Seeing is believing

We farmed at Trevigro in the South Hill parish. I remember many happy days bringing in the hay bales when I was young. In the early 1980s we changed from making 7,000 small bales of hay to round bale silage. At the time it was a new thing and very few contractors had a round baler. The nearest contractor was Bernard Strout from Boyton and that first year we baled 2,400 bales. It was a great success and the following year we invested in our own Welgar round baler.

My Granddad was born during the reign of Queen Victoria and had seen a lot of changes during his lifetime. He started farming with a team of horses; he saw the old threshing machines and the introduction of the combine harvester, the stationary baler followed by the trailed small baler. When I tried to explain the concept of round bale silage he just could not understand, so one day during silage time, while I was having my lunch, Granddad, who walked with two sticks, somehow managed to get on the trailer that I used for carrying the bales. He was going to see for himself how the round bales were made. He held on for his life as I trundled across the fields to where my Dad was baling the silage. “My life and days”, he said. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes!” He was well impressed!

So often we say it would be so much easier to believe in God if we could see Him. Saint Thomas was like that. He was the only disciple of Jesus not to be present when Jesus appeared to them after his death on the cross. Thomas said, “Unless I see the nail prints in his hands and can put my finger in them and unless I can out my hand into his side I will not believe!”.

Jesus appeared to the disciples again. This time Thomas was there. “Thomas”, Jesus said. “Place your finger on my hands and your hand into my side”. Thomas said, “My Lord and my God”.

Do you ever feel like Thomas? It can be so hard to believe in this incredible miracle that Jesus had come back from the dead, but if you take that step of faith and put your trust in God and believe in Jesus, He will make an incredible difference to your life.

Football, football, football and Faith

As I write this, the premier league has been won by Manchester City. What a thrilling end to the season with Liverpool pushing them all the way. Also, the Champions league finalist have just been decided.

The question I want to ask is - Do you believe in miracles? Liverpool and Tottenham supporters certainly do. Liverpool looked out when they went 3-0 down to Barcelona. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool manager) said, “We will have to try and believe and do our best.” The impossible happened without two of their first-choice strikers. They won the home leg 4-0. Tottenham’s job looked easier just 1-0 down after the first leg, but they had to play an inform Ajax side away from home. Their job looked decidedly harder when at half time they went 2-0 down. Again, without Harry Kane, they managed an amazing comeback, winning the match and the tie in the 6th minute of added on time. To cap an amazing week for English football, Arsenal and Chelsea won through to the Europa cup final.

Jurgen Klopp is an interesting guy with a genuine Faith. He says, “Jesus Christ is the most important person in history.” When he arrived at Liverpool as Manager, he introduced himself as the “ordinary one” in direct response to Jose Mourinho, who described himself as “the special one”. His attitude is refreshing and reflects what the Christian faith is all about.

Football is a game of many highs and lows, promotion and relegation. Personally, my emotions have been pulled all over the place, watching various games. A team can win everything one season and then the next, really struggle. Jesus came to win a trophy that would last forever. His life’s purpose was to overcome the consequences of mankind’s rebellion and give us the opportunity of eternal life. We experience many highs and lows during our lives. It is my experience that believing that Jesus Christ is a real person who is alive today and forevermore can give me the strength to keep going. He wants to be closer to us than anyone else and is able to guide us through the maze of life.

The Greatest Showman and the Greatest Saviour

The Greatest Showman is a feel-good film with some very catchy tunes, many of which are played on the radio every day. Here is the first part of the story. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t spoil the ending.

Phineas Taylor Barnum had a difficult childhood; he worked with his father Philo who was a tailor. Life was hard and became even harder when his father passed away. Barnum tried stealing but wasn’t any good at it. He sold newspapers and did whatever he could to survive. The love of his life was a young girl called Charity, who was from a rich family. Even though their paths didn’t cross for many years, they kept in touch by letter. When Barnum had made enough money working for the railroad, he took Charity as his bride and lived in a humble flat. They soon had two daughters, and Charity was very happy, but for Barnum it wasn’t enough. He had tremendous drive to succeed, not allowing setbacks to stop him. He had, as the song says, “A million dreams”. Eventually, having obtained a loan in a slightly devious way, he bought an old museum, hoping to get people through its doors. Even though he was enthusiastic at sales, no one bought any tickets. His daughters said, “Dad, there are too many dead things in the museum; you need something that’s alive, something sensational!”

Barnum decided to recruit some unusual people to be a part of a show. Here are a few of the characters:

Charles the dwarf; the Bearded Lady; the Irish Giant; the World’s Heaviest Man; Dog Boy; Tattoo Man and Anne the African American trapeze artist.

All these people had been “outcast” - no one had ever wanted them. Now they had become a family working together, and suddenly everyone wanted to come to the museum/circus. Life was looking up, and for the first time in his life he was making real money.

Jesus, like Barnum, had a difficult start in life. His family was very poor and were refugees struggling to survive. When he began his preaching ministry he became very popular and everyone wanted to see him. He fed the hungry, made sick people well, even brought the dead back to life. He helped those who were sad to be happy, the anxious were given peace of mind, the bad were made good. His band of followers was a ragbag team of people who suddenly were made to feel very important. Everyone loved him, except the Jewish government, who were jealous of his success!

In the end they had him crucified and it looked like the end. But God had other ideas! Jesus was part of God and he gave his life for us, but he couldn’t stay dead. He came back to life with more power and authority than before. Now we can know his love, we can follow him, and he can help us overcome our struggles. He loves to reach out to people with low self esteem and give them real value and purpose.

This Easter, give Jesus a chance in your life.