Dear friends,

Last month saw the season of Harvest, when we were reminded of God's goodness to us.  We were reminded of the part we have to play as stewards of all God has provided, of the need to share so that everyone has enough, of God's promise that whilst the earth remains there will always be seedtime and harvest.

Harvest is but one of many earthly things that remind us of heavenly or spiritual blessings.  I have, no doubt like most of you, been giving rather a lot of thought and prayer in the past months to the situation in the Holy Land, which has led me to think about the geography of that area.

There are two major areas of water - Lake Galilee and the Dead Sea.  We know what each of them is like and the difference between them.  Even if we haven't been there ourselves, I'm sure we have pictures in our mind of Lake Galilee from the Bible accounts of fishing trips, miraculous happenings, and Jesus' mastery of the wind and waves.  And I'm sure we all have images from what we have seen or heard of people floating on top of the water of the Dead Sea.

It is the difference between these two watery areas, or rather the reasons for their differences, that has something to say to us about our spiritual life.

The Sea of Galilee has the waters of the river Jordan pouring into it at one end, and the water pours out of it at the other end for the river to continue its journey.  As a result there is a constantly changing supply of fresh water for Galilee.  Lake Galilee is living water, it supports life, contains life and enables other to live off what they catch in its healthy waters.  By contrast the water flows into the Dead Sea but because of its geographical position there is nowhere for the water to go.  It has to sit there, stay there, and wait for evaporation to occur - hence the heavy mineral content of the water.  The Dead Sea cannot support life - except for the lives of tourist and others who go and float on the surface for the sake of their health, or a few photos!

On the Day of Pentecost, God poured out the Holy Spirit into the disciples.  The result was that they went out and poured out into others what God had poured into them.  They were like Lake Galilee, fresh input at one end and an outpouring of the same at the other.  Because of the 'through-flow' of the Holy Spirit they not only had life within them, they were able to support life, to give life to others.

So it is with us today.  God gives us his Spirit, his love, his blessings, for a number of reasons.  The first is because he loves us and because he wants us to have these gifts from him.  But another is because he wants us to pass on to others what he has given to us.  As it says in hymn 471 of our Rejoice and Sing, "Blessing shrivels up when your children hoard it... Blessing only grows in the act of sharing."

So what is it that you believe God has given you spiritually?  Whatever it is, however great or lowly that gift appears to you, remember three important things:  1) It is yours so it is unique - be thankful; 2) It came from God so it must be special - be humble;  3) It is something God wants you to share with someone else - be full of joy. 

And while you're thinking about all this, try Philippians 4:4!

Best wishes to you all,