Faith and Sensibility

Thought for the Week—Faith and Sensibility

Most Christians, if asked to explain what faith is, will quote from Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for……”.  But I am not sure how far that takes the average non-Christian who might be trying to understand.  The word faith within a general context these days is used to describe any particular religion such as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc.  If we add the definite article and speak about the faith then that refers to a body of doctrine.  If we are wanting to explain faith to an unbeliever then we will need more.

In one of my previous posting I advocated using the word “trust” in place of “believe”.  This was because putting our faith in God and his promises is more than an intellectual academic exercise.  There is an emotional element of trusting.  On this occasion I want to suggest that we could use our five  senses as a useful illustration.  We use these senses to discern the reality of the world and immediate surroundings.  Taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell are the means by which things make sense.

The other day I watched a lady walking her dog which was suddenly aware of an interesting smell.  Try as she might she could not get the dog to leave that spot until he had finished interpreting all that was being conveyed by the odour.  Had she  sniffed the spot it is unlikely that she would have understood a fraction of what the dog was finding..  A bloodhound has 60 times more scent receptors in its nose than a human does.  Its brain devotes 40 times more space to analysing smells.  Dogs have between 1,000 and 10,000 more ability to identify all the nuances of a smell.

The gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8) is like a sixth scent.  It opens up a new world of reality that those without it struggle to understand.  But what might happen if they prayed “Help me to trust you and come to know you.

Physical healing!

This time last week I had endured seven days of excruciating and disabling pain from sciatica.  Many wrote to say they were praying as I faced a demanding weekend.  The very next day I had only mild discomfort.  The day after that (a busy Sunday) I was pain free, and have been every day since then apart from one day when the problem was only slight.  I cannot yet say that it has completely gone but this is wonderful

Germinate

Tomorrow (Saturday 11th) I am attending the Germinate Conference in Coventry.  This is a major conference for those engaged in rural ministry and mission.  Well over 200 people have booked in.  I get 90 minutes to say something about the work I am involved in and I also have some exhibition space.  Please pray for all involved in this special occasion.  The Churches Rural Group (which I currently chair) has been responsible for similar events in the past facilitated by the Arthur Rank Centre and this has been arranged similarly.  We are grateful for the great work done by Jerry Marshall and others at ARC making this possible.

Off to Scotland

On Monday 13th I will be flying to Glasgow where I will be joining up with Dean Juster who is responsible for safeguarding issues in the Salvation Army.  I will be teaching on Tuesday morning and afternoon on how abuse can happen within churches and Christian organisations.  A good grasp of the risk areas is essential if we want safe churches.  Too many good Christian leaders and good churches have hit problems because they did not understand the risks.  Please pray for Dean, me and others leading three days for SA officers and others in Scotland.

Something to Sing About

I fly back to the East Midlands on Wednesday morning arriving in Market Harborough at 1.45pm.  At 2.00pm I am due at the Wednesday Fellowship at Harborough Methodist Church.  Attempts to swop dates with other speakers failed, but it won’t hurt if I’m a little late.  Please pray that flight, taxi and train connections work perfectly.  This is an opportunity to share some of the wonderful ways God has worked in Doreen’s and my life and service for the Lord.  It will be interspersed with ministry in song.  Please pray for a sense of God’s presence, and that eyes will be turned to the Lord, and faith begun or strengthened through all that I share..

News from Yelvertoft

I would like to share briefly that we had a wonderful Area Assembly last Sunday.  Thank you for your prayers.  The church was full.  Some 30 people had taken advantage of the offer of lunch before the meeting.  My congregation provided this and an excellent tea for many more afterwards.  The title for the event was “To Boldly Go” and we explored in what way there are similarities in our calling to go forward in faith in the mission to which God calls us, and the fictional activities of the Starship Enterprise.  You can read all about it on the church website by clicking this link or by going to  www.yelvertoftchurch.org.uk

“What God Orders…”

As a relatively small but busy mission organisation, and working with small churches in the main, we do not naturally attract much support by donations or legacies.  However, over 26 years since Sunrise Ministries was started (the charity that covers the work that Monica Cook and head up) God has met our needs.  We sometimes wish we had more so that we could do more.  But we have found the saying true: “What God orders he pays for”. Please join us in giving thanks for his faithfulness.

Barry