Nearly setting off again-just a thought on encouragement...

As the title says-we're not setting off yet back to the Beatitudes but I just wanted to give a little thought on encouragement.
On Sunday I ran in the Edinburgh Marathon festival as part of a relay team to raise money for CAP (you can still sponsor me at www.justgiving.com/Hannah-Pamplin0 ). Whilst I was running the shortest leg-4.7 miles this was a massive undertaking for me as I developed a dislike for running at school...Anyway...I was staying with Flick and Drumm (my best friend from University and her husband) and meet up with my fellow relay team mates at various points. Something really struck me during the weekend that I wanted to share with you all.
As I ran my leg of the relay I ran with a lady called Lisa who was lovely. I don't normally run with anyone but it was great to have someone there. Being on the final leg it also meant that there was a lot of crowds along the way. This leg was hard, there was a lot of strong winds that were blowing right into your face which meant you had to run twice as hard to go the same distance...I'm not ashamed to tell you-it was tough. But when I saw the finish line-I just went for it. When I came to the end I had managed to do my leg in 45 minutes, in training I had run it in an hour. I was so so happy and we had photos with the rest of the team and we were to celebrate how much we had raised.
But what did I learn through this - as I walked through the chaotic crowds at the end the scripture came to mind

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1

We are surrounded by a group of people who have gone before us , who have run the race and now they are cheering us on...to keep going. I know that I only ran the time I did because I had the people around me spurring me on. Yes, I had to put in the training and we need to put in time in the 'quiet place' to be with God as HE is the ultimate in encourager but He calls us to encourage others...it is one of the gifts that he gives us.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8

Whilst it may be that some are more gifted than others at encouragement I do firmly believe that these are ALL things we are called to do by God even when it is not our gifting. You have no idea what a different your encouragement is making.

As I was running there was a lady called Fiona running near me-the reason I know this is because when people who cheering they would shout things like, 'come on fiona' and I thought Wow-I wish I had my name on my shirt-to receive that personal encouragement. I stayed with my best friend university as I said and to be able to spend the weekend with them was great. Drummond ran the whole marathon (which he managed to do in 32 mins better than his PB-AMAZING) but he was so encouraging to me about how I had run-I couldn't believe it, I ran like a 5th of what he had done yet he encouraged me and through that and the texts and money that people sponsored putting faith in me - I'm contemplating doing a 10k run later this year. Whilst encouragement is amazing when we read the letters Paul and others wrote, they often spoke of the personal encouragement the recipients gave like in Philemon 1:7

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

I realised again on Sunday how important encouragement is...let's not hold back. An inspirational friend of mine called Anne Young once put on her status update..."To encourage means "to add courage to" When we encourage someone, we add strength to them so that they can face the challenges they are coming up against. I'm ready to add courage to those who need it" That's what it is all about...

Little pause in the journery...ponderings about 'church'

So we're going to have a little pit stop in the journey through beatitudes and Sermon and the Mount as I've been thinking about a few other things as well as Matt 5-7. I ask that you'll forgive me as this isn't maybe as structured or coherent as usual...I've just decided to write as I think, I hope that's ok.
Over the past few weeks and one of those things I've been thinking is 'church'. What is church, what it means to be part of church and what should the church look like??
Over the weekend I had the chance to go over to Northern Ireland to visit one of my favourite families having agreed to go other a do a talk on CAP at a church over there. I am not going to mention the name of the church or denomination as this blog isn't about victimising or black listing any group or church. During the weekend I was a 2 different services as the church I was speaking about CAP at took place on Saturday and during the previous week I had the opportunity to go to evangelistic speaker training-in the same building as a church that takes in Bradford and there was art work on the walls from one of their interest groups-some absolutely stunning and the rest-simply beautiful.
But when I look in the Bible-apart from the instructions of the letters to the churches which are to specific churches at a specific time, there's not a lot of description really apart from in Acts 2 and Acts 4...

Acts 2 42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4 32-34 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

These are descriptions of the first churches. There is nothing in these about a church building-it says they meet in the temple courts but had nothing claiming as their own, an order of service-they had teaching but nothing of a structure of how that was done or a specific time to be together...it just said every day.

I count it a great privilege to be brought by parents who know the Lord and who took my to church every Sunday but I think through that I have allowed this to blinkered my view of what church is and how it should operate and how it should grow and work together. Since coming to uni my preconceptions have been ripped apart and I find myself asking - why should church be the way I think it is? The truth is, it doesn't need to be - its what God wants it to be. I believe I have belittled God so often thinking His family, His body had to be a certain way...all you have to do is look at your friends physic and see-God makes bodies in all shapes and sizes. The church is Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. That's Colossions 1:24.
I do know that in scriptures like 1 Cor 12 that give instructions about service and also about the 5-fold ministry in church but nothing says it has to be Sunday morning, between 10-12, all sitting in rows etc etc...
I was talking with my friend Ed in Bradford and I came out with this phrase and I realise that this is conclusion that I have come to about church (think I told him that it's what I concluded a while ago but actually it came out my mouth as we spoke and realised then it's what I realise...didn't mean to lie Ed-sorry) I realised that every single church should be unique, some may look incredibly similar to one another but because everyone is unique, therefore uniqueness should characterise the church because all these unique bodies are coming together to make one-none will look alike. So why for so so many years have we tried to reproduce what has happened else where?
I think I've realised that a lot of things that I have looked at and said 'that's church' hasn't been - its been a club and institution and things where I've looked at and not thought it was church, didn't think it was anything has actually been church-church how God intended it to be.
From what I know church is called to establish the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of heaven here on earth. I think there is another reason why the scriptures in Acts doesn't mention about service or structures particularly is because the church is the people-its all the individuals within it that make it.
The church means an ending of an individual person because you become part of a body - the body of Christ.
Oh Lord, would you break off our blinkers of our hearts and minds about what your church is, what your body is. Father God - teach us what your church is like, how you want your body to be.

I don't have a neat conclusion for today's blog...these are just the spilling of my mind about what I'm thinking about-see what you think-leave a comment...email me...lets learn together. Christ died so that the church could be His body in this world,the church is His plan A...I want to see it.

Blessed are those who mourn...

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.Matt 5:4

As we take our next step of the journey through the beatitudes we come to a verse which-quite frankly a few years ago I would have told you to stuff it where the sun doesn't shine...to put it bluntly. As you will know from the blog, my bro went to be with the Lord 13 years ago and in those years following this death the reality of mourning was something I was struggling to cope with but what an amazing joy we can receive from this passage-that for those of us who know and love the Lord Jesus-He is our comforter HE is our strength and will see us through-we WILL be comforted.

However when you look through the beatitudes there is a much deeper spiritual element to all those who are 'blessed' so I'm not entirely sure that Jesus is simply talking about those who have someone die...that this kinda out context-when you read the passage as a whole. In Matthew 9:14-15 it says

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Jesus, the bridegroom at this point was still with them but when he had gone there was a space for mourning his departure, for mourning the lack of the presence of God in their lives as they had known Him before-right there with them. I believe this is the kind of spiritual mourning that Jesus is actually addressing here. We are not as close to Jesus as we could be...no matter how long we pray or spend time reading the Bible we are not going to be as close to Jesus as we will be one day in glory and there is (or should be) a deep, desperate longing in our hearts for that day so whilst we are given fullness of joy in His presence (psalm 116) I believe there is room for grief and mourning for the day when we will see Him and the fact we are not there yet! But what a promise...as we mourn for that separation we are promised we WILL be comforted.
It says in proverbs-hope deferred makes the heart sink but a longing fulfilled is a well spring of life. When we see Christ there will be a well spring of life that will come from within us because we will no longer be mourning because we shall see Christ face to face.
THAT'S why is it blessed are those who mourn...for the one who mourns the deepest here on earth will be the one who receives the greatest joy when he mourning is healed through seeing Jesus.

Blessed are those who mourn...