Father's Day

I found myself day dreaming in church yesterday. It was Father’s Day, so I was imagining what it would be like to spend a morning with my Father who is in heaven. But in my day dream, He wasn’t in heaven. As it so happens, he was with me on a yacht in the Caribbean.

When I was a teenager, just about the only way I could impress the girls was by executing bombs from the 5m diving board at Mt Pleasant swimming pool. Desperate – I know. But though lacking in physique, flawless technique enabled me to convert a meagre 58 kilos of body weight into a thundering mushroom cloud of water that would drench anyone sunbathing within a 10m radius of the pool.

Sadly, my efforts to impress never failed to produce underwhelming results. Nowadays, however, I no longer need to impress the girls. This is a good thing because my physique has hardly changed since I was 17. I have put on a few more kilos but these seem to be concentrated in a hot water bottle shaped bulge just above my belt. Nevertheless, I have never lost the joy of doing a good bomb and still look for any opportunity to impress others with my rare talent.

Perhaps then, it will come as no surprise to hear that I decided to do a bomb off the side of the yacht.

“Hey Dad, watch this!” I shouted.

When I finally surfaced, water was still splashing onto the surface of the sea and a fine spray was drifting off towards some nearby palm trees. Oh yes! I looked up for approval.

“Brilliant, Ian! Now it’s my turn... woohooo!”

It’s hard to describe what happened next, but it suffices to say that my heavenly Father’s bomb emptied the entire Atlantic Ocean, let alone the Caribbean Sea.

“O yes, ahaaa!” He shouted. “What do you think of that one?” And He roared with laughter. At that point, my Dad must have seen the expression on my face because He added quickly, “Don’t worry; I’ll put it all back”. And He did.

I leave you to make of this what you will. As for me, in the words of John Wesley, “my heart was strangely warmed”, and I found myself longing for greater intimacy with my heavenly Father.

Cheers for now - Ian

Dealing with a dead hope

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

I have been struggling with an obdurate sinus infection. And I have to say - and this is stating the case very mildly – that the symptoms are a tad unpleasant. Looking for relief, I went to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic and some other pills. So with great anticipation, I began taking the medicine (with a spoon full of sugar) hoping that in a day or two I would get better.

Reader, I’m afraid I did not get better. And a hope deferred does indeed make the heart sick. There is nothing worse than a sore head and a “sick heart”, even if the source of the “sick heart” is on this occasion fairly easy to address.

I’m sure everyone has experienced a deferred hope at one time or another. And a deferred hope is bad enough. But how does one deal with a dead hope? Perhaps you had hoped to grow old with your children and grandchildren but now they live in Australia. Or maybe you had hoped to live in Zimbabwe but now you must move to another country because you can’t make a living here. I know of people who have launched businesses hoping for job satisfaction, rewards and a secure retirement. I know of men and women who have entered marriage with high hopes and dreams only to find betrayal and disappointment.

Dead hopes come in many forms. And it is not that these hopes were ever wrong or misguided. They were merely uncertain hopes.

Question is: how do we cope when our hopes are deferred or die?

The antidote to a dead hope is the one and only LIVING HOPE. The Apostle Peter writes:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (1Pe 1:3)

There is one living hope only, a hope that will never lead to sickness of heart but rather to joy and gladness. The joy of a living hope will give you strength to weather hardship. Since God has given you life through spiritual rebirth, and since He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there is hope that you too will one day be resurrected “into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you” (v4).

So with the words of Priscila Jane Owens I ask the question:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

In answering this question, take a moment to affirm: I have a living hope. It will never turn to ash. It will not crumble in my hands. It will not blow away in the storms of life.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
 Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

Cheers for now - Ian

It is well with my soul

“Saved alone what shall I do?” These stark and poignant words, telegraphed by Ann Spafford to her husband, Horatio, marked the devastating climax to several tragedies.

Horatio Stafford was a successful Chicago lawyer and businessman and a prominent supporter and personal friend of the great preacher D.L. Moody.  Life was going well for Ann and Horatio. Then in 1870, calamity stuck: the Stafford’s four year old son died from scarlet fever. A year later, the Stafford’s fortunes sustained another blow when the great Chicago Fire wiped out their real estate investments on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Knowing that his family needed a holiday to get over their losses, Horatio arranged to take them to England where D.L. Moody was preaching. At the last minute, however, Horatio had to change his plans because of a business emergency. It was decided that Ann should go on ahead with their four daughters whilst Horatio attended to the emergency before following behind.

So Ann and the girls boarded the French steamer Ville de Havre. Several days into the trip, the Ville de Havre ran into an English ship. In the ensuing panic, Ann made it to the deck where she waited, baby in arms and older girls clinging to her in terror. The Ville de Havre sank in 12 minutes. The force of the waters tore the baby violently from Ann’s arms, and then she passed out. Later, part of the wreckage floated to the surface supporting Ann’s unconscious body so that she could be ... saved alone. All four of her daughters drowned in the wreck: Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta.

On hearing the unspeakable news, Horatio rushed to join his devastated wife in Wales. One day, as the ship cleaved through the Atlantic rollers, the captain called Horatio to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio returned to his cabin, pulled out pen and paper and began to write:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, (it is well),

With my soul, (with my soul)

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Amen and Amen!

Cheers for now - Ian

(This blog is based on material I read on http://www.biblestudycharts.com/A_Daily_Hymn.html)