Roger Aubrey

The multifaceted family of God

A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (Revelation 4:3)

In the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure and privilege of witnessing God's multi-faceted family. I have been in Cuba, and joined in worshipping God with Cuban style worship - fast and furious! Last Sunday I was with our group in Hounslow, London, which comprises almost 100% Gujarati believers from India. Totally different rhythms and dancing, but worship of the same God.

It's no coincidence that God created the rainbow; and when I look at the rainbow I see that each colour is distinct but melds with all the others to make a beautiful phenomenon. Such are the people of God: he has called us from every tribe, tongue, people and nation, with our cultures and colours, our languages and customs, to be an example of his nature. We are one people, bought with the same blood, filled with the same Spirit, with the same Lord - Jesus. Only God can do that.

Today, Dianne is whisking me off to Tenerife for a week's holiday. It's been a busy year and it's not over yet. So we are going to recharge the batteries and catch up on some sleep and reading. I'll be back on the 26th. We're leaving the house under the care of friends who have just moved out of their home waiting for their new one. See you next week.

Friday fun

The ultimate irrevocable

The tragic suicide of German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has highlighted the fact that certain forms of success do not always lead to contentment and peace. In fact, they only heighten the sense of despair and hopelessness, leading to what Albert Camus called the 'ultimate irrevocable'.

Matthew Syed has written an excellent piece on this in today's Times. Read it here.

Cuban reflections

Back home after another trip to Cuba - my fifth. This visit was a little different from previous occasions because I spent the whole week in Havana. Usually I go out across the island, visiting the churches and speaking in leaders' conferences. This time, my colleague, Mick, and I shared fifty teaching sessions in five and a half days, Monday to Saturday, at the Evangelical Methodist Seminary. Tiring work, but incredibly satisfying.

The appetite of the sixty five students for the Word of God was enormous. Those of us who teach the Bible can tell when we are sowing into fertile soil. This was one of those occasions: they just couldn't get enough. Then in the evenings our translators pummeled us with more questions as we ate together and spent long hours at the table looking at the Word.

What caught the heart of the Cubans was our teaching on Covenant. They had never heard it before and were completely overwhelmed by what the Bible teaches on it. I call covenant the heartbeat of God, and they certainly felt it. This was especially so when we shared the covenant meal on Saturday as we closed the week. The Holy Spirit moved among us in outbreaks of joy and laughter, tears and embraces, as these lovely people broke bread with one another in the presence of Jesus. It was a privilege to be part of such a thing.

God is moving powerfully in Cuba. The people are so welcoming and open; they love God and are devoted to him. They pray for us in the west, that we will know the same revival power that they experience. I believe God is answering their prayers.

On the road again

Tomorrow I head for Cuba again. It's been just over a year since I was last there, and I am looking forward to my visit very much. I will be spending the week teaching at the Methodist Seminary in Havana. My colleague, Mick, and I will have nine sessions a day between us, Monday to Friday! It's a real privilege to go Cuba: the people there are incredibly friendly and receive us with open arms. I'll be back home on 9th November; until then, be blessed.

I leave with you with Sarah McLachlan singing 'Angel'.

Thought for the day

The only status quo worth maintaining is the will of God.

I'll be back

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:3)

There is a beautiful, stark simplicity to these words of Jesus: 'I am going and I will be back.' He went. So he must come back. There is no need to worry or panic; he told us to trust him and not to allow ourselves to get disturbed and troubled (verses 1-2). He said he would go: he did. He said he will come back: he will. Jesus said it; I believe it; that settles it.

Good to be alive - Jack Rushton

This is an amazing clip. Jack Rusthon is a quadriplegic. You will laugh and be moved by him.

Friday wind down

Wind down with Craig Armstrong's 'Balcony Scene' from Romeo and Juliet.

Talking about me?

For the past few days I have been in Manchester, at Covenant School of Ministries, School of the Word. I have been teaching on 'Who is God?' Actually, it's better to say I was talking about God with the students there; they already know him very well. My task was to explain what the different names and attributes that God reveals in the Bible mean. It was a marvelous experience.

On the drive home to Cardiff last night I reflected on the past three days and why I had enjoyed it so much. It wasn't just the fact that I was back in the classroom, enjoying the dynamic of theological discussion, it was much more than that. Eventually I understood: for three days I had the privilege of talking about and to God himself, the One who makes sense of everything and the One who in reality it's all about. There is nothing more meaningful, because our relationship with and revelation of God affects everything else.

Sometimes our lives are caught up in the 'business' of God, things to do with God, rather than God himself. It's easy to fall into this trap, especially when one is involved in church leadership and ministry. The 'business' of church should never replace the reason for church: God himself. Now, I am not advocating that all we do as leaders is to sit and talk all the time about God. There is work to do. But getting the balance right is key: time spent with God will determine our effectiveness for him. John Wesley used to say that there was so much to be done in the day that if he didn't spend several hours of the day with God then he wouldn't get it all done. I think I know what he meant.

Weekend fun

Devote yourself

Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture. (1Timothy 4:13)

In this age of short, fast moving soundbites, preachers run the risk of beginning their messages with quick references to Scripture or read one or two verses to give their sermon some credence.

Recently, Tony Ling was with us here at All Nations. He began his message by reading Ephesians chapter one: all of it. Here is the recording: sit down, close your eyes and let the power of the Word of God, as it is read, penetrate the deepest parts of your spirit.

Listen here.

In God's Louvre

We are God's works of art, newly created in Jesus Christ to do good works, which God planned and prepared a long time ago for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

The Mona Lisa is probably the world's most famous work of art. Created by Leonardo da Vinci, it hangs in pride of place in the Louvre in Paris. Those who gaze on it marvel at its beauty and multi-faceted originality. It is testimony to the genius who painted it. People stare at it for hours; academic papers by the truckload are written about it; it's the most recognisable and most valuable work of art in the world. When the Mona Lisa is discussed, conversation always returns to da Vinci: praise and adoration are heaped on him for creating such a masterpiece.

The Bible tells us that we believers are God's works of art. Our genius God has created billions of 'Mona Lisas': breathtaking, beautiful, original, beyond value, multi-faceted masterpieces. That's who we are; Christians are not cheap, tacky, mass manufactured prints. Each one of us is a work of exquisite art, created by the most creative Artist of all: our Father. And what makes us such works of art is that we have been re-created in God's image, to be just like him.

So, just as when people view the Mona Lisa their breath is taken away by da Vinci's evident genius, so when people see us they marvel at the Artist who made us - they give praise and adoration to God.

Philippines update

I know that many of you appreciate the updates that Noralv Askeland sends through from the Philippines. This one arrived yesterday; they have now been able to help over 20,000 people affected by the recent typhoon in Manila.

Download News

Perfect timing

No-one seized him, because his time had not yet come. (John 8:20)

That phrase, 'his time had not yet come', appears a few times in John's gospel in reference to Jesus. For Jesus, it was not only the case that he did the right thing; he did the right thing at the right time. For him, timing was everything.

To do the right thing at the wrong time is to do the wrong thing. What may have been the right thing to do becomes the wrong thing because it's done at the wrong time. I'm not talking about objective truth here: I am saying that things have their time. Ecclesiastes tells us so: there's a time to love, a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace, for example.

We don't only have to know what to do and how to do it: we have to know when to do it.

The Spirit is given when Jesus is glorified

The Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:39)

This verse reveals an important principle, even though it specifically refers to the ascension of Jesus and his subsequent sending of the Spirit at Pentecost. It was only when Jesus was glorified - enthroned in heaven as King of Kings and Lord of lords - that he gave the Spirit. The Spirit came when Jesus was glorified.

In a sense that is what happens today, even though the Spirit has come once and for all and indwells all who believe. If we desire the increased sense of the Spirit's presence among us, we must glorify Jesus. That is what the Spirit has come to do: he makes Jesus known. In a kind of complimentary act of mutual love Jesus responds to the Spirit's activity of glorifying by increasing our sense of the Spirit's presence. When people leave a meeting expressing their love of Jesus and are more keenly aware of the Spirit's presence, rather than dissecting a sermon or being enchanted with the preacher, you know that God has been at work. That is why more and more I take interest in what my people talk about after the church meeting and in the following hours. If their talk is of Jesus and the Spirit then I am doing something right. If their conversation is about my skill (or lack of it) at teaching and preaching, then something is amiss. A glorified Jesus will give the Spirit; and the Spirit will glorify Jesus. That's my kind of church meeting!

The Spirit of faith

It is written: 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. (2Corinthians 4:13)

Yesterday at All Nations I spoke from this verse, about the Spirit of faith. We must remember that faith is not a human originated technique; it's not a magic formula. Faith is not based in the natural senses of natural people. Faith is supernatural; it is a spiritual activity and reality. Faith lives and thrives in the realm of the unseen. It is based in the nature of the invisible God. The supernatural is the fuel of faith, the oxygen of faith. Faith is the realm of the Holy Spirit. Your life of faith depends on your life in the Holy Spirit.

Listen here to yesterday's message on faith.

Manila update

This morning I received an update from Noralv Askeland in Manila, Philippines. This disaster is still unfolding in magnitude, even though the focus of the world's news has now passed on to the havoc caused by the earthquakes and tsunami around Samoa.

I have put Noralv's report into a PDF file; it has news and photos of what's happening in Manila right now.

Perhaps you can circulate it to your friends or use it this Sunday in your meetings to keep the churches informed of what is happening to their brothers and sisters, and to the people of the Philippines. Thanks.

Download Update from Manila

A life worth living

I consider my life worth nothing to me. (Acts 20:24)

Paul uttered these words in Miletus as he bade farewell to the Ephesian elders. He knew what was facing him: arrest and persecution. But this was no abandoning of purpose or resignation to his fate, far from it.

Paul knew his life was worth nothing - to him. He did not devalue his life; he knew it had great worth. It just wasn't worth anything in his own hands, making his own plans, with him as the master of his destiny. His life would be worth nothing if he lived only for himself and fulfilled his own self-centred ambitions.

Paul's life had worth because he had surrendered that life many years previously into the hands and plans of God. It's the same for all of us: our lives only yield their true worth and value when handed over to the One who made us. God created us for his purpose; when we submit our lives to him through the Lordship of Jesus our lives express the worth that we were created for. Our lives have worth when we discover not what we can make of them, but what God can make of them.

Philippines needs help

The typhoon that swept through the Philippines over the weekend has left devastating floods in the capital, Manila. It's estimated that nearly 400,000 people are homeless.

Our friends and colleagues, Noralv & Tone Askeland, returned to the country on Sunday after our WorldWatch conference. They spent yesterday assessing damage and the situation of the people they care for. Currently, they tell us that over 170 families under their care have lost absolutely everything. That figure will rise today. I was in contact with Noralv last night and assured him that the churches here in the UK will be sending finance out immediately to help him alleviate immediate needs and get to work on restoring homes, providing food and shelter, and to make sure that the people have clothes and medicines. At the time of writing, approximately £80,000 is on its way from the UK churches that comprise Ministries Without Borders.

If you can help, please do so.

Watching

From last Thursday through Saturday, WorldWatch 09 was held at All Nations Centre in Cardiff. The conference was held under the auspices of Ministries Without Borders. Delegates came from many parts of the world: Norway; Canada; USA; El Salvador; India; Nepal; Bhutan; the Philippines; Belarus; Belgium. They gave reports of what the Lord is doing in these nations and others that they work into, such as China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam, Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil. We heard stories of miracles, religious persecution, humanitarian aid programmes, transformation of communities through the message of Jesus Christ, opposition, government sponsored persecution, government support, healings, salvation in staggeringly large numbers, and the generosity of our people.

It was humbling to be in the presence of ordinary men and women of God who are doing extraordinary things for God in the power of the Spirit. To hear these people talk about resisting pressure at gunpoint, travelling for days to reach remote communities, rescuing children from death and abuse or seeing thousands of souls saved in a moment, was truly awesome.

I have always believed that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, and I didn't need convincing of the fact. What affected me in hearing these reports and meeting these people was that right now, in increasing measure and with increasing speed, we are witnessing the time when, as the prophet Habakkuk prophesied, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of YHWH as the waters cover the sea!

Midweek fun

Now would be good

I'm working my way through Christopher Wright's Mission of God. Currently reading how the Psalmists understood and interpreted God's plan to bless the whole world, not merely Israel, and how this interacted with the day to day practical situations people faced. Enjoy this quote:

The psalmist's appeal is that if all the nations are going to have something to praise God for, it should not be too difficult for God to sort out the psalmist's personal problems and give him a more immediate cause for praise (Psalm 86:12). The psalmists were not opposed to a spot of realized eschatology. Their challenge to God was, 'if this is what you intend ultimately to do for the whole earth, an advance deposit in relation to this particular crisis would not come amiss. Now would be good'.

The Abrahamic promise [Genesis 12] thus becomes not just a majestic vista of the ultimate mission of God but a very potent engine of personal hopefulness in the immediate saving power of God. The combination of appeal to the exodus (looking back) and the promise to Abraham (looking forward) produced a powerful appeal for help in the present. 'God, if you did that in the past, and are going to do that in the future, then why not repeat the past and anticipate the future here and now in the present?' (Wright, page 234)

If you only knew

Jacob set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. (Genesis 33:20)

If you knew...who it is that asks you for a drink... (John 4:10)

These two incidents in the Bible have a vital link: they occurred in the same place, though separated by some 1,700 years or more. The first reference recounts how Jacob, after his life-changing encounter with God at Peniel ('face of God') moved on and met Esau. When he arrived at Shechem he bought a plot of land with a well; he named it God, the God of Israel. It was a place of significance, with a powerful name. All who came to draw water knew its name. But time passed, and its significance waned.

All those years later a Samaritan woman came to the same well; she did it every day, as was her habit. There was nothing special about the place anymore, just a well with water to meet her natural needs.

But this day, something special was about to happen at that well, something even Jacob had not experienced. That day, God, the God of Israel, Jesus, was sitting there, waiting for the woman and about to invite her to drink Eternal Water! But she had no idea who was speaking to her. This well, El Elohe Israel, had been reduced to 'Jacob's well' (verse 6). But the supernatural God of Heaven was about to invade her natural life; she would never be the same again.

If we only knew who we are dealing with when we encounter Jesus Christ, our lives would be drastically different. He is the God who made the universe, the One who brought the vast star fields into being with one word from his mouth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the One who appeared to Moses in a burning bush; the One who walked in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He is the holy God whom Isaiah saw.

Never reduce God, the God of Israel, to anything less than he really is, to the mundane and the natural. Don't let your Christianity become a life of tedium and habit, of God-in-a-box. Never let God have to say to you: 'If you only knew who is speaking to you.'

Image of the day

This is Heinz Zak, a high wire walker. I personally think he's crazy; but he has my admiration for where he chooses to show his craziness.

I get vertigo on a pile carpet; so there is absolutely no way that I would even countenance doing such a thing.

This shot is part of a photo essay that appeared recently in the Guardian. For more of Heinz, go here.

Ultimate trust & ultimate security

I am really enjoying Christopher Wright's 'The Mission of God'. Here's a superb quote from a passage about the mission and how it faces up to idolatry in its various forms:

'Ultimately, we pay the cost of putting our ultimate trust in what can never deliver ultimate security. Ultimately, it seems, we never learn that false gods never fail to fail. That is the only thing about a false god that you can depend on.' (Page 169)

The Meaning of the Law

I've just posted a new article: The Meaning of the Law. I was asked a while ago to do a paper on the essential element of what the Bible means by the Law. Thought you may like to have a look at it.

Read or download it here.

You've lost something

What has happened to all your joy? (Galatians 4:15)

Dianne and I had a lovely time in Pembrokeshire last week. The weather was absolutely glorious, and we were able to relax, read and walk - and sleep.

I decided to read Galatians while away. I always try to read an epistle in one go: you get the sense of the letter much better than by just dipping in. Galatians is Paul's polemic against legalism, against those who wanted to replace the gospel of faith in Christ and his grace by insisting on adherence to the Mosaic Law, and to circumcision. Paul takes no prisoners in his argument; at one point he gets very earthy and encourages those who advocate such a way of living to castrate themselves! (5:12)

Many aspects of the letter spoke to me afresh as I read; but one phrase in particular leaped out again. In the midst of his passionate theological reasoning, Paul appeals to his readers, 'what happened to all your joy?' The Galatians had lost something; the lights had gone out. Just by looking at them Paul knew they were wrong: they had lost their joy. This was a major concern for him, not because he merely wanted them to enjoy themselves (even though we really should enjoy being Christians). Real joy comes from peace; and real peace only comes through righteousness - Romans 14:17 tells us that. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That was Paul's concern: they had replaced life in the Spirit with legalism, and death had ensued. Legalism imposes rules and regulations; the Holy Spirit lives the life of Jesus. 

I sometimes say to people, 'If you don't enjoy being a Christian, go and enjoy being something else.' We should be the happiest people on earth, not those who looked like they sucked a lemon. When you know you are righteous, and it's all because of what Jesus has done for you; when you know you are as righteous as Jesus is, then peace flows and that will certainly fill you with joy. Much better than legalism.

Go west!

Now that everybody is back from their summer break, I can take mine. Dianne and I are not venturing far: we are heading west down to Pembrokeshire for a few days. We're leaving the house in the safe hands of the kids. (note to children: dishes in dishwasher, add tablet, close door, press button, empty when finished. Repeat process as necessary).

Weather is looking to improve too. Have a good week; I will continue to tweet on Twitter as and when possible. Blessings, see you next week.

Non-Muslims 'should fast during Ramadan'

I thought the silly season was over. Here's one to end your week with a bang. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, thinks non-Muslims should fast during Ramadan and break their fasts at mosques to enhance their understanding of their Muslim neighbours. According to Ruth Gledhill, religious correspondent of the Times, Boris made the comments after visiting a mosque today.

Gledhill makes an interesting point about expecting Muslims to reciprocate by observing Christian and Jewish practices like Lent and Passover. Can't see that happening. Have a good weekend.

Read Ruth Gledhill here.