Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 26/Mar/2023]

What is worship? For most of us, the word conjures up an image of people gathering together and enthusiastically singing songs of praise to God. It was something I missed terribly during those 16 months when the church was closed. Yet worship is so much more than just singing. In Romans 12 v1 Paul says: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”.

Several years ago I was chatting to a lady in a wheelchair after church and she asked me to take her to the toilet, which I did. As I was helping her back into her wheelchair I felt God say to me: “That was your most important worship this morning”. I am sure he would say the same to those who give up the chance to enjoy the service in order to help with the children and young people’s groups, as well as those who help people in other ways, like giving lifts to church or helping with foodbank or our Colour Wheel community café. As Jesus said in Matthew 25 v 40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”.

Jesus also spoke about unacceptable worship, when our hearts are estranged from him (see Matthew 15 v 7-9). Recently I was talking with someone who told me that she had belonged to a large Charismatic church in the US, with very enthusiastic worship. She had been employed by the church to look after the sound system used in the worship, until they discovered that she was transgender, when they made things so difficult for her that she was forced to leave. All I could say to her was that Jesus always befriended those who were rejected by society and by the religious people and I apologised on behalf of the Christian community. It made me wonder how acceptable the worship was to Jesus after the church had acted in this way. If someone rejected one of my children, the last thing I would want to do would be to stay and listen to them praising me. Instead I would run out to my child, comfort them and let them know that I would always love them. I am sure that Jesus would do the same.

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections
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Link to Index of Bible Passages
 
Last week’s reflection: There Are Many Ways We Can Give by Michael Goble
 

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2023]

Delving once again into the dusty archives of English literature we find that discontent with the way Scotland is governed is not new. In 1606 William Shakespeare wrote his play ‘Macbeth’ in which his eponymous anti-hero plotted to overthrow the established authority. Many lines from the play have become well-known, often quoted out of context and not always accurately, like this example:
Is this a knife before me, its handle towards my hand?

As with last week’s quotation, the concept behind the words is not new. Macbeth certainly was not the first person to be troubled by seeing a knife close to hand.

Is this a knife before me, its handle towards my hand?
Might these have been the thoughts of Abraham in 2054BC as he stood beside the altar on which lay his son, Isaac? Was God really asking Abraham to sacrifice the son that he had waited so long for? Was Abraham ready to comply? How could he explain to Sarah when he returned home without Isaac?^[1]

Is this a knife before me, its handle towards my hand?
Some 740 years later, Isaac’s descendents had become a nation in their own right but one which had turned its back on the God who had provided so much for them. For some 18 years they had been under subjection to a Moabite king. One of the leaders of the Israelites requested a private audience with the king during which he assassinated him using a knife concealed in his garments; he too had a knife before him, its handle towards his hand.^[2]

Is this a knife before me, its handle towards my hand?
In 863BC we find Elijah confronting the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. Once again the Israelites had abandoned their spiritual heritage and now it was time for a showdown. The priests used their knives to slash themselves in a frantic but futile attempt to attract the attention of Baal. After they had failed, Elijah used his knife to prepare a bull as a sacrifice to God, a sacrifice which was received in a dramatic show of strength.^[3]

Is this a knife before me, its handle towards my hand?
In around 600BC God sent a message to the people of Judah, once again warning them about the consequences of their behaviour. When this message reached Jehoiakim the king, what was his reaction to the warning?

Whenever Jehudi (a court official) had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. Jeremiah 36 v23 [NIVUK]

Jehoiakim used a borrowed knife to try to defy the word of God. History records that he came to an ignominious end.

Macbeth is a story of ambition, conspiracy, murder and the nightmare of remorse without relief. Despite being Christians, we can still be tempted to think like Macbeth; thank God that we rarely get the chance to put those thoughts into practice.

Unlike Macbeth we can find repentance, relief and renewed life through Jesus Christ. Are you still living a nightmare?

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Resources:
[1] Abraham, Genesis 22 v19, c2054BC
[2] Ehud, Judges 3 v15, c1316BC
[3] Elijah, 1 Kings 18, c863BC
Dates are taken from the BibleHub timeline and are approximate.

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections

Link to Index of Bible Passages

Last week’s reflection: It’s a Breeze
 

[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 19/Mar/2023]

It seems hard to believe that at one time there was only one way to give to a church or various charities. Comparatively few people had cheque books, and so the only way to give was putting some money, usually coins, into a collection box. For many voluntary organisations this was their main source of income.

It is still the same today for some charities. For instance, the Royal British Legion rely heavily on their Poppy Day collections, but of course the boxes need emptying, counting and paying in to their bank account. I can remember when the British Legion brought in hundreds of boxes to the bank where I worked and the staff used their “spare” time to count all the money and pay it in. This was part of the bank’s contribution to the community but sadly not today.

It is really good that today we have many different ways to give to the work of charities, but especially also to our church. No longer do we have “the collection”, but we can give our gifts to the Lord by monthly standing orders or by credit or payment cards, as well as by cash or cheques. It is good to see that we have a card reader at the back of the church to make our gifts to the church, and also for special needs. Recently we were able to use our cards to bring hope to the Ukrainian people, through the Dnipro Hope Mission, as they face their suffering in the war caused by the Russian invasion.

Since the new church was built we have longed to build a place at the front of the church where we can meet together on Sundays as a growing community. If we don’t do this we shall no longer grow. Even though the present financial conditions make things difficult, there are still those who regularly give by bank standing orders or other ways in the hope of making this happen. Perhaps we can go back to having sacrificial gift days as we look to the future of our church.

About 10 years ago a number of us started collecting our loose change in empty Pringle crisp tubes for the church building, and during that time over £9,000 has been collected. I know that these days cash is not used as much to pay for our needs, but if you do use cash and wish to take the weight of lots of coins off your pocket or purse, then put your loose change into an empty Pringle tube after you’ve enjoyed eating the crisps. When it starts to get heavy, write your name on it and give it to me or leave it at the church office for me to collect. I shall be very happy to count it and let you know how much you gave. After all, “Every little helps”.

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections
.
Link to Index of Bible Passages
 
Last week’s reflection: Not Quite What You Were Expecting by David Makanjuola
 

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2023]

Pupils following the English curriculum of a previous century would have been introduced to the rich resources of English literature. Long before the arrival of the age of digital education we were encouraged to commit to memory various extracts from plays and poetry. Some of those memories can be quite persistent, here is one such example:

Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.

These words were written by English poetess Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) but the concept of the wind being invisible goes back much further. Consider these words of Jesus recorded in the gospel of John:

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3 v8 [NIVUK]

However, there is a problem – modern meteorology does allow us to know where the wind is coming from, where it is going and even when it will get there. Anemometers can measure the speed of the wind and the observations described in the Beaufort scale of wind force can demonstrate the effects of the wind but, nevertheless, we still cannot see the wind itself. Does this understanding of the wind make the words of Jesus irrelevant or even obsolete?

Jesus always used illustrations that were appropriate to those who were listening to him. In this case he was talking with Nicodemus and the primary topic was the need for rebirth through the Holy Spirit. The characteristics of the wind were used to show how the Holy Spirit works, unseen but recognisable by its effects.

How can we recognise the effects of the Holy Spirit? There is a spiritual equivalent of the Beaufort scale? In his letter to the churches in Galatia, the apostle Paul wrote:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5 v22-23 [NIVUK]

This is not just a piece of literature that we could memorise (although there are benefits in doing so) but rather it offers us guidelines to both recognise the work of the Holy Spirit in other people and reflect it in our lives. Of course, we will need help.

Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,
that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure.^[1]

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Resources:
[1] Edwin Hatch (1878)

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections

Link to Index of Bible Passages

Last week’s reflection: Giving Up
 

[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 12/Mar/2023]

I read Dennis’ article in ‘Yours’ this week and was blessed by it. He said “Jesus is bringing fresh life to His church and we will experience it here, but perhaps not quite the way we’ve been expecting it”. Jesus has asked us to go into the world and make disciples of all nations. Our hope is that we will be able to do this and that many will come to know Christ, and that we will see more people come to join us in worshipping Him.

One would expect that a physical sign of this happening is that we will see many more people attending church services as a result, but it is important to remember Dennis’ words, that this may not happen in quite the way we expect it to.

In the Connect in Faith prayer group meeting on Saturday, we read about the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15 v11-32). This will be familiar to many and tells the story of a man who had two sons and the younger one demanded his inheritance, took it, squandered it in careless living, but then came to his senses and went back home to his father, hoping to be accepted not as a deserving son, but hopefully at least, as a slave. His father however, welcomed him with open arms and threw a party. The older son could not believe this. He was outraged that his brother could have been accepted back so easily after all that he had done. He couldn’t understand how his father could have forgiven him, let alone throw a party for him.

I have read that parable many times and almost each time, I learn something different. Picture the father as God, we (the church) as the older brother, and the people who we have gone out to share the good news with and make disciples of, as the younger son. When those we have reached out to with the good news of Christ make a 180 degree turn in the direction they are headed (repent) and turn to Christ, and they come in to the church to worship Christ with us, will we accept them with rejoicing as Christ has (the Bible says that for every sinner who repents, the angels rejoice in heaven), or will we accept them grudgingly, perhaps only if they come as hired hands rather than as brothers and sisters, or worse still, will we reject them, thinking for whatever reason that ‘their sort’ aren’t fit to worship with us?

A little poem I heard many years ago comes to mind:

I dreamt that death came to me the other night. Heaven’s gate swung open wide. An angel with halo bright ushered me inside.
And there to my astonishment stood people whom I had judged and labelled as quite unfit and spiritually disabled.
Harsh words rose to my lips but never were set free, for much to my surprise, no one, it seemed, expected me.

To paraphrase Dennis again, the people that come to our church seeking to find God, led there by His Spirit, may not be the ones we were expecting. We must pray to God that His Spirit gives us grace to be humble enough to remember that we were ‘that sort’ of person too before He rescued us from the road we were travelling on.

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections
.
Link to Index of Bible Passages
 
Last week’s reflection: What Was That?! by Dennis Ginter
 

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2023]

I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils.^[1]

These words were written by William Wordsworth in 1802 and have given pleasure to aficionados of English literature for over 200 years. Many generations of school pupils have also become familiar with the words, although probably not voluntarily so. Daffodils are regarded as the national flower of Wales where they figure prominently in the celebration of Saint David’s Day.

The climate of the English Lake District 200 years ago was somewhat different from that which we are experiencing now, and daffodils have become less reliable as a herald of Spring. Nevertheless, when they do start to show their golden blooms we know that warmer times are coming.

The common daffodil is also known as the Lent lily. For those who follow a traditional ecclesiastical calendar, the six weeks prior to Easter are observed as a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent alone in the wilderness prior to the start of his earthly ministry. Those 40 days were a time of fasting and prayer, and are reminiscent of similar periods spent by Moses and Elijah in Old Testament times.

Many Christians try to emulate the fasting by ‘giving up’ something that they usually enjoy, and some people outside of any faith recognise the potential benefits of a similar period of lifestyle review. To the dismay of chocolatiers and confectioners, the common perception is that the most likely items to be given up are chocolate and sweets but no doubt this is more than compensated by the subsequent binge on chocolate eggs and bunnies that usually occurs at Easter.

Historically, there was some resistance in the more nonconformist denominations to recognising Lent but recently more people have come to recognise that the underlying principles of Lent can have some value to them. The examples from Moses, Elijah and Jesus show how a period of abstinence and meditation can help us to be ready for the work that God calls us to do. We cannot do the ‘full forty’ without food and water but we can take time each day to “be still and know that I am God” ^[2]

Lent can be an excellent trigger for an improvement in our lifestyles, but it will involve a certain degree of sacrifice. The three principal elements of Lent are fasting, prayer and alms-giving. These can be replicated: by giving up (or reducing) our treats we have more money for tithing, by abstaining from too much tv we can have more time to listen to God, by sharing our talents we can help others in their spiritual walk.

At one point in his life, king David wanted to offer a sacrifice of thanks to God. A wealthy supporter offered to sponsor the materials required but David’s response was one that we would do to emulate:

I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. 2 Samuel 24 v24

Whether or not we recognise Lent in a formal way, it gives us an opportunity to think about the sacrifice that Jesus has made for us. What is your response?

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Resources:
[1] William Wordsworth, 1770-1850
[2] Psalm 46 v10

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections

Link to Index of Bible Passages

Last week’s reflection: A Date To Remember