To sing praise to God when we see His deliverance is easy. It’s a natural response to the exuberance and exhilaration we feel when we see His miraculous hand at work in our lives, as Moses and the Israelites demonstrated when they saw the Red Sea part before them and the Egyptians drowned as they pursued God’s people (Ex 15:1-18, 21).

God’s praise, however, can be sung even when it is not easy, ‘when the sky turns dark and heartache falls/ And a lonely painful season calls.’ (‘We Will Worship’, Kutless) We can choose to bless God’s name when we enter the desert of suffering and when confusion is our closest companion, not because we are happy in these circumstances, but because God’s character has not changed: ‘No matter what this life holds in store, the truth remains, You are Lord.’ (‘We Will Worship,’ Kutless)

Our tendency when heartache falls and life is difficult is to retreat into silence: bewildered silence, sullen taciturnity or even resentful grumbling (‘it’s not supposed to be like this, God!’) The Bible suggests an alternative path is more beneficial, however: the path of sacrificial praise. (Heb 13:15)

Instead of silence, praise God. Sing truth about Him instead of believing the lies the enemy whispers into our soul, lies about God’s goodness and love, lies about His purposes and kindness, lies about ourselves. This may feel artificial at first, even hypocritical, but faith is not simply about feelings. It is about obedience to God and about praising Him no matter what. (Hab 3:17-18) Give praise a go. This spiritual weapon can lead us out of darkness and despair into a place of confidence and victory, for our God is still the sovereign Lord.

We have recently had letters from Bedline and Innocent and it’s good to maintain that contact with the children we support. We will be sending Christmas cards and gifts shortly to the three children we support.

Fredrick and Reeba have sent us a letter detailing the news of their new building project. We visited this building on our trip to India last year, but there was much work to be done. When the church construction work started, they had £500, but now are halfway through the project and have spent more than £7000! Fredrick says, “Right from the foundation work, walls, raising pillars till the roof level and filling the land we saw God’s favour and provision. People from our church came forward and helped us in getting materials like sand for construction; some bought cememnts, bricks and steel. Young people every evening after their work come and help us in the building. Today we have completed concrete roofing work.”

Sacrificial saving and giving has been key to this work proceeding. There is much work still to be done:

• flooring work, laying tiles
• plastering the inside and outside walls
• electrical work, wiring, lightings and switches fixing and fans
• painting walls
• plumbing and sanitary connections
• building toilets and fixtures in the toilets
• wooden doors, steel grilles and windows fixing
• roof plastering

As you can imagine, this work costs money (an estimated further £7,000), but if all goes well, the church building could be dedicate by Christmas. Please continue to pray.

Smartphones are wonderful devices, enabling us to stay in touch with people and to stay connected to the world. They have become for many much more than a portable means of communication; they are our lifeline to information, our connection to friends and family, our means of sharing experiences, our music centre, our library, our map for life. We feel bereft and naked without them, cut off from ideas, people and news.

Yet a smartphone is only useful as long as the battery is charged. Without this, it’s a piece of dead metal. It needs regular connection (usually via a charger) to a source of electricity in order to function, and the more sophisticated the smartphone, the more it regularly needs the charging connection.

We are marvellous creatures, fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:13-14), but, like the smartphone, we regularly need plugging in to be charged up. If we are to function at our best, we need regular rest and sleep, healthy food and frequent exercise to keep our bodies on top form. We also need to be plugged in to God to maintain spiritual function. We need time for prayer, to listen quietly to God and to share with Him our hopes, dreams, disappointments and needs. We need time for His word so that we can be shaped like plasticine or clay into the person He wants us to be. We need to be plugged into fellowship, for no man is an island and we were created for community.

Just as there aer things we need to do on a daily basis to maintain our health – brushing our teeth, washing, dressing appropriately for the climate – there are spiritual practices we need to employ regularly to keep our spiritual energy renewed.

Devote yourself to prayer, never miss an aopportunity to meditate on God’s word, seek out other Christians to encourage you and to build faith, be committed to serving God. As the meerkats say, ‘simples!’

Tonight’s family service took the theme ‘Bigger Is Better’ and looked at the story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17). The children in Sunday School have been studying this story for some weeks and we enjoyed looking at their pictures:

They have also worked hard at making their own Goliath and sang a song about the story which indicated how he was toppled by a stone from David’s sling:

Stephen spoke on this subject too, reminding us of the challenges posed by a 9 foot Goliath:

Normally, the phrase ‘bigger is better’ implies that size and might win the day, and certainly the Israelites were terrified by this Philistine who was openly defiant towards them. He was big, strong and scary! Little wonder that when the Israelites saw him, they all ran from him in great fear. (1 Sam 17:24)

David, too young to be in the army, was outraged by the Philistine’s defiance, however. (1 Sam 17:26) He had confidence in God’s ability to defeat any enemy (1 Sam 17:37) and ultimately won the victory not because he was bigger than Goliath, but because of his confidence and trust in God. Saul wanted David to be someone other than who he was; he wanted to make him bigger and better by making him wear his armour (1 Sam 17:38-39), but David’s victory against the odds reminds us that appearances can be deceptive and spiritual victories are won when we see life with spiritual eyes. In the story, the most powerful one did not actually win, but David – a friend of God who is the all-powerful one – did.

We too often feel weak and inadequate, facing problems that are giants in our eyes. Jesus prayed for our protection (John 17:15) and reminds us that the close relationship we have with Him is the thing that will equip us (John 17:21). David succeeded, just as he was. God is able to take our weaknesses and inadequacies and make us overcomers with Him. All He needs is our willingness.