Bedline, the Compassion child we sponsor, is now seven years old and we have just received an updated photo of her (plus goats!)

In her latest letter, she tells us that her ambition is to be a nurse one day and that the country she would like to visit is the Dominican Republic. She thanks us for the gift we sent to her and tells us both she and her family are doing well.

Please continue to pray for Bedline, her family, her teachers and her pastor.

So often when we pray, we feel helpless, especially at those times when we are not even sure what to pray (see Rom 8:26) God’s Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to guide us in prayer: as Donald Whitney says, ‘can you have a greater assurance that you are praying the will of God than when you’re praying the Word of God?’

The Psalms anchor us in God’s revelation of Himself (Ps 103:8-18, Ps 9:16, Ps 11:7, Ps 24:8, 10) and teach us much about the need for persistence in prayer (see Luke 18:1-8). We are frequently urged by the psalmists to wait for the Lord (see Ps 27:14, Ps 130:5-6, Ps 5:3, Ps 33:20), something we tend to find hard to do! The Psalms help to remind us that God is at work, even in those times when His footprints are unseen (Ps 77:19). One commentator has said, ‘the Psalms are spiritual levees that control the flood of negative emotions and worry, guiding it along safe channels where it can be dissipated safely.’ (Ps 32:6-7, Ps 69:1) We can see in them the whole gamut of human emotion as the psalmists tackle subjects such as anger, injustice, frustration, fear, insecurity and hatred, along with confidence, joy, trust and faith, and as such they help us to pray honestly and authentically to a God who reigns over all the earth. (Ps 93:1, Ps 96:10)

As well as being examples of poetry and song, the Psalms are chiefly prayers. We may well try to categorise these prayers (according to subject matter such as lament, thanksgiving, petition and so on), but the psalms themselves are not arranged in this kind of order. As Eugene Peterson comments, ‘experience arrives randomly’ (‘Answering God’, P 107) and it is helpful to realise this when reading through the psalms sequentially. The sheer randomness of the subject matter reflects the fact that life throws all kinds of things at us: what is important is learning to practise a sense of the presence of God in the midst of this.

The psalms teach us to pray, anchoring us in a sense of God’s greatness, majesty, creativity and character (see, for example, Ps 8 and Ps 19) and helping us to see ourselves in relation to God. Many psalms help us to understand our sinfulness (for example, penitential psalms such as Ps 6, 32, 38, 51, 130 and 143), as well helping us to recover a sense of ‘the unnumbered details of grace, of mercy, of blessing to be appreciated and savoured.’ (ibid., P 114) In focussing our attention on all God has done, continues to do and will do in future for us, we are rescued from subjectivism and can enter the wider country of God’s salvation. Ps 103 in particular is useful for showing us the vast scope of God’s salvation, embracing as it does forgiveness, healing, redemption, restoration and relationship.

The Psalms teach us also that we can approach God no matter what our emotions or circumstances. The psalmists approach God in anger, confusion and frustration (Ps 22:1-2, Ps 74:1, Ps 13:1) as well as in joy and thanksgiving (Ps 146:1, Ps 100:4-5). We can come when we feel forsaken (Ps 88:3-5, Ps 31:12) and depressed (Ps 42:5). Our joys and fears are all welcomed by God and we don’t have to pretend with a God who desires truth in the inmost parts (Ps 51:6). The Psalms do help to restore our perspective (see Ps 73), but they are also a vivid reminder that prayer needs to be authentic and sincere, and part of an ongoing relationship, not formulaic, remote or ritualistic. We find passion in prayer in the Psalms; this passion needs to fuel our prayers on a daily basis.

During the India trip, we were involved in the children’s work done in Fredrick’s church and in the slum area where the women’s tailoring programme is situated:

In both situations, we had fun telling Bible stories, singing action songs and doing games.

The love of Jesus is soooo high!

Listening well:

Gifts were given out after both meetings. We were able to give pencils and bookmarks and Fredrick’s church gave food and drink.

As always, an army of volunteers from the local church are essential to this outreach ministry:

We were also able to give out sweets and gifts bought in England (funded in part by volunteers at Barnsley Hospital where Emily works and by children at Chantelle’s school) to children on our visits:

This week, Fredrick’s church is running a Vacation Bible School for children and our team will be involved in that on Thursday and Friday.

For a number of years we have been supporting the women’s tailoring programme run by Reeba in India. It was especially good to visit the women who are currently on the programme. They attend for 3 hours each day for 6 months and learn sewing skills, beginning with a small version of the clothes they will eventually learn to make:

They learn to cut out patterns and keep journals of their work:

These are examples of some things they made:

Once they have mastered smaller sizes, they go on to learn how to make these for adults and are therefore empowered to have a skill which can help support their families. We didn’t look quite so professional at the sewing machines!

We were warmly received by these women, who gave us all garlands to wear:

We were privileged to be able to pray for these women. Some are widowed, some are in marriages where they need God to save their husbands, and some have disabled children or are barren and desperately want children. We were extremely touched by their openness to the gospel and by the warmth of their welcome. They are living in a slum area, but have a tremendous hunger for God and we are so pleased to hear of all God is doing in their lives. When they complete the programme, they are given their own sewing machine and encouraged to earn their own livings. Many become Christians through the love and support of this programme and make many new friends, learning the benefits of community living as they also learn a practical skill.

Easter Sunday in Goldthorpe included updates about the India trip.

During the past week, the team have been involved in:

• meetings at Fredrick’s church on Monday evening, Good Friday and Easter Sunday
• meetings with the tailoring programme ladies on Tuesday
• work with the children’s club at Fredrick’s church on Monday evening and with the children in a slum area on Tuesday
• praying with church members in their own homes
• a meeting with local church pastors
• a Good Friday meeting at another church in a slum area led by Pastor Ruby.

Good Friday service at Fredrick’s church

Julie & Garry preaching at Pastor Ruby’s church

Ladies at the tailoring programme

Children listening carefully

J-P spoke on Jn 3:16 tonight, possibly one of the most popular Bible verses, asking if we have content with this verse rather than allowing its truths to transform us.

God promises eternal life, but many may think that that is not something to be coveted. Eternal life is not simply a continuation of this present life, however, but the start of a new life with God, defined by our relationship with Him (see Jn 17:3). In this life we can start sharing in the glory of God and all He has done for us. We can experience the presence of God in His fulness with us now

Belief is the next thing to be tackled. Belief is essentially trusting in something or someone. Examples of belief or faith in the Bible can be found in Matt 8:13 (the centurion’s faith) and Mark 11:23. Jn 3:14-15 points back to the Old Testament bronze snake which represents our need to look to Jesus for our salvation rather than trusting in our own ability to save.

Love is the motivating force for God. 1 Cor 13:1-3 shows the preeminence of love and we see we love because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). God’s love motivated Him to send Jesus to earth and Jesus was willing to endure the loneliness and pain of separation from His Father. God’s love is not biased, self-centred or selfish. It is a love which we remember not only at Easter, but in our everyday lives too.

It’s wonderful to realise that whether we have celebrated Easter in Bangalore or in Goldthorpe, we all proclaim the wonderful truth that Christ is risen!