One thing struck me the other day.

The question was, “do you think that humans were designed to live in the past, the present or the future?”

Now that is a good question.

The answer, according to the book – and, I think, reality – is the present. (Big tick if you got that one right!)

But where do we spend most of our thought-life? Worrying about the future? Looking forward to the future? Ashamed about the past? Celebrating the past (1966)? Thinking about where we want to get to? Scared about where we might end up?

When I read this, it struck me just how much of my time is spent not in the present. I realise that, when I am with my kids, so often I’m thinking about what I would rather be doing or thinking about what I will be doing when they’ve gone to bed.

That’s rubbish!

I should be celebrating every moment that I am alive with my children. When my older son was first born I remember that time stopped still. All I wanted to do was just be with him; to look at him; to love him; to hold him. I was not looking forward to him growing up. I wanted him to be exactly how he was right then, in that moment.

It was brilliant! Not rubbish; brilliant.

When I was a young Christian I always thought that when I was a “mature” Christian then I would not struggle with sin anymore, so I would “hang on” and wait for that to happen instead of living for when and where I was. (Now I understand and I have given up any hope of ever being mature).

You see, despite all of our training and in-built default otherwise, it is actually much easier for us to focus on right now. To walk with Jesus right now. It does not matter where we were walking, because that has gone; or where we will walk, because he has that under control. Just where we are walking. As Jesus puts it in Matthew 6:33,34 – just seek his rule. Right now, surrender to him. In this moment; and now this moment; and this… and now this…

Imagine not worrying about what people will think of us tomorrow? Not worrying about how successful we will be? Not worrying about the consequences of radically trusting him? Not worrying about whether we’ll have enough money!? Just doing it, because we are surrendered to him!?

Look around. It’s a beautiful world. Love Jesus. Love the people around you. Love your family. Enjoy the sights and the smells and the feel of it all.

Kids do that all the time. They have much more fun than us. They laugh an average of 300 times a DAY. We laugh an average of 15 times a day. Why do you think Jesus told us to be like children? It’s much more fun.

Even for me, the one thing that is clear is that when the wave comes, you just have to be on it.

You wait for it, you swim out to be there ready, you see it coming, you prepare and the most annoying thing is missing it!

It feels like there is a wave right now. It feels as though everything is just that bit more exciting: people are starting to following Jesus all of a sudden – a lot of people; people are prophesying more; people are getting touched by the Spirit in more powerful ways; more people are stepping up to the mark and getting involved in reaching out.

I do not want to miss this wave.

There have been other waves. I look back at times when God moved powerfully and we sat back and enjoyed it and when it was over we were sad and then we looked for the next wave. But once everything had settled, we were still sitting where we were before, only disappointed.

You see, riding the wave is not the same as sitting in the water while the wave lifts you up and puts you back down. That can feel great but once the wave has passed, you’re still where you were to begin with. I don’t want to be in the same spot. I want to get on this wave and ride it all the way to the place where it dumps me.

I am convinced that God is doing something with us right now. So here are my thoughts:

Let’s not have more meetings.

Let’s not stand around and wait for something to happen

Let’s not close our eyes and wait to feel all warm and fuzzy.

Let’s get out there.

Let’s be more generous than ever with our time, energy and money.

Let’s pray for as many people as we can for healing.

Let’s tell as many people as we can about amazing it is to know Jesus.

Let’s pour ourselves out for those who cannot help themselves.

Let’s feed the hungry, love the lonely and set the oppressed free.

Oh Lord, when this wave has finished, please do not let us be in the same spot we are.

Amen.

Wimber, speaking as a church leader used, to say, “people do people stuff”. In other words: people are going to hurt each other: they are going to make mistakes; they are going to make stupid decisions; they are going to be predictably unpredictable; but they are also going to do wonderful things.

He also used to say, ironically, “I love the bridegroom [Jesus], but have you seen the bride [the church]”.

People. Man, we could do a great church without people.

Hmmm. Maybe not.

We’ve just done a series on the “Sermon on the Mount”. If you take out the chapter headings and the nice little “helpful” section titles and just listen to the words of a carpenter-rabbi from Nazareth, you hear the ones of someone who just loves people. He loves the ones who love him. He loves the ones who hate him. He loves the ones who tried to kill him. He loves the ones who tried to use him. He loves the ones who judge others. He loves the ones who are unfairly judged. He loved the ones who are divorced. He loves the ones who are oppressed. He loves the ones who oppress. He loves the ones who mourn; who are poor in spirit; who are without hope; the lonely; the downtrodden; the Pharisees; the zealots; the Romans; and even, most unbelievably, he seems to love Christians (although there were no Christians present at the sermon on the mount, obviously).

Christians who malign him; misrepresent him; do the most abominable things in his name; curse him; hurt him and treat him like a religious set of rules and he even loves the ones who say that he hates people.

God just loves people. Really, really, really, really, really, really loves them.

He just loves them.

He just loves us.

Maybe, just maybe, if we got the tiniest inkling of just how much he loves us then we just would not do half the things that we do.

Maybe, just maybe, if I had the tiniest inkling of how much I am loved by the creator of everything that I will ever know, then I’d be able to begin to love people like he loves them.

Imagine a church which is known for just loving people.

Now that’s a church that I’d want to be part of.

The longer it went on the more I prayed and the more dependent on God I became. Even if it was just to bang my fists against his chest and shout at him for not making it happen quicker. But that’s just because I am so godly and patient!

Then it all just happened. Suddenly. One minute it’s not happening, the next I am literally running up and down the high street in Southampton getting documents signed by lawyers and bankers drafts from banks to lawyers and then keys from agents.

It has felt as though I have been pretty much running ever since then. Crazy! Fix the roof; fix the boiler; electricity on; gas on; water on; alarm reset; rubbish cleared out; shelves up; move stuff over; clean the place; cut keys; cut keys again because they were done wrong in the first place; buy stuff etc. etc.

In the midst of it, in the rare moments where I can think, I remember that it was Jesus’ idea in the first place, and that in the middle of the “stuff” it is so easy to lose sight of him. Often, people talk about how busy they are as some kind of badge to say how important they must be. Or maybe that is just me? Honestly, I think this is the opposite of the values of the kingdom. I think that when I feel the most busy, it is when I am least focussed on Jesus.

We have a race to run. Ours (Southampton Vineyard) seems to have taken us (as least for the moment) to a shop front in Bitterne Triangle, but if I fix my eyes on the shop front and not on the author and perfector of my faith then I am seriously going to get lost.

We’re nearly ready now. It can so easily feel as though you’ve reached the end of the race, when all that has happened is that you’ve made it to the starting blocks. The scariest thing now is that we actually have to deliver. We can all talk a good race. I’m great at that – talking – but what about the doing.

So, what am I looking at? The Old Chemist? The jobs that need doing? What we’ve achieved? The exciting ideas? Or Jesus – you know, the one who had the idea (in this case the Old Chemist, but for you, please slot in the appropriate words) in the first place.

Something in me just keeps nagging that if I’d kept my eyes fixed on him throughout this entire process then the whole thing may just have been a LOT more fun and a LOT less stressful. I am sure that my stubbornness will prevent me from learning from this, but it would be good if I did though.

Hmmm.

A few weeks ago we went to New Wine and someone there was talking about an interview that Rick Warren gave. He was talking about the year when his book sold millions and was an amazing success, but at the same time his wife got cancer and was not miraculously healed, despite being prayed for. He said that he no longer thought of life as being good times and then bad times, in a sort of hilly road towards old age, but more as two rail tracks – one being good things and the other bad things, both happening at the same time. It is our choice and challenge to not focus on more of those rails to the exclusion of the other.

He also said that he thought that our lives were a series of problems: “either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one” he said cheerfully. God uses these problems to change us to be more like Jesus – “God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy”, more interested in developing your character than making you comfortable.

It made me think about my perspective on the events of each day. When things are frustrating, is this an opportunity for me to learn patience?

It also made me think about what Jesus promises in John 16, where he says that whatever we ask the Father in his name we shall receive. When we ask in Jesus name, it means asking in his character, asking as if we were Jesus. So we will get what we ask for if it is what Jesus would ask for us. What would Jesus want us to ask for? In the context of John he has just been talking about disciples loving one another, so that is one thing straight off. And if a disciple is meant to become like his master, then we should not just be asking for love, but compassion, the ability to forgive and everything else that Jesus showed us.

And that made me reflect on my prayers – how often do I pray for God to change me, and how often to I ask God to change my circumstances? I am certainly not saying that we should not ask God to intervene in the situations we find ourselves in, and it is true that he will answer some of those prayers in his grace. But I find myself thinking that I should also be talking to God and praying for help changing me inside, so that I become more like Jesus quicker rather than more comfortable.

But we are Christians, so that kind of love should be easy! After all, Jesus modelled that for us, didn’t he? He died for us. We know that and so it is easy for us to respond to that in love.

Isn’t it?

Love – agape – its a BIG word. So big that it means that we just cannot carry on the way that we were. It means that others are always, always, always more important than I am.
Yeah, but I am really comfortable. I’m settled. I have a nice group of like-minded friends around me and I’m happy like that.

I wonder.

What about the others? You know, “them”*. The one’s who aren’t in your circle and, frankly, if they were then your circle would not be so much fun anymore.
Is it possible to be defined by love and not include “them”.
Things have changed. We used to be content in our little homogenous group – we even did things for “them” – bought food; clothes; helped – went out of our way.

But then God stuck his ore in, and messed everything up. I’m not sure we can be like we were anymore.
Actually, I am not sure we ever could, really.

I used to think that I was meant to plant a church like the one that I would like to come to – in terms of teaching about meetings and music and infrastructure etc. But then, what about people who are not like me? What about those who have not had the benefits that I have had? You know, the people with whom Jesus spent all his time?

We’re meant to be defined by love. If we are, then “they” have to be in the middle of it, because Jesus spent his life surrounded by “them” and he is our model for “love”.

Isn’t he?

The mystery of the church should be that there are so many different people with different backgrounds and different experiences from all demographics all living together in genuine unity and love. So, we need to change. We cannot carry on in a way that excludes anyone. Not in our Sunday meetings, our housegroups or our friendship groups. We’ll have to break out of our stereotypes, get to know people not like us, change the way we do things and realise that this is the way that it is meant to be this way. Because that is what Jesus was like.

Man, its hard being a Christian sometimes!

*technical term for people not like us

I wondered if the reverse would be true? If I went out of my way to look for examples of unkindness -  would I be overwhelmed by how mean everyone around me is? I think so. I decided (very late last night) that what I choose to focus on,  I see.

So I am reflecting on this verse this week because choosing to ‘think about’ the kindness and the lovely things in life inspires me to want to be kinder and lovelier.  I’m sure the same is true of  the noble, right, pure, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things. But I’m saving those for next week.

^“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ” (Phil 4 v8 )

We saw some amazing changes in people and a good number of healings taking place.  According to the database that I have kept since then, 40 healings involving people from our church either praying for people or being prayed for.  Now, some of those have gone on to show no further problems, some of them are “partially” healed and some of them seem to have gone back to how they were.  Still, its exciting.

The problem is that actually, at the end of September, we’d seen 35 healings and since then, only 5.  Hmmm.  So what’s that about then?  Is God on holiday?  Has the moment (Or to use Christian jargon- the “season”) passed? 

Or maybe, just maybe, we’re not praying for people so much…

Or at all?

Its definately the same God.  I checked in my Bible.  He definately still heals. and He definately told us to do the same.  I checked that too.

I have to confess, I have lost a lot of my enthusiasm (or expectation, or faith) for it.  Last July, I felt quite afronted if someone was not healed, whereas now it takes something to muster the energy to even try.

In Lakeland, he told me to pray for 100 people to be healed.  In my wildest dreams, I hoped to have seen ten of them healed.  But I didn’t.  I saw 27 of them healed.

Why did I stop?  Why did we stop?

Good question.

Here’s a challenge.  Make a commitment in your heart and before God to pray for the next ten sick people who you encounter.  At home, at work, at play, on the streets.  Then tell us the stories because that will surely build our faith/expectation/enthusiasm.

Go on.  I dare you!  I’ll do it too.

He thought it’d be nice if we no longer had to edit web pages to give you our ruminations, so he installed some proper blogging software. What’s more, this new-fangled wizardry enables you to leave comments on our thoughts – a dangerous prospect if ever I heard one.

You can also (if you’re so inclined) subscribe to the blog using RSS – so you can be sure you won’t miss out on any of the wisdom that will pour forth.

Since Matthew has forced usernames and passwords into the sticky mitts of all the members of the leadership team, you might find posts coming from a range of people… watch this space.

But, all this week, something has been rattling round my head. The one question that just will not go away.

Just think.

Just imagine.

What if?

What if we, as followers of Jesus throughout the western world, lived like this all the time?

What if we really did not buy into Babylon?

What if we chose to live in a way that flies in the face of our greed-driven culture?

What if we modelled a way of life that is possible and is radical and the world could see this?

What if?

What if we even just met somewhere “in the middle”.

I am not sure “what if”, but I am pretty sure that the church would truly be an amazing power for good in the world and the world would surely be a different place.

A better place.

Much, much better.