What's so good about 'Good' Friday?

Good Friday, the day that Jesus died. The day that he was condemned to death, mocked and beaten. Forced to carry his cross to the place where he was crucified alongside two criminals. Here they insulted him further, he was parched with thirst, forsaken by God his Father and he breathed his last.

How can the death of this perfect man be good in any way?

It's only when we take a few steps back and start to see the bigger picture that the wonderfulness of this day becomes clear. Don't you see, this was not an unfortunate turn of events outside of God's control! This wasn't  Jesus helplessly succumbing to the powers of the Pharisees, chief priests and Pilate's crowd-pleasing decisions.

In order to see the goodness we have to first understand some bad news. Right back at the beginning, through Adam's disobedience sin (wrong) came into the world. We follow this pattern and we too naturally stray from what is right. We fail to meet the standard that God requires of us - perfection.  God cannot tolerate wrong, so unless this is dealt with we cannot know him.When we break the law we deserve punishment. In the same way, the punishment for falling short of God's standards is death.

But even before the dawn of time God had a plan. A plan driven by love and undeserving kindness for the people he made, This plan we can trace through the whole Bible as a rescuer is promised. This plan is fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus willingly became human and lived on earth. He humbled himself to nothing - born in a stable, worked as a carpenter and lived simply. He knew what it was to be tired and hungry, he was like us in every way - yet never did anything wrong. He is the only person who has ever lived up to God's standards of perfection.

His whole life was driven by his mission, to save us from what we deserve. Jesus perfectly and willingly obeyed his Father. Can you understand? At the cross, the wonderful cross, Jesus hung there in your place. An act of justice, our penalty paid in full. The greatest display of mercy, the nails we deserve, taken by the Son of God. Overwhelming grace - we can stand without guilt! Not only sin cancelled, but perfection given to us.

It is finished.

All is done for you, don't fight to try and earn God's favour. Look and see what has been done for you. He has achieved it for you and we have nothing to add. Run to God and accept this great gift.

How can we be sure? It's only Friday...but Sunday's a coming.

Sing yourself the truth

All of Becky Green's songs are thoroughly enriched with gospel goodness. Often I put on her albums when I am needing more than ever to rely on God. The music is easy listening and a great encouragement. Here are some of the lyrics from one of my favourites.

DRESS TO WEAR - Becky Green 

A King on His throne
You made the whole universe. 

Yet You stepped down
And lived as one of us.

You welcomed me in

And gave me a dress to wear 

You opened Your arms 

And called me a princess 

You welcomed me in 

And gave me a dress to wear 

A dress of righteousness.

There on the cross 

You showed your love for us 

By giving Your blood 

And taking the pain for us.

Lord open the gates 

And pour out Your glory now 

You’ve won our whole hearts 

You’re the King, You’re the King

Tell yourself the truth

There are many days when I choose to listen to and to believe lies. They don't seem like lies to me, but they are. How do I know that they are lies? They are untrue because they are not consistent with the gospel.

Constantly we have to remind ourselves of the truth of the gospel or else it fades and life crowds in. When Paul writes his letter to the Galatians he reminds them of the truth that saved them so that they continue in the same gospel because they are starting to stray. But Paul preaches the gospel clearly in all that he writes. The early church needed that to enable them to keep going. We need it too.

Yes, I am talking about personal time reading the bible regularly. I think, though, that there are many other ways in which we can talk the truth to ourselves too. It can be in the words of our friends. It can be in the facebook statuses and tweets of strangers. I follow certain organisations and people on twitter in order to have a regular dose of gospel in bite-size. It can be in blog posts. Even in writing this blog I have a way to speak the gospel to myself as try to figure out what a life following Jesus looks like. 

One way I find really helpful is in the lyrics of songs and hymns. I go through phases where I play a song to myself daily to help me focus my thoughts as I prepare to face the day. Sometimes when I find it hard to pray, songs help me find the words to say.

This week I'm going to share some of the songs that I have found particularly helpful to tell myself the truth. Perhaps you'd like to share some lyrics you find helpful too? Today I am posting the words from a modern song which is modelled on the Lord's prayer. For a period at university a number of years ago I listened to this song every day.

Your love is strong - Jon Foreman

Heavenly Father 

You always amaze me

Let your kingdom come 

In my world and in my life

You give me the food I need 

To live through the day

And forgive me as I forgive 

The people that wronged me

Lead me far from temptation

Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window 

The birds are composing

Not a note is out of tune 

Or out of place

I look at the meadow 

And stare at the flowers

Better dressed than any girl 

On her wedding day

So why do I worry?

Why do I freak out?

God knows what I need

You know what I need

Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens 

Is now advancing

Invade my heart 

Invade this broken town

The kingdom of the heavens 

Is buried treasure

Will you sell yourself 

To buy the one you've found?

Two things you told me

That you are strong

And you love me

Yes, you love me

Our God in heaven

Hallowed be

Thy name above all names

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us today our daily bread

Forgive us wicked sinners

Lead us far away from our vices

And deliver us from these prisons

Mother's Day

As the sun peaked round the cloud-filled sky, people spilled onto the streets laden with bouquets of flowers and cards to deliver these small tokens of appreciation for their Mums. Yesterday was the national day of celebration and thanks for all mothers, the women who brought us into the world. 


We celebrate their love, their sacrifices, their provision, their generosity and protection. These are the women we go to for hugs and who we need in difficult times. The ones we look to as role models, as our guides to life.

Mothers can provide these things to some extent, but we are still left needing more. We live in a broken world and often mothers and children fall short of our roles. Mother's day can itself be a disappointment. As families spend time together it is tainted by squabbles and hurt. Perhaps it is the pain of memories of mothers or children lost. A pointed reminder of broken families. A day of deferred hope for those wanting to know if they'll ever be a mother. Deeply hurtful for those who know they never will be.

Even if we don't have that mother-child relationship, there is someone who can give us all that we yearn for in that relationship. God provides, perfectly in Jesus, all that a mother provides and so much more.

He is the one who loves perfectly, who gave up everything, even his life, to save us. He provides us with ALL that we need and provides us with a hope that is unshakable. He is the greatest comfort and refuge. He is our perfect, unblemished role model. 

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth

Worship the Lord with gladness;

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. 

We read this psalm at church on mother's day to give thanks for the one who gave us our mothers.

Although my relationship with my mother is imperfect, I am so thankful to God for my Mam. A woman who has a tender loving spirit. Who above all loves God and desires to grow in her knowledge and love of him. She is my friend and encourager. She points me to my saviour. So together we give thanks to God for all he has done for us.

Reunion

Last weekend was a wonderful weekend.

I didn't go away very far, just down the road, but it felt like miles from home and that was refreshing. It was for a reunion of some friends from university, some of whom I had not seen for a few years. It was decided that we should go to Sherwood Forest and stay in what they call a 'lodge'. There was a fully equipped kitchen to cook for ourselves and we had a lovely homely space to enjoy each other's company. Despite the time of year the weather was beautiful and we made the most of enjoying the outdoors. It was like a pedestrian-and-bike-only wooden village with lakes scattered with canoes, and trees as far as the eye can see. 

We pedalled round 'dinging' our bells and merrily picking up our conversations where we had left off weeks or months before. We had shared so much of our lives whilst we were at university so it was natural to be back altogether. We could see how each of us had simultaneously changed so much and yet continued to be much the same. We reminisced about old times reliving the joy of what we remember to be carefree times. We once again stayed up late putting the world to rights, sharing our common moans. We retold our jokes, we sang at the top of our voices, we danced around in our pyjamas, just because we could.

Last weekend was a wonderful weekend. 

The search for true beauty

This is a difficult and painful subject to talk about. There are many many women and men who have struggled with these issues. If that is you, I pray that this post may help direct your gaze upwards, to Jesus Christ. Sol Deo Gloria.

I had been asked to be bridesmaid, the chief bridesmaid. It was the first time I had been asked since I had been a flower girl for my Auntie as a child. I was filled with excitement and anticipation. But there was a problem, when I looked in the mirror I did’t like what I saw. I was fat and ugly. Horribly, hugely fat. I was ashamed of how I was, and in that state did not want to follow my friend down the aisle.

To add to this I heard that a good uni friend was also to be a bridesmaid that year. She had talked about dieting and trying to get fitter for the big day. The challenge was there, I had something to compete against. Bring it on.

I love structure and lists. I planned out my week by week exercise regime. Get up at 6am, alternate days of an hour in the gym or a swim. Everything I ate I wrote down, keeping detailed lists of the calorie intake and obsessively setting my threshold lower and lower. Most meals became soup and lunch was a plate of vegetables, with perhaps a ryvita on the side if I was 'good'.

It was satisfying. My clothes were getting looser and I felt healthier. I thrived on comments from others who saw I had lost weight. I compared myself to my slender housemates, jealous that they were pretty and slim seemingly effortlessly. I competed against the other bridesmaid–to-be. It spiralled. The wedding came and went, but a new goal was set. Just to lose a few more pounds, drop another dress size. People started to question if I was ok, but I just shrugged it off.

My life revolved around my image. It was ruling my every waking thought and governed all that I did. This had taken centre stage in my life. I was still read my bible, went to church, even helped to lead the CU but my life was lived to the idol of beauty and Jesus had taken a back seat. I would tell myself it was just for a period of time and then I’d stop.

Rebeca Cygnus source: soulseeds

But I couldn't, I had an obsession verging on an eating disorder. Through the input of loved ones and friends I was helped to see it couldn’t go on. It was a slow road back, complicated by ups and downs. Much to my anger and frustration one friend physically dragged me to see the doctor following a period when I started binging and then locking myself in the bathroom to force myself to vomit the food I had consumed. And I hated myself for it. I resented gaining weight, constantly writing in my diary that I needed to get some discipline back and then I could be thinner again.

I had a tension going on inside. I knew that my attitude was wrong. I knew it wasn't satisfying me. I thought I wanted to please God with my life, but surely I could do that better if I was a thinner, more beautiful person? I was fooling myself that I was in control. I knew I was rebelling and it felt horrible, but I couldn't give up the control. 

It wasn't as straightforward as just getting over that obsession though. Although with support and help my behaviour altered and over time I became healthier again there were other things to take its place; work, exam success, possessions, pride to name but a few. Each had a turn as the most important thing I could use to feel in control. The outward struggle was overcome but the heart pattern remained the same.

It was only when I was pointed to the gospel that I found some release from the grasp of my idols. Tim Keller writes in his book 'Counterfeit Gods' 

'Idolatry is not just a failure to obey God, it is setting the whole heart on something besides God. This cannot be remedied only by repenting that you have an idol, or using willpower to try to live differently. Turning from idols is not less than those two things, but it is also far more. 'Setting the heart and mind on things above' where 'your life is hid with Christ in God' (Colossians 3:1-3) means appreciation, rejoicing and resting in what Jesus has done for you. It entails joyful worship, a sense of God's reality in prayer. Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol. That is what will uproot your counterfeit god.'

As God has graciously revealed the beauty of his Son, and all that he has done, to me I realised the worthlessness of the things that I kept putting my trust in. In beginning to understanding the extent of Jesus' unconditional, unfathomable love for me, whatever I looked like or achieved, I could see that glorying in (finding my worth in) anything other was a waste of time. 

I can't pretend that I'm sorted. I still battle against these idols repeatedly, but I will always have something greater. I can daily remember and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Identity

Growing up, being half welsh, there were always some welsh cakes to be found in a tin in the kitchen if you felt peckish. They remind me of some special people; my Mam, my Grandma and some good welsh friends. For an excellent welsh cake, in my books, it has to be a little undercooked in the middle, with plenty of sultanas (and ONLY sultanas, none of the mixed peel or chocolate chips please) and baked on a griddle. Mmmm!

With it being St David's day yesterday I decided to make some in celebration. Making up the mixture is relatively easy. It is the baking which requires time and patience and even then it is hard to get them just right. It was easier to put it off, so I procrastinated for a bit and started to write this.

Identity is what makes us who we are, it is what defines us. Embracing my (half)-welsh identity is something I only do from time to time, like St David's day. It's something that is not always evident and to be honest I wouldn't make a point of telling people about it. Sadly though, much of the time, my true identity is not apparent either. This identity that I'm talking about is as a citizen of a future kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. 

Christians have this identity because the ruler of this heavenly kingdom, Jesus, has enabled us to enter citizenship by coming to earth and providing a way in. He frees us from our failures and enables us to live a life of faith, with a sure hope now and forever. If I truly grasped the greatness of this gift of new identity, how could I hide it?

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written 'The righteous shall live by faith'" Romans 1:16-17

Where is your identity?