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Focus
Focus is the bi-monthly magazine of Brislington United Reformed Church.
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Pastoral Letter
October 2006
"Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 – the Living Bible) |
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Dear friends
A lot has happened in the two months since my last letter. There has been a war in the Middle East which, thankfully, is now at an end. Iran is in the news again for defying the international community by continuing with its nuclear research. At home the nation is on a heightened state of alert because of an imminently expected terrorist attack and if all that wasn’t enough there has been a military coup in Thailand. It almost takes your breathe away that so much could happen in so short a space of time. The world is changing fast and the face of our nation is also changing at an accelerating pace. Many thousands have recently arrived here from Eastern Europe seeking a better life and many more are expected to follow in the not too distant future. But with so much change happening in such a short space of time we might be feeling bewildered as if the very ground beneath our feet is giving way and upsetting the stability of our lives. As people we like structure in our lives, a daily routine of predictable events coming and going without surprises in a familiar pattern; for only then can we sleep soundly in our beds. But with the world hastening on towards its uncharted destination where can we find the stability and consistency we need? Well, as is so often the case the answer is right before our eyes in nature. The other morning I was sitting in the garden watching a spider busily spinning and constructing its web. It was a breezy day yet up and down the delicate, silky threads it raced as if it was on a Sunday stroll rather than suspended precariously between swaying trees high up off the ground. Yet the spider seemed to have neither fear nor awareness of the dangers around it just a simple determination to get on with the job in hand. But how different it was for me sitting there watching. I couldn’t help thinking how unstable the spider’s world was not least when the wind gusted wildly blowing the web inside out and back again with the spider clinging on like a trapeze artist! Yet the spider didn’t even flinch let alone rush off in a panic to find somewhere safe to hide. And then the moral became clear – it’s all a matter of faith. The spider had every confidence in the web it was building, a structure so strong and flexible that it was able to withstand whatever came its way: wind, rain, snow, frost and even severe gales. God had given that tiny insect all it needed for a happy and contented life when everything around it was in a state of transition. And with that knowledge it was able to get on with its life knowing that whatever came its way it had the ability to stand firm and not be daunted.
And it’s the same with us. Jesus said that in life we can expect trials and sorrows of every kind. We don’t like them when they come but come they will. But we have this assurance from Jesus that as he has overcome the very worst that the world can throw at him we can overcome it too if we trust him and keep on trusting him during unsettling times.
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For in an uncertain world Jesus is our stability when we are being rocked by storms or facing turmoil. Jesus can restore calm to the most turbulent situation especially when it comes suddenly like a gale threatening to blow our lives inside out and back again. Just remember that spider and hold on as calm will return!
In Jesus’ name
Derek Marsh October 2006
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"Derek Marsh Assembly Accredited
Lay Preacher" |
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