Well 2025 didn’t turn out as I expected!

My wife broke her leg in January and couldn’t weight-bear for a couple of months. After that the process of recovery is slow as muscles are brought back to strength.

So I became chief cook and bottle washer. I developed a cake-making skill, just about managed to keep us alive with cooking skills, and lost some weight. And for the first six weeks I had to give her an injection every day! I’d add that to my CV, but I don’t feel particularly called in that direction.

Looking back at my plans for the year, one thing I did do was to read the Bible all the way through. What did I learn? Several things. I probably wouldn’t use that plan again as there was a point where we were reading Isaiah alongside Jeremiah, which was not easy!

But in the positive side, it was a great blessing. To grasp the grand sweep of Scripture. To find those unexpected passages. To sense the presence of God in the Word of God every day.

And overall it spoke of the faithfulness, the goodness, the sovereignty and the holiness of God.

It finished only a few days ago, and I find I’m missing it. The plan included a weekly break which was helpful – even necessary!

So I’m starting another one for 2026. This one has five sets of readings per week. It looks thought out – day 1 was Genesis 1-2, Psalm 19 and Mark 1.

So here’s to 2026, and whatever it might hold!

And more posts ….

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!

Psalm 40:4

Very often, when we come across a verse like that, we tend to focus on being ‘blessed’ – and how we should trust in the Lord. Rightly so.

But I got to wonder about the other part of the verse.¹

It’s is saying that we are blessed if we place our trust in the Lord, but not if we follow a lie. Put another way, we are either trusting in God or following a lie – the two are mutually exclusive.

This is, of course, fairly obvious. One definition of Truth is ‘that which in accord with reality’, so a lie, or untruth, does not. It follows that anyone going after a lie is moving away from reality.

This is not just academic, but has an impact on the way we live our lives. Whether we follow truths or lies, they each have consequences.

Jesus said in John 8:31 that ‘the truth will set you free’, while lies lead to enslavement, which is what Jesus went on to say (‘everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin’).

I got to think about what kind of lies we are prone to follow these days. Here are some that we meet everyday, to the extent they have become ‘normalised’:

• The universe is billions of years old and came about as some sort of cosmic accident.
• Human beings appeared very late in this timescale and are the cause of most if not all environmental problems. The earth’s ecosystem was working very well until human beings came along and spoiled it.
• Changes in the climate are largely humanity’s fault so humanity should, and can, correct this. Otherwise, we face an unprecedented catastrophe.
• Our identity is based on how we feel, not on objective facts.

There are lots more, but these seem to be the ‘big’ ones.

Addressing each of them in turn would take up too much space, but underlying them all is the idea that we don’t need God. We can explain things and run our lives exactly how we want without any reference or need for a Creator. Romans 1 speaks about how we suppress truth and exchange it for a lie – the inference being ‘the’ lie that God (if he exists) is not good, so we need to become independent from him (See Rom 1:18, 25); an idea that came from the devil right from the beginning.

But that idea has consequences. No Creator means no purpose or meaning to our lives, or for that matter, anything. If the world now is how it always has been, there is no hope for the future – wrongs will never be put right. If we can choose who we are, we lose real identity as we become subject to the fickleness of our feelings. If we are solely responsible for the state of the world then we will live in fear and guilt.

Thinking that we don’t need a Creator leads to loss. We have lost purpose, justice, hope, identity and peace.

On the other hand, the Bible presents truth in the form of a person, Jesus, who said that he was the Truth (John 14:6). Of course, anyone can say that – but he is the only one to demonstrate it by predicting his crucifixion and resurrection, then three days after a brutal execution comes back from the dead, just as he said (and just as had been prophesied for centuries beforehand). What he says is true. More than that, he is the incarnation of Truth.

He is the author of creation – all things were made by him John 1:3. The account of the creation is given in Genesis 1 and 2. It was declared to be ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31).

Human beings were part of that creation, from the beginning, made male and female (Matthew 19:4).

The Genesis account goes on to describe ‘the Fall’, an act of rebellion by the first couple resulting in catastrophe for the whole creation. In Romans 8, Paul explains how the whole creation is subjected to futility and is in bondage to corruption (Romans 8:20,21).

It’s interesting to see how a good lie contains elements of truth. Humanity is the cause of the problems in the world, but as a result of our rebellion, not simply our nature.

But God has not abandoned his creation. Speaking of Jesus, Paul writes how he holds all things together (Colossians 1:15-17). Similarly in Hebrews 1:3. Not only that, but he works out everything according to his will (Ephesians 1:11), so all things have a purpose.

While on earth, Jesus demonstrated his power over creation when, for instance, he controlled the weather Matthew 8:26.

And because the world now is not what it originally was, there is the hope of restoration. There is the promise of a ‘new heavens and a new earth’ where the old things are put away (see Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13), described more fully in Revelation 21:1-4.

These are all big topics, but in summary, God made everything good with men and women being a high point in creation. We have rebelled against him, but in Jesus he has made it possible to recover that lost relationship, and at some point in the future he will restore all things. Paul addressed the philosophers in Athens in much the same way – see Acts 17:22-31.

The consequences of following the truth are clearly the opposite of believing a lie: there is meaning, there is a purpose to our lives, we can know who we are, there is a future for us and the creation which gives us hope.

Of course, we have to be careful – finding and living by the truth is not always easy in a fallen world. Interestingly, we had a sermon recently which emphasised the importance of critical thinking and how we need to ‘test every spirit’ (1 John 4:1, see also 1 Thess 5:2).

God has not left us alone though. He has given us his Spirit, who guides us into all truth (John 16:13), and the Word (the Bible) John 17:17 and 2 Timothy 2:15.

And back to Psalm 40:4 – the one who makes the Lord his trust is truly ‘blessed’!

1. It’s known as ‘antithetical parallelism’, a device in Hebrew poetry where a truth is emphasised by stating the opposite.

Event 1 – The Book

It started the day before we moved from Leicester to Macclesfield. A friend from university happened to call round. He told us how he’d got involved with an organisation called Life which addressed issues around abortion. He recommended a book called ‘Whatever Happened to the Human Race’ by Francis Schaeffer, a Christian theologian, and C. Everett Koop, US Surgeon General. Interestingly, given the recent decision in the US on Roe vs Wade, this book is as relevant now as it was then.

We bought it as soon as we found the Christian book shop in Macclesfield, and read about the Christian response to abortion, euthanasia and infanticide. The closing chapter is titled ‘Our Personal Response and Social Action’. 

It led to two responses from us: firstly, it solidified our position on these matters, particularly on abortion; and secondly, we realised that knowing what we believe is not enough, we had to do something about it. ¹

Event 2 – My Mum

At the time, my mum was working as a community nurse, specifically supporting families of children with disabilities. We were increasingly aware of the need for ‘normal’ family environments, and even began to wonder if God was preparing us to have a child with a disability.

Event 3 – My Sister

But then my sister had her first child, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. There happened to be three other babies born with Down’s Syndrome at the same time – but she was the only one who took her baby home. That shocked us in two ways – we thought we were going to have a baby with Down’s Syndrome; but how terrible that these children were being abandoned.

We came to the view that if we are pro-life, then while that means a mother would have to go to full term and deliver the baby (and be fully supported in that), it does not follow that she should be obliged to keep the baby. There is a huge amount of work in this area: sex education, particularly biblical principles; teaching male responsibility in relationships; support for single pregnant women; support for mothers/parents particularly with disabilities; providing homes for children whose parents cannot support them for whatever reason; and more. Way too much for one person, but a church…?

There is criticism of those who are ‘pro-life’ that they only care for the unborn child, but not those who are born. I don’t believe that to be true, but maybe it signals that more needs to be done to demonstrate that it is not the case.

Event 4 – TV

The next thing to happen was a TV programme called ‘Be My Parent’. It highlighted the need for fostering and adoption of children who were hard to place, particularly older children, siblings and children with disabilities. 

We wrote off and found ourselves in Manchester discussing adoption (I never quite worked out how, but fostering didn’t seem to come up!). My wife Julie said, “Actually, we’re interested in adopting a child with Down’s Syndrome”, which summed up the place that God had brought us to. We thought that a really good outcome would be a child under three.

Adoption

The process of being approved for adoption is somewhat arduous (and nowhere near as much fun as the traditional method!) with interviews together and separately, visits, reports and so on – but we passed!

I remember it was a Tuesday evening when Mary, the social worker, came to tea. She told us of a baby who was 10 weeks old, with Down’s Syndrome, whose mother could not take him home and wanted him adopted. We went to see him a couple of days later, had a crash course on baby care (in increasing order of complexity: bathing, nappy-changing), a manic weekend gathering essential supplies (cot, bath, disposables), and brought him home a week later – together with a letter from the adoption agency saying we hadn’t stolen him in case the neighbours were worried. 

A week!

And from that day, Paul was ours. Part of our family. We entered two new worlds of being new parents and parents of a child with a disability.

That was 40 years ago. 

Since then

As with any child, there are highs and lows. Most of our lows have taken the form of battles, and those mostly with the ‘professionals’. But the highs have far outweighed the lows. We have very many stories of Paul, most of which will make you laugh (some will put you off your food!). He has a ready smile, loves banter, and knows everyone! ²

The issues involved in all of this are of course complex and every situation is unique. But I think a principle of choosing life over death has to be the right one, despite the cost. After all, that is exactly what God in Christ has done for us. John 5:24; Eph 2:4-5.

1. Space does not allow for all the issues and arguments here. If you’re interested there are some free resources that will be very helpful (of course, you could always buy the book!): https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/after-roe and https://www.crossway.org/articles/resources-related-to-abortion-and-the-sanctity-of-life/
2. I have two unfulfilled challenges in Macclesfield – one is to drive along the Silk Road without any of the traffic lights turning red; the other is to walk through Macclesfield with Paul without someone recognising him.

The reasons for not meeting physically were simple: to have done so would have broken the law; would have put members of the congregation at serious risk of illness or even death; and would have set a very poor example to the community.

But what about Hebrews 10:25?

As ever, to understand what a verse (or in this case a phrase) is saying, it needs to be seen in context.

The broad message of Hebrews is to warn against reverting to the Mosaic law, on the basis that that would effectively negate Jesus’ work on the cross.

Hebrews 10 starts with Jesus’ one-time sacrifice being superior to, and removing the need for, the repeated sacrifices of animals. 

This is summarised in verse 14 which says, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” and concluded in verse 18 “Where there is forgiveness of these (that is: sins and lawless deeds), there is no longer any offering for sin”.

Verse 19 begins with “Therefore”. In other words, what follows are consequences of what has just gone before.

And all of the consequences are written in the plural – ‘us’ and ‘we’. So, while each of us has to make in individual response, it is in the context of community.

The first thing is confidence to come into God’s presence, because of the blood (sacrifice) of Jesus, who is a great priest (a person who mediates between God and mankind) over the house of God.

And the point here is that we should appropriate these consequences. Jesus has opened a way for us to enter God’s presence, so we should do so!

The way we should do so should follows a familiar pattern (a ‘triad’) of faith, hope and love (see e.g. 1 Cor 13:13; Col 1:4-5; 1 Thess 1:3).

All three begin with “let us”:

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (v 22)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope (v 23)

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (v 24)

In other words, faith, hope and love should be the hallmarks of our community together (the ‘household’).

While faith and hope tend to be more personal or individual, love can only be expressed in community (even if there are only two!). Verse 25 expands on how this might be done. Firstly, by not neglecting to meet together, which for some had become a habit. Secondly, by encouragement. The structure of the sentence is “don’t do this but do that”. So, the opposite of not meeting together is not simply to turn up at church, rather it is to encourage one another.

Encouragement has to do with looking out for one another, especially in the context of our faith. We are to ‘consider’, think about, how to ‘stir up’ (the Greek word is where we get our word paroxysm (!), and means to provoke or incite) each other in our Christian lives – especially relating to love and good works. 

All of which is in the wider context of Jesus’ return. 

Do we need to be together physically to encourage one another in this way? Generally speaking – yes we do. But occasionally there are good reasons why we can’t. We might be ill, or have work responsibilities, or be suffering a pandemic with an unknown virus.

None of which absolves us of our responsibilities in faith, hope and love. We are truly blessed in our generation with multiple means of communication. We can ‘see’ each other on our screens, and very easily talk and write to one another. But none of these are a substitute for being together, they are always second best. Second best is of course better than none, and internet-based communication has been a life-line for many over the past couple of years.

The command in Heb 10:25 is to stir up one another and to encourage one another. The negative side is to do with neglect and getting into a bad habit. The wider context of Hebrews and particularly chapter 10 is aimed at those who are deliberately neglecting Jesus’ work of salvation by ignoring the provision we now have of coming into God’s presence without fear, in an attitude of faith, hope and love. 

In fact, the following verses, Heb 10:26-31, contain dire warnings for those who deliberately choose to go on sinning.  

But it would be hard to describe not meeting together in the pandemic as ‘sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth”, especially as it was done out of concern for others’ well-being, and out of respect for the law of the land.¹

However, we do need to be careful where we go from here. The pandemic has gone on much longer than anyone originally expected, and for many people, meeting together is still a matter of concern. But two years is plenty of time for new habits to be formed, so it is good to go back to basics now and then and examine ourselves. What habits do we have? Time in our ‘chair’ is a good one (might have mentioned that before!) – spending personal time with God. 

But our faith is expressed, even proved, in community. We cannot love, encourage or do good works all on our own. So maybe as well as a ‘chair’ we need a ‘pew’! Whatever it might look like, it can only be a good thing to develop some kind of habit that involves encouraging one another. “How’s things?”; “Can I pray for you”; “Let’s chat”; “Here’s what I read in the Bible today” and so on.

It might still be a while yet before everyone is willing and able to meet together again. And that’s fine. But I think the final phrase in verse 25 “and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” is a reminder that we live in the light of Jesus’ return. The previous chapter has a verse about believers ‘eagerly awaiting’ his return (Heb 9:28). So while we are ‘in the world’, the here and now and the place of rebellion, we are not ‘of the world’, we don’t belong here, it’s not our home (see John 17:14-16). 

Meeting together is a reminder of that as it’s a foretaste, a glimpse, of heaven (however imperfect our meetings are!). After all, there’s going to be a lot of people in heaven! But the world is a difficult place and we need that mutual encouragement to live in faith, hope and love.

Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1. There are occasions when Christians have to resort to civil disobedience, but these are rare and are usually a response to a direct attack on the church. In this case, the Government prohibited all meetings which included the church under ‘places of worship’ but did not single it out. It could not be construed as an attack on Christianity or the church. Concerns were raised however about the precedent this could set for the future, and it is interesting that after the first lockdown, churches (and other places of worship) were generally left to decide for themselves, though within the light of other prevailing legislation.

Fortunately, I didn’t get picked on, and I later found out why. After the meeting I asked how come everyone seemed to know every verse in the Bible, and was let in on the secret. There were a couple of Scripture Memory systems that consisted of just over 60 verses that people had learned, or were learning. 

I immediately asked if I could do one and was given a short series (5 topics) called Lessons on Assurance.

The first topic was Assurance of Salvation. 1 John 5:11-12

For a new Christian this is a great verse, but it’s also a topic that we have to keep coming back to. Being assured, certain, that we are saved is vital if we are to grow in our faith, and particularly when we face difficulties.

It turns out that this was a hot topic during the Reformation. The Roman church at the time did not want people to be assured of their faith as the threat of losing one’s salvation was meant to keep them on the straight and narrow. In fact, they took the view that to be assured was considered the sin of presumption. One of the charges made against Joan of Arc at her trial in 1431 was:

“This woman sins when she says she is as certain of being received into Paradise as if she were a partaker already of … glory, seeing that on this earthly journey no pilgrim knows if he is worthy of glory or of punishment, which the sovereign judge alone can tell.”

That makes sense if we have to earn our salvation, but the point of the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone, not because of works. God wants us to be thankful, full of joy, strong in our faith – things that are impossible unless we’re sure that we’re saved.

Even today there are some who teach that we can lose our salvation. This occurs, they say, as a result of something we do or don’t do (not that God might suddenly and arbitrarily remove it from us).

Apart from being contrary to Scripture, it means that assurance is impossible, and that our salvation is ultimately based on what we do.

Knowing for certain was the goal of John’s letter. The next verse after my newly-memorised ones says that he wrote his letter so that we “may know that we have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

So does that mean that once we’re saved we can do whatever we like, sin as much as we like, with impunity?

That’s exactly the argument Paul addressed in Romans 6. And his response? “By no means!” (Rom 6:2)

I think it helps here to look at two ‘theological’ terms – Justification and Sanctification.

Justification is, simply, being put right with God. Our sins have been put away by Christ’s sacrifice so that those who believe and accept that are declared righteous. Way back in the Old Testament, Abraham “believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6, referenced several times in the New Testament, Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6; James 2:23).

It is a one-time, definitive declaration that we are counted righteous – like a legal ruling in God’s courtroom.

Sanctification, on the other hand, is a process. An ongoing work of God in our lives, in which we participate, where we are being made more Christlike, more holy.

I read this recently: “You cannot be more justified that you are presently. But you can and will be more sanctified, and one day you will be perfectly sanctified”.

We are not justified because we make ourselves holy, that would be earning salvation. Rather we are sanctified because we have been justified, and that by grace alone. Growing in faith and love and holiness are marks or consequences of our having been saved. Our works prove and demonstrate that we have been saved, but they don’t earn us anything.

There are certainly days when we don’t feel that we’re worthy of God’s favour – I don’t know that that ever really goes away. It sometimes goes quiet for a while but seems to inevitably come back. The problem is we focus too much on ourselves.

Here’s a quote from Sinclair Ferguson:

“It is misleading to say that God accepts us the way we are. Rather, he accepts us despite the way the way we are. He receives us only in Christ and for Christ’s sake. Nor does he mean to leave us the way he found us, but to transform us into the likeness of his Son.”

This is something that God will bring to completion, and which gives us both hope and motivation.

1 John 3:2

It seems to me that being sure of our salvation comes in three areas:

• Faith – believing that Jesus died for us (John 5:24)
• Fruit – Gal 5:23,24 especially love – for God, for his Word, and for fellow believers
• Fatherhood – the inner witness of the Holy Spirit that we are God’s children (Rom 8:16)

Oh, and yes, I did go on to learn all the 60 verses!

It seems that Paul wrote the first letter after his visit there in order to answer some questions and address some issues. Things weren’t going well though, so he paid them a second visit. This was apparently ‘painful’, so much so that he did not immediately want to go back in case it caused more pain. So he wrote them a letter – one that we don’t have a copy of. This letter will have been something of a rebuke, written with much ‘affliction and anguish of heart’, but also out of ‘abundant love’. (see 2 Cor 2:1-4).

Apparently this had the desired effect. Many in Corinth repented and wanted reconciliation with Paul. 

In all of this, Paul had to change his travel plans several times. Firstly, in order to visit the Corinthians early than he had first planned, then to delay seeing them before returning a second time. 

Changing travel plans is something I’m very familiar with. Part of my job used to be to visit customers, and meet remote colleagues, so I was out and about quite a bit. But I went through a period when almost every time I went somewhere, something would happen. Trains delayed or cancelled. Fog preventing planes taking off. Customers or colleagues cancelling or unable to make meetings. Stations closed! It got to the point where I felt the need to tell others in the office that I was going to be travelling as a way of forewarning them of problems to come. I’d ring home and simply say to Julie “it’s happened again”, and she’d know what I meant and just say “well I’ll see you whenever you get back”!

So I can identify with Paul’s having to change his plans. In his case, though, he was accused of insincerity as he didn’t stick to what he’d said he would do.

But Paul’s response was that he was not insincere. In fact, he was constantly doing what was best for them. And here’s the thing – he did so because of God’s faithfulness to his promises.

In other words, Paul did what he did because of who God is and what he has done. He could relate something as mundane as travel plans back to the character of God.

Back on my early days of being a Christian, I made several ‘resolutions’. One of them was to get to a point in my life where everything I did was based on the Word. Like several of my other resolutions it was not fully thought out, but the sentiment was good. I’m certainly not claiming I’m anywhere near fulfilling it, but it’s always stuck with me as a goal.

Paul seems to have got closer as we’ve seen.

And, in case you’re thinking that he was a special case, being an Apostle, James had something similar to say in James 4:13-15. Here he’s talking to people going about their businesses. Everyday life, not just ‘ministry’, that should be committed to God.

The study series I use has a section for each day called ‘Coram Deo’, which is Latin for ‘living before the face of God’. It’s effectively the ‘application’ section. Having studied what a passage says, what does that mean for how we live our lives? It’s about relating the Scriptures to our everyday lives.

And that’s the point – everything we say, do or think is done ‘before the face of God’; done ‘in his name’ (i.e. in a way that honours him) and with thanks. See Colossians 3:16-17.

(For the avoidance of doubt – my all time favourite, and probably the greatest film ever made, is The Great Race. No discussion necessary, that’s simply a fact)

I recently came across this quote from C S Lewis, in the context of praising God, where he realised that enjoyment overflows into praise: “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” (Reflections on the Psalms)

So the act of praise completes the enjoyment – that’s what was going on in our cinema trips. Our enjoyment of the film wouldn’t have been complete without ‘praising’ it, going over and re-telling the bits we liked.

When we apply that to praising God, it means that the act of praise completes our enjoyment of him. 

For many hundreds of year, the church has used Catechisms as a means of teaching – particularly with young people. They’re not so popular these days, but they’re an early form of FAQs on the Christian faith. The first question in one of the more well-known ones, the Westminster Shorter Catechism (written in 1647), is this: “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer is “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever”.

There a relatively new catechism called the New City Catechism (written in 2012 – so the language is up to date!). It arrives at the same answer via two questions.

The 4th question is “How and why did God create us?” answered with “God created us … to know him, love him live with him and glorify him”; and the 6th question is “How can we glorify God?” Answered with “We glorify God by enjoying him…”.

In other words, we were created to enjoy God. Which in turn means that we were created to praise God.

There’s going to be a lot of praise going on in heaven. Take a look at Revelation 4 and 5. Here we see several reasons for praise – 

• “you created all things” (Rev 4:11)
• “you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God” (Rev 5:9)
• “and made them a kingdom of priests to our God” (Rev 5:10)
• “worthy is the Lamb who was slain: (Rev 5:12)
• “to him who sits on the throne” (Rev 5:13)

The praise here is not just a re-telling of what Jesus has done- though it clearly includes that in abundance – but is the giving of “power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing”. Pretty much everything that we are and have. Reminiscent of the greatest commandment “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27).

But not just in heaven. We have the privilege of being able to praise God in the here and now. That can, and should, take many forms. If we are fortunate enough to experience a miracle, we will certainly want to praise God in worship and in telling others. But most of the time we don’t experience miracles. That should not stop us praising God though. Jesus told us to consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. (Matt 6:25-30). Not just because they are praiseworthy as creations of God (though they are), but as an antidote to anxiety (if God looks after this things, how much more will he look after you) which releases us to enjoy God.

Our modern culture pulls us in the opposite direction, telling us that things just happen by chance or according to impersonal laws. But the Bible will have none of that. It is God who makes the grass grow (Psalm 147:8), God brings forth the wind (Psalm 135:7) and rebukes it (Luke 8:24), he clothes the grass and feeds the birds (Matt 6), he even oversees their deaths (Matt 10:29-31).  

Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:17 speak of Jesus holding and upholding all things. It seems to me that the more we understand and see how God is intimately and always involved in his creation (including us!), then the more we will be driven to praise, and the more we will enjoy God.

(See also Psalm 16:11)

But I don’t think this is anything particularly new. I remember my grandparents talking about how they worried about things. This was often related to activities my brother and I would get up to (“ooh we did worry about you”), reaching a climax when I ended up in hospital – they wrote me a letter saying how much I’d caused them to worry.

I used wonder what they actually did and would imagine them having ‘worry times’, where they would go into their front room, sit upright, look as though they might cry and shake their heads. 

But anxiety can be, and often is, quite serious. It affects us both mentally and physically.

I suspect that no-one is immune from it, though we are all different in the way it affects us and in the way we react to it. 

The Bible takes anxiety seriously too. We’re probably familiar with verses such as Phil 4:6 (Do not be anxious about anything) and Matthew 6:25 (Do not be anxious about your life), which are presented as commands.

But there are also examples of what might be called ‘good anxiety’. Paul writes in Philippians about Timothy and how he will be genuinely concerned (or anxious) about their welfare. Paul himself refers to his ‘anxiety for all the churches’ (2 Cor 11:28). The Greek work translated as ‘anxiety’ is also translated as ‘care’ in, for instance. 1 Cor 12:25.

How might we distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ anxiety?

In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus is teaching at the home of two sisters Mary and Martha. Martha is busy serving while Mary is sat listening to Jesus. Martha is clearly overwhelmed, verse 40 says ‘distracted’, and asks Jesus to get Mary to help her. Jesus replies “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

So maybe that’s the clue – something, even a good thing like serving, that takes our focus away from Jesus himself is not good. Martha’s attention was on the task, not on Jesus. The task might have been important, but ‘one thing is necessary’ – focussing on Jesus.

I’ve heard it said that ‘all good theology starts in Genesis’, and it is good to look backwards, as well as forwards, to get a perspective on living in the here and now.

When Adam and Eve sinned, one of their first actions was to hide from God, because they were afraid of him. They didn’t know what lay ahead or how God was going to deal with them. They knew that death had been promised, but maybe didn’t realise what that really meant (after all they were still alive), but they were afraid and anxious. That’s where is all started, and we live with the consequences.

The consequences of the Fall were to bring all kinds of troubles and suffering – including anxieties – into the world.

When writing to a suffering, persecuted church, Paul, in Romans 8:18-30, refers back to the Fall, but also points to a future. A hope of freedom and redemption when sin and death are removed, and life is marked by glory. We may not know a great deal about the life to come, but we do know it will be better than we can imagine. It is also sure and certain, which give us hope.

We are somewhere in the middle of this. There’s a ‘already but not yet’ aspect to living as a Christian. We are already justified and sanctified, but we are not yet complete. Not yet glorified.

So how do we live with anxieties?

In the verses I mentioned earlier – Matthew 6:25 and Philippians 4:6 – we are told not to be anxious, followed by a ‘but’. ‘but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Matt 6:33); ‘but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God’ (Phil 4:7).

The point here is about doing something which takes our focus away from ourselves and our anxieties and puts the focus on God himself. 

One of my favourite Old Testament verses is Daniel 11:32b “but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

Actions might well include getting medical help for a chemical imbalance, or getting with others who can help with a biblical perspective. Spending time in prayer and the Word is important – vital even – with the aim of being with Jesus and getting his perspective on our lives. We’re back to our chairs!

None of this is a quick fix though. Some of us may have to learn how to live with anxiety for most of our lives. Interestingly, John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim’s Progress) suffered with ‘anxieties of the hart’ throughout his life, but he wrote this towards the end of his autobiography:

These things I continually see and feel, and am afflicted an oppressed with; yet the wisdom of God doth order them for my good. 1.They make me abhor myself. 2. They keep me from trusting my heart. 3. They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness. 4. They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus. 5. They press mee to pray unto God. 6. They show me the need I have to watch and be sober. 7. And to provoke me to look to God, through Christ, to help me, and carry me through this world.

He firmly believed in Romans 8:28, that God orders our lives, including our anxieties, for our good. Like Paul he recognised that God’s grace is sufficient in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9).

The perspective comes from understanding that ‘one thing is necessary’.

Or as the Psalmist says:

"One thing have I asked of the LORD,
 that will I seek after:
  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
 all the days of my life,
  to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
 and to inquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4)

and again, Paul:

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14)

We’re asked a lot these days how we identify ourselves. But how do we know who we really are? There are many answers that people give – we might think that we are defined by something cultural such as our ethnicity, social class, family, political affiliation. Or maybe something vocational – our career, responsibilities or family. But which of these truly defines us? Is that even possible??

Hugo had implicitly answered the question biblically. The Bible does indeed have a great deal to say about who we are. But at its core is the assertion that we are made in the image of God, ‘after his likeness’. Which means that we, as human beings, have the unique ability to reflect God’s character.

That means two things: firstly, we’re not God; and secondly, that we’re not the same as the rest of creation. As human beings we are special and unique.

The Fall (see Genesis 3) severely distorted that image, and our ability to reflect God, but it did not destroy it. There are still references to human beings still carrying the image of God (e.g. Genesis 9:6). CS Lewis put is well in the Chronicles of Narnia: “You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,” said Aslan. “And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.”¹

But what the Fall did do was to break our relationship with God, so we try to manage without him. In removing God, we remove the truth about who we are. And when we try to find our identity apart from God, we end up having to invent one. We turn to those secondary identities – the things listed above, cultural, vocational and so on. These things aren’t of lasting value though, so we don’t really know who we are – we’re lost.

Is there a solution? Well the Christian response is, as always, to look to Jesus.

There’s a chap who lived in the fourth century call Athanasius. He came up with a great illustration of how Jesus restored the image of God in humanity.

He said, “Adam was like a beautiful portrait painting. On him, the image of God was drawn.” And what happened at the Fall was that the portrait was utterly wrecked. Adam was no longer anything like God. He’d become vicious, selfish, horribly unholy. And so the image, the painting was ruined. So, how could this precious portrait be restored? And the problem was, there was nobody who knew what the portrait had once looked like. They couldn’t restore it. To restore it, you had to know God. You had to know what He’s like. Otherwise, you could never know what the image of God should look like. There was only one hope. The original subject of the portrait had to come and have His likeness redrawn on the canvas of humanity. Only the One whose likeness was originally drawn on Adam could restore and renew it. And so, the image of God Himself came. He took humanity to renew His image in it. He came and showed us the image of God in the flesh. And in Christ alone could humanity be restored from what Athanasius called all this “dehumanizing of mankind.”²

That’s a great way of putting it. And it shows how that only in Christ can we recover what was lost – see Colossians 3:10

If we get this, it means we can be secure in our primary, original identity. And that frees us to be those other, secondary, things without having to depend on them, and without fear of losing them.

I think that’s what Paul had in mind when he said how he could be all things to all people – for the sake of the gospel. (See 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

1. C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian
2. Thanks to https://www.ligonier.org/blog/only-christ-can-image-god-be-restored/ for this illustration

The spacecraft is aptly named ‘Perseverance’. In it for the long haul.

In many ways it’s like the end of the pandemic – we can see light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s not here yet. So, we need patience, also conviction – a belief that it is indeed ending.

This is perseverance. And there is a strong parallel in the Christian life.

How do we keep going in the Christian faith? I remember someone asking the question at a Sunday evening meeting some years ago, “My biggest fear is that I’ll drop away. How do I know that I’ll still be walking with God in the future?”

It seems to me that our answers to that question can lie on a spectrum.

At one end there is presumption. At the other end, despair.

Presumption says – I made a decision x years ago. Once saved always saved. I don’t need to do anything.

Despair says – I have no assurance I’m saved, I keep trying, but I’m constantly anxious.

While it’s possible to find ‘proof-texts’ in the Bible for both of those views, that can only be done by ignoring other passages. The Bible actually teaches that both those views are incorrect.

The truth lies between.

 It is true that God works in us and will complete the work he started. But he also calls us to work out our own salvation. (Take a look at Philippians 1:6 and Philippians 2:12-13)

How do we reconcile that? Because it’s a relationship. And like any relationship it takes time and commitment from both parties.

On God’s side, this is a trinitarian work. The Father has loved us from all eternity. He sent his Son, who willingly came to suffer and die in our place in order to atone for our sins (that is to pay the penalty that was ours). The Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to bring us into a new life, to sustain us in this life and to enable our growth in this new relationship with God.

For us, we respond to God’s call with faith, repentance and worship. We love God and demonstrate that love through obedience and trust.

We ‘spend time with one another’ through the Word and prayer.

And we are not left alone. As well as the Holy Spirit’s empowering and enabling, we are placed into a family of believers where we can encourage and build up each other.

The definition of perseverance has idea of something that is long-term and continues through difficulties. God has not promised us an easy life – in fact quite the opposite – but he has promised us an eternal home. He’s promised us that his presence will go with us. And he promises that all things will work out for our good.

So as we see that the end of the pandemic is coming, but we still have to live in a lockdown, in the same way we know that ‘the Day is drawing near’ so we should ‘stir up one another to love and good works’ and ‘encourage one another’ (Hebrews 10:24-25). That includes, of course, encouragement to spend time ‘in your chair’!