To Read or Not to Read?

I was in a bit of a quandry. The BBC had phoned and asked if I would respond to a taped interview with Christopher Hitchens the author of 'god is not Great' and review the book from a Christian point of view. Here was my dilemma - as a Christian pastor I am responsible for the people under my care and guidance and should not be afraid to speak out and warn folk about this spiritually dangerous and throroughly offensive book (Hitchens would be pleased to hear me say that as his stated aim in writing the book is to 'demoralise people of faith' and be offensive to them) - and yet I did not want to give the author any money or read a book that might harm me spiritually and perhaps even be the reason why one more person would buy it.

Following an evening service in which I had told the church that I intended to read the book and asked for their prayers, a spiritually mature and sensitive lady came up to me at the end said that she felt the Lord was saying that I should not read that book! A word from the Lord?

Here is what I did. I agreed to the interview but refused to read the book on the grounds that its stated goal is to demoralise people of faith. I have enough to demoralise my faith without that! I surely don't need to drink from a bottle labelled 'poison' in order to know that it will do me no good. When the book arrived at my house I sent it back unopened. I then read widely on the internet what much more clever people than me were saying about the book and the man. I found excellent material on the Christian site www.markdroberts.com and several helpful reviews from the Washington Post, the Spectator and the Mail on Sunday. The interview was recorded this morning for transmission tomorrow, Sunday 29th July. I am praying that the outcome will glorify God and help people.

Hitchens is a tragic and arrogant figure, a journalist who mocks God and anyone who believes in Him. He calls Mother Teresa a 'fraud and a fool' and St Augustine as 'a self-centered fantasist and an earth-centered ignoramus'. He believes that people of faith should be 'removed from the stage' so that the real debate about philosophy and the meaning of life can begin. His attitude is very similar to that which leads to anti-Semitism and the persecution of believers. He reminds me of an ageing comic on British tv called Alf Garnet who sneered and mocked at people of different races and creeds. We laughed at him then, but we cringe now. Hitchens is the Alf Garnet of the atheistic philosophical world. His views are poison.

Right now there is a real deluge of printed material from atheistic sources which has the aims of making money and demoralising believers. We don't need to drink it to know it tastes pretty bad.

Is there any Word from the Lord?

Today I at home struggling with a very high fever and the pain of yet another attack of pancreatitis or some associated infection. It is a particular sorrow to me because I was due to preach at my church this morning, and tonight we are baptising some recent converts who are very wonderful people. So, I thought I would put onto my blog the main points of my sermon in case anyone out there is looking!

My text is found in Jeremiah 37:1-4, 16-17 and is vs 17 ‘Is there any word from the Lord?’
This was a remarkable question from the King (Zedekiah). His predecessor King Jehoichim had a very clear attitude towards God’s Word. See Jeremiah 36:20-24. In these verses we see King Jehoichim cutting up the scroll of God's Word into strips and burning it in the fire. The worst thing was that neither the king nor anyone with him who heard God's Word read before it was destroyed, were moved by it or affected by it in any way. They had become really hardened to what God was saying! King Zedekiah himself had shown a very low level of interest in God’s Word in verse 1 (neither he nor any of his attendants paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken). The only sign of spiritual life in Zedekiah was seen in verse 3 – ‘please pray for me’. (Contrast these attitudes with that of King Josiah 15 years earlier, 2 Kings 22:8, 11-13.) What is our attitude towards the words of the Lord? Do we hunger for more, saying 'is there any word from the Lord?' Or are we indifferent, or even hostile? It is vital that we answer these questions.

God is a God Who Speaks.
God is not silent. He speaks through His Word, the Bible. The Bible sells 44 million copies per year, 1.25m in the UK. It is uniquely popular – (according to a book report in The Times newspaper recently). It is also powerful – people’s lives have been changed by opening the Bible and obeying what it says. (I have a friend who was a prisoner in Cardiff jail when I was a Pastor in the same city, and who liked his Gideon's Bible because the pages made good cigarrette papers. One day he tore out a sheet to smoke, and started reading the words instead. Richard was convinced that he was a sinner and that he needed a Saviour! He called on God to change his messed up life and was converted. Today, 10 years later, he is a Pastor in Birmingham). But God also speaks today through His people who bring us a word from the Lord. It may not be exactly a Bible verse but it will always agree with Bible teaching.

We Need to Hear from God.
So that we know what He wants us to do… like King Josiah.
So that we can ‘hang in there’ when the going gets tough.
So that we can have something to give away to others (like the disciples at the feeding of the 5000).

Why is it so Hard to Hear from God?
Because of interference from the world we live in. (When we were in France – trying to get BBC – interference from strong French stations prevented us). Jer 37:1 shows the attitude of most people who were around Zedekiah and who affected him - his peer group. Amos 8:11-12 speaks of the atmosphere in our postmodern Western world today. There is a famine here, not of food nor of water (that's for sure!) but a famine of the Word of our God.
Because of a lack of real passion in our hearts to hear what God is saying to us. Not so with Job in Job 23:12, I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
Because of an unwillingness to obey what He has already said to us. Zedekiah did not like what Jeremiah was saying. Neither did those who lived around him. If we are holding out in disobedience to something that God has previously told us, it is not likely that He will speak to us again until we put that right.

How Can We Know When God is Speaking to us?
There is always the danger of it being our imagination or just the words of others.
It will arise from the Scriptures or will be confirmed by them.
It will cause a quickening of your spirit or conscience. (Like when the embryonic John the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb when he heard the voice of Mary nearby!)
It will be affirmed by others to be a word from the Lord.
It will bear fruit in your life if you respond to it.

Is There Any Word From the Lord?
There is a call to follow Jesus Christ as Lord. ‘Come follow Me’.
There is a challenge to hush our hearts enough to be able to hear God.
There is a crisis of obedience to the last thing you heard. If God has spoken to you before about a relationship or an attitude, or about baptism or being filled with the Holy Spirit, now is the time to respond.

So, God is speaking, but are we listening? And if we are, are we doing anything about it? If not, now is the time to put that right.

French Leave

Bonjour mes amis! We have just returned home (early) from a really interesting trip to France. We crossed the little bit of sea that separates Guernsey from the nearby continent and emerged from the car ferry ramp ready to tackle the traffic on the wrong side of the road. We were not disappointed, as we found that everybody had gone mad and decided to hurtle around roundabouts the wrong way and throw their vehicles into high speed chases on the right-hand side of the road, of all places. When we found that they were simply not willing to adapt to our normal pattern of driving we concluded that in the interests of international peace and goodwill we would put up with theirs. So, we moved over. It was a good thing we did, because we didn't see another normal driver for the whole ten days!

Then there was the fact that they spoke our language with great difficulty. How strange! We found that the best plan was to shout very loudly in English and point with our fingers. This usually brought about some understanding on their part. Perhaps their education system isn't quite up to scratch yet, but no doubt they are working to upgrade it. Their food was bearable, but in the absence of decent gravy we opted mainly for seafood which, despite their cullinary lack of expertise, the French seemed to manage quite well. The one exception was their terrible habit of ruining a good plate of fish'nchips by covering it in black shellfish which was barely cooked (moules frites I heard them saying). It was almost impossible to get throught the groaning mound of obviously inedible molluscs, so we gave up and looked for a decent burger.

It is a real shame that the EU has not been able to get more aid money into Brittany as most of the town centres date back as far as the 12th Century! In the UK they would all have been torn down and modernised by now, but they are obviously very slow in getting around to it. Probably one of these days they will catch up and move those poor people into concrete tower blocks where they would all be so much happier. We felt particularly sorry for the folk forced to live in this ancient dump, where things have got so bad that there are even flowers growing out of the walls! When we saw their living conditions we felt like contacting some of the agencies in the UK that handle housing, like some of the city councils for instance, who would have been happy to advise their planners. Still - we can pray...

Finally, when we had planned to stay a fortnight, our visit was cut short by my illness, which neceessitated us making a run for the boat about 4 days early. Still, as I said to Diane, you can only take so much of visiting the developping world before you become weary for the civilisation of home. Next year we thought we might go somewhere really up to date, like Birmingham for instance!

(Mes chers amis, nous avons fait un excellent sejour! Merci tres beaucoup!)

Put Shame to Shame

I had a real battle to take medication today. I hate the fact that I need it, but when pain becomes as unbearable as it was this afternoon, I just have to reach for the morphine again. The doctor tells me it's fine to use it. apparently when opiates are taken for severe pain like mine it does not become addictive. I certainly wouldn't want to take it for any other reason - it makes me feel sick anyway! But why do I struggle so much to take the stuff?

Partly, it's because of my sense of shame. I know I shouldn't feel this way but I can't help feeling guilty that a so-called 'charismatic Christian leader' and pastor needs to take morphine. It makes me feel less of a 'man of God' to do so. I remember being really embarrassed once on the hospital ward when I was in agony and needed a shot, and the nurse who brought it to me was a Pentecostal christian and a member of a church where a friend of mine is the Senior Pastor. The pain of my shame stung even more severely than the intra-muscular jab! The need for medical relief makes me feel that I am letting the Lord down. Surely if I really trusted the Lord I wouldn't need opiates?

Then, today, God spoke to me through a Bible verse that Diane shared with me. Romans 8:1 just hammered my shame and made it skulk away. 'There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those in who are in Christ Jesus!' Shame makes us hide from God and others. 'No condemnation' brings us out into the open again. God knows I need pain relief. He created the poppy, that like so many good things such as sex and wine, has been hijacked by evil and used or rather misused to bring people into slavery. But it was created to be our servant, not our master, and there is no shame in that.

I still seek God for my healing every day, as I share in my book Braving the Storm (www.bravingthestorm.com) but until that healing comes I am going to take the pain relief medication and give thanks to God as I do. Now that should put my shame to shame!

Lakeside Inspiration

I have just spent two wonderful days in the Lake District staying at Eusmere House (pictured above) where the poet William Wordsworth was known to stay and where it is believed he penned some of his work. The house was built by Thomas Clarkson, one of the famous 'abolitionists' who worked with William Wiberforce to eradicate the slave trade throughout the British Empire. He used to commute to London from here, a journey of several hundred miles when there were no roads or motorways.

I was in Eusmere House, alongside the fabulous lake Ullswater, to take part in a writers' conference organised the publishers of my new book Braving the Storm. We were learning all about the media, and writing styles, and networking together with other authors and editors. It was really inspiring to be able to learn all together in these very special surroundings, as well as meet up with some exiled Guern's - Steve and Ruth De La Mare - who happen to live in the next village.

Nothing can really describe the exquisite joy of getting up in the morning and going down to the lakeside to take in the stillness and the freshness of a new Cumbrian day. It was breathtaking to look out over the lakes and mountains of that area, and to remember that 'the earth is God's footstool' (Isaiah 66). I almost expected to see two great big feet sticking up over the mountains! This was certainly the right place to put a group of writers and budding authors.

If you would like to know more about my book, go to www.bravingthestorm.com

Bye for now.

The Power of the Printed Word

I was sitting in the chair at the hairdressers the other day dozing quietly while he clipped away thoughtfully at the back of my head. Suddenly he surprised me with the question 'have you read any of the works of Thomas Merton?' Now being more used to discussing the weather with my hairdresser, or the latest football results, or the state of the fishing this season, my surprise bordered on the amazed. 'No, I haven't' I replied thruthfully 'but I am reading a book called Wounded Healer at the moment which was written by another Catholic philosopher and teacher, Henri Nouwen.'

Now before you get carried away with your respect for the erudition of my affaire de coiffure let me hasten to say that the conversation did not dwell too long on religious philosophy but it did give me a brief opportunity of sharing matters of faith with my friend. What interested me in all this was that he told me that his uncle had posessed a volume of Merton's works for years with it just sitting on his shelf. Recently, my haircutting friend had borrowed it and surprise surprise, found it contained some very interesting stuff which is having a profound effect on his outlook and world view. The power of the printed word.

I am really encouraged by that, and hopeful that my own book Braving the Storm (www.bravingthestorm.com) will have a similar, lasting effect. It is due to be published in May, and will come out simultaneously in the UK, the USA and India. It's the story of my 10 year battle with the extreme pain and life-threatening consequences of pancreatitis. It tells of those things which have been found to hinder and those which have helped the daily task of overcoming. Jeff Lucas, who did the foreword for me, said: 'Eric tells the truth about pain. There’s no gloss, fluff, hyper-spirituality or clichés. The absence of them all makes me grateful, for slogans sting like salt on an already deep wound when you’re suffering. You won’t find slick answers in this book, or a satisfying, ‘they all lived happily ever after’ ending. What you will find is words that are written in blood, sweat and tears rather than just ink. You’ll look into the heart of a fellow traveler, who must have been tempted to slam the door once and for all in the face of a God who calls Himself good. Here is warm hope, honest empathy, faith that is gritty and authentic.'

So here's hoping that this book will live on long after I leave this earth, and that it might just speak when my own voice is silent. Perhaps some hairdresser or taxi-driver or doctor or person in pain might just find that these words were printed just for them. If they do - if even one does - the ten years will not have been in vain.

All is not as it may Appear

We are really being blessed with great weather in Guernsey at this time, and the island is showing off in all it's Spring-time beauty. It seems as though nature has just come alive with colour, scent and activity. The sea is spectacularly blue and inspiring, both in the good weather but also when the wind blows - as it often does with great energy.

I can't help thinking, though, about the amount of human need there is here, despite all the wonders around us. The calling I follow gives me insight into what goes on, not just behind people's curtains, but even deep within their hearts and homes. What exists there is just the same as the world over. Wherever you have people you have problems, and heartbreak, and sorrow and pain. One of the earliest memories that I have of the period that I have worked here is of walking on the beach early in the morning on the east of the island, where the sun rises gloriously over the outlying islands of Sark and Herm, and suddenly I came across the body of a young woman lying dead on the beach. She had taken her own life (it later turned out) in that place of incredible beauty and peace. So much outer calm, yet such inner turmoil.

From that day I have determined not be too charmed by the quaintness and beauty of island life, but to work hard at sharing with others the good news that Jesus offers an inner peace, a spiritual calm, that is not dependent on our outward conditions. I am grateful for the place in which I live and work, but I know that what really matters is my relationship with God and all that flows from that.

'You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is steadfast because he is trusting You'.

Getting Broody

This week a wonderful Tibetan Terrier called 'Fabulous Willy' (no comment) has won the world's most prestigious dog show Crufts '07. Over the four days of the tournament we have watched it on the tv and have become very broody indeed to get another dog.

I know it will be a lot of hard work, and we will have to 'dog-proof' our garden, but there is nothing quite like those appealing eyes gazing up at your own and that eager expression of 'what shall we do next?'

It's a year now since we said 'farewell' to Ziggy, our latest Pomeranian dog. We've had Poms for 15 years and really love them, but it's hard to start again with one you don't know. As you can see he was quite some dog!

One thing I do find interesting is how much our appetite for having a dog again has been stirred by watching the Crufts programming on the box. There certainly is a link between the eyes and the heart, and we have been quite deeply affected in our emotions by what we have been viewing. That's an important lesson when you consider how many hours a week folk in the West spend in front of the telly.

Anyhow, we'll keep thinking about the canine connection and keep working on the garden. Until then, don't tell any professional burglars that our house is dogless!

Hanging in there

As winter begins to turn to Spring here in the Channel Islands it is a real pleasure to watch the bulbs that have been lurking underground begin to poke their heads up. Of course they are all just a tad early this year thanks to global warming, but that makes them all the more welcome. They are a timely reminder that no matter how cold and hostile the climate might be, new life and a new start are always just around the corner.

We continue with our on-going struggle with pancreatitis in this home. This disease, which can be life-threatening and is one of the most painful conditions known to man, seems to keep coming around like the perennial seasons. Just when we are enjoying a 'Summer' of warmth and freedom, the Autumn sets in to warn us that another attack of Winter is not far away - and of all this cycle can take place over 3 months! Yet, just like it says in the Bible, 'Your mercies, O Lord, are new every morning' and we keep hanging in there, trusting God for strength for today and healing in His good time.

In the biography of a Christian lady whose life seemed to be one long disappointment and frustration, this sentence occurs: 'She made magnificent bouquets out of the refusals of God'. She did not allow the circumstances of her sorrow and pain to turn into the thorns of bitterness and resentment. She grasped instead the tiny shoots of hope and promise that are found in a relationship with God and she held on to them as a way of getting through.

If you are in a winter scene at this moment (and they can be beautiful too for all their desolation) I hope that you can take heart from the thought of all that God has prepared just below the soil, and hang in there looking for better days, praising and trusting Him.

New Year - New Start!

Some of the folk that I have met in 2006 have made a dramatic turnaround in their lives and discovered the joy of making a new start. Roderick, for instance, visited the island twice during this year, despite the fact that Guernsey is the place where he messed up so badly just a few short years ago. He was an inmate in the States’ Prison for a long period for importing illicit drugs to the island. His life was in tatters, his praying mother and family distressed. Whilst in jail he heard the good news of new life in Christ and became a committed Christian. By arrangement with the authorities at a certain point in his sentence he was transferred to an organisation in the UK specialising in helping drug addicts and today he is fully recovered from his addiction and is a worker there. He is a living example of making a new start.

I also met Billy and Bev recently. They divorced in the 1990’s due to Billy’s intolerable behaviour and drink problems. The little family of two small boys was torn apart by addiction and selfishness. Then, when on the verge of suicide, Billy remembered the God he had been told about as a child, and turned over his life to Him. Two and a half years after their divorce Billy and Bev remarried – each other! The transformation in their home is complete. Now four children can see that Mum and Dad have completely changed for the better.

The motto of our church at Shiloh is ‘Helping People Make a New Start’. The turn of the year is always a great time to make a new beginning. The old year will go with all its disappointments and failures, and the new year stretches out in front of us like a blank page in a notebook. What will your page read like in twelve months time? Will it tell that you took the opportunity of a new start in Christ, or that you missed it and kept on in the same old way? Only you can decide.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Pain

Well - what a surprise! After having boasted that this would be the first Christmas in three that I would not be in hospital, where should I end up but in hospital! Sadly, despite having been doing so much better recently, I had a relapse over Christmas which meant an emergency admission overnight on Christmas Day itself. Pancreatitis is a very vicious and painful disease, and doesn't seem to bother about the date on the calendar either.

My experience is not wasted, however, as it serves to keep a couple of 'home truths' before me. The first is that we can never boast of what tomorrow may hold, only that Someone much higher and wiser than us knows what is best. The second is that even in crisis God provides for the needs of His children. The nurse that received me in the Emergency Department is a member of our church and a dear friend. She held my arm and said comforting and helpful things to me as I trudged the foreboding corridors with a heavy heart. Beautiful decorations awaited me on my arrival on the ward, and the staff were so amazingly kind and understanding. Each of them was away from their family too in order to be able to serve me and others.

So - shades of the stable where Jesus was born in the most unexpected circumstances - yet God's plan was being fulfilled in His life. I have much more to learn yet, but I am comforted by the fact that God knows what He's about.

Happy Christmas!

The Road to Bethlehem is here again. It hardly seems like a whole year since the last presentation of this Christmas extravaganza with a cast of hundreds! Shades of Oberamergau! Only this time it is the Christmas story and not the Easter one that is being acted out by the cast, including the animals.




Last year 2,000 adults plus many more hundreds of children passed through the big tent and visited the mock-up of the manger scene. Scores of great conversations were had about the real meaning of the season, and lots of good contacts made. Above all, enchanted boys and girls were able to relive the first Christmas, minus the weather, and enjoy the thrill of knowing God's love for them.

So, we are praying for some fine days on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th December, so that we can present this unique event again. After that, it's heads down for the Christmas rush!

To Lead is to Serve

So, there are big changes in the American government, with the Democrats now taking the lead in the House of Representatives and possibly also the Senate. Suddenly a Republican President is going to have to work together with others of a different political perspective. But isn't that a good thing? Doesn't it make sense that politics should include a wide spectrum of opinion and the checks and balances of having to share power?

I am increasingly convinced that effective leadership must include the ability to carry along with you those who disagree with you. The kind of autocracy where the leader does just whatever he or she thinks is right and expects others to toe the line is surely out of place in Christian leadership anyway. It simply cannot be right to ride roughshod over others opinions and refuse to listen to the warnings of people we should respect, even if we disagree with them.

There is a lot of talk about the place of authority in the New Testament church, but it should not be overstated. Apostles started churches in some cases, then left them to get on with it pretty much straight away, with an occasional visit or letter, if at all. Elders were always in the plural so that nobody was allowed to be a petty dictator, and were required to show character rather than gifting during the selection process. Deacons were real servants, whose hearts were moved by the needs of the people whom they served. In all this, the real example is Jesus, who laid aside all his reputation and glory to become a servant and washed his disciples' feet.

Maybe those who claim that President Bush is now a 'lame duck president' should consider that possibly his best decisions lie ahead.

New House New Start

It has been a hectic few weeks. As well as me being in hospital four times in six weeks, we have also moved house! They say that moving home is very high on the stress factors list and I think 'they' are right! Anyhow, at last we are in and enjoying living in this bijou little converted barn type cottage on the west coast of Guernsey.

One of the 'Welcome to your new home' cards we received said that 'a new home equals a new start'. Amen to that. It will be really good to begin this next phase of our lives over again without cholangitis, pancreatitis and any other kind of 'itis.

Part of the joy of the new start is that it is right at the heart of God's plan for us. 'If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come' (2 Cor. 5:17). God is in the business of renewal and making a new start. I need that for medical and physical reasons at the moment, but I have also experienced it in the past for emotional and spiritual purposes. It seems important to realise that our best days lie ahead of us. Making a new start means letting go of what might be safe and known, but is holding us back from all the very best.

We had lived in our last home for ten years, and it was hard to let it go. Now that we are settling in here it just all makes sense. This is the next step in our journey. The last one was good, but this one is for now. The next one is in God's hands and we will trust Him for that. Till then, it's just good to be home.

War Zone

We have been in a warzone today! It all started when we got a letter from the local miltary cadet force to say that the headland where we live - Fort Le Marchant - had been selected to be the assault ground for the cadets' final infantry test. The 'battle' would be complete with blank ammunition, smoke grenades, thunderflashes and 'battle sounds' provided by a local stage props company. We were even told the time when the battle would start and end, and offered a vantage point if we wanted to watch it in safety.

The ensuing blast of noise, shouting, rifle fire and melee of bangs and whistles lasted for half and hour. 'The enemy' were dressed up in tea towel headgear so no guesses as to whom they were supposed to represent. There were lots of screams and yells, and the sound of gunfire and the pungent whiff of smoke spread over quite a large area.

I wish life's battles were as easily choreographed. If we got a letter saying that 'the enemy of your soul will be attacking you next Sunday at 1.30pm' wouldn't that be a helpful bit of warning? Then we could quickly put on the armour of God and bunker down. Or - if we knew that his attack would only last for half-an-hour? Now that would be a luxury (speaking as someone who has battled life-threatening illness and crippling pain for 10 years!). But we are granted no such luxury in the Christian warfare to which we are called. And then - blank ammunition - all noise and no pain, I could sign up for that to be used against me.

What are assured of is final victory. Even more certain than the demise of the towel-heads at Fort Le Marchant today is the ultimate downfall and defeat of the prince of darkness. We are in the army of a victorious king, who has already triumphed over sin and one day will eradicate pain, sickness and death. 'O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Afraid? Moi?

'Be afraid; be very afraid!' said the cover of the book I had just picked up to browse in the bookshop. As if that would sell it to me! I've got enough struggles with fear without paying 7.99 to be scared even more.

Having waited several days following our recent medical trip to London for some results it appears that they have found a blockage in my pancreatic duct that requires urgent removal. So I am facing a readmission into hospital for several days in the near future and a surgical procedure which in my case has a 1 in 3 chance of causing life-threatening side effects. (At least - that's doctor speak for 'don't blame us if it all goes belly up!) I spent last night reliving my terrible weeks in Intensive Care on a previous occasion I had the same procedure.

Then - God spoke to me. He did so this morning from the ancient book of Isaiah. These words were written hundreds of years ago but they were just what I needed to hear. 'So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.' (Isaiah 41:10).

Now that's the kind of book I want to read.

Travel and Treasure

Off we go to London again. Going to spend my birthday this year once again in hospital - just like last year. On this 32nd trip to the capital for medical reasons I feel a bit like a commuter, turning up at the airport with a bag of pills instead of a laptop. ~Ho hum. At least I get the chance to experience the current security scare at the nation's airports from the inside. Endless queuing, radical searches, vast crowds, noisy children, screaming babes and surly security people with scowling glares.

All this is made easier by the Bible passage I preached on at church this morning. 2 Corinthians 4:7 'For we have this treasure in jars of clay'. I am very aware of the clayness of my jar, but what has really caught my attention is the wonder of the treasure. The gospel, the radiance of Christ, the presence of God Himself in my life - that makes me a very special kind of traveller. I wonder if this kind of treasure will show up on the scanner? 'Excuse me Sir, did you know that you have got incredible riches on your insides?' Maybe not, but the knowledge of it keeps me going.

In the same chapter, Paul writes ' though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day'. I know it's the clay pot that they are going to be fiddling with this week, but I'm going to fix my mind on the treasure. 'Fix your eyes then on what is unseen, because what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.'

Someone very kindly sent me this link to a very moving webpage about the kind of vessel God chooses to use - take a look at http://wandascountryhome.com/potter/ Enjoy!

Back again soon. God bless.

Lifted Up!

How does it feel to be prayed for? I should certainly know. For the last week or 10 days loads of people have been praying for me here at home and around the globe. What an immense privilege. This encourages my heart no end.

We leave home this weekend to travel by boat to the mainland of the UK in order to see the senior surgeon at the University College Hospital in London. After 10 years of incredible pain and loads of recent operations it is likely that he will want to open up my abdomen again. On the way we will visit the church being led by Rev Peter Lawrence, author of 'The Spirit Who Heals' so that we can be present at a healing service. What we are praying for is:

• That God will have His way in the situation
• That God will heal
• That God will be glorified whatever the outcome.

So, how does it feel to be prayed for? It makes me feel very special and very grateful. It gives me a peace that all will be well because God is in charge, not me, not the doctors. It reminds me that I am part of a worldwide family. Most of all, it tells me that my heavenly Father cares for me, and that if I could never do another work of service for Him, He's still my Dad and wants my company.

Now that's pretty uplifting!

Flying High!

This is the aircraft in which I have just been up and about in for a free flying lesson. It was given to me as a gift by a very kind friend in the church that I attend. What fun! The temperature was around the 25 degree C mark and we were flying into a thunderstorm, but it was amazing. The instructor, Frank, let me fly the plane around in the air, up and down and banking turns etc and then, he allowed me to land it. I am amazed that he risked the mirth of his colleagues who may have been watching our approach as it left a lot to be desired. Still, we got down.

Of course I'm not fooling myself. I know that if Frank hadn't been there, or if something had happened to him, I could not have successfully landed that aircraft. He was the guiding hand, the encouraging voice, and the one who could have baled me out of trouble at any point. I'm so glad that in life Jesus is my instructor too. He does not seem to do a lot sometimes, but I'm not fooling myself, I couldn't make it without Him. His guiding hand and encouraging voice are so important to me, but the knowledge that His skill is always at my side is vital.

What an experience.

It Ain't Half hot!

Well, summer's here at last and we Sarnians (the old name for Guernsey folk) are sweltering in 30+ degrees of heat. Mind you, we've lived in Africa, and I quite enjoy the heat when it finally comes. Here in Britain it's a case of 'don't blink or you'll miss it!'

We haven't been swimming in the sea yet. We're waiting for the water temperature to rise to at least 18 degrees C - shouldn't be too long now. When it does we'll be in there, splashing around like toddlers pretending we can really swim well.

There's nothing quite a like a cool swim at the end of really hot day, when the tide is up at the top of the beach, the air is still and the whiff of barbied bacon and sausages fills the air. That's about as close to Paradise as it gets this side of the line! Wish you were here?

See ya soon.

Eric