What’s Happening

Grace & Mercy, Kindness & Compassion

Jun 14, 2024

The story of how David dealt with victory over the Amalekites (1 Sam 30) has much to teach us about the way God works and therefore the way we too should live. David’s army of 600 men set off in pursuit of the Amalekites on God’s orders, but 200 of them were too exhausted to continue and stopped at the Besor Valley, becoming baggage handlers, in effect (as one whose role in theme parks is as the ‘bag lady’, I have some sympathy with these men!) Unsurprisingly, when the 400 men returned victorious – with extra spoils from war above and beyond their own wives and children – they were reluctant to share with these men, whom they saw as having had no part to play in their victory.

We can understand their reasoning, but it was based on worldly thinking and false assumptions (namely, that the victory was all down to their cleverness, instead of acknowledging God’s help in all that had happened.) David was insistent that there should be equality in dividing the spoils, and even went so far as to give some of the spoils of war to other towns in Judah. David acted with generosity and kindness, compassion and mercy, understanding that teamwork matters and that all of us have different roles to play at different times. There is no room for a competitive spirit or meanness in how we deal with each other; the Bible is clear that this view came from ‘evil men and troublemakers.’ (1 Sam 30:22) God’s thoughts and ways are far higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), and when we have received grace and mercy from God, we will want to deal with grace and mercy too. Knowing God affects every area of our lives and how we live towards others.

Coincidence or Providence?

Jun 14, 2024

1 Samuel 30 tells us the story of David’s recovery of all that had been stolen from him in Ziklag by the Amalekites. The situation was dire: not only did he and his men return from the Philistines having been rejected by them and deemed untrustworthy only to find their wives and children abducted by enemies, but his own men, in despair, even talked of stoning David. In his distress, he found strength in God and was encouraged by God to pursue the Amalekites to recover all that had been stolen from him. (1 Sam 30:1-7)

On the way, they met an Egyptian, a man abandoned by the Amalekites, who had not eaten or drunk for three days and nights. (1 Sam 30:11-12) Remembering his ‘desert hospitality’ and showing kindness and compassion to this man, David found that this apparently coincidental meeting was actually God’s providence, the means to finding the Amalekites and the way to victory. Who could have thought that an act of mercy could bring such rewards? Who could have imagined that God would work in such a way?

Our lives are testimonies to these many ‘coincidences’ which are actually signs of God’s providence. Chance meetings, random circumstances and unexpected meetings are often the way God chooses to direct our paths. David could have been too intent on pursuit to pause and help a stranger. By showing kindness and mercy, he was to find God had already gone ahead of him and answered his prayers. Let’s never be too busy to pause and show kindness to others. As Jesus said, it’s when we invite the strangers in, give food and drink to those in need and visit those in prison that we are actually serving Jesus Himself. (Matt 25:31-46)

Refuelling

Jun 10, 2024

On our recent holiday we hired a 9-seater car. It was wonderfully spacious for the extended family and holiday luggage, but being unfamiliar with it meant keeping an eye on fuel consumption to ensure we did not run out.

These days, fuel gauges on modern cars are reliable, and so it’s a relatively easy job to check fuel consumpation; petrol stations – even in unfamiliar places – are plentiful, and so the job of keeping track of energy needs is not onerous. It’s often harder as a person to ‘read’ our fuel gauges, though. In the Message version, Romans 12:11 is translated as ‘don’t burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame.”

How do we do this? How do we keep our spiritual fervour through the difficulties (and boredom) of life? We may make special preparations for long journeys in a car, but what about the daily runs? In the same way, how do we remain ‘stoked’ in the ordinary, which makes up the majority of our lives?

Paul told Timothy to ‘fan into flame the gift of God’ (2 Tim 1:6). We have a personal and individual responsibility to keep fuelled and aflame, to keep ablaze. This can only be done by regular refuelling. How we do this may well vary according to individuals, but will always include:

1) time alone with God in prayer and Bible study

2) times of rest (we can’t keep going endlessly but need to heed the cycles of rest and refreshment God has built into our world, including regular daily sleep, weekly Sabbath rest and holidays)

3) time with other believers in gathered worship

If we are to maintain zeal and spiritual fervour and live a life of service, we must be refuelled and replenished in God.

The Great Commission

Jun 9, 2024

At our Little Big Church service tonight, we looked at the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and thought about how God wants us to make disciples of all nations. We learned about different flags (the study of flags is called vexillology!) representing countries associated with our church, such as India, Haiti, Uganda, Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as learning about the flags for the USA and Canada, France and Spain. We also thought about how people from different nations live near us and how we can tell them about Jesus.

The Great Commission involves making disciples (students or followers of Jesus) and baptising them in water (we are excited to be holding a baptismal service on 14 July.) We also thought about what Jesus has commanded us to do and how we must love one another if we are to show His love and reality to the world! (John 13:34-35)

An Unlikely Heroine

Jun 9, 2024

This morning, Dave spoke about an unlikely heroine in the Bible, Ruth. The book of Ruth starts with the decision of Elimelek to move to Moab during a time of famine. He and his wife, Naomi, and two sons moved to Moab, and there, his sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth (contrary to God’s laws). When all the men die during this period, Naomi decides to return to Israel. Initially, her daughters-in-law wish to return, but it is only Ruth who persists and proves loyal and faithful, despite her country of origin.

It is hard to know if the decision to move to Moab was the right one, but it seems the family operated on a pragmatic level. Often, we do things because of expediency rather than waiting for a direct word from God. It’s easy to compromise and detour from the path of righteousness.

God wants us to follow His ways, no matter what. In returning to Israel, Naomi showed us the way back to God always involves repentance, which is the only way to blessing. God constantly calls us all to repentance and is willing for us to be restored. Ruth becomes an unlikely heroine in the story, an ancestor of King David, despite her origins. She reminds us that faith in and loyalty to God can arise in unlikely place, and that God can use anyone for His glory.