Sunday's at 10 online; with Pastor Gra.

14/04/2022

Message for Good Friday

From the desk of Pastor Gra.

Precious Blood part 2
1 Peter 1:19

The lady from the car crash is now out of surgery; slowly gaining consciousness in the recovery room. Her bones pinned and encased in plaster. Her internal bleeding stopped. Her vital organs performing well according to the monitor she was attached to. After a while doctors arrived with the surgeon who had performed the internal repairs. Gently she was told of her injuries and how fortunate she was that someone was prepared to travel at his own expense to donate a large quantity of blood to save her life. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she listened. Who was this person who would do this for her? Someone totally unknown to her. “Can I meet him?” She whispered. “Perhaps have his name and phone number so that I can say thank you”. The doctors left promising to make enquiries, about her request, and wishing her well.
Later in the day, a nurse in a crisp, starched uniform with a face like an angel slowly opened the door, checking that the patient was not asleep, walked to the bed and said, “I've brought someone you wanted to meet!” There was a movement in the bed as she tried to lift herself up. The nurse assisted her. Tears again running down her face this time profusely. The nurse explained that the gentleman’s family were waiting to take him home so they only had a few minutes. The Donor sat at the bedside on the chair provided. The patient tried to lift her damaged limbs indicating she wanted to hug him. He obliged. They hugged the best they could for what seemed like minutes. As they broke away his eyes too were filled with tears but there was a smile also on his mouth. His tears shared in her emotions, his smile indicated his pleasure, his happiness, because he had saved a life. Conversation was difficult as emotions got in the way but he left a phone number with a promise to communicate. Her final words were, “I feel there will be something of you living inside of me for ever!” He smiled again and left.
There are tears in my eyes as I write! You see Jesus didn't just catch a bus or travel for hours to save our eternal lives, He was beaten to within an inch of His life, forced to wear a crown of thorns, nailed to a cross. Like the smile on the Donor’s face the Bible says that it was the joy that was set before Him that enabled Him to face the suffering, the cross. His joy was you and me, eternal lives saved, a new fellowship with God. When you are in church next and asked to take bread and wine at the Lord’s table, the alter, the mass, please don't just drink of the wine, juice, and think of your sins forgiven. Give Him a hug in your mind in your spirit for what He suffered. What He did. Shed a tear of gratitude to someone you didn't know. The Bible says that while we were still in sin, ie. we did not know Him, He died to save us!
The lady in our story was so right when she said, “There will always be something of you living inside me for ever!” When you Invite Jesus into your life His Spirit is living inside you for ever, for eternity!

When we do our laundry we struggle to get things as clean as we can. Some powders are better than others. Sometimes white things need a little more attention. However, When Jesus's blood is accepted into our lives we are so clean, whiter than the robes of the angels. The Bible says we are forgiven for what we did yesterday, what we do today and will do tomorrow as long as we confess our sins to God. Also it says, ”WE are the righteousness of God, Himself, by Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!
The blood of Jesus is also powerful! What do I mean? It brings protection from things that could bring harm. It brings healing, success, peace. It breaks the chains of addiction, habits.
It brings power over the enemy and power to do things you never could.

As the Donor was willing to sit at the bedside and share emotions so is Jesus ready and waiting to visit your bedside, where you are right now to share your emotions, experiences, sadness, joy. To help you cope with life, give anew perspective, new direction.

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul,
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole,(complete)
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me,
Thy great salvation so rich, so free.

All because of the Precious Blood of Christ. (The anointed one and His anointing).
Bless you all.
May you find His peace by His blood!

13/04/2022

Message for Maundy Thursday

Subject: Precious Blood part 1

From Pastor Gra’s Desk
Precious Blood
1 Peter 1:19
You may wonder why in the English King James version of the Bible “Precious Blood” is only mentioned once. Surely this is what the whole of the New Testament is about? It's the start; middle; end of everything! Perhaps only Peter had the revelation. As a preacher or Bible teacher one can suddenly get a revelation of a deeper meaning of a verse and you are so excited you cannot wait for the next time you preach or lead a study so that you can share what's been given to you and hope some excitement is communicated to those listening!

My mind turned away from the Biblical context for just a minute and wondered what made blood precious. A picture came into my mind of a lady who had been involved in a serious car accident; rushed to hospital in an emergency ambulance. The ambulance was met at the hospital accident and emergency door with appropriate staff waiting. The patient had lost considerable amounts of blood and the need for a speedy transfusion was recognized. The patients other injuries; broken bones; possible internal bleeding from organs were also noted. While blood was being located a CT scan was organized to see the full extent of the injuries before surgery was undertaken. The doctor responsible for this case had a call on his bleeper. He responded using the nearest telephone. When he returned he had a worried, ashen look on his face. The patient’s blood group was a very rare one indeed. There were no stocks in the hospital or surrounding areas. An appeal had been put out for any stock of this blood group or anyone willing to donate who had the same blood group. It was now a major exercise, everyone knew the importance of what they were doing to save a life. All relatives, close and distant were contacted.

To the relief of everyone involved a call from a volunteer had been received. However, the distance to get either the person or his blood to the recipient was the next hurdle to overcome. It didn't matter about the surgery to stop blood loss or the repair of damaged organs and bones; without the donor’s blood all would be lost, a life would cease. That blood was important, special, precious, life giving. Without it inevitable death!

At this the time of pandemic we hear many stories of sudden or unexpected death. Children being orphaned, married partners being lost, even a mother passing in the car while her husband was being taken to hospital. Pastors, Christian workers, Christian families have been affected.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is spiritual death. The only cure available, the only cure of the right blood type is the precious, special, life giving blood of Jesus. When we are faced with physical death as in a car crash or pandemic we tend to think of our future. How long do we have? What happens if we loose the battle of life? Our only comfort, our only joy is knowing that we have received the precious blood of Jesus to clean our lives, to awaken us spiritually, to empower us in a supernatural life, to make us fit for heaven when, physical life ends. Hallelujah!

10/04/2022

Matthew 13:44-46
The Kingdom of God is....

First let my acknowledge that the basis of this article was inspired by Major Sandra Collins of the Salvation Army, Droitwich, UK.

When reading this Bible parable, listening to Bible Teachers we accept the application to be one of sacrifice.

“ 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. “ New Living Translation.

We accept that the Kingdom of God is very valuable to us as believing Christians. It is to whom we belong, to whom we trust, from whom we receive our salvation, power over sin, the evils of the enemy, hope for our success by His enabling power for today and possession of our place within the kingdom and in heaven.

It becomes so important to us that we are prepared to sacrifice in our lifestyle to obtain; keep and grow in the Kingdom. In other words make Jesus Lord of our lives.

All of this is good and true, but is this all that Jesus was trying to say to us?
I visited The Salvation Army community Church In Droitwich England last week and was inspired to consider another aspect, a hidden depth to these verses.

In verse 44 It refers to a treasure; In verses 45 & 46 it is more specific and refers to a pearl. This is what is normally overlooked. Why a pearl? What is a pearl?

According to Google:-
“A pearl is a hard round object that is shiny and creamy white in color. Pearls grow inside the shell of an oyster and are used for making expensive jewelry.”

Ok they are precious, expensive and used for jewelry. So is this the picture Jesus wants us to see about the Kingdom of God? We have to look at this a little deeper. What makes a pearl grow inside the oyster? Answer; a grain of sand! When we go on holiday and walk across the soft sand we know how irritating this is when it gets between our toes and into our shoes! How much more for the oyster when sand gets into its shell? God in His creative wisdom knew the pain of the oyster so enabled the oyster to produce a substance, a balm to overcome the pain.

While in this situation the irritant is able to develop, change, grow and become something of beauty, of great price, valuable, precious!
My mind wonders now what does this remind me of? Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 talks about a thorn in the flesh (whatever that was, we will not discuss that here) but rather than God taking this away from Paul He says my grace is sufficient; a covering to make it bearable, to achieve something in Paul’s life. Paul himself said it was to keep him humble. Again God is aware of the pain!

Many Christians are heard asking the question; “Why has this happened to me?” Perhaps this is the sand; the irritant of the oyster; glory, wealth, riches of heaven; for you to become how He sees you; beautiful, precious of great price. That is the Kingdom of God in you!

So who is the merchant who sells all to purchase the field in which the pearl is found? Let me suggest that this is Jesus, Himself, who gave up the glory, the wealth, riches, power of His heavenly role, as John says “to come and dwell amongst us”. To redeem us, buy us back, the price? His blood, His death, His dignity, His suffering!

Hebrews 12:2
2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he
endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Who is or what is the joy that was set before Him? Well you and me of course. Father God sees us as if the completed work of grace has been accomplished in us. Jesus going to the cross saw us in faith as the effectiveness of what he was to endure would be reflected in us.
Glory to God we are a work in progress but He sees complete in Jesus!

Bless you
Pastor Gra

24/05/2021

Yesterday, , my niece in Rugby, England was interviewed on video relating to her struggle with cancer over the last twelve months. I believe it would be an encouragement to all of us to watch it. The YouTube link is below:-

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FWhn9E6qAVh8%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1_CJX44w_hg2pHxOK85uvlY9ZeiS_8qlhN3v_B_4hM6Z2zVSI8RZhcQOw&h=AT2caHV-Ux_FK0HU8AuN9b-07OuTZXObpvX2vpA8lNK35fGeZq2rBHqHmsC_geXwnpTxxYiB3C0cjdDcFcMkyaXfFWGu9E-jtRtlYGx6ChV2TA0sflQRMpIZ280E1UdKGEU9

You are invited to join us this Pentecost Sunday at 10.30am for our online service, where we'll be streaming live from the BEC Centre with our first in-perso...

02/05/2021

Listen to Pastor's Desk 14 read by Anna
Audio only

"If only I had Known"

Listen to Anna reading Pastor's Desk 14If only I had known

01/05/2021

Pastor's Desk 14

If Only I Had Known!

I heard a recently bereaved lady say, “I had no idea that he was so ill. If only I had known; I would have spent more time with him. I certainly would not have let him pass on his own while I was drinking tea in the kitchen!”

Similarly; a gentleman said, “If only I had known; that she wasn't happy. I had no idea!” His wife had told a Social Worker, “I haven't been happy for a while. I want out of the marriage. My husband will be shocked; he thinks we have a perfect marriage. I have never told him differently.

Both true stories.

We often say something like, “I didn't see this coming; if only I had known”. God in His wisdom protects us from knowing about things in the future that would cause us to worry, be distressed. All prophecy is given to encourage, enable, invigorate, and envision us, even if there are hard times ahead. Maybe, even prepare us so that we can face those times.

I think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing at the foot of the cross. “My boy! My boy!” as tears ran down her face. When she was rocking her baby to sleep she would have never imagined the crown of thorns on his brow. The bleeding face where hair had been torn out and the marks of the whip on his body! The angel didn't say anything about this only that He would be the Saviour, the Messiah.

"God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings,[a] favored woman! The Lord is with you![b]”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel[c] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God."

If she knew the scripture she would know that He had to die, but this was something else.
What a blessing that God kept this from her, she would have worried, fussed, for thirty years, if only she had known. Yes the shock of seeing him there, watching Him die was terrible, but only for three days, then the joy of seeing her resurrected Lord.

We do not know if Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, was still alive when her son, John the Baptist, was beheaded. Her husband was only told of the good things that he would do and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born.

"11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[a] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[b] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Can you imagine spending your life wondering when they would cut off your son's head; if only she had known. Better not to know!

So folks let's move on positively. Knowing God has everything in His control. Jesus told us there would be difficulties, persecution. Enjoy today. Leave nothing to look back on; which could make you say, “If only I had known!”

Bless you

Pastor Gra
"

28/04/2021

Pastor's Desk 13

The Tomato Seeds.

This morning I was woken up by my American neighbour bringing me freshly - made coffee. It's a habit now which started several weeks ago. As regular as clockwork, every morning at 7am. Normally I'm up my dogs demanding to go out or be fed but this morning I was running late after a disturbed night. His exclamation as the door opened took me quite by surprise! You have flowers on your tomatoes! The background to this is that he; my Swedish neighbour opposite; along with myself are all trying to grow 🍅 tomatoes.

My Swedish friend had been preparing compost from kitchen waste for some months. Unexpectedly in this compost tub self planting; or bird planting; or brought by the wind; seeds germinated. So many he was glad to give me some. I had to buy planting compost in sacks. A mixture of goodies ready for my planting. As my dog enjoys digging I filled 6 litre water containers with compost cut off the top of the bottles and planted my tomatoes. My American neighbour bought a different type of soil for planting and planted his own seeds. I thought, as I had bought the professional compost my seeds would do well. However, the Swedish ones grew faster and stronger than mine. I changed the location of mine to get more sunlight but no noticeable change. The American's seeds didn't germinate at all. We shared some fertilizer which only made the difference more pronounced. You can imagine the excitement of finding one flower this morning. Sadly for me my Swedish neighbour has fifty flowers.

We all started very equal. All three of us producing the best (we thought) conditions for the the tomatoes to grow. The American, excellent, first class seed; the Swedish guy and myself the same self planters. We all achieved different results. The only difference was the soil they were grown in.

My mind flashed back to the Bible. Some seed will produce 30 fold, some 60 fold, some a 100 fold. Why? The answer was in another parable Jesus told. Using the same seed some fell on different ground. Here is the scripture from Mark's Gospel chapter 4:3-14.

3“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

So it's all down to the ground or the soil. May I ask a question? How much time or effort do we spend preparing the ground of our minds; hearts; spirit to receive the word of God. Maybe from the Bible, maybe dropping thoughts into your mind; or directly speaking to your spirit. Are we ready, open to hear, receive what He has to say? It's easy to fire a quick 5 minute prayer in a morning thinking you have done your part, done your ‘devotions'. God would rather you prepare yourself and listen to what He wants to say, the guidance He wants to show you, the encouragement He wants give!

The seed..the Word of God never changes its capable of bringing maximum fruit, maximum blessing, maximum anointing. The control, effectiveness is in OUR hands!

Bless you

Pastor Gra.

25/04/2021

Pastor's Desk 12

Encounter with man or God?

If I asked the question,”What is your experience of an encounter with God”? I wonder what reply, if any, I would get? Perhaps you would refer me back to when you first were inspired by the Holy Spirit to say “Yes” to Jesus. “I I need you. Please forgive me!” Perhaps it was when God asked you to do a job for Him, a Sunday School teacher, a youth worker or a speaker or preacher and you struggled, prayed, fought with Him saying you couldn't do it, ask someone else more qualified. Someone who had more time. After all you had college or a family to look after. If you came to a conclusion to say, 'No' to God do you remember how ‘down', depressed, you felt afterwards? Or you said, " Yes", felt elated but nervous at what you had committed yourself to do. Perhaps you had to spend an anxious time on your knees seeking God's healing for a friend or close relative. You felt a nearness to God a deepening of your relationship with Him.

In Genesis 32 we find Jacob getting into a fight with a man. They fought, they struggled for supremacy. Realising he would not win he touched, twisted Jacob's hip so that it came out of joint. Was that when Jacob became aware he was struggling with God. “What's your name”, Jacob asked. “Bless me before you go”, Jacob begged.

You will remember I fractured my hip a while ago. It changed my life. It gave me a lot of time to think, ask questions. How could good possibly come out of this? My life will never be the same again. How can this improve my ministry for Him. At times I had to fight 'feeling old' and depression.

How could a hip problem assist Jacob? God's chosen one, blessed by his father by deception. Yet leader of the family unit, the inheritor of the Abrahamic promise to be the father of a great nation. His immediate focus was his feared meeting with his brother for the first time after cheating him out of his birthright.

Simon was brought to meet Jesus by his brother Andrew. What an encounter that was. A name change, a life change, a new adventure eventually to become leader of the church in Jerusalem.

Paul's encounter on the Damascus road changed a non believer into an apostle. Inspired by the Holy Spirit to write a major part of the New Testament.

These characters are not me you might say. I'll never be a major force for God, leader, Apostle. Please hear me. We as individuals, we as a church are praying more than ever for a revival. Claiming the prophecy of Joel that in the last days there would be an out pouring of the Holy Spirit. We are looking to heaven and cry “God let the fire fall”. However, we are looking in the wrong direction. The Holy Spirit lives within us. If there is to be a revival it will come from within us. Many people in Asia are interested in the Welsh revival. They want to know all the amazing stories, but they forget it started by a few people getting together to pray and seek an encounter with God.

Let's stop waiting for God to do something and start seeking an encounter with Him offering ourselves to bring about revival!

Bless you

Pastor Gra

21/04/2021

Pastor’s Desk 11

“I love you Daddy”

I'd like to share some disjointed thoughts with you today. Does the Bible speak to you in your everyday situation? How does it speak? What does it say?

1). Last week I adopted a six week old puppy, the half brother to my eight month old dog, Boris. At first it was a day’s trial. They became friends. Rightly or wrongly I thought they could be playmates, exercise each other as I'm limited to how much I can get out. I still use a walking stick mainly for confidence since my fall. The older dog is a little intimidated by it although it does mean he may be going for a walk.

The other day, sat in my chair stick at the side of me, the dog's play fighting became a little too rough. I lifted my stick over both dogs. The fighting immediately stopped, order restored. The scripture, Bible quotation came to me as if it was being read, “Thy rod and thy staff comfort me!” I realised to the puppy the stick represented, “My daddy cares, it's my protection, no harm can come to me, it can rescue me from any situation!” However, to the older dog it meant something totally different. It meant discipline, correction, control, love. “Thank you daddy! You loved me enough to stop me before I got into big trouble.” That's exactly what the the Psalmist meant in the words, “They comfort me”.
The words of the Bible really spoke to me! Gave me such an understanding. Yes, I'd read it many, many times before, now it became so real to me.

2). I hope you love animals as I do. The same puppy is very affectionate. When I am sat down he sleeps over my two feet, I don't want to move because I will wake him. When I'm in the kitchen at the sink or cooking he lies between my feet. Sometimes I don't know he's there and I trip over him when I move. I love it. To feel the affection the desire to be close sends a tingle through me. Makes a special relationship, a bonding. Reminds me of my youngest daughter when she was at her first school. As school finished in the afternoon, she came through the doors, ran across the play area, through the car park to where parents were waiting. She never slowed up, just threw herself into the air caught me around the neck and I caught her around the legs and we hugged and hugged! Perhaps, similarly, when we grow into our teenage years and we find a boyfriend or girlfriend. The first time our affection is reciprocated is so exciting.

The Bible, in Genesis 1:26:- God said, “Let us make man in our own image”. This scripture spoke to me. If we are made in His image He has the same feelings as we do! The same as the puppy on my feet the same as a hug from a child the same as a reply to one's love. When was the last time we thought about His feelings, His desire, need for affection. His joy at our expression of love.

3) My thoughts continued. Why then do we call God, “God”? Now you really think I'm crazy! If we called a child, wife or husband we would not say, “Child come here”! “Wife come here or Man come here”. So why call God, “God”? He too has a name. He would love us to be so close to him we could use this name. Or perhaps; Father; Daddy, a better translation. Or Lord, where this is used in the Bible it's often a substitute for Jehovah, which the Jews didn't like to say, or Jesus. Come on Church, people, folks, let's tell Him, communicate to him:-

Daddy I love you!

May our wonderful Lord bless you!
Pastor Gra.

17/04/2021

Pastor Gra in Indonesia 3
English with Bahasa translation
Be Merciful Luke 6:36

17/04/2021

Pastor Gra in Indonesia 3
AUDIO ONLY
Be Merciful Luke 6:36
English with Bahasa translation

So be merciful [sympathetic, tender,responsive, and compassionate] even as your Father is [all these]. Amplified Bible.Pastor Gra in Indonesia 3English with ...

15/04/2021

Pastor Gra in Indonesia; English with Bahasa translation.
"By faith Moses"

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