tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292885032024-03-14T10:41:37.579+00:00Through the Storms with Eric GaudionAn inside look at a Christian writer's life offering tips and information to help when life hurts.Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comBlogger461125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-51507551050129316312024-02-17T12:44:00.004+00:002024-02-17T12:44:52.524+00:00Love Wins!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL-q_SzmISvSoWbM34_-dSWN6-hHCP5BVFiuP4vMy4ML7aKb11bheirjJZVcRa-g3Nar4eMk0R5P5oA5MRcyMmTRrv7nJ4Nv80owaLpDYzkkDrPT4Hfl25f_HdMqZA7zLKFdfQZ6cZJtkYJYreOgu2W1TxJqXI25hrsu7DDKP7H5F1LUzW2duPg/s150/dafs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="113" data-original-width="150" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL-q_SzmISvSoWbM34_-dSWN6-hHCP5BVFiuP4vMy4ML7aKb11bheirjJZVcRa-g3Nar4eMk0R5P5oA5MRcyMmTRrv7nJ4Nv80owaLpDYzkkDrPT4Hfl25f_HdMqZA7zLKFdfQZ6cZJtkYJYreOgu2W1TxJqXI25hrsu7DDKP7H5F1LUzW2duPg/s1600/dafs.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>It's only the second week of February but the early signs of Spring are all around us here in Guernsey. Bulbs which have been hiding under the dark cold ground for months are starting to bring colour, vibrancy and hope to our wind blasted gardens and hedgerows. These early signs of Spring are really heartening, giving us the sense that better days lie ahead. The cold dark season we are in will not last for ever. The seeds of renewal may lie hidden, but their power to break through is irresistible. <p></p><p>It's important to have hope in the darkness, expectation instead of dread, and a sense that the future God has planned for us will be so much better than the barren winter barely passing. In our wider world there is such sadness. As I write, the death of a prominent Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has shocked and saddened the western world. Images of his bereaved wife and children add to the sense of profound sorrow being felt by millions. There is a cold, barren emptiness in a large swathe of Eastern Europe as the war in Ukraine rages on, and lives are being lost in the battle against tyranny. Elsewhere, in Israel and Gaza there is such huge sadness as we witness the wanton death and destruction being wrought and their impact on ordinary men, women and children on both sides. Can there be any bulbs of hope beneath this dreadful soil?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmko9DTzvJGpmzpIi5CXKIbZExpYb8gg2aIXN6VgMtc2ltNopKpYVqX7Xphsh2lvCPI4jO_RVcZil9hVsk8aGwmPbewKKVqzUrNGifpFX0LU4EAWg4P8RfOFDlAIdnMJr6Ybo9Mcpx_HxAb6EAoQ1wzbXv8CdFYQvwA_DIgq5JrXaUZzMaq49kw/s4277/ronak-valobobhai-4qHWTuP_RLw-unsplash%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4277" data-original-width="3422" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmko9DTzvJGpmzpIi5CXKIbZExpYb8gg2aIXN6VgMtc2ltNopKpYVqX7Xphsh2lvCPI4jO_RVcZil9hVsk8aGwmPbewKKVqzUrNGifpFX0LU4EAWg4P8RfOFDlAIdnMJr6Ybo9Mcpx_HxAb6EAoQ1wzbXv8CdFYQvwA_DIgq5JrXaUZzMaq49kw/s320/ronak-valobobhai-4qHWTuP_RLw-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p>As Christians, our hope is in God. He is not finished with us yet and is working out his plan in these end-times through all the earth, whether in East or West. There may be times in our lives when we fear that our cause is futile, our case hopeless. I felt that over the long years of my chronic illness. Sometimes it just feels like the weight and fire-power of our enemy is overwhelming. The price of hanging on and persevering can seem too high. Don’t give up! God is on our side. The enemy of our souls may gloat over temporary or even long-term advances against us, but the end of the story is clear. Love wins, God wins, goodness triumphs over evil! Hang in there!</p><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-69183623052644160362023-12-28T14:57:00.000+00:002023-12-28T14:57:11.291+00:00Feeling Between a Rock & a Hard Place?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttNsz55EaLmbjuILOZKlPjq1lFU7NsmahyL6DNvIjvHJRA_iOUeLjjNUvr0cyJPG2QmNhVj2gqIeVuG6hkebmSvx5hYinxa1_Ij5__rqI57MrdQRQYfdVtl9xoyIGynFsZIN3ocFuLzn4SZHtSP90-7vFAOBUwLcgAjIY4T1p9uEQGcYwidMBDA/s4560/clarisse-meyer-lm19CKBlsJM-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4560" data-original-width="3648" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttNsz55EaLmbjuILOZKlPjq1lFU7NsmahyL6DNvIjvHJRA_iOUeLjjNUvr0cyJPG2QmNhVj2gqIeVuG6hkebmSvx5hYinxa1_Ij5__rqI57MrdQRQYfdVtl9xoyIGynFsZIN3ocFuLzn4SZHtSP90-7vFAOBUwLcgAjIY4T1p9uEQGcYwidMBDA/s320/clarisse-meyer-lm19CKBlsJM-unsplash.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Are you feeling like you're between a rock and a hard place? Well, welcome to 'Twixmas' - that annual period between Christmas and the New Year holidays when everything seems to shut down! The glories of the festive season are behind us now, and the wonder and nostalgia that coloured the whole period in pastel shades of emotion and reminiscence, are past. In their place is the nagging feeling that we may have overdone it in the eating or drinking department, or both, and certainly the awareness that our wallets are a great deal lighter than they were a month ago! Hmm, the real reason for the season may be slipping away like a burning sunset - glorious in its time but hard to take into the next day.<p></p><p>And then there's the future, growing and growling before us like some kind of new family pet - will it bite us or be the best friend we have ever had? And what about this enormous number - 2024? Where did that come from? They just don't make these years the same size as they used to. I have only just got used to putting a 20 instead of a 19 in front of my year dates and suddenly we are nearly a quarter of the way through a new century! And just like the last one, it is marked by wars and rumours of wars, pandemics, eruptions, earthquakes and the enemy that eats holes in all our purses - inflation. </p><p>The past and the future do loom over us and can make us very afraid. Thankfully there are resources that we can take hold of, even in this in-between period that can be so scary. For the past we need to discover the power of forgiveness. We need it for ourselves in case we feel that we could have done better. But we also need a store of it to give away. Forgiveness only really works if you share it. Being forgiven is not a solo sport. Getting to know Jesus brings us closer to the biggest store of forgiveness in the universe. His doors don't just open on Boxing Day for the sales, they are wide open the whole year round. </p><p>And for the future? Well, there's a ready source of wisdom and help to face all that lies ahead in the book that is still the world's best seller - the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 was written to Israel hundreds of years ago, but gives us insight into how God wants to help us face all that's coming: '<i>For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future</i>'. And then there is one of the most reassuring verses in the book of Psalms, 37:5 '<i>Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you</i>'.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWCWKw0Eiil1IkMJUmOfqoVCfO9ubWtZ6r_teX_XZwjSnoPo4d4PdUx5nQ12wl8KEBpYFHq0tAJclT6MDcq5_FbhLBKLlv1ZP7-wNRPeSusnHMA5rGgpNZaozERgbMQt5k1575aXcbm9ATOLJ8e9xkhccUxD-MBcYLitHGfnpGNjFtIWGZX9kyA/s5002/lala-azizli-V1IWfKXFrLI-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3335" data-original-width="5002" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWCWKw0Eiil1IkMJUmOfqoVCfO9ubWtZ6r_teX_XZwjSnoPo4d4PdUx5nQ12wl8KEBpYFHq0tAJclT6MDcq5_FbhLBKLlv1ZP7-wNRPeSusnHMA5rGgpNZaozERgbMQt5k1575aXcbm9ATOLJ8e9xkhccUxD-MBcYLitHGfnpGNjFtIWGZX9kyA/s320/lala-azizli-V1IWfKXFrLI-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So, this 'Twixmas', and as we prepare to face the New Year whatever it might bring, why not give God your past and your future, and see what he can do with them. When stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only thing you can really do is look up!<br /><p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-85288193440377103892023-11-24T18:00:00.001+00:002023-11-24T18:00:00.212+00:00Another Visit from the Prince of Peace Needed Here<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ir8Y7omrJfEjp5mNIFvGOI8LBf4YWfpopofCpXQEKr90ZMD5f4lszLEq5p5s2cr-PVciTl0vdZd_-RJ9ZBwikbTptNSkWsEey8Kxk_gVo54VownddjQNgUB1O4RITzloF29o-bHuO3YnTYDsQrg5CuU2qNa-kBiC-wcThR1FIzRaHpDa0y4QSA/s4592/raimond-klavins-030ZIU1Rook-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3064" data-original-width="4592" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ir8Y7omrJfEjp5mNIFvGOI8LBf4YWfpopofCpXQEKr90ZMD5f4lszLEq5p5s2cr-PVciTl0vdZd_-RJ9ZBwikbTptNSkWsEey8Kxk_gVo54VownddjQNgUB1O4RITzloF29o-bHuO3YnTYDsQrg5CuU2qNa-kBiC-wcThR1FIzRaHpDa0y4QSA/s320/raimond-klavins-030ZIU1Rook-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></p>As Israel and Hamas enter a period of truce for a few days in Gaza, the loved-ones of the more than 240 hostages being held by the terror group and their allies will be holding their breath. A glimmer of hope breaks over the battlefield like the sun used to rise over the smoking ruins of past European wars to reveal the devastation that war inevitably brings. After the dreadful horrors of October 7th and the incessant pounding of the enclave of Gaza that followed, these few days of peace must seem like a foreign country. Thousands have buried their much loved relatives on both sides, but it may be generations before their hatred and resentment is buried, unless someone or something intervenes.<p></p><p>And that intervention is preciseley why Jesus came. In one of the many ancient prophecies concerning his coming he was called 'the Prince of Peace'. Here is the verse from Isaiah chapter 9:6, </p><p>For to us a child is born,</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZFPReafKBzOGGporgRvfKHXzeIeqUafL3E75QzxxKMoK0esYm5dzan22Xn-zpZvwXJfOWApxNoyv7RvJcPbm1EOkq6NW57v8pmn0Dss22VxjCwDwkEfdgw6Ud5ya9Iw7OOrv_N5S_psy6OZti-A85ms7PyxcRV6Kx5_GNiz8v270rtWs61HIiw/s2425/sunguk-kim-JhqBxsORuXA-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="2425" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZFPReafKBzOGGporgRvfKHXzeIeqUafL3E75QzxxKMoK0esYm5dzan22Xn-zpZvwXJfOWApxNoyv7RvJcPbm1EOkq6NW57v8pmn0Dss22VxjCwDwkEfdgw6Ud5ya9Iw7OOrv_N5S_psy6OZti-A85ms7PyxcRV6Kx5_GNiz8v270rtWs61HIiw/w200-h140/sunguk-kim-JhqBxsORuXA-unsplash.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> to us a son is given,<p></p><p> and the government will be on his shoulders.</p><p>And he will be called</p><p> Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,</p><p> Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.</p><br /><p>So, how can we pray about this terrible conflict in the Middle East? Firstly the Bible urges us to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' in Psalm 122:6. This must mean to pray for the leaders involved in making decisions about this war, but also to really pray for the followers of Christ who live on both sides of the conflict - Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians. Then, as we approach Christmas, pray that the Lord will break through the desire for revenge, and the fog of hatred and violence, to bring about some kind of reconciliation, however distant that may seem at the moment.</p><p>Those of us who read our Bibles expecting that Jesus Christ will return soon to a world tearing itself apart with wars and rumours of wars, and being shaken by earthquakes and pandemics, are also praying that many millions more will hear the good news, the gospel, about Jesus and by believing be added to his family before he comes. In the words of the last book of the Bible, 'Amen. Come Lord Jesus!'</p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-82821996594018041422023-11-04T18:08:00.005+00:002023-11-04T18:08:59.948+00:00Dealing with the Hurry Wasp<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SnqQoRDdvuMWx1ZU6WqOTPwF8aLI7WwwBOXDEiTbWYLe0rdgjsFUna4wASIEmbQ-Myt_B00RAnpesLTMzIEfT9Oy_ot9hqCsxSWDoqbFDXE1Nbsxuw4sB31i_CQoNX2s5Y9FIdyfORGBIf5IVPT75Lka3PMgM8VGN91Jff-pL5zutLDGpVkqPg/s5616/randy-fath-TUXrJZCNHbU-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3744" data-original-width="5616" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SnqQoRDdvuMWx1ZU6WqOTPwF8aLI7WwwBOXDEiTbWYLe0rdgjsFUna4wASIEmbQ-Myt_B00RAnpesLTMzIEfT9Oy_ot9hqCsxSWDoqbFDXE1Nbsxuw4sB31i_CQoNX2s5Y9FIdyfORGBIf5IVPT75Lka3PMgM8VGN91Jff-pL5zutLDGpVkqPg/s320/randy-fath-TUXrJZCNHbU-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>One day recently I got into my car and turned to drive up the road outside our house in Guernsey and surprisingly joined a queue of cars that appeared to be waiting for something large and slow to come down the hill. After a few minutes of gulping in fumes and fighting my own frustration, down the hill with a gentle clip-clop came the wonderful spectacle of a horse and buggy, with two amiable older gentlemen chatting to one another. Behind them a long line of approaching cars and vans was being forced to slow down and proceed at nineteenth century speed! I feared the worst and thought that someone was going to start sounding their horn, perhaps scaring the poor horse, but I was in for a surprise.</p><p>As the procession passed me I wound down my window and switched off my engine just to appreciate the moment more fully. The sweet sound of the horse’s clopping and the gentle rumble of the cartwheels filled my car, together with the friendly banter of the men. For a few seconds I was transported to an earlier quieter age. It was a precious moment of sanity. When I restarted my car and moved on past the approaching line-up of cart-followers, my expectation of angry and frustrated fellow drivers was dispersed. All I got was smiles and kindly looks, with people pointing forward at the lovely anachronism that was hindering their progress. It was as if the apparition from yesteryear was healing something in our crazily hurried culture. It had sutured a wound caused by all our rushing about, even if just for a few moments.</p><p>In John Mark Comer’s excellent book ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ he points out that Jesus and his band of followers only ever moved about at walking pace and yet they achieved so much in such a short space of time. Jesus also built times of solitude and prayer into his routine and his journeys around first century Israel, often rising before dawn to pray. Perhaps we were never designed to dash about like we do, driven more by deadlines, demands and diesel than by love, hope and peace! Is it realistic to ask us to slow down though? How will we get our work done? We are not ungrateful for the technology that enables us to get through our days, but the gadgets and tools that we once thought would give us more time have actually stolen it like scammers syphoning away our spiritual savings. We may be rich in technological resources, but we have become poorer in spirit.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOgYwMwRwQpq1Vp3NDlhAwYCqW00LhkdeJUjrVEP3HHAJjsqCACAIeQ9NS-28KLhJy3atKySIE0-RWYGENVajoCMhs4vBAFxGdqcgxZ4poYjBMS6T88D1BxCkxlVW13DUTMCl-5Z48tDRM2XJL1CJAObFcTtnHgeyAFDc_t2sOWOt-qCZqvxytQ/s4865/grant-davies-nuZi0aAdqJA-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4865" data-original-width="3649" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOgYwMwRwQpq1Vp3NDlhAwYCqW00LhkdeJUjrVEP3HHAJjsqCACAIeQ9NS-28KLhJy3atKySIE0-RWYGENVajoCMhs4vBAFxGdqcgxZ4poYjBMS6T88D1BxCkxlVW13DUTMCl-5Z48tDRM2XJL1CJAObFcTtnHgeyAFDc_t2sOWOt-qCZqvxytQ/w181-h241/grant-davies-nuZi0aAdqJA-unsplash.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><p></p><p>Two women in the New Testament illustrate this well. One of them was dashing around her kitchen just when Jesus called to have a chat with her and her sister. Martha is described as being ‘distracted by all the preparations that had to be made’ (Luke 10) whereas her sister Mary found space to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what he had to say. When the over-busy Matha moaned to the Lord about her sister not pulling her weight, Jesus chastised her for being worried and upset about many things and reminded her that Mary had chosen what is better – she had elected to be in listening mode. This has to be a choice and takes effort. Finding time for a place of quiet and fellowship with Christ can be restorative and refreshing but is something we need to prioritise if it is to happen at all.</p><p>Maybe we all need to wind down our window and switch off our engine from time to time and adopt the listening mode exemplified by Mary. Without it, the hurry wasp will have us swatting the air and dashing about like mad things, perhaps doing plenty but achieving little of lasting value.</p><div><br /></div><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-19134075235276465512023-09-20T16:54:00.001+01:002023-09-20T16:54:19.701+01:00An Old Guy Trying to Get Through!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLk8H7hU7TzPBZy5YYU5DcwgN5T11x0cel2F9l04-lP8ZiK_SQ3SZVB7rh4bKJrTvZhQ2YGknOH1aIViMb2Bz5Zcv7P-0PBT5zf2q_ieRMkiRx4dWm3-MhGEtw-opWGr1vQDAWnVWxcvwnWW6maI7QgylmgoEe8BGheeNGguFFKPRoejQHpCgSg/s4000/DSC00382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLk8H7hU7TzPBZy5YYU5DcwgN5T11x0cel2F9l04-lP8ZiK_SQ3SZVB7rh4bKJrTvZhQ2YGknOH1aIViMb2Bz5Zcv7P-0PBT5zf2q_ieRMkiRx4dWm3-MhGEtw-opWGr1vQDAWnVWxcvwnWW6maI7QgylmgoEe8BGheeNGguFFKPRoejQHpCgSg/s320/DSC00382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>As I approached a bend in the narrow Guernsey lane where I had gone walking this week, a dense cloud of mainly sand and grit billowed out from the building site that was a centuries-old farmhouse, filling the roadway ahead. A workman in a spacesuit-like protective kit was sand-blasting the ancient walls in a picture of contrasts. I was about to turn back instead of entering the threatening swirl of choking detritus when a fellow workman switched off the powerful engine of the sand-blaster, shouting to the spaceman ‘Hang on - there’s an old guy who wants to get through’!</p><p>I looked all around me to see this old chap but nobody else was waiting so he must have meant me. At 71 I felt a bit miffed at his description and wondered if it really was that obvious that I am getting older, but after I passed the obstruction, and the spaceman resumed his forced removal of centuries of grime, I reflected on what had been said. I am an old guy who wants to get through! I want to get through what is probably the autumn of my life without losing my sense of God’s leading me every day, and the effectiveness of serving God’s purpose and destiny for my being here. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6-MetYJcWO8a2DLF-n55UK_ZC7RVKR9msJaqwzfDdyNxqrQaqs1P7WSiBkcfSX6R_OgX3zvRGn5GBPY0BXh-ybxHXJvwo_uJ9VyhTBoAJle0LNxep_5UcnpyG-BHuO4-ZZSwGcEz929rRlXW2B7w9iIjtyQDB5u9BDlNRH6SYjcT_A4Ztj_1rg/s725/Palm%20Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="725" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6-MetYJcWO8a2DLF-n55UK_ZC7RVKR9msJaqwzfDdyNxqrQaqs1P7WSiBkcfSX6R_OgX3zvRGn5GBPY0BXh-ybxHXJvwo_uJ9VyhTBoAJle0LNxep_5UcnpyG-BHuO4-ZZSwGcEz929rRlXW2B7w9iIjtyQDB5u9BDlNRH6SYjcT_A4Ztj_1rg/s320/Palm%20Tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A few days ago we returned from a week’s holiday in Majorca, rejoicing in the direct flights now available from our island to theirs in the Mediterranean. In the resort were huge date palm trees, soaring high into the Majorcan sky and heavy with fruit. In our hotel room we read together the verses of Psalm 92:12-14 where it says that God’s people will be like palm trees, bearing fruit in their old age. Date palms are usually quite old before they start bearing fruit and can even be laden with dates after they're 80 years old!<p></p><p>So, how can we older folk remain fruitful and ‘get through’ these challenging times? Well, we can remain grounded in faith and relationship with God just like the strong root systems of Middle-Eastern date palms. We can choose daily to live with faith, hope, and love, not bitterness, resentment, and regret. Having faith and hope can be tough as our bodies decay and our thinking processes slow down, but we choose to press through the clouds of difficulty and keep trusting God and His Word (the Bible).</p><p>We also have an important place as mentors and role models for younger Christians. To mentor someone is to draw alongside them with words of encouragement, offering support and confidence when things are hard for them. It is too easy to criticise and lecture young folk as the years go by, when God’s calling on us is to gently lead and inspire by our example and loving patience and perseverance.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvoMbq9flUpyKZsxim5QdNCEx1yxyvi-VRUXpYImg9kOQkxhy4U-CItnsoJ1mmKm0w_wOvKj9JOT5qWw2p07cx9F8Y4pXaNg8EPY-CMqYbKd5R2m2NxuVK8a5-Bb0P5tw0A3gLH1OwMKDI9NSp9CGa4QzubIogYEL88OmHwbTrwa45ni79ALF9w/s1182/1017421.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="1182" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvoMbq9flUpyKZsxim5QdNCEx1yxyvi-VRUXpYImg9kOQkxhy4U-CItnsoJ1mmKm0w_wOvKj9JOT5qWw2p07cx9F8Y4pXaNg8EPY-CMqYbKd5R2m2NxuVK8a5-Bb0P5tw0A3gLH1OwMKDI9NSp9CGa4QzubIogYEL88OmHwbTrwa45ni79ALF9w/w189-h189/1017421.png" width="189" /></a></div>And then we can pray. I heard recently from a lady in her 80’s who recently led a prayer team at the Limitless Youth Conference organised by the Elim Churches in the UK at which thousands of young people gathered this summer to celebrate their faith and worship together as well as have great fun. During those few days over 600 young folk made first-time commitments to follow Christ and the prayer team were kept busy praying for youngsters with many problems in the prayer tent. She may be old, but she is most definitely still trying to get through!<p></p><p>So, if you are confronted with a barrier due to age or infirmity, I just want to encourage you to believe that, as a retired minister friend of mine said to me recently, ‘If you’re not dead, you’re not done yet’. There is still a work for Jesus that no one but you can do. As for me – well there is an old guy here waiting to get through!</p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-80291908461233876682023-07-15T12:23:00.002+01:002023-07-15T12:23:47.206+01:00Worn out before they're worn?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EHC9bSNN2w8R0PaAKQqPvd1O0xYN3KKa5P3DHlcKDoyCWBfltShIsNdTKSAB9g-5W5D-KE2T3y42o8dZmu4vxzEpywM7G-JntoLXthTwi3C3PPtMLsAji_1QH7pzaOsdFGb5wPl26Tw3nNTywUkOaQmyT9-T3wTXo_LHYhI_bY8UMoH5JjIT6g/s2048/IMG_1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EHC9bSNN2w8R0PaAKQqPvd1O0xYN3KKa5P3DHlcKDoyCWBfltShIsNdTKSAB9g-5W5D-KE2T3y42o8dZmu4vxzEpywM7G-JntoLXthTwi3C3PPtMLsAji_1QH7pzaOsdFGb5wPl26Tw3nNTywUkOaQmyT9-T3wTXo_LHYhI_bY8UMoH5JjIT6g/s320/IMG_1984.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Do you want a pair of jeans with the holes already there? Fancy buying something that is old before its time - worn out before it's been worn? I couldn't help taking this picture of the shop window at Primark in Newcastle this week. Of course I know that torn jeans are 'in fashion' and that pre-ripped clothing is nothing new, but it just struck me as funny that the shopkeeper thinks that tatty and torn goods are a great advert for his store! It is almost like he or she is proud of their already rubbished clothing!<p></p><p>That started me thinking about why pre-torn fashion may have caught on. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn't help but notice how scruffily most people were dressed all around me, including in church! Don't get me wrong - I welcome casual clothing and dressing down in preference to all the pretend preening of yesteryear - but I sense an issue especially for the young in this latest trend.</p><p>I am concerned that just as 'power dressing' can make you feel good about yourself and boost confidence, pre-ripped and faded clothing can have the opposite effect on the wearer. It is almost as if they are saying 'this is all I'm worth'. That's wrong, of course, because these young people are of infinite worth to God and special in his eyes, but is that how they see themselves?</p><p>When denim jeans were first invented by Levi Strauss and Jacob David in the USA in the early 1870's they were a really welcome invention for the factory workers on the East Coast, farmers in the midwest, and miners on the West Coast. Typically during this period, if you saw rips or any type of holes in jeans it wasn’t really a fashion statement. It was literally a sign that these people did manual labour and were below the poverty line. Apparently, wearing torn and “holey” denim pants didn’t become a fashion statement until the 1970s, when jeans were commandeered by the punk rock movement. There followed an 'anti-fashion' surge in the US which held to the notion of not caring what clothes you wore. From that, ripped clothing became associated with protest and social anarchy. That all seems to be common on this side of the Pond today too!</p><p>If you or your teenagers need ventilation in their trousers I wouldn't worry too much, but I would recommend making sure that they know they are loved and valued just as they are. Young people use up a lot of emotional fuel as they go through their pressurised lives, and their tanks get empty quickly. Hugs and assurances of love and care, may not influence their choice of clothing, but might make a big difference to what goes on under the surface of their hearts!</p><p>And they're free!<br /> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-36192982108102567102023-06-17T15:15:00.001+01:002023-06-17T15:15:15.330+01:00Better than Chips at Cobo!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElcOuC2yIpPMDXm7WAshWzpi3JHz84-ahqcjJ2OlhyYPTwQfyrqkMlOIWmHkGlwOMLtM0TsHap0DaIsaMmClVfnlMcyRjMUCNThcLpGvZYwpyUHcA2hHwjoBSAEJM3ySc2SkR8S2w1Q-l-_1Rym9ZlzpVcCDP5Wl2696Kfx3G0ojXk4rm9IQ/s2048/Chips%20at%20Cobo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1674" data-original-width="2048" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElcOuC2yIpPMDXm7WAshWzpi3JHz84-ahqcjJ2OlhyYPTwQfyrqkMlOIWmHkGlwOMLtM0TsHap0DaIsaMmClVfnlMcyRjMUCNThcLpGvZYwpyUHcA2hHwjoBSAEJM3ySc2SkR8S2w1Q-l-_1Rym9ZlzpVcCDP5Wl2696Kfx3G0ojXk4rm9IQ/s320/Chips%20at%20Cobo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is Diane and me preparing to contemplate a Guernsey sunset at a glorious place on the West coast of the island called Cobo (pronounced like 'oboe' with a 'C'). Despite how it looks, we really hadn't fallen out as there was a picnic basket between us on the bench and we were eating fish and chips bought from Cobo Chippy - a local delicacy! (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cobofishbar">https://www.facebook.com/Cobofishbar</a>)! They were wonderful as usual. It had been a hard day, especially for Diane, as we had been at the burial of her dear sister Angela in the morning, and then taking part in a service of thanksgiving for Ange's life in the afternoon.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ty9aackjxP_m0fCEo2EHmvSdi_1AQzgVAG_3JDeUrJ8Sa8DefCHRtiNgqUzGHuc8b9KtgnuUpf5R1gk-GZ-azRln0QyngE0BmCPMwDY5irqSrgODRKzVJM5_iI4dqm8x1T3MClzhIIpaGeRAEfKVvk71F4cCgByD9pzmqXaXi7ThAnKnKnk/s960/Cobo%20sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ty9aackjxP_m0fCEo2EHmvSdi_1AQzgVAG_3JDeUrJ8Sa8DefCHRtiNgqUzGHuc8b9KtgnuUpf5R1gk-GZ-azRln0QyngE0BmCPMwDY5irqSrgODRKzVJM5_iI4dqm8x1T3MClzhIIpaGeRAEfKVvk71F4cCgByD9pzmqXaXi7ThAnKnKnk/s320/Cobo%20sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Sunsets at Cobo are famous. They are such an inspiring way to end a difficult day. They also mean that someone else to the West of us is still enjoying their day, or else waking up to a brand new start. The writer of the hymn 'The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended' knew this:</p><div style="text-align: left;">The sun that bids us rest is waking</div><div style="text-align: left;">Our brethren 'neath the western sky<br />And hour by hour fresh lips are making<br />Thy wondrous doings heard on high</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As over each continent and island<br />The dawn leads on another day<br />The voice of prayer is never silent<br />Nor dies the strain of praise away</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For Angela, whose trust in God was vital and strong, her day goes on. Just as the setting sun for us becomes the rising sun for others, so the world she inhabits now is totally different from the one blighted by disease and dementia that she has left. It's not the end, but rather the beginning of a brand new day, seeing Jesus and serving Him, like she did when she was well, and even more so in the company of the saints.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, although there is an element of loss and regret as the sun 'bids us rest', we take heart in the promise and hope to which it points. As St Paul says in his letter to the Christians in Rome: '<i>If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us</i>' (Romans 6:6-9 The Message). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that's even better than chips at Cobo!</div><p><br /> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-73760284411595696742023-05-27T12:11:00.001+01:002023-05-27T12:11:11.916+01:00Clothed with Power<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJbEXRc0pMM4cTf_H-8K6Ztg263V7ck8DTExaJys7rC2Ute2Dm0fsUYCM3G1ujXIBYYzTDuaSc-IcgxbeYXNABLqQfrmou5lVoZVewKXKoBdFTXz9VTdayQ0BuxgeLa00cdR76HyvmSyHGZbcl8QqxNpitjbgtyMY6hDmvVzwfcPKMqCZ4B8/s1280/pentecost-g3cc98d292_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJbEXRc0pMM4cTf_H-8K6Ztg263V7ck8DTExaJys7rC2Ute2Dm0fsUYCM3G1ujXIBYYzTDuaSc-IcgxbeYXNABLqQfrmou5lVoZVewKXKoBdFTXz9VTdayQ0BuxgeLa00cdR76HyvmSyHGZbcl8QqxNpitjbgtyMY6hDmvVzwfcPKMqCZ4B8/s320/pentecost-g3cc98d292_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Peter was scared, beads of sweat forming on his furrowed brow as he checked that the doors were locked for the tenth time. The upper room was crowded with groups of people praying and huddling close for comfort, but so much had happened in the last seven weeks that was scary. Jesus being brutally murdered on Good Friday, for instance, followed by amazing moments of almost unbelievable encounters proving that He had risen from the tomb. And then there was that awesome experience of watching the Lord ascend into heaven bodily just ten days ago. That’s when the realisation really hit, “it’s over to me now. The keys of the kingdom are in my shaking hands. We’re all locked in here, but there’s a world out there, just waiting for the message He has given us. How on earth do we achieve that, and fulfil the great commission that He assigned us?” Within hours, however, Peter and the one hundred and nineteen others alongside him were to discover the answer. The baptism in the Holy Spirit! They would never be the same people again.</p><p>Read the second chapter of Acts and ask yourself ‘have I really received this power to witness for Christ and serve God like these early Christians did?’. The events of the first Day of Pentecost in the church age resulted in the conversion of over three thousand people. Amazing signs were seen, such as the appearance of flames of fire over each person’s head. Speaking about those individual flames of fire, Reinhard Bonnke, the well-known German apostle to Africa, declared that ‘they were in fact potent and portable power stations which would move with the people wherever they went’. Ordinary folk from northern Galilee began worshipping God using the many languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem, astounding onlookers. Windows and doors, previously locked in fear of the Jews, were flung open to welcome them and invite them in! Total transformation is the only term for it. Thousands were converted in a day and the global church was born. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo1UdXfgSEFtKIOpMxWXjWA_9EkzXBLmQ9Tb3XuvFQvvhT7FBrCLEX2zKE9S5D0swbGYtE99IHsoTLalg_isCPaiaSbgvxPH6PZwerS5k_A8fdi5QhgEOTIq7Iw_0Gz0dX9xltUSxdCYAH1_Ld2WTgLc1WLe7e6XC1gr0kPNi9HIcqVMq2g4/s4240/matthew-de-livera-ZnMg8y-O5AY-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4240" data-original-width="2832" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo1UdXfgSEFtKIOpMxWXjWA_9EkzXBLmQ9Tb3XuvFQvvhT7FBrCLEX2zKE9S5D0swbGYtE99IHsoTLalg_isCPaiaSbgvxPH6PZwerS5k_A8fdi5QhgEOTIq7Iw_0Gz0dX9xltUSxdCYAH1_Ld2WTgLc1WLe7e6XC1gr0kPNi9HIcqVMq2g4/s320/matthew-de-livera-ZnMg8y-O5AY-unsplash.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />And that was only the beginning. The book of Acts reveals at least four more occasions when folk received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17, 9:17-18, 10:44-46, 19:1-7) often marked by speaking with tongues and prophesying. The lives of the followers of Jesus would never be the same again.<p></p><p>Today, according to one recent academic study, Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing religion on Earth, with around 600 million followers. It is estimated that by 2050 they'll be 1 in 10 people worldwide❅. Many millions more in other churches and denominations rejoice in the same experience that the disciples knew on that first Day of Pentecost. This was so much more than just the birthday of the church - it was, and is, its power station!</p><p>How much does this matter to you? As Paul the apostle urges us in his writings, are you filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7, Eph. 5:18)? Do you have supernatural power surging under your prayer life, and your witness for Christ? Are you riding the wave of God’s Spirit who is moving so powerfully in all the earth? You can, and you can do so today. Ask someone who knows about this experience and has received their own baptism in the Holy Spirit to share more with you, and to pray with you and for you. Catch the fire today on this Pentecost weekend!</p><p>❅<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Taken from Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is taking over the world' by Elle Hardy.</i></span></p><div><br /></div><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-48330928116023018772023-05-05T18:00:00.003+01:002023-05-05T18:57:07.989+01:00A Coronation Prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="5568" data-original-width="8352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDXOA291nWPinr1IgHgV_Y_eh1VBU7WH6ic2vVvrVxLjcEVHBVJ7HhBHxayAXh-CHz4U6nq1RIj1g8K2r2m-lGdZmZ9dXzKi_wiGoCPSR_1UgkHjkgkddDAUOOuDtRK8aYYC7dzrCPwLEG37lvELuWdOKpEcidJ1nJSPLKf33EJf67sX1M5k/s320/chris-boland-yeR3iSsooGI-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hundreds of thousands of people gathering in London and millions more watching around the globe make the Coronation of King Charles lll an unforgettable experience. In a service lasting around two hours in the historic Westminster Abbey the King will be crowned where monarchs have been enthroned for a thousand years. Pomp and ceremony mixed with marching bands and huge numbers of service personnel from Britain and around the Commonwealth will once again show why this country is a leading player when it comes to ceremonial.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The moment of the crowning itself will be a moving one. The Archbishop of Canterbury will lift the St Edward Crown high, and then lower it onto the waiting head of the 73 year old monarch, to cries of 'God save the King!' from the vast invited congregation. The crown itself is heavy and of amazing value. It is formed from 22-carat gold with a circumference of 66 cm (26 in), measures 30 cm (12 in) tall, and weighs 2.23 kg (4.9 lb). Its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. The crown features 444 precious and fine gemstones including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel, 1 carbuncle and 1 peridot (whatever that is!). By all reckonings it is an extravagant piece of kit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Christians everywhere and people of good will should be praying that God will bless and help the new king in his unenviable role, especially that of 'Defender of the Faith'. We should not judge him for his past, any more than we would want to be judged ahead of time for our own, nor should we engage in any kind of vain regrets over the sins of the institution of which he is part. The Bible is clear about our responsibility to pray - Paul says 'I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (1 Timothy 2:1-2).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Our own pastor at <a href="http://www.elimguernsey.org" target="_blank">Vazon Elim Church</a> in Guernsey, Matt Gregor, has published this in the local press on Coronation Day. 'On behalf of Guernsey Elim Churches, we pray that King Charles will be led by wisdom, discernment, and a deep sense of duty. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide His Majesty and that his reign will be a time of peace, prosperity, and progress for all the people of our nation'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">'Amen to that!'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-66830229369427889222023-04-08T14:01:00.002+01:002023-04-08T14:01:17.977+01:00A Tomb with a View!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2Ce6NBGhoz2AUl9wPfnPPAeYylj5H5X3KCvc2pGFvK2Ve2MXFk5uDrdiaZmYj5255-rWAapw20IhZOJU3ctnCp_7mmlWKXoXc6l2d1MO624g4uv1-2xYlf0nIDSo738DL8UpHqD13zgaBEOOGVyvkBpofcqKPDI95p4Kj64egsejcAZQtCY/s827/Easter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="827" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2Ce6NBGhoz2AUl9wPfnPPAeYylj5H5X3KCvc2pGFvK2Ve2MXFk5uDrdiaZmYj5255-rWAapw20IhZOJU3ctnCp_7mmlWKXoXc6l2d1MO624g4uv1-2xYlf0nIDSo738DL8UpHqD13zgaBEOOGVyvkBpofcqKPDI95p4Kj64egsejcAZQtCY/s320/Easter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>There is a tomb with a view at the centre of the Easter story. A place of cold grief and bitter tears. A real tomb for a really dead man, not just somewhere for a swooned imposter to await rescue by his fellow conspirators. This is God's tomb, where God the Son tasted death for me. This is the devil's best, an attempt to wipe out the catalogue of miracles and mercy that Jesus wrote in Galilee and substitute his own pathetic offering of "always look on the bright side" and "did God really say..?" doubt.</p><p>It doesn't really surprise me that Jesus rose from the dead. He is the Lord of life after all, the creator of all that lives. What is amazing is that the broken body of Jesus lay shattered in this grave for as long as it did. There are all kinds of ideas as to what Jesus might have been doing during those days and nights, but for me the great miracle of Easter is that God entered human broken-ness at its lowest and darkest. Smashed by evil men, bloodied, crushed and discarded, - "this is my body, broken for you".</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oAUzq6MQW27s7wELVlrUeQC64MwtxDtybHRX6E6RKnTU3cuRZpbawV6zrdhyeoPzC1kJgPEy2BZ4m-OzEllqx-3HckzNB6Pw9dPyISktkbp3jd56vF_yQtvmv3laZdrffP0Zf27j4TUmevgH7Qd4cM1pqF9id2chv2pgbeiXXIAxzVx9qvA/s4032/pisit-heng-ci1F55HaVWQ-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oAUzq6MQW27s7wELVlrUeQC64MwtxDtybHRX6E6RKnTU3cuRZpbawV6zrdhyeoPzC1kJgPEy2BZ4m-OzEllqx-3HckzNB6Pw9dPyISktkbp3jd56vF_yQtvmv3laZdrffP0Zf27j4TUmevgH7Qd4cM1pqF9id2chv2pgbeiXXIAxzVx9qvA/s320/pisit-heng-ci1F55HaVWQ-unsplash.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>And the view from the tomb of Jesus is magnificent. Its light casts a quick flicker of hope over a place of suffering and pain, Golgotha or Calvary, and slowly expands towards the brilliant dawn that is already starting to change the colours we see only through our tears. Yes, this is God's tomb, but much more than that - it is MY tomb as well. For, in the words of the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). The old me is dead and buried, and just as Jesus breaks forth from the tomb outside Jerusalem, so I am set free by Christ from self, from having to impress others, even from the fear of death itself.<p></p><p>I am grateful that God knows what it feels like to suffer and die, and be laid in a tomb by weeping loved ones. I am glad that he understands my pain, and yours, and that he comes to us on our 'silent Saturdays' and dark nights of the soul. But I'm also rejoicing that the tomb is no longer in use as a grave. The Lord of life and glory could not be held by those chains of death. </p><p>And here's an offer you won't see in many catalogues - it can be YOUR tomb as well! "Oh thanks Eric" I can hear you say "that's all I need on top of everything else I am suffering". But that's the whole point, this tomb is the place where you can lay your sufferings down, and your achievements, and stop trying to impress God and others. You can be identified with Jesus in His death also, and rise with Him to a completely new life! It may be Easter Saturday, but hey - Sunday's coming!</p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-2163472105656714382023-04-07T19:29:00.001+01:002023-04-07T19:29:20.468+01:00Crowned with Thorns<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HpKXlXbne0sUjyaS3exV2LcQ08qDlS-4IFUG_Y3vXg__qLArFTpPoo4uBuAhZLL7iTfxq45jEou8cP5Egqmsi6QIV289TyepgHpCBTIW0zZC0H4_F5qRneQZh_8GFhonBLa0BkEYOZaZcTOd3deny2XMAh97gngj7fCOjRE0WvTKrxoBKf0/s3240/christi-marcheschi-fQZOhgyMktg-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HpKXlXbne0sUjyaS3exV2LcQ08qDlS-4IFUG_Y3vXg__qLArFTpPoo4uBuAhZLL7iTfxq45jEou8cP5Egqmsi6QIV289TyepgHpCBTIW0zZC0H4_F5qRneQZh_8GFhonBLa0BkEYOZaZcTOd3deny2XMAh97gngj7fCOjRE0WvTKrxoBKf0/w320-h213/christi-marcheschi-fQZOhgyMktg-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Why did Jesus wear a crown of thorns? This cruel form of punishment was inflicted on him by the crowds of Roman soldiers gathered in the Praetorium or barracks in Jerusalem at the time of Christ.<p></p><p>In Britain the Coronation of the new king is coming on the 6th May 2023 , when a crown of gold, containing nearly 3,000 diamonds, over 270 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies, lined with velvet and weighing more than 2lbs will be lifted up on to King Charles' head. The day will focus on him – but the crowning of Jesus as king was focussed on us. On the first Good Friday, Jesus bore a crown of thorns. Why?</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>To Reverse the Curse.</b> There is a curse in creation - there has been since the beginning of time, when sin and rebellion entered the human race. Thorns were a sign of that curse on the earth due to sin. ‘<i>To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it”, cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field’</i>. (Gen. 3:17-18). Due to mankind’s rebellion & sin Jesus now bore the effects of the curse, and its sign, upon himself. The crown of thorns was a sign of victory.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQ77xHsA2QYn6BEqdJD1Sab37klYl4_qdMWh2fhud3j00DZu1-fMd95x-W2-p_O21-6m92AJDtWh6a7CQ0-0xcrBmUN-fhR5DOHzzh0E953SXybfuIimq3eDijVvcuM8dO-RfjAN3OpOFgY_1kzylVLvavGN1kEPClyAK1IogojVHKH4DivQ/s1920/thorn-g41ea384b2_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="1920" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQ77xHsA2QYn6BEqdJD1Sab37klYl4_qdMWh2fhud3j00DZu1-fMd95x-W2-p_O21-6m92AJDtWh6a7CQ0-0xcrBmUN-fhR5DOHzzh0E953SXybfuIimq3eDijVvcuM8dO-RfjAN3OpOFgY_1kzylVLvavGN1kEPClyAK1IogojVHKH4DivQ/s320/thorn-g41ea384b2_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></li><li><b>To Take our Place.</b> King Charles will be crowned to take his own place, but King Jesus was crowned to take yours and mine. In Genesis 22 is the story of the ram caught in the thornbush that was sacrificed in place of Abraham's son. Isaac lived because the ram took his place. Barabbas was a terrorist killer, but on Good Friday the cross that was prepared for him was occupied by Jesus. John Stott wrote: ‘<i>How then could God express simultaneously his holiness in judgement and his love in pardon? Only by providing a divine substitute for the sinner, so that the substitute would receive the judgement and the sinner the pardon</i>’ (The Cross of Christ).</li><li><b>To Set us Free from our Thorns!</b> We all face stuff that we can’t sort out on our own. Thorns of hate, of pride, of betrayal, of failure, of binding habits that we can’t break. Some folks are in the grip of addictions – to smoking, to pornography, to gambling, to dangerous sex, all these are reasons why thorns were placed onto Jesus head. It is at the cross that we can be set free. Romans 6:14 reads‘<i>For sin shall no longer be your master</i>’. When King Jesus rules in our lives the thorns can no longer hold us back. He wore that crown of thorns for you and me. That's the point of Good Friday!</li></ol> <p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-22455941264072264722023-03-18T14:18:00.002+00:002023-10-28T12:27:51.336+01:00Need a hug today?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG25BpKH5QrqnngyBfYDLMmdMKiS3PODSw4CXWDSSP14I6o2MDhEEGxCpU9qcxFMMLLZ0xaVh42kKhVZdhOf59MpfOuyJaEpJBAa9Fi3ShfhCXBMmpt8LzLxPteV0zB1t0pJ37PXroPD5FG-sQnZ5Dppjs0efTV2ArPLoU8UNUxp_6TYdijI/s5472/helena-lopes-PGnqT0rXWLs-unsplash%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG25BpKH5QrqnngyBfYDLMmdMKiS3PODSw4CXWDSSP14I6o2MDhEEGxCpU9qcxFMMLLZ0xaVh42kKhVZdhOf59MpfOuyJaEpJBAa9Fi3ShfhCXBMmpt8LzLxPteV0zB1t0pJ37PXroPD5FG-sQnZ5Dppjs0efTV2ArPLoU8UNUxp_6TYdijI/s320/helena-lopes-PGnqT0rXWLs-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I spent a few days as a patient in my local hospital a few months ago and watched a very moving scene. I was near the nursing station and opposite me was a bay containing a couple of elderly men obviously struggling with the effects of dementia. One of them was very vocal, night and day, much to the annoyance of others. He was also quite mobile, wandering the unit and bothering staff and patients alike in his confusion.</p><p>One morning he was standing unsteadily beside his bed obviously trying to dress himself and failing to manage the buttons on a shirt. I watched as a young nurse, dressed in the dark blue of a senior staff nurse, placed herself directly in front of him, taking the time to button up each one of them for him. Unexpectedly, she then reached out to embrace him and hugged him at length as if he was her own father! I was deeply moved by the demonstration of such love from this skilled professional, and the patient seemed strangely quietened and comforted by it too. The hug was not prescribed medicine, but it did appear to be effective. It was care without reserve, compassion without embarrassment. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaTRR87qNGG3M-3KU09fPZC_dU_r1FXsQ6K9hitQTxGbkA8RvDWPBrtUER9sy2HxiszNZ2IYQlMVCHSgOcyqEMRFsoCnqKEKwefBvmUWauxaF49KgGzD91jorInlTqNdH-YyS9usWnlPeJD2sxlJwKTn7AqK6DqLprnEdHkEVdDyJgbJhKRs/s5472/priscilla-du-preez-9vHPCKymSh0-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaTRR87qNGG3M-3KU09fPZC_dU_r1FXsQ6K9hitQTxGbkA8RvDWPBrtUER9sy2HxiszNZ2IYQlMVCHSgOcyqEMRFsoCnqKEKwefBvmUWauxaF49KgGzD91jorInlTqNdH-YyS9usWnlPeJD2sxlJwKTn7AqK6DqLprnEdHkEVdDyJgbJhKRs/w200-h133/priscilla-du-preez-9vHPCKymSh0-unsplash.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Human beings thrive on physical connections, and hugging is one of the most powerful ways to show physical support. Babies do well when they are touched and held. It appears that there is no better way of showing them our love and care, helping them to feel protected and cherished. This continues through life, even though the traditional British stiff upper lip of years ago played down the importance of outward displays of affection. <p></p><p>Some studies have shown that hugging and being hugged can relieve stress levels, even lowering blood pressure. It can also boost self-esteem at all stages in life, and in the case of the nurse even managed to convey her compassion and love when the normal faculties had been reduced by the scourge of dementia. A hug can also communicate feelings of safety, love, and connection to a greater community. When we are feeling down or lost, a hug can help ground us and remind us that we belong.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GsdRUcC9QGfZbVTtYCfOL2wF_kvHy7qOVbdT7lTFWfDrRnuH7IGwsP4TM1IQul1YNXUwN3p9Kq6IopQcHOVFMn0gvnSx5Xq5DSwHsDKwkh7d2xsMS2eoYWmnlvvLcueFHIW79jaJQUiP8ce5gRKtQuwL6B7Akdm8EwufFtf32Jgq65U60DA/s6000/anastasiia-krutota-VvM8h5TnWUg-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GsdRUcC9QGfZbVTtYCfOL2wF_kvHy7qOVbdT7lTFWfDrRnuH7IGwsP4TM1IQul1YNXUwN3p9Kq6IopQcHOVFMn0gvnSx5Xq5DSwHsDKwkh7d2xsMS2eoYWmnlvvLcueFHIW79jaJQUiP8ce5gRKtQuwL6B7Akdm8EwufFtf32Jgq65U60DA/s320/anastasiia-krutota-VvM8h5TnWUg-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Hugging improves relationships. This is largely because it is another form of communication that can transmit messages and feelings that words can’t. It’s a deeper, more intimate level of connection that you simply don’t get from talking. A Christian counsellor I know even suggested that we need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance, and 12 for growth!<p></p><p>The Bible has a lot to say about hugging. When brothers Jacob and Esau had been through a major breach, falling out over inheritance, their emotional reconciliation was sealed with a hug in the book of Genesis. The same happened when Joseph was reunited with the brothers who had betrayed him into slavery in Egypt and he could not refrain from hugging them. When St Paul was leaving Ephesus for the last time in the book of Acts, a whole lot of people lined up to hug him.</p><p>But the best portrayal of the power of hugging comes from Jesus himself. He told the story of a young man who took his share of his father’s money and wasted it in a far country with a binge of extravagant and reckless living. Finally, he ended up penniless, working for a pig-farmer. When he came to his senses in the pigsty he realised that he needed to go home to his father but was really scared about how he would be received. While he was still a long way off, however, the Dad saw him and ran out to hug and kiss his rebellious boy. The embrace of forgiveness and acceptance was enough to change the young man for ever.</p><p>A church I know about handed out cards with this message: ‘Hugging feels good, dispels loneliness, chases fear, builds self-esteem, slows down ageing, eases tension, exercises arm muscles, and is environmentally friendly. Hugging is portable, energy efficient, free at the point of use, makes even happy days happier, and saves heat!’ </p><p>Maybe we should all wear a badge saying, ‘I need a hug today’!</p><div><br /></div><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-2155408201691346742023-03-04T11:48:00.001+00:002023-03-04T11:48:56.264+00:00Anointed to serve?<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMBrtFu_cyFZ34AbK-yVrNcPh9QJ3SX4VikfV356dCkIer3ZtBnzXz8zqF8o_UPnab_EjGv7Zx0zILzDLr9dE3tgcpjXFSdxBXtEkkriZxrqHSmFg557CLGRDg2SKN-By38Ew3jlj9nCy6z-UgLNOhQTU1NyRjBsHDPYFtVEeOblWgU1Gi5Q/s3952/roberta-sorge-uOBApnN_K7w-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3952" data-original-width="2848" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMBrtFu_cyFZ34AbK-yVrNcPh9QJ3SX4VikfV356dCkIer3ZtBnzXz8zqF8o_UPnab_EjGv7Zx0zILzDLr9dE3tgcpjXFSdxBXtEkkriZxrqHSmFg557CLGRDg2SKN-By38Ew3jlj9nCy6z-UgLNOhQTU1NyRjBsHDPYFtVEeOblWgU1Gi5Q/w230-h320/roberta-sorge-uOBApnN_K7w-unsplash.jpg" width="230" /></a></p><div>The anointing of British kings and queens at their coronation has remained shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years, but modern media are spilling the beans, or at least the recipe! The holy oil, or charism, which will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation on 6 May has reportedly been consecrated at a ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Friday this week.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to international news media the anointing oil was created using olives which had been harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.</div><div><br /></div><div>The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem before being perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber as well as orange blossom. The news outlet reports that the special anointing oil, was prayed over by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. </div><div><br /></div><div>None of this will surprise us as Christians as we have known from our studies of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that anointing oil was used to inaugurate new kings, priests and prophets, as well as part of the daily temple worship of God. In the New Testament, despite the total change that the coming of Jesus brings, and the end of the religious practices of Judaism, anointing oil continued to have a place. In healing, for instance, (James 5:14) but also in connection with the death of Jesus. In advance of his sufferings, a woman who was really grateful for his help and forgiveness took an alabaster box of anointing oil (probably being saved for her own nuptials) and broke it over the head of Jesus. Jesus commended her for her faith and the prophetic element of her action.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoUjf7fIreEXJjEJap-GYsEWe9Zv8if9IcawT5ZrVvA9IdQ82iHsciYgegaXpvvc5K7mYAERzzWtOydlSAnh0ygrUARchexMuosqtje83_PLHQJTTi-muAwOK2_ySLoKMK_s_EUe0o5Xy-HDYiG5shnuDyrmdddAYj6oBHcIC4fyJ7cZeoRY/s2869/fuu-j-r2nJPbEYuSQ-unsplash%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="2869" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoUjf7fIreEXJjEJap-GYsEWe9Zv8if9IcawT5ZrVvA9IdQ82iHsciYgegaXpvvc5K7mYAERzzWtOydlSAnh0ygrUARchexMuosqtje83_PLHQJTTi-muAwOK2_ySLoKMK_s_EUe0o5Xy-HDYiG5shnuDyrmdddAYj6oBHcIC4fyJ7cZeoRY/s320/fuu-j-r2nJPbEYuSQ-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div>But it is as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and power that I tend to think of the fragrant oil. That dear woman who anointed Jesus would have smelt just like him afterwards, and people might have said ‘she smells just like Jesus!’ when they passed her by. I want King Charles to reign under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and will pray for him to do so. But I also want to bear the fragrance of Christ through my own life by the anointing of His Spirit. So, I pray the words of an old chorus: ‘Oh for a new anointing, Lord’, once again.</div><div><br /></div><p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-14030413109381878372023-01-21T14:51:00.002+00:002023-01-21T14:51:11.309+00:00Go Easy on Yourself!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwK_5R15GAbFB5V5H0h2SW43t6NKmIPhV8txBNsnSygXmaK9cV5U03ZwuIrRUW80AIx66tFmb5-AKmkWJIBWpMFagaVMR7rzgRv7CcxbiVmVbbiwf2MMjMgVRtNsfEvic0ru0_o9bypUnTeEAywZJcj4fxSVASIM4_qEPVIV07_eE17ibPCg/s3500/aleksandar-cvetanovic-A7nK49HCqSI-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2333" data-original-width="3500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwK_5R15GAbFB5V5H0h2SW43t6NKmIPhV8txBNsnSygXmaK9cV5U03ZwuIrRUW80AIx66tFmb5-AKmkWJIBWpMFagaVMR7rzgRv7CcxbiVmVbbiwf2MMjMgVRtNsfEvic0ru0_o9bypUnTeEAywZJcj4fxSVASIM4_qEPVIV07_eE17ibPCg/s320/aleksandar-cvetanovic-A7nK49HCqSI-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>My New Years’ resolutions are already in tatters. Unlike the Christmas trees that were mulched recently that will at least benefit the environment by their swift passing, my resolutions are not doing me much good already. My path into 2023 was paved with good intentions, until the tarmac of daily reality spread its bland choking cover over most of them. Ah well, try again next year I suppose.</p><p>But there is one thing that I am resolved to do this year and that is be kinder to myself! Now, in case of being misunderstood, let me explain. Jesus once famously said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. In other words, if you don’t love yourself you are not going to have much to offer your neighbour. As the flight attendants on the holiday flight jets put it during their safety briefings, ‘you must put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else’.</p><p>I have always struggled to put into practice the second part of this command of Jesus. I come from a tradition that teaches that if you want joy – JOY – then it comes from putting Jesus first, others next and yourself last of all. The problem with that is that sometimes you just can’t put others before yourself simply because you are exhausted and have nothing left to give.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbdoOPBpNb4k3qIkYfv_G_BJATBHW8V57rzQkQ-8MAVctezcshPrZ05MEX4Cd4YDNwcnpcMZWaGxBfCccbf2SCYDNAnTeMGmwj2LTItbTwdUNaRWK1r1jpvNpsQYajG6Kdm2DQ2WiCGHVZ68mjg1zS8a8M_TMCbBsxTNxMn5Bw5c6svFoKVg/s4266/bruno-aguirre--RrsXC5aErw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2806" data-original-width="4266" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbdoOPBpNb4k3qIkYfv_G_BJATBHW8V57rzQkQ-8MAVctezcshPrZ05MEX4Cd4YDNwcnpcMZWaGxBfCccbf2SCYDNAnTeMGmwj2LTItbTwdUNaRWK1r1jpvNpsQYajG6Kdm2DQ2WiCGHVZ68mjg1zS8a8M_TMCbBsxTNxMn5Bw5c6svFoKVg/s320/bruno-aguirre--RrsXC5aErw-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Huge numbers of people have limped into 2023 utterly exhausted. We are tired from nearly three years of fighting a global pandemic that threatened to kill us, along with the grief felt for the millions who did die from it. Having spent huge amounts of time isolated from human company, travel and seeing family and friends, has taken its toll. Our children have missed out so much socially and even educationally. Our confidence in governments and institutions has taken a pounding. People to whom we thought we owed our life and safety have now disappeared from public view or worse still, are grubbing around on reality tv shows. Even royalty is taxing our patience and trust.<p></p><p>And what of this New Year? A cost-of-living crisis that scares most sensible people and a virtual general strike in the UK, and all this against the backcloth of a cruel war in Ukraine that is tugging at all our bank balances as well as our hearts. Thank God there are signs of hope in the strength of communities like our own where we do gather round those in need, but even here in Guernsey the gap between those who have a lot, and those who have little or nothing, is getting wider.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot74Rvbhh5K0yKd0pEcRdF4nl6Ktu0_LgLbIWpvdLEUZ2-tH5iNViBXK-gyPSWTov82VS_HOaxWeS4HPILspTaXTSNoer-PzxoGMt9mOr6xSCw2kH1vhROCnXsMqGC_u7HykMaPFWg51r6zvfhbiF5g0a0VBwi2ID0K_KlkQzrdAYbrMb6C8/s5878/max-van-den-oetelaar-4c41A6Sjvog-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5878" data-original-width="3919" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot74Rvbhh5K0yKd0pEcRdF4nl6Ktu0_LgLbIWpvdLEUZ2-tH5iNViBXK-gyPSWTov82VS_HOaxWeS4HPILspTaXTSNoer-PzxoGMt9mOr6xSCw2kH1vhROCnXsMqGC_u7HykMaPFWg51r6zvfhbiF5g0a0VBwi2ID0K_KlkQzrdAYbrMb6C8/s320/max-van-den-oetelaar-4c41A6Sjvog-unsplash.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />So, let’s pause, breathe, and remember where we have come from. And let’s be grateful that we are not alone. If we remind ourselves of who we are and where we have been, we should be thankful for what we have overcome. In some ways it is amazing that we are still going (I often think that when I look back over my long journey with chronic ill health and multiple hospitalisations). The Bible says: ‘It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day’. <p></p><p>Understanding this brings us peace, but it also helps us to have compassion, upon ourselves and on others. Most of the world’s citizens need a little extra kindness at the moment. So, instead of berating myself for messing up the diet, or failing to read as often, run every day, plunge myself into cold water and so on, or even pray as much as I had hoped, I am determined to tread gently, to go more slowly, into this year. Maybe that will even help me see the needs of others around me more clearly, as well as have the resources to do something about them in time.</p><p>Amidst the chaos and demands of modern life, try to find space for small pockets of silence. Allow the healing you need to do its own God-given work in your weary mind and body. Be kind to yourself and discover the stream of love that flows from the heart of God above. Give yourself a break!</p><div><br /></div><p> </p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-31713596096547310482022-12-30T19:56:00.001+00:002022-12-30T19:56:18.525+00:00It's Time to Put it Away!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy7fWc_jmJIciQ3wleewjhfc5GSEEY9OdxCjGmHla2PcBD4dThR6RNYNUSg0kT00Rx40BHJrV_3jd0RcRAyK5lfAAiqsbPAcHqmzGrxwTcoAqhlJF-ethcN2Ey24rHhxF2_eRwG9JuCWZTZYee58neGRSJg_8Ze9SknLmPWGiFOWHYWxzBp0/s4272/isabela-kronemberger-DYWD8FIqtd4-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy7fWc_jmJIciQ3wleewjhfc5GSEEY9OdxCjGmHla2PcBD4dThR6RNYNUSg0kT00Rx40BHJrV_3jd0RcRAyK5lfAAiqsbPAcHqmzGrxwTcoAqhlJF-ethcN2Ey24rHhxF2_eRwG9JuCWZTZYee58neGRSJg_8Ze9SknLmPWGiFOWHYWxzBp0/s320/isabela-kronemberger-DYWD8FIqtd4-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's been a tough old year! With war in Europe and threats of nuclear conflict hot on the heels of a global pandemic it could hardly have been anything else! But, for the Queen to die, and the British government to crash the currency and the economy on the way through three Prime Ministers - yes it has been tough. Now, on the brink of the New Year, it's time to put it away.<p></p><p>I love New Year. Christmas is good but New Year is better! (Don't tell anyone in my church I said that!) Yes, I know that nothing beats the coming of Christ into the world to save and heal all who follow him, but there's a whole lot of good stuff about making a new start in the Bible too.</p><p>In fact, God is described in the last book of the scriptures as 'the One who makes everything new' (Rev 21:5). St Paul also once wrote that if any person becomes a Christian 'the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!' (2 Cor. 5:17). So, God is in favour of us making a new start. Like a child at school opening a brand new excercise book, we get to start over in 2023. But there are problems -</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKr1EehqvYj-FA2fjAcYaVm1Ct77__dCwBzQ_Jr6KisqQ2Gf3ar9K7aOS_3GraLG_pCfuocLGC_LK0wGTuL8j0wMAFfuf9OkCgCuH3QLkSzRdlbFcgWDj0eRb6jBB8_Xt8H3cWLLYPWSKEp8-z4mYFpHpm5vsmboo6BbSflRuMko_t9R-Bs8/s4016/alexandra-gorn-smuS_jUZa9I-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="4016" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKr1EehqvYj-FA2fjAcYaVm1Ct77__dCwBzQ_Jr6KisqQ2Gf3ar9K7aOS_3GraLG_pCfuocLGC_LK0wGTuL8j0wMAFfuf9OkCgCuH3QLkSzRdlbFcgWDj0eRb6jBB8_Xt8H3cWLLYPWSKEp8-z4mYFpHpm5vsmboo6BbSflRuMko_t9R-Bs8/w200-h200/alexandra-gorn-smuS_jUZa9I-unsplash.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>Fear is a big one!</b> We have taken such a pounding in the last couple of years that we can hardly be blamed for being scared, but fear is not just the opposite of faith, its the enemy of it too. Jesus taught a lot about fear because he understood its power to hold people back, even to destroy them. There are 366 'fear nots' in the Bible, one for every day plus one for a leap year! God doesn't want fear to make the decisions around here. Let faith in Christ be your choice and you will find that fear is lessened, and with time and God's help, can be overcome completely.<br /><p></p><p><b>Exhaustion is another one</b>. I saw this in a Facebook post the other day: 'A gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted… None of us began this year on a full tank. Given the vicious onslaught of the previous two years (let’s just call it what it was) most of us dragged ourselves across the finish line of 2021… frazzled, spent, running on aged adrenaline fumes… </p><p>We crawled into 2022 still carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief… The memories of a surreal existence… </p><p>And then it began… The fastest hurricane year we could ever have imagined. Whether we have consciously processed it or not, this has been a year of more pressure, more stress, and a race to “catch up” in all departments… Every. Single. One. Work, school, sports, relationships, life… ' So, after all we have been through, that's why you might feel exhausted. Here are some wonderful words from Jesus about exhaustion.</p><p>“<i>Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly</i>.” (Matthew 11:29 The Message)</p><p> <b>Loneliness is a big contender!</b> A psychiatrist friend of mine warned me during the pandemic lockdowns that there would be a pandemic of loneliness after this! We must do something about this, but God has done so in setting the solitary into families - church families. I know you might not want to read this, but you don't have to be lonely if there's a really good lively church community nearby. Get there and check them out if you can, or at least take a peek at their Livestream (for my own church search YouTube for 'Vazon Church'). But let's face it, loneliness really hurts and can be fatal. There are lonely people around us all. Let's ask God for eyes to see them and a heart to care enough to reach out to them in 2023. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias4fpcKlQIhP_hhlY0EwTapIYyrBXeJ8NJyUxCy6mzkGTKxkHbkCLdJp_gZ-Gpfip0Z4jkRuoIrcGSOYY_XZ6uRtbB_DILX9QINtWvz9B7ZtXX1XCIg3PVhBSd9yN6xDty_oZJUVDZOR_2LW58LSIGod5porZP6MJfCVbrq5QqqtsqcybXJs/s5488/kelly-sikkema-9iXvKph72W4-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5488" data-original-width="3608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias4fpcKlQIhP_hhlY0EwTapIYyrBXeJ8NJyUxCy6mzkGTKxkHbkCLdJp_gZ-Gpfip0Z4jkRuoIrcGSOYY_XZ6uRtbB_DILX9QINtWvz9B7ZtXX1XCIg3PVhBSd9yN6xDty_oZJUVDZOR_2LW58LSIGod5porZP6MJfCVbrq5QqqtsqcybXJs/s320/kelly-sikkema-9iXvKph72W4-unsplash.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><p></p><p>So, I'm quite relieved to put 2022 into its sack and move on, aren't you? When it comes - have a Happy New Year!</p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-619378467787478532022-12-12T18:00:00.005+00:002022-12-13T11:43:17.366+00:00When Christmas Hurts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGItrFlQwsH9S4C-yprhtsArdUhnBuuiXm8G3nyJMW1uqh4wqCM4OsC69bupZ44_-G45DJ9Un9Q36_yCoixmh_vP1UnDWTgPLbHbZfCzCs8yZ5j6s3tf6UmX5R38BeovHLe7HD8BPZUegwtG5ElTAOr2vRjPagX_gRywnWCx_UjXQIpvdIWc/s2860/travis-leery-vjiOM0bkWIM-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1901" data-original-width="2860" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGItrFlQwsH9S4C-yprhtsArdUhnBuuiXm8G3nyJMW1uqh4wqCM4OsC69bupZ44_-G45DJ9Un9Q36_yCoixmh_vP1UnDWTgPLbHbZfCzCs8yZ5j6s3tf6UmX5R38BeovHLe7HD8BPZUegwtG5ElTAOr2vRjPagX_gRywnWCx_UjXQIpvdIWc/s320/travis-leery-vjiOM0bkWIM-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />We have just returned home after an eventful few days in the Channel Island of Jersey. We were there to visit our family and take gifts ahead of Christmas, but we found this island community, best known for its dairy herd (above), potato crops and finance industry, plunged into shock and grief by a double tragedy. At the end of last week the ferry from the UK and Guernsey collided with a Jersey fishing trawler and the crew of 3 fishermen appear lost presumed dead. In the early hours of Saturday morning this was followed by a massive explosion in the capital, St Helier, in which it is now known that 9 are dead, and possibly a few more will be found in the wreckage of their apartment building, almost certainly devastated by a gas blast. We stood quietly with thousands of islanders in Jersey this morning at 11am in a one minute silence to mark the sense of loss, grief and sadness that has engulfed this small community.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXBpV59NDkfa88Sv1QYvA7Ldp9ixP087r6D11zECFk6nyuS8tra5k3idMPYOWl_yBRgCF5VQ1h48858oIFAlkv_v0R3_gBg3Y-8NGWH7jWe2tx2Usg48MkVKq4mn3uYut-QNpsuIqTc6LnMVaDdL-Ig7KqGEWvfODm3bwn7lJ_wdG5Ilvy2Q/s2048/skynews-jersey-st-helier-explosion_5992180.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXBpV59NDkfa88Sv1QYvA7Ldp9ixP087r6D11zECFk6nyuS8tra5k3idMPYOWl_yBRgCF5VQ1h48858oIFAlkv_v0R3_gBg3Y-8NGWH7jWe2tx2Usg48MkVKq4mn3uYut-QNpsuIqTc6LnMVaDdL-Ig7KqGEWvfODm3bwn7lJ_wdG5Ilvy2Q/s320/skynews-jersey-st-helier-explosion_5992180.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It is strange that Christmas so often seems marked by tragedy. I remember the Penlee lifeboat disaster from the 19th December 1981, and the downing of the PanAm flight 103 on December 21st 1988. Perhaps that is because our emotions are heightened in this season as we think of family far away and indulge in a bit of communal nostalgia, but it seems unjust for pain and grief to mar our anticipation of this special time of the year, or intrude upon our planning for the festivities. And yet - and yet this brings the true message of Christmas so much more into focus for us. The first 'noel' was marked by the pain of rejection, poverty and violence. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were forced to flee to Egypt as refugees shortly after the birth. Every baby boy under 2 years of age was brutally murdered in the area of Bethlehem as vicious murder squads fulfilled the orders of an insecure, drunken overlord, King Herod. Why didn't God prevent that? </p><p>The 'silent stars' and melody of the 'angelic host' soon gave way to the howls of bitter sorrow from the mothers of Judah, and the screams of their infant sons. The road ahead of the infant Christ was already marked by blood. Why?</p><p>As we wrap ourselves in the warmth and familiarity of Christmas, we should never forget that God could not prevent the pain. Not if he was going to achieve the very reason for the season. Christ Jesus came into the world to save. He came to intervene in the headlong rush of mankind into a life and an eternity devoid of hope. Like the emergency services that have rushed to the aid of those affected by these unseasonal tragedies, Jesus came to bring us rescue and life, not just warm good wishes and a few cheery carols.</p><p>So, if you are in pain this Christmas, or grieving and alone, please know that Jesus came for you, to be with you in your need, and offers you and me his life, death and resurrection as God's response to the tragedies that so often mark this time of the year.</p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-125975188079579182022-12-03T11:57:00.000+00:002022-12-03T11:57:03.075+00:00Whose Birthday is it Anyway?<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cbmd7BxqK0GtJhndBKc3YmNwtCL8iNGh1BjL7BXIZJ6pNgBqqUAK7xaeBR7nDCHL2DaCEQv8B1VdPDvHc8ECRufs8Kc_ZKq7eUmfjXnBIL1p16E9CtGAySdaRivy48D-7R6weMzco_MFU-ZVOEM-M2dc0aQ4UJJwy40UNQ8Lplj9BTzQKRA/s5184/kira-auf-der-heide-IPx7J1n_xUc-unsplash%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cbmd7BxqK0GtJhndBKc3YmNwtCL8iNGh1BjL7BXIZJ6pNgBqqUAK7xaeBR7nDCHL2DaCEQv8B1VdPDvHc8ECRufs8Kc_ZKq7eUmfjXnBIL1p16E9CtGAySdaRivy48D-7R6weMzco_MFU-ZVOEM-M2dc0aQ4UJJwy40UNQ8Lplj9BTzQKRA/w281-h187/kira-auf-der-heide-IPx7J1n_xUc-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="281" /></a></p><p>The card shop in Town was extremely busy when I was there, trying to find gift ideas and get some cards myself, and the flustered Mum next to me was having great difficulty choosing her Christmas cards with a disgruntled toddler in tow. “Be quiet!” she urged menacingly, as he protested at being prevented from moving on, “I need to choose my cards!”.</p><p>The little boy looked confused and called out in a loud voice “whose birthday is it anyway?”. </p><p>“It’s nobody’s birthday”, came the weary reply, “it’s Christmas!”.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13E6n6zO4V0P7s5D_hQZXx1qltlCEorIT6UQ7h38TM7O_sTjgDJNFJP5OmKBu6rlFH_IYl9WQqlNdbLwnXdBlturdnKQ80-GGbTeZKoBlJxesTdfSBRSIICuHCVZCku3GbCPWustRXFyC6N0fb1cYIWYwCidmpxQDScsnrqmV8lGNuZS7U_I/s9183/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6122" data-original-width="9183" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13E6n6zO4V0P7s5D_hQZXx1qltlCEorIT6UQ7h38TM7O_sTjgDJNFJP5OmKBu6rlFH_IYl9WQqlNdbLwnXdBlturdnKQ80-GGbTeZKoBlJxesTdfSBRSIICuHCVZCku3GbCPWustRXFyC6N0fb1cYIWYwCidmpxQDScsnrqmV8lGNuZS7U_I/w257-h171/krakenimages-liT5AlTmC8I-unsplash%20(1).jpg" width="257" /></a></div>At least that tired Mum was a tiny bit closer to the truth than another child who was interviewed on TV in the UK not long ago. “Whose birthday do we celebrate at Christmas?” was the question being posed. “Father Christmas!” declared the delighted little girl, her eyes shining with excitement and glee. <br /><p></p><p>Who can blame her, though? Despite the cost-of-living crisis it seems that very little of the frantic rush to spend lavishly on celebrating Christmas has diminished. The magic of the season must seem far more connected to gifts and glitter than to God, both for adults and children. As I perused the Christmas cards it was hard to find any with Christian themes. That may be sad, but does it really matter?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPVPmW0eQfoD4IJu3jNxURYYlkjeXEqPuBavCfM-TYWqcd6j7bo06wRCEhCMsFn0EvSlPyBC-teJORKJ8i60amb0SOMsSzngW-bFV0xOgsg5g_vM-63TGAPCLCOSv9ilD6nGHtxz-R-CMyApRe-oIUyinHztibjqka-S0VchJYlDO-daWs04/s4592/aaron-burden-Zjnlv9jAAXU-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3448" data-original-width="4592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPVPmW0eQfoD4IJu3jNxURYYlkjeXEqPuBavCfM-TYWqcd6j7bo06wRCEhCMsFn0EvSlPyBC-teJORKJ8i60amb0SOMsSzngW-bFV0xOgsg5g_vM-63TGAPCLCOSv9ilD6nGHtxz-R-CMyApRe-oIUyinHztibjqka-S0VchJYlDO-daWs04/s320/aaron-burden-Zjnlv9jAAXU-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We used to live and work in Zimbabwe. There, in Shona culture, birthdays are unusual. Birth certificates are rare, and few celebrate the date of their birth annually in the way that we do. They are, however, very much alive! Life itself is celebrated, and frequently enjoyed in a much fuller sense than it is here where far greater material riches exist. In that setting, the question “whose birthday is it?” is irrelevant. The living presence of the person concerned is sufficient reason to rejoice. Perhaps for Christians, that outlook is nearer what should be our concept of Christmas. We may be feeling a little concerned as we approach the date itself, especially since it is being increasingly hijacked by commercial interests, but a personal relationship with the living, resurrected Jesus, - now that’s something worth celebrating, - and not just once a year!<p></p><div><br /></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-24864746395163716842022-11-19T15:36:00.001+00:002022-11-19T15:36:59.631+00:00Lubricated by Tears<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLne4ZUoSntX3LlJpt-DydUq-U4uP6w-GmbkkUbGbyrCEoC7j7ES2v5eVzbkiHd-ll8-1sNfsK--5QtezqSNlK_8sHl6bI_z-2fgl_ayojzjp8WlK3vs55EQnGtEjzYicic4i2srYgw6uPOXbqGJh7bZrFS23xCO8wS2E_ybECMajKJf4sP8w/s2738/mayank-dhanawade-HuF1VgHHoWI-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1825" data-original-width="2738" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLne4ZUoSntX3LlJpt-DydUq-U4uP6w-GmbkkUbGbyrCEoC7j7ES2v5eVzbkiHd-ll8-1sNfsK--5QtezqSNlK_8sHl6bI_z-2fgl_ayojzjp8WlK3vs55EQnGtEjzYicic4i2srYgw6uPOXbqGJh7bZrFS23xCO8wS2E_ybECMajKJf4sP8w/s320/mayank-dhanawade-HuF1VgHHoWI-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When Jewish people begin their year with the Passover feast it serves to remind them of the tears they shed during the 430 years of captivity in Egypt. They take a little salt water and dip herbs in it, drinking the fairly repulsive brew as a sharp memorial to a troubled period in their race's history. Yet, their tears were a big part of their eventual freedom. When God called Moses to become their deliverer, he said that he had been moved by their crying due to their sufferings as slaves, and wanted to set them free. Tears became a down-payment on liberty. Tiny drops of salty water secreted from their facial glands actually changed their lives. History was transformed by a few hot droplets squeezed from suffering faces by oppression and desperation.<p></p><p>Since passing through the trauma of decades enduring some of the worst pain known to humanity, and long periods of hospitalisation, I have rediscovered my tear ducts. I say this reluctantly because men are not supposed to cry. When I sat down to write this blog I searched the internet for images of male tears and found very few indeed. Children and women aplenty - but not many blokes! And I know why. These little droplets are seen as a sign of weakness or defeat. So, how come God pays them so much attention then?</p><p>The Bible says that God collects all our tears in his bottle (Psalm 56:8 in some versions) which means that he records our distress. The mighty King David wasn't ashamed to soak his pillow with his tears at night, (Psalm 6:6), both Isaiah and Jeremiah wept freely due to the sinful conditions of their day, and the great apostle Paul often preached through his tears (Acts 20:31). But the greatest justification for men to weep when they need to do so is the shortest verse in the Bible - 'Jesus wept' (Jn 11:35). If the Son of God made use of his tear ducts then why are ours still sealed in their newly minted 'men don't cry' wrappers?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh6yQmHJlCAhFGAbZ5bPgyrYr3VCjEEesSbj8BYIuh0C23xxi78Wm8wB3JycmOHVOy5Ke_AVSzLVhCO15-8HxmTNAtoYtFZGV9l4aFPIofIELWI0sIpqlmi38XuFATW1bGbjifyED7DrtNtYBsDykB_coMWyzXSIAa_DWHzbuHb_HJMG_CDw/s5020/klugzy-wugzy-Am5HLcvALJw-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5020" data-original-width="4016" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh6yQmHJlCAhFGAbZ5bPgyrYr3VCjEEesSbj8BYIuh0C23xxi78Wm8wB3JycmOHVOy5Ke_AVSzLVhCO15-8HxmTNAtoYtFZGV9l4aFPIofIELWI0sIpqlmi38XuFATW1bGbjifyED7DrtNtYBsDykB_coMWyzXSIAa_DWHzbuHb_HJMG_CDw/s320/klugzy-wugzy-Am5HLcvALJw-unsplash.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>Since passing through those tough years of pain I find myself deeply moved by other people's suffering. My tears flow when I read certain biographies, or see hard scenes from Ukraine or Somalia. Sometimes my breath is caught by reminders of some of the horrors I experienced in ICU, and tears come unbidden, especially at night. I often wake to a soaked pillow. This is all part of dealing with post traumatic shock etc, but there is no need to fear or to suppress such tears. God made our tear ducts to enable us to wash out our emotions and distress and alert others at times to our vulnerability. This is not weakness but part of our created humanity - a gift from a weeping God.<div><br /></div><div>So, if you are holding back tears, perhaps even now, please know that there is one who cares. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and then went on to raise him up. What matters is not that your face is wet, but that your heart is open. When we weep our physical vision is blurred but our spiritual perception can actually be heightened. So, why should we be ashamed of our tears?<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /> </p></div></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comGuernsey49.4481982 -2.5894921.137964363821155 -37.74574 77.758432036178846 32.56676tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-35213428454428608732022-10-11T18:00:00.003+01:002022-10-29T19:27:39.856+01:00Is This the End of the Road?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIK0QK9c5QYXc0DELVkr7_1pI_opk8Orzl40bDvLY5IqbwyXoLW0Pf03dorsND481mjGylpHE7_kfsSnC8s0U0qVInZVACG2KhGrVWuv6J5RSE_0Eigy9wAy5QzJmvvbAVOFDBUZ54uB_OanIS2i4KFjlNanXOf02yUh-pFQWIS-M9nGHII_k/s5184/jeremy-thomas-O6N9RV2rzX8-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIK0QK9c5QYXc0DELVkr7_1pI_opk8Orzl40bDvLY5IqbwyXoLW0Pf03dorsND481mjGylpHE7_kfsSnC8s0U0qVInZVACG2KhGrVWuv6J5RSE_0Eigy9wAy5QzJmvvbAVOFDBUZ54uB_OanIS2i4KFjlNanXOf02yUh-pFQWIS-M9nGHII_k/s320/jeremy-thomas-O6N9RV2rzX8-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Walking through a leafy lane near my home recently I marvelled at the thick covering of Autumn leaves on the ground around me. It seemed like walking on a luxurious carpet of gloriously coloured threads and felt like crunching my way across snow. No wonder our Trans-Atlantic cousins call this time of the year the Fall as the trees let go of their fabulously shaped and shaded appendages. The chill in the air took nothing away from the sense of wonder at the overflowing generosity of this season - sending an abundance of leaves my way as if a crowd of unseen footmen were strewing my path with their hilariously embroidered cloaks!<p></p><p>In the last few weeks I have turned 70 years of age, celebrated our Golden Wedding (50 years) anniversary with Diane, and retired (again) from being in active ministry as an Associate Pastor at my local church. It is, for me at least, a bit like Autumn has finally come in my life, and Winter will not be far behind. There is a sense of loss as leaves fall from my tree too! Folk make kind comments about the new season ahead, but there is no escaping certain mellow emotions at the passing of yet another phase of activity and usefulness.</p><p>I have found help and encouragement from a recent study of St Paul's last letter, 2 Timothy, written from prison before his final execution at Rome. It seems so unfair that this great servant of God should be so reduced and, in his case, maltreated. He has been falsely accused of wrongdoing, deserted by virtually all the Christians he knew (1:15, 4:16, 4:9-10), even betrayed by one in particular (4:14). His sufferings were no doubt part of the emperor Nero's persecution of Christians in 64AD. Yet Paul, despite being in the Autumn of his life and ministry, manages to keep his spirit clean. How?</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>He was grateful for the little he did have</b>, and for the small group of folk who were helping him (1:16, 4:11-12). In this Autumn season I also need to let gratitude be my attitude.</li><li><b>He soaked himself in the Scriptures!</b> Paul asks Timothy to bring him his 'scrolls and parchments' (3:16, 4:13). Paul's reading of the Bible was not something he did only to preach from. He lived in God's words to him in every season.</li><li><b>He focussed on the future</b>. He tells Timothy about that - '<i>Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing</i>' (2 Tim 4:8).</li><li><b>He entrusted his concerns to God</b>. In 2 Tim. 1:12 he says that he is believing God and is convinced that he is able to guard what he has entrusted to him until that day. I have concerns too, maybe you have also, and there's a lesson for us here.</li><li><b>He gave himself to mentorring others</b>. Timothy was his special project, and Paul gave himself to writing letters and receiving occasional visits from him. He was restricted but not cancelled! The great man had really moved into a new season.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVpVKczyS_ZtqA3kiBnZSVlYbLt2wqorLxCSKnw3H2-9k4xnaGJ3kiGG7I6m8OCYfixYC8rH4tgd3G9zi0ngjC6CMdKmxQT9X_OOvDGI0Zi0EEt0zKMxJDmAdu03lfynB3Clnb9lKjVE4KxvinUEDNGHZmQ_1LRhkXOLIskR0yQvMsjwH-6A/s3729/erik-witsoe-pvoQJym18Jg-unsplash.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2496" data-original-width="3729" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVpVKczyS_ZtqA3kiBnZSVlYbLt2wqorLxCSKnw3H2-9k4xnaGJ3kiGG7I6m8OCYfixYC8rH4tgd3G9zi0ngjC6CMdKmxQT9X_OOvDGI0Zi0EEt0zKMxJDmAdu03lfynB3Clnb9lKjVE4KxvinUEDNGHZmQ_1LRhkXOLIskR0yQvMsjwH-6A/s320/erik-witsoe-pvoQJym18Jg-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></li></ul><div>As I walked through my leafy lane, I realised that these trees were doing something vital in their Autumn shedding. They were laying down the seed-bed for the next generation of seedlings and supplying the mulch for their safety and development. The shedding was not 'loss' in nature's mind - but gain! Maybe that's why she celebrates the act with all those amazing colours.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I am not going to deny my age, sweeping away the leaves contemptuously as if they simply should not be falling, but rather engage with God's plan for this next season with the excitement and joy that comes from the certainty that this is not the end of the road, but simply a bend in the road, that leads me on in God's wonderful purpose for my life.</div><p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-66961319075303495862022-09-17T18:09:00.002+01:002022-09-17T18:09:28.273+01:00Anointed to Serve!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXuX3gKF2FVqYjBPQ6fWxz02L5b6TVEzL8K6GMSBUpJVEo9J05zihInOQ5GcKaFc-Y16SopJ1VcRsRfuxjSYG_fhKbJY14Bd_OIBgCqOO8Xt-FynkM2ILSBaj1PT0cB1qojN2wZ8aw9xVkD_lGSE4p4Vm2ZhjJN1Ck7IrcKbUCTrXZRxnXsY/s4494/pexels-ellie-burgin-5816931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4494" data-original-width="3176" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXuX3gKF2FVqYjBPQ6fWxz02L5b6TVEzL8K6GMSBUpJVEo9J05zihInOQ5GcKaFc-Y16SopJ1VcRsRfuxjSYG_fhKbJY14Bd_OIBgCqOO8Xt-FynkM2ILSBaj1PT0cB1qojN2wZ8aw9xVkD_lGSE4p4Vm2ZhjJN1Ck7IrcKbUCTrXZRxnXsY/s320/pexels-ellie-burgin-5816931.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>The eyes of the world are on London this weekend. The death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth is a global phenomenon. We were on holiday in French Corsica when the news broke of her passing and we did not have access to British television at all. We were amazed at how the German, French and Italian channels on our room tv were suddenly switched to reporting from outside Buckingham Palace, and for the next few days were primarily focussed on this sad event. Despite not understanding the languages we certainly caught the emotion and interest being expressed. Our Queen had died, but as President Macron stated 'The Queen' had passed away as far as the world was concerned.<p></p><p>One amazing point about this moment in the nation's history is how the monarch's passing has brought back our focus onto values which many believed were out-dated or old-fashioned. She stood for 'doing one's duty', was unfailingly polite and kind, believed in 'civility and modesty' (as expressed by Andrew Neil in the Daily Mail) and was loved and respected by millions for these things. Perhaps in her leaving us there is a real sense of the loss of integrity, faithfulness, service and balance that she represented. And people are feeling it.</p><p>In the Coronation Service - now 69 years ago - Elizabeth was anointed with special fragrant oils in a secret moment during the proceedings. She believed herself to be called by God, chosen by Him and anointed, quite literally for His service. And in this she was right, but she was not alone. Jesus said; 'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last...' (John 15:16). Every Christian believer is called to bear fruit, and Queen Elizabeth certainly did do that. The fruit of God's anointing in our lives is listed in the New Testament - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).</p><p>As we prepare to watch the funeral and burial of this great little lady, whom we have all loved all of our lives, we should not only thank God for her and her example, but we should pray for an anointing that enables us to live differently too. In a world of celebrity, our Late Majesty has shown us a different path. It began with her simple but sincere commitment to Jesus as Lord. It starts there for us too.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-60245955029237614652022-08-23T20:14:00.002+01:002022-08-23T20:14:39.510+01:0070 Not Out!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiVzDyp1TbuN3d7a_2DEIgsPhrCfZwV_GQYgZYYhvVDUmTXzaE3MaV9VXD4Q6WsEwVyKO1EoCmj-JHHGse40TchouKEjIYv2SVoqef5cYwJV8w3-_WanFh_uXszGPoGVqRnPslNX8Pt3o6WVafxzJQjxOWfrMENi_C8WEQGjq_HQIM-8mKhM/s4032/IMG_8215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiVzDyp1TbuN3d7a_2DEIgsPhrCfZwV_GQYgZYYhvVDUmTXzaE3MaV9VXD4Q6WsEwVyKO1EoCmj-JHHGse40TchouKEjIYv2SVoqef5cYwJV8w3-_WanFh_uXszGPoGVqRnPslNX8Pt3o6WVafxzJQjxOWfrMENi_C8WEQGjq_HQIM-8mKhM/s320/IMG_8215.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>My sincere thanks to all who sent greetings, cards and messages yesterday on my 70th birthday. I am so grateful for the blessing of your friendship and the privilege of knowing you all. But I am also thinking deeply about the amazing fact that I am still alive to see this date! I very nearly died when I was 45 during my first brush with acute hemorrhaging pancreatitis and then on other occasions too over the 22 years that followed. On more than 100 times I was admitted to hospitals in Cardiff, Guernsey, Southampton, London and Newcastle, during two decades of battling one of the most painful conditions known to humanity. By all rights I should not still be here, but there must be something for me to do!<p></p><div>One of the effects of a long fight with pain and frequent hospitalisations is a sense of gratitude for any relief. I am so grateful for the cutting-edge transplant surgery that transformed my life 5 years ago, and am happily living without a pancreas, spleen, gall-bladder or bile ducts. But I am free from that dreadful, gut-wrenching, tearing, red-hot agony of pancreatic pain, thank God.</div><div><br /></div><div>In my book <a href="https://amzn.to/3PDz06k" target="_blank">Through the Storms: a manual for when life hurts</a> I deal with some of the other issues that arise in long-term pain or distress of any kind. Fear, loneliness, post-trauma disorders, all complicate the already fraught matter of physical recovery. Added to that, for those of us who know that God is our loving heavenly Father, who only has good plans for us, are the questions that the writer of the Psalm might have had in mind when he coined the phrase 'deep calls unto deep'. 'How long, O Lord?' and yes - 'why me?' </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't have the answers, but I do know someone who does. Hope is spelt J-e-s-u-s and he has been faithful to me throughout this long ordeal. Today I am privileged to continue sharing life with my lovely wife, Diane, and with Matthew and his wife Chula and our precious grand-daughters. Life is good, but I don't take it for granted. The very air I breathe is a loan, and I know that it will be called in one day. Till then, I am going to share the good news of hope and life in Jesus as widely as I can. For me, that's what 'many happy returns' really means!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RMQQN9e2QyLVtqDpruKS0NvIbz8A_r0brUcYELyy892_4OE-wDx82PQoTT3DGslKD0oPnz4TRL_shk5k0iZS8hxEpduJJT35IncIyzoqWjaMTWYeOawFJcb1I1MGUKGHIrP62UgIFYeLwLOx-V9wzY3A9dastTg7XjvHPgtudEEnCYit9y4/s2048/IMG_1292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RMQQN9e2QyLVtqDpruKS0NvIbz8A_r0brUcYELyy892_4OE-wDx82PQoTT3DGslKD0oPnz4TRL_shk5k0iZS8hxEpduJJT35IncIyzoqWjaMTWYeOawFJcb1I1MGUKGHIrP62UgIFYeLwLOx-V9wzY3A9dastTg7XjvHPgtudEEnCYit9y4/s320/IMG_1292.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-48251838291161554262022-07-16T11:45:00.003+01:002022-07-16T11:45:25.742+01:00The Greatest Challenge in Leadership<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYPzpnbm9JHgqTwUi8QvlOkcyhVJQKsFR6YdaCXZMj-rsdJs6KvSlejapS4t9UjyU13rfolOvAvS-bSYNnuRwaCfz4aixY69GIPa7KgS9x1FpjXLuFTD1qKmNxmhfWNFE8my0bo_estSp89vfW6ErWZtrEW8_79pjFZOG_NqsEu1UN2u6oCI/s5184/mathew-browne-m6BphieLlwA-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYPzpnbm9JHgqTwUi8QvlOkcyhVJQKsFR6YdaCXZMj-rsdJs6KvSlejapS4t9UjyU13rfolOvAvS-bSYNnuRwaCfz4aixY69GIPa7KgS9x1FpjXLuFTD1qKmNxmhfWNFE8my0bo_estSp89vfW6ErWZtrEW8_79pjFZOG_NqsEu1UN2u6oCI/w320-h213/mathew-browne-m6BphieLlwA-unsplash.jpg" title="Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@mathewbrowne?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Mathew Browne</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/boris-johnson?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@mathewbrowne?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Mathew Browne</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/boris-johnson?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table> He may look content here, but don't be fooled - it's a waxwork! Whatever we may think of the lifestyle
or the leadership of the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, or the way he has
been made to step down, none of us can have missed the race to become the next
leader of the Conservative party, and the new PM. The news media are in a
feeding frenzy, poring over each candidate and their credentials. Social media
is abuzz with speculation and options, and the only thing that seems certain is
that the British people will have a new leader soon, probably by September.</p><p>In all this, Christians should
remember the wise advice of St Paul who urged his followers to pray for ‘kings
and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives’. He did
so in a day when the government was in the hands of cruel emperors and their
delegates, who were overwhelmingly godless and immoral, violent, exploitative, and
abusive. Yet, Paul is so convinced of the power of prayer that he urges his
readers, and us, to make praying for secular leaders a priority. As the
incoming British Prime Minister faces problems like the soaring cost of living,
cataclysmic climate change, war in Europe and its subsequent food shortages,
not to mention the ongoing pandemic, he or she will need our prayers more than
ever.<br /></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4R0cPMJ2By1Rx8EXPZVJofh6SslspNK0LHZ0J9RzNyGGl0nCKbUzzwiHbucNEueBVqqy8BU8aicryppnE40CbncT7VpHqhNAvS2jcO2fYBq6tE5y1XJqjnTLw6XKhyS6LmemMfmXoNve9Vq4bwsN7PMBg4UUlDuOAgr1_QMGnFB6N__WTd8/s3032/nick-fewings-EkyuhD7uwSM-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2021" data-original-width="3032" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4R0cPMJ2By1Rx8EXPZVJofh6SslspNK0LHZ0J9RzNyGGl0nCKbUzzwiHbucNEueBVqqy8BU8aicryppnE40CbncT7VpHqhNAvS2jcO2fYBq6tE5y1XJqjnTLw6XKhyS6LmemMfmXoNve9Vq4bwsN7PMBg4UUlDuOAgr1_QMGnFB6N__WTd8/s320/nick-fewings-EkyuhD7uwSM-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jannerboy62?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Nick Fewings</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/leadership?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table>But leadership is so much more than
dealing with issues, urgent and important though they may be. Leading ourselves
can also be a great challenge. Just getting through each day without giving in
to fear, despair, and hopelessness can be a huge task. Coping with change in
society, church and family life can leave us feeling all at sea. Choices and
personal morality may seem so much more demanding as the boundaries of
behaviour appear to be moving. But Jesus offers us his leadership one day at a
time, built on his integrity, sacrifice, promises, and his continuing presence
with us in all our struggles. He reveals a programme of love, forgiveness and
personal transformation that can affect whole nations. A leader like that gets
my vote every time!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-21829843020206491502022-07-02T15:22:00.002+01:002022-07-02T15:22:12.709+01:00Fifty not out!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmNlfr7uFKGCrXsYnQTytTM5s0wAeJwGEse55YTfRtMn0ngjZ4mWAUM2KLlzIZDkAhHphQJkJWP3WVdltNQn9cV4l3us9OQ4RSeF77GEfU8xm4LOEtTWcezM6_Iuyhmb_5vDp2TntobfNqfAvfUgA8cISnoN4G_wsr39IljB6F40m-0wb6T4/s6000/mike-turton-8UED3zPZBWc-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2266" data-original-width="6000" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmNlfr7uFKGCrXsYnQTytTM5s0wAeJwGEse55YTfRtMn0ngjZ4mWAUM2KLlzIZDkAhHphQJkJWP3WVdltNQn9cV4l3us9OQ4RSeF77GEfU8xm4LOEtTWcezM6_Iuyhmb_5vDp2TntobfNqfAvfUgA8cISnoN4G_wsr39IljB6F40m-0wb6T4/s320/mike-turton-8UED3zPZBWc-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It was no seaside holiday 50 years ago this week when I was inducted to my first pastorate - as Assistant Pastor at Eastbourne Elim Church in the south of England county of Sussex as it was. I was 19, and had just graduated after 2 years at Elim Bible College in Capel, Surrey. I had only been a Christian just over 3 years, and for the first few weeks was single, as I married the wonderful Diane on September 9th that year (1972). The Senior Pastor, John Lancaster, had just been elected as the President of the Elim churches, and so was expecting to be away from the town around half the time during his year of office, leaving this young sprocket in charge of the church of 2-300 folk, and responsible for the pulpit! As you can imagine, he was a man of great faith!<p></p><p>As Eastbourne was (rather unkindly) known then as the '<i>costa geriatrica</i>' where many folk went to retire, I spent most of the early part of my twenties visiting people in care homes, sitting with the dying, and taking funerals, as well as leading and preaching at services in the busy church. It was a steep learning curve, but made all the easier by the amazing folk that I served. Among my 'heroes of the faith' at that time was Samuel Gorman, an early leader of the Elim movement and author, who had been forced to retire early through ill-health. He took me under his wing and mentored me, sharing his wisdom and insight graciously and patiently. Two other early Elim pioneers were also in the church - E.J. Phillips and his brother F.B. Phillips, with their wives. E.J. was just a shell by then of what he had been, but he would be brought to the prayer meeting midweek and would sit at the piano before the start and just begin to play worship songs and choruses from years before, all by heart. Great people!</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkL7GKWx432gaobxaoylvk5J4l_p8fQVOxYRs4uvCEqKTN4CUMS1ZiOB9FuVRFHlv7iKfTx25M6ya6KBKTe-TOfMBlziTBYSblGsxoqL7ghoCcPTD_4qG3vqLT8UlnFy3ONSDqLbLDZNGcxnbJMcpHviz46ZlSs_nFxGjh4zaGVOuVS2Goey0/s1900/Eastbourne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkL7GKWx432gaobxaoylvk5J4l_p8fQVOxYRs4uvCEqKTN4CUMS1ZiOB9FuVRFHlv7iKfTx25M6ya6KBKTe-TOfMBlziTBYSblGsxoqL7ghoCcPTD_4qG3vqLT8UlnFy3ONSDqLbLDZNGcxnbJMcpHviz46ZlSs_nFxGjh4zaGVOuVS2Goey0/s320/Eastbourne.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastbourne Elim today</td></tr></tbody></table>Our neighbour was a Miss Chrissie Jardine, who had been wheeled in to one of George Jeffrey's early Gospel and Healing crusades in the 1920's in a wheelchair, quite paralysed. (Principal George Jeffreys was the founder of the <a href="https://www.elim.org.uk/Articles/410269/Introducing_George_Jeffreys.aspx" target="_blank">Elim Churches</a>). She was healed instantly after prayer and rose up from her chair never to need it again! She was full of stories of those days, and remained an ardent follower of Jesus all of her long life.<br /></p><p>So, after a half-century in full-time Christian ministry, on three continents, I give thanks for the people and places that have been a big part of my journey, especially Diane and Matthew. And, as I set off hopefully and excited into the next 50 years, trusting in the faithfulness of God, I thank God for the many who have made this journey with me, and alongside me, in my first innings.</p>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-79238615756575177292022-06-23T12:33:00.001+01:002022-06-23T12:33:10.724+01:00An Offering and a Sacrifice<div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdaHy-KqMgNJX9z2REi0N1U615g9JUfet3E0tCpXCGscj5D8GI-W_kMbTI8MoVZmQldgby2oi2tBvF3UBiSL57dvgm4Ipm0TkhdVWdwlQlbjnHJBHbxRZr2Lpt_rebKEI13Nw1mKgQ_WfpE8UwwjP40Gxal3trIEevAhwjwFND45-AHiNoCM/s300/img_3695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdaHy-KqMgNJX9z2REi0N1U615g9JUfet3E0tCpXCGscj5D8GI-W_kMbTI8MoVZmQldgby2oi2tBvF3UBiSL57dvgm4Ipm0TkhdVWdwlQlbjnHJBHbxRZr2Lpt_rebKEI13Nw1mKgQ_WfpE8UwwjP40Gxal3trIEevAhwjwFND45-AHiNoCM/s1600/img_3695.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />June 23rd is the day we remember the 9 Elim missionaries and 4 of their children who were killed in the Vumba in Zimbabwe this day in 1978. <br /><br />When we worked in Mutare, the nearest city to the Vumba, Diane and I planted a congregation in a building that had been purchased at the time as the Elim Memorial Church. That church has since been renovated to a high standard and has become a real focus for the Elim Church's work in that area. At the time of our being there Elim had around a dozen churches in the country, together with schools and a hospital. Now there are over 65 congregations all over Zimbabwe and the work is thriving. Stephen Griffith's excellent book <a href="https://amzn.to/2CVG6mu" target="_blank">The Axe and the Tree</a> tells the story of all that led up to the massacre of 40 years ago and the great suffering and faith of the national church and its leaders at that time. I recommend it.<div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lePXHV0RwU9WrYIeCOgkyUzw_1bICjuuPoRqeVC54C6AgeWTYOe1PRcFYzYUQUP3O9U8JnBlkRKqGhDuDs1jv1lUUFoPrspuM9ekshduGxxE8JAdYk9I2vCNOiE5V82JNgzmug/s1600/McCanns.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="548" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lePXHV0RwU9WrYIeCOgkyUzw_1bICjuuPoRqeVC54C6AgeWTYOe1PRcFYzYUQUP3O9U8JnBlkRKqGhDuDs1jv1lUUFoPrspuM9ekshduGxxE8JAdYk9I2vCNOiE5V82JNgzmug/s320/McCanns.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter & Sandra McCann, Philip & Joy died in the Vumba</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One of my responsibilities was to keep an eye on the upkeep of the mass grave of those who died in the Vumba. Once a year, on the occasion of the graduation of the young men we were training as evangelists in what was known as Project Timothy, they would gather with me around the grave. I would explain to the young men that they were the fruit of the sacrifices these people had made, and then pray for them that, as they went out two by two into the community, they would remember the example of these friends of ours who paid the ultimate price for the gospel and the service of the nation of Zimbabwe. Each year it was common for tears to be shed and the impact upon the young evangelists was clear to be seen. <div><br /></div><div>Today, I pray for the relatives of all who lost their lives in that dreadful time in Zimbabwe, but recall that there has always been a price to pay for following Jesus and doing what is right. </div><div><br />"<span style="color: purple;">They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated— the world was not worthy of them...</span><br /><br /></div><p><span style="color: purple;">These were all commended for their faith</span>" (Hebrews 11:38-39) </p></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29288503.post-26037636749557411922022-06-14T18:00:00.003+01:002022-06-14T18:00:00.215+01:00Stronger than Ever?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVblkEH9LgjmZa19Q6FdMc5BIc43C17mJBvnLYfndJoGIGLuc2atXjltCHeMaekZ7hi7-dmvpAPF0WLb2O7f5KTuk4VtS2LFwzI9WokzOkhH1poLGXvkcr7RdpML9hlCYytsVBGjuXpAPi4UJfza0mdw6eOQgnMngymnCpNok1U5KyCSs1FIA/s898/my-op.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="898" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVblkEH9LgjmZa19Q6FdMc5BIc43C17mJBvnLYfndJoGIGLuc2atXjltCHeMaekZ7hi7-dmvpAPF0WLb2O7f5KTuk4VtS2LFwzI9WokzOkhH1poLGXvkcr7RdpML9hlCYytsVBGjuXpAPi4UJfza0mdw6eOQgnMngymnCpNok1U5KyCSs1FIA/s320/my-op.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Five years ago today I was the patient on the operating table in this photo. It was taken during a 16.5 hour transplant op at the International Transplant Centre in the Freeman Hospital Newcastle. It has absolutely transformed my life! I have been out walking in the wonderful warm sunshine on Guernsey's magnificent sea-shore this morning, and really thanking God for the Professor, his team and all involved, and for the many who prayed for my recovery from 22 years of the most appalling pain and suffering. Their prayers were answered that day, and on this anniversary I give thanks to God.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT96-xaIHk-KKVJj64izp_UhAFZqgH0nTJp6h25EqqXQRC4sNP7c9m6Y02S3bmHHpZUYs5s4OQCsV1TQunxwtSnIlUk1SMT2lqI6wAxre2oH6Q5oKv4UYZlEG6lgAFa7XwJGLiDOPXsFjE2C79txKK-kbJMOe_RZkuoeKxyRkYZAxz1uChmjg/s1280/Pain.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1280" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT96-xaIHk-KKVJj64izp_UhAFZqgH0nTJp6h25EqqXQRC4sNP7c9m6Y02S3bmHHpZUYs5s4OQCsV1TQunxwtSnIlUk1SMT2lqI6wAxre2oH6Q5oKv4UYZlEG6lgAFa7XwJGLiDOPXsFjE2C79txKK-kbJMOe_RZkuoeKxyRkYZAxz1uChmjg/w200-h160/Pain.jpg" width="200" /><br /></a></div>Before the surgery my life was blighted by daily agony, requiring industrial doses of opiates to give me even a modicum of pain control. Today I am largely pain-free and able to live a normal life, as I tell in my fifth book <a href="https://amzn.to/3NRKp2k" target="_blank">Through the Storms: a manual for when life hurts</a> but I shall never cease to be grateful for these bonus years following surgery.<div><br /></div><div>The thing about surgery is that you have to go down into a very deep valley before you can come up the other side. I very nearly died in the aftermath when I contracted pneumonia in ICU. It was hugely painful and challenging, but you don't get a testimony without a test! If you are facing a similar valley of pain or perhaps medical intevention, I hope you find the courage to press ahead in faith that although maybe the medics have got this - God has got you!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnpxPRjPL1F0vlSmp6b6uLlRMD_mPqoLi6NZrJ056jHWWqVbx3yI_MJDpdlZtnx85qaVswogZrAyR_Gjgs7xMdFOK61qKBn1Mzjc17UrqeX2ZYmrz4v3h3mmz_O21DaVnMneCKEh3TcT_QXMQiDPQxz-IkkvwXAeEDLLOQV_hf5HRc0TzpXQ/s2045/Eric%20Head%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1876" data-original-width="2045" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnpxPRjPL1F0vlSmp6b6uLlRMD_mPqoLi6NZrJ056jHWWqVbx3yI_MJDpdlZtnx85qaVswogZrAyR_Gjgs7xMdFOK61qKBn1Mzjc17UrqeX2ZYmrz4v3h3mmz_O21DaVnMneCKEh3TcT_QXMQiDPQxz-IkkvwXAeEDLLOQV_hf5HRc0TzpXQ/w200-h184/Eric%20Head%20(2).JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Today I thank God for his mercy and grace. He did not take me out of the situation quickly or easily, but he was with me throughout, and has delivered me in the end. Very early in our two decades long ordeal, God gave us a promise from the Bible - 1 Peter 5:10 which we have called our 'stronger than ever' text. Here it is; "<span style="color: #ff00fe;">After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever</span>" (Living Bible).<br /><div><br /></div>Braving the Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13764717907977787298noreply@blogger.com