Malcolm Potts February 15th 2015 ~ a good sign

There is a story about a young missionary couple who moved into a small stone apartment in the old city of Jerusalem.  They noticed a dove had chosen to live in the eaves above their small balcony.  It was beautiful and peaceful. They took this as a sign from God - a good sign.As time went by it became apparent that, when doors were slammed or voices raised, the dove would fly away.  This distressed the couple and the woman said her greatest fear was that it would fly away and never come back again.Now, it was just a bird!  We need to be assured that those of us who are in Christ Jesus can never be separated from his saving forgiveness. God never flies away on us.  But I can live a life where I ignore him.  It’s as if I fly away on him.  I no longer listen for his promptings or voice.As leaders at St Philips, this is why we are making a big deal of God’s call on us this year, to fix our eyes on Jesus and open our hearts to him.  As with the Holy Spirit, it is not how much of the Spirit you have that matters;  what matters is how much of your attention he has.As individuals and as a church we only have so much spiritual, relational, physical, intellectual and financial resources to expend or invest.  So we must invest what we have wisely.    Where have you decided to invest the resources you have in 2015?As leaders we invite you to invest with us.   As we have fixed our eyes on Jesus and opened our hearts to him,  we have prioritised five visible targets that, with your help, we hope to hit this year -  targets that will energise us as a community, spiritually and relationally particularly.  You can read what the targets are over the page.Would you take time to reflect on your journey with Jesus in the St Philips family?  We rely on one another and every member needs to pull their weight to make it work, just like any effective family.In a couple of weeks we are going to have a Commitment Sunday when we will be asking you to decide what you are willing to commit to at St Philips this year spiritually, relationally, physically, intellectually and financially.  These are not either/or commitments.  It’s not a theory, it’s practical.  How much time, how much of my talent, how much of my physical energy, how much of my money?  If you haven’t considered your giving in the past year, now is the time.These are opportunities to pull together as we grow in love and faith and fruitfulness as a community.When we really see Jesus, like the woman from Samaria did, so much changes - our affections, priorities and directions.  Let’s make sure these are shaped with eyes fixed on Jesus and hearts open to him. Malcolm