Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 05/Mar/2023]

God is a God of surprises! Although He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, what He does is often unpredictable. Over and over again in the scriptures we see people EXPERIENCING something which takes them a while TO UNDERSTAND! Just consider the virgin birth, the resurrection, the happenings on Pentecost – in every case, God did the unexpected.

Many of us have been praying for a long time for ‘another Pentecost’ – but I think we’ve been guilty of expecting the Holy Spirit to do things on our terms. I know I have!

Last Sunday was one of those ‘what was that?!‘ mornings. The worship, Dazz’s teaching – the whole atmosphere seemed full of Jesus’s presence. At least that’s what some of us felt. Martin’s invitation at the end for the ‘prayer team’ to come to the front to minister to anyone who wanted it was unexpected, but not entirely. We’ve been waiting to do that for quite a while.

If I seem to be making too much of a what to you seemed puzzling and a bit disruptive, please ask the Holy Spirit to show you what was really going on. Years ago in the Vineyard movement we sang ‘There Must be More than This‘. There will be MUCH more. Jesus is bringing fresh life to His church worldwide, and we will EXPERIENCE it here – but perhaps not quite the way we’ve been expecting it!

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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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Last week’s reflection: He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands by Chris Ginter
 

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

What’s so great about Feb 28?

In some parts of the northern hemisphere it is the last day of winter, tomorrow will herald the official start of Spring, a reason for celebration. In the southern hemisphere the opposite applies; it is time to anticipate the rich colours of autumn and the blessings of the harvest.

For those who are paid on a monthly basis, 28^th February might be a day to look forward to (although next year you will have to wait an extra day). On the other hand, if your birthday falls on 29^th February then this is yet another year when that event will not receive the recognition it deserves. Some people will recall 28^th February as their spiritual birthday, the day on which they accepted God’s offer of salvation. For them this date is one to remember and celebrate but we do not have to wait for a specific date or ecclesiastical season to get right with God.

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6 v2 [NKJV]

That opportunity is still open today but it will not remain open indefinitely. Procrastination can have disastrous consequences.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.
Hebrews 3 v15 [NIVUK]

What rebellion? This verse is a quotation from Psalm 95 v8 which itself reminds us of the way in which the children of Israel rebelled against Moses due to the lack of water in the desert. Moses lost his temper with the people and his attitude displeased God. God provided for the people’s needs but Moses and Aaron were excluded from entering the Promised Land personally.^[1]

Are we ever tempted to obey God in the letter but fail to honour in him in spirit?

One great thing about today is that it is another day in which we can read the Bible, pray and listen to God. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews warned us about neglecting our salvation;^[2] neglect implies that we are not treating things that we already have with sufficient respect. The season for new year’s resolutions is long gone (as have many of the resolutions themselves) but it is still open season for developing a closer relationship with God.

Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, this my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
(Anon)

In terms of your spiritual life, today could be a date to remember.

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Resources:
[1] Numbers 20 v10, 24
[2] Hebrews 2 v3

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: Stirred, not shaken

 

[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 26/Feb/2023]

Just lately it seems there is so much to sort out and care about.

There seems to be restrictions on so many aspects of life …
Don’t do this, don’t say that, be careful where you drive, you may be polluting the atmosphere with dangerous fumes.

I’m so pleased I have Jesus and we can go to Him with all sorts of problems and predicaments.
If I was God, and praise the Lord I’m not, I would end up with a massive headache trying to sort everything out, but in Psalm 2 v 4 it says:

God sits in the heavens and laughs.

Our Father God really has got the whole world in His hands. So if you’re like me and feeling a little bit wobbly at times, our Father God is always ready to sort out our deepest needs.

One touch from the King changes everything. Try wrapping yourself up in a duvet of God’s love to comfort and protect us from our deepest and harshest storms of life, snuggle up next to Him. He’s always there waiting to hear our heart cries.

Give it a try, we can bring all our deepest needs to him. He has a wonderful way of making all things beautiful in His time.

Every blessing,

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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 Do We Do Now? by Michael Goble
 

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

Barbara and I are not the sort of people to have meals at an expensive restaurant, and we are quite happy to have a pub meal or to eat a meal at a moderately priced restaurant. We were once invited out by a couple to have dinner with them, and it was in a restaurant where you would not wish to make a fool of yourself.

We drank our aperitifs, ordered our meals and then the wine waiter brought over the wine list. Our host worked for a hotel chain and was a wine expert, and so that wasn’t going to be a problem, until he passed the list to me and suggested that I chose the wine. I looked down the list and did not recognise the names of any of the wines. There was only one thing to do. In my mind I took a pin and stuck it somewhere in the middle of the list. I ordered the wine as though I knew exactly what I was doing and handed the list back to the waiter. I then sat back and waited for the comments from our friend. I was really surprised when he said, “That was a very good choice. It’s just the wine I would have ordered”. What a miracle! I felt how good the Lord is at just the time we need Him.

There are many times in our lives when we have to make choices, quite often for the important things, such as what career do I follow, who do I marry, what house or car do I buy. In these days for many people it has to be a choice between spending limited resources on food or energy, on our children or on ourselves. For the earthquake survivors in Turkey or Syria it is a desperate choice of how to survive with little or no food or water, with no shelter as the remaining buildings are unsafe, with temperatures well below freezing. Those choices make my earlier choice over choosing the wine completely unimportant.

The most important choice in my life was when I was young to thank Jesus for dying for me on the cross and rising again. By believing this I received forgiveness for all I have done wrong in my life and the promise of life forever with Him. If you haven’t already made that choice I believe it is becoming increasingly urgent for you to do it now.

Over many years we have found that God has guided us with our choices in every stage of our lives. When we last moved house nearly 49 years ago we couldn’t decide which town to live in. We showed the house details to a Christian friend who moved the three houses in Edenbridge at the bottom of the pile to the top and told us to look at those. The next day a family member gave us a cutting from a newspaper for one of those three properties. That one was the right choice and we are still here. The Lord wanted to use it for Inter-church Lent meetings, home groups for 40 years, Alpha courses, and even for a sit down meal for over twenty young people from our church youth group.

Whenever we need to make a choice large or small, just leave it to the Lord and He will make His choice. When we give our lives to Him He makes the right choice every time. Even Jesus in Luke 22:42, when He had the hardest choice to make, said, “Father, if it is your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done”. At great cost the Father made the greatest choice ever in sacrificing His Son for us.

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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: Servants or Friends? by Helen Ruffhead
 

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

Another year, another celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day. Who was this Valentine, how did he become the patron saint of florists, chocolatiers and jewellers?

As with many traditions of long standing, the actual origins are lost in the mists of time. There are several contenders for the title, each with their proponents, but with differing degrees of credibility. The two most likely are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni (also in Italy). Both were members of the early Christian priesthood and were martyred in 269 and 273 respectively.

How did the association with love arise? Valentine of Rome is accredited with writing the first valentine message, a letter to a close friend. It was written on the eve of his execution and was signed ‘from your Valentine’.

The practice of sending letters – more recently, cards and gifts – has become widespread globally, although not necessarily on the same date. A few countries have attempted to ban the practice as contrary to their interpretation of Islamic law but elsewhere the practice has become big business for those who sell cards, flowers, chocolates and jewellery.

Who is the world’s greatest lover? Once again, there are many contenders but, for Christians, only one legitimate claimant:

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

Did you receive a Valentine message today? Are you feeling unwanted? You are not alone – not alone, in the sense that many other people have the same experience but also not alone in the sense that there is someone who loves you. In his letter to the church in Rome the apostle Paul asserted that:

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5 v8

God’s love is unconditional, his offer of eternal life is available to all who believe. Can love that is unrequited or neglected survive? We need to cultivate our relationship with God otherwise how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?^[1]

In 1882 the blind Scottish cleric George Matheson penned these well-known words:

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

Make this your prayer today.

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Resources:
[1] Hebrews 2 v3

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

 

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

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Matthew 24 v7 [NKJV]

The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have reminded us once again of the frailty of human life and the risks that we face every day. In the period since then we have heard of more earthquakes in other parts of the world including New Zealand, south-east Europe and even closer to home.

The images on our screens show rescuers scrabbling through the ruins in the hope of finding more survivors. These images have evoked a world-wide reaction with many people stirred into wanting to help in some way. In Turkey and Syria assistance and aid has arrived from many countries, including from nations that are not normally friendly towards the two countries affected. Sweden is in dispute with Turkey over NATO membership, Russia is involved in a civil war in Syria, Ukrainians have their own need to recover people from collapsed buildings yet they are each amongst some 90 countries which have offered help. Will the interaction of individuals on the ground affect their leaders’ political ambitions once the dust settles?

In a predominately Muslin society disasters of this type are often considered to be the ‘will of Allah’; other people will ascribe these events to ‘fate’. Are we tempted to blame God for causing them in order to ‘teach mankind a lesson’? Elijah’s experience suggests otherwise:

… there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 1 Kings 19:11 [NIVUK]

Having said that, there are occasions when God has used earthquakes. In the prophecies of Amos, Zechariah and Ezekiel we read of an earthquake in parts of Israel and Lebanon in around 760BC. Amos in particular associates this earthquake with God’s judgement on several sinful nations, including Israel and Judah.

In Matthew’s account of Christ’s crucifixion we read that ‘the earth shook, the rocks split’; later we see another earthquake as the stone was rolled away from his tomb. God used an earthquake to release Paul and Silas from prison in Philippi, resulting in the conversion of the jailer and his family.^[1]

For many years, Christians have associated earthquakes and other natural disasters with the onset of the ‘end times’. This association is reinforced by several mentions of earthquakes in the book of Revelation and now we are 2,000 years closer to the fulfilment of John’s vision. Does the apparent increase in the frequency of these events shake our faith in God? Jesus himself warned against anxiety and speculation:

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Matthew 24 v6 [NIVUK]

We may not be required to dig through the rubble of a collapsed building but we will all face challenges of a greater or lesser nature. How do we react in the heat of those challenges? Will our faith in God stand up to the test; will we doubt the security of our foundation or will we be stirred into a closer relationship with him? It may be helpful to recall the words of John Greenleaf Whittier written in 1872:

Breathe through the heats of our desire thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!

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Resources:
[1] Matthew 27 v54, Matthew 28 v2, Acts 16 v26

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: Love is …