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Frances
Dinner Times
A few Saturdays back, our small Tishrei Beccles group had its monthly evening meeting for Bible study and prayer, with a ‘pot-luck’ supper. The supper time stood out and got me particularly excited, as people were sharing and discussing during the meal about our understanding of Scripture. Each contribution made my understanding become clearer. Then, the following morning I read a passage in Romans which surprised me.
In the passage, Paul had just shown that God has not repudiated Israel but spoken of Israel’s then-present dullness, blindness and deafness to Him (Rom 11:1-8), not pursuing His Torah through trusting but by legalistically following a set of instructions. It was about these people that Paul used the following quotation:
Let their dining table become for them a snare and a trap. (Romans 11:9, quoting Psalm 69:23)
‘What does this mean? Is it a relevant word of caution to me?’ I asked myself.
The Blessing of Meal Times
I then found that meal times have the potential to be incredibly beneficial for the spiritual growth of followers of Jesus.
Meal times have been, for me and my family, an important time of coming together that I always look forward to. Thomas O’Loughlin writes:
Nothing bonds us as human beings like sharing a meal. We are the only animals who cook our food – and this indicates that eating is always something more significant to us than just inputting nourishment. Around the table we become families, friends, and communities. Meals mark what is significant in life: a life without festive meals marking the events of our lives would point to a very dull life indeed. Meals make us human.1
From the days of the Torah, meals have been an important positive in the life of Israel. For instance:
- Moses and a company of Israel’s leaders had a meal literally in God’s presence on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:9-11).
- In Deuteronomy 11:19 Israel was told to “store up these words of mine in your heart and in all your being…talking about them when you sit at home…” I reckon this would especially be around a meal table, the one activity that brings a family together during any day.
- In the gospels we frequently find Jesus teaching around a meal table. For instance, while at Bethany Jesus had a meal in the home of Simon the Leper where, through the action of a woman pouring expensive oil over his head, Jesus explained more about both his forthcoming death and the future proclamation of the Gospel to the world (Mark 14:3-9). Then of course there was the Last Supper – the meal to end all meals!
- The first followers of Jesus “Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose to meet in the temple courts daily, and breaking bread in their several homes, they shared their food in joy and simplicity of heart, praising God and having respect for all people” (Acts 2:46-47).
The Danger of Meal Times
But I also saw that meal times have the potential to be incredibly damaging, when faith disappears and people fall into simply adhering to a written-out belief system.
Paul aimed his warning at the non-believing part of Israel in particular - a people who had become dull, blind and deaf to God, not pursuing God’s Torah through trusting: “Let their dining table become for them a snare and a trap.”
People in this state might well have been discussing the scriptures over the dinner table, but in their blindness sticking rigidly and legalistically to a theology set up by the big names of their own sect. Not understanding its true meaning dependent upon trusting as Jesus taught, they were likely to lead and encourage one another down the road of further blindness. The snare and the trap.
Fear and Trembling
So what is this to us who are trusting in our Lord Jesus?
Paul, later in v20, says to those of us who are Gentile believers and might be feeling quite smug at this point, “you keep your place only because of your trust. So don’t be arrogant; on the contrary, be terrified!”
Back to my ‘pot-luck’ supper. I think my excitement was due to the finding of searched-for truth through a communal, trusting obedience, mixed with humility and fear lest we should get it wrong, to understand and thereby grow to know God better. This, I believe, is how meal times should be – to God’s delight and our benefit.
Does this resonate with you?
Author: John Quinlan
Reference
1 O’Loughlin, T, 2010. The Didache: A Window on the Earliest Christians. Grand Rapids, Baker, p103.
Royal Priests
This week, the Torah portion being read in synagogues the world over is from Leviticus, and begins with some of the behavioural codes to which the Levitical priesthood were commanded to adhere in order to remain holy- set apart to the Lord.
When the Apostle Peter calls believers “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), it means we have an enormous amount to learn from the ordinances given to the Levitical priesthood. The Old Testament priests were called to live symbolic lives that we, the priesthood of believers today, would do well to consider.
Not Conforming to the World
This week’s portion includes Leviticus 21, in which the priesthood was called to high standards of ritual purity. They were commanded not to copy pagan customs in their family lives (e.g. cutting their hair or bodies to express grief at the loss of a loved one). Their wives and daughters were also to be sexually pure, so that the priests and their descendants would not be contaminated by sin.
The message here is the same for us today: those called to love and serve the Lord are not to conform to the patterns they see around them in the world, but are to live lives of purity, righteousness and committed holiness, in obedience to God (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:1).
Similarities and Differences
Like the Levitical priests, our lives are consecrated to God: living sacrifices (Rom 12:1) given up as a fragrant offering of loving worship. Like them, our calling is to spend our lives in the presence of the Lord, ministering to Him, ministering to others, and ministering on others’ behalf – standing in the gap for them in intercession as the Lord Yeshua, our Great High Priest, does for us.
Like the priests, we are called to live holy lives, set apart from the standards of the world, reflecting the seriousness of our calling and the holiness of the One to whom we are called. And like them, there are things we must do to ready ourselves for service – like being cleansed and re-robed.
But unlike the priests, our holiness does not come from outward ritual, but from inward reality. Atonement is not a matter of sacrificing animals but of the precious, once-for-all sacrifice of Yeshua. Purity is not about washing hands, but about being washed by the water of His Word. Consecration is not about being anointed with oil, but being anointed with the Holy Spirit. After Christ, our order is not the earthly Levitical order, but a higher, eternal order that is perfect (Heb 7).
Oh, the incredible witness, authority and potential of lives so consecrated to God! As Mother Basilea Schlink put it so eloquently in 1949:
In the shattering events of the end times the full glory of this priestly ministry will become evident. Amid the darkness of the world…amid privation, hardships and misery, the priestly person rests in the peace of the sanctuary. Jesus is all-sufficient for him. Self-denial and suffering, always an integral part of his priestly life of commitment and sacrifice, only serve to unite him more deeply with his Lord and make the nature of Jesus more visible to him.
In a wonderful way, he can convey the radiance of Jesus’ name to a dark world, so that light penetrates darkness. He is privileged to help turn sorrow into joy, to bring release to those in bondage, and to bless and encourage those who are in despair and without hope.1
Author: Frances Rabbitts
Reference
1 Mother Basilea’s writings on this subject can be read here. The quote used above is taken from pp43-44.
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Finally...
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)
When we see the word 'therefore' it behoves us to ask what it is there for. In the same way, after the word 'finally', we expect the final section or completion of a message.
Ephesians 6:10-18 famously describes the armour of God. However, preceding it, there are 21 verses describing effective family relationships. Brief, clear guidelines are given for wives, husbands and children and others. It is on this basis of right relationships, that Paul gives his concluding teaching about standing in the armour of God against the work of evil.
The foundational social context of our lives is family. God did not design us to go it alone. Yet, He knows that the hardest place to work out our salvation is often with those who know us best; who know our weaknesses and strengths but love us just the same - hopefully!
It is from this place of committed family relationships, which give us security, peace and prosperity of heart and mind, that we have strength and a place to stand, to speak and act for the Lord in the wider world and in the battle that belongs to Him. However, without unity with our nearest and dearest, spiritually speaking, we are like King Harold, fighting uphill.
The Blessings of Strong Family Life
A strong family life, linked to the daily living out of God's Word, is directly related to our success in all that we do in co-operation with Him, following His direction as He builds His kingdom. “Children are a heritage from the LORD…like arrows in the hands of a warrior” (Psalm 127:3-6). A sword is only effective as far as one can reach, but well-made arrows strike far beyond us.
However, Jesus, in Mark 3:25 says: "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." And in Matthew 5:23-24: “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”. Right living is even more precious to God than right giving.
How can we stand with truth as a belt, walk in shoes of peace, operate in faith in God and keep the Word of God in mind, ready for use, if our thoughts are taken up with discord and concern about those we love, whom God has given us to work out our lives day by day? How can the Lord command His blessing if we are not dwelling together in unity at home? Yet, where there is unity among family, the Lord's rich blessing and victory can flow into every part of our personal, professional and social lives.
The clear message from Dr Clifford Hill in his article 'Back to the Bible', in the most recent edition of HEARTnewspaper, is that most of our social problems share the same root: that of family breakdown. Much of the budget of our local council and probably those of many others is spent on meeting the cost of family breakdown in its many manifestations (including abuse, addictions, deprivation, stress-related illnesses, loneliness, homelessness, lack of care for the elderly, and the need for women and children's refuges and prison work).
The social values which have come from our biblical heritage include such things as honesty, respect, absolute values of right and wrong, responsibility, generosity and consideration of others. Many of these qualities are communicated from a young age through family life and lead to stability and security. From these values, we have ethics which underpin the freedom of speech and peace we have enjoyed for generations.
Bedrock of the Nation
The historic nation of Israel was built on the structure of family. When God chose Abraham to be the father of the Jewish nation, it was because he would direct his children to keep the way of the Lord (Gen 18:19). Such is the value that God gives to the nurture and education of children by their parents. The families of Isaac and Jacob became clans which soon led to the formation of the nation of Israel. Even today Israeli people have deep family ties and traditions which have historically been the bedrock of their survival and, these last 70 years, their revival.
Back in Britain, the question has to be asked: have we, as a nation, taken the value and structure of family life for granted to the extent that it is being ignored, forgotten and neglected?
Just as an army trains its soldiers to work and live together for the strength of the whole, a family is enriched as each member helps and encourages the others to be strong in the Lord, to stand together and, having done all, still to stand - in peace, in prosperity and in freedom.
Author: Sally Bolton
God is Speaking
God is speaking to His creation!
When God created the heavens and the earth, and finally mankind, male and female, He did not simply retire and leave things to go their own way.
He has often intervened in the affairs of man, whether by allowing 'natural' changes that affect our daily lives (heat and cold, drought and flood, plenty and famine, health and disease, earthquakes and tsunamis, peace and war), or by coming down to enter Man's environment (Ex 3:8), or by shining His light on wrong-doing to encourage change and call for a return to His ways (Jer 7:13, 35:15).
God has spoken through the heavens
God has given the sun, moon and stars as markers and indicators (for signs to mark seasons, and days and years - Genesis 1:14). The wise men in Babylon knew this as they watched for signs in the stars proclaiming the promised birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. Conjunctions of certain stars and planets are rare and therefore significant for those who are watching for these signs - signs of the times - especially if they match descriptions in God's Word.
We too, if we are wise, can see God speaking through signs in the sun, moon, and stars at certain significant times. Was God saying something to His covenant Jewish people (with their lunar calendar) when He orchestrated the amazing tetrad of blood-red moons exactly at the first and last Feasts of the Lord (Passover and Sukkot) in two recent consecutive years (2015/16)? I believe so. Or to the nations through the total eclipse of the sun as it swept across America on 21 August 2017 from Oregon to South Carolina (the first total solar eclipse to be seen only in the USA since the nation’s birth in 1776)?
Who engineered that the sun (rotating at 3,350 mph), the earth (moving round the sun at 67,000 mph and rotating at more than 1000 mph at the equator) and the moon (going round the earth in a non-circular orbit) should be in exactly the right positions for these amazing spectacles? Was God saying something? I believe so. Both Israel and America need to hear from the Lord in these days of terror (2 Tim 3:1). Wise men will ponder this and seek the God of Israel for understanding (Prov 2:6).
God has spoken through man's works
We have seen in Britain also many ways in which God is speaking to our nation. The editorials in this magazine over the past year have clearly reflected the way God has identified and revealed areas where Britain has turned away from the Lord in both Church and State. God did the same repeatedly to ancient Israel and He is saying to us now: I have done all these things, yet you have not returned to Me (see Amos 4:6-11).
Will we too, because we have not yet turned back to Him, be brought to the place where He says to us, ‘Prepare to meet your God, O Britain’ (cf. Amos 4:12)?
God has spoken to us through His Son
In these last days God has spoken to us through His Son (Heb 1:2), and especially in these past weeks as we have watched through Passover, remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus; and also watching Israel His son (Ex 4:22) as the nations rage against him.
Let us watch as 'wise men', and like the sons of Issachar have understanding of the signs of the times and know what Britain ought to do – to return to the God of our fathers, and to intercede for our nation.
Author: Greg Stevenson
Treasure vs. Corruption
Did you note that Easter and Pesach (Passover) coincided this year?
A friend of mine from our local Messianic synagogue offered to get me some matzah (unleavened) bread for the festival and even suggested that it would be good for me to do a clean-out of yeast from my home, as is Jewish tradition. I accepted the matzah offer but held reservations about the yeast clean-out! My whole house was badly in need of a spring clean - the idea felt to me like barely scratching the surface of a major clean-out job that was hardly started. So on Thursday afternoon before Good Friday, I decided that my priority was to search our scullery for my kayak roof-straps (much more important than a yeast hunt!).
Over the past several years the part of the scullery in question, originally devoted to bicycles and sacks of grain, had gradually also accommodated a large number of boxes of papers and other items that we hadn’t found the willpower to dump. In a far corner of my collection of grain, bicycles and junk, I spotted a small pile of wheat where it should not have been.
Removing boxes and sacks, I discovered rodents’ nests inside three sacks of wheat and several boxes of papers. The priority for my afternoon immediately changed - to emptying the scullery and filling the car with everything that had become corrupted, plus items that I now took courage to throw.
And a thought popped into my head.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust [and rodents, I add!] doth corrupt…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt… (Matthew 6:19-20, KJV)
Another translation of the Greek indicates that the “rust” could alternatively be referring to vermin that might consume a supply of grain.
Getting Rid of Leaven
But what has this to do with Passover (Pesach)? My thoughts were taken to the aspect that my friend was guiding me towards, something I’ve never given much heed to, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeast or leaven speaks of corruption in scripture. The matzah is a wonderful reminder of Messiah Yeshua’s body: leaven-free, or sinless.
The Apostle Paul brings Messianic understanding to this week-long festival in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (CJB version):
Get rid of the old hametz, so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. So let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.
Here I was, clearing up a big infestation of corruption that needed eradicating! So what am I to learn from my experience?
- Take time and trouble to remove all that may corrupt what might otherwise be pleasing service to God.
- Choose carefully what is important to aid me in my lifelong Heavenward journey.
- Take care of these important treasures, neither neglecting them nor getting them mixed up with the ‘stuff’ which would likely destroy both.
- In the future, take consideration of all that the scriptures have to teach about the entire festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Come Good Friday morning, when otherwise I might have been attending a memorial service or march regarding Jesus’ crucifixion, I was instead driving to the local dump and off-loading a car full of rubbish. The poignancy of the situation was not lost on me.
Author: John Quinlan
The Last Days of Passover
We all know well that on the day of Preparation for the Passover, around 30 AD, our Lord Jesus of Nazareth, the holy and perfect Lamb of God, was sacrificed on a cruel Roman cross, paying the blood price to redeem us from our sins. His death fulfilled perfectly the picture of the unblemished sacrificial lamb slaughtered on the first Passover, whose blood daubed the lintels of Jewish houses to save God’s people from the dreadful plague of the firstborn: allowing the angel of death to ‘pass over’, and heralding their escape from slavery.
But as we sync in with God’s calendar, it’s good to remember that Passover is a week-long feast: and though its beginning is of paramount importance, its end (which has just passed yesterday and today) is also significant.
On the 7th day of Passover, Jews remember the miraculous deliverance that God wrought when He parted the Red Sea, seven days after their escape from Egypt, allowing the Children of Israel to escape the pursuit of the Egyptian army - who were all drowned, horses and riders.
As Christians, this wonderful picture of deliverance is rich with symbolism. It is a sign of our passing from death to life through the rescuing work of Christ, of our identifying with his death and resurrection symbolically by passing through the waters of baptism, and of the miraculous and total destruction of the enemy of sin, whose claim on our lives is utterly drowned.
Let’s dwell on this today, and take some time to rejoice and thank the Lord for His goodness, as Miriam did when she led the Jewish women in singing and dancing on the other side of the Sea. You can find Miriam’s song in Exodus 15.
As we do, it is interesting to note that the rabbinical traditions have added an 8th day to the 7 Passover days instituted in the Bible. On this 8th day, Jews look forward to the coming of the Messiah. Passages about redemption are read from the Prophets and a special meal is eaten not unlike the Passover seder, with unleavened bread (matzah) and wine.
In one respect, this is a sorrowful reminder of the many Jews who do not yet recognise Jesus as their Messiah. But in another respect, it is a reminder to every believer to rejoice in the glad knowledge that the Messiah has already come, and will come again! As Passover 2018/5778 draws to a close, may it remind us of our blessed hope in His sure and certain return.
Author: Frances Rabbitts
A Good Day to Bury Bad News
This familiar phrase is used when a major news event fills the media. Other ‘bad news’ (usually of a political kind) is released simultaneously. The bad news is thus overshadowed and able to pass by relatively easily, with much less attention than had it been released at another time: a clever way for politicians to side-step criticism.
There is plenty of bad news in our world today. The worrying tremors caused by elections of new governments…the threat of North Korea…the endless horrors of the wars in Syria…the murders on the streets of our cities (whether from terrorism, knife crimes or from nerve gas)…the worrying signs from Russia…the divisions and challenges of Brexit…
We could all make our own extensive lists of the bad news that is escalating in our world. If we invited our readers to compile and submit their own lists of concerns we might be inundated! It is so very easy to dwell on the bad news.
But, stop for a moment. What week are we in? We are about to celebrate Passover and Easter. What we will be remembering is the Good News - the Gospel of our salvation through the merciful sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach).
This is, therefore, a week to celebrate the eternal good news, to emphasise all the wonderful provisions that our God has stored up in Heaven for our eternal future – and surely it is not long before the Lord returns.
Right up until the time of His coming there will be layer upon layer of bad news to cope with. But, with a twist in the meaning of the phrase, this week and especially the days when we remember our Lord’s sacrifice (Good Friday) and His resurrection (the following Sunday) it is certainly a ‘good day to bury bad news’ and concentrate entirely on the Good News.
Let us indeed look upwards this week with faith, thankfulness and hope in our soon-coming Messiah: an event that will put into the shade all the bad news of this world from Adam to the present day, and beyond.
Author: Clifford Denton
Our So-Patient God
Come with me to Jerusalem. It's 7:30am: rush hour on a bright, sunny, weekday morning. People are on their way to work - always in a hurry - and at a bus stop queue are waiting for their regular bus.
At last it comes! They get on with a “Boqer tov, Shmuel” (they all know their driver) and sit in their usual places. Everyone is on, but the driver stays quietly in his seat. I can hear the muttering, “Come on, can't we go now? I'm running late today”. But he waits for a couple of minutes. And then more...
At last, he sees an elderly man walking slowly towards the bus stop, head bent over, reading from a book. You can almost hear him muttering, “Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melech haolam”, oblivious of the passing time. But the bus driver knows him as a regular passenger and toots the bus horn. No response. Again. Still no response. Again.
Then he leans out of the window - “Come on Moshe”! At last he climbs aboard. Relief all round. Shmuel smiles and quips: “Nearly missed the bus today, Moshe!”
The most important journey
Does that ring a bell with us when we also are late for an important journey? If the driver waiting for Moshe was good news for him so he didn't miss his bus, now much more for us, so we don't miss the most important journey of all?
With our focus firmly on our regular daily activities – work, sport, pleasure - are we also so oblivious to the God who sees and cares for us that we are unaware of the One who sees our situation, especially the miseries of His people - hears us crying out because He is concerned about our suffering, and comes down to rescue us (Ex 3:7-8)?
How do we respond? Do we hear His call to recognise our need of Him, as He waits, like Shmuel, for us to come aboard – into His Kingdom through love and forgiveness?
God calls and waits
God calls to us frequently, in many ways, 'rising up early and speaking' - but often we do not listen, and when He calls, we do not answer. As Shmuel sounded his horn again and again, so God sends prophets with messages of love as He waits for us, so we do not 'miss the bus'.
Ten times He told Jeremiah to call out to His people to reform their ways (Jer 7-35) - “but you have not inclined your ear nor hearkened to me” (Jer 35:15, KJV). Are we so proud that we lack the humility to 'incline the ear' and listen to His call?
But He is so patient with us. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some count slowness, not wanting anyone to perish (yes, it's that serious), but everyone to come to repentance (to recognise their state and turn to Him; 2 Peter 3:9).
Our response
Let's take David's advice in his time of need – “Early [first thing each day] will I seek Thee” (Ps 63:1), and claim the Lord’s promise: “Those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Prov 8:17, KJV).
Let's take Him at His word and seek Him – today. He is so patient, but the Day of the Lord will come, and we simply cannot afford to miss the bus.
Author: Greg Stevenson
Heeding the Forecast
As I write, I am sitting in my winterised (insulated) caravan having prepared for and endured what Britain’s weather forecasters have named ‘the Beast from the East’. By God’s guidance we came to our Isle of Wight home just over a fortnight ago (I had planned to arrive earlier but been prevented) and until the storm had enjoyed mostly good, sunny winter weather. However, the ‘beast’ still gave us a couple of days of severe weather when we were effectively snowbound.
Through this, two things were brought to my attention. First, the accuracy of our forecaster’s weather predictions, and second, the people who ignored the weather warnings - to their cost.
The forecasts enabled me to programme my island work and make preparations for the oncoming storm to within an hour of when the snow and gales hit us.
Whilst snug in our caravan, enjoying good food, friendship and warmth, we heard the news reports of people who got stranded for many hours, freezing in their vehicles - or worse. Of course, among these folks were those who nobly endeavoured to fulfil life-preserving commitments. But there were also others who simply didn’t believe the predictions.
Through this I believe our “Master who made heaven, earth, the sea and everything in them” (Ps 146:6) is warning us yet again of the increasingly urgent need:
1. To both study and gain understanding of Bible prophecies yet to be fulfilled and consider carefully other prophecies given by His servants recently.
2. To make changes to our lifestyles in trust of these prophecies.
I like the Jewish New Testament translation for this: “But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap! For it will close in on everyone, no matter where they live, throughout the whole world. Stay alert, always praying that you will have the strength to escape all the things that will happen and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man” (Matt 21:34-36).
Now, is our “amen” to this simply an acknowledgement that it sounds credible, or will we in trusting obedience say “Lord and Master, help me to keep watch on myself and to stay alert. Please give me the strength to escape all these things that are predicted to happen, and then to stand in the presence of Yeshua my Messiah”?
Author: John Quinlan
Is it Well?
This morning I received a text message from a young girl of my acquaintance. She is 15 and has a lovely and growing faith.
Hi Frances. Just wanted to let you know that I am currently in hospital and have been since Wednesday due to severe abdominal pain. I didn’t tell you earlier because I thought I would be out of hospital much earlier. This morning I am going into theatre for an operation so they can try and find the cause [of] the pain…But apart from this I am doing well. I hope you are OK? Have a really nice day.
What an inspiration, I thought. Undergoing a pretty frightening experience, here is a young lady whose entire outlook, as those last three sentences show, is cheery hope and grace.
When bad things happen we all have a choice about how we will respond. Of course suffering needs to be acknowledged – it’s a downright falsehood that being a faithful Christian means pretending that things are fine when they’re not. God doesn’t mind us expressing sorrow or asking for help – apart from anything else, it keeps our hearts true and humble.
But in the midst of pain and suffering, we each are given a choice: to look inward with self-pity, or to look outward with thankfulness and faith. One feeds the old man, the other feeds the new man. One comes naturally, the other often goes against the grain and requires a determination to seek God for grace. One indulges sin, the other produces a harvest of righteousness (Heb 12:11), perseverance, character, hope (Rom 5:3-4), patience, completeness (James 1:3-4) and glory to the Lord Jesus (1 Pet 1:6-7).
None of us knows how we will respond in such circumstances until they arrive, for faith is not really faith until it is put to the test. But we can all invest in our relationships with God daily (2 Pet 1:5-7) so that when times of trial come, our faith will be proven “of greater worth than gold” (1 Pet 1:7). Like the hymn-writer Horatio Spafford, who suffered unimaginable personal tragedy, we will be able to confidently say “Even so, it is well with my soul”.1
My young friend is under anaesthetic as I write. Her attitude is a beautiful testament to the new life God has been birthing in her. There is nothing quite like sensing the sweet aroma of Christ in the midst of difficulty. Here’s hoping the doctors and nurses recognise it too.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Author: Frances Rabbitts
Notes
1 Read Horatio's story here.
