Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[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
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[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

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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.

[This reflection was written by Michael Goble and published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 18/Sep/2022]

We shall always remember the first emotional speech of King Charles after the sad death of the Queen, as he made his promises for the future and also tearfully paid tribute to her as a monarch and a mother. Towards the end he said, “And to my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. Thank you…”.

It was those words about a last great journey and joining his Papa that reminded me of a poem, attributed to Victor Hugo, the author of “Les Miserables”:

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says; “There, she is gone!”

Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There, she is gone!” there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout; “Here she comes!”

That is dying.

✝

As the Queen reached her heavenly home, her dear husband, Prince Philip, and many others of her family and friends she knew during her long life would have been watching for her. No doubt the cry would have gone up, “Here she comes!”

But most of all, her King and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom she witnessed to and often spoke of during her life, would have been watching too. I am sure that as He greeted her, He would have said to her, as He promised in Matt. 25:21, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

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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.

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

Australian pastor Damon Sokolowski of Albany Baptist Church made the following observation recently: “What do webs and nets do? … They catch prey!”

Indeed, fishermen and fowlers use nets to detain their quarry whilst spiders often build elaborate webs to capture their victims. The psalmist was aware of the dangers:

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
Psalm 91 v3 [NIVUK]

Of course, for us ‘net’ and ‘web’ have acquired a different meaning but the potential for ensnaring the unwary is all the more exaggerated by their familiarity. You may have come across some of these online hunters:
~ that up-to-no-good classmate who has a sure-fire enterprise scheme but wants to use your name to give it credibility;
~ that girl who chatted to you and now claims to have a photograph album that you might want to buy;
~ your long-forgotten cousin who has made a fortune in Nigerian oil and would like to share his good luck with other members of the family – all he needs are your bank details.

Does this mean that modern technology is an instrument of the devil? No but, like so many things, it has the capacity to be used for both good and evil. It is the motives of those that use these tools that determine whether they are a benefit or a threat. Jesus used an illustration that would have been familiar to his hearers:

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
Matthew 12 v33 [NIVUK]

Taking this forwards, we can argue that technological advances can be used for positive as well as negative purposes. The development of the printing press, which made the scriptures widely available, also provided the means for the spread of indulgence and deceit.

It is not just the tools and technologies that we have available that have potential for good or evil. Our lives, too, can be lived in a way that reflects positive or negative values. Do we look for an opportunity to share our blessings or are we indifferent to those in the snares around us?

Long ago, when webs and nets were just physical objects, Jesus gave some advice to his listeners:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5 v16 [NKJV]

[1] Sermon, 13/Aug/2022

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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.

[This reflection was written by Martin Shorey and published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 11/Sep/2022]

I’ve left you an example of how you should serve and take care of those who are weak. For we must always cherish the words of our Lord Jesus, who taught, ‘Giving brings a far greater blessing than receiving.’ Acts 20 v35

I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have been a member of the clergy in Victorian times. For a start I probably would have had a big house and some servants, at least if I was an Anglican, but I also think that my job role would have been a lot simpler – look after your flock, and tell them about Jesus. And my flock would have been pretty much everyone in the local vicinity, because most people were culturally Christians, and would probably have attended churches regularly, if not weekly.

How things have changed! Churches are now islands surrounded by a sea of people who neither know of Jesus or care about Jesus. They live lives totally disconnected from anything the church might do, and the church is therefore seen as an irrelevance. In response, the church has found it far easier to look inward and care for our own rather than face the disappointment of attempting to reach beyond the confines of the building.

And yet Jesus’ model of ministry was very much the opposite. He cared deeply for those he saw in trouble. He went out into the community, he hung out with the undesirables of society, and he brought about massive change to people’s lives. Jesus was so popular, because he was deemed relevant to people’s lives, and he did that by loving them, serving them, and meeting their needs, physically as well as spiritually.

As Jesus’ representatives on earth, do we have the same priorities as Jesus? Are we intentional in seeking relevant ways to serve those people that surround us? Do we ask them what they need, or do we assume that they want what we want to offer? Should we care as much about the people outside our church, as we do about those within?

How should our answers to these questions change what we are doing at HBC?

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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.