HYMNS | My Jesus I love Thee

William R. Featherston

There have been a number of beautiful Love songs  written to express our adoration of Jesus our Saviour. This hymn by William R. Featherston ranks as one of the most poignant and moving. At around his 16th. birthday he wrote a poem expressing his love and devotion to the one he had given his life to just one year earlier. His poem was later to become the much loved hymn, My Jesus I love Thee. Featherston died tragically at the young age of 26 and it is of course conjecture what other wonderful hymns would have flowed from his pen had he lived longer.

The hymn has become a firm favourite in the Salvation Army and the International Staff Songsters bring a deep meditative flavour to this beautiful performance. 

It is a hymn that demands a great deal of attention when listening to it and I have found it to be a powerful source of meditation that leads me into prayer.

PRAYER | Jesus raises Us from the Dead

 In the gardens at Waverley Abbey there is a massive stump of a seemingly dead tree. A leafy new shoot is springing from it - a constant reminder that the Messiah was, and is, in the business of making all things new.

God, I yield to You all the parts of my heart and my life that feel cut back like that stump, those places where perhaps I even feel dead. Thank You that You are the resurrection, and that You make me come alive again.

Lectio 365 AM 01/12/2022

BIBLE NOTES | Vision for the Church

What is the Church called to be?

Firstly let’s look at what the Bible  had to say.  In Matthew 5v14: I love the way the Message treats this passage.  Most other translations deal with this concept in one short line, the Message however almost gets carried away by it all, leaving the reader breathless with anticipation. Firstly, though, here is the way most translations handle it

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14 (The Message Bible)

It reads like this: “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep an open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

 I really don’t feel I need to add to this. It lays out, succinctly, a cogent plan that we should follow.

Where will the power Come from?

Acts 1&2 (What is the Promise):

5 For John baptised with water, but you will be baptised and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, not long from now.”

Acts 1 v13 (Where will it happen):

13 When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the upper room where they were staying [indefinitely] - The first Church. 

Acts 2 v 1-5 (The Event):

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place, 2 and suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit]. 4 And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (b)tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately].

What should the Church be Doing?

1 Corinthians 1:23&24 (New Living Translation)

23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. (as an aside - “Offended” is a very 21st century word isn’t it and you can hear the Atheist camp, stridently making the “Nonsense” pronouncement on the Gospel)

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Perhaps the main activity of any Church should be to minister to both Jew or Greek alike and, as Fanny Crosby puts it in her lovely hymn:

                               

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

What is the Message of the Church?

So how does the Church bring a lost World to its encounter with Him? Hubert Booth, in his brutally honest hymn, is at pains to demonstrate  that it begins with us. If we as the Church cannot show our own deep need of Him then, in essence, we don't have a message! :

Saviour, hear me, while before Thy feet

I the record of my sins repeat,

Stained with guilt, myself abhorring,

Filled with grief, my soul outpouring;

Canst Thou still in mercy think of me,

Stoop to set my shackled spirit free,

Raise my sinking heart, and bid me be

Thy child once more?

So where is that hope that we first must live in and then have the courage to pass it on to those seeking their own Salvation experience? The refrain of Hubert Booth’s song lays it out powerfully:

Refrain

Grace there is my every debt to pay,

Blood to wash my every sin away,

Power to keep me sinless day by day,

For me, for me!

How should it change the Church’s Thinking?

As you read these words allow your imagination to take you to the place where, together with others, you meet with Him in prayer and praise and worship each and every week. Most of the time this place will be welcoming and safe, somewhere where you meet with friends and family and where you, to some extent, let your guard down. Now let your mind morph that place into a battered shack which is both noisy and threatening. A place where the cries and screams of the hopeless can be heard through the walls and the sulphurous fumes of the fires of hell that are only metres away, assault your nostrils. It is in a place like that where Fanny Crosby’s hymn that we considered earlier takes on a new urgency:

Will we -

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, in his last public address three months before his death in 1912, made this declaration:

“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; 

while children go hungry, as they do now I’ll fight; 

while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; 

while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, 

while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, 

I’ll fight, I’ll fight to the very end!”

The weapon of his warfare was the Gospel of Jesus Christ with its power to save and deliver. He was always just a few feet away from hell “Snatching them in pity from sin and the grave” The sophistication of the 2020’s is only a thin veneer that seeks to hide the truth and cover a desperate need. If William Booth were alive today his fight would still be relevant and his battle for the lost would still be as intense. Is the Church (us) prepared to make its home in that awful shack among the hordes going to hell and are we prepared to preach there, the Gospel with the same amount of love and fervency that William Booth demonstrated more than a century ago? Revivals originate in the heart of God and are incubated in the hearts of men and women who are consumed by a love for the lost and an unassailable belief in the efficacy of the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 23 again

23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Yes, We’ve heard it before, but the Battle is the Lord’s and we are called to His service. Will we go?? to take our place in the conflict and when we have stood our ground and fought that battle will we lay hold of that Ultimate Hope - Will we go to that Eden Above?? 

Roger - Manchester

PRAYER | Hearers and Doers!

 God, I pray for Your gathered people, whether together on a Sunday, in a book club or Bible study. Help them to be accountable to one another and to encourage each other. Enable them to apply their new learning into their various contexts, to become do-ers of Your word rather than merely acquiring new information.

Jill Weber

Lectio 365, 26/10/2022 AM.

PRAYER | I Need You

Lord Jesus Christ, I am so foolish, give me your wisdom to see and follow your truth.   Lord Jesus Christ, I am so full of guilt and have no peace, but you have died to bring forgiveness and the assurance of heart (part?).  I trust you to be my Savior and by your grace I turn away from my sin. Lord Jesus Christ, I am weak and ruled by sin.   Give me your power and rule in my heart and take charge of my whole life!

A prayer by:

Alistair Begg

APOLOGETICS | Evidence Needed!

One of the powerful indicators of the bankruptcy of Atheistic modern thought,  with its conviction that life is getting better and that God is a superfluous requirement, is the moral decline witnessed in Western  society. This is perhaps  no better  exemplified than in an excerpt from a book by David Myers entitled "The American Paradox" its subtitle being "Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty". Published in the year 2000 by Yale University Press, he sets before us statistics that are far from being  comfortable. He notes:

We are better fed,
Better paid.Better housed
Better educated
Healthier than ever  before
ith more human rights
Faster communication 

And more convenient transportation than we have ever known.

Alongside all of this largesse however are the signs of life in pain and travail.

Since 1960 the divorce rate has doubled,
Teen suicide has tripled,
Violent crime quadrupled,
The number in prison has quintupled,
illegitimate children six times,
And the number of those cohabiting,  seven-fold. 

While this list is both terrifying and clever in the way it has been framed,  it is by no means exhaustive. Since the recently overturned Roe v Wade case in the USA some sixty million babies have  been aborted, a number  that is comparable to the population of the UK. Modern secular society cries, from its self exhorted position, to the Christian Church, evidence, evidence and yet more evidence. Its insatiable clamour for something that it is loathed to contemplate almost drowns out the very real and convincing case the Church can and does make. Perhaps what needs to happen is for the Church to make just as strident a demand for evidence that society's Godlessness has succeeded in making this World a better place.

Whenever there is a demand for evidence it is totally justified that the giver of that evidence makes a similar demand on the original questioner for information that substantiates their point of view. David Myers' well crafted observation above is difficult to refute and goes a long way to prove that the Atheistic worldview is not all conquering and it does not increase in value by its proponents shouting ever louder about it. Christianity has a positive and encouraging message  that is substantiated by evidence and that brings good news to those in desperate need. In this World, where people are conditioned to accept unquestioningly bad and negative news Christianity has the tools to back up the questioned good news with evidence-based argument and to display, in all sorts of ways, Ultimate Hope. 

HYMNS | In the Secret of Thy Presence

 
General Albert Orsborn was the sixth person to lead the work of the Salvation Army. He did so between the years of 1946 - 1954. He was no stranger to suffering losing two wives to ill health. The second passed away after just one year of them being together.  His walk with God was intimate and it earned him the title of "The General next to God". His commitment to God  was evident in the contents of more than 20 hymns he wrote for the Salvation Army Song Book.

 He had the ability of cramming so much into each individual verse, an example of this and one that is perhaps my favourite of all of them, is the beautiful, "In the Secret of Thy  Presence".

In the secret of Thy presence,

Where the pure in heart may dwell,

Are the springs of sacred service

And a power that none can tell.

There my love must bring its offering,

There my heart must yield its praise,

And the Lord will come, revealing

All the secrets of His ways.

In the secret of Thy presence,

In the hiding of Thy power,

Let me love Thee, let me serve Thee,

Every consecrated hour.

More than all my lips may utter,

More than all I do or bring,

Is the depth of my devotion

To my Saviour, Lord and King.

Nothing less will keep me tender;

Nothing less will keep me true;

Nothing less will keep the fragrance

And the bloom on all I do!

Blessèd Lord, to see Thee truly,

Then to tell as I have seen –

This shall rule my life supremely;

This shall be the sacred gleam.

Sealed again is all the sealing,

Pledged again my willing heart,

First to know Thee, then to serve Thee,

Then to see Thee as Thou art.

Roger Manchester UK

PRAYER | Walking In Step

 Jesus, I'm aware that what I identify as the important thing isn't always the most important thing. Help me to walk in step with You today.

Crystal Cryer
Lectio 365 12/09/22 AM

BIBLE NOTES | The Cross, Foolishness

Cirencester Parish Church "Cathedral of the Cotswolds"

In a previous "Bible Notes" (See here) we spoke about the need for confidence in people of a certain age. With the pressures of younger  people wanting to make their mark and a society that seems to want to make the "Senior Citizen" more and more irrelevant,  there is ample reason for confidence to be the first characteristic to suffer.

 Scripture, on the other hand and as we have seen previously, places  those of advanced years firmly in the plans and purposes of God. "Old men will dream dreams" together with the wisdom and humility that comes from many years in His service are excellent reasons for confidence to be a vital part of the day to day life for the old. 

 The dreaming of dreams and the Godly wisdom of age are the things of the "Now" but there is something in our futures that should inspire supreme confidence and Ultimate Hope and that is our encounter with God as we begin our eternal life with Him. God has given us the wonderful promise that, if we acknowledge Jesus as our Saviour and that His salvation comes through the sacrifice He made on the cross, then,  as we come in humility asking for forgiveness then forgiveness we will receive together with the hope of eternal life with Him.

 The question that perhaps needs to be asked, "Is our confidence really grounded in that promise?" Or, put another way, "Do we actually believe it to be true and applicable to our lives?" The truth is that doubt concerning this point causes confidence to evaporate like the morning  dew. The rest of this article is an attempt to bring about a firmer foundation in our lives concerning this pivotal truth.

 The painting of scenarios can be a very useful tool to help understanding and we will use it here. In the words of many of the hymn writers, imagine that you have crossed the Jordan River and you are standing before God to answer for your life. (Did I say something about  confidence earlier? Give me a moment it is coming) continuing… an angel of the court asks you "Why are you here?". 

 How we answer that question will determine the validity of our understanding of Salvation. Wait! Another scenario begins to unfold. We find ourselves standing on a hill just outside Jerusalem and before us is the awful spectre of three men impaled on rough wooden crosses atop the hill. One of the men on one of the outside crosses is raining insults on the man on the middle  cross. The man on the other outside cross through his extreme pain and agony is trying to make sense of it all. Suddenly the fog of his suffering clears and he berates his colleague with words that will ring throughout history. "You don't know what you're talking about. We deserve  what is happening to us. He is totally  innocent." He turns his attention to the man on the middle cross and says to him "Master when you come into your  kingdom would you remember me? Jesus looked at him and said "Today you will be with me in paradise". The scene begins to fade and we find ourselves again standing before God. The difference though is that standing in line in front of us is a dishevelled young man racked with pain. The Angel asks the same question as before.  "What are you doing here?" He looks confused and says nothing. The Angel continues the questioning without letup and getting nowhere the Angel again asks his original question "Then why are you here? The man at last finds his voice and almost in a whisper makes his reply. "The Man on the middle cross told me I could come". The scene fades as we hear the celebration for one unlikely character that was being welcomed home.

 For us that conversation on that awful hill holds utmost significance. When faced with that penetrating question Why are you here? What will our answer be? The temptation for all of us is to answer in the first person i.e. I did this or that and I believed what I was supposed to believe etc. but, like that man on the third cross, will we make  that humble declaration he did and in the spirit of the line of that old hymn admit that there is "None of self and all of Thee". Have we based our ultimate hope in,  and drawn our confidence from, the simple fact that - Jesus told me I could come!

Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

Titus 3:7 NLT

Roger Manchester UK

Inspiration drawn from a sermon by Alistair Begg

HYMNS | O Boundless Salvation

William Booth

 1 O boundless salvation! deep ocean of love

O fulness of mercy, Christ brought from above,

The whole world redeeming, so rich and so free,

Now flowing for all men, come, roll over me!

2 My sins they are many, their stains are so deep,

And bitter the tears of remorse that I weep;

But useless is weeping; thou great crimson sea,

Thy waters can cleanse me, come, roll over me!

3 My tempers are fitful, my passions are strong,

They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong;

Beneath thy blest billows deliverance I see,

O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!

4 Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,

My life has been joyless and useless for years;

I feel something better most surely would be

If once thy pure waters would roll over me.

5 O ocean of mercy, oft longing I’ve stood

On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!

Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea

I will not go back till it rolls over me.

6 The tide is now flowing, I’m touching the wave,

I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;

My faith’s growing bolder, delivered I’ll be;

I plunge ‘neath the waters, they roll over me.

7 And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days

Shall gladly be spent in promoting his praise

Who opened his bosom to pour out this sea

Of boundless salvation for you and for me.

The Christian Hymnal is studied with songs depicting the sheer majesty and omnipotence of God. The truth is that they can, on their own,  only ever paint a small fraction of the subject they seek to describe. These "Anthems", for that is what they invariably become, bring us exuberantly before His throne with words like "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and "Jesus, the Name high over All" to name a couple. They have, of course, become firm favourites throughout the Christian Church. 

 

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, wrote a wonderful hymn that falls into this category. His song, "O Boundless Salvation" likens Salvation to an all consuming ocean with phrases like "Deep ocean of love" and "Come, roll over me", to mention a couple. The video demonstrates the international nature of the Christian Church and in particular this organisation. 

INSIGHT | Worship, Modern Style

 One of the top modern Gospel songs of today is Rick Founds' "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High", the inspiration of which can be found in many of the Psalms. The theme of wanting to express the desire "Lord I love to sing Your praises" can be found in a number of the hymns found in the Hymnal. Songs like "Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of Creation and "We sing the praise of Him who died," to name a couple. The freshness and sing-ability however, of this song has made it a favorite in many modern worship settings.

INSIGHT | Worship, Country Gospel Style

 Country Gospel music has always had its own appeal with its emphasis on beautiful melody and earthy lyrics. In this piece the Annie Moses Band paints a powerful picture of the crucifixion asking the question "Were you there When they Crucified ny Lord?" Interestingly this vital theme was picked up in an earlier time by the famous hymn writer, Fanny Crosby in her well known song, "Near the Cross" See more here.

INSIGHT | Worship, Handel Style

Here at Ultimate Hope hymns and singing the Scriptures are important to us. So, as part of what we do here, we want to identify different settings and cultures in which this happens. we have chosen a piece from  the magisterial  composition by George Fredric Handel called the Messiah, "And the Glory of the Lord" from the first scene is performed by the Brussels Choral Society and Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles. The Scriptural foundation for this work can be found in Isaiah 40:5

INSIGHT | Worship, African Style

 One of the highest forms of worship is the singing of Scripture. Sample hymns like "The Lord's my Shepherd" Psalm 23, Holy Holy Holy" Revelation 4:8 and "Rock of Ages" Psalm 94:22 are but a few of those found in the hymnal. In this video the Nairobi Central Songsters of the Salvation Army continues this notion of singing Scripture with this exciting and moving rendition of the 27th Psalm and they bring a uniquely African flavour to it.  

HYMNS | Just as I Am

Charlotte Elliot 

Just as I am—without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need in Thee to find—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—Thy love unknown

Hath broken every barrier down;

Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am—of that free love

The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,

Here for a season, then above—

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Charlotte Elliott suffered debilitating illness and bouts of deep depression. Her question concerning her usefulness was always with her. I’m convinced it was. With this glorious hymn of hers, ringing in their ears, hundreds and thousands of people came to our Savior when they walked from where they were sitting in the auditorium or stadium to the front of the stage where Billy Graham and his team were there to welcome them to their encounter with God.

HYMNS | He Giveth More Grace

Annie Johnson Flint

1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Refrain

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

 The last two lines of the second verse are quite amazing in that they seem to indicate that, to enjoy the fullness of God's giving we have to have reached the end of ourselves. Another way of looking at it is, perhaps, that the measure of His giving is commensurate on the depth of our need.

BIBLE NOTES | Hope Deferred

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs ch13:12 (NLT)

As I was spending time reading my allotted Scripture for the day I came across a proverb that did not exactly fill me with much enthusiasm. The part that really got to me was where the writer says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick". The first thing to disturb me was the fact that the name of this site is "Ultimate Hope" - was I going to have to rethink the whole title and motivation for what we want to do here or how do I manage to square the circle? After I had dealt with the momentary panic that gripped me I came to realise that the whole phrase hung on the word "deferred". I needed to understand this word that seemed to have the power of turning hope into something unpleasant.

 

In my quest to understand this word I found Thesaurus.com the most helpful.  A few of the synonyms that grabbed my attention were as follows: 

 

• Postponed

• Delayed 

• Adjourned 

• Pigeonholed 

• Scrubbed

• On the shelf

 

The problem with deferment is that there is uncertainty about it. The Christian definition of the object of hope is one of certainty. Things like the forgiveness of sins through Christ and eternal life for those that acknowledge Christ as Saviour  fall into the category where we can have certainty about them. They are the "substance of things hoped for…"  Our hope is therefore founded on the Character of God. The objects of Christian hope like those above cannot be manipulated by the above list of synonyms. For instance,  God does not postpone or pigeonhole His promises. They are secure and delivered on time. We have good reason to make them objects of our hope.

 

Sickness of heart is a very real experience that many of us, from time to time, go through. If our hearts lack the joy and confidence that should be part of our lives and we are assailed by an unexplained sadness then, perhaps  a good place to start our self diagnosis is to ask the question,  what am I really putting my hope in? The hopes that form the bedrock of Christian life can, all too easily, be relegated to a lower priority. This allows for some of the vain promises of the World  to creep in. Things like: a pending wage rise or promotion or even a relationship that seems  to be going  nowhere. In these cases and many  others like them, our hopes have degenerated into forlorn longing that can rock the stability of our lives. 

 

So what, perhaps, is the point we can take away from all of this where heart wellness is concerned? Try this, examine what promises you presently place your hope in. If you diagnose anything else other than the promises of God then, perhaps, now is the time to refocus and reaffirm God as the highest priority. There is a helpful second part to the verse we have considered "a dream fulfilled is a tree of life". It does give a real and worth while reason for this refocusing procedure.

 

As I close here I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the title of this site is secure and that I have again discovered that there is such  a thing  as "Ultimate Hope"

Roger Manchester UK

PRAYER | Come Holy Spirit

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, send forth the heavenly radiance of your light...
Cleanse that which is unclean, water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded
Bend that which is inflexible, fire that which is chilled, correct what goes astray...
Grant the reward of virtue, grant the deliverance of salvation, grant eternal joy.

From: Lectio 365 - Source: https://hozana.org/en/prayer/holy-spirit/veni-sancte-spiritus 
Amen

PRAYER | Courage and Determination

Lakes in Switzerland

Father, God I pray for your Church.   As a member of your church I grieve, as you must grieve over the loss of millions of innocent lives who are needlessly murdered  in the mothers womb.

  

Equip your Church with the courage and the determination to let the world know  that we believe we haven't got the right over life and death!   ...

We need the boldness to speak out that we believe unborn babies have as much right to life as we have,   help us to  stand up to this!    We know you are FOR us if we love, fear and obey you.   Father we pray,  open the eyes of the hearts of those who believe they have the right over their body  as they permit  and encourage procedures in which those little bodies are being torn apart.   Open the eyes of people who  are blind to the sins they are committing!  Wake them up as they are waging a war against anyone who opposes them!  Soften their hearts and reawaken their consciences!    Father God,  also wake us up, your Church, to remember that every life is precious to you,  we need to rise up to our conviction and take responsibility to fight against these atrocities before it is too late, I plead, have mercy and help us.  

Amen

Elisabeth Manchester UK

BIBLE NOTES | Meditation on Mark 9:36-37

Boden, Switzerland

Personal Calling

Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’

Mark 9:36-37

The needs of the world are overwhelming. But just because I can’t do everything, that isn’t a reason to do nothing. I notice that Jesus doesn’t ask His disciples to be magnanimous towards all humanity, but to welcome one child in His name. Who might that ‘one’ person be for me today?

Pete Greig, Lectio 365 9/08/22

Points to Draw from Mark  chapter 9.

Pete Greig's comment above is highly  significant in the World of today. The feelings of being overwhelmed are all too common to Christians trying to live effective lives in the situation they find themselves in. One major consideration that is often overlooked is the fact that we live in a highly connected World. News comes at us incessantly and it would seem that every five minutes or so a new item that demonstrates the brokenness of this World clamours for our attention. We can so easily stand on the shore line looking out towards the churning sea of World affairs and be transfixed by the sight of the massive tsunami hurtling towards us. NOW is the time to pray! 

The beautiful little chorus of yesteryear who's words take on a powerful significance are:

All your anxiety, all your care

Bing to the mercy seat leave them there

Never a burden He cannot share 

Never a friend like Jesus. 

One of the first signs of wisdom that we can demonstrate is an understanding of the finiteness of our own being. Having grasped the magnitude of our weakness we can turn to a far greater sign of maturity, that is the realisation of the infinity of God. The deluge that threatens to annihilate us is really not our concern. God, in His love, wants us to be aware of what we are part of. He is that seat of mercy the chorus above talks about. He doesn't, though, leave us as mere spectators. The effects the tsunami is having on the little rock pool we are standing beside is what God wants us to get involved with.

Another chorus, this time written for children will probably help here:

Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light

Like a little candle burning in the night

In this World  of darkness so we must shine

You in your small  corner and I in mine.

In the naivety of these simple words we find deep and meaningful truths. 

• The purity of the way we live our lives

• That our lives should be an illumination in this "World of Darkness"

• We have territory assigned to us to be responsible for. 

Perhaps the third sign of wisdom that we will be called to display is the fact that we have an unassailable faith in God that He still works  miracles. Remember that shore line we spoke of earlier? God takes all of those people tending to the little rock pools that are their own small corners and, like Eziekiel's dry bones He takes them, adds His life and Spirit to them and builds from it all a mighty army that will "Conquer the foe".

The terrifying vision of that all devouring tsunami, the almost insignificant rock pool that is our small corner and God's heavy lifting forms part  of His master plan for this broken World we live in. The "NOW" is, of course what we mentioned earlier, namely pray, pray and pray again.

Do not be Afraid!

Roger Manchester UK

QUOTES | Church and World

Gloucester Cathedral

In his book "Conclave", Robert Harris records this injunction delivered by Cardinal Scarvizzi to a group of priests:

The World does not need a Church that moves with the World rather -

The World needs a Church that moves the World

Mentioned by Alistair Begg in a "Truth for Life" sermon 

PRAYER | Courage and Wisdom

Park in Greater Manchester

Lord God, I plead for courage to stand to my convictions whatever the cost!  

When we are in danger of caving in under pressure from a secular government.  When laws and political correctness hinder us from helping our fellow beings in distress!   Give me boldness to be "a good Samaritan" without the red tape restraint!   You have made it very clear in your word that you demand obedience.  You are God who is in charge.  You've made the world and all that is in it,  so you know best! 

 

Please help me to clearly know where you want me to draw the line between submission to the government and disobeying your commands!  I need your wisdom!   Thank you Father. 

Amen

Elisabeth Manchester UK

PRAYER | Against Injustice

Which Way?

 Father God, thank you that we are invited to come to you at any moment.  I thank  and praise you for your willingness to listen to us and that You are even delighted when we come!

Lord, today I want to bring to you the deterioration of morality in our country where a person is no longer able to speak out an opinion without risking dire consequences.   I bring to your attention M.M who was fired from her job for declairing her views on family and marriage.

Dear God!  You know the gross injustice of this case which brings free speech into jeopardy!   Show me if there is anything I can do, sign petition or speak out.  Lord God, in your mercy bring justice in such cases!  I love you and thank you. 

Amen. 

Elisabeth Manchester UK