Selwyn , starts today’s study with this question: “What biblical foundation is there for believing that God is a story writer (or perhaps, better expressed, that God has written a detailed plan for our lives) ? Where does this idea arise in Scripture?” Well, for me, the whole of the Bible is God’s story of His great rescue plan – I don’t know why Selwyn feels that this question, needs to be asked, at all!

He mentions two verses, the first, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 2:10 (NLT): “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

The second, is from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, 3:3 (NLT): “Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.”

I think, that the answer to the question: Is this idea biblical? Is a clear ‘Yes’!

In Luke 14:13-27 (NLT), we read: “That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”  They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

“What things?” Jesus asked.  “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. 

“Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Clearly, God has a detailed plan – the Scriptures outlined the role of Jesus; and, provided in advance, some key aspects of God’s plan. Likewise, we too walk a similar road carrying our own cross - following a path, prepared by God, before time began. Do you agree?

Selwyn has picked Matthew’s verses, Chapter 18:1-9 (NLT), for today’s reading and meditation:

“About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”  Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he (Jesus) said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”

It’s important to realise, the life and death nature of these verses; and, act upon Jesus’ advice, you must turn from your sin and humbly follow God. An important part of God’s story for your life; is, for you, to reject (to turn away from) the temporary attractiveness of sin, and accept the short-term pain of cutting off something or someone that causes you to sin – because the outcome is either eternal life or eternal death, (suffering the fire of hell) – there are no other options!

As Selwyn says in his introduction: “When we begin to look at our lives as (divine) stories then everything changes. Existence is not flattened out on the graph paper of analysis but comes alive in the movements of drama – some of which is yet to be written.”

I suggest that if you doubt God’s heartbeat by heartbeat, direction of your life – then spend the remainder of these two months, as we study this issue, persistently praying to Jesus for an indication that He is always by your side, preparing the way for you: I’m sure that by the 31st of October, you will be certain of His unfolding creation, and your place in His story!

I think Selwyn’s introduction – is actually a good summary: ” … in every believer’s life a divine story is being written. We simply have to believe this. Not to believe means that our lives fragment into a series of random events, jerky starts and meaningless cul-de-sacs. Many of us go through times when what occurs doesn’t seem to make sense. But because God is at work in our lives, we can be assured that a wonderful story is being written.”

We can trust that God is at work in our lives – because He loves us – just look at the cross!

Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:1-18 (NLT): “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”

You see, there is no excuse for any of us; ‘For God is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him’.   By surrendering ourselves to Jesus, we obtain His desire and His power to undertake the good tasks He has prepared, in advance, for us to do! What’s holding us back?

It’s a very special day – when we celebrate God’s involvement in our lives – when we feel the emotion of the cross and share with Him the freedom from death. I liked today’s study, as Selwyn now discusses ‘the fourth aspect of good story telling: denouement – the final resolution’.

The best part, I feel, is his conclusion: “Because your life is hidden with Christ in God, you are not just a statistic in the divorce rate, a victim of menopausal depression, an ‘uneducated misfit’ or a ‘square peg in a round hole’; your life is a drama for which, perhaps, some of the best action and speeches (of your life) are yet to be written. … All of God’s stories (about His people) end well.”

Today, we are also blessed with another great set of verses which should set our hearts on fire, Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians 4:1-18 (NLT): “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Just pause for a moment; joyfully thank God, that He has called you to follow Him, and then take into your heart the highlighted words in the above verses - let them lead in the colorful fragments of the greatest story, which is still unfolding into a scene, that no eye could ever imagine.

What are your thoughts on this first day of the rest of your life?

[I remembered A Light Inside (three big hugs); as I read this in Paul's letter, 'now have this light shining in our hearts' - our encounter with each other was scripted by Jesus before time began, and when time ends - it will end, well - do you agree? ]

I’m finding these current studies to be really great, mainly for Selwyn’s choice of verses, for reading and meditation.

Take today, for example, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we find some exceptional insights into our situation, as usual, I’ve highlighted the bits which stand out for me.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NLT) : “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

Now, take on-board the importance of love - there is no point in studying Scripture and developing an excellent knowledge of God, as presented in the Bible, if you don’t take this knowledge and apply it with a loving heart. Satan knows a lot about God – but his heart is full of hate. If you don’t lovingly live your life, for Jesus and neighbour (every living person), then you end up with Satan, in hell. The above quote from Paul’s letter, makes it very clear to everyone, about the importance of love. God is love.

Selwyn talks about ‘the third aspect of a good story: movement. This has to do with the way a story unfolds’. As many know Selwyn’s life was filled with a number of personal tragedies, yet he can write this: “Certain dark problems have occurred in my own life that I have never been able fully to understand. Some light shines upon those problems, but no complete solution is to hand. However, whatever God’s intention, I am told in Scripture that it is good. And I hold on to that. Enough light beats on our path for us to pick our way along it. But for the final explanation we must wait until we get home, and then our heavenly Father will explain it to us Himself.”

We know we are able to love because God made us in His image – even though our view of love has been blurred by sin, with the help of the Holy Spirit we can apply His love to the wounds of others, and help them on their journey, towards home. Bad things will happen, yet we don’t turn away into the darkness, but persistently follow the light of God’s love, which will always be there to guide us. Trust in His love!

What are your views?

First off, I’ll start with the verses from Romans, set for reading and meditation, contained in these verses are some of the most exciting truths to be found in the Bible.

Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:28-39 (New Living Translation): “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These verses, especially the highlighted ones, are well worth committing to memory. We can confidently live in the victory Jesus has won for us, knowing that even in the worst of times, Jesus does love us and is using such times to mould us into His image – how great is that?

Selwyn, looks at the plot (‘plan of main events’) of God’s story, he says: ‘In the beginning God created us in His own image,which was spoiled by our sin and disobedience. Now He is busy attempting to restore that lost image. … God uses everything that happens to us – good, bad and indifferent – to make us more like Him (in character).’

I think that many Christians tend to think that Scripture, like the verses from Romans, together with the way God gives our lives meaning and purpose (as discussed by Selwyn) is too good to be true. They may think that only the very best of Christians; those who spend most time working at their local Church, members of Parish Councils and the like, might live such victorious lives. They may also think that they are not good enough and have not done a sufficient number of good deeds; for God to intervene in their lives to make them like Jesus.

Grab hold of this truth, it is an act of grace on God’s part; recall this verse from above: “And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for you; always be thankful that He has called you; and live; knowing that nothing can separate you from God’s love. It’s His story – it’s His plot/plan – respond to His love by obeying His commandments – and, He will faithfully guide you to your eternal home, where you will find happiness, peace and rest. Isn’t that the best ending, ever?

Selwyn informs us today that a story usually has four elements: characters, plot, movement and final resolution. In regard to characters, he says: “God wants to make us like Jesus, and one of the ways He goes about this is by using the people who cross our paths as tools to shape us and make us more like Christ. … The people in your life , I believe, are hand-picked by the Lord to expose your temper, pride, stubbornness – whatever your struggles and difficulties might be. … Be assured of this: the characters who appear in your story are being used by God to develop your own character.”

I agree with what Selwyn has written, in that our spiritual journey is very similar to the experiences of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus while He was here on earth. Yet, as the Bible tells us, He did not leave us as orphans, the Holy Spirit now leads us, in much the same way, as Jesus led the apostles. If we keep our spiritual eyes and ears open, we will constantly hear a parable being told or see a sign that God is always with us. I’m convinced that even in the smallest details of our lives we can find God’s fingerprints; as Christians, nothing is a random event, everything that happens is part of a bigger story. Do you believe that?

If you are a follower of Jesus, all the people you know and interact with you, especially on a regular basis; are part of a story-line, they have been placed in your life for a purpose. If you are not sure about this issue, then take this issue to God and ask Him to explain the purpose to you: because He loves you, an answer will be given. You may not like the answer, as it may have to do with your pride of lack of forgiveness; but your spiritual growth depends on you asking for an answer and then to seek His help in responding to what he has revealed to you. What do you think?

I think the verses set for reading and meditation contain a number of inspirational words (especially the first twelve verses), Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, 5:12-24 (NLT):

“Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

Note the many themes, which are similar to what we have been reading over the past few days: live peacefully, be thankful and pray often, stay away from every kind of evil. Finally, the last couple of verses, clearly tells us – that we undergoing a transformation – God is making us Holy – and He will use the people we interact with, to achieve His purposes.

Kind of puts a different light onto our relationships – don’t you think?