Ancient Prophets-Modern Message

I’ve been reading quite a lot during lockdown. A little while ago I read a book by Paul Bradbury, called “Stepping into Grace”. It’s a look at the prophet Jonah from the Old Testament.

This brief book (it’s only 4 chapters) is a bit different to the other Bible books that make up the section we call the Prophets…rather than being full of Prophecy, it’s the story of the prophet. I discovered that once the story is freed from its dumbed-down children’s version that it has quite a lot to say to us today…its message is very contemporary.

So I wondered if the other minor prophets may also hold some valuable lessons for today. The minor prophets, so called, I think, because their books are much shorter than the major prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, are a group of 12 prophets who gave God’s message to Israel from about the 8th century to the 4th century BC. They mostly prophesied to either the Kingdoms of Israel or Judah, although some, like Jonah, prophesied to other nations (Assyria in Jonah’s case).

Although I’m very happy studying for study’s sake, I like to have an end product in mind…too much study, without passing it on, just makes your head big.

Jonah was originally turned into a short series of sermons with my church, but I was looking for a way to share the prophets in an accessible way to a wider audience. One of the things I enjoy doing is listening to podcasts, so I decided I’d have a go at one of those. Having chosen a podcast platform to use (Anchor, owned by Spotify) I had to decide on a format.

After a bit of thought I decided to turn my study into a series of weekly reflections. I’ve been enjoying 24/7 Prayer’s “Lectio365” app, so, to get going, I chose a similar format (why reinvent the wheel?). Each episode is split up into sections – Pause, Read, Think, Pray and Live. The ‘Live’ section is important…I wanted people to think about practical ways of living the lessons learned from the Ancient Prophets.

You can find the podcast on a whole range of Podcasting platforms, online or via an App.The podcast is on iTunes, Spotify, Google podcasts, Breaker, PocketCasts and RadioPublic. You’ll find it online at https://anchor.fm/david-ward08, or search for “Ancient Prophets-Modern Message – a podcast by Dave Ward” in your podcast App.

Please give it a try.

Embracing the silence

[15] This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.
Isaiah 30:15 (NLT)

A friend recently invited me to join a group of friends who he has arranged to meet up for evening prayer online, once a week. I wasn’t able to join, but after several weeks of invitation I sent my apologies. I explained that since ‘church’ has gone online because of the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I was receiving more invitations to join in with online meetings than I was capable of attending and absorbing.

Taking church online in response to Coronavirus has been an amazing and creative thing. Many of us have been forced to learn tech skills that we would not otherwise have considered, and in times when younger people in Generations X and Y comfortable dwell in two worlds…the physical world and the virtual, online world…this can hardly be a bad thing for those of us who are older and maybe less technically savvy.

We’ve also had to hone our teaching and preaching skills to make what we say shorter and more precise (for people like me, a very good discipline!).

However, as a recent article by Alice Whalley in the Church Times reminds us, “YouTube sermons will not feed the hungry” https://tinyurl.com/y9rp9rj9

It does not make comfortable reading, particularly things like:

“The way that the C of E has responded to that advice, however, utterly betrays how middle-class its interests have become. Staying at home is wonderful — when you have a home, with electricity, and food, and a job, and access to the internet, and are computer-literate, and, ideally, have a landline to avoid some hefty mobile call charges. I flicked with dismay through the C of E Twitter feed to see how every post backed this view up — the assumption that everybody is in a safe and comfortable home setting, and, therefore, the only need to be met is a spiritual one.”

However, to return to the incident with which I introduced this post, another concern has been growing progressively as the weeks of ‘lockdown’ continue.

Towards the beginning of the Government’s measures to combat the spread of Coronavirus I had a conversation with my pastor, subsequently repeated in conversations with many friends. The gist of the conversation was that we felt God was saying that we should treat this time as an opportunity to be still and silent with him, an opportunity to really listen for his voice and, perhaps, to be prepared for new things to come. After all, our diaries are emptier than I can ever remember!

So, what have we done?

We’ve filled our time with online meetings, with putting up regular messages to encourage and motivate our churches during this time, with ‘playing’ with new technology, not to mention filling our time with box sets and movies we were saving up for a time like this, new hobbies and other leisure activities.

Now obviously it is important to keep in touch, to encourage one another to spend time with our households and to look after our own well-being, but…

…if we truly believe that God has told us to be still and silent and wait before him, why have we not done that with as much enthusiasm as recording our latest online message (or writing posts like this…)? Apparently ancient Israel had the same problem (Isaiah 30: 15).

I do believe that some of the stuff we’re turning out is as a direct result of having more time to spend in stillness with God, and hearing what he’s saying. After all, the world and the church may look very different the other side of lockdown, and we need to be ready for it. Our online messages have attracted more and more people to view and listen, many more than would ever normally be in our churches, and that is surely a hint that we need to listen carefully to God about what comes next lest our churches become every bit as overwhelmed as it was feared the NHS might have been.

While I was thinking about this, I was struck by the memory of a scene from one of the early Star Wars films, “The Empire Strikes Back”. Luke is being trained in his (considerable) Jedi powers by Yoda. He goes into a cave on Dagobah to investigate. He asks Yoda, “What’s in there?”, to which Yoda replies, “Only what you take with you.”. Luke confronts his foe, Darth Vader, only to find that Vader has his face…clearly Luke has all the potential to be as evil as Darth Vader unless he learns to master his own dark side.

Perhaps we fear to spend time alone with God because we fear what he might show us about ourselves, he might dent the illusions we have about ourselves and the life we have created. Perhaps the ministries we have spent our lives building have more to do with our own egos than with God’s Kingdom. Perhaps we don’t really have it all together and are not as ‘mature’ as we think.

Equally, we may fear that God will ask us to do new things in new ways. We may be afraid at the implications and feel that we are inadequate to the task.

Perhaps we have allowed certain sins to become OK over a long period of time, until they have become part of our ‘normal’, and deep down we know it. God cares fiercely about his reputation…he doesn’t want our less-than-holy lives to be a stumbling block for others as they search for him. He will use the silence to show us who we really are.

But he is a loving father, who truly wants the best for us. He never tests us without providing a way of escape, without generously giving us the resources we need.

[11] So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
Matthew 7:11 (NLT)

God invites us into the silence so that he can make us more aware of his grace, his good gifts and the positive plans he has for us. After all he has invested so much into helping us to become more and more like Jesus.

The place of stillness and silence provides us with a choice: as we become aware of our faults and failings, and of God’s plans for us, will it cause us to fear and back away, or will the insights we receive be embraced and cause us to co-operate with the Holy Spirit as he changes us.

And Jesus himself promises to walk with us in these times of silence, stillness and learning…he’s right there in the cave with us…

[28] “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. [29] Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. [30] Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11:28 (MSG)

I am, by nature, an introvert with contemplative tendencies. I realise all this talk of stillness and silence may present a real hurdle to those of you who are of a more extrovert personality. I do, however, believe that every follower of Jesus has a deep desire to spend more time away with him:

“There is a contemplative
in all of us,
almost strangled
but still alive,
who craves quiet
enjoyment of the Now,
and longs to touch
the seamless
garment of silence
which
makes whole.”
Alan P Tory, Meditation for Day 2, Celtic Daily Prayer

If we listen to the prompting of God’s Spirit at this time, perhaps all of us, regardless of whether we are introvert or extrovert, will experience, as Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote, that:

“Life rushes back into the void
richer
more vivid,
fuller than before!”
Meditation for Day 1 from Celtic Daily Prayer

The Big picture of Scripture…

Sometimes we can be guilty of reading the Bible too forensically…we focus on word meanings, passages and contexts, commentaries and daily devotions…and sometimes, as a result of this, we draw conclusions that can be at odds with the bigger picture of scripture.

Some excellent books have been published down through the years to help us do this, but I’ve recently stumbled upon a really useful resource that can be found online and through a handy, ‘through-the-Bible-in-a-year’ app.

It’s all the work of an American organisation called ‘The Bible Project’, a small team of theologians and artists who create the most amazing animated Bible overviews.

They say:

The Bible Project is a non-profit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated Bible videos and other Bible resources to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create 100% free Bible videos, podcasts, and Bible resources to help people experience the story of the Bible. From page one to the final word, we believe the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. This diverse collection of ancient books overflows with wisdom for our modern world. As we let the biblical story speak for itself, we believe the message of Jesus will transform individuals and entire communities. Many people have misunderstood the Bible as a collection of inspirational quotes or a divine instruction manual dropped from heaven. Most of us gravitate toward sections we enjoy while avoiding parts that are confusing or even disturbing.

from their website

As well as videos and charts giving overviews of every Bible book, and videos introducing Bible words and themes, they have developed a devotional app that takes you through the big themes of the Bible in a year.

The introductory video, downloadable HERE gives an overview of their approach.

Then there are two ways to access the devotional: you can sign up for a daily email HERE, or download the ReadScripture app from Apple’s app store for iPhone or iPad, or from Google Play for the Android version.

I have been using the Bible book overview charts for some time when preparing talks, but have recently started using the ReadScripture app as part of my daily devotions.

A really useful resource.