Darkest hour v Johnny English strikes again

Recently I have watched two films. Gary Oldman does amazingly well in his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill. Watching it just after Remembrance Sunday was very poignant. Johnny English strikes again is a completely different film with Rowan Atkinson at his hilarious best. Both films had something in common. There was an evil plot to take over the world. In Churchill’s time, many in Parliament did not want to believe that Hitler was so bad;

surely you could negotiate with him! Churchill’s reply, “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!” Bumbling Johnny English somehow saves the day from an evil terrorist. The hardest job he has is to convince the Prime minister of the villain’s intent.

Here we are in Advent, looking forward to Christmas. Advent means arrival of a notable person. During Advent we remember the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the Saviour, the hope of the world. Remember when Jesus was born, very few recognised him as the Saviour of the world. Only some shepherds, a few wise men, Simeon and Anna and of course Mary and Joseph.

The Christian faith talks about the second advent, in fact in the communion liturgy we are reminded, “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again”. For two thousand years nothing has changed, and we may be lulled into a sense that Jesus will never come back. As I look at the world today it is obvious to me that we need some help; so often there seems to be so much bad that is happening and no way of changing it. Evil so often appears to be winning!

The promises of the Bible are clear. Evil may get worse, but the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will one day defeat evil once and for all. Life will never be the same. Pain and suffering will be over, and life will have meaning and purpose for ever.

May you experience more of God’s love, peace and joy during the Christmas season.

Don’t Panic Mr. Mainwaring

Dad’s Army was always unmissable TV when I was growing up. Lance Corporal Jones was such an important character; one minute sharing his experiences of the Great War and the next minute worrying himself to death. We live in days when there seems to be so much to worry about.

We can’t get away from Brexit and all the various outcomes and scare stories. During my life there have been many anxious times. I remember once in my farming days, I had milked the cows as usual and the milk tanker had arrived at 8.00 a.m. The driver asked me which company supplied our farm with cattle feed. As soon as I told him he said, “I can’t take your milk. It may be contaminated with lead.” We then went through several worrying days not knowing what would happen to our cows; we didn’t know whether the lead had affected us (as we had been drinking the milk). Our income stopped overnight. The monthly milk cheque was our main source of income. We were not allowed to sell any cattle until they were tested. Of course, we still had bills to pay and we had to care of all the animals, not knowing what the future held.

Eventually everything got back to normal. We were compensated and there was no lasting damage to us or our cattle.

Most of what we worry about never happens. During these uncertain days, turn to Jesus in prayer. He will help you; He will calm you and send you His peace.

We will survive Brexit no matter what happens. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Why I believe - Part 3

Having been brought up in the countryside and living on a farm I have experienced the wonder of nature and seen the miracle of many calves and lambs being born. As a child, the wonder of seeing a lamb take its first breath and within seconds shaking its head and after a few minutes standing on its feet and suckling, I had no trouble believing in a creator God. Walking around the farm seeing some of the trees, many of them hundreds of years old, reinforced that feeling.

My parents always took me to church and Sunday School and being a good listener, I learned much about the Christian faith. When I was 10 years of age I remember for the first time being aware of the actual reality of a living God. We were at a service at the Mustard Seed in Callington. A friend of mine, Andrew Rich from Altarnun, who was 11 at the time, spoke during the service of how he had given his life to Jesus. While he was speaking there was a compulsion within me to give my life to Jesus. I remember it was like God speaking to me in my mind, like a magnet attracting metal, I was being bought closer to God. After the service I told my Mum what had happened. She wasn’t sure what to make of it and said, “wait until you are older”. Years later, Mum experienced the same compulsion and during a time of crisis in her life she gave her life to Jesus and has never been the same since. Her unwavering faith has been an inspiration to many even now that she is in her nineties.

Since that time in the Mustard Seed more than forty years ago I have been privileged to sense the presence of God many times. There have been many times in my life when prayers haven’t been answered and life has taken a disappointing turn. Times when I could have doubted the existence of God. How can I, when so many times he has made me aware of his presence. There is no way I can explain that away.

If you have never been aware of God, I encourage you to say a prayer to him asking him to let you know that he is real. Let me assure you He loves to answer that prayer.