I came across this story a couple of days ago about some doctors who are restoring sight to people who have long been blind. It's a wonderful example of what science and medicine can do, and of how the every-day work of some can greatly benefit others.

But it reminded me too of what it's like to become a disciple of Jesus. Because when someone becomes a disciple of Jesus a wonderful miracle takes place - their spiritual sight is restored! Y'see the Bible says that we're all born with a terrible disease, a kind of spiritual death. It's called sin. And it causes spiritual blindness (1 Corinthians 2:12-16).

But when we turn from our sin and follow Jesus then the wonderful thing is that God restores our spiritual sight and we can again see things "in colour". 

It's a wonderful way to live life! And having made that decision personally, it's hard to comprehend how I was ever happy to live life in black & white. 

It's so easy to get caught up in the pressure of the immediate - sometimes we concentrate so hard on the tasks before us that we forget to look at the bigger picture. It's a bit like looking at this picture of a seagull and staring so intently at the smaller pictures that you don't see the big one! 

King David in Psalms 3 to 7 has been doing that. He's been looking intently at the problems of the real world around him - enemies, lies, bad things happening to good people, etc.

But in Psalm 8 (as we saw at Northside on Sunday) he does stop to look at the bigger picture - to contemplate God and his glory as shown (for example) in the brilliant blue of a clear Autumn sky; to ponder (too) the moon and the stars that God has put in place, and then think about the wonder of a God with such power and yet who still cares for him.

In other words, he gets some perspective, and that's a very healthy thing. Why don't you take some time this week to ponder the bigger picture. Trust me, it's good for the soul!

I never thought I'd get to play Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' in church. But today I did!

It was because we were looking at Genesis 28 at Northside today. It's the original stairway to heaven, where Jacob is given a dream of a ladder going up to heaven with God at the top. He exclaims (in v.17): "How awesome is this place! This is none other than... the gate of heaven."

And he's right, although he only sees the shadow, not the reality.

Because the reality is Jesus Christ. In John Chapter 1 v.51 Jesus talks about Jacob's ladder, and he says effectively that he is that ladder. Jesus is the gate, Jesus is the way - the only way - to heaven (John 14:6). And putting your trust in him is how you get on that ladder.

Now you never knew that Led Zeppelin was really singing about Jesus, did you!

You don't get much worse family behaviour than what we saw in Genesis 27 today - lies, deceipt, cheating a blind old man on his death bed... And it's all within a family.

And it's not just any family; it's the family of Isaac and Jacob, two of the great 'patriarchs' of Israel, people from whom the whole nation of Israel would come. Even the Lord Jesus himself is descended from these guys. And yet by the end of the chapter this family feud goes so far that cold-blooded murder is planned. This isn't just mate against mate, it's brother against brother.

And yet God over-rules it all to achieve his long-term purposes through these people. In the chapters to come God doesn't let Jacob go - he grabs hold of him, turns his life around, and blesses him despite what he's done in his family.

It's called grace - God's kindness shown to sinful people like us. And if God can show grace to Jacob, then surely there's hope for us all. 

At Northside today we looked at Psalm 6, in particular anxiety in Psalm 6. King David is anxious in this psalm, and his anxiety is affecting him; it's affecting him badly. So badly that it has physical side-effects - his "bones are troubled" (verse 2) and he's "languishing". Literally, he's worried sick.

Now what David's experiencing here is indicative of the way God's made us. Because we've not been made just as souls (the "real us") trapped in bodies (supposedly not the "real us"). But rather the Bible presents a picture of us where both soul and body are the "real us". And that means that when we're stressed on the inside, it's only natural that there will be physical side-effects on the outside - in our bodies.

Sometimes we can wrongly think that stress is not such a big deal and that we should just "get over it". But serious stress can cause real problems, and we need to take it seriously. And perhaps in those situations a cure for our bodies might just start with a cure for our souls.

On our noticeboard at home we have a Christmas list. It lists everything our sons ask for for Christmas throughout the year. At the moment it lists Bobba Fett's helmet, some spy training books, a basketball hoop, a double-bladed light sabre... you get the idea.

Now this year I'm planning that instead of buying any of that stuff for my boys, I'm going to buy them a real-life, deadly poisonous, Coastal Taipan! Wouldn't that be cool, popping out at the boys on Christmas Day from under the Christmas tree? What boy wouldn't want that?!

Well, maybe I'm not going to get them that. Actually, of course I'm not going to get them that! What father, when his son asks for a Bobba Fett helmet would instead give him a Coastal Taipan?

And that's exactly Jesus' point about prayer and God our Father in Luke 11 verse 13. "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give [even the greatest gift] the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

You see, God's not stingy and unwilling to answer our prayers. Instead he's a wise and generous Father, much more wise and generous than us. And so we should trust him, and come to him often with our requests in prayer. And then let him sort out what's best for us to have.

Recent weeks have seen us seeming to move further towards uncertain times as a nation - financial jitters around the world, European debt, US economic problems, stock markets falling... will it be Global Financial Crisis Mark II?

At Northside today we looked at Psalm 4, and there too financial jitters seem to be part of the background - many people in King David's time in Israel are saying "Who will show us some good" (v.6). They seem to be looking for security in material possessions - more "grain and wine" (v.7).

David's response is interesting though. In the midst of uncertain times he realises that not all treasure in this world is financial, and that the joy that comes from a relationship with God is worth more than all the earthly treasure he could ever have. Admittedly it can be hard to take hold of these values in uncertain times. But David is right about this, and we need to hear it.

I recently inherited an old family Bible. It has some of my family tree recorded in it (names, birth dates, marriages - that sort of thing) going back to about 1865.

When my mum gave it to me, she also told me some stories about those whose names are in that Bible. It was great to learn more about my ancestors -  who they were and some of the struggles they went through. It also helped me understand my mum - the things that have shaped her and some of the reasons she's made the choices she has. And in turn, it helped me understand myself too - who I am and some of the reasons I'm the way I am. Family history is great like that, because in understanding where we've come from, we better understand ourselves.

Genesis 1-11 (the sermon series we've just started at Northside) works like that. Because it's human family history; that is, it's the earliest history of the human family. You don't have to be a Christian to relate to these chapters, you just have to be human.

Why don't you join us as we explore this early history of the human family. We might just get to understand ourselves a little bit better, and by so doing, come to live better.

We were thinking about focus at Northside today, looking at the story of Mary and Martha's encounter with Jesus in Luke Chapter 10. In the midst of our busy lives it can be hard to focus on what's really important.

Martha had that problem. Not that being busy is bad, but Martha was too busy. So busy she was unable to spend time doing the one thing really necessary - sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to his teaching.

Are you too busy, not finding time to look after spiritual things, to "look after your soul" (as some of our forefathers used to put it)? At Northside it's our aim to help you focus, focus on what's really important: sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to him.