We are using the meeting room at our church centre more and more as a meeting with God room. A kind of 'chapel' is developing and we are now praying in there 5 mornings a week.
One of our readings the other day was from Numbers - Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the Old testament show the movement of God's people from fleeing slavery to fighting and winning through to the promised land. Numbers 9:15-end is an absolutely crucial passage to remember and seek to live by. The verse that summarises what the whole passage is about is verse 23:
"At the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out."
So above the Communion table we have imported into the meeting room we now have these words reminding us that this is one of the key values for SMC. We seek to function at the Lord's command and to do so we need a constant state of readiness. Are we able to simply go when the Lord call us to go? Are we living simple enough lives, are our lives gummed up with things that may be good but aren't God?
In January 2007 Penny and I felt the Lord was calling for us to de-clutter. We cleared out loads of our stuff, the kid's stuff, the things in the loft and the things under the stairs - we tried to follow the Lord's command. Little did we know that during the Summer we would be moving and that this action of de-cluttering would help us make what turned out to be a swift move much more easily.
As I prepared to begin my time leading here I felt the Lord reminding time after time of the need for simplicity and a tent-mentality - being able to move and ready to move. Leading a simple and de-cluttered movement of God's people.
At times this seems a distant hope... but still we say that we will live at the Lord's command.
No comments:
Post a Comment