I could write about the great virtues of community living, about worshipping in a Church of Scotland Kirk with more liturgy than we are used to, of visiting Crathie Church next to the Balmoral estate, where the Queen worships every Sunday during the summer, of lessons from mountain climbing or sheep rearing.

But I have been drawn again to the subject of prayer. Stuart Townend’s beautiful song ‘In Christ Alone’ has the line ‘from life’s first breath to final plea, Jesus commands my destiny’. This has a very high view of God’s sovereignty, every detail controlled by him. At one level, that brings great comfort. But that can become fatalism, whatever will be will be. If that is the case, where does praying fit in? Can my prayers have any effect at all? I know this raises profound theological issues, and it is not my intention to stir up unnecessary controversy.

However, these are big issues which I have wrestled with over the years.What if there is more to prayer than just God listening and answering?

Jesus prayed: ‘My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’. Paul tells the Philippian Christians: ‘In everything by prayer and petition, present your requests to God’. So I continue to bring my earnest requests for family and friends, especially those suffering and in pain. Somehow, I feel I am co-operating with God who is intimately involved in the details of our lives. Somehow my praying does have profound effects, even if the answers are not always the ones I am looking for.

Lord, in your sovereignty, I am only content if you have the ultimate say!

David Thatcher

This amazing event has tremendous implications for us all. Jesus explained that his death on a cross as Son of God bearing the sin of all was the only way the ultimate separation between God and people could be restored. Resurrection proved that the rift had been repaired. Further, a new power to break barriers of guilt and hopelessness, poverty and illness was now available.

In considering this whole event again, I find it strange that the disciples didn’t immediately recognise the risen Jesus. He needed to eat fish in front of them to prove he had a real body, as the locked door did not keep him out. Thomas saw the nail marks and the side where the spear went in. I wonder if he also saw a disfigured face or the bruised head where the crown of thorns was rammed on. There was some continuity, yet there was discontinuity.

At his interesting talk on Climate Change last Tuesday, the speaker Dr Meric Srokosz posed the view that Jesus’ risen body was a first-fruit of the renewing that God will do, and that the new earth promised in the Scriptures will have elements of continuity and discontinuity.

My scientific western mind struggles with these concepts. I don’t want to be taken in by naivety, but nor do I want to miss out through scepticism. I find something very exciting here. Taking yet another funeral service tomorrow morning, I am aware that there is a whole realm beyond the grave that ‘no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those that love him’, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Jesus said that these benefits are only gained through belief and trust. Blessed are those who have not seen but believe. Why delay?                                         David Thatcher

I know that Jesus’ entombment was a parallel of Jonah three days in the whale; I know that Jesus said he would rise on the third day; I know that Saturday was the Jew’s Sabbath Day, but I still find it interesting that Jesus didn’t rise on the Saturday.

I’ve imagined the turmoil the disciples went through on that Saturday; what should they do now? The desperation of complete devastation. But Jesus had told them that they must wait for the third day.

Some time in the days immediately following his resurrection, he told them again that they must wait. Though he had instructed them to go and tell the world about his resurrection, he told them they must wait until they had received the necessary power from the Holy Spirit. They must wait in Jerusalem.

Waiting is difficult. It is not to be confused with procrastination, a sort of apathy. It is watching and waiting, ready for action once the signal has been given.

You may be experiencing a ‘Saturday’ at the moment. Don’t worry or get despondent, or try to launch into action too soon. God has times and seasons, and we need to be patient, observant and keep alert.                                                                                              David Thatcher

If this is just wishful thinking or a well-intentioned myth, then frankly all we are doing as Christians is a waste of time. We have been hoodwinked, deceived. Forget it. We are the saddest people on earth!

But the overwhelming evidence is that this Jesus did actually return to life and didn’t die again but ascended into heaven where he is now. Hundreds witnessed his gruesome death, and hundreds saw him later well and truly alive.

This week I have been to two funerals, a friend’s father’s and my uncle’s. I have stood there looking at a coffin knowing that inside was a person who was alive until a few days ago. I find every funeral extremely emotional and thought provoking, especially when it is someone you have known and loved. You are face-to-face with the fragility of life. These are times when you take stock. What do I really believe? How am I living my life and spending my time and energy? What do I really value?

Let’s remind ourselves what Jesus, the Son of God said; those who believe in him, he would forgive and give them a life that would last forever – see John 5:24. He would prepare a place in heaven for us. We would have new bodies that wouldn’t grow old and decay. We would enter a whole new realm of experience where there would be no more pain and disappointment, sickness or grief. Far from being a boring, dull drudgery of singing and harp playing, it will be one of unimaginable excitement and activity, with a total sense of purpose and fulfilment, lived in the very presence of God, in the knowledge of his absolute acceptance and delight in us.

Let us remind ourselves of these truths and encourage one another. Grasping these truths results in us shouting our heartfelt thanks to God for this amazing event which we celebrate today.                                                                                                                   David Thatcher

Most of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess what is good. Coveting begins with appreciating blessings. Murder begins with a hunger for justice. Lust begins with recognition of beauty. Gluttony begins when our enjoyment of good and tasty gifts of God consumes us. Idolatry begins when catching a glimpse of God in something beautiful leads us to constructing imitations.

Surely the Messianic hero will not appear riding on an ass. Surely the freedom fighter will mount the rostrum. Surely the table-turner will raise a victory shout at the very heart of oppression and injustice. Surely, surely, surely!

But no; humiliation, humiliation and then total humiliation.  Rejected, neglected, discarded.

Crushed, pierced, punished! But this was the only way to truly gain the qualities of Freedom, Peace and Justice that are at the very heart of God.                                  David Thatcher

What an example of the faithfulness of God and man’s impatience is the story of Abraham! God’s time scale is usually not ours. Waiting is so very difficult, seemingly unproductive.

This week I looked back at prophecies given over this Church. One that we all knew at the time was significant was from Duane White in May 2002. Here are a few extracts from what he said: ‘ You’re going to make a sound that attracts heaven … radical obedience, radical giving, extreme living, radical words, radical praise, radical actions. This building is not big enough…this is just a transitional place…there is going to be a large hall. God is calling this church to a church of a thousand.

I don’t just see a building; I see a campus, a university of the Spirit. I see a Christian Primary School…a home for drug addicts…young women who are about to sneak off and have abortions coming here. Some of the buildings that God is going to give you will have had some connection with the Body Shop because as Anita Roddick was a seed that God brought as a first fruit out of Littlehampton, so God wants to do in this church…. In the next ten years I see ten millionaires coming out of this church, and it is people who have very little at the moment, so that we can finance the Gospel. God wants to raise your influence…… You can only receive this by faith.

Scripture says that prophecy is only partial; it never gives the full picture. However, I believe some of Duane’s words have already come to pass, and reading them again, coupled with other words that have been spoken over us, I am encouraged. We may have to wait years for what God has said to come about, and it may not even be in our lifetime, but in the meantime, we press on, but living radically, not settling.

Maybe God is asking you to be patient.                                                                 David Thatcher

Initially we thought that it must be the result of an accident. However, we later realised that it was probably controlled burning by the Forestry Commission which takes place during the winter months. As their website states, ‘In order to promote the regeneration of fresh young growth, the Forestry Commission undertakes controlled burning of gorse and heather. This is beneficial to a variety of flora and fauna, creates food for commoning stock, and results in a mosaic of different aged habitats’.

Controlled burning, skilful pruning, is a method The Gardener uses. Fruitless branches are cut off, while fruitful branches are pruned to be even more fruitful.

Jesus never promised a Kingdom of Comfort, but he promised to comfort us in our troubles. Trials of many kinds test our faith, which develop perseverance, which bring maturity. Blessed is the person who perseveres under trial, because when he stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12.

Dear Father, help us to persevere and to grow stronger and more fruitful in the struggles and trials we face. May there be beauty from the ashes.                                        David Thatcher

I was privileged to be witnessing another bit of history being made as several very popular singers from the Christian music world had gathered together with the express intention of recording 15 songs in three days. Their purpose is to make an album together and raise as much money as they can for the poor. And what a great vibe it was!

In last week’s Folk & Fax I wrote about Belief and Behaviour, that our Belief drives our Behaviour, which is true, but even the right behaviour without love is fruitless. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13: ‘If I give all I possess to the poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing’.

I believe that these singers in Abbey Road this week have been motivated by love. I am challenged again: Is what I do motivated by love? Are my good intentions and even sacrificial acts motivated by love?

One of the current favourite songs of many of my grandchildren seems to be a song by Gabriella in High School Musical 2: ‘I have got to move on and be who I am. Don’t quite belong here, I hope you understand. I might find a place in this world someday, but as for now, I must go my own way’. But love is not self-seeking, going its own way. Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It seeks the others best.

All You Need Is Love.          David Thatcher

This week I conducted another funeral. Funerals provoke memories and reflection on the basics of life.

What I believe is the basis of my behaviour. My understanding of the teaching of Jesus is that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Everyone needs a saviour. Because of the deep love God has for each of us, God sent his son Jesus Christ as that saviour. He died to take the punishment for us all, and conquered death by rising again. All who take this on board, confess their sins, however bad, God forgives and makes clean, and gives eternal life which includes life in heaven after this earthly life.

This belief drives my behaviour. If everyone around me is basically doomed without a saviour, then out of love I want to introduce them to that rescue plan in the best way that I can to reap the greatest effect. Jesus himself commissioned his followers to spread this message.My whole life therefore is geared to this end. My time, my money, my energy, my goals are all influenced by this commission, and my desire is to follow God’s strategy.

I am not called to achieve this all by myself. God has ordained that it be teamwork; initially two by two, and then a larger group committed together to form a local church.

God’s plan is then to have various different giftings and strengths, which work together like a human body. But everyone is pulling together with the common aim of communicating the salvation message to those around.

This demands sacrifice. I left a great job as an engineer because I felt God say I should spend more time teaching and training young Christians. I became a school teacher, but then there came a time when I felt God say I should devote my time to equipping others to the mission of spreading the gospel. Both of those times were great challenges, but I had to allow my beliefs to dictate my behaviour.

What do you really believe? It will dictate your behaviour. But it works the other way round too. Your behaviour shows what you really believe.

David Thatcher