Author: Adrian Clark

In the BBC programme “Pointless”, Alexander Armstrong asks the contestants in turn, “Tell me all about yourself”. It really is a pointless question, because two or three sentences cannot give an answer. Invariably, people will describe themselves in terms of the jobs and hobbies they are involved in, taxi-drivers, teachers, doctors, or marketing executives. Even a vicar or two, I seem to remember. And the same with hobbies – some people have more unusual hobbies like bee keeping or lepidopterology, which they expound with a pride not exhibited by the readers or film watchers. But it doesn’t say much about themselves. What they are really like.

But if asked the same question as a Christian, what do I say? My favourite is, “I’m a pilgrim, traveling through the highways and byways of life, heading for a Heavenly home when my assignment to Planet Earth has come to an end.” But even then it doesn’t say much about who I am; rather it says what I’m doing. “Who am I?” is a much more complex question to answer. I have children and grandchildren, so I’m a father and grandfather. If I walk to the Co-op, I’m a shopper. If I then make some soup, I’m a cook. In a sense, I’m constantly reinventing myself, changing who I am in this terrestrial kingdom. But thankfully in God I am special and unchanging. Because God is unchanging, and I am His son. I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). I am loved (Galatians 2:20). I am precious (Isaiah 43:4). I’m created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). And there are many more Scriptures that describe who I am in God’s kingdom.

Sadly, a citizen of the worldly culture in which we live doesn’t really know much about who they are, because they have no absolute values on which to base their conclusions. And so many people lapse into negative thoughts about themselves. They compare their waist size with an airbrushed model in a woman’s magazine and conclude they are fat, bringing on depression. Social media pushes ideas that are unattainable, bullying the more vulnerable. Advertising exposes our lack of sufficient funds to buy the next “must-have”. And so on. And the clamour of so much stress and conflict hitting our minds can induce confusion and mental illness, and lead to a conclusion that we are without identity and worth. But all the more reason why we should be sure of our identities in Christ, so that we can expose the shortcomings of the worldly kingdom with our testimonies, promoting the wonder of a kingdom, whose King took on the culture of His time and showed us a better way.

But I smile when I think of the look on Alexander’s face, if I said, “I’m a pilgrim…”. But don’t think I’ve lost my senses – I have no desire to appear on Pointless.

D-Day celebrations are being held for the 75th anniversary, 6th June 2019. Remembering the largest military naval, air and land operation ever attempted, and the mind-boggling numbers of casualties, is the very least we can do. The Queen today paid tribute to the heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who died, and quite rightly so. In the war years there was a sense of unity that bound people and communities together, as the UK faced a common foe. Just about everyone in the country, regardless of status, pulled together to do what they could, suffering hardship, deprivation and grief in the process. And we always need to remember, and insist that future generations also remember, the sacrifices paid by my parents’ generation, for the freedom of the society in which we live.

The post-Pentecost Early Church was birthed in a wonderful spirit of unity. Acts 2:44 “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” Acts 4:32, “All the believers were united in heart and mind.” So what can a pilgrim tramping through the highways and by-ways of life make of the dysfunctional and disunited Church today? He looks on at the many denominations, different factions and beliefs, the rise of liberalistic theologies, the introduction of sinful practices into church liturgies and government, even the abandonment of many of the principles laid down in the First Century by men and women who were united in their determination to spread the Good News of Jesus in their communities, fulfilling the Great Commission. It would be easy to give a shrug and conveniently turn the head and consider something else. But Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “…I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it“. It is worth considering what Jesus didn’t say as well as what He did say. It isn’t a conditional statement with mankind as a dependency. It’s a straight forward statement of fact – Jesus will build His Church. So every Christian pilgrim needs to illuminate his meanderings through life with the teachings of Jesus, using the foundations laid down by the Apostles and the Early Church as stepping stones, doing our part to protect the unity of our faith, regardless of what others are doing. And we always need to remember, and insist that future generations also remember, the sacrifices paid by the heroes of our faith two thousand years ago.

Spring has sprung upon the world
New leaves stretching to the sky
A carpet of green has been unfurled
Bringing new life, replacing the dullness.

Spring has sprung again this year
Bird song echoes through the woods
The sound of praise without a care
Different calls breaking into true silence.

Spring has sprung bringing blessings
Cherry blossom scents the air
Clinging tight before the winds
Blows it all away.

Spring has sprung, a symphony of praise
All of creation joining together
Expressing its worship in many ways
To our Creator, our wondrous Saviour.

Maundy Thursday morning 2019. The day is dry but overcast, with lighter patches in the clouds towards the East and South. A slight mistiness hangs in the air, reducing the distant Saline Hill to a dim and indistinct outline. A cold but light breeze from the East comes and goes, lazily stirring the air, producing gusts and eddies of no real consequence. Archie, our pet Westie, is doing his usual nasal inspection of the blades of grass, tracking down another nice odour. I notice a patch of sun in the distance, illuminating the road, reflecting off parked cars, and I look up to find its source. The clouds are moving across the sky quite quickly, and they briefly part to form a bright patch, with a watery sun doing its best to break through. But it is the shape of the patch that catches my attention – I continue to look as the form of a heart develops before dissolving and disappearing, blown by the wind.

That heart shape reminded me again of what God did through His Son Jesus all those years ago. He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to die for us, taking on an undeserved punishment, and the sins of the world, past, present and future, that for all who believe in Him, we might gain life, eternally in His presence. God’s heart is that none will be lost to a dark and godless eternity. May all reading this blog this morning experience God’s love in a new way this Easter. Look up and find a heart. And find a loving Saviour.

I’m standing on the point adjacent to the causeway to St Mary’s Island at Whitley Bay. A gale from the South East is whipping up the North Sea into a wild mixture of waves and breakers, liberally spattered with surf, bubbles and spray. The foreshore is mainly rocky and shallow approaching the causeway, and the wind-blown waves morph into breakers, long and white, that rush up and over the more prominent rocks, eventually reaching the shore, there to vomit their watery contents over the rocks and sand, expending the energy of the wind-blown maelstrom into a final attempt to reach dry land. Momentarily the surf and bubble-topped, green-tinted water pauses, as though at a loss to know what to do next, before slowly returning to re-join the next wave coming in. Who could have thought that a molecule formed by two gases (hydrogen and oxygen) and combined with countless more, could present such a scene. But our God created it – we can wonder but not be surprised. Our Creator is the all-powerful Master Designer, Chemist and Engineer.

In Mark 4, we read that Jesus rebuked the wind and commanded the waves to be quiet. As I look out over the North Sea, absolute mayhem is taking place. As far as I can see there are waves, spray, breakers, all uniting in a mighty demonstration of stormy power. And yet, our Creator God can bring peace to the chaos by speaking a word. The storms of life can wear us down, as the waves have worn and polished the rocks around St Mary’s Island. So what problems am I hanging onto, feeling chaos and pain, when I have a God who can bring peace to my soul with a word? Hmmm…

Annie was a poet and hymn writer who lived from 1866 to 1932, and I was recently touched by her story. For most of her adult life she was gripped by arthritis, in great and constant pain, and was an invalid dependent on others for her personal care. But in spite of all her adversity, she could write this hymn:

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labours increase,
To added afflictions he addeth his mercy,
To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half-done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, his grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of his infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

I have known people over the years who have a similar spirit, finding depths in God I can only marvel at. People who always seem to find something positive in their pain and suffering. A biographer wrote of Annie, “she felt what she wrote, and out of the crucible of suffering she was able to administer that comfort to others wherewith she herself had been comforted of God.” So if you are in pain today, remember Annie and be encouraged, as you draw on the “infinite riches in Jesus”. And for those of us who are not, let’s thank God for our health, and look for ways in which we can comfort and support those who are not so fortunate, using the resources God has given us.

I was reading Psalm 65 this morning and the last two verses particularly caught my eye.

The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture
And the hillsides blossom with joy.
The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep
And the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!

I love the word pictures in these short lines – “blossom with joy”, and “clothed with flocks”. “Carpeted with grain”. So expressive. Directing thoughts into musings about pastoral pictures based in our local rural landscapes in Scotland.

This winter has been milder than last and we have been blessed with an early display of snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils. It’s been a year since my friend David passed away. His legacy lives on in the community – in fact it is growing, because the daffodils and crocuses he planted are multiplying. And they came early this year to increase the blessings. The leaves on the trees and shrubs are starting to bud and burst into new growth. My rose tree is reaching out heavenwards with new shoots, confirming to the doubters that I didn’t kill it with the last pruning!

Talking about doubts, is there someone reading this blog this morning, who has doubts about God? Perhaps they have looked at world events, despairing over the political mayhem, the terrorist atrocity in New Zealand. Or their own circumstances filled with pain, or a lack of hope for the future? Perhaps the thought of having to face another day is starting to prevail, a thought forcing itself into your mind, even though unwelcome and intrusive, but still strident in its despair. Well, I felt God say to me in a gentle whisper, “Helloooo! I am still here – just look around at My creation”.

God never slumbers or sleeps. He never leaves things undone. He is constantly working to complete His plans, His will, His purposes for His creation. And that includes you and me. And I never get over the fact that the beauty and life in our natural world is under a curse, blighted and stunted by Adamic sin. One day creation’s groans, and our griefs and mourning, will be no more. And what will all creation, including you and me, be like then! It’s definitely worth lifting our eyes into the heavens, to get a glimpse into the real Heaven, our future home. And feel the relief of no more terrorism, Brexit, pain and grief flood into our souls.

The chimney was belching forth an acrid, pungent, plume of smoke and steam. Polluting the air around me. It was otherwise one of those calm, fresh, crisp, early March mornings. Temperature just above freezing. Overnight rain had stopped and the threat of further inclemency had receded. But back to my neighbour with his wood burning stove (“multi-fuel” he calls it). It wouldn’t be so bad if he was burning the sort of fuel that is supposed to be used, but he tends to pile all sorts of rubbish onto the flames. But society has changed. It wasn’t so long ago that every house had an open fireplace, burning coal mainly. Particularly in the West of Fife where I live, populated as it has been by miners using their weekly allowance of coal. In fact the adjacent village of Oakley, nestling in a hollow adjacent to the main Dunfermline to Stirling road, was nicknamed “Smoakley” because of the pall of smoke gushing from chimneys which, on still days, filled the atmosphere like a dense fog. But the mining days are long gone, and a gas main provides the main source of heating fuel in our village today.

For society to function well, it needs people who put the rights of others before their own. Most people around me are good neighbours but there’s always a few who don’t care for others. But before I extend my “rant” to another neighbour with her loud radio and tuneless vocals,  I have to remember what Jesus said about our neighbours. He was very clear about what being neighbourly meant, with His teachings based on the Good Samaritan parable, and His quotation from Deuteronomy 22 – “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important:‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. Paul wrote as well in Philippians 2 – “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too”.

So I won’t go and hammer on Bill’s door. Instead, I’ll pray for him and his wood burning stove, that I will be more tolerant, and that he will find something suitable to burn that doesn’t make us all choke. And we’ll get on fine. But that woman – when I was at school I built an electronics device that jammed radio broadcasts. I wonder what I did with the circuit diagram…

There’s “stour” on the main road between where we live and the county of Clackmannanshire. “Stour” is a great Scottish word, meaning “dust forming a cloud or deposited in a mass”. That aptly describes the mess left on the road by the constant procession of lorries moving the remains of coal mining in the West of Fife to somewhere else, a red dust that quickly coats every car panel and window. Vehicles quickly attract this dust and the process of removal requires rinsing, washing, rinsing again, with perhaps a periodic polish to build up a protective layer that will help remove the dirtiness next time. But it is easy to lose heart, as many do, because the next journey sees the return of “stour”. And those who fail to keep their vehicle clean are easily spotted – usually the number plate has acquired the same ubiquitous coating as that covering the rest of their pride and joy. Some even say that eventually the dirtiness plateaus (or is it plateaux) and doesn’t get any worse.

I think you know where I’m heading – our Christian lives can suffer from “stour”. Not a physical dust or grime, but a negative and sinful accumulation of rubbish picked up as we journey through life. Switch on the TV and watch the news – very little is “good”, most is “bad”. Adverts blast us with invitations to buy more, eat more, watch more; in fact very little of it is necessary. And around us the conversation easily lapses into unwholesome talk about others. And our own sinful lusts and passions add to the mix. So we need to regularly wash and rinse off the sinful “stour” that can so easily cover us. Two Scriptures come to mind. We have Ephesians 5:25b-26, ”Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” And also 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

But we cannot afford to lose heart and let the “stour” accumulate. We must constantly confess our sins, read the Bible, cleansing ourselves and, by so doing, building up a spiritual “polish” that can help prevent the sin from sticking; thus helping us as we journey towards perfection in a new life to come. Another helpful Scripture is James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” And Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

So, fellow journeymen and women, let’s keep going in our Christian walk, not giving up. One day the coal bing will be gone and the accumulation of dirt will disappear. And so with us, one day we will be in the presence of Jesus, free for ever from the “stour” of human life.

We live in extraordinary times. In all my adult life, I don’t think I have known so much political instability. We seem to be living in a decade of division and disunity. Years of “yah-boo” politics have disenfranchised an increasingly disenchanted Joe Public. Months of mayhem have dominated our news. Journalists ghoulishly pick over the bones of politicians’ one-line interviews, analysing who said what, why and when. Panels of so-called experts pontificate and argue, achieving nothing. The currency markets bounce up and down, seemingly in need of financial diazepam to dampen the fiscal anxieties and worries. Sometimes living in a croft in a far-away, self-sufficient place seems a very attractive proposition!

Bible narratives, particularly in the Old Testament, described many occasions where God’s people suffered greatly from the excesses of the civilisations of their times. But as they discovered, lifting our eyes off of the tumult of today into the face of God immediately brings a different viewpoint. One of peace and security. Scriptures such as “the LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger” (Psalm 27:1), and “the nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth” (Isaiah 40:17), join many others in describing what God thinks of it all.

In times of stress we must remember where our Source and Security is. Remember the chorus of the old hymn? 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Let’s meditate on what the Scriptures say about the Kingdom of God, dimming out the chaotic excesses of the kingdom of this world and looking on from a position of security, “hidden in His sanctuary” (Psalm 27:5).