Resources
Frances
Times and Seasons
On 14 May 1948 prophecy was fulfilled and the children of Israel became a nation again, rooted in their ancient land.
Over the near 2,000 years of Israel being scattered across the nations prior to this, there has always been a small remnant of Christians who understood that the return to the Land would occur - in God’s time. Largely, however, the Christian Church has been anti-Semitic and blind to the reality of prophecy – up to and including our day.
Since 1948 there has been considerable growth in the number of Jews coming to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. There has also been significant growth in the number of Christians whose blindness to God’s plan for Israel is being removed.
Coinciding with this is the growing desire among Christian groups to restore the biblical foundations of the faith to reflect the fact that Christianity began more as an offshoot of Judaism than a separate work of God built on different foundations. But there is a long way to go.
The World of Judaism
Whenever it is my turn to write Thought for the Week, I glance at the Messianic Jewish calendar to see what is going on in the world of Judaism that week. How different the annual cycle of feasts and festivals reads on the Jewish calendar compared with the parallel universe of Christianity!
This week we are in the middle of the Feast of Esther (Purim) or in the middle of Lent, depending on our focus. While the Jews move towards Passover, most Christians will be preparing for Easter, so there is much that can be discussed from both a biblical perspective and from the perspective of religious tradition in the coming weeks.
Many of us have already been involved in these discussions for a number of years, desiring to celebrate the yearly cycle in a truly biblical way, freed from dry tradition.
I have personally been involved in teaching about Passover, considering what Christians can learn from the rich Jewish traditions. This, however, is a distance from actually celebrating a biblical festival. Over the last couple of years, therefore, in our home we have sought to consider the scriptures afresh, move on from a traditional Jewish Seder, and seek to find a fresh celebration of the Feast in the light of Messiah. There is a freedom in this, but I would say there is still some way to go.
Provoking the Jews to Jealousy
There is a teaching in Romans 11 that should spur us all on to seize the prophetic moment. In verse 11 Paul asserts that Gentiles came to faith to provoke Jews to jealousy. When the Christian Church, through its yearly cycle, seems to be a completely different religion, most Jews are not provoked to jealousy. We have failed on that front.
Neither, however, will they be provoked to jealousy by Christians trying to graft themselves into sects of Judaism. So what we are seeking is to move towards a celebration of the Feasts that is clear fulfilment of the scriptures in the light of Yeshua.
On this year’s run up to Passover (whose date coincides precisely with Christian Easter), therefore, would it be good to prayerfully consider what the Lord might be saying about times and seasons in this extraordinary era of prophetic fulfilment? There’s my challenge for this week – and also in the coming weeks and years.
Author: Clifford Denton
Times and Seasons
On 14 May 1948 prophecy was fulfilled and the children of Israel became a nation again, rooted in their ancient land.
Over the near 2,000 years of Israel being scattered across the nations prior to this, there has always been a small remnant of Christians who understood that the return to the Land would occur - in God’s time. Largely, however, the Christian Church has been anti-Semitic and blind to the reality of prophecy – up to and including our day.
Since 1948 there has been considerable growth in the number of Jews coming to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. There has also been significant growth in the number of Christians whose blindness to God’s plan for Israel is being removed.
Coinciding with this is the growing desire among Christian groups to restore the biblical foundations of the faith to reflect the fact that Christianity began more as an offshoot of Judaism than a separate work of God built on different foundations. But there is a long way to go.
The World of Judaism
Whenever it is my turn to write Thought for the Week, I glance at the Messianic Jewish calendar to see what is going on in the world of Judaism that week. How different the annual cycle of feasts and festivals reads on the Jewish calendar compared with the parallel universe of Christianity!
This week we are in the middle of the Feast of Esther (Purim) or in the middle of Lent, depending on our focus. While the Jews move towards Passover, most Christians will be preparing for Easter, so there is much that can be discussed from both a biblical perspective and from the perspective of religious tradition in the coming weeks.
Many of us have already been involved in these discussions for a number of years, desiring to celebrate the yearly cycle in a truly biblical way, freed from dry tradition.
I have personally been involved in teaching about Passover, considering what Christians can learn from the rich Jewish traditions. This, however, is a distance from actually celebrating a biblical festival. Over the last couple of years, therefore, in our home we have sought to consider the scriptures afresh, move on from a traditional Jewish Seder, and seek to find a fresh celebration of the Feast in the light of Messiah. There is a freedom in this, but I would say there is still some way to go.
Provoking the Jews to Jealousy
There is a teaching in Romans 11 that should spur us all on to seize the prophetic moment. In verse 11 Paul asserts that Gentiles came to faith to provoke Jews to jealousy. When the Christian Church, through its yearly cycle, seems to be a completely different religion, most Jews are not provoked to jealousy. We have failed on that front.
Neither, however, will they be provoked to jealousy by Christians trying to graft themselves into sects of Judaism. So what we are seeking is to move towards a celebration of the Feasts that is clear fulfilment of the scriptures in the light of Yeshua.
On this year’s run up to Passover (whose date coincides precisely with Christian Easter), therefore, would it be good to prayerfully consider what the Lord might be saying about times and seasons in this extraordinary era of prophetic fulfilment? There’s my challenge for this week – and also in the coming weeks and years.
Author: Clifford Denton
Times and Seasons
On 14 May 1948 prophecy was fulfilled and the children of Israel became a nation again, rooted in their ancient land.
Over the near 2,000 years of Israel being scattered across the nations prior to this, there has always been a small remnant of Christians who understood that the return to the Land would occur - in God’s time. Largely, however, the Christian Church has been anti-Semitic and blind to the reality of prophecy – up to and including our day.
Since 1948 there has been considerable growth in the number of Jews coming to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. There has also been significant growth in the number of Christians whose blindness to God’s plan for Israel is being removed.
Coinciding with this is the growing desire among Christian groups to restore the biblical foundations of the faith to reflect the fact that Christianity began more as an offshoot of Judaism than a separate work of God built on different foundations. But there is a long way to go.
The World of Judaism
Whenever it is my turn to write Thought for the Week, I glance at the Messianic Jewish calendar to see what is going on in the world of Judaism that week. How different the annual cycle of feasts and festivals reads on the Jewish calendar compared with the parallel universe of Christianity!
This week we are in the middle of the Feast of Esther (Purim) or in the middle of Lent, depending on our focus. While the Jews move towards Passover, most Christians will be preparing for Easter, so there is much that can be discussed from both a biblical perspective and from the perspective of religious tradition in the coming weeks.
Many of us have already been involved in these discussions for a number of years, desiring to celebrate the yearly cycle in a truly biblical way, freed from dry tradition.
I have personally been involved in teaching about Passover, considering what Christians can learn from the rich Jewish traditions. This, however, is a distance from actually celebrating a biblical festival. Over the last couple of years, therefore, in our home we have sought to consider the scriptures afresh, move on from a traditional Jewish Seder, and seek to find a fresh celebration of the Feast in the light of Messiah. There is a freedom in this, but I would say there is still some way to go.
Provoking the Jews to Jealousy
There is a teaching in Romans 11 that should spur us all on to seize the prophetic moment. In verse 11 Paul asserts that Gentiles came to faith to provoke Jews to jealousy. When the Christian Church, through its yearly cycle, seems to be a completely different religion, most Jews are not provoked to jealousy. We have failed on that front.
Neither, however, will they be provoked to jealousy by Christians trying to graft themselves into sects of Judaism. So what we are seeking is to move towards a celebration of the Feasts that is clear fulfilment of the scriptures in the light of Yeshua.
On this year’s run up to Passover (whose date coincides precisely with Christian Easter), therefore, would it be good to prayerfully consider what the Lord might be saying about times and seasons in this extraordinary era of prophetic fulfilment? There’s my challenge for this week – and also in the coming weeks and years.
Author: Clifford Denton
A Place to Be
Most of us are very familiar with places in our local area – home, shops, nearby towns, day-trips to big cities, or places of sport, entertainment and social meetings. So it's not surprising that for away-days, weekends or holidays we often explore new places. At these times, people are always 'coming and going', and more so every year. Increased travel and busy-ness are features of the days in which we live – as is a dramatic growth in knowledge (including tech-knowlege-y!), as Daniel foretold 2500 years ago (Dan 12:4). Knowledge doubles now every 5 months!!
But there are places nearer home, though we may not be so familiar with them, places of beauty, quiet and restoration, offering a peace in the midst our busy lifestyles that popular resorts do not provide. Our God, who knows and provides what we need, gave us a Sabbath day each week to step aside and rest (with Him), though few non-Jewish people take advantage of this precious gift. We too need this Shabbat in our lives.
Have you found a regular place of rest in your busy life? Even businesses are realising the benefits of an area apart from 'the factory' where employees can enjoy a quiet lunch among the flowers, with a little pond, greenery and birds and buzzing insects going about their creative jobs.
Step aside to find rest and peace, with Him
This is part of a little poem which invites us to step aside and savour this gift:
There is a garden that I know, wherein such rest and peace exist,
And in my busy life it calls and bids me, Turn aside.
Such gentle invitation, easy to ignore, it promises that which I crave
But must create - the space and time to enter, just to Step aside.
The entrance to this haven is well hid; no bright lights advertise its whereabouts,
Yet beauties of a different kind along our path, encourage us to Turn aside.
The sunshine on a summer's day, dappled, through green leafy boughs,
Reveals a mystic beauty in her sylvan glade - I must just look and Step aside.
Jesus also recognised this need. Not just Shabbat-observant, He called His disciples to respond to this 'invitation' to ‘Turn aside’, especially when exhausted from a very busy schedule, when they had had no time even to eat. As in our day, many people were 'coming and going'.
He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a desert place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). When we choose to ‘Step aside’, it is to a place of His invitation, a place of meaning, of belonging, of safety and of peace. It is a place of meeting with Him, learning dependence upon Him, and so receiving rest and restoration - even in the desert.
An invitation to meet with Him
Ancient Israel was given the Tabernacle in the desert as an ohel mo'ed - a place of meeting, a place to learn to trust Him more. For us, whatever the struggle, whatever the storm, we have this invitation, to turn aside to this 'Place to be', with Him, to talk with Him and be restored.
And remember, Jesus said (for those who are His), “There are many places in My Father's house, and I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). He spoke the truth, for He will bring us home finally to that eternal life in Him. That, beloved, is a promise we can trust, for He is Truth. Let us seek in Him that place to be.
Author: Greg Stevenson
The Harvest is Ripe!
I had the joy earlier this week of lunch with two old school friends – one a believer, the other a polite agnostic. As is always the case with old friends, conversation flowed easily and we spent a lovely few hours putting the world to rights.
Discussion turned to what Voice for Justice campaigner Lynda Rose has rightly called the ‘perfidy’ of the BBC, in particular its unceasing promotion of LGBT propaganda. I brought up its recent advertising of multi-person relationships, wondering how my agnostic friend would react.
Anticipating some kind of politically correct response from her, I quickly rehearsed in my head a kind, biblical comeback. It has become habit for me to be a bit tentative when broaching these subjects with other people, not knowing quite how they will react.
To my utter surprise, she was aghast. I didn’t have to argue my case – off she went about how much of a mess the country is already in, that people didn’t need more instability and hurt in their relationships, etc. All my mental arguments disintegrated – I simply didn’t need them.
The point I want to make is this: many ordinary people in this country still have a decent enough sense of right and wrong. They don’t have everything right, but they certainly need no persuading that the nation is in a deep, fundamental mess – they just can’t understand why and have no solution for it. When we open up and share in solidarity, their eyes light up: they don’t feel so alone. And we are able to provide them with the hope for which they are searching.
In my limited experience, those outside of Church are often a whole lot less tainted by politically correct liberalism than those inside the Church – not always, but often. They are far quicker and more willing to recognise that the emperor has no clothes. As things get tougher in the nation and the world, they are already looking for answers. We need to be on hand to provide them. When we speak the truth in love, sensitively but not timidly, we may find the ground more fertile and better prepared than we had first imagined.
Author: Frances Rabbitts
For Our Good
One of the most difficult, profound lessons I believe we can learn in life is how God chooses to use suffering and difficulty to bring about His good purposes.
‘Walking through the valley’, as Psalm 23 puts it, is a central part of the human experience. We are not promised miraculous deliverance out of the situation, or an easy ride – only the comfort of His presence and guidance.
As we travel this route, well-trodden by every faithful believer down through the ages, so I believe the Lord graciously bears with our emotional ups and downs, our individual foibles and flaws, if we continue in trust and obedience. Coming to a place of helpless dependence, it is our blessing to learn far more about the Lord, His ways and His desires for us, than we ever could in times of ease and prosperity.
There is no doubt that the journey can be extremely hard. There are times on the way when our resources run out completely, and we wonder afresh at our own weakness and inability.
There are times when we lose our bearings and feel surrounded by thick darkness, prevented from hearing the Lord’s voice clearly, only able to edge forward slowly, inch by inch, by faith alone. We may have to totally abandon our ability to understand the circumstances, let alone comprehend His purposes in them. And there are times when we feel completely alone, despite others around us trying to understand.
Rich Provision
But in the midst of all this, we are given rich and wonderful gifts to see us through. For our provision, we are given the manna of God’s Word, our daily bread. For our hope, we are given the word of testimony: whether looking back at the Lord’s goodness to us ourselves, or considering his faithfulness through the ages to His people Israel and to all the saints. We are also given the encouragement and wisdom of fellow brothers and sisters.
And when all is grief and pain, for our comfort we are given the sweet encouragements of the Lord Jesus, who suffered beyond our comprehension in order that we might be restored to the wonderful provision of relationship with God, whose grace alone is sufficient to meet our needs.
Going through the valley of trouble brings pain, and inward groaning, and deep brokenness. But the provisions He has set aside for the journey are more than sufficient, the lessons we are able to learn on the way are manifold, and the overarching purpose for it all is glorious. In fact, when we transfer our gaze to the wonderful faithfulness of our Creator and Saviour, we begin to learn that He desires to transform the valley of trouble into a door of hope (Hos 2:15).
Draw near Him today, and He will draw near to you. He is the God who tears down as well as the God who builds, but we can rest in His promise to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28).
Author: Frances Rabbitts
The Keel of Life
Holidays are times to remember, usually (but not always!) with memories of freedom from work, of joy, new experiences and time to walk, see new places, or just relax and chat or read. As children, we often went to an estuary in Devon and seemed to spend most of the time in water, either swimming, fishing or sailing.
The first boat we learned to sail was a little six-foot Praam dinghy ('pram' dinghy was more appropriate!). Often we managed to overturn it – the boat in the sea was fine, but the sea was in the boat was – Help!! We even did capsize practice to learn how to get upright again! As we progressed to larger craft we realised that to have a solid keel under the boat was a guarantee that if the wind got up or the sea became rough, at least we wouldn't turn over completely.
This principle is true through life also. Without a solid keel we can easily get overturned by life's storms.
The Solid Keel
So what is the keel that enables us to weather the storms and crises that life sometimes seems to throw at us? We have all been through these times. Here are two thoughts:
1. Our ability to survive these storms rests not with us, but with God who made us and dwells within us. He knows what we are going through, whether on sea or on land, and He does not leave us to struggle in the storm on our own (Isa 43:2).
2. When Jesus was caught in a great storm on Lake Galilee, we can note His full confidence in His Father (He was even asleep in the boat in the storm) when His disciples thought they would drown as the squalls were filling their boat with water (Mark 4:37-41).
In this case, concerned for their safety, they woke Him up and cried, ‘Don't you care if we drown?’ Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Be silent!’. And there was a great calm. But to His disciples, He said ‘Where is your faith in our Father?’ And the disciples said to one another, ‘What manner of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him.’ It's true.
Now we too can know security when we pass through deep waters: first, that He is with us, and second, that He has the ability and the willingness to calm both the storm and us, even if we are fearful and without faith. If we trust Him, this is His promise to us.
He is Sufficient
This is the keel we all need in the storms of life, to stop us from being overturned.
When we have full trust and faith in our Father, as Jesus did, we can trim our sails to the wind of His Spirit (Ruach, breath) if the storms are mild. If they are severe, we can know that Jesus stays with us and that He has the power to bring a great calm even when we are fearful, because of His great love for us.
Beloved tested ones, God's love and grace is sufficient for us. Let us make Him our keel and we will not be overturned, even if our little ship is full of water.
Author: Greg Stevenson
Grain mills...and much more
Back in early 2003 a friend and I agreed to seek God together, with no agenda in mind other than to let God set the agenda. After a period of seeking, we concluded God’s guidance was that hard times are coming and we need to prepare.
We spent hours considering this and what form the preparation should take. I don’t intend to relay to you all the detail today other than one aspect: grain mills.
Why grain mills? Because 15 years later in 2018, God’s prompting hasn’t left me but on the contrary seems to have grown. Let me explain.
God’s Prompting to Persevere
I recall one of the prayer times my friend and I shared back in 2003. We were trying to find a sense of rightness about how one might mill grain should hard times overtake us, but didn’t get past such wacky ideas as trying to find someone who owned a wind or water mill. You may laugh!
That weekend I visited a National Trust house and, seeing that the estate included a windmill, went to investigate. What I found inside the mill was the solution to our searching: a little hand-operated modern quern stone (a pair of stones shaped to grind grain into flour) was set up for folks to play with. I thought such equipment had died out after the Iron Age so was surprised to find that they are still manufactured and used in parts of the Third World. With it someone can grind (with about half an hour’s effort) sufficient grain for a family’s daily needs.
After an internet search, we each obtained a Western World equivalent made of metal and plastic, got some sacks of grain and started experimenting. And from there it might have gradually become a fad of yesteryear, but for last summer when I sensed God’s prompting to persevere with working to be a prepared person.
I’d previously bought a sturdier, all-metal hand grain mill with a view to running it by pedal power, but had never progressed beyond sketches of how to do it. Upon telling some farming friends of my project, I was provided with an exercise bike and a pulley wheel off an old engine. The exciting result (well, I’m excited!) you can see in the photo.
A Broader Lesson
Why am I relaying this to you now? Several days ago, I asked God if there was more to it than simply fun and incredibly tasty bread. That same morning, I believe God provided me with an answer from Ecclesiastes 12:1-4. This is the thought that I share for your consideration.
Solomon exhorts his readers to “remember your creator while you are young, before the evil days come…”, referring to old age. Solomon then gives some pictures of these ‘evil days’ and includes “when women stop grinding grain” and “when the noise of the grain-mill fades”.
These few words have been a wake-up call for me, as though my youth is passing me by (I was only 45 years old in 2003 and physically fitter than I am now at 60). Whatever the future brings – we may need grain grinders and much more - this is not just about grinding flour, but about our attitude towards the uncertainty of this life and our calling in Jesus to be watchful, prepared people.
Unless I become a prepared person now, those foretold hard times might well come upon me like a “thief in the night” with all the knock-on consequences for my walk of faith. Now is the time for me to act – not in fear, but in wisdom and through seeking the Lord!
Does this resonate with you?
Author: John Quinlan
Seeking a 'God's-Eye' View
Here today and gone tomorrow: news of protests in Iran didn’t last long on our headlines, even though they are still going on.
Since the uprisings started in late December, the Iranian regime has done its best to stop news getting out of the country. But stories have been trickling through of brave, unprecedented risk-taking amongst the Iranian people, standing up to their tyrannical rulers at great risk to themselves. Given that official statistics are purposefully deflated - 22 dead (ground reports say more than 50) and 1,000 arrests (ground reports say as many as 8,000) – you can bet your socks that the official estimate of 42,000 participants is also a fraction of the true number.
This week I’ve been trying to piece these stories together and build up a better picture of what’s been going on. My immediate ports of call were news outlets in both the West and the Middle East. But quite by ‘chance’, my focus was redirected – thanks to a wonderful commentary from one Pastor JD Farag from Hawaii. He picked up on a point that has – as far as I can tell – been ignored by most: that in seeking to understand Iran’s present state and its future, we must take into account the fact that the Iranian Church is growing at a faster rate than almost anywhere else in the world.
Underground Believers
This assertion is not about ethnic Christian groups (e.g. Armenians, Assyrians), but about new converts from Islam. The Gospel is spreading like wildfire amongst Muslims, even though they are forced to pursue their newfound faith in secret, fearing retaliation from their families, communities and authorities. But the number of new believers is so great – possibly as high as 3 million (Iran has a population of 80 million) - that some say it will soon reach a ‘critical mass’ and be forced out into the open. In the meantime, new believers must stay underground.
What does this mean for the protests – and for Iran’s future? At the moment, we can only guess. These secret brothers and sisters, scattered as they are, may be participating in the uprisings (statistics alone suggest that if the 3 million figure is correct, c.300 believers are among those being held in dreadful conditions in Iranian prisons), or even holding positions in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, within which it has long been reported that there are secret house churches!
But you can be sure that their faith in Jesus Christ will be influencing their behaviour wherever they are placed, potentially shaping the course of Iranian politics – and leading them to offer hope to others, again at incredible personal risk.
Glimpses of Hope
All this is by way of saying that our news media do not give us an accurate or complete picture of what is going on in the world – which of course we already knew! But when we catch glimpses of what God is doing, it can change our perspective entirely.
For me, this story has provided a fresh challenge to look beyond the news headlines and always be mindful to find out what the Lord is doing – behind the scenes, quietly, carefully. Knowing that He is building His Church in such a phenomenal way, in the midst of rebellion, corruption and violence, puts a whole new complexion on the situation – and should revolutionise our prayers.
Author: Frances Rabbitts
The Peace of God
Our calendars are already reflecting the beginning of a new year. As we leave the end-of-year holidays behind, our new diaries are gradually filling up with this year’s priorities. Soon our clocks will ‘spring forward’ to recognise longer and warmer days. On we go with the expectancy of a new year! Back we go to work, with our personal priorities before us.
So before we gather momentum to attend once again to our individual responsibilities, becoming fully engrossed in 2018, let us ensure we are not being driven: that we go forward in the peace of God in this world – a world that seems to be ever accelerating.
Driven by Time?
Time is a strange concept to understand. There can be no doubt that it is part of God’s created order, and we must all live within its framework. It is a measure of change and a marker of events, but was it always the master that it seems to be today?
When God created the universe, he set the sun, moon and stars in place to measure days, times and seasons. But it is mankind that has further subdivided our days with the invention of ever more accurate clocks and watches, with their ability to drive us to obey them in ordering our days. This is the world in which we live, but do we sometimes allow ourselves to be driven too hard by the artificial nano-seconds of time, rather than pace ourselves more as God ordained by his creation of time?
It is only since the Industrial Revolution that the automation of machines has made them gradually more our masters than our servants. The further we look back into history, the more we discover a better way of managing time in line with days and seasons.
Timeless Activities
But even in this clock-driven world, there are some activities in which, touching the reality of Heaven, time is put in its proper perspective. Sometimes it is said that God is outside of time. That, to me, is true - but not the whole truth, because we still walk with Him in this world, though He is in His domain. He is not inconsiderate of our lives in this changing world whilst remaining in His heavenly dwelling place that is, in some sense, an eternal present.
Yet, there are activities that cause us to put our own existence in perspective of that eternal present. Among these can be sharing a meal together in a traditional way, when our clocks are not the main point of reference, and other such times of rest and recreation. Another place where time is not the priority, but in heavenly balance, is the place of prayer and study, a place of deep communion with God.
Perhaps in this new year we might resolve to use our time better on such occasions, when relationship-building is more important than, say, an appointment with the next TV programme or our next text message to someone not in the same room.
The Place of Peace
The test of whether we are in balance with time and eternity is how well we are living at peace – the peace of God - in all things. If we have true peace, then we are not being driven artificially by the time-driven agendas of modern life. With some modifications to our present lifestyle, we can still perform our duties on this earth while retaining the peace of God.
May this be our personal objective as our new calendars herald a new season: to remain in closer contact with the eternal place of God.
May the peace of God be with us all.
Author: Clifford Denton
