Werrington Parish Church

Niteblessings

‪In the end may your life be embedded in the beautiful gifts of faith, hope and love. May you receive faith from the promises of God and from His Son, rooted in the gift of hope. May you remember that when all else has gone, love remains. Therefore may you give yourself to love #niteblessing ... See more

Niteblessings

‪May you remember that the deepest canyons contain remarkable beauty. Standing on the edge of the unknown may you remember that the Creator God knows your uncertainties and fears. He is strong enough to hold you as you journey on and close enough to walk beside you #niteblessing‬ ... See more

Niteblessings

‪May the light of Christ be a beacon of hope for you in the darkness. May He hold your gaze when the fog of fear descends. May He guide your steps when you do not know what to do. May He be your stability when everything else is crumbling. May His Light be your life #niteblessing‬ ... See more

Werrington Parish Church

We have British Comedy Award-winning writer, Paul Kerensa with us on Saturday 7th September. He is doing an afternoon session for families and an evening comedy performance suitable for everyone. Please see the posters for details. Tickets from the Parish Office at Twelvetree Avenue (Mon-Fri 9:30 am to 4 pm). ... See more

George

REMEMBER OR FORGET?
Colossians 4:18 "I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains."

"Elsewhere, Paul writes that "you are the body of Christ" and "if one part suffers, every part suffers with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26,27). Most of us don't live in parts of the world where persecution is institutionalized, which is a real blessing; but let's not forget our brothers and sisters, maybe 250 million of them, who are suffering in very real ways day by day because of their faith in Jesus.
North Korea regularly tops the list as the worst country to live in as a Christian. Thousands upon thousands are locked away in prison camps right now because of their faith. Many North Koreans recite daily the Lord's Prayer and the five principles of faith. The expectations of suffering within their faith life are evident in these principles:
. Our persecution and suffering are our joy and honour.
. We want to accept ridicule, scorn, and disadvantages with joy in Jesus' name.
. As Christians, we want to wipe others' tears away and comfort the suffering.
. We want to be ready to risk our lives because of our love for our neighbour, so that they also become Christians.
. We want to live our lives according to the standards set in God's Word.

Do re-read those and dwell on them for a while.
Open Doors, Release International, IJM, Voice of the Martyrs, and Barnabas Fund are some of the groups who send out regular updates so that we can pray strategic informed prayers, and get involved in campaigns for imprisoned and persecuted believers. Why not contact one of them today and subscribe?
It's easy to get wrapped up in our own affairs, so the above is a healthy antidote if we're tempted to slip into self-pity regarding our own problems.

Lord, I choose to remember the persecuted church today. Forgive me when I've forgotten them. Intervene for them. And all the more help me use the freedoms I have for your glory. Amen!"

From 'Choose Life 365 Readings for Radical Disciples' by Simon Guillebaud.
Are you one who has decided to remember our persecuted Brothers and Sisters in Christ? Ask Jesus how to pray and then do it!!!! ... See more

Niteblessings

‪May you see yourself as God sees you: unique, known, loved, wanted, forgiven. May you find hope in accepting His offered grace, embracing the One Who longs to embrace you. May you give Him your sorrow, shame and brokenness and receive His joy, dignity and wholeness #niteblessing‬ ... See more

George

GIVE UP OR TRY AGAIN?
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

"In 2013, 64-year-old US endurance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim the 110 miles from Cuba to the US without a shark cage. She took fifty-three hours non-stop, escorted by boats and her team of thirty-five people. The rules of the swim meant she wasn't allowed to hold on to the support boat at any time. Her team helped her maintain the right course and gave her food and water. As well as a bodysuit and gloves, she wore a special silicone mask to protect her face from the jellyfish stings that had plagued her last attempt. Her team also had equipment that generated a faint electrical field around her designed to keep sharks at bay. During the last stretch, they guided her through the best route into Key West to avoid dangerous eddies, currents, shipping lanes, reefs, and swarms of jellyfish.
Amazing! But further, it turns out she'd tried four other times: in 1978 (i.e. several decades earlier), twice in 2011, and once again in 2012. Each time she'd failed. During her previous attempt in August 2012, Nyad had to be pulled out of the water after forty-one hours when a squall and repeated jellyfish stings had made it impossible for her to continue.
Struggling to breathe on completing the feat, she told the waiting TV crews, "I have three messages: one is we should never ever give up; two is you are never too old to chase your dreams; and three is it looks like a solitary sport but it is a team."
Preach it, sister! Paul and Nyad, in very different ways, just wouldn't give up. They were both big dreamers. And they acted out those dreams with others on their team. God help us to do the same.

Lord, I choose to hang in there, not to give up, and to cling to you, whatever comes at me. Show me also today who constitutes my team. Amen!"

From 'Choose Life 365 Readings for Radical Disciples' by Simon Guillebaud. ... See more

George

PRIVATE OR PUBLIC?
Matthew 6:4, 6, 18 "Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

"Whether it's giving, praying, or fasting, three times in
Matthew 6 we read the same refrain. Whereas others with wrong motives may give/pray/fast in public to impress those around them, it is those disciplines carried out in private before the Audience of One that the Lord promises to reward.
Character is what we are in the dark, when nobody's there to impress. That's the real you. We can fake it and impress others, and sometimes even manage to deceive ourselves, but ultimately we'll show our true colours. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
Private victories precede public ones--not the other way round--just as you can't harvest a crop before you plant it. Gethsemane precede Golgotha, just as the cross we bear precedes the crown we will wear.
As Rick Warren has pointed out, "In ministry, private purity is the source of public power." William Wilberforce knew how costly it would be to give his whole life over to seeking the abolition of slavery. He fought a fierce internal battle in secret with the Lord before accepting that his calling was to champion the liberty of the oppressed as a Parliamentarian. He wrote in his journal in 1788, "My walk is a public one. My business is in the world; and I must mix in the assemblies of men, or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me."
Most of us have a thick mask on for the public sphere. How far removed is the public from the private you? Don't be tempted to concentrate on improving the public; work first on the private--then the public will take care of itself.

Lord, I choose to seek your approval alone today. Amen."

From 'Choose Life 365 Readings for Radical Disciples' by Simon Guillebaud.
Are you seeking worldly affirmation or the audience of the one who is Three? Ask Jesus what character issues you need to work on in private that will shine for Christ in and through you in the future!!! ... See more

Contemplative Monk

George

CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY?
Romans 9:17 "For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

However bad our circumstances might be today, they are unlikely to be worse than those of the poor Israelites languishing in despair as slaves in Egypt. Yet as Albert Einstein observed, "In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity." Through their neglect of God, they'd ended up in a mess. Their crisis made them increasingly desperate, aware that they couldn't make it on their own. And in that state of brokenness, they were ripe for God's intervention.
We're all at times confronted by seemingly impossible situations, but with a shift in perspective they are potentially wonderful opportunities in disguise. In the Chinese picture-letter alphabet, the symbol for "crisis" is a combination of two characters, one meaning "danger" and the other "opportunity". So we can choose our own attitude and look at it either way. As Winston Churchill said, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
Normal people don't actively seek out crises in their lives. I personally want to avoid them wherever I can, which I think is right, unless a dysfunctional situation needs addressing proactively. But crises come our way regardless of how hard we try to avoid them. And with the benefit of hindsight, I am mostly grateful for the crises the Lord has allowed me to go through. When the Israelites turned back to the Lord, he rescued them. Repeatedly. They had a story of his faithfulness. The crises were opportunities to grow, to learn, to become more like him. As the Chinese proverb says, "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfect3ed without trials."
So as you review your circumstances today, can you see any bright ray of hope in the midst of a dark challenging situation? You may or may not, but God does. Hold on to that!

Lord, would you turn each crisis into an opportunity in my life. Amen."

From 'Choose Life 365 Readings for Radical Disciples' by Simon Guillebaud. ... See more