Today is Ascension Day, which Luke depicts as a real, actual literal event--Jesus ascending literally into some place called Heaven. But in this day and age of space travel and increased knowledge of the universe, what does that mean? Just where is this heaven? And, more importantly, what does it mean--in practical terms--to know that Jesus is there? Those are some of the questions that I try to address in today's meditation. I hope you find it helpful.

It is also a great time to meditate on one of the great themes of the Christian faith, namely the identity of Jesus. Today's Scripture reading touched off the subject, and I have added some of my own thoughts on the topic, just to add to the mix, and add to the discussion. I hope you find all this helpful and illuminating.

As I look back on my long years of ordained ministry, there is one thing that I must say that I regret, and that is, a failure on the part of the churches I served to embark on meaningful and disciplined studies of the faith. We had Alpha and occasional Bible studies or course on some spiritual topic, but nothing intentional and ongoing. For myself, I was often tied up with other tasks, that really, when it came down to it, were not vital at all, or at very least, not vital for me as the pastor to be taking care of. For this reason, I think that we often have stunted or baby Christians in terms of their faith, which is not good at all.

One of my favourite character traits is that of curiosity, of wanting to know more. We see this in Moses when he encountered the burning bush in the Sinai Desert. He wanted to know how it could be burning and yet not consumed. And we see this character trait repeatedly in Jesus' disciples: it seems as if they are always asking questions. And, in the Acts of the Apostles we read of the congregation in Berea (Acts 17:11-12) who daily searched the Scriptures to see if the things that Paul spoke of were true. One of my profs once said that the only stupid question was the one that wasn't asked. So, surely a spirit of enquiry is something to be desired, and something that our Lord most graciously blesses.

Certain images from the past, such as pie-in-the-sky in the by and by, or a mansion over the hilltops, have never quite appealed to me, mostly, I guess, because I have lived a pretty comfortable existence in this life, here on earth. So, for that reason, many of the usual descriptions of heaven haven't really struck a chord with me. But today's image, where political and personal strife and wrong-doing are gone, where illness is eliminated in the face of immediate healing, and where we can actually relate to God on more personal, intimate terms, are very appealing. Read the passage, and my accompanying meditation, and see what you think.

Sad to say but sometimes things can become so familiar that we scarcely even notice or pay attention to them anymore. They become like an old comfortable work shirt or pair of shoes. They become so much part of them that we take them for granted and fail to really take note of them anymore. Unfortunately, familiar pieces of the Scriptures can become like that, say, The Lord's Prayer or the 23rd Psalm. Actually, when it comes down to it, the 23rd Psalm is quite radical--if (and this is a bit 'if') it is taken seriously and acted upon. That is what today's meditation is about. I hope you find it both inspiring--and challenging.

Today's passage has to be one of the most challenging--and misused--pieces of all of Scripture. It has to do with the measure or standard that we use in our assessment and treatment of others, something that would well be a matter of self-examination and prayer for each of us as often those measures or standards of assessment are unconscious and almost part of our very being. Anyway, I hope this meditation finds you well and provides you with lots of food for thought and prayer.

Someone once said that worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. Today's passage from the Sermon on the Mount, and my accompanying message, deal with this perennial problem. I hope you find this helpful.

Today's passage and meditation put me in mind of an old adage, namely that we need to always remember 'who we are, and whose we are.' Seeing as we serve a God of holiness, we are called to imitate Him and be like Him in our conduct. A tough order indeed, but not one that He saddles us with without also providing infinite help and assistance. Have a great day.

today's meditation, on the Lord's Prayer, gave me a new perspective, a new sense of priorities about God and us.

Monday gave me the idea of God 'having our back' no matter what.

Sunday's meditation, Revelation 21, gave me a new sense of the New Jerusalem, namely as a place where we can dwell together with God

I would think that this is a feeling common to pretty well all of us, the feeling of being 'let down' by someone we love or by someone we had admired and respected. Perhaps it was a matter of being overlooked or unappreciated or taken for granted. And then, occasionally, there can be something worse, namely the experience of actually being treated unfairly or betrayed or attacked. Both King David and Jesus knew these feelings, these experiences, all too well, and that is the substance of today's meditation. I hope you find it helpful.

We have probably all come across children or teens who have decided to give up on something because they felt that they 'sucked' at it, because they felt that they couldn't do well at whatever endeavour it happened to be. This is sad because often those first attempts are not in the least any indication of how they might do if they 'stuck' at it.

And sad, to say, sometimes us adults fall prey to the same impulse. And, it is especially sad when this comes to things in the spiritual realm, whether it is in prayer, study of the Scriptures, ministering in some way or just following Jesus. We are all bound to flub it at times, bound to flub it in some way or other. To do so is 'only human after all': all the original twelve disciples certainly bear this out.

In today's psalm and meditation we find that David experienced something of this. There he freely admits that he has 'blown it' at times, and yet, even so, he is determined to try hard, to do his best to listen to God and do as He wants. To me, this is a wonderful example to all of us, something we should all imitate.

I never know just what the passage for the day will be, or what its theme will be, as I simply take whatever the Forward Day by Day author has chosen. That means that I do not pick my favourite passage, as I might otherwise do, and am forced to deal with a totally unexpected passage and theme.

Anyway, it is interesting, and worthy of note, that both yesterday and today's passages--or at least my meditations on them--both touched on the vital and essential partnership between us and God, the vital relationship that we need to have with Him. Whereas, in the busy and sometimes hectic pace of our lives, we might be inclined to forget about this, these meditations all us back. I hope you enjoy them.

I never know just what the passage for the day will be, or what its theme will be, as I simply take whatever the Forward Day by Day author has chosen. That means that I do not pick my favourite passage, as I might otherwise do, and am forced to deal with a totally unexpected passage and theme.

Anyway, it is interesting, and worthy of note, that both today and tomorrow’s passages--or at least my meditations on them--both touched on the vital and essential partnership between us and God, the vital relationship that we need to have with Him. Whereas, in the busy and sometimes hectic pace of our lives, we might be inclined to forget about this, these meditations all us back. I hope you enjoy them.

One of the most persistent lies of the enemy is that we, ordinary, run-of-the mill type Christians, cannot have much of an impact or influence in the world. And yet, Jesus tells us to be salt and light, both of which have an incredible influence on things. And, so we should be encouraged to consistently and faithfully live our lives as Christ commands, little knowing what impact that will make--and ultimately, just leaving that matter up to God. Hoping you have a great day.

This morning at breakfast I mentioned how I have difficulties with certain very familiar passages. It is not because I am necessarily wanting something new or exciting, but because I want God's 'word', His message, for today. Years ago I learned something about the Scriptures that certainly applies here. A Bible teacher explained that there are two Greek words translated as 'word' in the New Testament. There is the word 'logos', which is applied in two ways, to the written word and to incarnate Word, which is Jesus Christ. But there is another Greek word, 'rhema', which is a living word, a word that the Spirit takes and applies to you in particular. It is the kind of word that jumps out at you and says 'Hey, listen up. This what God wants to say to you today." This is the kind of word that I watch and wait for, the kind of word that I hope to encounter every single day. But, with familiar passages, such as today's passage (the Beatitudes), this can be difficult, because it is so very, very familiar.

Oddly enough, this 'word' for today did not actually come to me until almost the very end of my meditation. I really that neither the outcome, nor the pre-condition (being merciful, humble, pure, persecuted etc.) were really the point of the passage. Instead, the whole idea was that we should yearn to know Christ better, love Him more deeply and follow Him more faithfully--and everything else would just fall into place.

With my most recent meditations, I am reminded just how very important our focus or perspective is to the normal functioning of our lives. Yesterday's meditation spoke of how our focus needs to be on heaven and heavenly things rather than on the earth and its seeming delights. And today's mediation underlined the need to remain strong in our faith regardless of what might be happening to us or around us.

Here I am reminded of what Malcolm Muggeridge said at Wycliffe Convocation the year that I graduated. He spoke of our lives as Christians as being like the pockets of resistance that existed in occupied Europe during the closing years of World War II. For many in the Resistance things often seemed to go from back to worse as the Nazis feverly tried to locate and destroy any pockets of resistance. Often it seemed quite hopeless, except for the reports from BBC that told them of the positive developments that were happening elsewhere. Muggerridge suggested that our Bibles are like those BBC reports; they remind us of what God has done, and is doing, and that should give us hope. Or put another way, it should give us a different focus or perspective, one that elevates us above what we are presently going through.

Anyway, I hope these meditations are helpful. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, and to all the women who have nurtured us and acted like mothers in our lives.

With my most recent meditations, I am reminded just how very important our focus or perspective is to the normal functioning of our lives. Today's meditation spoke of how our focus needs to be on heaven and heavenly things rather than on the earth and its seeming delights. And tomorrow's mediation underlined the need to remain strong in our faith regardless of what might be happening to us or around us.

Here I am reminded of what Malcolm Muggeridge said at Wycliffe Convocation the year that I graduated. He spoke of our lives as Christians as being like the pockets of resistance that existed in occupied Europe during the closing years of World War II. For many in the Resistance things often seemed to go from back to worse as the Nazis feverly tried to locate and destroy any pockets of resistance. Often it seemed quite hopeless, except for the reports from BBC that told them of the positive developments that were happening elsewhere. Muggerridge suggested that our Bibles are like those BBC reports; they remind us of what God has done, and is doing, and that should give us hope. Or put another way, it should give us a different focus or perspective, one that elevates us above what we are presently going through.

Anyway, I hope these meditations are helpful. Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all the mothers out there, and to all the women who have nurtured us and acted like mothers in our lives.