Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 11/Feb/2024]

A close relative of mine is going through a very difficult time. It has involved a lot of prayer and fasting on their part and growing despondency as the situation did not appear to be getting any better. There were times when doubts and confusion set in and she asked “does God not care? Surely He sees what I am going through…”.

She recently sent me a message saying that she had a prompting to pray and after an hour of doing this, she said she ended up telling God that she felt He wasn’t answering her prayers. She then got a phone call. It was from her daughter. She had been on public transport in Nigeria, heading home, when it became clear that the mini-bus driver and a couple of other passengers were up to no good. Kidnapping is rife in parts of the country, and she feared the worst. They then got caught up in a traffic jam and she managed to persuade them to drop her, saying she needed to deliver medication to an ailing relative. It turned out that she was within minutes of her house, and she ran the remaining distance and got home safely. When my sister heard this, she said “God, I was accusing you of not answering my prayers. I had no idea that you were answering the most important ones”.

You may be going through a testing period at the moment, and it might seem that your prayers are hitting a brick wall and can’t get through. I would like to reassure you that God may not grant our wants, but He will meet all our needs.

Christ’s death on the cross was for people like me, people who did not realise that what they needed the most was a way to be reconciled with God, people who did not realise what it would cost Him to make this happen.

Paul the apostle, tries to bring things home to us when in his letter to the Romans, he says about God, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things”.^[1] In essence, if God would do that for you, what can there be that you need that He won’t provide for you?

So, however difficult things may seem, don’t stop praying. God’s got your back.

I often quote from songs in my articles in ‘Yours’, and the one that comes to mind are lines from ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’,^[2] which say:

Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pains we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

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Resources:
[1] Romans 8 v32 [NIVUK]
[2] Joseph Scriven (1855)

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: The God Who Sees by Dennis Ginter
 

[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 04/Feb/2024]

Our home group has discovered an amazing worship song, The God Who Sees by Kathy Lee Gifford. She videoed it – appropriately- in the desert of Israel.

When we listened to it this morning, I found myself deeply moved, realising that all my life I’ve been living as though I’m not being seen. My very early childhood helps explain my avoidance of face-to-face relationships, but only now – as I approach 84 – am I becoming aware of how much I’ve missed!

Expecting to be passed over, I’ve preferred to look the other way whenever God or other people have wanted to know me intimately. Almost all the big mistakes I’ve made in life – and there have been many – have been those of a lonely little boy needing to be seen. Sometimes sabotaging relationships, retreating into himself so as to avoid pain.

If this rings a bell with you, just acknowledge it and let the Holy Spirit do what only he can do! I will do what I can to let myself be seen.

Are you joining us for the Essential Jesus reading plan? If you‘d like to you can do so here.

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Resources:

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: Stop Flapping and Soar with Jesus by Chris Ginter
 

[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 21/Jan/2024]

When I came down stairs the other day first thing in the morning and looked out of the window I saw many sea gulls gliding across the sky. They were gliding on the air currents, effortlessly, not flapping around, just being who they were and enjoying the morning sunlight.

In the Bible it says, they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk & not faint.^[1]

I want to soar in the air currents with Jesus.

When we were in Malawi we saw the fish eagles soaring in the air currents above the water waiting to catch fish when they were called by the fishermen.

Sometimes in our lives we are flapping around trying to make things happen so we can be an effective witness, doing this that and the other, when it seems like Jesus is saying, just ask me, trust me and I will do what is right in this situation.

It has recently come to my attention when Jesus was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and they had run out of wine all His mum did was to bring the situation to Jesus’s attention and Jesus did the thing that was needed.

As we bring our needs before Jesus it’s a wonderful thing if we can trust Him to bring about what is needed.
I always want to fix things but as we surrender all to Jesus, He will do what is necessary and it’s not always what we’d choose, think or expect.

He did say, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
O taste and see that the Lord is good, He really is!

Every blessing,
Chris Ginter

Are you joining us for the Essential Jesus reading plan? If you’d like to, you can do so here.

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Resources:
[1] Isaiah Chapter 40 v 31

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: Who is Your Role Model? by Helen Ruffhead
 

[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 21/Jan/2024]

Recently we were asked in church which famous person we would most like to meet. I said Josephine Butler, whom most people have never heard of but I see as my greatest role model, after Jesus.

Josephine and her husband George, a clergyman, lived in Victorian times. Like Jesus, both of them cared deeply for those on the margins of society. Josephine visited women in the local workhouse and actually sat down and picked oakum with them, even though it was horrible work that took the skin off your fingers. As they worked together, they became friends and she was able to share the gospel with them.

Josephine and her husband cared for a number of so-called fallen women in their own home, including a prostitute dying of consumption and venereal disease. On her arrival, instead of sneaking her in by the servant’s entrance they took her to the front door and George escorted her up the steps. Following the example of Jesus, George treated this most despised woman with dignity and honour.

Josephine was particularly outraged by the double standards of Victorian society that branded women as “fallen”, while men were excused their moral lapses. In 1864 the Contagious Diseases Act was passed, which gave police the right to arrest any woman, on the mere suspicion that she might be a prostitute and subject her to a brutal physical examination. With the full support of her husband and sons, even though they knew that their careers would suffer and that they would be a laughing stock, Josephine campaigned to abolish this law. During her campaign, Josephine faced insults, extreme hostility and death threats. Just as Jesus had found, mixing with outcasts, exposing hypocrisy and challenging the authorities aroused fierce hatred. Society was outraged that she was talking about things that a lady should not even know exist, but she carried on for 17 years until at last the law was repealed.

Josephine also joined the campaign for the raising of the age of consent from 13 to 16, to protect young girls who were being forced or tricked into prostitution.

I see Josephine Butler as a great feminist in the best sense, not fighting for her own rights but helping her less fortunate sisters, speaking up for them and treating them with compassion and honour, just as Jesus did.

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Resources:

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: Let’s Talk To Jesus by Dazz Jones
 

[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/Jan/2024]

I don’t know about you but in the hustle and bustle of daily life, I find it’s not long before I begin to feel a little disconnected from God. However, the heartening and unchanging truth is that each one of us has the extraordinary opportunity to know Jesus personally and engage in heartfelt conversations with God every single day!

The very heart of the good news is the idea that we are not merely spectators in a distant relationship with ‘God on high’, but that we are his adopted children! So we are invited into an intimate and personal connection with Jesus. The writers of the Bible remind us that He is not a distant figure but a friend who walks beside us, understanding our joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

In prayer, we open a direct line of communication with Him, the Saviour and one through whom the universe was created. It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to open up our thoughts, concerns and feelings and invite Jesus in. In those moments of prayer, we can experience the profound reality of a God who listens, cares, and responds. It can be a transformative experience that changes our lives. It would empower us to face challenges with faith, find comfort in times of despair, and celebrate the blessings that surround us.

I am reminded by the Essential Jesus reading for Sunday 14th Jan, (which is the account of the temple being built and the people of God celebrating!) that being able to ‘commune with God’ is something I may just take for granted sometimes. The people of God were so excited to finally have a place to meet God in that they sacrificed so many of their livestock that the people forgot to count them. I wonder if the equivalent would be something like us giving away our homes, cars or life savings to charity in God’s name (I’m just guessing here … ) but I don’t know if I’ve ever felt excited enough to even approach that level of excitement.

As we move forward this year may God remind us that we are welcome to know Him and encourage us to pursue that goal with great gusto!

Are you joining us for the Essential Jesus reading plan? If you‘d like to you can do so here.

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Resources:

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: Walking in His Footsteps by Dazz Jones
 

[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 07/Jan/2024]

I’ve found it helpful to have that extra reason and accountability to get into God’s word and its been really fun so far to be following the theme of looking at Jesus.

I hope some of you might be discovering things about Him for the first time! Or that like me, if you’ve been reading the bible for what feels like “a long time” which can make it difficult to find ‘new’ things that we’ll be reminded of something we’ve forgotten or be reminded of things we’ve become too familiar with.

The struggle with the Bible being as old as it is, means that sometimes it’s hard to contextualise the stories to our own lives as it can feel a bit detached from our current reality. The thing I’m particularly enjoying at the moment is the reminder that Jesus was a real human being. Now, I don’t think I’d forgotten that fact, but I do feel particularly aware of it at the moment, as we read about Him specifically and as we look forward to reading more about His interactions with people.

The truth that he was a living breathing human being with thoughts, feelings and opinions about things is really significant for me right now. When I feel anxious, I can know that Jesus felt that too, if I feel excited he can relate to that. When people frustrate me or intrigue me and I read about Jesus interacting with people, I know that he would have been having thoughts, feelings and opinions about them too. Yet he always chooses to show people love and compassion; I get the impression that He would always find the best in anyone and pursue that wholeheartedly.

As difficult as that can be I think it’s the greatest of goals. Jesus asked us simply to Love God and Love others, and I think one of the best ways we can Love God is by loving others. Jesus showed us the way whilst he lived here among us and I’m excited to rediscover the significance of his living, breathing example over these next 90(ish) days.

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Resources:

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: Baptisms & Blessings by Martin Shorey