Treasures in Heaven

Treasure is used by Jesus to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like and to encourage us to think about building a treasure store in heaven. Treasure is easy to understand in earthly terms but I find it hard to define what treasure is in the spiritual sense. Given that we are assured of our place with God, not through our efforts but through the grace of Jesus, it is difficult to know what the purpose of this treasure is. Yet we are encouraged by Jesus to build up a treasure, where it lasts eternally.

These days it is normal for us to get points for using our credit cards and the more we use them, the more points we get. Is there a heavenly reward scheme whereby the more good we do here on earth, the more points we get in heaven? This, on the face of it, seems fair as we are rewarded in proportion to the good we do and some people may point to the parable of the talents to back this idea up. However, it leaves me with the feeling that there is more to it than that.

I would love to think that part of my treasure will be seeing family, friends and others in heaven and to know that somehow, despite my awkwardness and clumsiness, despite all my doubts and fears, I have played a part in encouraging them in their walk with God. It is always a miracle to me that God can take whatever I give Him and use it to encourage others in their faith. This not only gives me a deep sense of joy now, but it also encourages me to keep on investing through prayer and action.

I am no theologian and I could be totally wrong - usually I am (ask Jackie). However, whatever your idea of heavenly treasure is, the message I get from Matthew 6 is that it is good to keep on storing it up!

Yours in Christ

Martin

Stop doubting and Believe

Picture the scene. Jesus had already appeared to all of the disciples except Thomas and he was not about to believe what his friends were telling him without him seeing and touching the evidence for himself. A week later, Thomas is confronted by the risen Christ, being challenged with all the evidence he needs. “Stop doubting and believe” are Jesus’s words to Thomas and I wonder how he felt after this encounter.

Whilst I am convinced and believe whole heartedly in the resurrection of Jesus, like so many, when it comes to the detail, I have my questions and doubts, particularly in my own abilities. As we continue our walk of faith, God is continually asking us to trust Him and not in our own abilities. Not only do we have this to contend with, but when we do take that step of putting our faith into action, we can always convince ourselves that we could have done better.

Faith is lived out through action, we can believe totally in the saving grace and love of Jesus Christ but without action it is dead. I have been reminded recently that this faith is lived out in the here and now, in all that each day of the week brings to us. The opportunities for our faith to be revealed come and go and God is able to reveal himself to others through our actions, despite our ineptness.

Sometimes I feel like the boy with the fish and bread when Jesus fed the 5,000. What I have to offer is totally inappropriate for the situation and I would rather Jesus ask somebody else. Yet this brings me to the place where Thomas found himself, a place where Jesus challenges me to stop doubting and start believing.

Yours in Christ

Martin

What does the Holy Spirit do for you?

Where would we be without the Holy Spirit? Well for a start, the chances are that you would not be reading this in church or at home. Having just celebrated Pentecost, I wonder if without the Holy Spirit the Good News of Jesus would have remained in a locked room, a well kept secret to a few leaderless people, in fear of their lives.

The experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit can be dramatic as in Pentecost, and we read that the disciples’ experience was not attributed to the hand of God by some of the crowd, some thought they were drunk. However, when we read Acts, we have to acknowledge that somehow the Holy Spirit turned a few scared people into strong and courageous evangelists and that through the Holy Spirit, the church, as we know it, has come to be.

The life of the church is linked to the work of the Holy Spirit within us, the church grows when the body (that is you and me) are open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not just for the individual but for the benefit of the whole church and any kind of spiritual growth at St. Martin’s is down to the Holy Spirit gently nudging individuals, who probably felt inadequate at the time but were willing to listen, to use their gifts and take that step of faith.

Your experience of the Holy Spirit working in a very real and tangible way maybe something that is not seen very often and when it does happen, it is to somebody else. For some, this may be a comfort for others it raises lots of questions. My experience, is that being open to the Holy Spirit is very rarely dramatic but a very gentle process, something that has been echoed by others I have talked to. If you desire more of the Spirit then I believe St. Martin’s should be the place where you can be continually filled with Him through prayer. If this is something that you would like to happen, then just ask.

Whatever your thoughts are on the Holy Spirit, we should all be grateful and praise God for the way He has worked, is working and will continue to work, with people like you and me, in order to bring us all closer to the love of God, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. All Christians throughout the world draw strength, guidance and inspiration from listening to Him. The same Spirit that was given at Pentecost, that encouraged the church to grow and pass on the message of God’s love down through the ages, is here and now, freely available to us. Praise God!

Yours in Christ

Martin

The Net: Newsletter 22nd June 2008

The Net is close to my heart as I am convinced that it is something that God has had His hand in. We have seen new people come into St. Martin’s through The Net and I have seen members of the church play their part as evangelists. We should thank God for this. However, over the past months we have seen numbers decline and it has been difficult to justify all the hard work and effort put in by the leaders to see only 2 or 3 families come and join us. It had come to the stage where we had to consider letting this ministry of St. Martin’s be ‘pruned’ out of the life of the church.

I must admit that I could not see how we could make The Net the area of growth that we hoped for, I had no more ideas, nothing to suggest and I was completely frustrated by what was happening. Despite the prayers and sometimes tears, it was if God had gone very silent over this issue, just when we needed direction the most. The prayers were still being said, time and time again we pleaded with Him to show us the way forward, but nothing came. With no direction, no idea of how to overcome the problem and feeling totally inadequate, I could not see a future for The Net and I was ready to see it disappear.

Last Sunday’s Net service was going to influence our decision on the future. We did not expect many people as it was also Father’s Day and I was certainly expecting that we would have a great service but not be able to share it with many people. I fully expected that at the next leader meeting, we would see The Net close and hopefully see something else take its place.

To my amazement and joy we had over 30 people come, including at least 2 new families and we had a great time together. We even had more Dads last Sunday than I can remember!

What this episode has taught me is the importance of prayer and my thanks go out to all of you who have prayed for the Net over the past months, even years. I would like to think that we will see The Net grow and last Sunday was not just a one off. Whether that happens, is in God’s hands. I am certain, however, that the church needs to continue to hold The Net and it’s leaders Sue, Kath, Ann, Karen and Mick, together with all of the helpers that we have, in prayer as they use their gifts and ministry, to bring families living in our community to a place where they can meet the living Christ.

Yours in Christ

Martin

Jesus – the best gift but is that all? Newsletter 16th December 2007

At Christmas we celebrate the greatest gift to mankind from our Heavenly Father, the gift of Jesus, God in human form in all its frailness and vulnerability. We can only imagine the smell and dirt as our Saviour was brought into this world in total humility. For me, Jesus is the best gift but I believe that God wants to give so much more.

Recently, the Alpha course had their away day to look at the Holy Spirit and I was asked to go along. I have been to others away days in the past, but this was the first that St. Martin’s arranged without another church. I have to admit that I had my doubts as to whether we would see the Holy Spirit move in the way that I have seen before.

Simon talked, we watched the Alpha video, we had the discussions and lunch had been eaten. Now the time for us to pray we those who wanted it, would anybody want to receive the Holy Spirit and would my influence help or hinder them? I am glad to say that there were many prayers said and in one instance, a particularly intense presence of the Spirit. I do not know what this experience meant for the person we were praying for, but I am believe that when the Holy Spirit gives such an experience there is a reason for it and for me it is exciting to see how a person develops and grows their faith.

Jesus left us the Holy Spirit as a gift and to be filled continually is something I believe the church should seek. More and more people in our church have been given an experience of the Holy Spirit and been left with a gift that has been used to build up the church. You may be aware of the words, dreams, etc people are getting relating to our church and I believe we are being prepared.

I hope and pray that we, as a church, can get to know the Holy Spirit and that we are open to His moving and the gifts He wants to bring to St. Martin’s. Jesus is the greatest gift, but why settle for this when there is so much more God wants for us?

May God’s love and peace be with you all, and with the ones you love.

Martin

Choices: Newsletter 22nd July

Wouldn’t life be easier if we didn’t have so much to choose from? I went shopping recently and found out there were 8 choices of apples! Whether it is the latest gadget or the cereal we have for breakfast, there are always options for us. Even if there were only one thing to choose, you still have the choice to take it or leave it. That is part of life, we have absolute control of what we do or don’t do and therefore, are responsible for our actions.

In our walk with Jesus, we also get spiritual options and choices and the responsibility lies with us. God never forces His will on us, He allows us the freedom to choose in all areas of our lives, not just on Sunday. Although we are all unique and we have our own way in bringing our faith into our daily lives, over the years I have been with St. Martin’s I have seen people grow in faith and I have seen others fade away. Why should this be?

Although nobody can give you the recipe for a successful Christian life, I have noticed events that point to a growing Christian. I have never met a growing Christian who does not regularly have there own quiet time with Jesus. As your stewardship secretary, it has been a real privilege to see people grow through being open to God through there giving. I have seen people grow through the development of their own ministry and using their talents and gifts (not always in church).

My own experience tells me that if I want to have a closer relationship with God, then amongst other things, I need to choose to spend some time with Him. If I only talked to Jackie (my wife) once a week on a Sunday morning, then our relationship would suffer and I am sure would stop sooner or later. For me, at the heart of my faith is my relationship with God and I have to make choices. Recently, work has taken up more and more of my time and it would be easy to justify not spending time praying and reading God’s word. However, there is always a voice saying to me that it is my choice and that what ever I choose, God will not love me any more or any less.

Yours in Christ

Martin