Posts Tagged: ‘Romans’

Trust

[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 17/Mar/2024]

In returning and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
Isaiah 30 v15 [NKJV]

After spending 6 months trying to fathom out what on earth is going on with my body, fighting illness and not being able to fully participate in all sorts of activities that I’m used to, I have come to the conclusion that I really do need to trust Jesus more.

I can glibly say, I trust Jesus, but to be totally honest, if I’m truthful, it’s not that easy. Or it is easy when I’m feeling well and sickness hasn’t presented its head that day. So my attitude has become, Lord I really don’t understand what’s going on right now but I give it all to you, show me Lord how to handle the present circumstances over to you.

Even though it all looks like nothing seems to be going forward – it’s amazing when I cry out to you and ask for help and really surrender, God seems to break through with simple answers and doors open that no man can shut.

So as I move forward in the days ahead in whatever life style and activities God has for me, I’m learning to take one step at a time. I really don’t like cancelling plans and letting people down but in the process God seems to be bringing me face to face with new opportunities to have contact with folk that I would never have come close to before.

Romans 8 v28 has come to the forefront of my thinking again.

All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.

So you could say, where I was floundering, I’m trying to leave all things in God’s hands.

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Contributor: Chris Ginter
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Advent

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 08/Dec/2019]

Advent: The Season of Hope and Expectation
It’s hard to believe that we are now just a few weeks away from Christmas! The usual flurry of decorations, lights, cards, present-buying and menu-planning fight for our thoughts and attention, despite that we said we would be ahead of the game this time (well, I did)! Each year I too get caught up in this whirlwind of activity, and my appreciation of the Advent season and the real meaning of Christmas can take backstage instead of centre stage.

But I set out with intentionality this year, to change pace, to grow in my relationship with God, to “listen” more for what he is saying to me, to us, to “see” more of where he is working in my church, my family, my own life, to “enquire” more of His heartbeat for our world, to be “present” more to his presence within and around me. Whether aided by this process I am not sure, but my thoughts seem to be constantly taking me to the Kingdom of God – what does it look like, am I walking in it, do I notice it around me, do I see it in others?

I think we often think of the Kingdom of God as something mainly “to come” or “in the future”. For now, we live in this fallen world but when Christ returns, he will bring the Kingdom with Him – some refer to it as “the now and not yet of the Kingdom of God”. It’s easy to feel like that when we look at our world which, at times, feels like it is imploding under the burden of sin, wars, pain, politics – not to mention our physical planet which is suffering and shrinking under the effects of plastic over-use, global warming, tree deforestation and more. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22)

And yet we read in Mark’s gospel that “The time has come,” and “the Kingdom of God has come near”. Note the words has come, not is coming! I believe we see or bring the Kingdom each time we help one another, pray for each other, bless people, listen to our God. The Kingdom comes with the birth of a baby, knit together in the Mother’s womb, a miracle in the making. The Kingdom comes when we walk alongside another in their pain, their spiritual journey. The Kingdom comes when we use our voices to stand up for what is right, to support those who don’t have a voice – the poor, the weak, the unborn child, the sick. The Kingdom has come in the heart and spirit of every Christian, and everywhere we go, we take the Kingdom with us. Romans 14:17 says “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit …”

As we journey through ‘Adventus’, which means ‘come’, let us pray “Maranatha” which means ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. As we do this and our prayers rise to heaven, we invite the Kingdom to come more and more. And let us not forget that, to Jesus’ disciples (us), He has not only come, but He stayed and dwells permanently in our hearts. The Kingdom of God is that near!
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Contributor: Lesley Edwards
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