Cofio Padi Fellowship Evening 19th July

As we approach the anniversary of Padi's passing, we are upheld still more by the faith that God gives...

The air says to the eagle, "Trust me; spread thy broad wings. I will bear thee up to the sun. Only trust me. Take thy foot from off yon rock which thou canst feel beneath thee. Get away from it, and be buoyed up by the unseen element!" My brethren, eaglets of heaven, mount aloft, for God invites you. Mount! You have but to trust him. An unknown glory rests upon him, and the radiance thereof shall come upon you if you know how to trust.

Sermons on Unusual Occasions, Spurgeon P258

How different the 'unseen element', the air, is from a vacuum! To those with wings, it is as solid as the water to a fish and the ground to a lumbering elephant. If God has given us the wings of faith then what so many only dream of, the power of flight, is indeed ours before the time when we will 'soar through tracts unknown' to breathe the rarefied oxygen of the high heavens and commune with its inhabitants. This is our experience.

 

@CofioPadi, who are still raising money for charities that supported us during Pad's illness, were going to hold a gala event on the 19th July but that proved to be impossible. Instead, we're having a 'fellowship evening' and if you're free and in the area, please pop in: 6-9pm at the church hall. The plan is for a relaxed time of fellowship, singing some of Padi's choices of hymns, and there will be some tributes and testimonies as well as refreshments (link to Facebook event).

The worst thing

Thankfully it was another calm night, and Pads has a peaceful air about him. He only asked for pain relief when we were changing his bed first thing.
Padi is very economical with his words now but he clearly asked me to read Spurgeon's "Faith's cheque book" for today and it is amazingly apt and helpful (full text below). I've noticed in film and TV how the very worst thing that can happen to anyone is their death. As Spurgeon says, in a sense the worst thing has already happened in our separation from God, the rest flows consequential to that. Christ's atonement (at-one-ment) mends the rift and opens heaven.
We were in Matthew 14 for family worship this morning. We gather in with Padi: although he does not give much evidence of taking part he asked ages ago for us to just go ahead regardless each time. The subject of this passage includes Jesus walking on the water and Peter asking to join him on the sea. Peter begins to sink when alarmed by the tempest. With hindsight, he should have trusted his first instinct of implicit, childlike faith in God's Son.
We sang, "Lead us Heavenly Father lead us, o'r the world's tempestuous sea. Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us, for we have no help but Thee. Yet possessing every blessing if our God our Father be." This verse was sung as a closing prayer at every one of my high-school assemblies.
Faith's Cheque Book for July 11: Never Separated from God
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? (John 11:26)
Yes, Lord, we believe it; we shall never die. Our soul may be separated from our body, and this is death of a kind; but our soul shall never be separated from God, which is the true death—the death which was threatened to sin—the death penalty which is the worst that can happen. We believe this most assuredly, for who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? We are members of the Body of Christ; will Christ lose parts of His Body?

Spurgeon helping us count our blessings

I've reproduced this extended quote after a night of 2-hourly administration of breakthrough pain relief. It seems likely that we'll move to a syringe driver today.

CH Spurgeon's Autobiography (Volume 2) records the following concerning one of his most significant experiences:

After enforced rest he was back in his pulpit on Sunday, April 23, but weeks of pain followed. Through May and June, 1871, when he should have been on a previously-arranged continental tour, he lay suffering. In a letter to the congregation at the Tabernacle he opened his heart to them:

'Clapham.

Dear Friends,

The furnace still glows around me. Since I last preached to you, I have been brought very low; my flesh has been tortured with pain, and my spirit has been prostrate with depression. Yet, in all this, I see and submit to my Father's hand; yea, more, I bless Him that His paternal love has been more than ever dear to me. With some difficulty, I write these lines in my bed, mingling them with the groans of pain and the songs of hope...

Kay's Day

We're just delighted that Kay Richmond got to carry the Torch today. Sorry Matt (Smith), you're just an actor. Kay's the real deal (can just about be seen in the photo below on the far left). On Thursday, she visited us again, bringing a photo of the last Brain Tumour Support Group trip to the Botanic Gardens AND Pads' mosaic that he created with the help of 'Pod' Clare. Kay confirmed that she's secured funding from LATCH to pay 'Pod' Clare's expenses to visit Cardiff and do some further work with Pads. Kay had also got her husband to grout the mosaic for Pads!

We're enjoying the fine weather and a positivity that's 'in the air' these last couple of weeks. Yesterday Ally had a meeting with the consultant who warned against getting carried away. With Pads almost fainting in the hot tub on Thursday, we get these little reminders which help to keep our feet on the ground.
Many have prayed for complete healing for Pads, and still do. But there's something more amazing than miracles: glorifying God in the midst of 'dark events'. We're very mindful of a dear friend Lynn, who has languishing under illness with the most incredible joy and peace in believing. We had a beautiful quote given to us the other day from Spurgeon's sermon on 'Grieving the Holy Spirit':

Remember how much he loves us when he helpeth our infirmities. Nay, not only doth he help our infirmities, but when we know not what to pray for as we ought he teacheth us how to pray, and when "we ourselves groan within ourselves," then the Spirit himself maketh intersession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered—groans as we should groan, but more audibly, so that our prayer, which else would have been silent, reaches the ears of Christ, and is then presented before his Father's face. To help our infirmities is a mighty instance of love. When God overcomes infirmity altogether, or removes it, there is something very noble, and grand, and sublime in the deed; when he permits the infirmity to remain and yet works with the infirmity, this is tender compassion indeed. When the Saviour heals the lame man you see his Godhead, but when he walketh with the lame man, limping though his gait may be; when he sitteth with the beggar, when he talketh with the publican, when he carryeth the babe in his bosom, then this helping of infirmities is a manifestation of love almost unequalled. Save Christ's bearing our infirmities upon the tree and our sins in his own body, I know of no greater or more tender instance of divine love than when it is written, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities (Rom8:26)."

Weary

This post's title is the first word of a hymn by Samuel Stone.
Pads has really enjoyed seeing his friends from school this holiday. Yesterday Pads agreed to go to one of his friend's house in the morning as I'd been asked to deliver a session at short notice and Ally was helping out with the Holiday Bible Club. He was quite groggy after having fallen back soundly asleep when we tried to wake him again at 10:30am. But he somehow 'ground out a win' against lethargy. He enjoyed the time out although spent the rest of the day very tired. In that state he can get quite short with words and when that's directed at his younger siblings he is always distraught about it afterwards, taking quite a while to calm down. He doesnt want to be remembered as curt. Mum's been doing a marvelous job of helping clear the air by reading Spurgeon's Morning and Evening pages to him. When you turn it up, you can see why.... it's on Hebrews 2:14  “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death.”

On bucket lists and travelling

The kids were rightly incensed when they heard that Alice Pyne had been getting nasty spam messages. They wanted to send her messages saying how I'm in IT and they were certain I'd be able to do something to block all that negative stuff. It's been a while since I've seen Pads bucket list. He keeps his journal pretty private lately. The list contains fairly normal, even mundane, things really, with the exception of wanting to see his siblings become Christians... that's pretty rare these days, but we have a gracious God.
I'm reading Spurgeon's Autobiography at the moment - volume 2, 'The Full Harvest'. He'd been sent on a recouperative trip to Europe and, reflecting on all the marvellous sights and sounds, said this (p33):

If you cannot travel, remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is more glorious than all else that you could ever see. Get a view of Christ, and you have seen more than mountains, and cascades, and valleys, and seas can ever show you. Thunders may bring their sublimest uproar, and lightenings their awful glory; earth may give its beauty, and stars their brightness; but all these put together can never rival Him of whom Dr. Watts so well sang - 

Now to the Lord a noble song!
Awake, my soul; awake, my tongue;
Hosanna to th’eternal Name,
And all His boundless love proclaim.

See where it shines in Jesus’ face,
The brightest image of His grace;
God, in the person of His Son,
Has all His mightiest works outdone.

The spacious earth and spreading flood
Proclaim the wise and powerful God;
And thy rich glories from afar
Sparkle in every rolling star.

But in His looks a glory stands,
The noblest labor of thine hands;
The pleasing luster of His eyes
Outshines the wonders of the skies.

Grace! ‘tis a sweet, a charming theme;
My thoughts rejoice at Jesus’ Name:
Ye angels, dwell upon the sound!
Ye heav’ns, reflect it to the ground!

(Amazingly they leave the following (final) verse out of the Autobiography... but it's in our excellent hymnbook!)

O may I live to reach the place
Where he unveils His lovely face!
Where all His beauties you behold,
And sing His Name to harps of gold!

This transfixing, transporting view of Christ does not fade with the years and it is impossible to become familiar in the way that those who live near the world's natural wonders do. It is a view that can be seen perhaps most clearly from the bed of sickness, poverty or prison, as His people have testified down through the years. If you have not seen this view, as is said, you havnt lived! You must not die without it.

Pads is his usual helpful self around the house. He's always the first to offer help with putting clothes away, make a cup of tea, tidy up. Moli'd asked him if he had some lined paper and he was up and down the stairs to make sure she had it later, even though I'd told him I had seen her writing on some!

The reason why...

Lots of people are noticing a special spark about Pads at the moment. If anyone wants to know why Pads is quite so bright... yes, his pain is under control, yes, the shingles scab is all that's left of that, yes, he's off to Thorpe Park today, but the main reason can be best left to CH Spurgeon to elaborate from his 'Morning and Evening' for this a.m. It's a few thoughts on the text:

"That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death."—Hebrews 2:14.

Child of God, death hath lost its sting, because the devil's power over it is destroyed. Then cease to fear dying. Ask grace from God the Holy Ghost, that by an intimate knowledge and a firm belief of thy Redeemer's death, thou mayst be strengthened for that dread hour. Living near the cross of Calvary thou mayst think of death with pleasure, and welcome it when it comes with intense delight. It is sweet to die in the Lord: it is a covenant-blessing to sleep in Jesus. Death is no longer banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home to the many mansions where the loved ones already dwell. The distance between glorified spirits in heaven and militant saints on earth seems great; but it is not so. We are not far from home—a moment will bring us there. The sail is spread; the soul is launched upon the deep. How long will be its voyage? How many wearying winds must beat upon the sail ere it shall be reefed in the port of peace? How long shall that soul be tossed upon the waves before it comes to that sea which knows no storm? Listen to the answer, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." Yon ship has just departed, but it is already at its haven. It did but spread its sail and it was there. Like that ship of old, upon the Lake of Galilee, a storm had tossed it, but Jesus said, "Peace, be still," and immediately it came to land. Think not that a long period intervenes between the instant of death and the eternity of glory. When the eyes close on earth they open in heaven. The horses of fire are not an instant on the road. Then, O child of God, what is there for thee to fear in death, seeing that through the death of thy Lord its curse and sting are destroyed? and now it is but a Jacob's ladder whose foot is in the dark grave, but its top reaches to glory everlasting.

flat

P is pretty flat today - partly from the exertions of yesterday (bike ride) but also his guts have 'felt funny' - thus he made it to Sunday School but not the services am or pm.
We were helped recently by the words of Spurgeon (full text available at www.puritansermons.com/spurgeon/spurgeo4.htm ). If you feel like we're coping well with this situation, our confession is that it is mainly because we are upheld in the knowledge that we are in the hands of the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, not the remote heartless 'blind watchmaker' or the judgemental and capricious adolescent that some imagine they see on the pages of the bible... "From our Lord's words [in Jn 11:4] we learn that there is a limit to sickness...."

When God wills it, sickness will bear us unto deep decline, but not unto death; unto weariness of body, but not unto weakness of soul; unto restlessness, but not unto wretchedness; unto moaning, but not unto murmuring. unto depression, but not unto despair. There are bounds about this mount of fire. Wisdom hangs up the thermometer at the furnace mouth and regulates the heat...

1. The limit is encouragingly comprehensive. The God of providence has limited the time, manner, intensity, repetition, and effects of all our sicknesses; each throb is decreed, each sleepless hour predestinated, each relapse ordained, each depression of spirit foreknown, and each sanctifying result eternally purposed. If the minutiae were not in the decree, we might fret over little things; but now we dare not, lest we murmur against the Lord: if our great pains were not regulated by wisdom, we might be alarmed at them, but now we need not be afraid. Nothing great or small escapes the ordaining hand of him who numbers the hairs of our head, and keeps the paths of our feet.

2. This limit is wisely adjusted to our strength, to the end designed, and to the grace apportioned. Affliction comes not at haphazard; the weight of every stroke of the rod is accurately measured. He who made no mistakes in balancing the clouds and meting out the heavens, commits no errors in measuring out the ingredients which compose the medicine of souls. We cannot suffer too much nor be relieved too late. The wind is tempered to the shorn lamb; the load is fitted to the weak shoulder.

3. The limit is tenderly appointed. The knife of the heavenly Surgeon never cuts deeper than is absolutely necessary. A father smites no harder than duty constrains. "He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." A mother's heart cries, "Spare my child." but no mother is more compassionate than our gracious God. When we consider how hard-mouthed we are, it is a wonder that we are not driven with a sharper bit. So much rust requires much of the file; but love is gentle of hand.