Light from Lite

Sometimes a bit of light comes into our life from an unexpected source and this week for me this happened whilst reading ‘The London Lite’ football page.

For the non-London commuters ‘The London Lite’ is a free daily newspaper given away on London streets full mostly of show biz trivia and football news which takes about ten minutes to read (well, maybe twelve). Not the place for a spiritual lesson you would think but I find the Holy Spirit often sneaks up on me in the strangest places. In fact I often listen best when I am not expecting it.

It was a Frank Lampard quote (for any non-football fans who are still with me he is an outstanding mid-field player whose scores lots of goals) on the return of Jo Cole (another Chelsea and England player);

“Joe is the type of player who has all the tricks and skills, whereas for me the game is all about arriving at the right place at the right time” (London Lite 24 September 2009)

It’s true! I have watched Frank Lampard play many times and he rarely tries to beat anyone – he often just passes the ball and runs in to space. This suddenly became a strong reminder for me of the way I think the spiritual life works. Life, like football, has a flow about it and the trick can be reading that flow and running and creating space to be in right place at the right time. Sometimes, this is counter intuitive in a society which encourages ‘doing’ just as it can be counter intuitive in football to find space and not chase the ball all the time.

I made a new resolution to find ways of running into (or creating) space in my life so that I can be in the right place at the right time for God to show me the way. Any thoughts

Be a smelly Christian

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (The Message)

In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

I was reminded of this passage last week when noticing smells around me that pervaded the air without really being able to discern the source and it has continued to be on my mind this week. Hopefully I am spreading an aroma that is worthy of Christ wherever I go.

A fishy encounter

This morning we considered one of the first encounters described in the gospels where Jesus chooses Simon Peter as his disciple. The power point below can be viewed with my notes which can be viewed here

My Own Version of the Story

In church today we heard the story from Mark 5, of a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years; she touched Jesus cloak and was healed. Most Bible translations talk about her doing that because she believed that Jesus could heal her.
I learned the story in a translation that talked about her wanting to be made whole and another translation talked about her wanting to be safe. I like to think of her as approaching Jesus, not with the thought that if she touches him she will stop bleeding, but more in recognition of him being someone that she cannot help but reach out to; she sees something of who he is. I like to think of her seeing him, not as a magic man or special sort of doctor, but realising as she sees him there, that she has to connect with him, and a result of that reaction to him, she is healed.