Tag Archives: Jesus

Blown away by hospitality

Hospitality, , , , , , , ,

Having left everything behind, and finally arrived in Washington in January 2013, you might be wondering where we were staying and how it would be possible given the fact we had hardly any money. Well let me introduce to you our dear friend Diane Segars and her son Jo!

IMG_8302.JPG

Out of the generosity of her heart, Diane took us into her home rent free for what would end up being a six month stay! Diane had recently had her basement remodeled and it was perfect for a family to temporarily live in. We had lovely bedrooms, a huge living room and beautiful views from the deck. Most of all we got blessed with Diane’s amazing cooking!!

This is where God led us as part of his plan to slowly heal and restore us. The funny thing is that Diane had been praying prior to us coming about what the Lord wanted her to do with her open space basement. She had felt for a while that she wanted to use it for retiring pastors who needed a time of healing. But in her own words she never thought it would be a young pastor and his family though!

“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:13 ESV)

A hospitable loving church
Living with Diane was just a five minute walk from Faith Community Fellowship church. We had some family links there and it made sense that we would come along to this church in our new season of life. The church in many ways was very different to where we had come from. It wasn’t like the church that we had planted or our previous churches that we had been apart of… but this church excelled in love and in hospitality!

For a relatively small sized church we were showered with people welcoming us, loving us, serving us and providing for us in so many ways. One amazing example would be a future one when we finally moved into our own home. We had literally a few suitcases and that was it. We didn’t even have a fork or a mug for our new home! But the church rallied around us and provided nearly everything we needed for our new home! Sofas, cutlery, TV, food, toiletries, money, ornaments, cushions, chairs, and so much more. I will certainly write about this profound experience another time but I just wanted to get the picture across of what an amazing church we had landed with.

Without love it’s all nothing!
You can have all sorts of great things in a church – powerful ministry, Spirit led worship, anointed preaching, a glorious building, miracles, great publicity, etc. The list can go on and on, but here is something I learnt… in the famous words of the Apostle Paul – if you don’t have love, you really don’t have anything at all! (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

My family and I were in a state of weakness and brokenness and God had placed us in a church that was filled with God’s love and welcomed us with hospitality.

Hospitality is an expression of God’s welcoming heart
Did you know the way we welcome people into our homes and into our lives can be an expression of the gospel and of how God welcomes us into his ‘home’ and world?

IMG_8303.JPG

God is the most hospitable person in the universe! Through the death of Jesus his Son, he adopted us as his very own children and welcomed us into his family and Heavenly home.

The father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. (‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭22-24‬ ESV)

Through Jesus Christ, God gave us a place in his eternal home! He has clothed us with royal garments. He has killed the fattened calf and put on a party (in his own home!) for us because once we were dead but now we are alive and found in Him!

Jesus shares with us everything that once was only his!
Being adopted into God’s family also means that we are brothers and sisters with God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. This means we are ‘co-heirs’ with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). We literally share everything that once only belonged to Jesus! Thats real hospitality – making everything that is yours somebody else’s too! Have you ever thought of the gospel from this angle before? Isn’t our God incredibly generous, unselfish and hospitable?

We share with Jesus his heavenly home. His unique Identity as God’s Son is now shared and given to us too! His royal privileges and so much more that we don’t really know about. But one day when Jesus returns we will discover the extent of His glorious generosity and hospitality to us as we come into the fullness of what it means to be God’s adopted sons and daughters.(Romans 8:23-25).

The gift of hospitality
What does this all mean for us? Just as God has welcomed us right into his life and home we should do the same with one another. Our dear friend Diane Segars and our church have been outstanding examples of this kind of love and hospitality!

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1Peter 4: 8-10 ESV)

You might be reading this and thinking I want to be more hospitable but I don’t think I could do ‘that’ or be like ‘that person’. Well I do believe the above verse indicates that hospitality is a gift and that there are varying degrees of this gift (‘God’s varied grace’) that God has bestowed on each of us. Therefore if you feel a desire to have someone over for a meal… then go for it! Or maybe you feel faith to take someone into your home for 6 months… then go for it! Or perhaps you feel a calling and a desire to literally adopt a child (or more) into your home and family… then go for it! Whatever level of hospitality you feel you have been given, go for it with joy, doing it for the Lord!

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

Suffering is very close to God’s heart

Grief & grieving, Suffering, , , , , , , , , , ,

Having had the whole summer of 2012 off and continuing into the autumn term still unable to work you might be wondering what on earth was I doing during that time! Good question… I don’t know either! Well, actually most days to be honest were simply about getting through. Most days were rarely productive, meaningful or purposeful for me. If I could I would try and get out on my own where I could walk in a park or go to the coffee shop. My regular get away was my very own local park at Alexandra Palace, just 10 minutes away from our home in London.
20140214-164928.jpg

I loved going there and taking in the silence, the beautiful scenery around me and the London landscape in the distance… I miss that place very much! I have a lot of memories there from going on my weekly prayer walks seeking God’s vision for the church to taking Noah to feed the geese at the lake, (he would hide behind my legs so he didn’t get bitten, lol!). I especially enjoyed sitting at the coffee shop there which was right by the lake. This is where I would write my weekly sermons gearing up for the big Sunday. These were such exciting times for me where God spoke to me and led me (including making a decision to move into the Cineworld movie theatre for our Sunday meeting place, that was pretty exciting!).

An empty chair
And so it was a strange thing for me to continue going to Alexandra Palace park sitting in the same chair in the coffee shop but with no sermon to write… and no sense of excitement and adventure anymore. I remember sitting in my usual chair drinking my coffee, looking out the window at the lake and feeling this deep sadness over me. Oh, how I deeply missed what I used to do and yet had no ability or health to continue anymore. I’ll be honest with you now and say I have a number of tears rolling down my cheeks as I am writing this! These are still very precious memories to me.

I cried so hard!
By the time it got to December 2012 (just before we were on our way out to leave for America) there was one occasion where it all hit me – the loss of everything! I cried so hard! I am not talking about a few tears, but real crying from the depths of my heart, like a baby when they lose their breath!  It wasn’t simply some ‘job’ that I was losing. It was history and memories. It was dear friends. Team mates who had sacrificed so much to come with us on the adventure. It was a growing congregation of people whom I loved. It was saying goodbye to a dream and a vision that felt such a part of my heart. It was saying goodbye to our next door neighbors who I loved dearly! Most of all it was saying goodbye to our whole world and home.

Suffering is very close to the heart of God
I was at Costa coffee one time meeting up with a close friend who had been a real support to me during the church planting years and who was part of our church. He said something very profound to me, “Mark, you know suffering is very close to the heart of God.”

Jesus experienced deep loss and grief. He wept at the death of Lazarus his friend. And can you imagine the pain and the grief he experienced as he watched his dear mother crying in front of him as he hung the cross dying? And what about the perspective from God the Father? Can you imagine watching your own son being tortured, humiliated and put to death? In the film the Passion of the Christ (by Mel Gibson) there is a fictional bit added to the scene where Jesus finally dies on the cross. A big tear drop from the sky falls to the ground. Though this is an added touch I think its appropriate as God the Father cries for his dear Son. And yes both Jesus and the Father knew there would be a resurrection in three days time but the suffering, the loss and the grief experienced was nonetheless real!

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15, 16 ESV)

Jesus deeply connects with our pain
Perhaps the translators should have swapped the word sympathize for empathize. The point is that Jesus’ ability to emotionally connect with our sufferings and temptations comes from his very own experience! He is not trying to understand or imagine how we might be feeling… he knows and identifies with our weaknesses, sufferings, griefs and temptations. He’s been there.

20140214-231623.jpg

Sometimes the only help one can offer someone suffering from grief is to listen, connect, understand, and cry with that person. Jesus is able to do that with us when we experience loss and grief whatever the depths.

A note to pastors and others…
Sometimes in life that ‘resurrection’ or restoration doesn’t come till much later and in the case of those who have lost a loved one – their ultimate hope will be heaven. As pastors and as friends of those who are grieving we need to learn how to sympathize. Yes quote the hope that we have in Christ. But first learn to sympathize with the suffering person. Jesus doesn’t always raise ‘Lazarus’ from the dead, but instead he points us to our future hope of glory and in the meantime sympathizes and cries with us in our grief and sorrows. So lets learn to do that if we are to be good friends and pastors for those who are grieving.

If you are grieving today…
If you are grieving today let me comfort you. Jesus is inviting you to come near to him. He will not condemn or judge you but rather he will embrace you with his scarred hands. He will cry with you. He will connect and understand you more than anyone else in this world is able to. When you are tempted to give up on God because of the terrible things that have happened (and that you can’t reconcile with a God of love!) – Jesus understands this full well. He too was tempted to give up on God through the week of his suffering passion. He was tempted to throw in the towel. He was tempted to curse God for his apparent abandonment. Of course he overcame and never gave in or sinned.

There maybe no apparent solutions to your loss. But Jesus is ready for you. You can cry… you should, its good for the soul and in it you may just find the God of all Glory crying with you!

Running the treadmill all alone

Identity, , , , , , , , , ,

It was the summer of 2012 and I was now off work for the whole summer in an attempt to recover from my chronic fatigue. During that summer period Sunday mornings were very strange for me as I did not attend or lead the church. On a typical Sunday morning during that summer you would find me at the gym working out while my church was about 100 meters away from me in the same shopping mall meeting in the Movie theatre! I felt like I was out in the wilderness laying low.

20140126-173344.jpg

Who was I now?
Who exactly was I now, running on that treadmill all alone? As the months moved on that question popped up as the ‘stripping down’ of my life increased. I went from having a good and high profile job to having no job and being unemployed for a long time. I went from having a decent salary to having nothing (including my family living in a homeless shelter later on). I went from having achieved a lot to suddenly being unable to achieve anything! I went from having lots of recognition to running the treadmill all alone in what felt like no-mans land. That was a very lonely time me.

In the ‘desert’ we find our true selves!
Despite this being a horrible time for me, looking back I can see some gems appearing. I discovered that God uses times like these to help us know who we truly are in Him. What I mean is this – when all your gifts, abilities, performance, achievements, recognition and approval from others is gone… who are you? How much are you worth when there is nothing you can do?

20140129-150555.jpg

God loved us before we had achieved or done anything!
I am so thankful for the truth of the gospel. It tells me something incredible!

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. (Romans 5:8 NLT)

This verse is one of my favourite verses in the whole bible! It tells me that when I was at my worst, a sinner, having not achieved any righteousness of my own, God still loved me! You can’t get worse than being a ‘sinner’ and yet God loved us while we were like that. We were precious and valuable to Him before we had earned or achieved anything. He loves us unconditionally and takes us in just as we are and then later cleans us up. I often think of my love for my children. I loved them right from day 1 before they were able to do anything!

My identity is in Christ!
Our God given gifts and callings are wonderful things, but they are not the primary way we find our self worth and identity! The ultimate answer to the question, ‘who are you now?’ is this – my identity and worth is in Jesus Christ. It’s in everything he is for me and has achieved for me. Whether I am a pastor or not, an achiever of great things or not, a money earner or not, my identity and worth is in Jesus Christ. And yes, even if I have failed and sinned throughout the day – I am still a righteous saint in Christ!

Who are you? What’s your identity in?
Maybe your worth and value is in your achievements at work and you are pretty driven! Or maybe you are an incredible and talented athlete but the thought of no longer having that makes you feel very empty and scared. Maybe you thrive from the admiration of the opposite sex because, well lets face it, you are pretty darn good looking! Maybe your hard earned cash and bank balance gives you a sense of achievement, entitlement and worth. Maybe you have a very high position in your work and love the feeling of that, but it’s a little scary when someone else is being praised or promoted. Maybe you were a great mother to your children but now they have all left home, and you feel lost with who you are and what your value is in. Maybe you are just a wonderful, nice and happy person to be around. People really love hanging out with you, but its getting exhausting keeping up that smile!

Don’t be afraid of losing things (or your life!)

Jesus said, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24 ESV)

Don’t be afraid of losing your life. Its scary at first, I know! But I have learnt that the stripping away of things in my life is helping me find my life again… but this time in Jesus. I lost the job I loved, lived for and dreamed of. I lost my health and ability to achieve things (sometimes all I could do in a day was… well, not a lot!). I became pretty low and self centered at times. But, I am now beginning to find that my real true life is rooted in God’s unconditional love for me. My value and worth is in Jesus Christ and not in what I have or how well I have done that day.

So, if you are going through a desert time in your life right now, or feel the whole world is being taken away from you, God might just be using this time to help you rediscover your life, worth and identity in Him.

Tongue-tied at the Big Rock Cafe!

Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

It was May 2012 and I had arrived in Washington state for a 2 week retreat on my own without my family. I had not yet been diagnosed as having Chronic fatigue or a serious case of ‘burn out’. My plan was to rest for two weeks and then be ready again to get back into London life, leading our church plant – Freedom Church. Little did I know my optimistic view was way off!

Each day I would go on a daily walk, along the College Way up to the Big Rock cafe and then turn back.

20140122-112538.jpg

It would take me about 45 minutes to do this walk. The main reason for this was I had to walk very slowly so not to get my heart rate going too much or I would just flag and feel ill. I could barely walk without the fatigue kicking in! I loved the walk though, it was so peaceful and beautiful.

A few days into my retreat I met up with John Westra, a friend of mine and the pastor of the local church where I was staying. We met together to chat at the Big Rock Cafe!

20140122-111303.jpg

We talked about my health, the church plant, and a number of other things. But then he asked me an intriguing question.

“Mark what do you think God is saying to you at the moment”?

I paused, tongue-tied. I had no idea! This wasn’t a question about what God was saying about my work or the church but about me… It was a really good question. If I was literally face to face with God, my nose right against his looking into his eyes, what would he say to me? My answer was, ‘I don’t know, I really don’t.’

Ninety percent of my prayer life was about the exciting church plant and ministry, or big needs in my life. The other ten percent I am not really sure about! One thing I began to realize though was this,

God might be more interested in a relationship with me than chatting all the time about how his new church was going in north London!

I had substituted intimacy and relationship with God for the thrill of work and ministry.

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5)

Jesus did not suffer and give his life on a cross to simply share me with another idol; even the ministry! God is a passionate God and He is passionate about us. He gave everything he had that he might gain us for relationship. He wants us because he loves us so dearly.

This was just the beginning of a long and painful journey. I certainly had not ‘got’ all this in just one meeting at the Big rock cafe! God was going to be working on this very subject over the next two years (and he still is).

My question to you as you are reading this

My question to you is simple – ‘what is God saying to you at the moment?’ I don’t mean about your work, or about the problems in your marriage or family household or even about your future plans. If you were face to face with God right now in the midst of all your busyness and burdens what would God be saying to you? Maybe you have failed in some area of your life. Maybe you are stuck in sin and have drifted away from God. Maybe you really don’t like yourself. Maybe life is just very chaotic for you right now. But step away for a moment… Pause… Have you taken time out to just stop? Have you taken time out to sit quietly before God and hear his voice and words to you? What do you think God is saying to you? Don’t give the Sunday bible school answer either. Get real. What do you actually believe He thinks about you right now in the midst of your life? God wants more of you… He is after closeness and time spent with you. He loves you. He paid a great price to ‘get’ you!

Sometimes a ‘desert’ time in our lives is actually God’s way of pursuing us…