Encouragements from the Elders
Each week, one of our elders will share a little word of encouragement from the Bible
Friday 3 April 2020
"Count Your Blessings"? "Always look on the bright side of life"?
Colin shares some thoughts on peace...
Dear Friends and Adopted Family,
It is easy to be somewhat disturbed by the current situation when we are all stuck in our homes. Some of us have only ourselves for company. But I’ve rather enjoyed a very different way of being for a change. So, I’ve started to think about the good things that have a happened to me as I spend lots of time alone (as Jenny is away in Cambridgeshire with her elderly parents). It is good to count your blessings and to 'name them one by one' – as the children’s song says! For me I have had a bit more contact with my sons (and their children) as they have been more active on our Family Group on WhatsApp. With the good weather I’ve been able to spend time in the garden and paint my fence. Life has seemed a little less busy for me. A bit of time to do as Louise
suggested – to model Shalom!
Even being away from Jenny can be a blessing in a sort of a way. She may be my favourite person in
all the world, but I can take her presence for granted! So being apart from her helps me to
appreciate what I am missing. And with modern tech we are not that far apart. We can text and chat
and even do video calls.
In Philippians 4 we are encouraged to "not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". It seems to me that we can be anxious so easily. And we can even pray anxiously. But we are called to be at Peace … to pray prayers of peace. This is not a peace that comes from inside us, but a peace that is a gift from God, just like all the other wonderful Gifts that He pours into our lives. We need to claim that Peace – a Peace that passes all understanding, we are told. As with so much that emanates from our Father God, this Peace is a mystery. But it is of the most extraordinary worth if we can let it guard our hearts and minds.
In Jeremiah 17 we are told 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
We are indeed in a drought! It is a drought of company. We find ourselves cut off from our normal lives and oddly dislocated from all the usual activities of life. Even going out to buy food suddenly
seems a bit dangerous! But our roots are in the stream of Living Water, so our leaves will stay green and we will continue to bear fruit.
My prayer of blessing for all of you who read this little message is taken from Numbers 6:
24 May the LORD bless you and take care of you;
25 May the LORD be kind and gracious to you;
26 May the LORD look on you with favour and give you His peace. Amen
God bless,
Colin
"Count Your Blessings"? "Always look on the bright side of life"?
Colin shares some thoughts on peace...
Dear Friends and Adopted Family,
It is easy to be somewhat disturbed by the current situation when we are all stuck in our homes. Some of us have only ourselves for company. But I’ve rather enjoyed a very different way of being for a change. So, I’ve started to think about the good things that have a happened to me as I spend lots of time alone (as Jenny is away in Cambridgeshire with her elderly parents). It is good to count your blessings and to 'name them one by one' – as the children’s song says! For me I have had a bit more contact with my sons (and their children) as they have been more active on our Family Group on WhatsApp. With the good weather I’ve been able to spend time in the garden and paint my fence. Life has seemed a little less busy for me. A bit of time to do as Louise
suggested – to model Shalom!
Even being away from Jenny can be a blessing in a sort of a way. She may be my favourite person in
all the world, but I can take her presence for granted! So being apart from her helps me to
appreciate what I am missing. And with modern tech we are not that far apart. We can text and chat
and even do video calls.
In Philippians 4 we are encouraged to "not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". It seems to me that we can be anxious so easily. And we can even pray anxiously. But we are called to be at Peace … to pray prayers of peace. This is not a peace that comes from inside us, but a peace that is a gift from God, just like all the other wonderful Gifts that He pours into our lives. We need to claim that Peace – a Peace that passes all understanding, we are told. As with so much that emanates from our Father God, this Peace is a mystery. But it is of the most extraordinary worth if we can let it guard our hearts and minds.
In Jeremiah 17 we are told 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
We are indeed in a drought! It is a drought of company. We find ourselves cut off from our normal lives and oddly dislocated from all the usual activities of life. Even going out to buy food suddenly
seems a bit dangerous! But our roots are in the stream of Living Water, so our leaves will stay green and we will continue to bear fruit.
My prayer of blessing for all of you who read this little message is taken from Numbers 6:
24 May the LORD bless you and take care of you;
25 May the LORD be kind and gracious to you;
26 May the LORD look on you with favour and give you His peace. Amen
God bless,
Colin
|
Friday 27 March 2020 A note from Tony... "You are of Christ and Christ is of God" 1 Corinthians 3:23 This statue stands in the grounds of Launde Abbey In Leicestershire. The picture was painted by my sister in law on a troubled day. The risen Christ bids us welcome to identify with him in new life through the Holy Spirit living in us. We've thought in our morning services of living a cross shaped life - this gives shape to Christ’s open arms of welcome and invitation to be in him and share his new life. Lord we pray for your mercy and blessing in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic. Following a national day of prayer on Sunday we continue to pray – continually – and to give thanks – Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. God bless, Tony |
Friday 20 March 2020
Gordon fills in the spaces between God's words...
Gordon fills in the spaces between God's words...
Just a personal note from me to reassure and encourage you. If the apostle Paul could 'Rejoice in the Lord', and 'not be anxious', Phil 4:4-6, in his prison cell, we can surely do the same in the comfort of our own homes, and as verse 6 says, 'with thanksgiving'.
Col 3:16 (a less famous 3:16) says 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly'. We've all got Bibles, let's use them, while Louise, Kath, Dan and others work on innovative ways of doing the rest of the verse (look it up) remotely. Watch this space!
Col 3:16 concludes 'with gratitude in your hearts to God', so no excuse. It's time to walk the talk. 1 Thess 5:16-18, 'Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Although we are at the mercy of a very small virus, we are also in the hands of a very big God 'who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us', Eph 3:20.
So, altogether now, 'Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness.......
God bless you,
Gordon.
Col 3:16 (a less famous 3:16) says 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly'. We've all got Bibles, let's use them, while Louise, Kath, Dan and others work on innovative ways of doing the rest of the verse (look it up) remotely. Watch this space!
Col 3:16 concludes 'with gratitude in your hearts to God', so no excuse. It's time to walk the talk. 1 Thess 5:16-18, 'Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Although we are at the mercy of a very small virus, we are also in the hands of a very big God 'who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us', Eph 3:20.
So, altogether now, 'Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness.......
God bless you,
Gordon.
