Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee

Well, we've just returned from an action-packed trip to Israel!  We were there for 10 days, with temperatures reaching more than 100 degrees at the Dead Sea - quite a difference from the 60 degrees that greeted us on our return to Scotland...   

There was so much to see and do that I reckon it will probably take us several weeks to begin processing all our experiences...  Anyway, I thought it might be an idea to share with you some of the things we learned on the trip and I'll take the next few blog posts to do this.  But for now, here's a lovely picture of sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.  Pretty amazing, huh?  

Until next time...   

We’ve just returned from a few days in North Wales – a wonderful part of the British Isles! Having lived there for eight years in the late 80s/mid 90s, it was such a treat to return to old haunts for a short while. During the incessant rain, we managed a trip to the local market – a common sight in many Welsh and English towns – and got some good bargains, including a bone china mug featuring the Welsh flag. Despite having a cupboard full of mugs at home, I couldn’t resist buying just one more…

I think national flags are fascinating. While some are relatively plain in design, and don’t appear to give any information about the country, others tell their own story… It’s thought that the Welsh flag (pictured above) might possibly date back to the Roman occupation of Britain. After the Romans left, the Red Dragon (or “y Draig Goch” in Welsh) became a key emblem of Wales. The royal house of Tudor, which began with Welsh-born Henry VII, is credited with adding the white and green stripes to the flag.

Wales isn’t all about red dragons, though! It’s a country of fascinating history, beautiful scenery, and welcoming people - and that's just for starters. For more information on this wonderful country, go to the Visit Wales website. Enjoy!  
 

Thought you might like to take a look at Equipped4living, the quarterly online magazine of our ministry, Equipped for Living.  Inside the current issue:
 

Many years ago, a group of psychologists asked people to write down twenty statements in response to the question “Who am I?” Children tended to say things like “I am a girl/boy”; “I am ten years old”; “I am blonde”; etc. Adults were more inclined to include things like “I am a teacher/manager/secretary”; “I am a mother/father/daughter/son”; “I am a good friend”; etc. Children were more likely to answer the question “Who am I?” in purely descriptive terms, while adults’ answers were more in terms of social roles and relationships.

If we were to consider who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, what sorts of things could we say? Do we appreciate all that we have as a result of being children of God? Do we really know the difference that following Jesus makes to our identity?

Here are three of my answers to the question “Who am I?”

• I am a child of God (John 1:12). This reminds me of the great price he paid in order to bring us into his family. That price was the blood of Jesus and shows that he thought we were worth dying for. This demonstrates we are valuable and precious to him.

• I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20). This confirms that we belong to God for all time and eternity. This gives us security.

• I am God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). This indicates we are significant to him and gives purpose to our lives.

When we realize that our identity lies not primarily in what we’ve done, but in what Jesus Christ has done for us, we’ll begin to appreciate how valuable, secure and significant we really are.  

Many Christians are living in defeat and not enjoying all God has for them because they don’t know who they are. Perhaps negative events in their past have eroded any sense of self-worth they might have had. They blame themselves for any rejection they’ve experienced and believe if they could only perform better or please a particular person more, they could earn acceptance. Other think their value or self-worth can be measured in terms of successes they’re already achieved. Isn’t it good to know that, as followers of Jesus, our value is not determined by what we do or don’t do, but is based on what God has done for us: he has rescued, redeemed and forgiven us (Colossians 1:13, 14), and we are complete in him (Colossians 2:10).

Likewise, our security doesn’t depend on what other people do or say about us. If we are genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, then our security is non-negotiable. We are completely free from condemnation (Romans 8:1) and nothing can ever separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38, 39).

A lot of Christians are also unclear about their purpose in life and often measure their significance in terms of temporal goals, for example, marital status, work promotions, bank balance, etc. However, these things don’t define who we are, nor do they give us the purpose for which we were created. Have you ever considered that one of your purposes in life is to bear witness to Jesus (Acts 1:8) while another purpose is to live as God’s co-worker (1 Corinthians 3:9)?

We can spend our whole lives standing in front of the mirror, looking into our own eyes and asking, “Who am I?” but never receive an answer. But, a few minutes spent looking in the mirror of God’s Word gives us the clearest possible picture of who we are. That’s because it’s written by the One who knows us perfectly: our heavenly Father.  

(Taken from "Equipped to know who you are", May 2009, © Equipped for Living) 

I’ve recently been teaching psychology undergraduates about attitude surveys. One of the most common ways to conduct a survey of this kind is to use a 5-point Likert scale. You know what I mean – you’re provided with a selection of statements and you have the option of choosing one of five possible responses – like this:

1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. Don’t know/feel neutral
4. Disagree
5. Strongly disagree

Let’s imagine I was going to carry out a survey to determine Christians’ attitudes to prayer. Perhaps I would include the following:

• Prayer is optional for followers of Jesus Christ.
• The purpose of prayer is to get God to do what we want.
• Prayer changes me.
• Prayer changes things.
• When we don’t receive an immediate answer to prayer, we should keep praying anyway.

I wonder how many times you answered 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to each of these statements. Although this isn’t a formal attitude survey on prayer, I think these statements give us some food for thought about what we think and feel regarding the role of prayer in our lives.

My pastor is currently teaching through a series called “Building on Bedrock” which covers the main doctrines of the Christian faith. Yesterday, he preached on prayer. In his message, he made reference to each of the five statements above; some of them he agreed with, others he disagreed with. If you’d like to hear what he said, tune in to Prayer: Conversation with God.  Who knows, perhaps this will change your prayer life!