Roger Aubrey

To be a pilgrim

Well, it's time for me to sign out for a week or so. Here in Wales it's about three in the afternoon, on a cold but dry day. As I write this, thousands of travellers are stranded at various airports around the country as fog continues to envelop the nation. Let's hope they all get home for Christmas.

As I watch the individual dramas unfold on the news, each one desperate to get on a plane to be home with their loved ones, I am reminded again of Joseph and Mary, who had to make that long and arduous trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. There is something inherent in the people of God that makes us pilgrims, always on the move to our final destination. For Jesus' parents they were driven by the demands of the Roman occupiers, but more so by the eternal Word of God which had declared the Messiah must be born in David's home town. As I look back on another year and look forward to 2007, that same Word of God drives me on to fulfil the purpose for which God brought me into the world: that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. Be blessed, and be a blessing. I'll see you in the New Year.

The baby who made the universe

Thanks to Steve Wilkins from Ottawa for this link to a video demonstrating the scale of our solar system and the wider universe beyond. Amazing to think that when Jesus was in the womb and in the manger he was still upholding it all by his divine power and word. Never forget that the incarnation was God in all his fulness becoming one of us.

See the video here.

The eternal suntan

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transfomed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Corinthians 4:18)

You can always tell when someone returns from a vacation to sunny climes. They are either nut brown, lobster red or a big freckle. But you can see that they've been somewhere and spent time worshipping the big ball in the sky. The only problem is that after a few weeks the glory has faded and they are back to pasty white.

Something like this used to happen to Moses. If you read 2Corinthians 4 you'll see that whenever he went into the presence of the Lord his face would begin to shine from being in that glorious holy presence. When he came out he would have to put a veil over his face until it stopped shining and returned to normal. He was reflecting the glory of the Lord in his face.

In the new covenant something far greater than that has happened to us. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of glory now resides within us so that we believers actually radiate the glory of God from inside out: the glory never fades away; in fact it increases. Romans 8:30 says we are not only justified (put right with God), we are also glorified. Too many Christians never get beyond the justification point and fail to appreciate that God actually exhibits his glory through us! Jesus is the glory of God (see John 1); so when people see us they see him. This doesn't just happen occasionally like an annual vacation: the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, so fills us that our very faces shine with the glory of Jesus. It's nothing to do with how handsome or beautiful we are: our whole being pulsates with the very glory of God.

That's why the church is so important. It's only as we express that life corporately that the world can see God in totality. The church is designed to shine with the glory of God. It cries out: 'Here is your God!'

God's bookends

It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening. (Psalm 92:2)

Bookends are really handy things. They stop your books toppling over. The only thing is you need two of them; I'm so glad they come in pairs.

God has given us a pair of 'bookends' for each day: one for the beginning of the day and one for the end. We need to use them both otherwise our day can be lopsided or we may end up toppling over. These two bookends both involve expressing something to God: in the morning we are to proclaim his unfailing love. That's his dogmatic unchanging attitude of covenant love that never varies, no matter what we do say or do. It's always good to start each day by thanking God that no matter what happens he is good and his love towards you will never vary.

The second bookend is to end the day by thanking God for all his faithfulness to you during that day. He kept all his promises: everything he said he'd do, he did. All he said he'd be to you, he was. He never left your side for a second; he never glanced away from you. He remained faithful each moment of the day and in each circumstance.

So when you put you head on the pillow tonight just thank God for his faithfulness during today; and when you wake in the morning thank him for his love. I think for some of you the days will be different.

A right perspective

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)

The sight of the space shuttle leaving earth is an awesome sight from the ground. The power and noise that emanates from the engines as they thrust the spacecraft into the sky are ear piercing. The whole sight is a tremendous spectacle. However, This shot of a launch taken from a chase plane gives quite a different perspective. The mighty shuttle looks different when compared with the vast panorama beyond it. Being above the craft makes it look quite small.

Our perspective on things is determined where we view them from. If we see things from the vantage point of being seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, then we see them as they really are, not as they may appear to be. That's the difference between the natural person and the spiritual one. And your perspective always determines your response and how you act.

Jesus the turbocharger

They were three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, 'I am here! Don't be afraid.' Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination! (John 6:19-21, NLT)

This story of Jesus walking on the water has so many things in it. Last time I mentioned that when Jesus gets in the boat of your life all fears go. But the end of the story also has a fascinating twist. The boat was about four miles out from the shore when Jesus got in. The next thing they knew that boat was on dry land! That fishing boat suddenly became a speedboat - and a very fast one indeed. In fact, it was more like a supersonic jet. Imagine the faces of these hardened fishermen who knew these waters. One minute they're out in a fierce storm; the very next moment they're four miles away putting ashore!

It's amazing the radical difference Jesus makes to our lives and situations. The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can take us in a moment from the depths of despair to the height of faith. In an  instant he can turn an impossibility into a reality. He can transform a lost cause into a glorious triumph. All we have to do is to be eager to let him in and let him be who he is. Hold on to your hats!

Look back in faith

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)

It's very important how we look back at the past. I'm not talking about our sinful past: that has all gone and forgotten. I'm talking about the past things that God has done, the acts of fame that Habakkuk was calling to mind. When he realised that God was still in sovereign control and was about to act in his day, Habakkuk reminded himself of the wonderful things that God had done for his people throughout their history. He used these reminders to build his faith for the future.

It's when the past becomes a means of nostalgia that we have to exercise caution. We have to use it to spur us on to the future, and not to sit on our porches in our rocking chairs talking about the good old days. If we see all the acts of God in our past as means of us achieving our destiny in his purpose we will always keep our focus on the future, while using the past to remind us of the faithfulness of God to us so far. The past will thus thrust us on in the adventure of faith.

No fear

Jesus called out to his disciples, 'I am here! Don't be afraid.' (John 6:20)

Jesus doesn't co-habit with fear. The reason why the disciples were frightened during the storm was because Jesus wasn't there. And when they saw him walking on the water towards them they freaked out even more. But fear can't exist where he is present because his perfect love casts out fear. Jesus isn't frightened of anything; he has no phobias and doesn't even need to sleep with the light on at night.

When you fear something or someone it means that object of your fear has control over you; it exercises power over your life. It determines your thoughts and actions; it directs you as to where you can and can't go, what you can and can't do. Fear is the enemy of faith. Since nothing can do that do Jesus he has no fear. And wherever he is in control fear is banished. Let him into the boat.

A house for God

Zeal for your house will consume me. (John 2:17)

I've been looking again at this passage in John's gospel: how Jesus had a zeal for the house of God that ate him up. Of course, he wasn't ultimately concerned about a physical building: we are the house of God (Ephesian2:19-22). But as I looked again at this story I was interested to see what Jesus focussed on when he made his whip. He drove out the sheep and cattle; he overturned the money tables. These were the very things that the people needed for their sacrifices and their worship (they had to exchange their money so they could buy them).

The tools of their worship had become the focus of activity rather than a means to an end. These people had got caught up in the business of worship rather than worship itself. They were concentrating on the mechanics instead of the reason and purpose for which they were there - to present these animals to God in sacrificial worship.

Sometimes we have to look at what we are involved in. Do we care more for the trappings than the essentials? Is more effort given to the peripherals than the Presence? If so, it's time to make a whip.

Accentuate the positive

Nicodemus...came to Jesus (John 3:2)

I have a particular empathy for the unsung heroes in the Bible. Many people castigate the Pharisee Nicodemus because he came to Jesus at night rather in the light of day. They mock him for his fear. But I admire him that he came at all. He had a lot to lose and was putting his whole reputation at risk by even being with Jesus; that he was willing to take the risk speaks much of his courage. And Jesus was willing to see him.

We must never write people off because of where they are at right now. Some are on a pilgrimage of discovery and are treading warily but steadily. But they are moving in the right direction. Of course, their moment of reckoning will come. For Nicodemus it was at the Cross; John 20:39 tells us that when Jesus had died and nearly all his disciples had fled, it was Joseph and Nicodemus who courageously took his body down from the Cross and buried it. At the crunch time this man showed his true colours. That's when it counts.