Pilgrim's Progress

Fear Him, Seek Him - Don't Be Practical All the Time!

I'm amazed. Twice in the last week people have handed me an envelope with gifts of money in. On the first occasion, I had given a gift to a local prayer group to help cover event costs the previous day, and the envelope given to me contained the same amount as I'd given.

Today, a new insight struck me from a familiar Psalm - two kinds of people who do not live in lack:

Fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
(Ps 34:9-10)

I am currently seeking work, and money is an issue. But the practicalities must not consume all my energy and time. The Psalm urges us to set our hearts both to fear the Lord, and seek him.

And if we seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, all our needs will be supplied, sometimes in unexpected ways. May you be surprised by the generosity and provision of God!

Seek His Face

Am discovering the joys of digital natural media painting. It's easier than you think and more rewarding than I ever imagined.

Lots of seeking the face of God at the moment as I try to discern his leading. That seeking takes many forms: a cry, a shout, a song, a prayer, a groan, a whisper.

Getting Away From It All

It's all happening isn't it? Swine flu, credit crunch, and all the rest. And personally, it's all happening too, isn't it? And you know people who're going through it. Wouldn't it be nice to get on a plane and leave it all behind? Someone's been here before ...

I said, "Oh that I had the wings of a dove
I would fly away and be at rest;
I would flee far away an stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and the storm."
(Ps 55:6-8)

All of us would love to have a Fantasy Island (see image) - a place where we could escape to, and shut it all out. But that isn't an option we have. Instead ...

But I call out to God
and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
(Ps 55:16-17)

Don't keep quiet. Don't keep it in. Let it out. Get others to make a noise with you, for you.

And let's keep making a noise to God for a broken world, a world in desperate need.

Christus Victor

I don't know what happened last night, but something changed. After feeling like I was walking in a spiritual desert for the last three weeks, unable to connect with God in any meaningful way, there was a quiet, but tangible sense that something was different. It felt like my prayers had finally achieved a little breakthrough and that something had shifted in the heavenlies.

Easter means many things, but it speaks of the wonderful breakthrough that Jesus accomplished. The breakthrough that makes all other breakthroughs possible.

Last week, on the shelf in my car boot, there were two little twigs which had fallen in the shape of a cross. I'm not sure how they got there, but I think they pointed me to this moment.

This morning I read the bit in Matthew 27 where Jesus is in the tomb, and the authorities try to prevent the body being snatched. It struck me that these extra measures only served to convince thousands that he really did rise, and the angel seems to mock their efforts by sitting on the rolled-away stone.

I am still waiting for many breakthroughs, but for now, I am grateful for renewed confidence that it's on its way. Here's my attempt to express this in visual form.

A Prayer Crucified Jesus, You smashed through all our bonds and set us free. Come through for us, for a broken world. Let your breakthrough be our breakthroughs. And so, this Easter Saturday, This waiting, seeking, searching, wondering time, When Jesus has been crucified but not yet raised, may the breakthrough of Jesus come through for you, however long you've been waiting.

A New Season

 

So I'm back. What a 9 months it's been. It will take me some time to process it, if I ever fully can. In an unexpected way I've come back with a sense of inner momentum, and a desire to "pick up where I left off in Canada."

Even already, it's been a time of reconnecting with old friends and feeling pretty reconnected, even after a week.

As for the future, no idea yet, but the call is to live in the present, to "seek Him in the wild places", and see what unfolds.

Homeward Bound

>> Canada Files: Day 279

And so it ends, for now. Many great sendoffs this week as I prepare to return to the UK on Tuesday, to embark on the next chapter of this adventure.

I'm bringing home a truckload of great memories, the love of many new friends, and the riches of nine months spent in a great nation among some very special people, living in a town that has found a place in my heart.

Farewell for now, Canada, I hope to set foot on your soil again soon.

So this is me, signing off from Canadian communications.

<< TRANSMISSON ENDS >>

Setting Sail Again

>> Canada Files: Day 260

And so the adventure continues. I'll be flying back to the UK on 3rd March. I nearly wrote "flying home" but I'm really not sure where that is!

Over these 9 months I've grown to love this town, with all its beauty and brokenness, with its rich kaleidoscope of people and cultures, and I think I've felt more belonging here than I have for some time. There are so many nationalities here that I don't feel like an outsider, but more importantly, it seemed like I was planted in a place of rich relationship and fellowship, growth and encouragement, and challenge too.

I believe I will return to Canada at some point, for a longer spell, but it is not at all clear to me how or when this might happen. It feels like there is "unfinished business" for me here.

"When called to a country he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going ...
He made his home in the promised land, like a stranger in a foreign country ..." (Heb 11)

This all seems some way off yet, and the practical issues of "what now" are uppermost. I still have a car and some stored goods in the UK, and I also welcome the opportunity to visit family and friends.

I wrote some years ago (here) that my life felt like a series of "spider jumps" into the unknown - well I'm about to make another one.

To my UK friends and family - I look forward to catching up with you very soon.
To my Canadian friends and "family" - I pray it isn't too long before we meet again.

Never Mind, Let's Sit Down and Have a Nice Cup of Tea

Yes it's real. And yes it's staged. I'm having my first taste of real Canadian winter.

It's part of a year-long project called Hamilton365, which involved Larry Strung (my host) snapping a different Hamilton 365 resident every day for a year and posting it online. Check out the site here and dial back through the year and see what I mean. I love his gift for seeing under people's skin and thinking creatively about how to photograph them to draw it out.

And yes, my hands are cold and my butt is freezing off.

(P.S. If you are in the Hamilton area, and are looking for a photographer, check out his business website: www.strungfoto.com)

God is With Us

>> Canada Files: Day 190

Christmas meditations have started earlier than usual for me this year. It's partly down to the snow, the Christmas lights here in Hamilton, Ontario. It helps too that Hamilton downtown looks like Bedford Falls (from the film "It's a Wonderful Life") when it snows.

Another factor is the amazing fractal images (see Wikipedia) produced by an amazing free program called Apophysis, which have opened up meditation on the incarnation of Christ and our own creation in a wonderful way.

Although I'm loving being here in Canada, I'm finding life quite tough here in some respects - the constant pressure of living off savings without income, of wondering where it's all headed, of not having a car, a job etc, of not qualifying for healthcare, is weighing quite heavily on me at the moment. But I'm far from alone in feeling the pressure of daily life.

A Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Incarnate Son, Be born in us today. I can't wait till December 25th for your coming. I really need you now, today, everyday. I ask this also for all those who are on my heart today and for a world in pain.

Sign of the Day

>> Canada Files: Day 167