wellfield church: 2012

Intro to Philippians

It was a nice place, Philippi. A Greek city, just a few miles in from the seaside resort of Neapolis (home of the ice-cream), but in 42 BC it had become a Roman colony. Mark Anthony and Emperor Augustus had fought there to beat Brutus and Cassius, the assassins of Julius Caesar.

Philippi was a small city by our standards - 10,000 people. Smaller than Leyland. But now very Roman: governed by Roman law, lived in by Roman ex-pats, who dressed like Romans (tight jeans and handbags), spoke Latin (‘Ciao!’) and built all the public buildings the Roman way - libraries, coliseums, amphitheatres, the works.

That was for the ruling class. The rest still spoke Greek, wore their Greek togas, ate moussaka and worked as builders, tradesmen, shopkeepers. These were the underclass. They would have made up most of the small church that Paul wrote to in about 60 AD - the letter we begin looking at on Sunday: ‘Philippians’.

How do you start to talk about someone like Jesus? If you bump into someone and they say to you, ‘Who is this Jesus? I’ve heard of him - who is he?’, where do you start? Do you say, ‘He’s the Son of God’? That’s not very clear to people. Do you say he’s the Christ, the Messiah? That would take some explaining. How about ‘The Miracle Maker’? That doesn’t quite do it either.

Matthew starts his account of Jesus with a trace back through time - a long family history of Jesus. He starts to talk about Jesus with the hopes and expectations of over 2000 years of history, and he says in this one man, it all comes together!

Jesus, coming to earth, brings the answer to all the troubles, all the longings, of the world … of our lives. He is “the son of David, the son of Abraham”.

John Calvin

John Calvin (1509-1564) was a man who knew all about suffering. But here's what he said to those who accused the Reformers, the preachers of the true gospel, of stirring up trouble:

"Here is, as it were, a certain characteristic of the divine Word, that it never comes forth while Satan is at rest and sleeping. This is the surest and most trustworthy mark to distinguish it from lying doctrines, which readily present themselves, are received with attentive ears by all, and are listened to by an applauding world...

Looking at the ‘new heaven and the new earth’ from Isaiah 65 on Sunday morning, someone said at the end, ‘This church is like a little taste of heaven - everyone here, and all the kids running round and that.’ Great quote. But it’s not just a sentiment - it’s totally true!

The difference the gospel makes

Came across this, from 'Pioneers.org'. Absolutely brilliant, and inspiring.

“New heavens and the new earth”

Isaiah 65:17:

“See, I will created new heavens and a new earth.”

The Jews were the only ancient people who didn’t believe in the immortality of the ‘soul’. Because they believed in the Creator God, they believed in the resurrection of the body - and a physical new creation. Floating around on clouds in togas … that’s got nothing to do with Christianity. (Phew.) But why do we need to know about the “new heavens and the new earth”? What difference does it make to us now?

Judges chapter 7 tells the famous story of Gideon defeating the mighty Midianites - though of course it wasn't Gideon at all who won. That’s the point of the story. God made it blindingly clear that it was all His doing, by shrinking Gideon’s army down to a mere 300, armed with clay jars and torches.

We were learning about prayer yesterday from Isaiah 64. Prayer is about realising the work of the church is God’s, not ours - a lesson we are discovering in quite a similar way to Gideon…

If you discover a good thing, don’t you want more
and more of it? Discover a good TV show, or website,
or a fun place or fun people - you look for more of the
same. That’s exactly the point of Isaiah 61 and 62.
Jesus Christ is so good: he brings healing to our broken
hearts, freedom, comfort to our mourning, joy, security,
in a world where we thought such things were impossible.
If you get it - you crave more.

For times such as these

From St Andrew's newsletter:

You don’t need me to tell you that money is tight and family budgets are under immense pressure at the minute – nor that money worries are one of the main causes of stress, depression and relationship breakdowns - we can see it all around us in our friends, our relatives and our work colleagues.

In previous generations Christians have taken a leading role in tackling these issues – and earlier this year, in partnership with Christians Against Poverty (CAP), we picked up the baton here in Leyland.

Isaiah 60:2 -

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

Could that be true? Christians have got something that everyone else wants? It’s not what people generally think. But is that because they don’t know what we’ve got?

If God feels distant

It’s a common experience: someone who used to feel close to God no longer does. He seems not to have such an interest in their life. They don’t feel his warmth and comfort like they once did.

There used to be a cheesy Christian slogan that went, “If God feels distant … guess who moved?” Cheesy - but pretty helpful, too. Because it’s worth asking the question as to whether the problem might actually be me. It’s an uncomfortable question to ask. But it’s the point of Isaiah 59, as we saw yesterday.

We spend our lives frustrated. Even when we know God in some sense, it doesn’t all go the way we want. Why do we end up shaking our fist at God, complaining that he hasn’t done it right?

There’s no peace for the wicked!

My Nan used to say that. I bet yours did too. It’s one of those things that only really sounds right in your nan’s voice! But did you know it’s from the bible?

Isaiah 57:21 - “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

And in the bible, it has a very specific meaning.

“I will give them an everlasting name that will endure for ever.”
(Isaiah 56:5)

When you look on the surface of things, it doesn’t look like Christians are better off than anyone else. We look just the same as everyone else - and in some ways worse off, because people think of us as ‘losers’ for being Christians! Yeah, well. That’s why we need to look beneath the surface to what we’ve really got.

About 10 years ago an article in a leadership magazine moaned about the loss of strategic thinking by managers, and rather bizarrely attributed this in part to the fact that showers were becoming much more popular, and that "long soaks in a bath" were on their way out. A recent study on behalf of Oxfam has confirmed this trend. many household baths are now unused or used only occasionally (the study said only 5 times a month, half what it was in 2000), not primarily for environmental reasons of using less water but for time reasons because showers are quicker. 11% of households have had their baths actually taken out, usually to be replaced by a walk-in shower. Hopefully, Christian leaders are still taking baths rather than showers!

(From 'Future First', Number 21, June 2012)

Love your brain!

We’re all supposed to hate a ‘boff’. Even in church, it’s the worst thing to us when someone’s all theory and no practice, or when there’s an egg-head that no-one can understand.

And yes, Jesus agrees that it’s not all about knowing stuff, but putting it into practice.

But here’s the point: we live in an anti-intellectual culture. And it’s bad when we bring school or TV attitudes into our Christian life. Our brain, our thinking, is to be transformed like every other part of us. In fact, it goes further than that.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

In Luke 18v16, People are bringing babies to Jesus. But his disciples stop them. 'He's too busy for you! He's got more important people to deal with!' So Jesus gives his disciples a rocket. He tells them they've totally misunderstood everything he stands for. What a bunch of idiots!

But do we do the same?

Reasons (people don't go to church)

I wish we'd thought of making this video!

Some of it only applies to America - but it could almost have been made for Wellfield.

What do you think are the main reasons people don't come?

Thumbs up from St Andrew's

It's four-and-a-half years since we started Wellfield Church. Today I was looking through some notes of meetings we had before it started - wow, what a long way we've come!

You know the story: St Andrew's church (pictured here with two giants) started Wellfield in order to better reach the many people of Leyland who would never come to the established church building. Starting a new congregation in this way was a totally new venture. So we agreed to try something - not being completely sure what would work. And we would review it after five years to assess how it's going. Well, guess what? That review process has been taking place over the last few weeks. What has been said?

This was one of the questions I was asked this week. It was part of a discussion among the women surrounding a book we have started reading together : "Relationships; a mess worth making" by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp. It's a book containing great biblical wisdom, pointing to the heart of what it means to be human.

A missionary returning home from a hard line Islamic society was asked in a question time, "How do you feel about persuading people to follow Jesus when it will result in them being persecuted?"

What a good question. For those people, to become Christians would mean becoming outcasts; living in fear of murder, even, at the hands of their own family and society. "How do you feel about telling people about Jesus when that's what you're calling them to?"

His answer: "Terrible." With a pained look, that was it. Half a minute's pause. Then he added, "But the alternative's far worse."

James Gilmore

James Gilmore won't be everyone's hero. But I think he's just becoming one of mine! After years of hard and lonely work as a missionary in Mongolia in the 19th century, he wrote: "In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian."

Someone sent me this the other day (from Charles R Swindoll, on insightforliving.org.uk):

Let me add some further reality to that statement by taking you back to an entry in Gilmore's journal made in the early days of his ministry. It expressed his dreams and burdens for the people of Mongolia. Handwritten in his journal are these dreams: "Several huts in sight. When shall I be able to speak to the people? O Lord, suggest by the Spirit how l should come among them, and in preparing myself to teach the life and love of Christ Jesus." That was his hope. He longed to reach the lost of Mongolia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How different from his entry many years later, "I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian." What happened in between? He encountered the jagged edge of an authentic ministry. When I write about succeeding in the work of the Lord, I'm not promising success as we define it in human terms. I'm not saying because you are faithful to proclaim the Word of God your church will be packed. Some of God's most faithful servants are preaching their hearts out in places where the church is not growing. A great temptation for those in that difficult setting is to turn to some of the other stuff that holds out the promise of more visible results. Don't go there. Stay at it. God is at work.

Strangely encouraging??

Sun-stopping prayer

Do you know the bit in Joshua 10? - God promises Joshua and friends that he'll fight for them. Two responses: they're brave in battle, and Joshua prays boldly.

It's v12-14 that make the point very clearly: - here’s the most amazing prayer, and the most amazing answer to prayer, you’ll ever find:

“Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel,
‘O sun, stand still over Gibeon,O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,as it is written in the Book of Jashar.The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!"

So it was a one-off. I’m sure many people have tried it since. But this was a special case. Joshua needed to finish the battle, and for about a 24-hour period, something happens which breaks the rules of physics, astronomy, and everything else.

I don’t know how the universe could carry on existing without moving. I don’t know how the world could stop spinning without everyone getting whiplash. I don’t know whether they all fell over, or whether there were huge tidal waves. I don’t know why people in

Australia

don’t just fall off the world anyway. But this is what happened. Everyone’s birthdays went back a day … I think. At least, there were some children back in the Israelite camp who couldn’t believe their luck, because they had the longest birthday ever! But the all-powerful God stopped the sun and moon in their tracks so the Israelites could finish their job and see off their enemies.

To me, the universe stopping … is about a big a deal as you could get. But in v14, the biggest deal is not that. The biggest deal is that God would listen to a man.

It’s not saying this is the only prayer God ever answered. But God arranged the universe because a man told him to.

Have you ever thought how astonishing it is that God hears prayers? He orders the world, the sun and moon... I can’t even keep my shed tidy. Yet God stoops down to little creatures, made of dust, and hears our prayers.

How will that thought change the way we pray?

- it will stop us praying as if we were the centre of the universe, and that God exists to solve my problems.

- It will stop us praying as if we were whipping God into action, as if he was a genie that we had to excite enough to do something, by our special prayer voice, or words, or length.

- It will stop us treating prayer like a pointless exercise … as if he doesn’t really hear, and as if he can’t really do anything if he does.

- It will stop us going about prayer as a mundane routine that we just have to do because we’re Christians.

No, the God who holds the sun and moon in his power bends his ear down to our little lips.

But was that only for Joshua? … Well, yes, in part - he was the chosen man. And we have Jesus as our intercessor, at the Father’s side, pleading to God on our behalf. That gives us confidence! Yet he’s promised to us as well that he hears our prayers, and that if he hears, he answers.

Fight on ... and pray!

"Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honour is not fitting for a fool" (Proverbs 26v1)

Today Mark & I looked at a section of Proverbs which has a lot to say about the fool. This is how it starts. Honour is not fitting for a fool. Easy to agree, really: but let's digest this one a bit.
We all know that honour is not fitting for a fool. It's instinctive. It is a deeply frustrating thing to watch people's fascination with individuals who have very little to offer. Individuals who have not nurtured their characters, but only polished their faces.

I have watched the nation's fascination with idiots ever since the inception of "Big Brother". What a show that was! Every moment of exposure to it that I suffered convinced me that each season hosted a more foolish set of idiots than the last. And to think it was named after a notional character in a deeply reflective and insightful book...

Following on from that we have had a whole generation of tv shows where we, the public, can vote on how much we like the people parading before us. (WHY would you go on a show like that? Are we so starved of approval?) And our vote is never very satisfactory. The people who emerge from these things as stars could, I think, be pretty accurately described as "fools". And yet we give them air time, chat show time; we give credence to their opinions and think they may have something worthwhile to say at their tender ages and simply because they are physically attractive (and can sing?- maybe).

We recently had a wonderful church weekend away, listening to the teaching of Andrew Raynes, a vicar from Blackburn. Not a flashy guy. But one whose opinions and insights are well worth taking on board and digesting. Likewise another great friend of our church, Jonathan Milton-Thompson.

How interesting that these 2 men should both be vicars in Blackburn- certainly not one of the great hotspots of glory and glamour! They have devoted their lives to teaching true wisdom to people who need it, and you can tell from listening to them.

We should have more magazines about people like that. Maybe I'll start one...

The strong-willed child

You will forgive me for constantly quoting James Dobson, the American paediatrician and Christian family author. I'm aware that he's not infallible!! He is, however, very helpful on matters of marriage and parenting.

We were told within months of getting married - "read James Dobson about parenting before you have kids!". It was good advice. I would also add, re-read it once you have kids. And again and again!

The book I've been re-visiting is "The Strong-willed Child", one of Dr. Dobson's first. It's so old it's now been re-written and published as "The NEW strong-willed child". Which all goes to show that just as the human heart never changes, so the fundamental problem of parenting never changes.

Defiance. What is it?

Dobson identifies it as when a child knows what you are telling them and deliberately does the opposite. He is defying you! He is asking "what are you going to do about it?!". Often we fall at this hurdle as parents of small children, and simply stop the child from doing whatever it is: eating coal, sticking his fingers in the plug socket, or running into the road. We are bigger, stronger, and can simply remove the child from the situation.

This is exhausting! Far easier to have a child who can be relied on to STOP! when told, or come when called. And let's face it, we have only so long to instil self-control into our children. I'd like to see the parent who can physically restrain a 16-year-old.

How can we do this? Dobson's answer is so simple. He says, "when your child squares up to you for a fight, you should not disappoint him"!

While you still have the physical advantage, it is very easy to teach your child to obey your instructions. You just have to be consistent. No need for screaming dementedly at him. No need to lose your rag. You just need to react.

I remember applying this with Reuben (now 7) at the age of 2 1/2. When we went out for a walk with his baby sister in the buggy, he had to come to me when I called him. Very straightforward. Very hard for a strong-willed child to do! The number of times we had a stand-off: "Come here Reuben". No reaction. "Are you going to come or do I have to come and get you? 'Cos if I have to come and get you you'll get a smack". A smack would follow! Tears, cuddle, subdued obedience; incident over.

After a few incidents like this he got the idea and started coming to me when I called. Great! A few weeks later we had a re-run. Dobson had told me to expect this. He was just asking me "are the rules still the same? Do I still have to obey you?". I had to respond with a clear "yes, buddy, I'm still going to smack you if you don't obey me!". (I tried always to ne sure that he was defying me, rather than he just hadn't heard me, before I smacked him).

I have to say it was tedious. It would have been far easier to just stick him on reins and not bother teaching him self-control. (Although I have to say that reins had their uses at times.)

Incidentally, with Reuben, we always had to smack his hand with a good sting. Zoe only needed a little pat on the hand and she was in floods of tears. Leo (still a work in progress on this one!) has been a bit of a re-run of Reuben, but even more strong-willed!

I didn't always do a very good job at this. But I know the principles, and I have to say that basically our kids do listen to me. They often need a little reminder of the basic rules... but I harldy ever have to smack Reuben now, and certainly never on this basic obedience issue.

Lots of parents (and I have seen them in the playground) get really mad at their kids for disobedience. But they never act to enforce their instructions. High blood pressure AND disobedient kids. Bad combo.

Others are simply shocked and horrified by their children's behaviour, and yet fail to act. They just hope that their kids will start behaving nicely soon, then life would be so much better. The conflict involved in having high demands of your kids, and holding them to account for it, seems to make things so upsetting if you just want a quiet life.

Other parents are calm and collected, but perhaps don't think they can expect their child to obey them at quite a young age. But you can! Children are not stupid. And they actually want structure, order and discipline in their lives. It makes them happy.

And I'm all for having happy children.

Understanding..

"Old wine and new, which take away the understanding of my people"Hosea 4v11.

This is almost a thorowaway line in Hosea, the book the women are studying together on Thursday mornings. But despite being a throwaway line, it still has a lot to say!

I am struck by the desperate need people have for understanding; that is, we need to think clearly and engage our minds if we are to obtain any insights into spiritual things, the only things which will ultimately do us any good.

We can't get to heaven on a good salary, or a nice house, or a satisfying job. And, at the risk of banging a drum, getting to heaven is really all that matters.

The problem with substance abuse, be it "old wine and new", or drugs, is that our understanding is taken away. So we can't engage with the gospel at all. We can't take on board our desperate need for a Saviour. This dwarfs the other, social, problems associated with substance abuse. This is the MAIN THING! If we get this wrong, all else is lost. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose his soul?

I write as someone who likes her wine. But I can really understand the temperance movement of former years. For some people moderate drinking is just not an option. So no drinking is the way it has to be. And I don't think that moderate illegal drug use exists..! (Anyway, it's illegal). The reason people take these things (and drink to excess) is that they specifically want NOT to have to think. They want to dull their minds to whatever problems are too much for them. Or maybe constant exposure to reality is too much for them. But booze just kills you. Quickly or slowly. And takes you to hell. That one's worse.

At Wellfield Church we're surrounded by people who are alcoholics, reformed or current. Also drug users. It's a devastating thing to see people deliberately shutting down their brains to the only thing that can help them.

The power of the gospel is enough to change people. But they have to embrace Christ or they will never kill these deadly habits. It's getting that across to them that needs lots of hard work, lots of prayer, and a miraculous work of God each time.

"Wellfield Walking Club"

Ian's report from Saturday:

"11 intrepid walkers set off on time and in good spirit for our first church walk, the prospect of rain didn't dampen our enthusiasm.

The first casualty was jack (william nodders friend) finding a puddle that was a tad deeper than he thought! Then jack again falling over in the stream, it did dampen his pants and his mood but jen soon sorted that out with a chocolate treat.

David owen didn't disappoint with his overall knowledge of the area and the terrain with a few tales on the way.

The rain held off for the walk and even let us have our dinner on the cricket pitch. A good time was had by all, we missed all that couldn't come but there is always next time.

Ian"

The end of apathy

On the point about the cross bringing an end to our apathy, yesterday, here's a quote from Spurgeon on being 'A good soldier of Christ' (2 Timothy 2:3):

"The true soldier is an ambitious being. He pants for honour, seeks for glory. On the field of strife he gathers his laurels, and amidst a thousand dangers he reaps renown. The Christian is fired by higher ambitions than any earthly warrior ever knew. He sees a crows that can never fade. He loves a King who best of all is worthy to be served."

I confess I feel pretty flat sometimes on a Sunday after we've all met together. I did yesterday - in spite of many things that should have lifted me, I was just conscious of things that weren't as I wished: people who I'd prayed for, but weren't there, etc. But I should obey my own sermon, and these words are a good reminder - press on! You're a soldier serving a good master. Who ever said it would all go your way? Who ever said it would be easy to serve him? If a few disappointments made a soldier give up, where would that leave him?

Coming up...

Come and meet our friend, Jonothan Milton-Thompson. His life story is amazing! Avoiding spoilers, the drama started even before he was born, in Communist China. He's coming (with his wife, Linda) to The Bobbin Mill on Thursday 8th March, so he can tell us the first instalment of his life story and tell us how his Christian parents dealt with the difficulties they faced.

Looking forward to it! A fun and relaxing evening with good company and some food for thought.

The gospel reaching the tough nuts....

Today I saw a 2-year-old charging along the pavement in his pyjamas, waddling with his big (presumably full) nappy slowing him down. No adult in sight. I stopped the car to see what could be done when our little friends who live on the same estate piped up from the back seat: "Oh, that's Alfie. he's 2. His brother's 3. They're always running around here on their own".

I pray that we might see people with these depressing, pretty inhuman lifestyles come to know the Lord Jesus and be rescued from hell to heaven. Because in the light of eternity, if you've had no upbringing to speak of, every disadvantage, and you can't control your own life or your family, this is OK if God is rescuing you for eternity. There are many battles to be fought along the way, but it's possible to drag yourself out of this, with God's help, when you know where you're heading. Those of us with quite nice lives maybe don't see the contrast between this life and the next so clearly (although we should).

I kind of think what the first missionaries saw when they brought the message of the gospel to inhospitable Great Britain at the time of the Roman Empire. By all accounts people were living like animals in many parts of the country, a hunter-gatherer lifestyle (incidentally, why do people glorify this hunter-gatherer thing? It must have been a thoroughly miserable existence..!). And yet the gospel penetrated society, over generations. So think about this and don't be discouraged. The gospel can change the hardest of hearts and the worst of societies (or quasi-societies). Our battle is small compared to what people have faced at various points in history.

coalition for marriage: what's it all about?

The Coalition for MarriageThis week the Coalition for marriage was launched. It is, as the name suggests, a collaborative effort between several different organisations representing people from all walks of life, many of them Christians but not all.

What is the Coalition for marriage?It's a petition, launched in advance of the Government's upcoming consultation about proposing a Bill in Parliament re-defining marriage as a contract between 2 consenting adults of any gender, rather than its current definition of a contract between one man and one woman. Various people have pointed out that there will be many legal implications of potentially changing the definition of marriage, such as eg, the requirement for consummation to exist before a marriage is considered valid, and adultery existing as a grounds for divorce. You can't have those if the actual sex act varies so much.

Why are people (expecially Christians) so hot under the collar about this? Isn't it fair to homosexuals to allow them to call their partnerships the same thing as heterosexuals?Ha! Interesting one. Reading Lord Carey on the subject, he makes the point that marriage existed prior to our civilisation, and prior to any sort of church, so it is dictatorial to attempt to re-define it. Marriage in the Bible dates from the first chapters of the book of Genesis. It is the building block of society. As I have quoted before on this blog:

"Why do you suppose the reproductive urge within us is so relevant to cultural survival? It is because the energy that holds societies together is sexual in nature! The physical attraction between men and women causes them to establish families and to invest themselves in their develpoment. It encourages them to work and save and toil to ensure their survival. Their sexual energy provides the impetus for the raising on healthy children and for the transfer of values from one generation to the next....In short, the sexual aspect of our nature- when released exclusively within the family- produces stability and responsibility that would not otherwise occur." (James Dobson)

So sex is part of your social responsibility! The modern-day view of sex as simply an apetite or expression of self-fulfilment is entirely consistent with the view that homosexual sex is no different to sex between a husband and a wife. But this is not God's view.

The Church of England marriage service, I remember from our wedding 10 years ago, says something like this (marriage)"is a way of life that all should honour", meaning that everyone, married or not, should respect and promote marriage as God defines it. So we have a responsibility, if we take God seriously, to be on the side of marriage as defined in the Bible.

This doesn't mean that we hate homosexuals or want their lives to be miserable. Actually, we want people of every background, faith, orientation etc etc to come to know the unique joy there is in knowing God for themselves. And the further away our society gets from God's plans the harder that is for people.

What are the implications of changing "marriage"?Oh boy, they are HUGE! If we undo the basic building block of society, allow children to be raised by homosexual couples (I realise that this is sometimes already happening), do not require husbands and wives to stick together, then everything falls apart. Every time our society chips away at the nuclear family (meaning dad, mum, and kids) the social and economic cost is huge. When I worked in the homeless office it was amazing the cost of parents separating seen in the endless housing benefit applications, extra child tax credits etc. Can we afford to relieve natural parents of the responsibility to provide for their own children? NO! But at the moment we allow them to leave, form new relationships, each one evidenced by a baby, and the state picks up the bill. No stigma attached to the parents. In fact, many people wear the badge of "single parent" with pride as the state then supports 2 households.

So you make it easier to divorce. Wham. Huge bill for the state. You allow social abortions. Wham. Huge bill. You tell people they have rights to sexual self-expression and not to sexual reponsibility. Who will pick up this bill of inevitable failed adoptions, law suits, counselling and mental breakdowns as we spiral out of control further and further away from God's will?

On Wednesday night I predicted to our Bible Study Group that if this legislation goes ahead, our great-grandchildren will be emigrating to China and India as economic migrants trying to find a better life. I think that's for real. Unfortunately we can't wait and see with this one. We have to get it right now. So vote according to your convictions, and I hope that this has been helpful for some of you.

Discouragement, encouragement and serving

Dr James Dobson, writing about the value of showing genuine interest and care in someone else:

"Suddenly, the beleaguered patient no longer feels alone - the most depressing of human experiences. 'Someone cares! Someone understands! Someone assures me with professional confidence that I will survive. I'm not going to drown in this sea of despondency. I have been thrown a life preserver by a friend who promises not to abandon me in the storm.' This is real therapy, and it exemplifies the essence of the Christian commandment that we 'bear one another's burdens' (Gal. 6:2).

"This same Christian principle offers the most promising solution to your inferiority and inadequacy. A person's own needs and problems seem less threatening when one is busy helping someone else handle theirs. It is difficult to wallow in your own troubles when you are actively shouldering another person's load and seeking solutions to that individual's problems. For each discouraged reader who feels unloved and shortchanged by life, I would recommend a conscious practice of giving to others. Visit the sick. Bake something for neighbours. Use your car for those without transportations. Most important, learn to be a good listener. The world is filled with lonely, disheartened people like yourself, and you are in an excellent position to empathise with them. And while you're doing it, I guarantee that your own sense of uselessness with begin to fade."

(From "How to build confidence in your child", p163-164)

Helpful?

Clear vision in Rwanda

Some friends in Rwanda (above) recently wrote the following:

Determine [a Rwandan Christian] talked of the genocide back in 1994 and how it had had a devastating effect on his life – he spoke of how he had lost the will to live because he had seen so much death at the hands of his own people and tribe. He came to the conclusion that the only thing worth living for was those who were still living in Rwanda – that they would not experience a second death – a spiritual death. He remarked that the second death was far more dangerous than the first death that many Rwandans experienced in 1994. He said, “Because then we knew people were dying, we could hear them scream and see the dead bodies. But spiritual death is slow and eternal, people don’t even know they are dying.” He concluded, “the only way to bring Spiritual life is through the Word of God and that is why I am here.”

How can we get this kind of clear sight?

Why rule-keeping can't rescue

Tearing my hair out over Romans 7, I found this brilliant quote from Matthew Henry (left):

"The law, by commanding, forbidding, threatening, corrupt and fallen man, but offering no grace to cure and strengthen, did but stir up the corruption, and, like the sun shining upon a dunghill, excite and draw up the filthy steams."

People not structures

"The search for effective programmes will fail. In God’s service there are only effective people."

That's a quote from Mark Ashton's book, 'Christian Youth Work'. Isn't it brilliant? There's all sorts of discussion around about how church structures should work; whole denominations are split over different patterns of church leadership. We could easily get bogged down with making sure we've got the right things happening each week, and could easily think everything is going well with church when our busy programme is working like a well-oiled machine.

Perhaps this is a timely reminder that our energy should be put into people - making each other more godly. That way, whatever programmes we do or don't have really doesn't matter. What we will have are people living and doing right.

Everyone needs compassion

The first of the Laura Ingalls Wilder 'Little House' books - "Little House in the Big Woods" (the story of her own childhood, growing up in a pioneer family in a log cabin in around 1871) ends with these words:

Pa said, “Go to sleep now.”

But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the fire-light gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.

She thought to herself, “This is now.”

She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the fire-light and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

I don't know if you have to read the whole book to feel the emotion of that, or whether you need to be tired, or have small children. But there it is: the beautiful memory of being a small child. "Now is now." The gutting perspective is, of course, that it was written as an older lady, who is now dead.

We have a four-year-old daughter. We have the privilege of giving her special childhood moments. Yet she too will grow old and one day die. You can't hang on to a single moment.

A happy childhood is a wonderful blessing. But all those people out there, whether they have happy memories or not, are just like that little child, who once was, but who quickly grows and will be gone. So fragile. So sad.

A challenge for 2012: instead of viewing people as tough, cold, secure or complete, let's remember what they really are - fragile, and passing. What they need more than anything else is the compassion of a Saviour, who gives a future that can be held on to.

"When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

(Matthew 9:36-38)

Jesus came ... to preach

Following the last in our series on 'Why Jesus Came', and the shocking point from Mark 1:38 that, according to Jesus, preaching is more important than healing, I was reminded of this quote from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. (For those who don't know, he was a famous Welsh preacher who had been a Harley Street doctor previously.)

"It is not often that I make any kind of personal reference from this pulpit but I feel this morning that I must speak of an experience which bears on this very subject. When I came here, people said to me: 'Why give up good work - a good profession - after all the medical profession, why give that up? If you had been a bookie for instance and wanted to give that up to preach the gospel, we should understand and agree with you and say that you were doing a grand thing. But medicine - a good profession, healing the sick and relieving pain!' One man even said this, 'If you were a solicitor and gave it up, I'd give you a pat on the back, but to give up medicine!' 'Ah well!' I felt like saying to them, 'if you knew more about the work of a doctor you would understand. We but spend most of our time rendering people fit to go back to their sin!' I saw men on their sick beds, I spoke to them of their immortal souls, they promised grand things. Then they got better and back they went to their old sin! I saw I was helping these men to sin and I decided that I would do no more of it. I want to heal souls. If a man has a diseased body and his soul is all right, he is all right to the end; but a man with a healthy body and a diseased soul is all right for sixty years or so and then he has to face an eternity of hell. Ah, yes! we have sometimes to give up those things which are good for that which is the best of all - the joy of salvation and newness of life."

Remembering God's priorities

How can you trust God when things don’t go as we would choose?
Don Carson, on James 1:1-18, suggests that we ask two questions:

[1] Do we want a God who is like a genie in a bottle, who does only what we wish? (In which case, who is God?)

[2] When we suffer, do we remember that God has given his Son for us? (He is not self-interested, but guarantees our good by what he has already given.)

Therefore, respond to trials by trusting him, growing in maturity, and looking ahead to what God has promised us.
“The truth of the matter is:
- God is more interested in your holiness than your happiness.
He is more interested in your faithfulness than in your financial success.
He is more interested in your purity than in your power.
He is more interested in your endurance than in your reputation.
He is more interested in your self-control than in your sexual prowess.
He is more interested in your eternal life than your external wealth.
He is more interested in your long term joy than your short term fun.
He is more interested in your good than in your desires.”

Don Carson, 1999

Pages

Intro to Philippians

The hopes and fears of all the years

John Calvin on 'trials'

Wellfield: a little taste of heaven