Maybe, over the last couple of weeks as you've read these blogs, there's been a desire for rest or to find home. You have a longing but you're not sure what to do about it or where to begin looking. If this is the case then it's time to stop!

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. (Jeremiah 6:16 & 7:3 NIV/ESV)

Sometimes we're just too busy. We don't give ourselves time to stop and reflect, to think about what really matters. We are caught up with the urgent rather than the important. At times like this there is only one thing to do and that's 'stop'. As we do we can heed the words of Jeremiah, we stop at a crossroad and look at the various options. It's too easy to choose the obvious, clear path in front of us but Jeremiah says there is another way. It's hidden, maybe overgrown with the busy-ness of life and therefore not so easily seen. 

The motorway gets you there quickly but how much beauty do you miss out on? Taking the ancient path may be slower, sometimes it may be harder but it will be the path that leads our souls into rest and peace. 

It is a choice and it may need us to change our lifestyle, our commitments or priorities. As we do, Psalm 23 will become our way of life:
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3 NIV)

Last week I wrote about us finding our true home in the Father's embrace. For some, a homecoming can happen in an instant, whereas for others it's more of a journey as we set our heart in the direction of home. Over time, we are drawn deeper into the Father's heart and we start to feel content, we find our place of rest. 

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11 NIV)

After Cain had killed his brother, the Lord appeared to him and told him the consequence of his actions: he would be a restless wanderer on the face of the earth (Genesis 4:12). I see that same heart in all of us. A restless heart where we are constantly trying to discover what more we need to do in order to feel loved, valued or accepted. It's a tiring way of living and one that will not satisfy. Jesus said "come to me and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28), he says that in the context of us knowing the Father (see my blogpost: The Nature of the Kingdom). 

As our heart comes home we find rest. This place of rest is you knowing God as Father and allowing him to be a Father to you. It's much more than simply knowing about God, it's the same experience of relationship that Jesus lived in. If being restless is always seeking the 'more', then being at rest is knowing there is nothing more I need to do to feel loved, valued or accepted. It has all been done and we can rest from our works. There is a Sabbath rest where we take a day to rest physically, mentally and emotionally but there is also a Sabbath rest for the heart. This is not a single day but a way of living as we live in sonship rather than striving to be a good servant.

You can be busy but at rest, because rest is the state of your heart not your diary.

I believe that there's a longing in every human heart to know we belong, that each one of us can find a place we call home. This then begs a couple of questions: 'what is home?' and 'where is it?'

Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. “I, even I, am he who comforts you." (Isaiah 51:11-12a NIV)

I enjoy travelling, I enjoy the whole experience (with perhaps the exception of endless airport queues). There is the excitement of new places, new people, new food and yes, yet another bed to become used to. However much I enjoy the travel, I am always glad to be going home, back to the familiar and of course the people I love. For me, there is a great sense of rest and peace to be back home. 

Our Father wants us to come home. Home to him, our place of true belonging. We see this very clearly in the story of the lost sons in Luke 15 but we also see this through the history of the nation of Israel. However far the people wandered there was always a Father calling them home; not only calling them home but providing the way for them to come home. 

We might live in a comfortable house and be content with our lifestyle. It may satisfy us in part but it will never be enough. What we seek, and what we desperately need to find is our home within the Father's embrace. It's a place of security where we can hear the Father say "you are my son or daughter and I love you", we hear him say "you are enough". That is the place of true contentment, it's when we know our heart has come home. 

Because the Father's love is not dependent on what we've done or not done, we can all turn and run into his open waiting arms where we discover the truth of who we really are. Let me recommend this song to you,  "I Will Run" - why not play it over and over and let the truth of the words soak into your heart. Allow the Father to bring you home.

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:31-32 NIV)

Last week I looked at the four responses of the older brother (I've always served you, I've never disobeyed you, you've never given me anything and 'but this son of yours'). Today I want to look at how the father in the story responds. 

He actually treats both his sons in the same way. He goes out to meet them and invites them to come home. The younger son responds but we're not sure what happens to the older son - the end of story is left open. Maybe it's left open to make us think of our own response. Though we don't like to admit it, we're like the older son in many ways and have as much need of a homecoming as the younger son. 

The father tells him two important things which we would do well to listen to: "You are always with me and everything I have is yours". I believe the Father says the same things to us. In the story, the older son couldn't receive it and my question for us is "can we?". Do you know that the Father is always with you? Everything that is his is yours too. I invite you to let these words of the Father sink into your heart; as they do, the servant-hearted responses of the older brother will begin to fade away. 

​(If you're interested, my complete teaching on this is here: https://vimeo.com/344836487 and I write about it in my book "Planted in Love" available as part of the special offer or on Amazon)

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" (Luke 15:28-30 NIV)

When we read the story of the lost sons we tend to concentrate on the younger son with his rebellion and then his homecoming. We identify with him as there is so much that is familiar to our own journey. Whenever we think of the older son we tend to point the finger at other people rather than look at ourselves. For a moment, therefore, I want us to look at our own heart and see how we respond in the same way as the older brother. He too was lost. Although he lived in his father's house he behaved like a servant - he was not home. 

In these few verses he responds in four ways to the invitation to join the party and welcome his brother home. 

His responses are: I've always served you, I've never disobeyed you, you've never given me anything and 'but this son of yours'. How telling they are! As we stop and think, we can see how they very often mirror our own response. We may not be so aggressive as the older brother but we often feel justified because we have always tried to do the right thing, as a servant rather than a son. Interestingly, it's the last response that is the most telling. The older brother doesn't see the return of a brother but rather the father's son - he's distancing himself and then proceeds to make assumptions and accusations. How does he know how his brother spent the inheritance? (we're not told in the story). 

All too often we do the same thing. Our self-righteous servant heart leads us to make judgments and accusations which show that our heart has not found its home. Next week I shall look at how the Father responds to his eldest son, because, he too, needed to come home. 

(If you're interested, my complete teaching on this is here: https://vimeo.com/344836487)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-5 ESV)

This seems to be a recurring theme with the disciples, somehow they spend a lot of time discussing who was the greatest. I guess, being young men, they were fairly competitive and were always seeking to 'get one over their friends'. Like us, they wanted to make themselves look good. In Mark's account (Mark 9:33-34), Jesus challenges them as he is aware they've been arguing amongst themselves as they've been on their journey, no doubt hanging back a little behind Jesus as they tried to thrash it out between themselves. 

When Jesus gives them his answer I bet they wished they hadn't asked the question. But yet, as Jesus answered them, there would have been no judgement or criticism, in fact it would have been said with the gaze of love firmly upon them. 

There is only one way, Jesus said, and that is to come with a childlike heart. Having a childlike simplicity and dependence on another. In this case, on the Father. This is where the problem arose. For the disciples it was not easy, neither is it for us. We are not used to letting go of our pride and independence, we are not used to letting go of our self-sufficiency. It's not natural for us. 

I'm pretty sure Jesus knew all that, and despite the difficulty, it's the only way. 

There are two keys: turning and humility. 

We have to turn. Sometimes you'll hear people say it's complete 360° turnaround - well that would leave you facing in your original direction, not a real change. I prefer turning through 180°, that way you're facing the completely opposite direction. That's what Jesus wants us to do - to walk the other way. To have a childlike heart we need to turn round and start a different journey. 

It also takes humility (something we're not too good at). Humility is taking yourself off the pedestal, it's not self-deprecating but it's actually starting to see yourself for who you really are. True humility is described for us in Philippians 2 - Jesus, being the son of God, did not consider his equality with God something he could use to his own advantage, rather he made himself nothing and humbled himself. 

What Jesus said to his disciples probably offended them; don't let it offend you!

Last week I wrote about how we can live like Jesus, in the experience of being loved. Sometimes when we think about that we wonder how on earth it can be possible. We ask ourselves what we have to do in order to make it happen, it seems an impossible task. 

Although it seems an impossible task it is truly possible for us to live in love. It's an impossible task as it doesn't originate in us - we love because he first loved us. Living in love is simply us being the recipients of the love that flows from the Father. God is love. He pours that love into our heart through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). What he does therefore is pour himself into our heart so his nature, character and personality fill us and begins to change us from the inside out. We think it's the other way - that we change ourselves through our own actions or beliefs. Yet it is love which is the biggest transforming power in the universe. As we are transformed by love we will become more like our elder brother, Jesus. 

In Exodus 33, Moses is having a conversation with God about how he is to lead the people. Firstly he asks who is going to help him, then he wants to learn God's ways and finally he realises it's all about God's presence going with him. When he sees that, he almost breathes an audible sigh of relief "if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exodus 33:15). Once he knows God's presence is with him he then has the confidence to see his glory. In doing so he gets a glimpse of the nature and character of God (Exodus 34:6-7). 

When Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations he is clearly not having a very good time. He is miserable and depressed, he has lost hope and everything has become too much for him. How often do we feel like that? It is at his low point that he remembers something, and as he does it gives him hope. His life returns as he remembers the most important thing - he is loved. 

"I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him'". (Lamentations 3:20-24 NIV)

It is possible to live in love because we are not relying on something that we have to produce. We are relying on the steadfast, unchanging nature of the One who is love. His love never changes nor will it ever let us down. That is what can give you hope today. 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched —this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3 NIV)

John writes this letter towards the end of his life, as he looks back and reflects he seems to have one overriding emphasis that he wants his readers to understand. He wants us to see that their relationship with God is deeply rooted in love. He is not presenting a theology or theory but rather showing what his own relationship with God has been like. He is the disciple that leant against Jesus at the last supper and the one who more fully understood the walk of love. 

What he describes for us is a relationship. In many ways he shows us what his relationship with God is like, how he has walked with God over many years. What he describes is something he has heard, seen and touched. He writes about an experience and it is that which he wants us (his readers) to imbibe. The climax of his letter is chapter four, verse sixteen where he makes a simple, three word statement which is probably one of the most powerful statements ever said. In those three words he sums up the nature, personality and character of God and also allows it to define the way we can relate to him. 

"God is love".

Simple, yet powerful. These three words sum up the way in which John has come to know God, the Father. Our relationship is not based on performance, trying to do the right thing, following every aspect of the law. No, we simply become beneficiaries of the love that flows from the Godhead. We are made complete in love, love does not carry any of the fear associated with the law. We can come as children to our Father.

John has learned to live like Jesus lived. Embraced in love, living in the love of the Father, relying and trusting in the experience of being loved. His encouragement for us is to live the same way. In fact, he says it is the only way for us to have confidence on the day of judgement, "in this world we are like Jesus" (1 John 4:17). Just as John experienced the love of the Father, he'd heard, seen and touched something; we, too can have the same experience. The love of the Father is not something we understand with our mind, it is something we live in - we experience it. As we do it will transform every area of our lives.

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish...... So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. (Deut 30:15-20 NASB)

I believe we are faced with a daily choice to choose life. It's generally not our default setting nor is it necessarily an automatic one. The choice before us is stark: dependence on our Father will lead us into life whereas our independence will cause something inside of us to die. 

Every choice we make has consequences. In Psalm 27 the psalmist shows us the decision he makes "this is what I seek, to dwell in the house of the Lord forever" and then records for us the consequence (or blessing) of that choice "I shall look on the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (v 13). 

One of the greatest expressions of love is the gift of choice, or the freedom to make choices, some of which may be good and some not so good! Love has to give a choice otherwise it becomes controlling, manipulative and automated. Without choice, love would lack its heart; in fact, without choice love would not be love. 

Not only does love provide us with a choice but it also provides us with a way home. There is always the opportunity for us to return. The cords of eternal love are wrapped around us and, rather than taking us prisoner, they draw us (or woo) us back into the Father's arms and embrace. 

It's a choice we face, not a command. The Father places a desire in our heart and as we respond to it we discover life (and as Jesus said: Life in all its fulness).

We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. (1 John 4:16 The Message).
We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. (1 John 4:16 Passion Trans)

It is very clear from John 15 that the journey of a Christian is the way of love. Jesus describes this journey as "abiding in love" and this means so much more than simply 'staying put'. It has a sense of permanence, enjoyment, rest and of being at home. When we abide we are truly content and, I believe, able to relax. Abiding, however, is not a static state as it's a journey where we are rooted in sonship which, in turn, enables us to walk as Jesus walked. It enables us to come to the Father in a greater confidence, knowing that it is his desire to lavish good things on us and to see his will being brought to earth through us. 

The consequence of abiding is fruitfulness, it is not productivity. In his commentary on John's gospel, Stephen Hill writes: "Fruitfulness is not to be confused with productivity. Productivity is what we are engaged in when we are not abiding. Productivity is essentially self-generated whereas fruitfulness is generated from another Source." "The fruit of discipleship is to be a son like Jesus."

These words in John's letter are experiential words, the NIV says we know and rely on the love God has for us. Our Father is totally dependable and reliable. His love for us shows us that we don't have to rely on ourselves or our own strength. We don't have to do or be anything in order to be accepted by him. It is his unchanging love for us which draws us into the place of life and the fruit that will inevitably follow. 

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians 3:7-9 ESV)

It does not matter what we have achieved or who we have become. When we know we are 'in Him' all these things stop being important as we start to recognise something else, something deeper and more real. Paul's aim was to discover the reality of being found by Christ. He often uses the phrase 'in Christ' as this speaks of a unity and oneness with Him. He has discovered the truth of living in the sonship of Jesus and therefore being like him. 

This is the unity that Jesus describes in John 14: we are in him and he is in the Father and so, therefore, we are in the Father. As Richard Rohr describes it, we are caught up in the divine dance. The beautiful unity of the Trinity is not a dream but a reality. It is our home and resting place. 

It is this that Paul seeks to attain. Too often verses 12-14 are interpreted as us having to push into ministry, function or gifting. But this is not what Paul is writing about. The goal is not ministry or function, in fact those are the very things Paul now considers to be rubbish (or more literally, manure). The goal is the thing Paul has already referred to: it is knowing Christ and being found in him. It is living in the sonship of Jesus. Ministry may follow but it flows out of our sonship. 

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:20-22 ESV)

In the Old Testament there are a number of occasions when the glory of the Lord is revealed. I'm particularly thinking of the building and re-building of the Temple. When the glory of the Lord fell, the people couldn't enter, all they could do was watch and worship. The greatness, beauty and majesty of the Lord's presence drew the people to a place of adoration. They watched, they saw, they worshipped. They saw something outside of themselves (external) and recognised it instantly as the presence of their God. In that moment I imagine they felt free. 

But the moment would pass and they would return to their daily routine with this encounter becoming a memory. 

In Romans 8 Paul is writing about something very different. The glory of the Lord is being revealed in us and it is this revelation that the whole of creation is eagerly waiting for (v19). The contrast is between creation which is decaying and the children of God who are enjoying a full, free life. The gift we can give to creation is the freedom that comes from the indwelling of the glory of the Lord. We call that gift 'sonship', the gift of being loved with a perfect love. 

The glory of God is the complete revelation of his character and personality, and that is love (1 John 4:16, Exodus 34:6-7). It is this love that is poured freely into our heart by the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit which enables us to cry 'Abba, Father' and which shows us that we are loved in the same way as Jesus, himself is loved. The glory of the Lord is his love being revealed in us (internal). The freedom which was previously viewed from a distance is now within us and so, as sons and daughters, the glory of being fully loved will shine from us and be a gift to our broken world. 

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Cor 3:18 ESV)

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22 NIV)

Mystery is all around us, it's part of the daily rhythm of life as we see in sunrises and sunsets, the coming in and going out of the tides. There is mystery each day when you set out for work; what will you find on your desk, what will be in your inbox, who be contacting you? There is even mystery when you do your online shopping - will the delivery be what you actually ordered?

I love watching my grandsons react to a surprise. The pure delight of something they didn't expect unfolding in front of them. 

What do we do with mystery? Do we try and play detective in order to work it out and resolve it like a problem or puzzle. 

A mystery, by definition, is something that is hidden and our natural response is to do something to make it become a reality. Our journey with Father is a mystery. We don't see the end from the beginning. It's a journey which opens up before us as we take those little steps of faith. It's a journey of trust and therefore of relationship. Every mystery has an element of uncertainty or the unknown and being comfortable with that can be challenging. 

Our mystery is one that is rooted and grounded in love. When we know we're loved we can be content with the unknown as we're able to trust the one leading us. As John says in his first letter, we know and rely on the love he has for us. Love is our foundation. We hope in love, we trust in love, we believe in love. There is no fear in love. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 ESV)

Last week I wrote about the Path of Life and today I'm following that up with the assurance that we have as we walk with the Lord. Often we find ourselves faced with conflicting choices or decisions we have to make. How do we make the right choice? How do we know which way to turn? 

The Psalmist gives us the reassurance we need: we have access to a clear word of instruction which leads and guides us. We are the most privileged people on earth as, not only do we have the Creator's written instruction but we also have the voice of that same Creator who will speak to us today. We have the written word of God which is unchanging and applicable to every generation and culture and we also have the Spirit of God who interprets that word and causes it to be life to us. 

There have been many times when I have opened my Bible, maybe for my daily reading or for some other study, and the words I've read have applied directly to a situation I've been thinking about or looking for some direction on. The Father is always speaking, as we listen and allow the Holy Spirit to bring those words to our heart so we discover a pathway that is lit and that we can more easily follow.