Morning, all!!! How’s your hair today?

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So, we used to own an ambulance. The siren had been removed and the flashing blues didn’t work; the ‘am’ was missing off the front, so really it was just a bulance but, to look at it, you’d think it was just a regular ambulance.

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We got the bulance because we (back then) went camping a bit. I like camping…… so long as it isn’t cold or wet; then I’m not so keen. I have this fear of leaking tents – I don’t like getting wet in the night! So I decided that a campervan was the way to go. But I don’t like doing what everyone else does, I like to be a bit different. So I decided I wanted an ambulance instead, which we could then convert into a campervan.

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Alex built a bed in the back that doubled up as a sofa and benches along the sides. The camping stove went in the bit where the defibrillator would have been and the cupboards that previously held meds and other equipment became food and crockery/cutlery cupboards.

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When we were out and about in it, we’d get waved at by other (genuine) ambulance drivers, mistaking us for a genuine one!

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Outside, it still looked pretty much like a regular ambulance but inside…..very different. And as we know, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts.

God doesn’t care about our outside, He cares about our inside.

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Ironically, when we went camping in the bulance one wet weekend, it leaked!! It let me down.😞

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We spent quite a lot of time working on our bulance, trying to make it how we wanted it. We never did finish it, we sold it before we perfected it. Thankfully, we can rest assured that God will never give up on us. We have our weaknesses, our failings, we will always fall short of His perfection. BUT He doesn’t need us or expect us to be perfect. He just gently keeps working away, drawing us closer to Himself, loving us just for who we are – warts and all, terrible haircuts and all!

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You can listen to this song, if you like, before you go about the rest of your day. I particularly like verse 2! You might even want to sing along. You might even want to blast it out. Whatever, enjoy 😀:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnXX8TbUX-E

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We are loved by a God who can move mountains, who takes us as He finds us. Hold onto that thought as you go through today. Happy Wednesday, people!

Very Important Event of the Week: Timmy and Fluffy Cat, who are not often found sitting together, both fashioned themselves nests. They sat roosting in them together for an afternoon. It was as delightful as you would assume.

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Timmy (the black and white cat) is ours, but as some of you know Fluffy Cat is not. He just likes “visiting” our house – lounging around in his dainty and delicate fashion, and eating all food he finds.

Apparently, over the years there have been quite a lot of visiting cats passing through. Fluffy is the only one I have met however. That is, until now…

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The other day, we heard some wailing in the garden. On checking to make sure nothing was dying, we discovered the reason behind this – Timmy had made a new friend. We couldn’t work out how well Timmy and the very vocal Tabby Cat were getting on at first, but after a while the noise quietened down and they seemed to sit together quite happily.

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The Tabby Cat has returned to the garden on a few different days, and Timmy seems quite happy to see him! However, when Timmy comes back inside, the Tabby Cat is a bit too scared to follow. One time he got quite near the threshold of the doorway, but didn’t quite make it over.

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One morning, Timmy was inside when the Tabby Cat came to see him. And when there was no sign of Timmy in the garden, Tabby Cat began to wail. An impressive noise it was – very soulful and agonised! Tabby Cat sounded desperate and full of longing for his friend. And yet his fear stopped him from crossing the threshold to come and find the one he wanted to see so badly.

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There are some times more than others when we are more aware of our need for God. Sometimes it can be very clear to us, other times it can be more of a vague longing for “something”. But like Tabby Cat not being able to cross the threshold, our fear can hold us back.

Take a moment to think – what fears hold you back from being with God?

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The Bible is full of people who are struggling, or wrestling with something. It doesn’t stop God from meeting with them. There was the man who asked Jesus to heal his child, but couldn’t bring himself to dare to believe it would work. With tears he asked Jesus to “help my unbelief!”- and Jesus helped him. We have never had to overcome fear on our own.

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There was the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak to heal her because she was too afraid to talk to him, knowing that others would look down on her. Jesus stops to talk to her in front of the whole crowd, making sure that as well as physical healing, she is shown to be someone deemed worthy and valuable by Jesus in the presence of the society that judged her.

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God sees our fears, and he is bigger than them. When we feel trapped by our situation, God can offer the hope we thought impossible.

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Let’s pray that whatever our situation is and whatever our fears are, God will help us and be with us. Let’s pray that we can remember that God is on our side. Whatever our trepidations are, God has so much love for us, and will help us over the threshold whenever we’ll let him. Have a think about that as you listen to this – couldn’t find my favourite version (a la John Froud) online, but this will do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPOajk2UidA

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Amen! Have a good day, and remember God will never leave us. I will keep you updated on the Tabby Cat situation. I think I may have heard his dulcet tones this morning…

Good morning. It’s Monday. It’s Zeph@10am. And its Jenny.

I’m going to be looking at Psalm 54 (a bit) and the story surrounding it this morning. You might want to have a read now.

 

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David wrote Psalm 54 about the time he was betrayed by the Ziphites to Saul, in the book of 1 Samuel. Reading these chapters in Samuel reminded me of a ridiculous Carry On film. David and his 600 men (quite a lot of people to try and hide) are running all over the region of Judah to escape Saul and his armies. Every time they hide in a stronghold, they get word that Saul knows where there are, and they have to up sticks and move to another hideout….. All 600 of them. No wonder that Saul kept finding out where they were!

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Finally the farce reaches a climax. David and his 600 men are on one side of a mountain. Saul and his army is on the other. There’s no escape for David…. Saul is closing in….. Suddenly, up rides a messenger – “Sire, the Philistines are attacking Israel”. Saul has to call off his hunt of David, and return home to protect his people. If this was an action film, there would have been a moment of perilous suspense, with Saul’s horse stopping just short of the rock behind which David was hiding. If it was a Carry On film, no doubt David and his men would have stayed hidden for some hours, badly disguised as rocks and palm trees, wondering where the attacking army had disappeared to.

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Where this story departs from a Carry On farce is the fact that David hasn’t been acting on his own stupidity. At every step he has asked God what he should do. He asked God if he should go to Keilah to protect the people of the town from the Philistines – God said yes – David went. David asked God if he should stay and fight in Keilah when he heard Saul was coming to attack him – God said no – David left. When he needed encouragement, God sent Jonathan to encourage him.

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We linked to this song on our website yesterday…. I’ve listened to it a number of times since:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtll3mNj5U…

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The words of the blessing that most cause my heart to sing (and my eyes to blur) are these :

May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you.

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When David wrote Psalm 54 he didn’t use these words, but I think they would resonate with him. By actively seeking God’s will and following his will, David was aware God’s presence with him. God was his helper. God kept him alive. God put an end to the plans of his enemies. God rescued him. When he was on the other side of the mountain, with Saul closing in on him, God provided a solution. God was in control of the situation. God was in with him.

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And God is with us – In the morning, in the evening, In our coming, and our going, In our weeping, and rejoicing, He is for us – just like he was for David, thousands of years ago.

Stop for a few minutes and let the words of the blessing really sink in. And then, as David did, praise God’s name, ‘for it is good’.

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As you go through your day, remember that God is already at the end of it, knowing all that it will hold. He’ll follow behind and help pick up the pieces if things go wrong, and he will be beside you and within you every step of the day. He is with you and he is for you. Amen.

Morning Zephyrs! Julie here.
May you be blessed by this photo of me, around age 6 or 7, rocking a pink tracksuit and cherry red dolly shoes with white socks. You may be glad to know that, despite lockdown, I am not wearing a similar outfit this morning…

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I am, of course, the slightly smaller one at the back holding the bicycle. The girl in the blue velour tracksuit is my childhood best friend. God bless the 1980s.
The blue bike wasn’t mine – it was hers. I just held it for the picture because I thought it was cool and would make me look cooler too.

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I had a bike. It was pink (matched my tracksuit!). I used to ride it in our family garden. I say ‘ride it’. I mainly pushed myself up and down on the very flat, very narrow path behind the house, with at least one of my feet firmly planted on the floor at all times. Every now and again, I’d remember that I COULD ride a bike, and pedal. Then I’d get scared, start to wobble, and put my feet down again…

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I used to envy my older brothers and my friend – she was always far more daring than I, that’s why we made a good pair, we balanced each other out. They used to fly down our long, sloped drive on their bikes and round the corner in the road without a moment’s thought. And I’d slowly waddle in their wake, with my bike between my knees. I did try the flying down the drive thing a couple of times, but I was always terrified that a car would suddenly drive round the corner and that would be the end of that – and me.

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I’m not a very brave person, you see. I’m a worrier, I like to play it safe. And I was VERY good at that, following the rules, playing it safe. Which did mean I never got knocked off my bike, never fell off my bike, only ever broke one bone as a child (which I maintain was my brother and my cousin’s fault, not mine!). But I think I probably missed out on a lot of good things too… because I was too scared.

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As an adult, I’ve tried to push myself out of my comfort zone more. It still occasionally amazes me (and those who knew me well when I was younger) that I make a living out of talking to hundreds of people at a time – my school reports, without exception, always said “Julie needs to speak up more in class” and, in sixth form, I refused to read a piece I’d written at my school’s presentation evening, as the thought of public speaking terrified me. But now? I love it! There is nothing better than telling stories to a room full of people. Thank goodness for those who come along and uncover hidden gifts, eh?

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Thing is, if John hadn’t come along and challenged me to tell the story in that early assembly we did together, my life could have looked very different. And if I hadn’t been listening to God and that push to say yes, I may never have become a storyteller. And I can’t imagine my life without that…

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The Gospels are full of stories of people who encountered Jesus and dared to step out of their comfort zone to follow him – his disciples, the woman with the jar of perfume, Zacchaeus, Mary and Martha. But there were also those who were terrified of what following him might mean, of the things they’d have to give up, the disruption that would follow. I hate to think I would have been like one of the religious leaders, but I can’t quite fully rule it out…

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I still try and push myself out of my comfort zone to do things that scare me – when they’re the right things to be trying. And it occurred to me that, along with all the other opportunities that this lockdown may afford, perhaps for some of us, this could be our time to sit in the belly of the whale. To listen to God and see what it is he would like us to be doing. The stuff he tries to tell us when life is too noisy for us to hear him. The stuff we ignore because we can pretend life is too noisy for us to hear him…

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Take a minute or two now to try and find a silence, a stillness, and see what your heart hears…

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Then, listen… Cos if you don’t go, then you’ll never know…
https://soundcloud.com/johnfroud/listen

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I am so glad I took that uncomfortable first step on the storytelling road… Who knows where our next uncomfortable first steps could take us? Have good days, Zephyrs!

A very good, if somewhat damp, morning to you all!

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We see these bluebells pretty much every day at the moment. Our daily exercise usually takes us through Northcliffe Woods or Heaton Woods, often through both of them as they’re right there on our doorstep (not literally, you understand!) We are doing very similar walks each day; not quite the same route but through the same places. So it’s kinda the same but different. And due to the time of year, the changes we’ve noticed in the woods over the last few weeks have been Really Noticeable. They’re the same woods but also very different woods to the ones we were walking through this time last month.

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Our Thea is currently sat next to me ‘at school’. She was going to do some music this morning but then changed her mind and did some science, did a bit of that and is now doing maths. School is most definitely different just now; there is still work being set for children to do but it is very different to school as they’re used to.

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Friendships are being lived out differently; they’re still the same but very much different. Keeping in touch via a variety of digital means, maybe an occasional distanced conversation over a wall or out and about if you happen to see people while you’re out, but nowhere near the normal.

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And then there’s church…..

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Church carries on but is Very Different. Zoom church, YouTube church, website church, WhatsApp church…..

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For all of us, life just now is different. There is some level of sameness for each of us but there is lots that is different.

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But how great is it, that no matter how different everything might be right now, however unsettling we may find all this differentness, our God does not change. No matter what, we can hold to His promises, we can hold onto the knowledge that He is the same today, yesterday and forever. Though the grass may wither…..

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Have a listen to this (if you want to). It’s a perky little number but I’ve chosen it for the words. May you enjoy the ‘ooooh’s!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13oU_51nDZs

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I’m going to leave you with a blessing we use quite a lot at our church. Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you. All things are passing. GOD DOESN’T CHANGE. Amen

Hello to you. It’s Julia here today. A game idea for you:

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I actually love rants about very trivial matters. They’re strangely cathartic I find! Personally, I have very strong opinions about 99p shops…

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(I just think that no one really thinks 99p shops are truly better than pound shops so you wouldn’t go out of your way to go to one specifically so it hasn’t really worked well as a marketing strategy. Meanwhile they have consciously chosen to lose 1p on every product they sell, so if they sell 10,000 things they have immediately lost £100. And where do the savings go? As ANNOYING COPPER CHANGE for the customers who do not want it and get no benefit from it whatsoever while the shop makes a substantial loss. I just think they haven’t thought it through)

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(On the other hand, I once got a bubble blowing saxophone from a 99p shop and it is one of the best things I’ve ever owned, so I am still in favour of them existing.)

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Anyway, this game reminds me a lot of the radio show Just a Minute, which is also brilliant! The Prayer Spaces in Schools facebook page has been developing prayer activities you can do from home, and one of them is inspired by Just a Minute. It is less competitive than the game show though, and no one will shout ‘hesitation’ and demand to take over your prayer. (Probably)

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This morning I want to do an expanded version of the Just a Minute prayer activity. I’m going to name 5 different things to think of, and take a minute for each one. If you want to, you can comment what you’ve chosen, but you don’t have to – you can spend the minute thinking it through in your head. I’ll pick things that help us recognise what really matters to us, and use it as a bit of a grounding activity.

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So we’ll start off with a couple that tell us something about who we are.

For 1 minute, think of something in your life that you love and appreciate.

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Now for 1 minute, think of an ability/gift God has given you.

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Bravo to us on an excellent start.

Now we’ll turn to the day ahead of us.

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For 1 minute: what are your hopes for today?

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Now for 1 minute, think of the people you are going to connect with today.

Choose one, and think of something you could do to make a positive difference to their day.

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How productive we are. For the final one, we’ll bring our focus onto the one who’s behind the rest of it.

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For 1 minute, think of something you love about God.

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Having thought through a few different aspects of our lives, it is good to remember how much God cares about every part of it- and wants to be with us in every part of it. Have a listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJiXjnquywQ

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Whatever is the focus of your day ahead, let’s pray that we can be close to God in all parts of it. Let’s pray that we have moments to pause (however briefly) and remember God is by our side.

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Amen! Have a good day everyone. Here is the original Prayer Space activity if you’d like to use it on other occasions…

Also: https://www.facebook.com/prayerspacesinschools/

Welcome to Zeph@10am, with Jenny today.

I’m going to continue my delve into the life of David, via his Psalms, and today I’m looking at Psalm 52. However, I’m only really going to focus on one verse – verse 8 – “But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.”

 

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Olive trees live a long time. They live hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years. The oldest in the world, still producing olives, is in Crete, and is dated at over 2000 years old, with estimates that it may be up to 4000 years old. Some of the olive trees alive today may well have been the same trees that Jesus and his disciples sat in the shade of, listening to Jesus teach and tell stories.

Being an olive tree in God’s house isn’t just for a short time…… or even a long time….. It’s forever. David gives us the picture of an incredibly long-lived tree to show how long we will get to be with God. It’s a reminder that God’s ‘unfailing love’ is also ‘unending love’.

Spend a few minutes just ‘being’ in God’s house – in God’s garden. Know that your roots go deep there.

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Although they mainly grow in drier climates, olive trees do not actually tolerate drought. They need regular watering in order to thrive. In the mountains of Italy, where a friend of mine lives, many families have olive trees, but often they are quite a hike from their houses in the village, on small plots of land largely inaccessible by road. It makes caring for them on a constant basis difficult, so they make less frequent journeys to their trees, but they dig trenches around them, which then collect and focus the rain that does fall to exactly where the tree needs it.

Like olive trees, we need constant nourishment from God to thrive. Sometimes it feels like we’re in a drought, but God is the constant gardener, still making sure that we get exactly what we need, when we need it, where we need it – even if we don’t see it.

Thank God for the ‘nourishment’ and ‘watering’ that you’ve had from him over the last few days and weeks, and if it feels like there’s a bit of a drought, ask God to help you see a glimpse of his care.

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Nothing of the olive crop is wasted. Just before the olives are ripe, fine nets are laid out underneath the trees, so any that fall will be caught in the nets. The branches that are pruned go into the nets so the olives on them may be recovered. Any olives that are still on the tree are shaken down, or knocked down with sticks. Every single olive is valuable and not to be left behind. The nets can then be gathered up, taking all the olives with them.

I’ll admit that at times, I don’t feel very fruitful. As Julie said last week, we sometimes look at other people, and we see how fruitful they are – how much they seem to do for God – how much they seem to reflect God in the world – and we can’t help but see them as being so much more fruitful than us. But we’re a different tree to them. Our fruit might be different to theirs. I can’t lead assemblies. Large groups of children terrify me. I can’t write music or tell stories. I can preach a passable sermon though. And I can make a set of accounts balance. My fruit is different – but that doesn’t mean its less valuable. And God collects it all up just the same, and uses it in his kingdom just the same.

Take a moment to thank God for the gifts that you do have, and thank him that he uses you, even if it’s in different ways to the people around you.

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Olive trees have traditionally been passed down through the generations, because they have huge value. Consider what comes from olive trees:
– You have the wood. Its an unusually grained wood that can be carved into beautiful items.
– You have the olive itself. Personally I have never acquired the taste to enjoy them, but I know plenty of people who have.
– You have the oil that comes from the olive – perhaps its most significant benefit. Olive oil has been produced and traded for centuries. Even now, good olive oil commands a high price in our supermarkets. It was used in cooking and baking, but olive oil was also a source of light, in oil lamps and it was also used in the temple to consecrate people and things to God. David himself was anointed with olive oil by Samuel, to mark him as God’s chosen king.

We have huge value to God, because of who we are. We also have value because of what we do. No matter how we do it, our passage through the world brings God’s light into peoples lives. The things we do, in a sense, consecrates things and people to God. We are God’s inheritance; we have value.

Just reflect for a moment on that…… You are valuable to God.

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Like lots of people lately, I’ve had time to tend to my garden. I’ve pruned. I’ve planted. I’ve weeded. I’ve fought an ongoing battle with ants. My garden is starting to show the fruits of my labours and look a bit more loved and slightly less neglected.

Sometimes I feel a bit like my neglected garden. I had a pretty rubbish day yesterday. I was tired after a bad night. Best laid plans went awry. In the end, I resorted to doing nothing on the sofa, giving the day up as a bad job. It was perhaps the best thing that I could have done. Sometimes, we just have to stop, and rest, and wait and let the gardener – in his huge and unfailing love for us – tend us. Let him prune, weed, feed and deal with the pests.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGzga5X3yE

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Go into the rest of your day knowing that your roots go deep into the soil of God’s house, and whatever drought or storm today may throw your way, remember that God is there to feed, tend and care for you. Have a good day!

Cullen: Good morning! John bidding you welcome to Zeph@10 whatever time you got here (noting that some pick this up later in the day!)

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The photo is Cullen (Yvonne kenned that). It’s one of those “thin places.” We go at least once a year and I write a lot of my material on that shore. We changed our usual holiday timetable this year and arranged to go in August so we could go to France at Spring Bank when we would normally be in Cullen… May in Normandie is very unlikely, though not cancelled yet, and I’m not confident about Scotland in the summer… Schools may be back before the end of term, but I’m not expecting them to welcome visitors. I should be on the road for a little tourette of concerts and schools work around the Midlands and South East of England in September. Everybody has at least one thing they looked forward to that is not happening. Pray for a peace to defeat all our disappointments.

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I’m missing a bit of my security just now… Not a lot of people know this, but I do like to have planned where I am going to be, doing what I’ve been called to do. I realised yesterday, when Bingley URC cancelled the service I should have been leading in June, that I haven’t looked in my diary since the lockdown started. You could pray for the Director amongst those who you know want/need to plan…

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We don’t know what the disciples had planned for the next year(s) of their lives but we can be fairly sure they hadn’t thought of doing it without Jesus. Jenny raised the question yesterday of whether Peter used his own (mothballed? furloughed? abandoned?) boat to go out on the sea and fish. They’d left everything “at once” in response to Jesus’ “Follow me!” What could they do now? Some of them could fish—but not very well, apparently. They had been deeply deskilled.
Would the Romans have Matthew back to collect their taxes for them?
Could Simon the Zealot ever go back to terrorism?
The team’s mission budget would be hit without Jesus as their USP – had they got that far in their worrying? Go on now, pray your own worries to your Father…

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Then they start seeing him – in all the old familiar places. We’re told that “some doubted;” some blatantly “disbelieved” (Mark’s Gospel); and some described the stories of a risen Jesus as “nonsense” (Luke). I imagine it’s very hard to see the one who has your recent past and your foreseeable future in his hands, die horribly and then be expected to believe that the dead leader is not dead after all. Today’s non-scriptural quote is from JK Galbraith, economist: “Accepted wisdom is a contradiction in terms.” When “everybody” says it’s impossible, God is. “I am….(supply your own description of Jesus)
Pray here for a strengthening of our faith, “Help our unbelief.,” in the knowledge that the followers of Jesus were enabled to get it together and be his people again.

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This song was written (not in Cullen) after Jeff Farnsworth said to me before a Sunday service in July, “It’s been too long a winter.” Seeing my obvious confusion he kindly explained that it was a metaphor to describe the darkness of a world that doesn’t know Jesus.
https://soundcloud.com/johnfroud/10-too-long-a-winter

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Hey, however long this goes on, the light’s still shining. Jesus is alive. You are still chosen, called and loved. And Pentecost is coming.
Lift up your heads and sing (whatever you want!)

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We said we’d review Zeph@10 at the end of April. That’s next week. Team, we can talk elsewhere, but if others looking in have an opinion on whether we carry on/stop/alter, let us know, please…

Morning! It’s Jenny here.

It’s ‘back to school’ Monday, so before getting started on this today, I’ve made sure my son is vertical, and consuming breakfast early enough to login to ‘school’ at 9am. I’ve also got dressed and eaten breakfast myself, washed up, and remembered to take some sausages out the freezer for tea. I’ve even (after buying the tub of dye about 4 months ago… maybe more) finally put a few items of clothing in the washing machine to turn them from grey/brown back to black.

Now that all that is done, I’m turning my attention back to the Psalms of David. Today we’re going to look Psalm 142. Now’s your chance to grab a Bible and have a read through.

 

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Do you have people on your Facebook friends list that make you feel a bit inadequate at the best of times? They are the ones who always seem to be on top of things, undertaking challenges, staying ultra fit, exploring exciting hobbies, and always seem to find time to have amazing family time where everyone is engaged and happy. I certainly have a few. My excuse for not living up to their example is that I need to sleep!

There’s certainly a few at the moment (although, interestingly, not necessarily the same people as usually make me feel inadequate – some of them have gone a bit quiet). Some people seem capable of putting aside the horror of life in times of plague, and have been galvanised into clearing gardens, painting fences, building furniture, and spending lots of structured happy times with their children…… This is not me. The bathroom that needed cleaning last week? It still needs cleaning.

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I think, if David had been on Facebook, he’d have been one of those people that make me feel inadequate. Let’s just run through his life so far. At a fairly young age, he gets singled out by Samuel as a future king. He is such an amazing musician that he is called to the royal court to play for King Saul. While still too young to be in the army with his brothers, he brings down a giant with one stone and his slingshot. He’s such a successful commander in Saul’s armies, that they sing songs saying, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”. He’s best friends with the king’s son and even marries the king’s daughter – a love match. And, as we looked at last week, even when he’s in hiding in a cave, men flock to join him.

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As with a lot of the people that make me feel in adequate, the reality for David, was probably very different. Last Monday I looked at Psalm 57, written about the time he was hiding in the Cave of Adullam. We saw a David that, although in hiding, has his family around him, and a small force of men to protect him. We saw a David, whilst in fear of his life, still praising God for his faithfulness, and filling the cave with his music.

Psalm 142 was also written ‘regarding his experience in the cave’, but we see a very different David. The words talk of being overwhelmed (v3) and being ‘very low’ (v6). This David is weighed down by the situation surrounding him. This David won’t be posting positive statuses on Facebook.

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The reality is that David probably had good days and bad days…… Just like you and I are probably having good days and bad days. If I can keep my current momentum, today may be a good day for me, but there are other days at the moment, where my thoughts are so focused on what’s happening outside my door, that I can’t bring my attention to any of the numerous things that I could/should be doing.

And that’s alright. If there’s one thing that this Psalm shows us, it’s alright to have bad days. I think we sometimes put undue pressure on ourselves – as Christians we should be full of light and joy, praising God, and never being negative about the world around us. But that’s unrealistic – and unhealthy. If we never have bad days, then we won’t learn how to turn to and rely on God.

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David’s Psalm shows us where we should be turning when we have those bad days – To God! David pours out his complaints and tells God all his troubles (v2).
Perhaps tell God now, some of the things that are troubling you, and dragging you down.

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David asks God for direction – the way he should turn (v3). Ask God to guide you today; to show you what you should be doing…. Or not doing.

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David puts his faith in God as his place of refuge (v5) and his strength (v6). Perhaps be still (as Yvonne suggested last week) and feel God’s comforting presence. As you do, you may want to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f51n-yb11dY

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I hope, whether today is a good day for you – full of music and laughter – or a bad day when the weight of a world in crisis is on your shoulders, that you know God’s presence.

And as a starting point, make a cup of tea or coffee, look out your window at the spring sunshine and remember that God doesn’t judge you by your Facebook statuses!

Julia will be with you tomorrow – which always brightens my day!

Morning! And happy Easter for yesterday.

Despite it being a bank holiday, I’m (Jenny) still here to give us a fixed point to our morning in which to pause. No matter what’s going on around us, what’s in the news, what family activities we may or may not have planned, what worries are plaguing us right now, we have this opportunity to stop and fix our eyes on God, just for a short while.

Regardless of it being the Easter season, I’m going to carry on looking at the Psalms of David, as I have been for the last few weeks. Today I’m looking at Psalm 57. You might want to read it now.

 

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In the story of David, he’s still on the run from Saul and, after escaping Gath where he had pretended to be mad, he is now hiding in the cave of Adullam.

I’m not very good with caves. Big, beautiful show caves, with plenty of lighting and even steps and level paths are fine and I’ve been inside some stunning ones. However, many years back I went on a youth activity camp with church. One of our activities was ‘pot-holing’. With what I know now, having family who actually did pot-holing, I know that what I did was not really pot-holing. It was scrambling about in a cave that was a bit too small to be opened as a showcave, but certainly wasn’t cramped enough to be described as a ‘pot-hole’. After donning some very fetching waterproof onesies and hard hats, we had to drop, on our behinds, down a damp, slimy rock face to enter a cramped, dark and frankly, not very interesting cave. I’m quite small – and the floor of the cave was quite a long way down from the entrance. That initial slide, and the horror it induced, set the scene for the next hour or so of my life.

I felt trapped, claustrophobic and disorientated. Without the guide leading us, I wouldn’t have been able to get back to the entrance. I was wet and dirty, with no way to get away from the drips and slime around us. I was physically tired – even though we weren’t doing the tight squeezes and dragging ourselves along that actual pot-holers do. I wanted to get out, but I couldn’t. My over-riding thought was, “And people do this for fun?!”

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The difference between me and David is I had gone into that cave for ‘fun’, for a defined period of time, and the whole time I was down there, I knew that safety, and light, and fresh air awaited me in the very near future. I was also down there with friends who encouraged me and helped me. I was down there with an experienced guide whose main aim was to keep us safe.

David had gone into the cave for safety. The darkness and the dampness, and the dangers of uneven ground and loose rocks were nothing to the dangers outside the cave. He’d gone there, not knowing how long it would last; how long he’d have to hide. But like me, David wasn’t alone. 1 Samuel 22: 1-2 says, “Soon his brothers and all his relatives joined him there. Then others began coming – men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented”. I imagine his brothers kept his spirits up, and reminded him of better days. I imagine it wasn’t long before the female relatives started to make the cave more homely – a few rocks here for seats around the fire, some reed lamps in those crevices to bring light. Those additional men probably brought David a sense of confidence that the cave could be defended.

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Psalm 57 is quite similar to Psalm 59 that I looked at two weeks ago – in fact they were even written to be sung to the same tune! Like Psalm 59, David starts by crying out to God about the situation in which he has found himself, but again, like Psalm 59, he ends up praising God. The last verses say:

My heart is confident in you, O God:
My heart is confident.
No wonder I can sing your praises!
Wake up, my heart!
Wake up, O lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn with my song.
I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth.

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If you’re like me, you don’t mind singing in the shower because the acoustics of the bathroom make your voice sound like you’d like to imagine it sounds to other people. One of the caves I have visited was on the Greek island of Kefalonia. It was a cathedral-like cavern, deep in the ground, with a steep set of steps to get into it. The acoustics of the place were so good that they held regular concerts in there. Caves – a bit like bathrooms – can make ordinary sounds and music into something extraordinary.

No wonder the musician David was moved to sing, and play his harp and lyre in the cave. I bet it sounded amazing – the acoustics causing the sound to bounce off the cave walls, amplified and made rich and full, with echoes bouncing down passageways, and making his one voice sound like a whole choir. It probably fed his musical soul. I can’t imagine his family were overly impressed with him ‘waking the dawn with his song’ though!

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Just because we are in a difficult place, that doesn’t mean that we can’t find beauty in it. It might not be the situation that we would choose, but we can still learn something about God and ourselves in it.

David was not only blessed by the music he could make, but he was also encouraged by God’s faithfulness. David’s main view from inside the cave would have been a small patch of light – a glimpse of the clouds scudding across the heavens. That small window on the world was enough to remind him that God’s love is as high as the heavens, and his faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Just as I had a guide, down in that cave, keeping me safe, David knew that he had the ultimate guide. God would see him through, protect him and keep him safe.

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Today, let’s pray that we will find something of beauty in the currently restricted world around us – something that brings us joy, or encouragement, that makes us smile or laugh.

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Let’s pray that we catch a glimpse of God today, and learn something new about him. Lets pray that we have our eyes and ears open to catch those glimpses that are all around us.

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Let’s give thanks that we aren’t alone – that we have friends and family around – whether virtually or physically, and that even if they seem far away, God is always there.

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And sing our praises to God, like David, for his ‘faithfulness that reaches to the clouds’.

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Have a listen…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEF7IoQ3eUk

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Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday. May your ‘cave’ be filled with God’s shining glory today.