In the silence

A new song's up on my scribblings blog, 'In the silence'. Written out of reflection on how it is so vital that we make time to just be still before God, and let him minister to our spirit - healing, challenging, reminding, knowing him better.

I hope you're challenged by it.

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

In the silence

The lyrics for this song came to me a couple of evenings ago, after I'd had a good chat witha friend about making time just to be still before God. So often we try and give time to to God without giving him a word in edgeways, so afraid of the silence and just being still before our loving heavenly father, out God. This song is born out of that need to be still, the challenge that comes from it, and the importance of making time to stop and listen to God, be healed by him, and accept his grace afresh each and every day.

In the silence

V1.
_______C_______Dm
When the day is shut out
______C/E_____ Fmaj7___Gsus4, G
and the tongue, it is silenced at last.
_____ Am ___________________
When I come on my knees and subdue
____G_______________F
these legs always moving so fast,
____C_______________Bb
and I wait as the stillness descends,
Fsus4____ F_______ G
wait for my shepherd to speak,
____Am_______Am/G_____C_Dm_ C/E_F
and I know that in waiting here, no-thing is__lost
___Am_______ Fmaj7___G
as I admit afresh, 'Lord I am weak'

Ch.
______C__________
And the silence it comes
_____Am______________Bb__F
as I'm laying my heart at your feet
____C___________
your spirit flows over it
Am_________________Bb__G
healing me, making me complete.
___ Dm
This peace is not temporary,
C/E_ F_C/G_F
there for a___while,
_____ Bb___________ G
but for-ever it rests in my soul,
________C___
making me whole

V2.
When my troubles are laid
at the foot of the cross where you died,
when I open my heart to you,
admitting what's really inside,
then your peace steals over me
at once and again
peace that reminds of my saviour's refrain
when once and for all my troubles he took
'it's done' was his cry, as it says in the book

V3.
When I physically stop
and gaze at the cross once again
and meditate on all that you did,
may my heart not know shame,
but the grace that you bought
this poor sinner's soul with,
and rose him to new life in you
remind me afresh of the price that you paid,
that my heart would be humbled by you

V4.
Has the peace that once filled your heart
all but expired?
Is the passion now smouldering
that used to burn hot as a fire?
The get on your knees,
let the silence pour down,
and the spirit envelop afresh
that depth of your soul
that so deeply desires to know him
and feel his caress

Bridge.
____Dm_____________
Then down on your knees
______Dm/C______
let your heart open up
_______Bb__________
put your pride to the side
______C_______
let him heal you up
______Dm____________
and the arms that flung stars
_____ C/E__F__Gm7__F/A
and the hands that held_ nails
_______Bb__G__G/F
hold you tight

Rats!

Well, one actually, but it was 'really big!' according to Sue. Roger and I were happily playing games in the lounge when Sue screamed somewhat loudly and of course it was all hands on deck! There was indeed a rat hiding underneath the sideboard-top hob. So 5-10 minutes later, after accidentally chasing it through the kitchen and into the lounge, it bucketed! Mwa ha haa!!

Sterling work and jolly good fun too. Not sure if my suggestion of letting it go so we could catch it again went down well with Sue though ;)

Below: the BEASTIE!















A mean non-green furry machine. Or something like that. 3 foot across at least.

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

pkhugsjh

It is a rather random name for a blog post, but have a look at the pic below















Spot the hug! Isn't it funny how in the midst of a day that seems utterly random in itself, in the the middle of crazy events, how a hug can be hidden in there secretely - and how it can make all the difference?

Gotta love how the simple things are often the most profound and memorable, like how a hug can turn someone's day around 180 degrees.

Have you hugged someone today?

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Meet the IGs

Yes, I've finally got around to posting something about my fellow IGs! See the pic below for a collage of stuff we've done, what we look like, and a well-known phrase of ours.. enjoyez-vous!

















TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

More of Jesus, less of me

I started writing this during a Sunday morning church service a while ago, and meant to post it a while ago. So much for my memory, but I came across it this morning and finally got around to blogging it. This poem was written along the central question of do we want more of Jesus in us, putting more of our self to the side and letting him refine us and mould us in his time, love and discipline. Enough of my prattle though, the poem says it better than I do.

More of Jesus, less of me

More of Jesus, less of me,
is this what I want to see?
My whole life I must freely give
if Jesus' life I wish to live.

More of Jesus' love in me;
love that set this captive free,
love that heals this wounded soul,
love that only makes me whole.

More of Jesus' truth in me;
truth that shows me how to be,
truth that guides me in his light,
truth that leads me through the night.

Mopre of Jesus' truth in me;
trusat that held at Calvary,
trust that bears my burden's weight,
trust that keeps my footsteps straight.

More of Jesus' zeal in me;
zeal that makes me e'er decree
that Jesus Christ is all I need,
to righteous tree from humble seed.

More of Jesus' power in me;
power that stands me firm in thee,
power that speaks life in a breath,
power that broke the chains of death.

More of Jesus, less of me,
this is what I want to see.
Trust firm-placed and hope fulfilled,
Heart on fire, and all fear stilled.

Jesus, Saviour, lord and friend,
make me more like you, til when
we stand before the throne, renewed;
our hopes fulfilled, complete, in you.

It's an amazing thought to remember that one day we will have all our hopes fulfilled in God when we stand before him on that glorious day and hear him say 'welcome, my good and faithful servant'. The question stands again; do we want more of Jesus in the mean time, do we want to glorify him more with our lives? And that is a question of the heart - not mind.

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Reading you your rights

I've been doing a bit of thinking about the post I wrote a couple of days ago based on the poem by Annie Johnson Flint about God's promises, and how God doesn't promise us many things that we may assume should be ours by right. And that was the thing that's been striking me during some of my quiet times lately, what do we think are our rights? What do we assume is ours by right? So, what do we really have rights to?

In my quiet times, I've been meditating in Acts 16:16-40 - Paul and Silas' encounter with the fortune-telling slave girl (posessed by an evil spirit) and their subsequent flogging and being thrown into prison. Several questions came to my mind. Was this unexpected? What rights did they think they had when they were free, and in prison? Did they think their rights were being violated? So this got me thinking about what our true rights are as Christians, as inherited sons and daughters of the living God, called to live for him in a world that hates his light.

In the light of us being called to serve God in this world, as Paul and Silas were, we have a right to endure whatever the world throws at us for the glory of God, to bear it as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23-24,). It is an immense priviledge to serve God, wherever he puts us. Were Paul and Silas surprised that they got thrown into prison? I highly doubt it. They'd been on the road for God for quite a while, living out the the gospel reality that suffering and persecution (in their various forms) are things we should expect when we take the gospel to people. This should serve as a stark reminder that the world we're called to live and speak the gospel in hates the light that it offers.

Another question that came to my mind was that of justice. What did Paul and Silas think was going on with God when he let them be thrown into prison? Did they wonder where his justice was there and then? Do we have a right to justice? And the answer to that is a resounding yes! We have a right to a just ruling from God; one that will be carried out when he returns. In the mean time, do we have a right to justice here on earth when we're unfairly treated or downtrod by those around us? Being called to be a Christian is not a call to be a doormat to the world, it's being called to a supporting joist for the kingdom of God.

The greatest thing of importance to us in any situation should be of staying true to God, of standing up for the gospel, then for our friends and those around us, and then for ourselves - in the same way that we're called to think of God first in all things, then those around us, and then ourselves. Does this mean we neglect ourselves? Not at all, it means humbling ourselves, not worrying for our own needs, and trusting that God will provide for everything he knows we need. Make no mistake, when Paul and Silas went on the road for God they knew the risks of walking the line for him. But they chose to put the furthering of the gospel and the glory of God in front of their own comfort and rights that the world insists we should have - like security and physical safety.

I think about my life and how much more tempting it is to choose the easier option - avoid a conversation that would challenge me, choose not to confront a friend about something for the sake of your friendship (when in fact a true friend would challenge, rather than stand by), steer away from the conversation that would mean you stand up for your faith. And Paul and Silas had the same opportunity - walking away from the situation with the slave girl with the fortune-telling evil spirit, being broken in prison, taking the easy conversations with the Greeks and avoiding the zealous Jews. But they chose the that a) glorified God above themselves, putting them often in harm's way, and b) acknowledged God's sovreignty over their lives, trusting him with their futures - on a day to day basis. They took the rights the world said they should have and endured cultural and social shame, knowing that their real worth and glory would be found in God, when he reveals himself.

Are we so easily tempted to steer away from the decision that glorifies God at the expense of our own comfort? Or are we willing to claim the right God offers us; his justice in his time. Do we trust that he'll provide what we need, and lay our cares at his feet? Are we willing to put his glory first, and humble ourselves so we can serve him better? Big challenges, but one patient God who can help us make it happen

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Murder y'say? And exams too?!

Yep it's true, murder reared its ugly head yesterday evening! To be more precise, 11 of us tried to work out who murdered the famous and handsome Jed Manhattan at a party, dressed as our characters. The only downside really, was ending up being Ivy Fields, a chat show hostess - not my own choice I hasten to add! I blame the lack of male characters in the pack. But that aside, the evening was a resounding success, special mentions go to Ben as the mystic 'Zane', and Lizzie's Sterling performance as Jed's long-forgotten mother, 'Zena Zinopolis' - Greek to the core.

Pics will be posted once I get around to getting the pics off my camera!

In the mean time, the dreaded exam week is nearly on us all here at Hebron! Scary biscuits for my poor standard 7 maths pupils (no less because of me teaching them!) but also for many music students as they start working towards their exams for near term. Things to definitely keep in mind for prayer, both for my students and for my teaching as this really is the last week of revision before the week of exams.

Yet despite the busy times that are happening here, Lizzie and I are starting to finalise our travel plans for after the term ends in June. Dead exciting! North India, South India and Sri Lanka are all on the list of places we'll be going. We're also coming back 4 days earlier now, so if you happen to be in the neighbourhood (Swindon) or near Heathrow airport on the 9th, you might well bump into me! Though 7am is far too unholy a time to get back into the country at ;)

Righty, time is short (much like me) and I've got to be off to buy baby corn. Yes, I know it's a fairly random thing to suddenly feel like doing, but then again, this is me we're talking about :)

Until anon, a new newsletter will be written soon!

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal