Moreish

ISHMAEL Applying God’s Word to everyday life and relationships

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Moreish

52 short stories, sermons and studies giving you plenty of food for thought

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Copyright © Ian Smale 2013 Published 2013 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK. CWR is a Registered Charity – Number 294387 and a Limited Company registered in England – Registration Number 1990308.

The right of Ian Smale to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 77 and 78.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. For list of National Distributors visit www.cwr.org.uk/distributors Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), copyright © 1979, 1984 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Other versions as marked: Message: Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Amplified: Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org). New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The poem ‘Why?’ by Gordon Bailey (Mix and Match 1999: ISBN 0 9535889 0 4) is used with permission.

Concept development, editing, design and production by CWR Printed in the UK by Page Brothers ISBN: 978-1-78259-018-7

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Introduction Following on from my last book for CWR, A Year According to Ishmael, which had 365 daily readings, I wanted to write a book of slightly more indepth weekly readings. So, here it is: MoreIsh. As well as looking at some well-known stories, characters and passages from the Bible, I’ve also selected a few very obscure ones, which would rarely be preached on from a pulpit! As you’d expect, it’s written in typical Ish style: easy to read, with a balance of tongue-in-cheek humour and thoughtprovoking challenge.

I’ve also spent quite a time researching some historical and cultural detail, which I’m hoping will help readers understand the Scriptures better. As well as providing a little more simple Bible knowledge for those who are not intellectuals or theologians, my prayer is, as always, that this will not be just an enjoyable read but that God will speak to and encourage all who read it.

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Acknowledgements A big thank you to ‌ All the Bible commentaries and Bible teachers from whom I gleaned the biblical and historical knowledge to help me write this book.

Naomi Sheldrake, who was being treated for leukaemia and yet, in between chemotherapy treatments, still managed to help sort out my tenses and punctuation.

The Rev Dr Anthony Kane, the cathedral theologian, who checked the biblical contents of this book.

Huw Spanner for his sensitivity, knowledge and thoroughness in the overall editing of this book.

The Chichester Cathedral clergy, and especially the Precentor, Tim Scofield, and Dean, Nicholas Frayling, for allowing me to preach fifty per cent of these studies in the cathedral – and, of course, thanks to the congregation who had to listen to them.

Dr Adam and Gloria Bradford and Ian and Jane Cheal for their continued friendship and continuing support for my ministry.

And, of course, my fantastic wife, Irene, who allowed me to shut myself away for many hours to write it.

To find out more about Ish: www.ishmaeldirect.com To contact Ish, email ishmael@ishm(x)ael.org.uk

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Contents Time is on our side!

Leper skin Don’t worry, be happy Mother Mary All together now Make mine a double!

I’m free King Jealous who grates!

Going up?

David’s trouble and strife … s!

It’s a wonderful life!

Being a loyal supporter Forgive me, Father. I feel guilty.

Could Jairus cope?

Deep purple Gone fishing Making a healthy prophet All you need is love Weeping and gnashing!

Jo goes against the flow Golden oldies!

The evil emperor Joy? You’re having a laugh!

A good mark!

A law unto themselves A hearing problem Singing from the same song sheet Naaman the old water baby Say it again, Pete!

Holy Moses!

God plays His joker!

Prophet and loss Insured but not fully protected

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9 12 16 20 24 27 31 34 37 40 44 48 51 54 58 61 65 69 72 76 79 83 87 90 94 98 101 105 108 111 114 118 121

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I’m in with the in crowd The disabled carer Nic, not too quick but a solid brick!

Charity begins at home. Not. Loving father, lousy parent!

Even the bad times are good A peek at a deacon!

That’s the Spirit!

The big, strong, weak giant An angle on angels This story doesn’t hold water – or does it?

Questioning the unquestionable Amazing grace Knees up or knees down?

Hey Judah, don’t make it bad!

Credit where credit is due!

It’s good news week He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother Paid on the nail

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125 128 131 134 137 141 144 147 150 153 156 159 162 165 169 173 176 179 183

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key verse

Time is on our side! ‘ There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: A right time for birth and another for death.’ Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 (The Message)

‘Time is on my side,’ Mick Jagger sang in 1965. But would he still say that today, I wonder. I don’t know about you but, although I’m sure I look older, I don’t actually feel any older than I did a year ago – or maybe even ten years ago! But I have noticed that the older I get, the more quickly the years seem to pass by.

For nearly forty years my role as a travelling evangelist and musician has meant that my life has been ruled by the calendar and the clock. My diary has been my most valuable possession – after my Bible, of course! All the places I’m meant to be are written in it, and all the times I have to be there. But in April a few years ago I was experiencing a typical crazy week.

It began with an exhausting day finishing recording an album, and then I drove down to Falmouth for a friend’s birthday party. It was a long drive to Cornwall from Chichester, and somehow it seemed an even longer drive home. I felt tired.

Next, my diary dictated that I must drive up to Lowestoft for the Caister Bible Week. Not only were Irene and I booked to speak, I was keen to go as I knew that the people there would be from the much ‘higher’ end of the Church of England than I was used to and I was eager to see what went on.

The day after we got back, I had to help my son Dan move to London, but I was not a lot of help as I had no energy left.

The next day was a Sunday but my diary informed me that it was not a day of rest: I had to be up at the crack of dawn to be interviewed

by Southern Counties Radio in Brighton. After that, I had to drive to a studio in Eastbourne to drop off the master CD of the new album for duplication. The journey home from Eastbourne was a nightmare. It was the one day that year we had a snowstorm and I got stuck in a major traffic jam, mainly due to the fact that southerners don’t know how to drive in snow!

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Time Is On Our Side!

On the next day, the Monday, my life changed. Having had very little warning that I was even ill, I discovered that without immediate medication I would die within days from leukaemia! For the foreseeable future, I would be going nowhere outside of a hospital ward. And I was instructed to clear my diary for the rest of the year. As I lay in that hospital bed, staring at four walls, a ceiling and an annoying clock, I realised that time for me had stopped. Now, time meant nothing.

For many of us today, timing is everything. So often we get stressed over silly things. I’ve stood in a queue outside our (now solitary) post office waiting for it to open. As the moment approached, I’ve seen people become agitated, and even angry, if the doors didn’t open on the stroke of nine. Now, of course, we get stressed at the amount of time we have to queue inside the post office. Likewise, we are very intolerant if we arrange to meet someone and they are a few minutes late. They’d better have a good reason! And, of course, although many a church service fails to start on time, it’s vital that it ends on time. After the final benediction, there are important things we must do and places we must be!

But time is not the same to God as it is to us. As the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 90:4, a thousand years in His sight are but as yesterday. Isaac Watts used Psalm 90 as the basis for his famous hymn ‘O God, Our Help in Ages Past’: ‘A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.’

God has all eternity in which to work. It is only against the background of eternity that things appear in their true proportions and with their real value. Man is mortal. Human beings die and any hope for life beyond death depends wholly on God and not on us.

However, God is different. 1 Timothy 6:16 informs us that He alone is immortal. He is without a beginning or an ending. He dwells in eternity. We have to try and get our heads around the fact that eternity is not just extended time, it is existence above and separate from time. So, it follows that if a thousand years is as a single day to God, we can never accuse Him of being late in anything He does. In His sight, the whole universe is only a few days old!

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God is never limited by our sense of timing. The Old Testament often shows us that God is never in a hurry, but (as I have explained) actually it is impossible for Him to be. I have heard Christians complain that He always seems to answer prayer at the eleventh hour; but God does not know an eleventh hour. He knows only perfect timing. It was not God’s timing for me to go and be with Him yet, and so I am still here. God still has a purpose for me here on earth, just as He has for all of us.

Every day is a gift of God’s mercy. This means that every day we are alive, there is more opportunity for us to get closer to God and (just as important) to share His love with those around us who don’t yet know Him. So …

Let’s try not to waste time.

Let’s make the most of the time allowed to us.

Let’s make the most of every day.

For us believers, time is on our side!

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