Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Oct/2022]

On Sunday 25th September my daughter Diane was leading the Harvest Festival Service at Horley Methodist Church. We sang that glorious harvest hymn, ‘Come Ye Thankful People Come’.

After singing this song for more than 70 years, I suddenly realised that it has more than a harvest meaning. God has a wonderful plan to bring the world into salvation by Jesus dying on the cross for us. The harvest of souls is God’s ultimate plan to bring people home into His Heavenly Kingdom.

At this time in history we need to come into a place of safety, into the arms of Jesus. Many storms are threatening our security and way of life but God our maker will provide for our wants to be supplied if we give our lives to Him. I love that verse in John 4 v 35: ‘The fields are ready for harvest‘.

‘Lord of Harvest grant that we, wholesome grain and pure may be’

So we look for the 2nd coming of Jesus to bring in the final harvest. There we can be with Jesus, free from sorrow, free from sin. There for ever purified in His garner (store house) to abide. Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious Harvest Home.

Amen Lord – come quickly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen
Revelation 22 v 20 and 21.

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[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during October 2022]

Chains can be functional or decorative. Some people will imagine heavy forgings of iron or steel, others will immediately think of gold or silver jewellery. We can refer to chains of command or the DNA chain. One thing that all chains have in common is links.

It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If a chain is over-stressed then indeed it is likely that the weakest link will give way first. You can imagine the embarrassment of a mayoral chain of office hanging in two parts or the potential disaster of a broken anchor chain.

It is the weakest link that gets the attention and all the blame when things go wrong but can we afford to be complacent about the other links? A chain functions as a complete unit, each link is essential, from the strongest right through to the weakest. The principal task of all the links in the chain is to keep in contact with its neighbours and help them bear their load; if one fails then the whole objective is compromised.

Can we see parallels with our church community? It too has members who are weaker or stronger than others. Are those of us who are weak in one way or another willing to recognise that? Are those who are stronger willing to help to strengthen their weaker colleagues? The links of a chain must work together to achieve their common objective; so it is with the members of a church, working together and sharing responsibility for achieving God’s plan, whether it be some great project or attracting those who have yet to recognise him.

In many Bible passages chains are used to signify capture or restraint. We see accounts of captured kings, pestilent prophets, desperate demoniacs and arrested apostles being held in chains. The apostle Paul wrote that being in chains was helpful in that it gave him the opportunity to explain the reason to those around him, and it encouraged other believers in their faith too.^[1] Do we appreciate the potential of adverse circumstances to strengthen our relationship with God, or do we just grumble?

Being chained is a humiliating experience but those chains are physical. Of much greater danger are those spiritual ‘chains’, those things that restrain our spiritual growth. Procrastination, distraction, indifference, pride and unconfessed sins are some of the links in the chains that hold us back but the death of Jesus Christ offers a way to be released. Can you echo the famous words written by Charles Wesley in 1738?

My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

[1] Philippians 1 v12-14

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
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[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 02/Oct/2022]

As I write this reflection I’m having to rearrange my diary because of train strikes in London. Frustratingly, one of the days they have chosen to strike is the one on which I was heading into London for a special event, followed by a meeting with old friends. How inconvenient! How annoying!

Do you ever feel like that? Disappointed and irritated because things haven’t gone to plan? Are you put out by the inconvenience of decisions and events out of your control?

Both Jesus and James shared the stories of people that planned out their lives, only to have the unexpected come and ruin it all! In Jesus’ example it was a rich man storing up his wealth for his own selfish desires only to die before spending that wealth. For James it was guys who boasted about their great plans to go there and do this, when they had no idea what will happen tomorrow, let alone next year!

But maybe you’re like me. So many times I don’t do what I’m supposed to do, maybe even called to do, because it’s inconvenient, or it doesn’t fit with my plans. Perhaps I say “no” to doing something – not because it’s not within my talents or time but because I’d rather do something else less important, but set in stone because it’s in my diary, or it’s one of my normal routines of life.

Is it possible that we are missing out on the abundant life that Jesus is offering us, because we have settled for plans of our own making – plans that in reality we have no control over, and will perhaps be thwarted despite our best efforts?

Perhaps it would be better to put my diary (my plans, ambition, and time) in God’s hands, rather than risk leaving it in my own.

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
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[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during September 2022]

There are many reasons for the changes in the circumstances of life; what will be their impact? Have you ever wondered how people would cope without you? Will the sun keep spinning round the earth at 24 hours per day? Will the moon reflect on your absence? Will there be a collapse of the global economy? Will your colleagues find themselves without a focus for their work? Will your neighbours breathe a sigh of relief? Actually, will anybody notice?

It is difficult to be subjective in assessing our own contribution to the good of mankind. Sometimes we may not appreciate what simply us being there means to other people; conversely, and perhaps more frequently, we are tempted to think of ourselves as rather more significant than we actually are. The Scottish poet Robert Burns had an insight into the dilemma when he wrote his famous lines:

Oh would some power the gift to give us, to see ourselves as others see us! ^[1]

Are there some things that you consider important but other people dismiss? Maybe there was a project at work that was no longer considered important after you retired. Maybe you earnestly endeavoured to contribute to the life of the church or the local community. Then … his name is vaguely familiar – who was he?

The Bible contains many stories about people who thought they were the hub of the universe, that they were the pivot around which the sun revolved. They forgot that God had given them that position and they forgot that he could take it away.

One such was Nebuchadnezzar; we have read recently about his self-image but his story is not complete without taking another look at his downfall. Having boasted about his achievements he then ignored the warning that he was given. He was driven from his throne and resorted to living like a wild animal eating grass and drinking rain. However, unlike the rich man described in Luke 12, Nebuchadnezzar was given a second chance. After the mother of all culture shocks, he came to recognise that God reigns supreme.

Now I praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Daniel 4 v37 [NIVUK]

We cannot count on being offered a second chance so what are we focussing on? Who is at the centre of our universe? What will be our legacy? The death of Jesus did indeed change the world but are we willing to let it change our lives?

[1] ‘Ode to a Louse’, Robert Burns, 1786. (English translation)

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
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[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 25/Sep/2022]

Like many others, I have been moved and touched by the devotion shown by the hundreds of thousands of people who have queued for many hours just to have a brief glimpse of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth. My foster daughter X, who knows how much I admired the Queen, asked if I wanted to go to London to see the coffin. I said that nothing would persuade me to stand in a queue for hours on end, as I find queues and crowds extremely stressful.

Instead, I would wait until I got the chance to meet the Queen in heaven. X replied, somewhat provocatively: “If she’s there”. From what I know of the Queen I have no doubts on that score, but I told X that I was glad she had not expressed doubts about me getting to heaven. She replied: “You’re a good person”, but I pointed out that Jesus had told the “good” people of his day, the religious leaders, that prostitutes and tax collectors would enter heaven before them. It is our faith in Jesus, not our good works, that ensure we enter heaven.

The Queen is just one of many people I look forward to meeting in heaven. It will be wonderful to see my parents again, as well as friends I have lost. There are others who I never knew on earth but whose books I have read and would love to meet, like Jane Austen, George Elliot and Elizabeth Gaskell. Then there are all the great heroes and heroines of faith who have gone before us, like Abraham, Joseph, Deborah and many others.

Yet meeting these people pales into insignificance besides the prospect of seeing Jesus, face to face. We loved our Queen because of her selfless service to her people, yet she was just following the example of her King Jesus, whose presence she is now enjoying as she enters her well-earned rest.

As Paul said to Timothy shortly before his death:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
2 Timothy 4 v 7, 8 [NIVUK]

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
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[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during September 2022]

We have witnessed the end of an era. That phase frequently suffers from over-use but rarely has there been a more appropriate occasion for its deployment. The death of Queen Elizabeth II will not leave many people unchanged; life will go on but, for many, not as we have known it.

Although the monarchy passed immediately upon the death of the queen there are procedures which constitute a de-facto transition period. Officially at least, the high-profile elements of transition were concluded with the state funeral and subsequent commitment but there are many smaller aspects of change that will take time to put into effect. Stamps, coins, passports and other official documents will change in due course. Even Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will change its name, but we will not like them any the more for that!

♔

Why is the new king called Charles the Third? Simply, because he is the third English monarch to have that name.
– Charles I succeeded to the throne in 1625 at the age of 25. His disputes with Parliament led to the English Civil War which his side lost. He was executed in 1649 and a new era of constitutional monarchy was initiated.
– Charles II succeeded to the throne in 1660 at the age of 30. He reigned during the Great Fire of London. He died in 1685 from an apoplectic fit, leaving no legitimate heir. The Great Fire ushered in a new era of urban development.
– Charles III succeeded to the throne in 2022 at the age of 73. The records of his reign are for future historians (and social commentators) to write.

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Much of the Old Testament is concerned with the rise and fall of monarchs; their behaviour, their influence on their people and God’s final verdict on whether or not they did what was right in his sight. While most of the records relate to kings there are some notable queens:
– Makeda, unnamed in the Bible but as the Queen of Sheba she is known to have been rich and famous.
– Vashti, queen in the court of the Medes and Persians, who attempted to usurp the social norms of the day.
– Esther, a young Jewess with both brains and beauty who became queen and saved her people from impending persecution.
– Jezebel, who was so evil that she was denied a proper burial.

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There is another ‘end of an era’ coming. John wrote about it in the book of Revelation:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Revelation 21 v1 [NIVUK]

We, whether alive or already dead, will not escape this event. Are you eagerly anticipating it or does the idea fill you with dismay and trepidation? We do not know when this end of an era will happen but the consequences of being unprepared will be damning[1].

[1] Revelation 21 v8

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.