“He reached down and took hold of me…he drew me out of deep waters.” Psalm 18:16
God has a word for us.When Jesus began his public ministry he used Isaiah 61 as a declaration of intent. The Old Testament furnishes many texts about the meaning of Messiah which he might have used: Messiah as King, Judge, Hero, Rescuer…Instead Jesus used a text which perfectly expressed the urgency of his compassion: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…to comfort all who mourn…. A garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”We meet in the anointing of Jesus. We are his body and we are directed into his ministry. And the calling that was upon him is upon us.And as we open our eyes to one another and to the community around us we see a whole world of pain: those with a feeling of inner emptiness or pain, the emotionally hurt or crushed, the broken hearted, those needing inner healing, emotional healing or the healing of memories. Also those struggling with the problem of anger, those needing to forgive others, those needing freedom from the negative affects that anger causes. Also those with mental problems, mental disorders, eating disorders and addictions such as: depression, anorexia, bulimia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, bipolar disorder, nervous breakdown, obsessive thoughts. Also those troubled in mind, suffering from demonisation, the demonised or demon possessed and those who are afflicted or influenced in mind by evil spirits or evil thoughts. When you consider the scale of this pain, we dare not rely upon our own resources, or intellect…. There’s just too much! And so we seek the Holy Spirit and we turn to the Bible.The Bible says, “Guard your heart with all wisdom, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs). The Word of God is full of deep and wonderful truth. Many Christian advise us to “guard our hearts” in friendships. It is indeed wise to guard both our emotions and our expectations. We must be wise, and not needlessly expose ourselves to hurt or disappointment.
Even those of us who have had wonderful families, perhaps Christian families, will know that no parent is perfect. We are always going to get let down or hurt at some point. Those of us who have come from more troubled backgrounds will probably have learnt that really you cannot live with your security based on people. Parents and other friends should be an encouragement to us; loving us and being a positive input into our lives. But when this is not the case, we can be devastated. How ever fortunate or not we are with the people we have around is, our security must be in God. He is the one who made us and who loves us like no one else could. Although it is very normal to look for encouragement and approval from those around us, we must not allow disappointment to devastate us if our hopes are not realised.
In this life, we need human companions as well as God for a companion (Genesis 2:18). If there is no one around you at the moment who is providing this friendship, at least in some way, then actively try to find it. Search for people, If necessary, move church or even where you live, researching where you might go. Life can become a constant test of survival, where you have no real choice apart from just to accept suffering and to stick it out.
God – The Rock, is secure
It can take time to know healing from our hurts and disappointments, and with this to trust God and truly place him as our security. Disappointment is a nasty enemy. We may hope for just simple, basic things in life. Maybe good friends, or a partner to share our live with. But our track record registers disappointment. However, we need not loose hope when we know God. We may not get all we want or hope for, and this is hard to accept when other people seem happy and are enjoying themselves.
With God, all good things are possible. If it is confidence you need, he can bring it, and if it is a miracle you need, he can answer your prayer. Don’t give up or loose hope, and do gain encouragement and help form where ever you can. If there is some sort of a spiritual curse over your life, which stifles you living in freedom and enjoying good things, then he can break it by his power (Colossians 2:13-15)
Grasping to hope
You may be in the depths of pain and disappointment. It may be of some hope to think that Jesus has always been through worse than us. Perhaps it is as if you are finding it hard to breath, such is the fear and depression that chokes you. Jesus must have experienced this and more as he suffered for us on the cross. We at least get to catch our breath, though we suffer.
When we feel very low or isolated, even very basic recognition from other Christians can lift us and bring us hope. It allows us a wonderful glimpse of God and of how life can be for us on earth. Sometimes we feel that we are hanging on for dear life. A friend once used an image to encourage himself. It was of seeing himself in deep waters, drowning. That’s how he felt at the time. He saw a helicopter – which represented Jesus, hovering over the water, and someone reached down to rescue him from the seas. This brings to mind Psalm 18:16:
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters”.
Selfless Trust in God
Healing really can take time. However, we find moments of relief and hope, and quickly learn to take every bit of encouragement that we can get. There is so much hope and encouragement in the Word of God. Don’t ever loose hope when you know God, as he can restore and heal, and he will never leave you. If you do miss out in life, and do not get all that you hope for on earth, he will make things up to you in Heaven. Provision and healing will be made complete. God is perfect, and he will richly reward us if we are faithful, he will not deprive us of good things.
We are all on our way home to Heaven, and on the journey we can know the healing and power of Jesus in our lives. We can know comfort, peace and provision, as well as the privilege of serving others and sharing God with those who do not know him. Hold on, and hold fast to God’s hand. He will never let go. In a field of wounded soldiers, try to get up off your feet and help those who are in need around you. Follow the example of Jesus, and in so doing, know him more.
Thinking Allowed
Yes, but what do you think?
I remember meeting a colleague at one of those Vicar-conference- type things whilst some charismatic rumpus was doing the rounds (like a hawk in a dovecote), and he said to me without a trace of irony: ”What do we believe about it?”
It’s so easy to toe party-lines… to put your brain into deep-freeze… or even simply to let your thinking follow the line of least resistance. It requires a conscious effort to “love God, with all your… mind”. But the truth is that thinking is allowed. It’s good for you.
OK. So having stated the thesis, let’s test it. Apparently, (Telegraph 16/2) senior Church of England bishops are concerned that last week’s Synod vote to allow the church rather than the Prime Minister to have the final say in choosing diocesan bishops may lead to disestablishment. Church Commissioner Peter Bruinvels said the Church was ‘weakening [its] constitutional place at the heart of decision making’, but Philip Giddings, chairman of the Church’s mission and public affairs council, claimed the Government was still ‘committed to establishment’.
In contrast, a UN report claiming that more than 60% of British people have no religious affiliation has called for the Church of England to be separated from the state as its current privileged position does not reflect ‘the religious demography of the country’.
Bit like the BBC hanging on to the privilege of licence fees?
Next week, (according to Guardian 21/2) a delegation of Islamic academics and theologians are meeting at the Vatican to discuss the open letter A Common Word Between Us and You sent to the Pope in October 2007 which highlighted the similarities between the two faiths. That should solve everything shouldn’t it?
By contrast, it was great to hear (Church Times 22/2) that churches in Bridgend County Borough are responding to the numbers of apparent suicides among 17- to 25-year-olds in the area. The ecumenical ‘street pastor’ initiative works in Bridgend town, where according to the Area Dean of Bridgend, Revd Michael Komor, they are ‘well placed to engage with the young people’. Churches in the deanery will open for a day in the next few weeks, offering a safe space to ‘ask the questions’ and the multi-agency suicide prevention group for the area will include a church representative. However Mr Komor questioned recent press coverage, saying it gave the impression that ‘you’d only got to live in the area’ to feel suicidal.
So where does it start, this thinking business? Apparently, an incredible improvement in behavior and academic progress followes the introduction of a ‘Philosophy for Children’ course in 2004 (BBC Online). A Year 4 teacher from the school in Warsall, Beckton said that the course helped children in her class ‘listen and respond appropriately’, express ‘original thoughts’ and ‘demonstrate judgments based on reason’. The school has now produced a DVD Thinking Allowed to illustrate the success of the course.
If only thinking was allowed for people over the age of 9.
Yes, but what do we believe about it?
NIGHT VISION 23rd February TONIGHT
NIGHT VISION…… experiencing
God in praise n worship. feb 23rd.
BANDS/ food
find us at UB56NN
phone 0208845411
pastor kofi for more info
Envisioning Part 2 (January 08)
Welcome to our second Vision Day. Let’s share together and find out what the Lord is saying to us!
A word from Psalm 73 on Spiritual Eyesight: Read more »
A prayer to Father
by Lester Wall
Lord God the Almighty, the Spirit of Truth, God of Seeing—
Be near me Father, for I long to be near You.
I have made You, the Sovereign Lord, my refuge;
I draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith.
Your nearness, is my source of strength, of joy and of peace.
Be near me Father, through Your omnipresence;
You do not miss a move that I make; aware of every step I take.
Do not allow my sin to overtake me.
Help me to lead a disciplined life.
Let not my foolish decisions trap me in a dead end.
Be near me Father, through the Holy Spirit;
That everything I do begin with Your inspiration,
Continue with Your help, and
Reach perfection under Your guidance.
I hope to know the promise of Jesus, when He said to his disciples “I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.”
Be near me Father, through Your Word.
As I read Your Word, let me hear You speaking.
As I read the psalms, let me hear You singing.
A I reflect on each page, let me see Your image.
Give me the strength of will to put Your Word into practice all the days of my life.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Vision Day Restrospective
Thanx to all the particpants in today’s conference. Here’s the powerpoint for a-day-of-vision.ppt. An interesting supplementary question differentiated attractional/ missional meetings. Here’s an explanatory post from Matt Stone over at Journeys in Between :
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about missional ecclesiology over the last few months and one of the things which has emerged for me is a deep questioning about how much energy churches should expend in inviting non-Christians to services, to the point I wonder whether alternate worship services should be restricted to initiates.
How is NOT inviting people missional you ask?
Bear with me for a moment.
At the heart of this is a re-examination of where the church service fits within church life, which I have tried to illustrate here.
In attractional churches, the church services are the primary context for evangelism and the primary gateway through which people are connected into cell groups and other aspects of the community life. The services dominate and mediate the life of the community. There is consequently great pressure on services to be as accessible to non-Christians as possible if they are to grow. Is it any wonder they have become entertainment driven … audience driven? And cell groups have little incentive to engage with the world beyond, their only “misisonal” job is to invite their friends to hear the professional evangelist at the service. Is this really the way things are supposed to work?
In missional churches a different dynamic comes into play. Because the church is engaged as a community in the wider community of the culture, other times become the primary context for social action and welcoming non-Christians into experiences of Christian community. Less expectations need be loaded onto a single hour each Sunday. Resources may be freed up. There is space for the rites of the church to resume their original status, as the inner mysteries of the church.
Think about these dynamics. One significant consequence is that communication patterns are forced to change. Sunday service bulletins are not a good way of informing a missional church community about what is going on in the life of it, when only the hard core attend it. I am sure you can think of more consequences. Everything needs to be rethought in a missional church….
Now what stimulates this thinking? The question of whether a missional cell group can be grafted onto an attractional service. Some say blended approaches can work. Others aren’t so confident. I still don’t know that for sure. But I am sure seeing clear problems.
DESIRING GOD: Resources
Desiring God has made available the audio/video/text from their National Conference entitled “Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints,” held September 28-29 in Minneapolis. If you haven’t found and benefited from these sessions yet, here they are:
1. Certainties That Drive Enduring Ministry, Part 1(John MacArthur)
2. A Conversation with John Piper and John MacArthur
(John Piper and John MacArthur, moderated by Justin Taylor)3. Four Essentials to Finishing Well
(Jerry Bridges)4. Getting Old for the Glory of God
(John Piper)5. Certainties that Drive Enduring Ministry, Part 2
(John MacArthur)
6. Today’s Decisions Determine Who You’ll Be Tomorrow
(Randy Alcorn)7. Speaker Panel Q&A
(Jerry Bridges, Helen Roseveare, Randy Alcorn, and John Piper, moderated by Justin Taylor)8. A Call for the Perseverance of the Saints
(Helen Roseveare)
Internet Therapy
KEEPING A LOOK OUT……..
for Bite-sized chunks of theology with that just-cooked flavour.
Check them out:
Welcome to the family
Hi! We’re Ken and Val Baker, the pastors of Northolt Grange Baptist Church. Here’s the link to the Multimap direction thingie. So now you can visit, ok?
Although we meet to worship in a building, we believe that we, the people are the real church. We believe that the church is the only institution that exists for those who are not yet a part of it, and we welcome all who visit us in an attempt to explore their own faith. As Christians we have the assurance of eternal life through believing and trusting in Jesus Christ the Son of God. He came into the world, and died on a cross to enable every man, woman and child to know forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The style of our Sunday worship service is designed to be fairly lively but also with quiet prayerful times to encourage open participation and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Through this and other meetings we are prayerfully seeking to serve the spiritual needs of people across the generations. As a local Baptist church we are connected to the ‘London Baptist Association’ and the ‘Baptist Union of Great Britain.’ We are also in fellowship with a number of other churches of different denominations in the locality under the title of ‘SING (Soul in Northolt and Greenford).’ We meet together to worship and pray for the needs of our communities and are seeking to promote the Christian gospel through our corporate life and witness.
We freely acknowledge that we really do need each other. Tell me this: who is the most important person in the pyramid?
-
Recent Comments
tessybabie on Building the church Margaret Stafford on The Golden Compass rumpus Christmas on A Christmas Message bohemianprose on Outgrowing Christianity?/ Eyeb… Leza on The Golden Compass rumpus
