Text: ‘Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God’ – Hebrews 9:27 Good News Bible Thought: Recent atrocities in France evoke many emotions, especially as trouble has come much closer to home. Of all the people completing the survey form we use when making house calls, the majority have indicated that the one question they would like to ask God is, “Why is there so much suffering in the world?” It does concern people when they witness suffering caused by evil perpetrators, especially the older generation who grew up in a relatively crime-free society, able to leave windows open and doors unlocked. Many are often confused as they try to marry the notion of an all-powerful God of love who appears to do nothing to intervene when there’s famine, floods, persecution and suffering. How people responded to suffering and adversity, as recorded in the Bible, varies greatly too. Abraham said, ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ 1 when learning that judgment was imminent on Sodom and Gomorrah. 1 We can be assured that God will only do what’s right and there will be no miscarriages of justice at His judgment throne. Job cried out, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust...
Learn More
Text: ‘And his mother called his name Jabez’ – 1 Chronicles 4:9 Thought: Do you like your name? You didn’t choose it. Many don’t like theirs and even change it by deed poll. Others prefer to be called by a nick-name. I was the only one of my brothers to be given my father’s name – Wilfred! Today’s Teaching is about a man called Jabez. He certainly didn’t like being called that or the implications of his name. This unusual story is tucked away in the genealogies of Chronicles. There is no mention of the names of his father, mother or brothers. Jabez is a wonderful example of how to react correctly to what you don’t like. His birth was supposed to be a blessing but his mother turned it into a curse She called him Jabez, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ Was it due to a difficult pregnancy or birth, or unwanted as there is now an extra mouth to feed? We don’t know. Jesus taught that although birthing a child is painful, it’s quickly forgotten for the joy of a child being added to the family. 1 But she named him Jabez – meaning “he will cause pain.” Not past tense but future. Every time his...
Learn More
Survey Forms! Text: ‘I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes’ – Acts 20:20 New Living Translation Thought: It appears every business, whether sales or service provider, wants a survey form completed. “How did we do?” they ask, regardless of whether the purpose for contact was an enquiry, order or complaint. Even till receipts now have printed on them, “Tell us how we did today!” People are tempted to complete the survey with wording like, “It will only take 5 minutes.” (usually an understatement). If anyone set about completing all the survey forms requested, it could result in a large chunk of their day gone. Of course there’s the added carrot of being entered into the prize draw, which I’m sure somebody wins, but not yet me! It is rare that feedback from a survey results in a noticeable improvement. Like many things, what started out as a very good idea has now become the norm and information collated gathers dust on some shelf, sacrificed on the altar of cut back and economies at the expense of good service. Of course in Britain there is a tendency to say everything is alright even when it is not as we...
Learn More
Recent Comments