Preaching with a purpose

  I first suggested a trip to Russia to a friend about three weeks ago.   Since then we have been encouraging each other to make this a reality.   We have been to a travel agent’s and come away with brochures. I have been learning the language since February and enjoying it very much.   I have also joined the local twinning association.   In these associations a town or city or even a village will form links with towns in other countries.   These are most frequently with French or German towns.   My local city Exeter is twinned with Yaroslavl.   I have just joined by email and will be meeting the other members for the first time this Tuesday. From these meetings I will learn lots about Russia and its people.   There is one person I would like to meet in Russia, that is Danil Pluzhnikov who won Golos Deti (Children’s Voice.) He is an exceptional person of strong character and a good attitude to life.   He is a wonderful advert fo...

I remember hearing a well known speaker, but I can’t remember who it was, who had a very successful ministry and yet he said it was second best as he believed he had been meant to be a missionary in China.   Had he thwarted God’s will for him? Does God’s will have a solid centre which He really wants us in and can we slide to the edges of His will?   Does His will have a centre and a lesser outer edge? Can we thwart His will?   What a strange idea.   God is Almighty and knows the end from the beginning.   The wickedest sinner who does the most evil things is not thwarting God.   Yes he is responsible for his actions and unless he repents he will suffer for them, but he cannot and does not thwart God’s will. But for those of us who want to follow God and fit in with His purposes there is great comfort in knowing that God is in charge. When we say the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples there is great comfort in these words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will ...

I remember as a teenager in the sixties that we were all afraid of imminent nuclear war.   Today no one seems to feel this anymore.   Why is this?   I was hearing on the T.V. this evening that America and Russia still have nuclear weapons aimed at each other with button primed for immediate use.   So why does this get spoken of so rarely? I would say that most people are more worried about a terrorist   bomb, when they are on holiday than they are about huge devastation in a nuclear exchange.   The fact is people are so set on making money and buying the latest gadget, the things they believe they must have to be happy.   Also to contemplate nuclear devastation is not comfortable and so denial kicks in.   The danger of nuclear war is probably greater now than in the Cold War.   The reason I am less worried about it is because I believe God is in charge of all these things and He knows best.   That does not mean that it will not ha...

Every now and then the world seems on the brink of disaster with different world powers posturing against one another and danger seems imminent.   The truth is we are always on the brink but make ourselves a cozy bed in denial. Many of us are cushioned by being in a less danger situation at least close to home.   For us disaster is something remote in the Mediterranean where migrants drown because their boats are not sea worthy. We say, “Poor things.” And turn back to our comfortable lives. But the biggest danger we face, no matter where we come from is danger from God.   We are all sinners having inherited this problem from our first father and mother Adam and Eve.   If we think about God at all we may try to please him with the good deeds we do.   But the problem is God requires us to be absolutely perfect!! He knows that is impossible for us if left to ourselves and so in His kindness and mercy He sent Jesus to die on the cross so that absolutely any...

This is a thorny topic.   My own mother-in-law was a very gentle person who never interfered, except to buy cards for my birthday and other occasions for my husband to give me.   I always knew that she had done this because the cards had corny verses of a sickly sweet kind which made my husband and I giggle. So how am I shaping up as a mother-in-law?   There is always the temptation to interfere with my years of wisdom.   It is hard to stand back when you know the right way to do things.   But standing back and letting the young couple get on with sorting themselves out is the most important thing you can do for them. How are they going to learn to swim in family life if you keep dragging them out of the water?   Plying them with money is also very bad.   How are they going to learn to budget for themselves if there is always a slush fund waiting to bail them out? So my advice on being a good mother-in-law is, “Keep your hands off.” After all ...