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And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1Kings 19:12) In recent decades, the variety of types of holiday that people can experience has widened considerably. You can holiday in cities, on beaches, visit vineyards or battlefields.You could go on cruises, safaris or visit national parks, botanical gardens and even rum factories! And then there’s the accommodation. This could vary from, ‘overwater bungalows’ to castles, luxurious pool villas to log cabins, mansions to county homes, the list is endless. Noticeably absent from these popular destinations are vacations in wastelands and deserts! There are no prizes from guessing why this is the case. These places are usually uninviting, dry, barren, hot, austere, inhospitable, harsh, forbidding and uncomfortable places. Who wants to holiday in Wilderness World? However, it’s interesting to note some major incidents that happened when God took people aside into a wilderness, a desert; it was there that he spoke to them. Moses was one of these people. Moses, a shepherd, was tending the flocks in the wilderness when God spoke to him from a burning bush and commissioned him to set the children of Israel free. Later in Moses life, God would visit him again in a wilderness, this time the wilderness of Sinai, and give to him the Law that would help lead and guide the children of Israel. One day, weary, depressed and wanting to die, Elijah found himself in a wilderness. It was in that place of pain and aloneness that Elijah heard the ‘still small voice’ of God which gave him the direction he needed for the next phase of his life. Notice that in each case, the wilderness became a place of God speaking. Physically barren but spiritually overflowing with goodness. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. (Hosea 2:14) There are times in life when we find ourselves, spiritually, in a wilderness. The wilderness can be the result of some kind of loss, crisis, tragedy, loneliness, conflict or hardship. We naturally shrink from the wilderness. “God, take us anywhere but the wilderness!” But God has higher, and deeper plans for our wilderness sojourn. It is there that He wants to speak to us, to reveal Himself to us in depths we did not find when we lived in our land of comfort and plenty. God wants to take us to a place where, as Isaiah puts it, The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. (Isaiah 35:1,2) Are you willing to endure the dry, harsh, forbidding, painful journey through the wilderness? If you do, you won’t regret it. Pauline Ann Anderson
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This Thought for the Week has been written by Peter Hodson. Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. (Matthew 7:24-25) The tallest building in the UK is the Shard, standing at some 309.6m high. The geological makeup beneath it is a mixture of various soil types, including clay, silt, sand and gravel - not good for building anything on! The 100+ pile foundations, each around 1.5m in diameter, had to go some 53m down to reach bedrock and around 700 lorry loads of concrete had to be poured into the ground to stabilise the soil. Much of this work went on relatively unseen and was time-consuming. If the ground could speak, it would probably cry out with the enormous upheaval and agonising boring of the piles! However, the result was a firm base for what was once the tallest building in Europe and has won a number of awards for architectural excellence. The Shard, beautiful as it is, is an earthly building and it will have a limited lifespan. God wants to make something far more beautiful - something that will last for all eternity - your life in the image of Jesus Christ! The preparation work, like the foundations for the Shard, is mostly unseen, often painful, and takes time. The writer to the Hebrews said: No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:11) We need to let God’s word of truth bore into the unstable and ugly parts within us of sin and self, and let his transforming love pour into the innermost part of our lives. The concrete of the unchanging word of God sinking deep within our hearts will bring His stability, peace, joy and true freedom. He is making a building that cannot be shaken by circumstances, moods or feelings and will last forever. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28) In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:19– 21) Peter Hodson There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18) Very often, when we contemplate Biblical teaching about ‘the tongue’ we are drawn to the famous chapter in the Book of James that so eloquently deals with the subject. We read strongly worded verses verses such as… “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5,6 ) And... Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:10) But,it was not just James who dealt with this topic. The use / abuse of the tongue is a topic that many of the authors of the Bible tackled. Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! (Psalms 34:12-13) To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. (Titus 3:2 ) Even Jesus had something to say about the tongue. How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (Matthew 12:34,35) And Billy Graham reminds us: “A harsh word can’t be taken back; no apology can fully repair its damage.” God tells us that words have power. That power can be used to bring comfort, solace, encouragement, healing. But it can also bring stress, discouragement, wounding or humiliation. We can use our tongue to bring blessing, or we can use our tongues to bring pain. The choice is ours. However, we must also remember that it’s not only our words that wound. I, personally, have suffered more from the WAY things have been said to me rather than words themselves. Maybe some of you can identify with that. An unkind tone of voice can bring the fiery darts that wound so severely and can leave a mark, sometime for years. Time and time again, the Bible reminds us of the importance of the use of our tongue.Thousands of Christian writers have reminded us. Pastors have reminded us. Friends have reminded us. Maybe, for someone today, this will serve as an important reminder. Let’s not ignore it. Pauline Anderson There will be no more gloom. (Isaiah 9:1) In 2020, During a trip to Israel, I spent a few days in the Galilee. It’s a truly beautiful region. Unlike the desert of the south, Galilee is lush and green in spring, with Mt Tabour and Mount Arbel carpeted with wild flowers that are a feast for the eyes. Surrounded by such beauty, it’s difficult to imagine the tragedy that once took place here. Centuries before the coming of Christ, Galilee had been the first part of Israel to be ravaged by the Assyrians. They pillaged, plundered and depopulated the region until Galilee was broken, wounded and reeling from the pain. However, in Isaiah 9:1 we read: “There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan- the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” We can’t help being amazed at the accuracy of the fulfilment of this prophecy as we read through the New Testament Gospels. It was to this same region, centuries after the pillaging by the Assyrians, that God sent His son to live out his childhood and grow into manhood. It was Galilee that became the centre of Jesus’ ministry. In Galilee, instead of death and suffering and sadness, we read of healings and deliverances that brought great joy to multitudes. We read of water being turned into wine, a Roman Official’s Son being healed, evil spirits being driven out, lepers healed, a boy and a girl being raised to life and the blind being able to see. Surely, ‘a light has dawned’. Friends, if you identify today more with the old Galilee, the broken Galilee, the empty Galilee, then let your faith rise. ‘A light has dawned’ on the old Galilee and that same light can rise on the empty and broken parts in your life. When that happens there will be ‘no more gloom’. Let the Jesus of Galilee come to your old Galilee and transform it. Pauline Anderson So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36) This week, Jews all over the world , have been celebrating a feast called ‘Pesach’. The English translation is Passover. At this time they remember the miraculous intervention of God when He freed them from their hard bondage to the Egyptians. Can you imagine how the captives felt as they started on their ‘exodus’ from Egypt? They were actually going! They were actually becoming free citizens! Free from oppression, free from repression, free from slavery, free, free, free!! This weekend, Christians worldwide celebrated a different exodus. This exodus was brought about by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who conquered our slave driver, our oppressor, our hard task manager, the devil. This opened wide the way for mankind to enter into a new kind of freedom, freedom from sin!! If there was rejoicing in the first exodus, how much more is our rejoicing in this second exodus? The New Testament lists around 80 sins. Here are just a few of them;
Our sin not only hurts others, it damages us also. It can cause emotional pain, physical, mental or physical pain. Sin is always destructive. In John 10:10 we read: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” However, the next part of that verse says “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” We also read; Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Today we can lift up our voices and shout a glad and grateful, hallelujah to God. With the death and resurrection of Christ, there is power for us, through Christ, to find victory over our sin. Because he lived, because He died, because he rose again, we can experience our own personal exodus from sin, and deliverance into a land of freedom from sin, it’s consequences and it’s pain. Pauline Anderson In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5:16) Within the pages of our Bibles lie many precious gems. Like diamonds and sapphires, our Biblical gems don’t always lie on the surface. Many have to be mined. It takes a lot of patience and effort to find precious gems, but it’s well worth the time and effort. One gem I found recently was in relation to a young girl called Hadassah. She lived during the time when the Jews from Judah had been carried off to Babylon. Her parents died when she was very young and she was adopted by her cousin who ‘took her as his own daughter’. (Esther 2:7) The name ‘Hadassah’ is a Hebrew word that means ‘myrtle’. Hadassah is better known to us as Esther, after whom one of the books of the Old Testament is named. We don’t know when Hadassah’s name was changed to Esther, but it may have been just before she was taken to the palace to become a potential chief wife of King Ahasuerus. We read in Esther 2:10, “Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai charged her not to reveal it.” Mordecai, her adopted father, wanted to protect her from the possibility of anti-semitic reactions. Esther means ‘star’. On reflecting on the significance of the two names, Jonathan Cahn, in his ‘Book of Mysteries”, observes, “A myrtle grows under the heavens. But a star exists as part of the heavens. A star is certainly much higher than a myrtle. Stars do what myrtles can’t do. They shine. And do you know how they shine? They burn, they expend themselves as does a candle. They give up their essence…and, by that, they shine. So their shining is an act of self-sacrifice. They must sacrifice themselves to shine, to become stars.” Hadassah, an orphan girl growing under heaven, was exalted to Esther, a star shining as Queen on the throne of Persia. “She was a myrtle set on high places. But the day came when she had to make a choice. Hold on to her position….or risk it all, even her life, to do what is right to save her people.” (Jonathan Cahn) She chose what was right. She said ‘If I perish, I perish’. At that point, Esther truly did became a shining star. Esther maybe did not choose her name but she did choose whether or not to live up to it. You may be reading this and you identify yourself with Hadassah, a myrtle. But constant obedience to God and walking with him daily affords each one of us the opportunity to “shine as lights in the world”, (Philippians 2:15) We can all be Esthers if we choose. “Live this day as a heavenly light. Live as a living sacrifice, a gift given for the purposes of God. And you too will shine as the stars.” (Jonathan Cahn) Pauline Anderson Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21,22) The Hebrew word for ‘waters’ is ‘Mayim’. It has it’s origin in an old Hebrew word which means ‘chaos’. In bygone eras, our ancestors were afraid of the sea. They were cautious and fearful of deep bodies of water.Their boats could not withstand the ‘chaos’ that often erupted, even on a lake, and many a life was lost to a watery grave. On 8th June 1972, a nine year old girl’s life was thrown into unimaginable chaos when she, along with group of civilians and South Vietnamese soldiers were fleeing for safety as her home town was being attacked. Her name was Phan Thị Kim Phúc. A bomb exploded near her. The bombing killed two of her cousins and she received third degree burns down her back and arms after her clothing was burned by the fire. She was hospitalised for 14 moths during which time she endured 17 surgical procedures including skin transplants. Pain was her constant companion. It wasn’t until ten years later that Kim Phúc was able to properly move again. For ten years she lived with bitterness, hatred and anger. She lived with the question, “Why me? Why did that happen to me? Then in 1982, tired of the suffering and pain, she wanted to commit suicide. However, one day in a library in Saigon, she found a New Testament and she became a Christian. She said , “My enemies list became my prayer list…forgiveness set my heart free.” She swapped her chaos for forgiveness and has gone on to help traumatised children over many years. As Billy Graham said: “In one bold stroke, forgiveness obliterates the past and permits us to enter the land of new beginnings.” This is true of God forgiving us, but it is as equally true of us forgiving others. Is your life in chaos today today because you are holding on to unforgiveness? Are you bitter, angry, resentful? If a young girl, physically and mentally scarred by chaos can forgive, so can you. It’s a matter of choice. Pauline Anderson Footnote: Kim Phúc is more widely known as the Napalm Girl in the famous Pulitzer Prize winning photograph. She features in the centre of the photograph along with other children, running along the bombed road crying, followed by South Vietnamese soldiers.
This week's Thought is written by Pauline Anderson. Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24) Many of the words in the English language derive from words from other languages. It’s estimated that around 30% of our words in English are from French origin while around 60% of our vocabulary has its roots in Latin or Greek.
The word ‘sapphire’ comes from the French word ‘saphir’ which is from the Latin ‘sophirus'. This, in turn comes from the Greek ‘zafeiri', which originates from an ancient Biblical word ‘sappir’. ‘Sappir' means 'to speak, to tell or to declare.' Let’s look at two important lessons we can learn from this. Firstly, the sapphire is an exceeding precious jewel. But more precious than any jewel are the words that God speaks to us personally. These are His sapphires. Do we treasure each word that God speaks to us? Is it precious to us or do we sometimes take His word for granted? Secondly there are many verses in the Bible that encourage us to speak, to tell or declare to others in a way that is helpful. These should be our sapphires. Here are some examples:
Someone has said, “Our words are stones. We are nothing but stone throwers with each word we speak. If our words contain beauty people treasure them. If our words contain pain people toss them aside, but not until after they have had to deal with the wound they caused.” (https://snailpacetransformations.com/) Every time we communicate with others we have a choice as to what will come from our mouths. Stones or sapphires. The choice is yours. What will it be? Pauline This week's Thought is written by Peter Hodson. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus”. (Hebrews 12:2) Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of his glory and grace. This well-known, beautiful hymn was previously called “The Heavenly Vision” and was written in 1922 by Helen Howarth Lemel. It was inspired by Helen’s reading of a tract by Lilias Trotter entitled, Focussed. Part of the tract read: “Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him… for He is worthy to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win.” Lilias Trotter, tells in her article of an early morning walk in a little wood; “The sun was climbing behind a steep cliff in the east, and its light was flooding nearer and nearer and then making pools among the trees. Suddenly, from a dark corner of purple-brown stems and tawny moss there shone out a great golden star. It was just a dandelion, and half withered – but it was full face to the sun and had caught into its heart all the glory it could hold and was shining so radiantly that the dew that lay on it still made a perfect aureole round its head. And it seemed to talk, standing there – to talk about the possibility of making the very best of these lives of ours.” Perhaps we can relate to being “just a dandelion, and half withered”! It could be that we are going through difficulties or have just become distracted by the pressures and demands of life. Yet there is no situation too remote, nor time too inconvenient, where we can’t lift our eyes to the Sun of Righteousness who has risen with healing in His wings and let his glorious light bathe us and fill our souls. For He who’s light is never dimmed is always there for us and he said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Like the sun that caused the dandelion to reflect that beautiful golden glow, so Christ can fill our poor limited vision with Himself, and we too can make ‘the very best of these lives of ours.” Peter Hodson And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) On Christmas Day 2021, The James Webb space telescope was launched into space by NASA. It is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble space telescope which has been sending us images from outer space since 1990. This project which has been thirty years in the making, costing $10 billion, is no mean feat of astronomical engineering. The potential for failure is enormous:
Yet, despite the potential for failure, there are those who were brave enough to see the potential for success and believe it could be done. In 538 BC, while serving the King in Babylon, Nehemiah was getting reports of the dilapidated condition of the home of his ancestors. The wall of Jerusalem had been torn down, the gates had been destroyed by fire, Jerusalem lay in ruins. God placed a desire in his heart to rectify this situation by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and, although on the surface there seemed potential for failure, Nehemiah realised that the ‘gracious hand of God’ was upon him and he travelled with hope in his heart of success, and not failure, to Jerusalem. The walls were rebuilt though not without difficult and throughout all the setbacks, Nehemiah held on to his confidence in the God who sent him. He believed it could be done. He obeyed even in the face of potential failure. Friend, there are times in life when we face situations that look seemingly impossible, yet God asks us to move forward. Perhaps this is where you find yourself today. Nehemiah obeyed God’s bidding. So can you. Pauline Anderson |
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Struthers Memorial Church is a registered Scottish Charity No. SC 006960 | Struthers Memorial Church is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland Company No SC335480 | Registered Office: 33 West Stewart Street, Greenock, PA15 1SH. |