Are we nearly there yet? It’s a classic phrase associated with children on long journeys. When we hear a child say this, I think we tend to smile in a semi-patronising way. “Ah bless, kids just don’t get how long it takes to get somewhere.”

And yet I wonder how often God has to be gracious with us because we’re asking the same question.

We’re on a journey as a church towards being locally present in communities around the city. One of the challenges that’s taking longer than I hoped is working out the nature of how these can be led and who can do it. I know that God can answer our prayers in a moment. I know he can produce a solution out of thin air. However he hasn’t yet done so.

Are we nearly there yet? “Ah bless,” says God to me!

The thing I’m learning is that whatever challenge is in front of us won’t be a challenge forever. What feels like it’s going on for eternity is only actually temporary. And yet God is using the trials in our life to form a Christ-like character that will go on forever. He’s using this season in our church to mature and purify His bride and to prepare her to be with Him forever. He’s more interested in working in us than in the situation.

It’s here that we begin to understand the origins of the phrase, “God is in the waiting.” Waiting for us is so often pointless. The traffic in the morning, the queue for security, the endless waiting on hold. But when God allows us to wait, we can be sure that His timing is perfect and He’s doing what He promised. “...he who began a good work in you will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:9).

So be encouraged in the waiting and follow the words of Paul: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Much love,
Simon

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One of the things I would love to see is every single person at The Street Church having a daily habit of reading Scripture. Although there are sometimes days that I miss, it’s a habit I’ve had for many years and it’s genuinely life changing.

I wonder if for some of us, this seems an unattainable challenge. Finding that amount of time in an already overcrowded schedule can seem impossible. And yet, all I said was a daily habit, not a daily amount. I believe that it’s great to try and read the Bible each year. There can also be great benefit in reading large chunks of Scripture at one time. However, the most important thing is to develop a daily habit, even if it’s something small. And sometimes it’s actually the small that is most helpful.

This week I was rushing through James and got stopped barely out of the first paragraph.

“Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2)

It’s so counterintuitive. I can decide to count trials as pure joy, not because they are pleasant, but because God is using them to transform me into a perfect and complete person just like Jesus. It completely changed my perspective and my prayers around the trials in my life right now.

It was a profound insight for me and yet it came as I reflected on just a few verses. Alternatively there are days when I read a lot and remember nothing. You see the goal is not simply that we know more about Scripture but that we’re equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17). My encouragement is therefore to build a habit. To make sure you’re reading and reflecting on God’s word, even if it’s just one paragraph a day.  Small habits done consistently yield big results over time. Why not start today.

Much love,
Simon

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Last week we looked at Extravagant Worship in 2 Samuel 6 where David danced before the Lord with all his might. Now if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered… what’s the deal with the ephod? Is David dancing in his undies? Is this an outfit more suited to Dancing with the Stars?

David would usually have been wearing the robes of a king but in this instance he’s wearing an ephod - a garment worn by priests. Priests didn’t rule but they were a connection between the people and God. To understand this you have to remember what is going on. David is bringing the ark of the covenant into the capital city where he is king. The ark symbolises both the presence of God and the throne of God among the people.

For David to take off his royal robes suggests there’s a message in his attire. God is king and I am not. Don’t just look to my rule, look to God’s.

If you think about it, all worship is like this. In the fall, we rejected God’s rule and chose to do what we wanted. Worship is the opposite. We remind ourselves that we’re not on the throne. God is the true king in our lives.

Perhaps this is why worship is so freeing. Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown. Our desire to rule brings the weight of ruling we were never meant to carry. And in worship, we continually take off the crown and put the burden back on him. Let us daily come in humble worship before King Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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One of the things that marks our culture is the rise of the influencer. YouTube and other platforms are full of people promising 5 keys to success, 15 things you should have in your wardrobe and 3 secrets to a long and happy life. I find myself getting sucked into these really easily and looking for keys to help me thrive in life.

It’s against this backdrop that I found this verse: “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve of their sayings” (Ps 49:13). The fate in question is death and the fact that we take nothing material with us from this world. I’m not discrediting everything influencers say. It’s not that what they espouse is necessarily not good, it’s just that it’s rarely great. Success in this world is one thing, an eternal perspective is another.

This is contrasted by the writer of Hebrews: “Consider your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). It means to look at the way they finished their lives. Look for people who are still loving Jesus and following Jesus on their last day. How did they live? What did they prioritise? What did they value? Those are the great influencers. Imitate them.

Who are the older people in your life who followed Jesus to the end. For me, I think about Jim Chew. When his body was riddled with cancer, his email updates were rich with Bible verses and truths he was clinging to in his final days. He loved Jesus till the end and then stepped into a new beginning in the presence of his Saviour. He is a man I am challenged to be influenced by today. How about you?

Much love,
Simon

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It’s hard to avoid the news at the moment that the cost of living is going up. Even if you haven’t been reading news about inflation, interest rates and the impact of natural disasters in New Zealand, it’s obvious that groceries budgets aren’t stretching as far as they did last year. The temptation of worry is clearly a challenge.

Enter Jesus with his usual dose of turning things upside down…

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25).

Our lives are the biggest thing we know. They are the bubbles within which every moment and experience sits. Jesus’ logic is that if you lack the capability to change the length of your life, why worry about anything else within it.

Worry won’t earn you one more dollar. Worry won’t reduce house prices or take 0.01% off interest rates. Worry won’t stop your pants wearing out and it doesn’t put food on the table. So why worry?

It makes me wonder whether Jesus’ point is about control. We love to be in control. We love it when the solution is in our hands. We love to be self-sufficient. But this is never God’s agenda for us. It’s even been said that self-sufficiency is the greatest curse for a Christian because it leads us to a life without God.

Instead Jesus invites us to a simple trust. He reminds us that our heavenly Father knows what we need and as we seek Him, He is able to provide all that we need as well. What if this season of incredible financial challenge is actually a way for God to reveal to us all that He knows our needs and is able to provide out of nothing.

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have budgets or shop smart. It just means that worry doesn’t need to characterise our lives. Instead today is a day to come again to the simple truth that God knows what we need and will never let us down.

Much love,
Simon

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Jesus is just different. It’s no surprise in some ways because this is what it means to be holy - set apart, uncommon, different from everything else. In fact, his holiness is the lens through which we need to see every other aspect of his character. His love is a holy love. His kindness is a holy kindness. His mercy is a holy mercy. He is just different.

Therefore, when we realise that he calls and enables us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), we can be sure that it is a calling to be different. It means the barometer of how we’re doing is not an earthly measure. It means the things our culture celebrates are not necessarily the things we should strive for. It means that even in the church, our ultimate comparator cannot even be another Christian. We’re to be holy as he is holy.

Recently we talked about generosity in the early church that meant there were no needy people. The risk is that we feel good about how generous we are in comparison to others. But remember, our only true comparator is him.

Jesus told his disciples to love their enemies, pray for them and be generous with them (Luke 6:35-36). Have you ever contemplated being generous with the boss who despises you, the neighbour that annoys you or the bus driver who was rude to you? I think if we took generosity to those lengths, it would feel really weird and unnatural. It would stand out to others as something really uncommon. It would be different. And that sounds a lot like Jesus.

May we be people who stand out for generosity of a different kind so we become a people who truly reflect him. What is a different step of generosity Jesus may be leading you in today?

Much love,
Simon

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Warning: maybe don’t read this over breakfast. I was listening to a report by The Economist last week about an environmentally friendly solution to death care called Recompose. Here bodies are placed in an environment where they very quickly decompose and are turned into a small pile of nutrient rich soil which the family could use to plant a tree or rose.

While it’s a bit grizzly to talk about such things, the thought of a new tree growing out of the grief of death is a wonderful idea. And it’s also a fitting picture for Easter.

It’s hard to imagine just how horrific the crucifixion of Jesus was and the depths of grief experienced by his followers and family who looked on. Yet this was no ordinary death because the death of this One has opened up eternal life to the world (1 Cor 15:22). The death and burial of His body became the nutrients for new life. It’s why I love Andrea Muller’s design for our Easter graphic this year. The cross, though a symbol of death, has brought vibrant new life in relationship with God.

And yet it’s important that this doesn’t just become an object to remember Jesus but a pattern to follow Him. Many of us would know John 3:16 but how many of us know 1 John 3:16?”

“This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

As people who have been given new life, God calls us to give ourselves up for the sake of others in the way that we love, care for and sacrifice for the benefit of others. It’s like our lives are to be the pile of compost which exists to bring new life to others.

What is something you can do today that, though it costs you, brings life to someone else?

Much love,
Simon

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I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Split Apple Rock (or at least Googled it) but it’s a marvel. A giant sphere of granite perched on rocks in the sea and split almost precisely in two. It makes for good photos and a great spot to jump into the ocean. But it’s a reminder of a principle in prayer because of this quote.

"I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before." - Anon.

Jesus says something similar in a parable about an unjust judge and a persistent widow. He didn’t really care what she wanted but he gave in to her request because she bothered him again and again. Was it the first time she complained that worked or the final time? Or was it that she just kept going? Jesus taught the parable to show that God will bring about justice for people who cry out to him day and night (Luke 18:7).

I find this fascinating because Jesus assures us of answered prayer and at the same time he acknowledges that sometimes the answers take time. Our role is faithful persistence.

I give you this picture because we’re coming towards the end of a month of prayer. I’m amazed at the things we’re seeing God do from progress in outreach to healing to random things for which we’d never think to ask. I’m also hearing of people simply growing in their practice of prayer. But I’m also acknowledging that there are prayers we’ve prayed that still don’t seem to have been answered.

Can I encourage you that a no answer now doesn’t mean no forever. Can we take comfort in the fact that Jesus warned us this would happen and can we commit to keep praying even if nothing seems to change. Every prayer matters. Who knows when that 101st strike will come. You might even want to find a photo of Split Apple Rock and put it somewhere to remind you to not give up.

Much love,
Simon

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Sometimes you have to hear something several times before it actually sinks in. I had that experience a couple of weeks ago when the Harneys were with us. I heard Kevin and Sherry speak about seven times in different venues over that week. I heard them say something several times before it finally sunk in. “There’s more to discipleship than me and Jesus.”

I know this. I’ve known this for a long time. And yet I suddenly realised we have inadvertently fallen into the trap of ‘me and Jesus’ language. For example, I’ve encouraged people towards Life Group so many times by saying that it’s a great place to get connected and find an environment where you can grow. It all sounds so nice but it’s also deeply flawed.

Augustine spoke of sin as someone curved in on themselves. Jesus is the opposite. God so loved the world - not himself - that he gave his Son (John 3:16). When we follow Jesus we turn from serving self. We allow God to restore us towards the ultimate goal that we would love God with everything we are and love others as ourselves. This is surely what it means to be fully like Jesus.

As we grow to live more like this, we create the environment in which others can thrive. If we all approached church community in this way, we would inadvertently create the best environment for us to grow too - not by focusing inwards but through everyone focusing outwards. This aligns with the maturing church in Ephesians 4 where the body builds itself up in love as each part does its work (Eph 4:15-16).

So here’s the challenge today. Do you have someone who is helping you to grow in your love for God and for others? If not, who is further along than you who you could ask? But then, who are you helping to grow? As you step out in this endeavour, God will use it to grow you too.

Much love,
Simon

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I’m not known for joy. Enthusiasm, yes. Passion, plenty. Positivity, sure. Joy? Um… not so much. I love Jesus and I do see spiritual growth. I just don’t see much joy.

In John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (disclaimer, I only went through the 5 day You Version reading plan rather than the actual book it’s based on), he shows how core fruits of the Spirit like love, joy and peace are incompatible with hurry and busyness.

Oh the moment of realisation. I wonder if you can relate. Could it really be that I don’t experience joy because I am just so busy?

I’m always looking ahead, looking forward to the next thing, planning for how to improve things. I also love history and the nostalgia of the past. But the past is gone and the things I hope for in the future may never happen. John Mark’s point is that if we never really engage in the present, we can’t actually experience joy because this moment right now is the only moment we can actually be present in.

While I’m not cured, I do have some tangible things I can do and if you’re struggling for joy maybe you can join me.

Firstly, I try to start each day writing 3 things that I am deeply grateful for. It forces me to stop and focus on the positive things. I realise that even on the darkest days, I can be grateful for something. If you try it, you’ll be amazed at the number of good things that you would have forgotten ever existed had you not taken the time to notice.

Secondly, I make time for small moments of silence. It can be as simple as setting the timer on my watch for 5 minutes and sitting in silence, inviting the Holy Spirit to come. It can also be actually stopping and enjoying a cup of coffee with no device or conversation. Just being present in the moment and appreciating it for what it is.

Maybe you can think of another way.

One thing is for sure, our culture is not going to help us slow down. Only we can make a choice to pull out and pause. Could it be that our busyness is more destructive to our spiritual growth than we’ve realised. I wonder what you can do today to allow God to work more joy into your life?

Much love,
Simon

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The tone of this post will be quite different to usual. It’s because there’s a burden on my heart that I want to invite you into. Recently, I was in a room of prayer when the Lord directed my attention to Psalm 24 and in particular, verse 8.

“Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up you ancient doors,
that the king of glory may come in.”
- Psalm 24:8

There’s debate over what exactly the Psalm was referring to for the original readers but there is little doubt as to its ultimate meaning. This Psalm foreshadows The King of Glory entering Jerusalem as Jesus did when he rode in on a donkey.

What the Psalm suggests to me is that a city can be closed to the presence of God. That it can close its gates to the entry of the true king. Certainly this was true of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day because within a week of that entry, they had crucified him. If the literal gates were open to his entry, the gates of their hearts were not.

If you haven’t noticed it, Wellington is a notoriously difficult place to share the message of Jesus. There is a spiritual darkness and resistance to the things of God. It’s like over the years, giant gates have been closed to Him  and they’ve been closed for so long that they’re stuck that way.

But as I was praying, there was a sense for me that we’re praying for these gates to be opened. We’re praying against the long term opposition to the things of God and the inauguration of a new season. A season where Jesus is welcomed in a way we’ve never seen.

Can I invite you again into the 24/7 prayer room or at least to bring a greater focus to prayer where you are. And as we do, to join in with the millions of prayers that have already been prayed over this city and pray that these ancient gates be lifted up so that the King of Glory may come in.

Much love,
Simon

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I have never seen a mountain jump into the sea. I also can’t imagine that such an event would go unnoticed, especially given the ensuing tsunami it would cause. But this causes a problem for faith.

In Mark 11, Jesus tells the disciples that if they believe and do not doubt, they can command mountains to throw themselves into the sea. The problem is that if this has never happened, either Jesus was wrong or people have never prayed with any faith.

But what if there’s a different way? What Jesus says turns on the ‘therefore’ that follows the word picture. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

The word ‘therefore’ suggests that the mountain picture operates like a parable - a story that makes a point. Mountains are the most ancient and immovable objects. When Moses wanted to describe the eternity of God, he used mountains as the most ancient comparator he knew to show that God is even more everlasting (Psalm 90:2).

Could it be therefore that Jesus was never really interested in us praying for mountains? What if Jesus really wanted us to look at the most ancient and immovable problems in front of us and believe that God can and will throw them into the proverbial sea.

From 7 March, we begin a month of 24/7 prayer at a time when we face some mountains. We live in a culture that is proudly moving further from God, we all have people in our world stuck in unbelief, many in our city are bound up in addiction, violence, sickness, and poverty.

But what if we prayed like we meant it? Can I ask you to jump into this month of prayer. Let’s use this moment to come together. To cry out to the one who is able and command some mountains to throw themselves into the sea.

Much love,
Simon

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I recently had the opportunity to go to France. I love the people and the food, the architecture and the artwork. But there were also niggles too. People can tell you’re not a local just by looking at you. Your phone doesn’t work so well making it hard to find information. And my primitive French is distressing. While I’ve been using an app to learn for the first time since school, apparently ‘le cheval mange une pizza’ is not actually that helpful.

By contrast, there was something truly wonderful about being back in sunny Wellington and feeling deep down in my soul that I was home.

The challenge is that as followers of Jesus, we belong to a different kingdom. This world will never truly be home. The values of our culture mean that we carry a sense that we don’t really fit in.

The risk is that this discomfort can lead us to assume that something is wrong. We can strive to achieve and belong and measure up just like everyone else. We’ll do anything to feel at home even though it never fully satisfies.

In his paraphrase of Romans 12, Eugene Peterson writes, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.”

It’s so true isn’t it? We don’t need to try to fit in, we just do it without thinking.

But I wonder if there’s a way to repurpose the discomfort. To ask God to remind us in those moments that it’s actually ok? What if they became opportunities to look forward to the day when we’ll see Jesus? You see then and only then will your soul fully feel like it’s at home because it’s the place you were made to be. I pray that the wonder of that day may help us deal with the realities of this day.

Much love,
Simon

P.S. If you’re still wondering, it means ‘the horse is eating a pizza’!

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Jenny and I had the privilege of a longer break this summer. It was a much needed break after last year and I hope and pray that you were able to get time to rest, reflect and replenish.

Since coming back, people keep asking me whether I feel rested and ready to crack into the year. It’s an obvious question but the answer I give is probably not. I feel really rested and I’m looking forward to the year but I don’t feel like charging out of the gate. I don’t feel like I’ve got all the energy in the world or have all the solutions to the challenges we face.

I wonder if you can relate. I’m hearing this sort of thing more and more and I wonder if it’s a bit of a Covid hangover. The last three years have taken their toll and perhaps the things that usually replenish and refresh us just aren’t cutting it anymore.

But with all this in mind, here’s why I’m not worried about the year ahead.

We can replenish here.
We have the privilege of living in one of the most beautiful and condensed cities in the world. It means that whether your thing is walking in the hills, being by the sea, eating good food, spending time with friends, those things are never too far away. The other day, I squeezed in a 10 minute swim in the ocean after work and I suddenly felt a million miles from challenges. I realise I can replenish here.

We know what to do.
Chances are you know the things that refresh you - the things that fill your tank. But when we’re in a particularly challenging season we need to double-down on some of those things. It’s always good to have a think about whether you’re making time for those things in the first place. I know worship fills my tank but I need to make time for sitting at the piano and singing. I also realise that friendship is something I’ve neglected and need to pay attention to. I wonder what you need to pay attention to or may have let slip?

We always need Him
The final reason I’m not worried is the most important. If I was hitting the year at full speed and feeling great, there’s a risk that I’d be struggling by Easter due to self-reliance. The truth is that what we need to accomplish is impossible in our own strength. It means I’m starting day one with an acute awareness that I am in desperate need for the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It means I’m prioritising time for prayer and encountering the Lord more than ever before. Whether long or short, how can you be prioritising time with the Lord as part of your rhythm to ensure we all continue to rely on Him?

Much love,
Simon

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Last night I was at a Q&A with our Night community as a follow on from the Origins series. One of the questions I was asked to consider was how a good and all-powerful God can allow pain and suffering. 

It’s such an important question because it affects us all. The things we go through and the conclusions we come to deeply affect our view of God. It’s also important because it can be a significant barrier for some people exploring faith.

What’s interesting is that from a philosophical point of view, the discussion has largely been settled. The alternatives are that God either wouldn’t have created us or would have created us as perfect puppets. Neither of those scenarios result in humanity in a loving relationship with God. Freewill was necessary to the extent that sin was possible.

Nevertheless, the discussion doesn’t feel settled. We don’t live on a philosophical level. When someone’s daughter has just been diagnosed with leukaemia, philosophy just doesn’t cut it. We have to meet people on a pastoral level. We have to make space to lament like David did so many times in the Psalms where he told God exactly how he felt and sought to bring his soul to a place of trust.

Ultimately, we have to come to Jesus. Tim Keller has said that while God doesn’t tell us why he has allowed suffering, he has shown us that it’s not because he doesn’t care. He chose eternally that there would be a moment when Jesus would enter the frailty of humanity to bear the cross for our sake. He cares so much about our pain and suffering that he chose to endure it to give us hope beyond it.

The gospel therefore provides an answer that is unique. For our secular culture, there is no objective basis to call anything evil. We’re told that suffering is what we’d expect from, as Richard Dawkins called it, a blind, pitiless, indifferent world. God, on the other hand, acknowledges that our pain and suffering is real, met us in the middle of it, and provides a way through and beyond it. There is no one like Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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David is one of the two or three most important people in the Old Testament. Israel’s greatest king. A powerful warrior, intimate worshipper, writer of so many Psalms, a leader of great skill and integrity. And the ultimate occupant of his throne is Jesus Himself!

Yet it’s not where he started. When God told Samuel to go to Jesse’s house to anoint a king, Jesse lined up his sons and no one spared a thought for the smallest and youngest son whose only role was out in the field looking after sheep. This was not where anyone thought to look for a king.

But two things stand out here. Firstly, the thing that God is most interested in is devotion. While we look at outward attributes, God is focused on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). But more than this, God had been forming David in private. Who would have guessed that defending sheep from lions and bears would be God’s preparation for protecting Israel? You see, the very place of insignificance that we would think discounted David was actually the very place God chose to prepare his choice in secret.

It makes me wonder just how much God has been preparing you and I for the things he has for us to do and in ways we have never noticed. I wonder how God has been shaping you? I wonder what experiences God has allowed you to go through for the special tasks that are tailor-made for you.

And it’s this that also gives me confidence for us as a church. As we press into multiple locations and pursue multiplying disciple-makers, the need for leaders whose hearts are fully devoted to the Lord will only go up. And my unwavering confidence is that God has been preparing Davids in our church all along, only to reveal them at the perfect time.

Much love,
Simon

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Last weekend we began a conversation as a church about sexuality and gender. The purpose of the talk was to posture ourselves in a particular way so that we can continue to learn and follow Jesus together. I have been humbled and amazed this week at how God is using the talk. It has had a far broader impact than I expected and I have been deeply moved by the stories and reflections people have shared.

I thought you may appreciate hearing some of the things I’m reflecting on in response to what I’m hearing.

There is hunger for clarity
To my shame, I expected some people to push back strongly because of how counter-cultural a Biblical worldview is. The opposite has been true. Instead I am hearing gratitude at the clarity that a fuller understanding of Scripture brings. This is actually something we should expect given how Jesus says that living in line with his teaching means we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:31-32). For the sake of people’s freedom, we have to be courageous enough to ground ourselves in Biblical truth.

Humility is disarming
I think one of the reasons the message was received with gratitude is because we were willing to apologise and acknowledge that every single one of us finds ourselves equal in our need for Jesus. A humble tone helps people to listen to what God has to say. I am learning that it is possible to be courageous with the truth without compromising a posture of humility.

Listening and learning
I know this was a core part of the message but it’s worth reiterating. I can’t give you a comprehensive answer of what it means to live our lives as people created male and female. I know it is an intrinsic part of the way we bear God’s image and yet it has become so tangled up with sex-based stereotypes. Untangling these two together both Biblically and humbly will take time.

As you reflect on the message from Sunday, is there anything that might need to change in the way you interact with others who are struggling in a way that maybe you never have or will? Who could you make space to listen to this week? Let’s not be a church that pushes away, but one that draws all people in toward Jesus. Can we continue this journey together, in humility, grace and truth.

Much love,
Simon

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I had the privilege this week of meeting with an older friend whose garden overlooks Scorching Bay - one of the perks of being a pastor in the eastern suburbs!

As we talked a little about what Jesus is teaching us at the moment, and as I looked over the turquoise water, I was reminded of a favourite passage of mine:

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” - Ephesians 3:17b-19

What a prayer! Don’t you wish you could pray prayers like Paul? Fortunately, we can borrow such incredible words in prayer which is what I have been doing for you today.

What I love in particular about these verses is Paul’s description of God’s love. He prays that we would grasp the love of God before acknowledging that it has dimensions that cannot fully be grasped. He then prays that we’d know a love that cannot be fully known. It makes sense, then, that Paul would pray for power because grasping and knowing such love is beyond us.

As I looked at the ocean, I realised that were I to jump in, I would be completely immersed by it. I wouldn’t fully know the expanse of water but I would know something of it. I would grasp it in some way while also realising just how much greater these waters are than me. It’s like having some words to describe God’s love and yet never finding the words to express it in full.

The love of God answers the deepest longing of my soul. It tells me that I am significant, that I belong and that I am secure. I realise that if I don’t know this truly, I will go searching for it in all the wrong places. My encouragement to you today is to let the words of these verses marinate in your heart and mind. To immerse yourself like diving into the ocean. Like Paul I pray that you would have the power to grasp the ingraspable and there to find your soul truly satisfied in Him.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

I wonder how you’re going. I know a number of people and families where there are significant challenges going on. And even if you’re doing well right now, all of us will face situations where we don’t have the wisdom or strength to take the next step.

As I’ve contemplated the things I’m struggling with right now, I’ve found a promise to claim in Paul’s experience.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.

Paul’s statement here is another example of how Jesus takes things that we’re familiar with and turns them on their head. In our world, we boast about progress, about power, about self-sufficiency. We see weakness as something to be avoided at all costs. Yet Paul learned to see it as something to celebrate.

I think we get the fact that we want God to help us but we’re really just after a top-up. “God, I haven’t quite got what’s needed here but if you could just top me up with a little power, that would be great.”

But in this situation, weakness is not celebrated. This can’t therefore be what Paul means.

Paul’s understanding is richer and deeper than that. He could boast about weakness because he understood that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Perfect means made complete. When we contribute nothing, God is able to contribute everything. He does this because the currency by which God operates is grace - he does everything in our lives as a free gift.

We learn therefore that weakness is not a barrier to God’s work in and through our lives. Rather weakness is a catalyst for power. So when you face weakness, maybe you’d like to turn it into the sort of prayer I’ve been praying this week.

“God thank you for my inability in this situation because I know you’re going to work powerfully. I invite your work in my life again today as a gift of your grace. Amen.”

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

One of my heroes is Eliud Kipchoge. On 13 October last year, he ran a marathon in under 2 hours. It’s ridiculous. Imagine running 100 metres in 17 seconds and then repeating it 421 times. He’d attempted the same feat before around a remote racing circuit in Italy with shallow corners so he didn’t have to slow down. His second attempt was on a course with slower corners. This time, however, it was in central Vienna and packed with cheering crowds. I wonder how many seconds he saved by being spurred on by others.

Barnabas is one of the Bible’s great encouragers (his name even means “Son of Encouragement”). He arrived in Antioch to encourage the church to stay true to the faith (Acts 11:24) and while he was there a great number came to faith and large numbers were equipped. I wonder how much of this growth came because of an environment of encouragement?

As we move on through Acts, encouragement becomes so important that the apostles kept visiting churches that had been established to strengthen and encourage. It gets mentioned again and again and is again associated with a church strong in the faith and growing in numbers (Acts 16:5).

Encouragers are critical to healthy churches. They’re like the crowds that come alongside tiring runners and spur them on to take the next step.

I realise that encouragement is a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8) but I don’t think that lets the rest of us off. I don’t get to be passive simply because it’s not my gift. Rather, we’re to look to those who are great encouragers and learn from them. Imagine the environment we’d create in our church if each of us made time to encourage one person every day. I bet that’s the sort of church my friends would want to be a part of. Maybe that’s why encouragement and growth come together.

So today my encouragement to you is simply this… Who can you encourage today?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>