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Thought for the Day by Chris Dalton (Member of BH)Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” This is part of the view from my bedroom window – it’s easy to spot BH tower and the sea in the distance. If I’m sitting in my armchair in the living room, I can’t see any of it. It doesn’t occur to me, ever, to think that because I can’t see the English Channel it’s no longer there. I don’t imagine for a second that because I can’t see it somehow it no longer exists. My bedroom window has a great view and having seen it once I don’t doubt that the sea is there even on a foggy morning. On a hot day I may go down and dip my foot in it or even swim in it and then I actually feel how real it is [and how cold!] Whether I feel it or see it or not doesn’t change the fact that it’s there. Similarly, if I were to say to you [and almost anyone else on the planet] on a cold, wintry, cloudy day that the sun was a figment of someone’s imagination and if it did exist it certainly wasn’t bright or hot or powerful then I think you’d say I was daft! I’d have to agree😊. The light from the sun, which I was doubting, is the only reason I would be able to see the clouds which obscured it. Strangely, we don’t often follow this thinking through when it comes to God. God doesn’t always answer our prayers as soon as we’d like or even in the way that we’d like. Some days are difficult or just plain horrible and we wonder if God is there or if He is how could He be a loving, powerful God. If we want to know the reality of God, we go back to that day in world history when His Beloved Son was skewered to a wooden cross because “God so loved...” and we rejoice that God IS love and He never changes whatever the weather, whatever our view. He is the reason we exist and we exist for Him and can confidently put our hope in Him Who raised Jesus from the dead and gives us forgiveness, His Holy Spirit and eternal life. Lockdown Praise UpLockdown, praise up! are short videos aimed at young people but suitable for everyone to get our hearts and minds looking up higher. Everyday there will be a brand new video up on our YouTube Channel. Lockdown Praise Up! 10 minutes a day from the book of Philippians. Please click on the link below. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCLfW_6eqLlfr82_QD0JVsGw
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Thought for the Day by Phil Washington (BH Member)Faith Tested 'Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves’ 2 Cor 13:5 Many folks are being tested to see if they have, or have had, Covid-19. This verse talks about the ‘testing’ of our faith. You see, there is a danger that our faith can be counterfeit, and won’t save us at all. Some of the saddest verses in the bible to me are Matthew 7:21-23, where the Lord is warning that not everyone who calls themselves a Christian will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There will be many on the Day of Judgement who will be shocked not be allowed in. ‘But Lord, didn’t we prophesy, drive out demons and perform many miracles in your name?’ (v22). These people were deeply religious and active in their (counterfeit) faith. But, they were unknown to Christ. ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers’ (v23). Please don’t let that be you! How can we test our faith to make absolutely certain it’s the genuine thing? The clue here is in the words ‘I never knew you’ spoken by the Lord. How does He know us? Firstly He knows us because we have entered in through Him already. He is the gate for the sheep. Personal faith in Christ is the way to enter the Kingdom of God. The shepherd knows His sheep. Secondly He knows us because true believers are forever resting on Him, praying to Him, walking with Him. Their faith is not an activity – it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ, and a living one at that. Not sure of your faith? Then test it – examine yourselves in the light of the bible. Seek the Lord now, who is the giver of true faith. Ask, and it shall be given. Seek, and you will find. Come and pray - Tuesday 21 JulyThere will be a short prayer meeting on Tuesday 21 July 19:30 to 20:00 over zoom. Please join the meeting via MyChurchsuite. Please let the office know if there are any problems Thought for the Day by Anna BouchAnna is from St Luke's Prestonville, in training for ordination and will be with us on placement until the end of August. 1 Peter 1:13, ESV: "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." As part of my placement with BH I’m writing a personal journal. In one of the first entries I’ve written that I am full of hope for what I will learn and pray that I might have a prepared mind, and heart to learn it, but also that I’m a bit nervous I won’t be able to serve God as He might want.
It was this passage that got me thinking that sometimes we’re tempted to pin our hopes on things that we can lose, like our sense of identity, our ‘ego’, our worldly achievements, or the football results going the way we want them to. This passage tells me to fix my eyes on Jesus, because, if I keep on in faith and hope in him, he’s going to reveal to me whatever it is I need to learn, he’s going to open new life in me through hearing the Gospel afresh. I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity God has given me, in this placement, for learning and growth as a disciple. Thought for the Day by Ben Martin (Curate)Take a moment and think of someone that you know really well, the sort of person who you can finish their sentences or just glance across the room and know instantly what they are thinking. Thought of someone? Now ask yourself this question, is your relationship deeper, fuller, richer because you know them in a deeper, fuller, richer way? Keep that in mind as you read these words from Paul: As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-5) When Paul wrote to Timothy about the church in Ephesus one of first things he told Timothy to do was to tell some of the leaders to not teach certain doctrines (Doctrine means truth). In other words he was to tell them to not spread things that were not true about God, and by implication to teach people right doctrine, right truth. Right doctrine leads to right understanding of God… But here is the key bit… the more we know God, the more we will love him. The deeper, fuller, richer we know God, the deeper, fuller richer our relationship will be with him. Therefore as Christians we ought to be those that long to know more about God, we ought to be trying to understand what it means for God to be the creator and for us to be his created creatures. We ought to be longing to know something more about what it means for God to be a triune God. Why? Not so we can pass a theology test, but because the more we grapple with such things the deeper, fuller, richer our love of God will be. To close, here is a really helpful quote from Frank Sheed that sums it up well: ‘A virtuous man may be ignorant, but ignorance is not a virtue. It would be a strange God who could be loved better by being known less. Love of God is not the same thing as knowledge of God; love of God is immeasurably more important than knowledge of God; but if a man loves God knowing a little about Him, he should love God more from knowing more about Him: for every new thing known about God is a new reason for loving Him.' If you would like to try and dig a little deeper into God but don’t know where to start please get in touch and i’d love to help you start digging. Ben We have a Guardian by Phil Moon (Vicar)On October 31, 1942, Winston Churchill addressed three thousand mine- owners and mine worker delegates. He said: ‘I sometimes have a feeling of interference. I want to stress that. I have a feeling sometimes that some guiding Hand has interfered. I have a feeling that we have a Guardian.’ His faith was vindicated to the full by event after event during World War ll It would appear, however, that that guiding Hand responded to a national willingness for this nation to call upon God in their hour of need. Post-virus, post-Lockdown plus the glorious weather is having a rejuvenating effect on society. For now. But the future, especially for younger generations, holds daunting challenges. Will we as a nation take a lesson from history as outlined below and will the Church lead the way? Dunkirk 1940 - the King called for a Day of Prayer. Crowds flocked to church to pray. What was widely acknowledged as a miracle occurred with a gap in the awful weather, plus Hitler inexplicably halted his advance. Battle of Britain August 11,1940 - a Day of Prayer was called by George VI. The following week 180 enemy aircraft were shot down September 8, 1940 - defeat in the air seemed inevitable. The King called another Day of Prayer. That week, 185 enemy planes were shot down and Goering gave up his assault. By 15th September, Churchill was able to declare victory in the air. Planned invasion of Britain 23rd March, 1941 - the King called another Day of Prayer unaware that this was the date chosen by Hitler for the invasion. German ships were blown off course and the Fuehrer changed his entire plans. North Africa September 1942 - a fifth Day of Prayer was called. Montgomery was appointed as the commander of the Eighth Army and led the British forces to the significant victory of El Alamein - a major turning point of the war. Italy 3rd September, 1943 - a sixth Day of Prayer was called. Italy surrendered within 24 hours. D-Day and beyond Spring 1944 - a seventh Day of Prayer was called for all military personnel. As at Dunkirk, the poor weather hindering the offensive suddenly gave way to fine weather on 6th June allowing the Normandy invasion to begin, during which time far fewer lives were lost than expected. Psalm 11:3 "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Phil 25 years in Bolivia - the Frith's latest newsletterThought for the Day by Simon James-Morse |
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