John Stott: 1921-2011 A Godly Man indeed

"John founded LICC with characteristic discernment and determination. 'Warmth' and 'friendship' marked John's ministry throughout." Mark Greene

John Stott died yesterday, peacefully in St Barnabas, the care home where he's spent the last few years. Here was a godly man indeed.

And a friend to hundreds of thousands of people - through gracious word spoken eye to eye, through gracious word spoken from platforms, and through gracious word written in many books. But, in whatever context, John's words were clean with a joyous clarity, crafted in prayer, and offered back to the Spirit who shaped them for His purposes - for the honour of Jesus' name and the glory of the Father.

When John spoke, there was never any doubt whose messenger he was.In even trying to encapsulate John's achievements and his character, it's hard to know with which to begin. His extraordinary undertakings in biblical scholarship, in thought leadership, in growing a local church, in building up evangelicals in the Church of England, in reshaping international mission to include social action, in creating an international movement of evangelicals - all this make his graciousness, meekness and humility seem all the more remarkable. Similarly, his graciousness makes his achievements seem all the more extraordinary - how, from a human point of view, did such a gentle, kind man manage to help gather so many to fresh missional purpose and radical cooperation? Jesus, would be his answer, I'm sure.

John was one of the founders of LICC, our first Director and our President until yesterday. He saw the urgent need to enable Christians to integrate their faith with their whole life - at work as well as in the neighbourhood, in the lecture theatre as well as in the sanctuary. And he led and shaped LICC to develop and offer wisdom to Christians from all over the world and from all kinds of professional and ecclesiastical contexts. He maintained a vigorous interest in our work and when we last visited him, his delight at our progress in the cause and his concern to see LICC continue to flourish were gleamingly evident.

We have developed some tribute pages and you can read more about John's life and/or watch clips of an interview with Brian Draper. And you can also write your own tribute.

John anticipated that some people might like to make a thanksgiving gift to support the causes that most concerned him - LICC and the Langham Partnership International - and if you'd like to do that click here.

There is indeed so much about John to give thanks, and praise, to God for.
But this is also a time of grief for us, and for many, many people.
May the God of all comfort, grant you his comfort at this time.

When you are drained away !

In my attempts to promote the comfort of my family, the quiet of my spirit has been disturbed…there is never any need to sin. Another thing I have suffered loss from—entering into the business of the day without seeking to have my spirit quieted and directed. So many things press upon me, this is sometimes neglected; shame on me that it should be so. – Elizabeth T. King 1856

If people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be…you are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain kind of handling. –George S. Merriam

In your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace. –Madame Guyon

Treasure

You may not have a lot of money,but you have incredible wealth.
You may not have an abundance of things,but you possess more than you could ever ask or think.

God has placed within you the greatest treasure anyone can ever possess
— It is the life of Jesus Christ.

You have, living within you,

The beauty of His holiness,
The kindness of His grace,
The freedom of His truth,
The compassion of His mercy,
The greatness of His power, and
The riches of His love.


He has freely lavished upon you a treasure house of blessings that you can freely give away to others.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Romans 8:31 From Roy Lessin's daily reflections

Who is against you?

God is not.
Jesus is not.
The Holy Spirit is not.
The angels are not.

Those who are for you are greater than any foe that is against you.
Nothing and no one can prevail, defeat, conquer, or overcome those who are for you, and they who are for you have the final authority and the final say over everything that concerns you.

If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Romans 8:31

「創新」是甚麼？

今早周牧師傳達下列對創意的理解，很有意思 :

「創新」是甚麼？ 管見認為

「以不變應萬變的律則中，偶而有變化；
不能常變，也不能常不變」；

是以

「自由的自由與勇敢的勇氣」使聽眾無法預測，
它來時，便歡迎甚或驚喜，是謂創新。

貼示：少創新，或許創新的壽命長；
大創新，日後的創新難度大。

「火熱」是甚麼？
主耶穌的使命之一有暗示，請細讀經文：

「我來要把火丟在地上，倘若已經著起來，不也是我所願意的嗎？」(路十二49)

Double-minded

Double-minded, duplicitous, two-faced - the list could go on.
All imply untrustworthiness. And the opposite -

single-minded, simple, single-eyed (see Matt.6:22, AV)
- imply sincerity, honesty, transparency, virtues that Christians are bound to aspire to.

Ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6-8

Adventure and Inconvenience

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." --G.K. Chesterton--

Our relaxation

How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains; God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. To know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. -A. W. Tozer-