BH Bulletin - Wednesday 17 June 2020

Thought for the Day by Alex Forrest
​(Voluntary Staff Worker)

​James 5
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 
Just before lockdown (remember, about 5 years ago!) we were all instructed to wash our hands, and wash them properly. I remember being surprised that I’d been washing my hands wrongly for my entire life! After I was told by friends, people around me, and obviously by the government advice how to properly wash my hands, I started doing it that way, and will continue to do it properly for the rest of my life.
James 4 also tells us to wash our hands, but it’s really a different part of our anatomy that we’re being commanded to clean. We are being given the correct instructions on how to wash our hearts. It’s not with soap and water for 20 seconds. But through submission, resistance, humility, and most importantly, coming to God. That’s how we deeply change our hearts for the better. Submit to God, resist the Devil, and pray in humility and honesty.
I love the way we are told to come to God in grievance, mourning and wailing. To change our joy to gloom. I know I’m definitely guilty of responding to the question “How are you doing?”, insincerely. Simply shrugging off and saying “yeah, not too bad!”. I feel like we sometimes do that with God in prayer. We come to him saying, “everything’s alright, just a couple of things I’d like to pray for”.
But if we’re feeling distressed in our lives, come to God in distress. If we’re feeling sad, come to him in our sorrow. If we’re feeling upset, come to him in our ‘upset-ness’. Mourn and wail all you like. God knows how you feel and he wants to help you. Be real in front of God.
We have plenty of reasons to be in distress at the state of the world right now. Sickness, injustice, violence. When you come to God to pray for those things, it’s okay to let your emotions show. Come near to God and he will come near to you, and as he does you will feel your heart being washed cleaner as you grow closer to God.
​Alex

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​Dialogue, Discussion, Debate by Giles Cockman
​(BH Member)

What’s the difference and how can they help when talking about Jesus to others?
In business, we’re often reminded in meetings or 1-1 conversations to state the purpose at the outset. Are we to debate? That means, defend my point of view to the hilt, go in with the mindset of “I’ve got to convince the other person to my view, or else”, and therefore we can come across like panelists on BBC1’s Question Time. Rather dogmatic!

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​Or are we to discuss? This still means being clear about what you stand for, and being confident, but this is combined with showing an identical level of interest in what the other person believes, what their ideas are, or what strategies they have.

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​Perhaps we are to simply have dialogue. This means going into a conversation with a mindset of curiosity. I would suggest, to listen much more than we speak, to follow the other person’s line of thinking, not ‘steal the talking stick’ back off them, and give them the oxygen to fully express themselves.

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So how does this apply to evangelism and which of these are most suitable when the subject of Christianity comes up in a conversation with a friend or family member who doesn’t (yet) know the Lord Jesus?
Maybe we have the opportunity to ask a question to begin with…
-Do you have any spiritual beliefs?
-Who do you think Jesus was?
-What do you think happens after death?
However, I think we’re sometimes then tempted as soon as we hear an answer, to rush in, in debate mode to correct  – “Ah, no, you’re wrong, because in the Bible it says….”. Our intent is positive, but what impact does it have on the other person? It’s likely to close the conversation down – or even fracture the relationship.
I reckon it’s a good idea to remain in at least discussion mode…
1 Peter 3:15
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
“That’s interesting, tell me some more…”
Then, perhaps: “What do you think Christians believe about this?”
Then, at a suitable point in the conversation: “Can I share what I believe as a Christian”. Followed by a Bible verse.
Or continue in dialogue, with a few follow-up questions:
-Where did you first hear about Jesus?
-How have your spiritual beliefs helped you?
-Have you always held that view about death?
 
Now all of these ideas are to provide loose frameworks, rather than ‘word patterns’ for conversations!  And as we pray, before and during these conversations, God will guide us through the Holy Spirit to give us the direction we need – and in which way He wants the conversation to go.
What do you think? Let’s have some dialogue!
​Giles

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BH Youth Live Reminder

​Stephen and Lizzi Demetriou will be hosting BH Youth LIVE on YouTube from 7:15-8:15pm tonight. 
Today, we're looking at Self-Control from Genesis 39. Also tonight, Stephen's head will be shaved live on YouTube! (He's not looking forward to it!) If you’re 11-18, come join in the fun! Message Stephen to get involved

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