Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Why Still Care About Israel?’ by Sandra Teplinsky (Chosen, 2013).

Paul Luckraft reviews two books on Israel's restoration.

Over the next few weeks we will be reviewing a number of classic books on the subject of Israel and her restoration, ahead of the 70^th anniversary celebrations in May.

This week, Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Does God Play Favourites?’ by Jim Gerrish and ‘Your People Shall Be My People’ by Don Finto. Please see the base of page for ordering information.

Does God Play Favourites? (Gerrish, 353pp, Cornerstone, 2000)

Despite being nearly 20 years old now, this book is a real treasure trove. It has a wide scope and is packed with useful information on every aspect of God’s unique relationship with Israel.

The author contends that the miraculous work of God in restoring the nation of Israel is something that Christians today have to consider if they are to gain any understanding of the purposes of God as outlined in Scripture. He draws on many years of experience and biblical study to present a significant account of why Israel is special. He accepts that spiritually Israel is only partially restored but she has risen from the ashes just as the ancient prophets foretold.

The opening chapters take us through many scriptures to explain how and why this has happened.

Encyclopaedic in Scope and Depth

Later chapters cover the rise of Islam and its impact upon Israel and the Church, the story of how the nation of Israel was reborn, the Jewishness of Jesus and how the Church moved away from its Jewish roots during its early centuries.

The sickness of anti-Semitism is tackled in another chapter, as are the intriguing questions, ‘Is the Messiah restoring Israel?’, ‘Is God a Zionist?’ and ‘Is the Devil angry over Jerusalem?’. The author is clear that “The continual madness and insanity in the Middle East attests to the apparent rage of the devil concerning Israel” (p306). He adds that “No doubt, Satan has found politics a very successful tool in his age-old effort to deprive the children of Israel of their heritage” (p307).

Despite being nearly 20 years old now, this book is a real treasure trove.

The author also considers many of the contemporary aspects which surround Israel in today’s world, namely the refugee problem, the UN and its many resolutions against Israel, and the role of the media.

Each chapter is well thought through and informative - almost encyclopaedic in scope and depth. Everything you could want to know is covered more than adequately. There are also study questions at the end of every chapter, together with excellent endnotes. The book ends with an extensive historical timeline and a full bibliography.

Highly commended.

Your People Shall Be My People: How Israel, the Jews and the Christian Church Will Come Together in the Last Days (Finto, 204pp, Regal, 2001/2016)

This book, updated an expanded in 2016, remains a useful contribution to the literature on how Israel, the Jews and the Christian Church should co-exist now and how, in the words of the subtitle, they will come together in the last days.

The author admits that what he is writing is not always new but he is hopeful that his perspective will add something to those who are already knowledgeable in this area, as well as provide a fresh revelation to others. To this end he achieves his purpose.

The title is taken from the book of Ruth (1:16). The author contends that the Gentile Church should look to her as a role model in terms of commitment to God’s ancient people and a desire to become part of the ‘one new man’ of which Paul speaks (Eph 2:13).

A Remarkable Generation

Part of the fascination of the book is the way the author shows how God has been at work in the past 70 years since Israel became a nation again. He quotes statistics to show that half of those who have ever come to faith in Christ have done so since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 (p43). 

He also sees 1967 (the year when Jerusalem came under Jewish control again) as “the year that brought a change in the heavenlies” (p139). From this time there began to be a noticeable increase of Jewish believers in Jesus. He claims that “since the first century, there has never been a generation that has seen so many Jewish people in so many parts of the world coming to believe in Jesus” (p127).

But as well as proclaiming this good news, the author also makes us aware that “sometime in the future the whole world will take a stand against Israel” (p173). The spiritual battle will intensify. Taking a stand on their behalf is something we need to be preparing for. Here the example of Ruth comes to the fore again.

The book is an easy read and worth trying to pick up second-hand. The overall approach is positive and encouraging. There are good endnotes to each chapter plus an appendix of recommended further reading.

Please click on the following links to purchase the above books:

Does God Play Favourites? (Amazon, second-hand)

Your People Shall Be My People (Amazon, paperback and Kindle)

A new mini-series on the spiritual significance of music.

On 18 February, in the immediate aftermath of the Florida school shooting that took 17 lives, Hawaiian Calvary Chapel pastor JD Farag bravely drew people’s attention to the two common denominators in mass shootings committed by teenagers in the USA: drugs and satanic music.¹

The unbelieving world is quick to scoff when connections are made between video games and real-world violence – and it’s the same with music. Of course, direct causal connections are difficult to establish; no mass murderer could plausibly get away with pleading ‘The music made me do it!’ in a court of law.

But on the other hand, this doesn’t mean that the emotional, psychological and spiritual power of music should just be ignored. Music has an extraordinary capacity to affect people, which can be turned for good or for evil.

Musical by Design

While tastes obviously vary and not everyone is gifted with the genius of Mozart or Beethoven, we are all created with an innate capacity to enjoy music. Our brains and bodies are designed to appreciate it and respond to it – whether by humming, singing, dancing or playing an instrument.²

Science affirms that music has an extraordinary capacity to affect our minds, emotions and spirits, whether to uplift or soothe, to express grief or joy. Studies have shown that the right music at the right time can increase creativity and learning ability, reduce stress, lift one’s mood, help both emotional and physical healing and better one’s interpersonal skills.

“Music is the universal language of mankind.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Medics, psychologists and therapists will tell you that music can literally work miracles – helping in therapy for the disabled, in treatment for mental illness, and in ‘waking up’ parts of the brain in dementia patients that were previously thought to be defunct.³

Scientifically speaking, our brains, hearts and bodies are designed to sync in with the music we hear and respond accordingly. That’s why up-beat music boosts our energy levels, while down-beat music soothes and relaxes. We tune into what we hear and it affects us – whether we notice it or not. This applies to the mind and the body – and also to the soul.

Gifted Music

We shouldn’t be surprised at this, for the Bible shows us that music is a divine and innately spiritual gift: a heavenly gift given to humankind by God as an expression of His creativity, with intention that it be used for His glory and our blessing.

The Songs of Joy, by James Jacques Joseph TissotMusic is recorded in Scripture as being a blessed part of family and community life, helping give expression to both merry-making and mourning (e.g. Isa 16:10; Luke 15:25; Matt 9:23). The symbolic and evocative power of music was designed for communal good, accompanying important ceremonies such as coronations, feasts and dedications (e.g. 1 Kings 1:40; Matt 26:30; Neh 12:27; Ezra 3).

Music has also proven a powerful weapon in warfare (e.g. 1 Cor 14:8; Neh 4:20), helping to win important biblical victories (e.g. Josh 6; Jud 7:16-22).

After victory, spontaneous songs were often poured out in celebration (e.g. Ex 15; Jud 5, 11:34; 1 Sam 18), which draws our attention to the most important purpose for music: to help express worship of God (e.g. 1 Chron 6:31-32, 25:6-7; Psalms; Eph 5:19; James 5:13; Col 3:16) and commemorate His faithfulness (e.g. Deut 32; Ps 90). The Lord is even recorded in Scripture as giving us songs to sing (Ps 40:3; Job 35:10).

“Music is an outburst of the soul.” ~ Frederick Delius

It is no wonder, given all this, that Christianity has for centuries been known as ‘the singing faith’. God clearly loves music – and has designed us to enjoy musical expression as part of our adoration and praise, and as a way of articulating and strengthening our hope.

Turned to Idolatry

However, just like all of God’s good gifts, music can also be turned for ungodly ends. Both Amos and Isaiah recorded the complacent, self-satisfied use of music by the rich and powerful in Israel (e.g. Amos 6:1-7; Isa 5:12). The Prophet Daniel wrote of how the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar used all manner of musical instruments to call the people to idolatry (Dan 3:5-7).

Through the ages, music has been used to torture as well as to entertain, to depress as well as to uplift, to ignite rebellion as well as to soothe. It has become the soundtrack to pagan ritual, being employed by mediums to enter trances, by shamans to enter the spirit realm, and by new age practitioners to facilitate meditation. It has almost always accompanied drunken revelry and sexual seduction, and has featured strongly in genocidal dictatorships (e.g. Hitler’s Third Reich, Stalin’s Russia, Communist China).

Sadly, this corruption of such a wonderful, Godly gift was only to be expected. satan himself has a close association with music (some assert that he used to be chief worship leader in Heaven, citing Ezekiel 28:12-15) and, as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), has temporary dominion over all the unbelieving world – including its musical activity. Desiring the worship of all, of course he will be looking to use the power of music in order to garner it.

Power, Spirituality, Community

The upshot of this is that music has, from one end of time to the other, been a key battleground for the heart and soul of mankind.

This is partly because the composing, performing and imbibing of music are all potentially powerful acts – not just physically and psychologically, but also spiritually. Music springs forth from and sinks deep into the soul, and so, knowingly or not, it is an expression of worship. At each stage those involved can choose to commit their activity to God, or to idols. 

It is also because music is, for the most part, a communal phenomenon. Whether musicians playing with and learning from one another, fans enjoying concerts, or dancers taking to the dance-floor, music is often a shared experience.

This gains power the more people are involved – think of the stirring anthems of the Last Night of the Proms, or the weighty hymns of football crowds, or of thousands at the Olympics joining in with the national anthem. At these times, music is a deeply moving – and often positive - expression of community togetherness.

Because music is a communal endeavour, it helps to define and express culture (this is even more the case today with mass media and the internet exporting ‘pop’ music to millions every second). And because music is deeply powerful and spiritual, popular music trends always reflect the spirit of the age.

“Who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once.” ~ Robert Browning

In other words, shared trends in music say something about the spiritual health and direction of a society. They form the collective cry of souls – whether glorifying God, searching for meaning, indulging in degeneracy, or pursuing a satanic agenda.

Next week, we will see to how this applies to the field of Western popular music.

References

1 Click here to watch Pastor Farag's full sermon.

2 Music is one of the only activities that is processed using every single part of the brain, and the auditory nervous system is incredibly well-connected to the rest of the body. Playing an instrument requires muscle movements and nervous control that are unique to humankind - no other species is so equipped.

3 E.g. read more here.

An extraordinary testimony of God’s kindness.

We live in a strange and worrying era, when the value of life is in deep recession.

On the one hand there is the so-called morning-after pill, an insurance against unwanted conception, and - worse - the escalating use of abortion to destroy unwanted, unborn children. On the other hand, at the other extreme we hear of new scientific ‘advances’ in the way eggs can be cultivated outside the womb for women who find difficulty in conception.

Add to this ever-increasing rates of family breakdown, the general acceptance that one’s gender (even that of a child) can be manipulated and re-configured, and the mounting pressure to legalise assisted suicide, and we begin to realise how far our society’s value of life is being eroded.

Sometimes I have wondered how the wastage of life might be made clearer to those blind to what they are doing. Perhaps someone could write a story that imagined the potential of lives lost in the womb, following the imagined life story of those who might have been born, grown up and contributed to our society, but who never made it past the start-line.

Could one illustrate this in a powerful enough way to touch a generation like, say, Uncle Tom’s Cabin challenged a whole nation to reconsider slavery and eventually reverse that tide of evil?

I don’t have the skill to write such a book, but recently I discovered something in the testimony of my own life that, at least for me, illustrated these things in a deep way.

A Blessed Childhood

My life has been wonderfully blessed. I grew up in the era immediately following the Second World War, conceived in 1945 and born in 1946. My earliest memories are of the hard winter of 1947, with its deep snow up to my waist, at a time when we had been temporarily housed with other families in a village in South Wales.

Sometimes I have wondered how the wastage of life might be made clearer to those blind to what they are doing.

My father returned from Belgium in 1946, was demobbed and resumed work as a plumber, enjoying plenty to do in those days of rebuilding a nation and building houses. My mother kept house and was always the anchor of our security as children (my older sister and I).

What followed was a blessed and stable childhood through the 1950s - the era of rationing and austerity but hope, strong families and supportive community, when Sundays were kept special, when there were few phones and few cars. That era lives with me to this day.

A Fruitful Life

I did well at school and was optimistic about my future career. When my father asked me if I would join him in his plumbing business, that he might write SF Denton and Son on the van, I rather bluntly turned him down, having plans to join the RAF.

I did indeed become an RAF pilot, followed by studying for a maths degree at Kings College Cambridge, followed by teaching Maths and Computer Science at Banbury School, and then Educational Research at the University of Oxford where I also picked up my DPhil in the study of the educational of able children. Since the mid-1980s I left all that to go into full-time Christian work, which has, since then, taken me all over the world. It has been a wonderful and fruitful life.

One thing that typified my life from as early as I can recall, was my commitment to serve God, which I brought to prayer every single night in my years of growing up. Much later, I recall a day when the Lord spoke to me on my way back home from a ministry meeting. I was recalling how blessed and encouraged my early life had been, when the question came into my mind: ‘You thought that was your parents encouraging you, didn’t you?’ “Yes,” said I. ‘Well, that was Me’, said God.

It was like a Bar Mitzvah experience at a time when perhaps the Lord wanted me to turn more fully to him as Father and recognise the quiet but significant role he had played in my life all through those blessed years of growing up. Amazing.

Searching for My True Father

Yet the story has become even more amazing recently, ever since a friend put together a genealogical tree for both sides of my family. I was quite pleased to discover a fairly normal set of ancestors from the working class – labourers, agricultural workers, domestic servants and so on - going back through the 19^th Century.

I recall a day when the Lord spoke to me, urging me to recognise the quiet but significant role he had played in my life through those blessed years of growing up.

At this time a thought came back to my mind that had, despite having wonderful loving parents, often posed a question during my early years: was my father really my father? It is remarkable what a DNA test can show, so I took up the offer of one towards the end of last year. The results confirmed my hunches and so began an incredible period of investigation to see if I could find my true father.

Amazingly, my DNA results strongly linked me paternally not to the Midlands where my supposed father came from, but to the USA.

Piecing together clues I picked up from other known relatives, I went looking on US genealogy trees for the person most likely to be my real father. I was looking for someone who would have been serving in the US forces, stationed in the UK near where my mother lived in 1945 with my baby sister, at a time when my presumed father was away serving in the RAF.

Surely that should have been like a needle in a haystack to find; but miraculously, with the help of an historical society, I was able to locate a man who ticked all those boxes. More than that - I have obtained a photograph of him and have discovered that he is still alive in the USA - a frail 96-year-old, but alive. I may yet have personal contact with him, though he will probably be quite surprised at my existence!

What Really Happened

The true story is that I descend from a Native American tribe in Mexico (perhaps the Pima tribe). In the days of immigration and of pioneering (including the California Gold Rush no doubt), beginning around 1800, an Italian went to Mexico and married a young Indian squaw (I imagine her living in a tepee) - and so the line from which my true father came was launched.

In 1942, when America entered the war, a young Italian with Native American roots enlisted and became one of those GIs who came to the UK with bars of chocolate for the children and nylons for the women. Amazingly, it was on the exact day that my deceased mother would have been 100 years old that I discovered this man’s name.

Despite finding him after all these years, I find myself not so much drawn to know my real father as being drawn closer to my heavenly Father.

History of the closing days of the war describe the way GIs linked up with local young women. During those uncertain days, my mother formed a temporary relationship and I was the unplanned result. Soon the GIs went home and eventually my (adopted) father came back from Belgium. It was all covered up and we got on with that life that turned out to be blessed.

I think about this, having complete forgiveness for my mother, and being aware that but for the events which took place, neither I, nor my own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nor the consequences of my life (good or bad), would have happened.

In fact, despite finding him after all these years, I find myself not so much drawn to know my real father as being drawn closer to my heavenly Father.

A Father to the Fatherless

The point of describing all this is that, in raw terms, my origins were from the unwanted of the developing USA, descending from a ‘half-breed’ (as they would be called in the cowboy films), a nobody, then later born in sin, the unplanned and unwanted result of a temporary fling. An accident with a questionable background.

Yet, God did not leave me in my vulnerability. He put his mark on me even as I was a young child. As Psalm 68 says, he is a father to the fatherless and puts the isolated in families.

If I had been conceived today, I would very likely have been eradicated by the morning-after pill or through abortion.

I only boast about this to highlight what God has done with my life, for there has been some fruit, for example in the education of gifted children, the establishing of Bible colleges, participating in the eradication of polio from Morocco, to name a few highlights. For his glory it is important to see the potential in my life that God planned to use, and which he is still bringing to fulfilment.

My origins, in raw terms, are an accident with a questionable background. Yet, God did not leave me in my vulnerability.

God Values Life

This is a story with two-fold application. One is to highlight the utter waste of potential in our generation, when life is allocated such little value as to wipe it out before birth. My life is unique and colourful in its origins, but there are many such from our generation. There are many lives from the current generation who never had the chance to find God’s love or to fulfil their potential. They simply weren’t born.

The other is the way Almighty God cares for us when we ask him to help us. In an unseen, sometimes hardly perceptible way, God has been alongside me wonderfully all these years. He will do and is doing the same for others who reach out to him in hope and in growing faith.

God values life so much that he gave his life so that we might live and, as he said, that we might have life in all its fullness. How many of those children destroyed before birth might have grown to have their own testimony, we can only imagine. But here is one who could have been at the bottom of the pile, who might have been lost, but was spared for this life, shared in the work of God, and saved for eternal life.

That is my testimony – still developing and hopefully worth sharing. How about yours? It is the sum of our personal testimonies about what God has made of our lives that could be that ‘book’ I was imagining.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Time: Full Stop or Question Mark?’ by Stephen Bishop (Zaccmedia, 2017).

This is a very readable and thought-provoking book on a key issue. Is time a constraint upon us and our enjoyment of life, or a God-given means of exploring life to the full before we enter eternity? We may (at times!) feel controlled by time, but God is not. He controls it. The aim of the book is to explore “some of the implications of God’s control of time and seasons described in the Bible” (p.ix).

The book contains 17 short chapters, each ending with some questions ‘For Reflection’, suitable for personal reflection or group study. These chapters divide into two roughly equal halves.

Section One covers the general aspects of time and aims to have a practical focus. Section Two is a short study on Ecclesiastes 3 and takes us through each of the first eight verses, one per chapter.

In a society that wants to speed everything up and get instant results, the idea of slowing down, waiting and preparing ourselves while God works through his plans at his pace seems to go against the grain. The final chapter of Section One is called ‘Taking a Break’ and looks at the concept of a time of rest without quite going so far as to mention ‘Shabbat’. To explore this theme in more detail you will need to look elsewhere. Another interesting chapter considers how God often does things ‘last-minute.com’.

It must be stressed that this is not another book on time management. Rather it mixes a sense of personal devotion to God with thorough biblical analysis and exposition. Here we find a gentle persuasion to make time our (new) friend and not our old enemy. It should make us more ready to meet God at the times of his choosing and not according to gaps in our schedule.

‘Time’ (146pp) is available from the publisher for £6.99. Also available elsewhere online. Click here to watch a short Youtube video from the author, about the book.

Also by Stephen Bishop:

Dialogue with a Donkey (2014) (Balaam)

Fleeces, Fears and Flames (2014) (Gideon)

Finding a Place to Settle (2016) (Ruth)

The crisis through the eyes of a patient.

Our editorials have long warned that British society is vulnerable to the shaking prophesied by Haggai and re-iterated in Hebrews 12. We have taken the stand that it is no use praying against this shaking because we would be praying against what God has determined to do.

We have already witnessed the collapse of many businesses in this country following the recession of 2007-8, which now looks more like an initial tremor than the major earthquake. The recent downfall of Carillion is a further sign of the continuing vulnerability of industry and our financial sector.

Yet, as was pointed out the week before last, we seem to worship our institutions as golden calves, looking more to establishing financial security than we look to the Living God. It is as if, as milk is drawn from a cow, our institutions might become healthy through the flow of our money (this also goes for our planned withdrawal from Europe). The National Health Service is one such institution.

It so happens that, over recent months, the NHS has had a major influence on my family life; but for the care we have received, my wife would not be alive today. So I would like to keep focusing on this as an example of where our society is and as a prompt for prayer.

Through the Eyes of a Patient

It is one thing to assess the NHS from frequent news reports of its struggles through the high pressure periods of Christmas and the New Year. It can be quite another to consider the inner workings of the system through the eyes of a patient.

It is one thing to assess the NHS from news reports of its struggles – it is quite another to consider its inner workings through the eyes of a patient.

Over the last few years our family has experienced almost every aspect of the NHS because of the developing chronic illness that befell my wife. We have needed, at various times, the support of our local GPs, pharmacists, health visitors, provision of aids for home support, outpatient hospital visits, and emergency ambulance service and hospital care during the intensely busy holiday period. I was even visiting my wife in hospital during the time when the Health and Social Care Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was visiting the same hospital (though not our ward!). Presently, we have need of social services and social care.

As a result of all this, personally I have arrived not to a point of judgment, but to the point reached by Jeremiah, the ‘weeping prophet’ (e.g. Jer 9:1). Jeremiah was a forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, who himself wept over Jerusalem and at the tomb of Lazarus.

Why? Because if you get into the heart of the NHS as a patient, you still find dedicated doctors, nurses and medical specialists, just as through all the years since its beginnings after World War II. If God is shaking the nation and if the NHS will be shaken as part of this, therefore, it must not be seen as a punishment to a totally ungodly system.

Appreciating Complexity

Indeed, if there is an element of judgment, perhaps we should all consider the part we have played in allowing things to get to this point. The NHS is vulnerable and some of us have taken it so much for granted that we put needless pressure on it.

As I waited for my wife to be taken from the ambulance to A&E on one recent visit, I had the opportunity of spending several hours ‘people watching’ in the waiting-room. Some clearly need not have been there, with transient troubles that could have been dealt with at home. Of course this is only part of the picture, but a pressurised system could be eased a little if we cherished it a little more and thought of one another more than ourselves sometimes.

Personally, I have arrived not to a point of judgment, but to the point reached by Jeremiah, the ‘weeping prophet’ (e.g. Jer 9:1).

Having said this, to me, the major problem for the NHS lies on its administrative side, from local management right up to parliamentary structures of oversight and planning. Adding to the pressure is the centralisation of hospital care and the closure of smaller regional healthcare centres, so that what was once personal and caring seems to be becoming more and more impersonal. Similarly, the separation of what is called ‘social care’ from the NHS seems wrong to me - finance-driven more than care-driven in its design.

These are enormous issues to consider but I touch on them to suggest that any shaking of our society in the coming days, which will likely impact the NHS as much as other national institutions and businesses, cannot be understood in a broad-brush way.

Getting to the Heart

How, then, are we to discover a path of prayer into the future? We need to find God’s heart, and obtain his perspective, which perhaps are hidden from us if we only observe our nation in worldly terms. The NHS is just one example; if we delved into any of our institutions we would find our hearts torn by their continuing potential and momentum for good, but with God written out of the balance sheets.

Intercession for Britain involves gaining a heart perspective; feeling the hurts more than judging the failures.

It is perhaps no coincidence that the film The Darkest Hour, portraying Winston Churchill’s struggles to lead Britain through the last world war, is currently being shown in cinemas. For anyone who was alive at that time and after, when people pulled together to rebuild and re-establish first a near-defeated and then a near-bankrupt nation, this must be a stirring film.

Yet the story behind the scenes is even more stirring. We must remember those who engaged in intercessory prayer for our nation through the war years and afterwards, who were given God’s own insights into the reality of the battle, physically and spiritually. Such prayer warriors, if alive today, would undoubtedly testify to their call to identify the true heart of a nation in crisis.

To know how to pray, we need to seek God’s heart, and obtain his perspective.

A Journey of Prayer

How then should we pray through our current crisis? God will show us if we are willing. My own path of learning has been through the illness of my wife, which has led me into the heart of Britain’s caring systems to experience both the pains of illness and the pains of the system – and also to witness rays of hope.

Are we willing to let the Lord show us his heart of compassion, as well as his displeasure, for the people of this nation? If so, he will lead us into experiences – perhaps quite unexpectedly - that draw us each into new depths of prayer. God is looking for those who will be willing to respond to this call.

Drama in the snow.

One of the most dramatic incidents in my life happened soon after Christmas high up in the Swiss Alps. My wife and I were walking through the little Alpine village of Adelboden to watch the Men's Downhill of the World Cup.

We are both poor skiers, but we were not there for the skiing. We were speakers at a conference at a local hotel and we had the afternoon free. On the way there I had a growing awareness of the presence of God: it was not just a spiritual response to the grandeur of the scenery.

Expectation

So, it was with a heightened sense of expectancy that we arrived at the foot of the slope and joined the crowd watching some of the world's most skilful young men risking life and limb to hurl themselves down the mountainside, trying to reduce record-breaking times by mere fractions of a second. We cheered the Swiss boys who were popular with the local crowd (there being no British competitors!)

I was sure that God had something to say to me so I carefully watched every competitor racing down the mountain but nothing of significance spoke to me.

Eventually it was all over. The presentations were made; the TV camera crews closed the eyes of the world and the crowd began to disperse. Several thousand people began to walk back into the village. I had a sense of disappointment and found myself silently saying, "Lord, have I missed something? Forgive me if I’ve not been attentive."

I had a growing awareness of the presence of God: it was not just a spiritual response to the grandeur of the scenery. I was sure God had something to say to me.

The footpath back into the village was narrow and winding. It was slow going with the large crowd threading its way along the snow-packed icy track which in some places was only four or five feet wide. At one point the pathway turned a sharp bend hugging the mountain face on one side, and on the other side there was a low wooden guard-rail protecting a steep snow-covered slope running down towards the edge of the ledge with a sheer drop onto rocks below.

A Near Tragedy

We had hardly turned the corner when the air was suddenly rent with a piercing scream of a child just behind me. She had evidently missed her footing coming around the bend on the outside of the crowd, slipped under the guard-rail and was now sliding helplessly down the steep slope towards the edge.

I swung round, and together with many others, stood frozen to the spot powerlessly watching the small figure of a three or four-year-old child sliding down the mountainside on her stomach, feet first, with arms outstretched screaming with the full power of her lungs and her eyes looking imploringly upwards. I doubt whether I will ever forget the look of helpless terror in that child's eyes as her body gathered speed on its way down towards almost certain death.

Before I could even take in the full horror of the situation another dramatic event occurred that was to leave an indelible picture in my mind. Within seconds, as the first screams from the child were echoing from mountains across the valley, a man hurled himself through the crowd, leapt the guard-rail and ran down the slope with such incredible speed that he rapidly began to overtake the child still screaming at the top of her voice.

It was little short of a miracle that he managed to keep his balance on the acute slope - actually running down the mountainside! A few more strides and he reached the child, sweeping her up into his arms, and then was lost from sight for a few moments in a flurry of snow as he stopped himself just yards short of the edge of the slope. He stood there for what seemed a long time with the child’s arms flung round his neck clinging tightly and sobbing loudly.

In that little drama of human love, we witnessed a tiny glimpse of God's great saving purposes for his children.

An Amazing Rescue

The man, later identified as the child's father, steadied himself in preparation for the dangerous climb back up the snow-covered slope. The climb seemed to take ages as he dug into the deep snow, testing each foothold before taking a step, ensuring that it was safe to take him with the additional weight of the child in his arms. Eventually he reached the guard-rail where there were plenty of willing hands stretched out to help him onto the pathway and to lift the little girl over the rail into the comfort of her mother's arms.

As I watched the father standing there so close to the sheer drop onto the rocks below and as I watched him on his slow ascent to safety I very clearly heard God say to me,

This is what I brought you here to see. You saw how that child was sliding towards certain death. You saw how her eyes were looking up to her father and you heard how she cried for help. You saw how her father responded immediately, not hesitating to assess the danger to himself, but flung himself down the mountainside to rescue his child. That is how I love my children.

A Message of Love

"Lord," I responded, "That is wonderful! Your love is just amazing!"

Immediately, I felt a sense of rebuke as though God was saying to me,

Why do you say that? Do you think that my love is less than that of a human father? Did I not create him? Did I not make him capable of such a love for his child? Am I less than my own creation? I am God. There is no other! I created the universe and I created human beings in my own image. My love is at least as great as human love and a million times more and a million times more.

It was then that I heard the words that were to have a long-term impact on my life. I very clearly heard the Lord say, "Tell my people I love them. Tell my people I love them." From somewhere in the back of my mind there came the words of a song:

Tell my people I love them,

Tell my people I care.

When they feel far away from me,

Tell my people I’m there.

We walked along the path back into the village, silently re-living the drama of the last few minutes, each of us conscious of the presence of the Living God, ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’. In that little drama of human love, we had both witnessed a tiny glimpse of God's great saving purposes for his children.

The fresh mountain air, the winding path, the breath-taking view across the valley, all seemed to take on a new significance of the God of Creation revealing his everlasting love for the people whom he had created in his image. I think we both felt a little bit like Moses standing on another mountain when he took off his shoes feeling that the very ground on which he stood was holy with the presence of Almighty God.

Only one man actually risked his life and ran down the mountainside to save the child - her father!

The experience on the mountainside transformed the evening message especially as we sang:

Mine is an unchanging love

Higher than the heights above

Deeper than the depths beneath

Re-Living the Drama

There have been many times during a sleepless night when I have re-lived that drama on the mountainside and asked myself the question, ‘If that had been my child would I have jumped the guard-rail and run down to save her?’ I would like to think that the answer is, ‘Yes I would!’ But I have never been in that position so I can't be absolutely certain.

The one certain thing I do know is that I made no attempt to go and save someone else's child. I don’t find that a very comfortable thought. There were scores of other men near enough to try to save the child, but only one man actually risked his life and ran down the mountainside to save the child - her father!

This powerful illustration of a father's love has given me so much more understanding of the love of God our Father; who so loved the world that he sent his only Son to teach us to know God as our Father. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating right now. Make sure you invite him to the birthday party!!!

Previously published in: Hill, C, 2010. Unbreakable Love. CCM, Bedford, pp18-22.

Diana's death was a merciful release for an undeserving nation.

Near my home there is a bridge on a bend of the road where a young man lost his life in an accident. Friends and relatives decorated the bridge with bunches of flowers in plastic covers which have remained for more than a year.

Little shrines like this are now to be seen throughout the land in towns as well as the countryside in what appears to be a new form of religion as Christianity declines in Britain.

With Bible-believing Christians becoming an endangered species, an agnostic population is developing its own religion. Grieving relatives who have little hope of seeing their loved ones in the life hereafter worship at these plastic altars to the dead, creating a kind of necropolis.

Flowers marking the spot of a fatal road accident. See Photo Credits.The Areopagus

It reminds me of the Apostle Paul arriving in Athens and seeing the vast array of shrines to Greek gods. He began telling people about the resurrection of Jesus and some of the local philosophers who loved to debate new ideas invited him to address the Areopagus, an outcrop of rock known as the hill of Mars, which served as the seat of the ancient and venerable supreme court of Athens (Acts 17:19-34).

Paul saw the opportunity to tell them about Jesus but wisely began by referring to an altar he had seen dedicated ‘To an unknown god’. In their polytheistic society, the Greeks were keen not to offend any of the gods by missing one of them, hence this shrine which Paul used to begin his message. His objective was to introduce them to the true God of Creation.

Death of Diana

The plastic altars that are spreading across Britain are symbols of the ‘unknown god’ that have become widespread in the past 20 years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, when a vast mountain of flowers in plastic bags was built up outside Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace.

With Bible-believing Christians becoming an endangered species, our agnostic population is developing its own religion.

The 20^th anniversary of Diana’s tragic accident was recognised in August this year with more flowers in London and the two princes paying homage to their late mother.

The People’s Princess

The vast outpouring of grief 20 years ago was something never before witnessed in this nation and it took most people by surprise, including the Queen and our political leaders. Newly appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair described Diana as the ‘people’s princess’ which neatly encapsulated the public mood.

Diana was seen as a tragic figure – a beautiful woman deserted by her husband – millions of women in Britain could identify with her. Her TV interview about her divorce in which she had said that there were always three in her marriage touched a chord in millions of hearts. She was the lonely girl deserted by a heartless husband. In crying for her, millions were crying for themselves in socially acceptable grief.

An Orphan Spirit

Diana epitomised the ‘orphan spirit’ that is prevalent in Britain today as family life continues to crumble under the relentless attacks of those who wish to destroy the whole structure of our civilisation by attacking its Judeo-Christian foundations.

Her dispute with 'The Firm' – Prince Philip's nickname for the monarchy into which she had married - became the driving force in her life. She cleverly manipulated public opinion so that she was seen as the helpless victim of a cruel, all-powerful Establishment.

Diana epitomised the ‘orphan spirit’ that is prevalent in Britain today as family life continues to crumble.

Destroying the Monarchy

Her desire for revenge became far more than a personal dispute with her husband. It took on the character of a demonic force determined to destroy the monarchy, bringing chaos and confusion to the nation and tearing down all its major institutions that have held the United Kingdom together for centuries.

In taking as a lover the Muslim son of Mohamed Al Fayed, a man who hated Britain and who had acquired ownership of Harrods by disputed business dealings, Diana struck a blow, not only at the House of Windsor but at the Christian heritage of the nation.

If she had married him the consequences for the future of the nation were incalculable. This is why many people suspected that her death had been engineered by the Establishment to preserve the nation, but Christians saw it as the hand of God and his mercy towards an undeserving nation.

The plastic altar in The Mall in the heart of London at the funeral of the people’s princess represented the new religion of the British people – a nation grieving for its lost soul, deserted by the God of our fathers – now worshipping at the altar of ‘the unknown god’. Our condition is like that described by the faithful remnant of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem who cried out to God for his forgiveness:

Our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offences are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled on the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. (Isaiah 59:12-15)

Our nation is grieving for its lost soul.

Turning the Nation

Do we have to wait until ultimate tragedy and social disintegration strike Britain before we cry out to God for forgiveness, as the faithful remnant did after the destruction of Jerusalem? Those who understand the times and can see the destruction looming over Britain if the social anarchists continue their divisive and destructive ways must break their timid silence and proclaim truth into the nation!

The plastic altars to unknown gods will not save us! There is no other hope than confessing our sins before the Lord and asking him to heal our land. The loving promise of God is:

If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. (Jer 18:7-8)

Originally written for HEART of Sussex, October 2017 issue.

Lessons from the life of Moses.

In the eighth part of our series, Fred Wright considers the lessons we can learn from the life of Moses.

Although in Christianity Moses is generally considered as a non-writing prophet, in some Judaic circles he is credited, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the reception and transmission of the Torah. This includes the pre-historical sections, which he received by divine revelation. Both the external and internal evidence of the texts illustrate that Moses was accredited with these writings from the earliest of times.

Moses is considered to be the greatest of the prophets and a model for those who came later. He also pre-figured the Messiah. In Second Temple Judaism, the messianic hope was in one who would be the true prophet that Moses had spoken of (see Deut 18:18, cf. Acts 10:43). Paul often referred to the whole of the Torah as 'Moses’ (2 Cor 3:15).

The Call of Moses

Moses presents a clear picture of the prophet as an intercessor. He illustrates an intimacy with the Lord which is second only to that of Jesus.

Moses was a Levite who could trace his lineage back to Levi through Amram (Ex 6:16f). After fleeing the Egyptian court (Ex 2:15f), he dwelt in the land of the Kenites, marrying into the family of the priest Reuel/Jethro. The Kenites were a people who could also trace their descent back to Abraham (Gen 25:1-6). One can therefore assume that their religion was a continuation of pre-Egyptian Yahwism.

Moses is considered to be the greatest of the prophets and a model for those who came later.

It was during this period, while tending his father-in-law's flocks in the vast wilderness of Midian, that Moses began to develop an intimacy with God. God appeared to him in a burning bush (Ex 3:6) and revealed that he was the God of the Patriarchs and not simply the God of the Kenites.

Furthermore, he had not forgotten his people despite their slavery and wanted Moses to be the instrument of their deliverance. Moses’ initial reaction to this was one of awe quickly followed by procrastination — no doubt due to the enormity of the task that had been placed before him.

Although the Lord gave him miraculous signs to perform, Moses was concerned about not being properly equipped to present his case before the ruler of Egypt. So God commissioned his brother, Aaron the Levite, to speak on his behalf. This reminds us that although an intercessor may be called to be an instrument in one area, the Lord may use another to augment, enhance or present the fruit of their intercessory labours.

The Honour of the Name

Having received his commission, Moses was sent forth in the authority of the Holy Name which had been declared to him (Ex 3:14f). The commissioning of Moses clearly illustrates that his mission was to be undertaken in the name and power of the Lord. In the ancient Near East, possession of a holy name was believed to be a token of power. It was thought that the utterance of that name would bring forth the spirit known by that name. This spirit could then be manipulated or worked alongside. This explains the Lord's enigmatic reply to Moses.

Moses illustrates an intimacy with the Lord which is second only to that of Jesus.

Today, it is sad to observe that the names of the Lord and, particularly, the name of the Messiah — Jesus — are often regarded as words of power. They are recited as a mantra, rather than the objects of devotion and as the expression of a relationship (Ps 9:10).

The degree to which Moses understood the honour of the Name was clearly illustrated whenever Israel lapsed into idolatry. Moses' intercession, at those times, was that God would refrain from destroying his people for the sake of the honour of his Name (for example, see Num 14:5-19, cf. Ezek 36).

An interesting aside is that on one occasion the Lord stated that he knew Moses' name. Today that may seem a little trite and obvious, but at the time names were more than a simple label of identification. They were either titles of honour or descriptions of character. The comment about the Lord knowing Moses’ name simply means that God knew Moses' character. We might well ask the question today: as well as knowing God personally, are we prepared for God to know us?

A Model Intercessor

Faith was the driving force in Moses’ life (see Heb 11:23-29). It was through his faith that Moses gained the increasing certainty and confidence he needed to build his relationship with the Lord.

Moses was familiar with apparent failure. His initial approach to his people fell upon deaf ears, due to their broken spirit and cruel slavery (Ex 6:9). Meanwhile, his words were treated with disdain by Pharaoh.

Moses’ family were not the strength he could have hoped for. The people’s apostasy to the golden calf involved Aaron (Ex 32:1), while both Aaron and Miriam rebelled against Moses’ authority because of his marriage to an Ethiopian (Num 12:1). In the midst of all his tribulations Moses received wonderful strengthening from the Lord. The challenges and setbacks were all attended by reassurances from the Lord of his person and character, together with assurances about the future.

In the midst of all his tribulations Moses received wonderful strengthening from the Lord.

Throughout the wilderness wanderings Moses was the only one qualified to intercede for Israel because he was the only one who was not involved in the sin of idolatry. Moses’ concern for his people was so great that he put all thoughts of personal glory aside (Ex 32:32, cf. Phil 2). In particular, he was willing to forfeit his life (cf. Paul in Romans 9:3) and did not consider personal gratification above the good of the nation (Deut 9:14).

Knowing God’s Character

Moses showed his skills of advocacy (Ex 32:11-15) by praying God’s promises back to him. Whenever he faced rebellion against either his spiritual leadership (Num 14:3) or his secular authority (Num 16:41-50), he appealed to the Lord’s honour (Name).

In response to the calamity brought about by a later revolt, the people began to realise that the one who had a personal relationship with God and kept their faith intact was the one who had authority to enter into the presence of the Lord to intercede on their behalf. This is a penetrating truth for the leadership of today who get discouraged in their standing for truth. He who prevails will overcome.

Such prayer requires an intimate knowledge of the character of God. For Moses, this knowledge came from both regular and extended times spent in his presence (Ex 33:7-11). On one occasion, Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights alone with the Lord on top of a mountain. It was during this time that he received the tablets of the Law (Ten Commandments) and the instructions for building the Tabernacle (Ex 24:12-18).

Moses knew God personally and had the distinction of being referred to as God’s friend. He was a person with whom God communicated ‘face to face’ (Ex 33:11), whereas others only knew of him (his acts).

If you know God’s character, then you should not fear for the future. Fear is a manifestation of unbelief which implies no knowledge of the character of God. God keeps his promises and never lies (Num 23:19). Irrational fear is an idol, since the fear has more influence than God’s ability to deliver.

Moses knew God personally and had the distinction of being referred to as God’s friend.

The intercessor needs to develop a personal relationship with God. Moses knew God’s character - therefore he could pray back to the Lord his own promises. A further example of this type of intercession is found in Isaiah, where the Prophet calls upon the reader to remind the Lord of his promises concerning Jerusalem (Isa 62:6-7).

Anyone who aspires to be an intercessor should attempt to develop such a relationship with God. God’s character will be discovered as one studies the Bible and spends time in his presence.

A Warning from the Life of Moses

The record of Moses’ ministry ends on a sad but apposite note. Intimacy, if one is not careful, can lead to a degree of unacceptable familiarity. When the people were camped at Rephidim, they complained about their condition because of their lack of water. They were even ready to stone Moses. Moses called out to the Lord and was commanded to strike a rock in the presence of the elders. He was to use the rod that had parted the Red Sea. This action would bring forth water (Ex 17:1-7).

Later, at Kadesh Barnea, when the people were again complaining that there was no water (Num 20:3), Moses appealed to the Lord. On this occasion, he was instructed to speak to the rock. While it is not our place to judge Moses, it seems that he committed two cardinal errors in the way that he dealt with this problem.

First, along with Aaron, he took the place of God by declaring: “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” (emphasis added). Secondly, he recalled the former incident and relied on his previous experience by choosing to strike the rock, rather than speak to it. The result was that neither he nor Aaron was allowed to enter the Promised Land (Num 20:9-13). This is a salutary lesson for us to take God’s instructions seriously!

Yet our nation-builders chose a solid foundation!

In searching out a memorial plaque to a Jewish relative while spending time with family in the heart of London, I marvelled at the magnificent statues paying tribute to nation-builders who followed Christ.

Among them were Robert Raikes, William Tyndale and General Gordon of Khartoum – men who truly denied themselves as they took up their cross to follow Jesus; and in so doing left a legacy which no amount of this world’s wealth could ever match.

They had certainly taken to heart the Saviour’s warning, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?” along with his call to build on the rock of his words rather than on the sand without foundation (Mark 8:36; Matt 7:24-27).

True Heroes of the Faith

Robert Raikes was the founder of the Sunday School movement, through which generations of children were taught about the love of God through his one and only Son. Tragically, few attend these days and fewer still have any knowledge of God’s laws and commands; is it any wonder that we live in an increasingly lawless society?

William Tyndale was burnt at the stake for daring to translate the Bible into English nearly 500 years ago – and his dying prayer was that God would open the King’s eyes to its enduring truths! His prayer was answered; the Bible became the world’s best-seller and Britain became a great nation built upon God’s laws. Thankfully, our present Queen is already a follower of Jesus, as she makes quite clear in her annual Christmas messages. But it’s the eyes of many of her subjects that need to be opened.

Nation-builders like Raikes, Tyndale and Gordon truly denied themselves and took up their cross to follow Jesus, leaving behind an unmatched legacy.

General Gordon won many battles for Britain before losing his life in the defence of Khartoum. He declined both a title and financial reward from the British government, but after some persuasion accepted a gold medal inscribed with a record of his 33 military engagements. It became his most prized possession.

After his death in 1885, however, it could not be found. It was only later, when his diaries were unearthed, that it was discovered how, on hearing news of a severe famine, he had sent the medal to be melted down and used to buy bread for the poor. He had written in his diary, “The last earthly thing I had in this world that I valued I have given to the Lord Jesus Christ today.”¹

Gen. Gordon was a Christian who knew where his treasure lay. Are we as willing to heed Jesus’ teaching not to invest in this world’s treasures, but in the eternal kingdom where moths and vermin cannot destroy, nor thieves break in and steal (see Matt 6:19-21)?

God’s Allowance of Disaster

As I turned to peer through the trees of the Thames Embankment, I was impressed by our ultra-modern skyline with its strange but interesting shapes piercing the heady atmosphere of this bustling city. The pointed, pyramid-like structure of the Shard is uncomfortably close to what I imagine the Tower of Babel to have looked like. It certainly seems to echo the arrogant boast of the ancients about making a name for themselves with a tower that reaches the heavens (see Gen 11:1-9).

But how fragile this all is, for just a few miles west stands the blackened skeleton of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, an ugly memorial to the 80 people who perished in the inferno there on 14 June – victims, it seems, of poor design and construction.

When New York’s 110-storey Twin Towers came crashing down at the hands of terrorists in 2001, we were understandably shocked at the depth of depravity shown by fanatical Islamists. But did we ask if God was perhaps using a ruthless people to bring us to our senses, as the Prophet Habakkuk discovered to his shock in ancient times?

Are we as willing to heed Jesus’ teaching not to invest in this world’s treasures, but in the eternal kingdom where moths cannot destroy, nor thieves steal?

Of course, I am in no way trying to justify the motivation of those who committed this atrocity, but the Twin Towers clearly represented the Western world’s focus on material wealth, and of its greed and avarice often at the expense of the poor and needy. Having said that, the perpetrators of that terrible disaster, in which some 3,000 perished, saw it more as an attack on the West in general, and Israel in particular. After all, New York is home to more Jews than any city in the world, including Tel Aviv!

Like the ruthless Babylonians of old, the terrorists hated the Jews above all. And the shocking thing was that God allowed the attack to happen, as he had done in Habakkuk’s day when the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were carried off into exile.

The Will to Fight

As we have turned our backs on the God who made Britain great, the prospect of being invaded by enemies forcing us to worship foreign gods is not far-fetched. To a certain extent, it has already happened. As Dr Clifford Hill made clear last week, Britain was only spared from Nazi invasion by a nationwide response to repeated calls for prayer from King George VI, the Queen’s father.

Have we the spine, or the will, to resist the invading forces of evil in the gathering gloom of politically-correct immorality now threatening our land? Or have we resisted God so long that we are no longer able to distinguish good from evil?

But if you still have (spiritual) ears to hear, God is concerned for your soul. It is the most precious thing you own. If you store up treasure on this earth, who will have it when you’re gone?

I am not only addressing those on the fringe of church life, or even outside of it altogether. There are many Christians who spend far too much time concerned for the things of this world rather than pointing men and women to Christ, who alone can satisfy our souls. The cross is the way to life. Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no-one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). There is no other way to eternal life. Preach the cross; preach Jesus. Win souls for Him!

References

1 Gordon, S. Cuckoos in the Nest. Christian Year Publications, p123.