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Dear All,
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. - Ezekiel 11:19
What a true description of the spiritual direction we can experience as our hearts 'melt' in the presence of God. Every day, as each hour passes, there is an ebb and flow in the condition of our hearts. Ezekiel's insight truly describes the poles between which we fluctuate - between a heart of stone and a heart of flesh.
My heart of stone is tight, guarded, self-controlled and unresponsive to God and to others. My heart of flesh, however, is soft – able to be sensitively responsive to God's leading in all my relationships and easily led by the gentle touch of the Spirit. To experience the restoration of our hearts is a gift of salvation.
None of us can recover this on our own. But Jesus, in making all things new, can and does restore our hearts to a state of sensitivity to the divine impulse.
What are the factors which contribute to the hardening or softening of your heart? An attentive spirit will help us recognise where we are operating from, in the spectrum of God's promise. Whenever we suspect that we are returning to a stony heart, let us present ourselves to Christ for the restoration of our hearts and souls.
Mountains melt like wax before the Lord. Surely our hearts will, as well.
Peace and Blessing
Katherine
JULY 2010
FROM OUR MINISTER'S SOAP BOX
For many people July marks the beginning of the holiday season! A season
of rest and relaxation, of space to think and travel and sometimes a season
of frustration as the change in routine can cause tensions and frayed
tempers!
Making the right decisions about what to do with our time and how to get to
where we want to be is often stressful and when travelling many of us will be using maps and G.P.S devices (sat navs) to get us to our chosen destination
with the least angst! As long as we have breath in our lungs, we will have
points in our lives where a decision has to be made, which way do we go?
If Heaven is your desired destination, then you need to follow the path that
has been set by Jesus. If we want to be with Jesus all we have to do is
follow the directions from the word of God and Heaven will be our home.
We need to learn how to make the right decisions, decisions that are in line
with the will of God. This summer as we rest and think lets use our spiritual
G.P.S. to direct us at personal cross-roads. God's Proven System gives the
best directions when faced with a cross-road where the right path is not
clear.
“This is what the Lord says, ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the
ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find
rest for your souls.’” Jeremiah 6:16.
Go well and God bless
Katherine
MAY 2010
FROM OUR MINISTER'S SOAP BOX
Dear All,
Brilliant white blossom against a blue sky, the cherry tree even if its trunk and boughs are old and gnarled and covered in lichen still is a glorious mass of opening white blossom. New bright green leaves are unfurling on other trees and best of all for me the blue bells are opening filling the air with scent and carpeting the woodland floors with colour.
Looking at the blossom, leaves and flowers reminds me of God who created and gave in the promise of the fantastic colours of the rainbow, the hope and assurance that : "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22
But not only this promise but despite our problems, uncertainties and failures
God so loved the world of His creation that God made a way forward in the coming of His Son, Jesus, who lived as a human being, died on a cross for the wrongs and sins of all of us and rose again promising that all might be renewed finding everlasting life through Jesus.
I am reminded that we need to respond to that perfect sacrifice in every moment and season of life and I find these promises an encouragement when a lot that has changed around us seems negative and hopeless, so much trust in the financial system or politicians has gone along with job security and confidence in the world economy.
In the end our hope is not to be in material things but in the person of Jesus who gives us (his followers-the Church) new life and the universal mission to ‘go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’. Matthew 28:19
It might be seen as a challenge to the Church to ensure that in every kind of world in which people live and move the Church is at work and making God’s voice heard. I am speaking of the world of education, the world of work, the world of politics, the world of finance, the world of nature, the world of science, the world of the young, the world of the old, the world of the sick and the world of the poor. You could add many more to this list. In all these worlds we are called as Christians to act, speak, move and love bringing hope into the hopelessness we encounter.
So let us be challenged that change can be beautiful and colourful not only negative and be inspired to carry the love and hope of Jesus into every area of life, every type of world in which we live. Both the whole world and every kind of world in which people live and move must be our concern. For the same Lord who sent us out into the world promised to us a divine helper in the Holy Spirit, and also said ‘I shall be with you always to the end of the age’. We can therefore say with confidence that in His grace and by the Spirit it becomes possible in every world where human beings live and move for God’s kingdom to come bringing light and colour, hope and transformation whatever the world may have us believe!
Peace and Blessing
Katherine
MARCH 2010
FROM OUR MINISTER'S SOAP BOX
Dear All,
Recently I have been reading my way through the books of the prophets in the Bible. And to be honest they often make scary reading! It is difficult to know how to interpret them. But a common theme is the need for the leaders of God’s people to be honest with them and confront them with their need to be committed to God and living in right relationship with God and neighbours. So here goes!
I enjoy psalm 139 it seems to cover so much and the last verses have been a personal prayer of mine to help me in my walk with God and others.
‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting.’ Psalm 139: 23-24
These verses outline four simple steps to welcome God into lives every day.
(1) Search me and know my heart. God is always there for us. He stands at the door of our hearts and waits to be invited in. When we ask God to come in God remains patient with us waiting for us to partner with Him. When we ask God to search and know our heart, we are asking God’s holy light to shine on every part of us even those places that we usually keep in the dark This is a very vulnerable position to be in. But we can trust God. As God searches he is bound to show us a few things that need attention but God does not uncover something to embarrass us, God only uncovers to give the chance of healing.
(2) What is stressing me? Stress is something that every human being must learn how to cope with. God is the very best stress reliever I know. Trying to handle all of the concerns of life on our own often times just brings more stress! Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Facing it and giving God a chance to help always works! His peace surpasses our understanding. When we let God help with our anxiety, he helps us to cope and brings peace and confidence. It is always amazing to me how much peace God can give me about situations even when the circumstances have not changed yet.
(3) Any Offensive Way in Me? The answer to this question is… YES! We are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. So, when God is invited to turn his holy spot light on us, God is going to find something. You can count on it. But again remember, God never exposes something to bring shame or embarrassment only to heal. Sin, left alone in our heart will only grow to bigger sin causing more chaos. It’s best to let God deal with it every day rather than to let it grow out of control. Dealing with our sin quickly keeps things in balance and keeps us on the path God has for us, keeps us growing and helps us maintain good relationships with others.
(4) Lead me. After we have given God free rein in ‘our heart’, over our anxious minds and over our sin; then we can see more clearly the direction God has for our life. God has amazing plans for each one of us. God doesn’t want to keep them a secret. God wants to partner with us to make them all a reality. God’s plans are never temporary. God is eternal and everlasting and so are the plans God has for our lives. Tap into the everlasting plans God has for your life today. Start with the simple prayer, “Search me O God…” and begin to sort out your relationships with God and others.
God bless you
Katherine
FEBRUARY 2010
FROM THE MINISTER’S SOAP BOX
Dear All,
As we enter February many of us are looking for light, not at the end of the tunnel but at the beginning of the day. We have had enough of short days and darkness. We are searching for the light and signs of new life in our gardens, parks and surrounding countryside. In some ways Lent beginning on February the 17th is an interesting mixture of darkness and light. Lent is the time in the church calendar that we use to prepare for Easter remembering the events that lead up to Christ’s death (darkness) and resurrection (light). It is traditionally a time of fasting and reflection maybe as a parallel to Jesus time in the desert. Yet this year as Lent begins just after Valentine’s Day a day which celebrates love and the sharing of life, maybe we can find a link between the light heartedness of Valentine’s Day and the darkness of Lent. What can we fast from or give up that might bring life, love and light to others as Jesus did by his death and resurrection? How can we fast and in a way that pleases God?
In the Bible it seems a fast that pleases God is one that draws people closer to God and then is worked out in loving relationships with their neighbours. Not one that shows off how ‘saintly’ they are. Consequently merely giving up chocolate is not quite what God intended! Good news for many of us! What could we do then?
Even though it is of some concern that I find myself mentioning Monks for the third month, I think we can draw inspiration from a saying from one of a group of Monks known as the desert Fathers. ‘The monk’ says, Moses, ‘must die to his neighbour and never judge him at all in any way whatever.’ This at first looks like an impenetrable phrase! But I think it is suggesting that we give up an attitude of judgement towards others, that we should, recognising our own faults and need to work on them, not get distracted by judging others, instead we try to give up a bad attitude we have towards others and see how that improves our relationships!
Put simply, this Lent which starts just after Valentine’s Day, give up something that only builds you up, like a judgemental attitude (for this you may need to draw near to God for help), and do things that build you and others up. Maybe instead of judging a neighbour put yourself in their shoes and once you understand them better find a way to help not hinder their understanding of God who loves all people. Perhaps watch less TV and spend time listening to others, I am sure you can think of other ways to put this into practise. I look forward to hearing about them.
God bless you
Katherine
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DECEMBER 2009
Dear All,
I wonder how can we use Advent and its themes of hope, peace, joy and love as an antidote to the commercialism that threatens to dominate Christmas?
Advent is the time that we begin to prepare to celebrate the one gift we are all offered regardless of what we do or who we are – the gift of Jesus, the Redeemer for all people and of Creation. Whether we accept the gift is up to each individual.
Advent coincides with the retail industry’s biggest marketing campaigns to prise ever more of our cash out of our wallets and purses. Many of us have a sense of regret that the true meaning of Christmas – the coming of Christ – is drowned out by the commercial “Xmas”.
That is why Advent is so important; it can be the antidote to too much commercialism. If we begin to participate more fully in the spiritual tone of this season of preparation then we can tune into and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Seeing the shops packed with goods and shoppers can help us to appreciate that we in the United Kingdom are heavyweight consumers of the world’s resources. But Christians also know we have a duty to care for the world and other people by adopting a less destructive, more prudent and simpler life style. One where there is time to think about how our actions affect others. This is not to imply that we have to become martyrs or take up the life of a wandering monk! It’s just a voice calling us to be more simple, restrained and responsible in the way we live our lives.
A key theme for me at the moment is ‘how we are transformed’ by knowing Jesus and the hope, peace, joy and love that he brings. The hope, peace, joy and love we seek to reflect on and find in Advent comes from our faith and that we believe we have the potential to become transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
We have the potential to live out our lives mirroring Jesus way of living life in our lives. This is an uplifting idea that says if we focus on building up our true identity we can be sure of living our lives out more fully.
This idea of an identity as children of God becoming more Christ-like is the exact opposite of the image-focused world in which we live and where we are encouraged to concentrate on our outer appearance and acquiring more and more goods at great financial cost to ourselves, great cost to the resources of the world (that we should be sharing) and at the cost of stifling the inner growth that Christian faith should bring about.
True hope, peace, joy and love gives us a means to develop our inner selves in the image of Christ. So let’s make time to reflect on how these things can transform us this advent season as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus and maybe while still enjoying ourselves, giving and receiving gifts and hospitality, we will walk more lightly in the world promoting hope, peace joy and love.
God bless you
Katherine
NOVEMBER 2009
Katherine writes........... Over the last month I have been enjoying the opportunity to read books not dictated by a course curriculum! One book that I have been particularly taken with is John Ortberg’s “The life you’ve always wanted” It is a book about spiritual disciplines, which on the surface sounds like the sort of book you may want to quickly return to the shelf as only applicable to those who live in monasteries and deserts not to people like us!
And yet the Christian gospel insists that the transformation of the human personality is possible. Not easy. Rarely quick. But possible. It happens when people take seriously the challenge to put Jesus at the centre of their lives and learn from him how to live and can say, ‘Now with God’s help, I shall become myself.’ It challenges the rather depressing idea put forward by Popeye that, ‘I yam what I yam.’ That catch phrase seems to rule out the possibility of change and growth and for that reason is a sad cry that has perhaps been felt by most of us at some time as we struggle between disappointment and hope.
The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope. A creeping caterpillar is transformed into a soaring butterfly and as children of God we are to undergo a change that makes that one barely noticeable, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and into the likeness of Christ. Spiritual formation is a molding process we are to become like Jesus.
John Ortberg’s book shows in simple practical ways how the whole of life can be used for transformation purposes without great effort and is full of humorous and heart tugging illustrations. It makes accessible the idea that a spiritual life is not primarily about what happens when we die, or knowing about what happens when we die but about the good news as Jesus preached it that now it is possible for ordinary men and women to live under the power of God and be transformed. It is about the glorious redemption of life - your life and my life.
It is my hope that as we journey together we will learn about, and more importantly experience the power of this transformation in all our lives and in doing so demonstrate that God is!
God bless you
Katherine
Previous 'Minister writes'......
October 2009
Children are back to school and many young people are back at college or settling into university life. This and the crispness in the air tell us that there is a change of season. Autumn is arriving. This year it also marks a change for Radford Semele Baptist church and me, a new minister for the church and a new church for the minister. It is a time in church life to take stock and give thanks for the blessings, celebrate the harvest and look to the future. I will certainly be giving thanks for the many blessings I have received in coming to Radford Semele and look forward to hearing about the ways people have been blessed and the harvests gathered in this year as a basis for looking forward. And yet I was reminded, when talking to my brother James who farms in Scotland, that the year does not always bring us what we want or expect. He has just had a low yield from his Barley and was disappointed. As we journey together as a church it is good to be there for each other in the joys, frustrations, sorrows and celebrations as we try to demonstrate and share God’s love with the wider community. I look forward to journeying with RSBC in this new season and pray that it may be a blessed one. KP
