July's Trip to Lewis

You know, sometimes when we go through a time of trial, our trial becomes so all-consuming that all our blessings are seen through the light - or darkness, rather - of that trial. And so, instead of counting our many blessings, which are greater than we can articulate and more numerous than we can count, we mope and weigh down our heart with our woes and our afflictions.

I was reading Psalm 105 yesterday, and these words sprung off the page and into (I hope) my heart:

1.O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people.

2 Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all His wondrous works.

3 Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

4 Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore.

5 Remember His marvellous works that He hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth;

6 O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob His chosen.

7 He is the Lord our God: His judgments are in all the earth.

8 He hath remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.

With this in mind, I am going to write a couple of blog posts about our recent trip home. 

Home is the Isle of Lewis. Obviously.

The posts will be weighed in favour of photos rather than of words, and when you see the photos, you'll understand why:

Catherine, Caleb, and I took a trip to Harris along with my sister, Marina, and my niece, Iona.

To say we were almost bowled over by the beauty of God's creation around us is an understatement. Here, Catherine and Caleb and looking out on Loch Seaforth, enjoying the peace and tranquility it affords.

Erm, hang on. Did I say peace and tranquility? And did you actually believe me, considering I'd already told you my sister was with us.

Really, shame on your naivety.

I call it 'youngest child syndrome', and many of you not-youngest-siblings will agree that the condition is widespread and is utterly non-treatable.

This wee fella. What can I say? Other than that I love him so very, very much.

Honestly, almost around every corner, we ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the beauty before us. The weather was gorgeous - about 25C (77F), with a gentle breeze to keep away midges and, as you see, stunningly blue skies. In other words: perfection.

There is no doubt that our wonderful Creator, who showered such delights on us, is a God of design and beauty and kindness. What therapy for mind and soul these views are!

We stopped off at Horgabost, had our picnic lunch on the machair, and then enjoyed a couple of hours on the sands.

As you see, even on the most perfect of days, our island beaches have plenty space for all visitors. Crowded beaches are not something we know anything of in Lewis or Harris!

Caleb was flying high, enjoying the attention, undoubtedly, more than the scenery. 

And surrounded by all of us, attention was most certainly not in short supply.

How could it be, when he is such an adorable bundle of utter joy?!

Did I mention joy? Yes, I have so many blessings to bring joy to my heart, and of temporal blessings, this wee guy is most certainly a big part of that.

"And no matter what kind of face you put on, young man, Granny is still going to smother you in love and hugs and kisses."

Aye, probably even when you're a teenager. Now, wont that be fun!

Today ...

Today began with a beautiful sunny and frosty morning.

I had to head over to town, so I took a couple of photos while I was there... just because that's what bloggers do, isn't it?

Lews Castle, and...

the harbour.

In all the beauty of the day, my heart was heavy. Today in Ness, the funeral of a 16 year old boy was taking place here.

 After the church service, the cars all passed our house on their way to the cemetery. Over a hundred cars went in past us. It was a beautiful late afternoon, but for those who were mourning the loss of their son, their brother, their grandson, their friend, I doubt they saw much beauty around them.

My heart is so heavy tonight. I weep for the boy. On a human level, I weep for his mother... I keep wondering, How? How does a mother lay her son's body in a grave? Oh, the pain of letting him go. 

Teach us, Lord to number our days.

This was posted to my Facebook wall today:

What a blessing death is to those for whom it is but the opening of the gate into the presence of our Saviour. But, oh, what a dread, if we have lived our lives without Christ, and are being ushered into a Christless eternity.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near." 

In the Book of Acts, chapter 8 we are given a short account of the Ethiopian Eunuch and his meeting with Philip. Last Sunday evening, we had an elder taking the service and he spoke on this passage. Here is just a small taster of some of the wonderfully vivid thoughts he had.

Verse 27 of this chapter tells us that the eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship. If he had gone to worship, then he must have desired to know God in some way. Was he looking for answers to burning questions? Where have I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? 

Was he devastated when he arrived in Jerusalem? You see, he was an eunuch, and the Levitical law taught that no eunuch was to enter the congregation of the Lord. 

He was also a son of Ham: not the son of Shem, father of the blessed nation.

A Gentile. And an eunuch. 

The poor, poor man. He was seeking, but he wasn't finding. Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever desired peace with God, and have looked this way and that, only to find another wall blocking your path?

Well, this man didn't give up. Although he had to return to Ethiopia, where he held a position of great honour and authority, yet we find him on his way, reading.... And what a passage of Scripture he was reading! 

Isaiah. The Gospel writer of the the Old Testament!

When Philip approached the eunuch, he was reading the words of chapter 53.

"He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken."

Philip asked him if he understood what he read. Of course, the eunuch did not, until Philip "preached unto him Jesus". Ahhh. The eunuch could have been reading in Genesis, or in the Psalms, or in the prophets, and it would all have lead to Jesus. 

Remember the two on the road to Emmaus? Luke 24 tells us that when Jesus spoke to those two sorrowing men, He spoke, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27)

You see! The Scriptures are all about Him! All about Christ, our Saviour. And so, Philip began teaching the eunuch all about this Jesus, born in Bethlehem, God becoming man, living amongst us, keeping the law perfectly to impute His righteousness to all who believe on Him, being betrayed, but all in the plan of God, dying and bearing the curse of God due for His people's sin, then rising again the third day. Triumphant! 

I can imagine the eunuch's jaw dropping and his eyes widening. As Philip spoke, more and more of his questions were being answered; more of his longings were being fulfilled. 

He had come to Jerusalem seeking. He must have left despondent and disappointed. But he kept seeking. He turned to God's Word. And eventually, he found. Oh, what peace after turmoil. What joy after disappointments. What liberty after fear.

This eunuch, this son of Ham, this Gentile is welcomed into the kingdom of Christ. The Gospel is open to all. It's open to you too, for there is no sinner on earth who comes to Christ who will be turned away.

If you have never found Christ as your Saviour, then seek Him. And when you seek and are faced with disappointments, keep seeking. If you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him. And then, what unutterable peace and joy will fill your soul.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7)