Hope For Today

Dear Friends, I preached last Sunday in my home church on the faithful love of God found in Psalm 107  (NLT). I was encouraged as I read this psalm in my quiet time and knew it  was something I wanted to share with others and encourage them with too. (If you would like to listen to my sermon on which this blog post is based, please click  here  and then click on the date: Sunday 28th April 2019.) I found four examples of God's faithful love in this psalm. (Please take time to read the whole psalm before reading any further.) 1. In our Spiritual Desert, v4-9 Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.  Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.  For he satisfies the thirsty and ...

Dear Friends, I was interested in reading this book partly because of who the author is but mainly because the theme of the book is of interest to me. Christy Wimber shares openly in this book about her own struggles and also how God has changed her thinking on the subject of healing and wholeness. I admire anyone who allows God to change the way they have thought about a topic, especially when they have thought this way for some years as this is not easy. As I read I felt challenged to be more open to God changing the way I think. The theme of the book is not an easy one to write about as it can be an emotive one. However, as someone who has lived with chronic ill health and depression for many years, I found the book was written very sensitively.   In her introduction, Christy writes, "My prayer is that I can encourage the church to reopen and reexamine some of its beliefs and practices surrounding healing. But I don't only want to challenge the church...

Dear Friends, In The Garden of Gethsemane Image by  Heather Truett  from  Pixabay   In recent weeks I’ve been thinking and meditating on Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Whilst it represented to Jesus one of the most painful times in his life, I have drawn much comfort from it and it’s this comfort which I want to share with you.  They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  Then he returned a...

Dear Friends, I've never really thought about faith in art until last Sunday morning when Martin Relf (a local church leader) came to preach. His message was on Mark 4  and the Parables of the Farmer Scattering Seed, the Growing Seed and the Mustard Seed.  He illustrated some of his points using Vincent van Gogh's painting:  'Sower with Setting Sun'  Faith in Art As I listened I was both encouraged and challenged by Martin's message and have been reflecting on it ever since.  There is such a powerful message in this particular painting by Vincent van Gogh.  It seemed good to me to share with you what I have learned from Martin's message as well as my reflections during this week. I hope you too will be encouraged and challenged.  1. The Sower. The Sower is anonymous. We cannot see his face and because of this, he can represent me and you. The sun is setting behind him, he has been at his work all day long, faithfully sowing his seed....

Dear Friends, Battling the Voice of Condemnation (Photo by  Juan Pablo Arenas  from  Pexels ) How often do you listen to the voice of condemnation rather than God's voice which speaks words of love and encouragement to you? Maybe you don't struggle with this. But it is something I battle against time and time again.  It's Mothers' Day this coming Sunday in the UK and it's in the area of being a Mum where the voice of condemnation is at it's strongest and loudest. I heard somewhere that the Devil personalises his words of condemnations so that they seem as though they are coming straight from my own mouth. He is so cunning at getting me to think and feel and believe these words are truth. It's as though he has the tape in my mind on a loop or on repeat over and over again. I tell myself I'm not good enough as a Mum, I've let my children down and not been there for them when they were young, I've failed them, I haven't shown them...