Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

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

Every now and then something happens to disturb our carefully balanced daily routines. A change in the arrangement of the shelves in our local supermarket means we cannot find the wasabi-flavoured crisps; new tv schedules mean that it is not so convenient to watch our favourite shows; the neighbour’s chicken keeps singing ‘Happy Birthday’ at the crack of dawn.

Are these minor irritations? Maybe, but they can set up a frame of mind that affects how we react to other events during the day. Unexpected visitors – do you see them as bring pleasure when they arrive or do you looking forward to the delight of their departure? Are you critical of someone for something that was not their fault? Is the milk of human kindness slowly turning into curds and whey? Just image what Colonel Sanders could do with that raucous chicken!

This line of thought was triggered by a gust of wind that blew over a power line which feeds the transformer that runs my local internet hub. Was an earlier writer bemoaning the loss of his web connection when he wrote, “What is life if thou art dead?” I suspect not but I cannot research the actual quotation because the internet is down.

In a corner of a much-neglected shelf I have some books – do you remember books? They are made of sheets of paper bound into a protective cover that has a particular affinity for collecting dust. Apparently they used to be a way of conveying information. They don’t need an internet connection or a battery, just a bit of solar power is enough to read them by.

There are books in the Bible. In the one written by Mark we read of what are possibly the two most famous chickens in history – one that crowed and one that swore.^[1] The latter went on to write a couple of books himself. They are addressed to us as believers and contain words that will be familiar to HBC members:

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2 v5 [NIVUK]

Do you recognise that you are an integral member of God’s church, supported by those around you and supporting them in turn. Collectively and individually we are building a relationship with God, how is the building work going?

There are also books in heaven. John the visionary wrote about them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. Revelation 20 v12 [NKJV]

Are you happy with what is being written about you?

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Resources:
[1] Mark 14 v71-72

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.

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Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Link to Recent Reflections

Link to Index of Bible Passages

Last week’s reflection: The First Day
 

[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 02/Apr/2023]

Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry. Jesus was arriving in Jerusalem and the people went mad. They threw a party and laid out the “coat carpet” for him.

Though it is a relatively humble entrance, I get the impression from the Bible that the welcome was extraordinary and vibrant! The people seemed desperate to let Jesus know they were excited to see Him arrive in their town. They threw the clothes off their backs and pulled down branches from trees almost out of necessity so that they might not let the moment pass without paying tribute to their king and Saviour.

But not everyone was excited to see him, so I don’t think everyone was there to welcome him. Which begs the question, who were these people? Doubtless, there were the notably absent ‘Jesus haters’, the high priests and schemers who would later plot to have Jesus executed. Yet, were there also perhaps, some who were simply a little sceptical or perhaps some who were just a bit nervous to associate themselves so openly with Jesus just yet, until they’d seen him in action?

The next question I ask myself is then … would I have shown up? Would I have grabbed what I could and thrown it all out in the street to scream and shout and get excited? Or would I have watched from a distance and consulted with others first?

If Jesus came to Horley, would you go to the welcome party? Would you get involved and throw your coat on the ground and wave palm (or maybe oak tree) branches? Or would you keep your head down and check in with those who went afterwards about whether he seemed like ‘the real deal’?

It’s not a fair comparison really, because if we’ve read the Bible we know Jesus rose again and went to heaven to be with God; so if “Jesus” came visiting Horley we’d have good reason to be sceptical. The question is though, how willing would we be to be very publicly associated with Jesus, would we be willing to literally parade out in the streets for our friends and neighbours to see?

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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: True Worship by Helen Ruffhead
 

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

Do you attach any significance to first days? Philatelists certainly do; stamp collectors place a premium on envelopes carrying postmarks issued on the first day on which a set of new stamps is put into circulation. The world’s first self-adhesive pre-payment postage stamp was issued in Britain in 1840; unused examples of this stamp can be extremely valuable.^[1]

Can you remember your first day at school? At some point in the middle of the previous century I was led by the hand into a strange building and then left to the mercies of a group of children similarly abandoned. Fortunately there was an adult present who prevented the situation developing into a mixture of ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Lord of the Flies’. Significantly, I can still remember the name of that teacher some 6+ decades later.

How about your first day at a new school, where you are the new kid and everyone else is well established. Did anyone bother to tell you the rules, the routine or even which room you should be in? It can be a very confusing and lonely experience. Do we recognise that first-time visitors to our church might have similar feelings?

For Noah it was the first day in a new world, all clean and freshly washed. After 40 days of listening to the rhythm of the falling rain and another 3 months of mucking out his floating menagerie, all Noah wanted was to feel something solid under his feet. Instead he received a solid promise from God and then the whole cycle of night following day and season following season started over again.^[2]

Inevitably we are led into consideration of the first day of the week, but which day is it? In the Americas many people consider Sunday to be the first day of the week but in Europe and the antipodes Monday is more common. Leaving aside those communities who start their week on Saturday, the rest of the world is well balanced between Sunday and Monday.^[3]

In the times of the Old Testament Israelites the days were generally known numerically: Day1, Day2, etc. By contrast many of the surrounding nations named the days after various gods or celestial entities. From the Babylonians, through the Greeks and then the Romans this system persisted and, with localisation of the names, eventually we received those names that we use today.

Given the idolatrous origin of the day-names it is not surprising that the New Testament writers avoided using them. Instead, there are numerous references to ‘the first day of the week’ and, with Easter approaching, we will doubtless be reminded of the historical events of one particular first day.

Luke the historian records a cautionary event that occurred on the first day of a week. A young man who was listening to the apostle Paul preaching fell asleep and fell to his death out of a window. He was brought back to life but the incident reminds preachers and listeners alike that long sermons can be an effective cure for insomnia.^[4]

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Resources:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Black
[2] Genesis 8 v22
[3] https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/days/first-day-of-the-week.html
[4] Acts 20 v7-12

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: All Cut Up
 

[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
.
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