeed, such is the level of hatred that if Zafar was released he would have to go into hiding and eventually get out of the country for fear of his life.

Jesus said, ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first   If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.… But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason’ (St John Chapter 15 verses 18 to 25 & Psalm 35 verse 19).

Imagine your teenage daughter was abducted and you knew only too well why she had been taken.   Your loss would be compounded by the fact that she would be married to a Muslim and forced to convert to that religion.   The law is not on your side.   You don’t know where she is.

This is not an isolated case.   Grief for being a Christian.  ‘Good grief’ because it comes from following Jesus (1 St Peter chapter 1 verse 6).    

What are we supposed to do about it?   Perhaps follow the writer of Hebrews suggestion: – ‘Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Chapter 13 verse 3).

And if we really want to share in their grief get information from www.churchinchains.ie    Just as there is grief so too there will be joy!

Jehovah Tsidkenu             Word on the Week                       5^th September 2020.

When something like the passing of a loved one breaks into otherwise tranquil lives a choice presents itself.   We can stoically carry on bottling our grief or we can express it with the full range of emotions we humans are capable of showing.   In addition, Christians have the consolation of worshipping a risen Saviour one who has gone through death to life everlasting (Daniel chapter 12 verse 2).

Today’s heading translates to ‘the Lord is our Righteousness’ and speaks of the eternal security evoked by this name of God (Jeremiah Chapter 23 verses 5 and 6).   Jeremiah further explains that one of David’s line will come who will do ‘what is just and right in the land’ (Chapter 33 verses 14 to 16).   This, of course, is Jesus who lived a perfectly righteous life on earth.   Even his enemies could find no fault in him (St John Chapter 18 verse 38).

This incarnation of Jehovah Tsidkenu is the Lord Jesus in whom there was no sin (1 Peter Chapter 2 verse 22) and who perfectly reflected God’s nature (Hebrews Chapter 1 verse 3).   The amazing truth is that faith in Jesus gifts the believer with the righteousness of Christ (Romans 4 verses 5 and 6).

A story may help to illustrate.   A wealthy man had a son who was disobedient.   In writing his will the father decided to leave all his wealth to his steward.   Upon his death the will was read to the astonishment of the son and the jubilation of the steward.   There was however a codicil to the will.  The father on his deathbed had added a clause giving the son just one request.   The son requested that the steward become his steward for life!

Notice – the son had no merit of his own.   The father’s codicil was an act of sheer grace i.e. there was no obligation to add it to the will.   The son without paying a cent, inherited it all.

The believer in Christ has nothing to impress the Lord with.   He deserves disapproval.   The reverse happens and by God’s grace Christ’s righteousness is laid to his account so that in God’s sight he or she is now even as Christ is (2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 21).

Charles Wesley caught this wonderful truth in his hymn ‘’Tis finished! The Messiah dies, cut off for sins, but not His own’. The penultimate verse reads

Accepted in the Well-beloved,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
I see the bar to heaven removed;
And all Thy merits, Lord, are mine.

The Christian can face death in the assurance that not only has his/her record been wiped clean but Jesus’s righteousness has been laid to his/her account.

What a glorious salvation!    Embrace it and share it!

Peaceful Protest                   Word on the Week                     29^th August 2020.

Setting aside for the moment the mea culpa of the leading lights of Irish society attending a dinner in breach of the Government guidelines and looking at the more sinister events in Belarus and Washington.    In both places peaceful protests were made against Government wrongs.

The outcome, rather like the weaker dog which always loses the dogfight, is the clearing of the streets by superiorly equipped police or military forces.   The Leader wants to remain and is prepared to sacrifice protesters safety for personal power.

The flashpoint is regularly created by elections.   They, in a democracy, provide a way of expressing approval or disapproval of the candidates.    It invariably becomes more difficult if the candidate has had a taste of power and wishes to retain it at all costs!

The avenues open to the protesters are limited.   Their voice and the voices of those who represent them are seldom heard.   Taking to the streets is a high risk strategy.   Those defending law and order can so easily turn a peaceful march into a riot with a few well aimed rubber (or metal) bullets.   Conversely a peaceful protest can become a major disturbance if it is hi-jacked by an extreme group intent upon destruction.

There were plenty of disturbances during Jesus’s time on earth.    His preaching to crowds was always carried out in open areas away from cities.    His main problem was restraining the crowds desire to make him their leader.   His kingdom was not to be over territory but the hearts and lives of those who became his followers.

The authorities recognised his leadership and as so often happens saw it as a threat to their getting their own way.   They conspired to do, what is not uncommon today, and have him killed.   This had to be done cautiously as Jesus was popular with the ‘common’ people (Matthew 26 verses 3 to 5).

In the event they need not have been concerned.   Jesus walked into Jerusalem as a lamb to the slaughter.   He was aware of the unity among the authorities that he should die.   He also knew that his death was in the plan for his peoples’ redemption (St Matthew 26 verse 2) (Romans 8 verse 32).     So how could this be? 

It was Passover.   Jerusalem would have been full of lambs, prepared for sacrifice.   The priest would lay his hand on the head of the lamb symbolising that the donors sins were transferred to the sacrifice and their guilt was purged (1 Peter 2 verse 24).

Jesus, our lamb, carried the sins of his people in his body on the cross.   The emblems of sin, the thorns, were unwittingly placed on his head by the Roman soldiers and his atoning blood ran down the cross cancelling our sin (Genesis 3 verses 18) (2 Corinthians 5 verse 21).

Do any modern leaders come near such sacrificial living, such love?   Do we?

Storm Ellen                      Word on the Week                    22nd August 2020.

The first of the Autumn storms rolled in from the Atlantic this week.   Since they are named alphabetically by the Meteorological Office and ‘E’ is the 5^th letter we must have suffered four such storms earlier this year.   The Met Office in the UK names the storms which affect the UK and the Irish Met Office has the doubtful privilege of naming those which first impinge upon our shores.   Hence the more Irish name of ‘Ellen’.

The South coast bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall in Co Cork.   A wind speed of 145Km/Hr or 90 mph brought down many electricity wires and left about 194,000 properties affected by power outages.    The network was also damaged by uprooted trees which were particularly vulnerable to the wind having maximum foliage at this time of year.

Ellen also brought flooding as it was accompanied by torrential rain and, in coastal areas, Spring tides added to the deluge.    It is hard for the authorities to prepare adequately for these storms as they are becoming more severe and can appear out of their normal season.   Flood insurance cannot be purchased for properties built on floodplains.   Cover can be bought where there has been little or no history of flooding. Global warming has made it prudent to do so.

These things add to the stress created by a surge in reported Covid cases.   New restrictions have been imposed to limit the number attending gatherings and social distancing and mask wearing are among the continuing rules to try to limit the spread of the virus.      

So far there has been an absence of blame for our increasing numbers of victims to the disease.    We do have an increasingly aware public, quick to pounce on those flouting the rules especially where those involved are themselves part of the authority that created them i.e. members of Government.

Storms and pandemics – is God in control of the world?   Most certainly!   Can we blame God for either purposing or permitting these things to happen?   Not at all!  

The following remarks are addressed to believers living in disobedience.   “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (Colossians Chapter 3 verses 5 – 10).

The reason these things are happening has everything to do with the failure of Christians to live the new life we have been given.  The remedy – read verses 11 -17.

Chinese Overseas Christian Church   Word on the Week   15^th August 2020.

The COCM was founded 70 years ago by Stephen Wang.   Next Saturday the anniversary will be marked by a zoom broadcast.   It is good in the midst of our anniversaries’ commemorations to remember one which marks the establishment of Christian Churches and not wars!

It started in the will of God when an 8-year-old boy got into trouble for throwing stones at a missionary’s son in their village in rural China.  This led to Yu-teh being taken in to the mission house and the son asked to apologise.   This was the opposite of what Yu-teh expected and soon the boys became friends and joined the Sunday school where he shone as a pupil.

Later Yu-teh asked the missionary how he could become a Christian and by God’s grace he put his trust in Christ.   He was a bright boy and his father was persuaded to take him to school in Peking.  There he excelled and won a scholarship to Yenching university and adopted the name Stephen.  Some years after graduation he was appointed headmaster of Tangshan Methodist school.

During the war years of Japanese occupation, he had to depend of God to overcome many difficulties.  This prepared him for the missionary life which was to follow.   In 1948 the church the Peking sent him to the UK.   There he was introduced to the China Inland Mission who had brought the gospel to large tracts of China.   As communism had closed China to missionaries Stephen suggested the mission work be directed to the Chinese in Europe who were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’.

In the event things turned out differently and the Chinese Overseas Christian Church was founded with Stephen Wang as its first director.  From its first church planted in London in January 1951 there are now 400 churches planted throughout Europe.    That does not include the independent Chinese Churches. We have two in Dublin with two church plants in Athlone and Limerick.

The evangelist I knew best was Frank Cheung.   He arrived in the UK in 1948 with only a few coppers in his pocket.   This became his opening line when meeting new Chinese Restaurant owners.   Most of them had little more but all had a strong work ethic.   Frank himself had two restaurants in Birmingham before he sold them to become itinerant evangelist with COCM.

Another was Wai Leong an accountant who now works in Bahrain with OM.   He helped to develop the Dublin work.   I remember his farewell address to the students of the then Chinese Christian Fellowship “Let no man despise your youth but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy Chapter 4 Verse12).  This was back in the mid 80ies.

In those days there were the English speaking and Mandarin speaking groups which developed, under the guiding hand of Cedric Chau, till today we have two flourishing churches in Dublin.    We also have a full time COCM worker in Ghee Seng who amongst other things is involved in a church plant in Cork.

A lot has happened since a little boy was caught throwing stones in China!                          To God be the Glory.

John Hume                             Word on the Week                              8^th August 2020.

The death of John Hume this week produced an outpouring of gratitude the like of which he never experienced in his lifetime!   The Nobel Laureate and former Social Democrats leader was one of the architects of the North’s peace process and the 1998 Belfast Agreement.   He died at 83 and had been suffering for some time from dementia which eventually robbed him of his sight.

John realised that there would have to be consent before where could be any agreement and this was generally accepted.   As long as the struggle was for territory, which was the dominant view among nationalists, ‘it’s our land’ there would be no agreement.   As he understood it unity between people was the priority.

The first breakthrough came with the replacement of what had been near permanent Unionist majority rule in the North with a power-sharing Executive that would represent the two communities.    He also helped to promoted the creation of North-South institutions as a unifying factor in a much divided island.

There was a need to engage with the Sinn Fein who were supporting violence as a strategy for unity.    He had secret talks with Gerry Adams their leader.   When these were discovered mistrust flourished.   It was a torrid time when even his supportive wife, Pat, urged him to give up.

When attending one of the many funerals a young woman crossed the road and asked John keep going so that others would not have to bury their father as she had just done.    It moved him so much that it is reputed to be the one time he was seen to weep in public.

His peace strategy which respected difference gained acceptance in the USA among some of the top politicians.  He was able to turn the Irish-American fund raising efforts away from the purchase of arms towards a peaceful solution.   This eventually came with the Good-Friday or Belfast Agreement which brought about, amongst other things, a cease fire and the destruction of weapons.

Bono U2’s front man famously got Trimble and Hume to join hands on the stage of the Waterfront Hall in what became a successful effort to get the Good Friday referendum over the line.   This inclusive Agreement embraced the concept that land does not determine the identity of the people – it’s the people that determine the identity of the land and now that there was a unifying agreement in place progress could be made.

But it’s Hume’s speech at the EU in Strasburg after his award of the Nobel Peace Prize that succinctly spells out his thinking.   He commended the EU for demonstrating peace among countries who had killed millions in wars during the 1900’s.  He reckoned this to be an example to the world and the EU should send philosophies not armies to conflict areas.

There would have been a sharp inrush of breath when he went on to say “All conflict is about the same thing!”   This he summed up as “Seeing difference as a threat.  Race, Religion and Nationality he claimed are accidents of birth.   It’s not something we should engage in conflict about its something we should respect.”

Our Creator God made us the way we are in order that we might seek and find Him. This seeking involved turning from sinful ways in repentance and faith (Acts Chapter 17 verses 26 to 34).   It is Christianity that gives us the basis for that respect of others i.e. all made in God’s image. John Hume wore himself out in the cause of Irish unity.  May he rest in peace