Llanfihangel ar Arth, Pencader & Capel Dewi Group of Churches

21/11/2025

31/08/2025

Can we trust that God's plan for our lives is a good one, even though we are struggling on many different fronts? The answer is a resounding YES! And here is why...

I expect that most of you will be able to think of someone in whose presence you feel good. I remember such a person in my life. Her name was Carol. I knew her when I lived in Yorkshire. She was a Christian and worked in the same Christian community that I did. She was very outgoing and she laughed a lot. Not only that, if anyone was in trouble she would approach them and listen to their tales of woe and would try and help if she could. Many of those in the Christian community in Scargill House were helped by her love and kindness. She also helped me a great deal when I was going through a difficult patch. Just being with her made you feel better. The same is true, only more so, when we come into God’s presence. In Psalm 84.2, the writer of the Psalm says “My soul longs, yes even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for God.” “Yr wyf yn hiraethu, yn dyheu hyd at lewyg am gynteddau'r ARGLWYDD ; y mae'r cyfan ohonof yn gweiddi'n llawen ar y Duw byw.”
Did you know that there is a God shaped hole in every person’s life? We were created to worship God and be with him and when that doesn’t happen, we feel restless, dissatisfied with life and somehow feeling that we have lost out. Have you ever wondered why there are so many religions? Well, the answer is that everyone is looking for God and often trying other religions, hoping that this will satisfy them. Even those people who say that they are not looking for God, are. Only, they are looking for him in the wrong places. Maybe they think that love will satisfy them, so they go from one relationship to the next seeking for that elusive happiness. People look for it in drugs; they look for it in beauty; they look for it in crime, hoping that the thrill of getting away with it will satisfy them; they look for it in friendship. However, no one or nothing can satisfy us deep down. The theologian, Augustine, said, “our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” , that is, in God. Augustine was someone who had tried to find satisfaction in love. He had had countless sexual encounters, but none had been able to satisfy him, until one day he was reading the writings of the apostle Paul and realised that Jesus Christ had died for him. He gave up his life of sin and gave himself wholeheartedly to serving God. He became one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church.
What can we expect when we come into the presence of God, when our hearts cry out to him? Well, first of all it says in our Psalm that God is a sun. Without the sun shedding its light and warmth, there would be no life on this planet. Nothing would grow and we would freeze to death. We would have no food. The sun is essential for life. We love to be in the sun's warmth, and we feel better in ourselves when it is a sunny day. The same is true of God; without him there would be no life on this planet. He is the one who sustains our solar system. He is the one who keeps everything going. Without him there would be no life. When we come into his presence we feel better. He cheers us up. He gives us life. We enter into a wonderful relationship with him. We become spiritually alive.
When the first man and woman sinned, that relationship with God was cut off. They died spiritually and eventually, physically as well. Jesus Christ came to restore that relationship. He is the one who makes it possible for us to come to God. He died for the sins that we have committed. He took our punishment on himself. He rose again from the dead so that we too will one day rise again and have new bodies.
Secondly, we are told in the Psalm that when we come into God’s presence, he is a shield for us. A shield in battle was used by warriors to stop the enemy from killing them with their arrows. God is there to shield us from danger and also from the attacks of Satan. We read in Ephesians how to use the weapons that God has given us. For example, he tells us to use the shield of faith. How do we do that? Well, when Satan tempts you to despair; when he tells you that you are going to lose your job or that you will not be able to pay the mortgage; when he tells you a whole load of other lies; you can say to him, “I trust in God and I know that he will look after me. I know that God loves me and anything that happens to me is for my good.” We are told to resist Satan and that when we do, he will flee. We are to use the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Therefore, we have to know our bibles and use them to refute the thoughts which Satan puts into our minds. If you read the passage in Ephesians again you will see other weapons that God has given us to use for our protection.
Thirdly, when we come into God’s presence he gives us grace. What is Grace? Well, it is undeserved favour. We have done nothing to earn God’s grace. In fact, we all deserve to die for our sins. But instead, God chooses to forgive us because of what Christ did for us on the cross. God also shows his grace and kindness by providing for all our needs. He also works in our lives by helping us to show grace to others. When people treat us badly, God gives us the grace to show love to them in return even though they don’t deserve it. Our natural response is to hit back and do to them what they have done to us. Sometimes, we fail and behave just as badly as them. But when we do fail, we can ask for God's forgiveness, and ask for his help to do better. We can ask for the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, he gives us glory. I am sure that most of you will have seen the television programme, the X factor. Why do people enter for it? Well, they are seeking recognition for their talent. They want to be famous. They are seeking glory for themselves. All of us deep down, want recognition, love and fame. We all want glory for ourselves. God is a glorious being. We read in the Bible that Jesus will share his glory with us when he comes again. He tells us that if we are willing to suffer for him, we will also reign with him. We will be recognised and appreciated by God himself. We will be given rewards for what we have done in this life, if we believe and trust in his son Jesus Christ. Every act of love, every kind word and deed will be rewarded, if we have done it out of love for him. We are not always appreciated in this life by others, are we? Very often we are taken for granted or maybe we have been met with hate or anger by others, even when we have been doing them a good turn. But God will not forget your love for him. We are told that even a cup of cold water, given in his name, will not be forgotten.
Finally, we are told that no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly, in other words, those who love him. God will give us only those things that he knows are good for us. You say, well, this has happened which wasn’t so good. It hurt me a lot. Or you might say he hasn’t given me a husband or wife or partner. I am not rich or I am not very good looking. Why has he allowed my son or daughter to die? Why has he allowed this illness that I have got? Well, this is where trust comes in. A child doesn’t always understand why a good parent won’t give him sweets every day. The parent knows that a diet of sugar does not have much food value and ruins your teeth. The child screams because it cannot have its own way. Like a child, we do not always understand why things happen at the time, but later we realise that if God hadn’t allowed that something in our lives, we wouldn’t have been where we are today. I couldn’t understand for many years why God kept allowing me to fail at things in my life, but I do understand now. The reason why God allowed all the calamities in my life was because he was training me to be a vicar. If I hadn’t been through hardship I would not have been very good at empathising with people in trouble.
When you have been through suffering you become a kinder, humbler person. Let us remember that God will not put us through what we are unable to bear. God allows suffering for our good. He trains us to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Soldiers in the army have to go through rigorous discipline. They have to endure hardships so that when they come up against the enemy they will be able to cope. If they were put up in five-star hotels and allowed to relax and have massages and anything they wanted to eat or drink, they would be useless in a war zone. In the same way God trains us to be useful to him in this world of sin, through the difficult experiences that we go through. So let us trust God; let us come into his presence daily, through prayer, reading the bible and having fellowship with other Christians. Let us talk to him constantly throughout the day. He is always there with us but very often we fail to realise it or to talk to him. Let us realise how great the benefits are when we come into his presence daily. You will be surprised at the transformation that he can bring. Amen.

24/08/2025

Do you keep your promises? Here is one woman from the bible that did and see what a difference that made:

We have, in our Old Testament reading today, the story of Samuel, being called by God. Samuel had been born to Hannah and Elkanah in response to Hannah’s heart felt cry to God in prayer. Because God had heard Hannah’s prayer she promised to give him to God. So, we find Samuel serving in the Temple with Eli the priest. We are told that although Samuel served in the Temple he did not yet know God. The word of God or a vision of God was rare in those days. The people and the priests were in a state of spiritual decline. Eli’s sons did not do their job properly and were openly sinning. They were committing fornication with women who came to the temple and they were stealing food from the offerings that people brought to the temple. Consequently, the people hated to come to the temple to worship God. Eli was too weak to stop this evil.
The Old Testament records many such low points in Israel’s history. Each time this happened, God raised up a man or woman, filled with his Spirit, to bring the nation to its senses. He chose on this occasion, to use Samuel the son of Hannah and Elkanah.
There are many things that we can learn from the life of Samuel. Let’s take a closer look.
First of all, Samuel was called, because a promise was kept. God was able to use Samuel because Hannah kept her promise to God. Hannah had promised that if God gave her a child, she would give him back to God all the days of his life. When Samuel had reached a suitable age, she did indeed do just that. She took him up to the Temple to help Eli the priest in his work. How often do we ask God for something and promise something in return? And then when he answers our prayers, we do not keep our promise? How often have we missed God’s blessing because we have been disobedient? The nation of Israel was blessed because Hannah kept her promise to God. Samuel was her only child. When she gave him up to God there was no guarantee that she would have any more children. Yet she kept her promise even though it must have hurt her to do so. So that is the first thing. Do we keep our promises?
Secondly, in order for Samuel to be used by God he had to personally know God. The Bible records that although Samuel served in the Temple, he did not know God. He knew about him from Eli and he no doubt knew the story of his own birth. He knew that his mother Hannah had prayed to God for a son and he knew that he was there to serve God all his days in the Temple, but he did not know God in a personal way.
In order for us to be used by God we have to know God personally. Our parents might be Christians or our Grandparents and we may think that that automatically makes us Christians. Well, that is not the case. We have to know God for ourselves.
The story is told of John Wesley. He was brought up in a Christian home. His father was a clergyman and his mother was a very godly woman. He studied to be a clergyman himself and then went out to be a missionary to the Native Americans. He met with no success either with the Indians or with the settlers. He came back to this country, saddened and disillusioned. On board the ship he noticed a band of Moravian Christians who radiated a deep peace and joy, even in the midst of a great storm at sea. He realised that he did not have this deep peace and joy. He knew that he was afraid to die. He was not sure of his eternal destiny. Afterwards, back in this country he attended a small service in a meetinghouse. As he listened to the words of the preacher, he said that he felt his heart strangely warmed. He felt that he did believe in God and that Christ had died for his sins. From that time onwards his ministry changed and many thousands of people were converted to Christianity.
Faith is a gift of God, but unless we reach out and receive it, we cannot benefit. Do you know that Christ died for your sins and that he has saved you? Have you taken and received this free gift for yourselves? Do you have that deep peace and joy that the Moravian Christians had? And do you know that if you died you would go straight to heaven? If you don’t, then ask God to come into your life today and he will give you that joy and peace that the world knows nothing of. Samuel got to know God, because God called him.
Finally, how can we know if it is really God speaking to us? There are three signposts that will help us to know if it is God speaking to us and guiding us. If the three are in line with each other, then we will know it is safe to move. If one is out of line then we should wait and do nothing.
The first signpost is the Bible. Maybe we have a decision to make and we are not sure if God is telling us to do A or B. If the thing we want to do is contrary to God’s word, the Bible, then there is a big question mark on it. In other words, if what you want to do, is morally wrong, then you shouldn’t do it. The Bible provides a pattern for living that has stood the test of time. The laws of this country are based on it. Sadly, our laws have been watered down in many cases, but they still reflect what is right in God’s eyes. In order to know what is right, we have to be familiar with our Bibles. It is good to get into the habit of reading the Bible daily. May I encourage you to read your bibles and pray each day?
The second signpost is circumstance. The circumstances can determine what we do. In order to know what to do we often have to take steps of faith. We can apply for jobs or organise other things in our lives. But often circumstances will dictate what we can and can’t do. For example, we may not be able to buy the car of our choice because it is too expensive. Sometimes God will provide the very money that is necessary in which to do so. Sometimes he won’t.
Before I went to Tenby as a curate I was supposed to go to Cardigan. Circumstances dictated that I did not go there. Bishop Carl was appointed just before I was due to go to Cardigan. I met him in college. When he learned that there was no vicar in Cardigan at the time, he told me that I couldn’t go there. It wouldn’t be fair to let me go without supervision. So instead, I was sent to Tenby. Looking back, I realised that I would not have coped in Cardigan without a Vicar to help me. God wonderfully overruled in my life, protecting me from too much stress.
The third signpost is the witness of the Holy Spirit, the inward witness. When I was due to leave Scargill house in Yorkshire, I did not know where God wanted me. Somebody suggested that I apply to work in a women’s Hostel in London. Without any other ideas I rang up to get an application form. The woman who was in charge of this was not in the office at the time, so I was asked to ring back. In this case I did not ring back because I did not have any peace about it. I still did not know what to do until I began chatting to an old couple there. They were talking about looking after their parents when they became too old to look after themselves. I suddenly knew where I should be. I knew that I had to go home to Capel Dewi and be there for my parents. My father’s health was deteriorating and I knew that I should go back and help them. This is what I did, and then later on I started the process of applying for the ordained Ministry. I made the right decision because five weeks after I returned home my father died. He went to be with the Lord. So, what can we learn from the life of Samuel?
Firstly, we can miss God’s blessing by not keeping our promises. Secondly, we have to know God personally for him to use us. Lastly, in order to receive guidance, there are three signposts to follow, God’s word, circumstances, and the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

11/08/2025

Ernest Renan has said, ‘The whole of History is incomprehensible without Jesus.’ Why did he say that? Let's explore...

Once an anonymous advert about Jesus was placed in a newspaper. And this is what it said, ‘He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in yet another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until the age of thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never travelled more than 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth.
Twenty centuries have come and gone and today he is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life.
Today I want to look at our relationship to Jesus Christ as Christians and what impact he should have on our lives.
First of all, in the book of Hebrews, the author tells us that we should look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. What does it mean, to look to Jesus? Let me give you an illustration. When I was on holiday one week, my cousin and his wife and my auntie came to visit me from North Wales. They hadn’t met my three dogs before. They were Cavalier King Charles spaniels. They were a bit shy of strangers so they kept a close eye on me to make sure that I didn’t leave them. My cousin Michael remarked as they were leaving that they could see that I was the most important person to my dogs. They obviously preferred me to anybody else. I came first as far as my dogs were concerned. They were looking at me practically the whole time of the visit. Even when there were no people around, my dogs studied me. They looked to see if I was going to get the leads to take them for a walk. They followed me all round the vicarage, as they wanted to be with me. They asked me for treats and tit bits. One of them even barked at me to put the fire on. If those dogs could take exams in the study of Bonnie Timothy, they would probably have scored top marks. I was also the author of their salvation. I rescued two of them from the dogs’ home and I bought the third puppy, who was the runt of the litter.
They looked to me for their every need. They knew my habits and what pleased me. In the same way we should know Jesus Christ and what pleases him. We should look to him for our needs. We shouldn’t stray far from him so that we may be safe. Jesus is the author of our salvation. He was the one who rescued us from sin and death, by dying on the cross for us at Calvary. He was literally made sin for us so that he could bring us to God without spot and wrinkle. What Jesus has done for us should fill us with love for him and a desire to be in his company through prayer.
Secondly, we need to learn from Jesus. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Jesus was giving us the picture of a yoke that is used for two animals. They have to be well matched and pull together otherwise the yoke would chafe and cause pain. When we learn from Jesus, we see that he is meek and lowly. He does not put himself above God. He does only what God his heavenly father tells him to. Being meek does not mean we should be a doormat, letting ourselves be pushed around. Being meek means to submit to someone in higher authority who knows what they are doing. We need to submit to Jesus Christ. We need to submit to Jesus’ yoke. It is only when we let him have our wills and gladly do what he asks of us that we will know true peace for our souls. We can learn from him also by reading about him in the gospels.
When Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, she achieved an amazing amount of work. But I am sure she wouldn’t have been so successful if she hadn’t had an amazing husband. He was willing to take second place to Margaret so that she could do the job she had been called to do. He submitted himself to her gladly and was a loving husband towards her so that she could do her duty. In consequence they had a very happy marriage. In a similar way, we will have a joyful Christian life when we submit gladly to the requests made of us by Jesus.
Then thirdly, we need to lean upon Jesus. We need to recognise that all we have and are depends upon him. We cannot do anything without his say so. Very often we are proud and try to do things in our own strength. That is when we get burnt out or we make blunders because we have not been listening to Jesus’ still voice. We make plans and do things that he hasn’t asked and then wonder why it hasn’t worked out.
After I was recovering from a nervous breakdown in my teens, I had to learn all over again how to live life. Besides being mentally ill, I also became physically weak from having spent so much time in bed. When I was beginning to get better, I would go for a short walk of a few hundred yards and I would lean on my mother in order to have enough strength to walk. When I was physically well, I would also depend on my mother’s mental strength in order to have the confidence to do new things. It’s similar in the spiritual sphere. When we become new Christians, we are made new creations. But we have to learn how to depend on Jesus for our spiritual strength. We have to learn to walk spiritually.
Finally, we have to learn how to live for Jesus Christ. The bible tells us in Philippians 1.21 that Paul said, ‘For me to live is Christ.’ In other words, Paul was dead to his own will and alive to the will of Christ. He wanted Christ to live in him. He wanted to do those things that Jesus Christ told him too. He realised that only then could God’s will be done in him on this earth. We are saved from sin to serve God and to carry out his will.
Many office bosses have personal assistants, P. A.’s they are called. The job of a P.A. is to carry out their boss’s wishes. They are not there to carry out their own wishes. They are employed specifically to submit to the will of their master or mistress. It depends of course whether their boss is fair and kind as to whether they will be happy. Unlike an office boss, Jesus is a loving boss and he wants the very best for us and for the world. When we live for Jesus and only for him, then we will know true joy in this life and amazing riches in the next. Amen.

02/08/2025

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 with Palau

15/07/2025

Psalm 139 was written by King David. It is a prayer to God to examine the heart and see its true devotion. God knows our thoughts and everything about us. We can hide nothing from him. He knew us from conception and formed us in the womb. But read for yourself...

Psalms 139:1-18 NIV
[1] You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. [2] You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
[3] You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
[4] Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
[5] You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
[6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
[7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
[8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
[9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
[10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
[11] If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
[12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
[14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
[15] My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
[16] Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
[17] How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
[18] Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.139.1-18.NIV

11/07/2025

Are you prepared to risk something for Jesus? May be not bungee jumping, but what would you be prepared to do to advance the Good News of Jesus??? Read on...

I’m sure that everybody here has failed at something, sometime or other. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. There is nothing wrong with failing. But it’s how we deal with the failure that matters. Have you ever wondered why God allows failure? Why doesn’t he let us all be successful at everything? After all, that would stop a lot of pain and hurt, sadness and rejection. I believe that God allows it for a number of reasons.
Firstly, if we were successful at everything, we would become proud and think that we had no need for God. That is what has happened to many people in our society today. They have become successful and not given the glory to God. They can see no relevance for God in their lives. They think they have no need for him.
Secondly, it is only through failure that God can teach us some of the things that we need to learn. For example, if we look at each failure as a learning opportunity, we will be able to develop many qualities such as love and compassion for others, patience, humility, et cetera. However, if we blame God for each failure and let bitterness and anger into our hearts, it can have a detrimental effect.
When I was a teenager at school, I was a very successful pupil. I had become proud of my achievements and tended to be a bit scornful of the pupils who were not as successful. There was little true love in my heart for failures. However, God dealt with that in my life by allowing me to have a major nervous breakdown. I was off school for six months in total. Although that time was very painful and I would never want to go through it again, I learnt many lessons, such as love and humility. I realised that who you were as a person was much more important than success. It brought me closer to my parents and my family. That breakdown was actually a blessing in disguise.
Thirdly, let us look at an example of failure in today’s gospel, we have the story of the apostle Peter. He was the foremost of the apostles. He was impulsive, quick to speak, the first to volunteer for anything. He loved Jesus very much. We know that before Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter had denied him, three times. Jesus had told Peter that this would happen, but Peter had obviously not taken much notice. He was an ardent follower of Jesus. He thought that he was equal to the task of following Jesus even to the laying down of his own life. Peter made one big mistake, and it is common to us all. He relied on his own strength to follow Jesus. He did not rely on God’s help. Pride goes before a fall.
We come now to the story of when Jesus had risen from the dead and Jesus meets the disciples on the seashore. Peter is sorry and ashamed for what he has done. He probably thinks that Jesus wants nothing more to do with him. He certainly won’t trust him with anything of importance again. But Jesus has other ideas. He wants to reinstate Peter and to do this in front of the other apostles. Jesus does not tell Peter off for letting him down. Jesus must have been hurt by Peter’s denial, but he does not blame him or take it out on him. He is very gentle with him.
First of all, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” The Greek word for love used at this time by Jesus is ‘agapeo’ which means ‘divine love’. In other words, he is saying. “Do you love me deeply?”. Peter is not willing to admit that he loves Jesus like this. He is too aware of his failures. He says, “Yes Lord, you know that I have a fondness for you.” He uses the Greek word ‘phileo’. Jesus tells him to feed his lambs. i.e. the ones who are young in the faith
Jesus asks him again, “do you deeply love me?”. Peter still replies, “Yes, Lord. You know that I have a fondness for you”. Jesus replies, “feed my sheep,” i.e. the ones who are older in the faith.
The third time, Jesus no longer asks him if he deeply loves him. He asks him, “Do you love me as a friend”. Peter replies, this time very upset that Jesus has asked him a third time. He says, “Yes Lord, I love you as a friend.” Jesus replies for the third time, “Feed my sheep”.
It is as though Jesus, acknowledges that Peter does not want to commit himself as he is afraid of failing. Nevertheless, Jesus still trusts him and wants him to be part of his ministry. He still wants Peter to go out to the lost and bring them His Good News.
We may feel like Peter; we may feel that we have tried in the past and failed; we may feel that we do not want to commit ourselves to the work of the church because we might fail again. However, Jesus doesn’t excuse this as a reasonable thing to do. He did not excuse Peter from the task of preaching the gospel because of his failure. He still wanted Peter to go out and to tell others about the love of Christ. He wants us to do the same. We are not all called to be successful, but we are all called to be faithful.
This is a message as much to myself as anyone else. I know that I have failed God in the past and will fail again. Sometimes, I will make mistakes. I will sin, because I am human. Just because I have been ordained a priest, does not make me any more saintly than anybody else. I have to learn not to be afraid to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have to carry on, despite the hostility sometimes that I get from people for preaching the truth. A servant is not greater than his master Jesus said. Jesus encountered hostility towards the gospel and so will we if we are faithfully serving our Lord. Do we go on and accept the pain of being rejected by men and women? Are we willing to take up our cross and bear it? It isn’t easy, and Peter was eventually martyred for his faith.
We are not likely to be physically persecuted for our faith in this country, but if it came, would you be willing to suffer? Are we willing to pay that ultimate price of death? Are we willing to stand up and be counted when people are slagging off Christianity, or being unkind? Are we willing to be unpopular by standing up for what is right? Do we deeply love Jesus Christ or are we just fond of him?
There was a program on ITV, some time ago, the title of which was, “I would do anything”. In it, contestants were asked if they would do anything for somebody that they loved. The task could be sliding down a 400 foot drop, or jumping out of an aeroplane, or bungee jumping, or being a stand-up comedian. If they completed the task set to them, then the person they loved would be given their most longed for wish, like the holiday of a lifetime or something similar. One of the episodes that I watched showed a father, who was petrified, because he had been asked to bungee jump off the world’s highest bridge. I did not think that he would do it, but he loved his daughter so much that he put himself through the most horrendous experience of his life and achieved it. For her sake he was willing to take up his cross. Things could have gone wrong. He could have had a serious injury or even died. But he was willing to take that risk. Are we willing to take a risk for God? Are we willing to get out of our comfort zones and work for the glory of God’s kingdom? It may not be in any spectacular way, but if we are just willing to be used by God, then anything can happen.
Let us commit our lives afresh to God and ask him to show us what he wants us to do. Let us be willing to put God first and follow him with all of our hearts. Amen.