Ursula on Working with your Bible
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
I did not own a bible until I was well into adulthood. There it is! The truth... And when I was given one, I found it overwhelmingly thick and intimidating. If you, too, feel anything like me at the time, here are some tips that might help you:
Some years ago, I purchased these bible dividers and can tell you that they are a game-changer! They might be fiddly to stick in (reserve a couple of hours for that), but afterwards, it is so much easier to find the right book of the bible.
When you order them online, measure your bible first as there are different sizes available.
Or, if you feel really ambitious, go for the one- year bible reading plan. That takes about 20-30 minutes a day and is a super routine.
And if you remember a particular story from the bible but cannot recall where to find it, look here:
Catriona: A faithful witness
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (2 Timothy, ch.1, v.5)
I was moved by Ursula’s contribution on 4 April on the recollections of her father’s death and the assurance that he was in heaven. It reminded me of my own mother’s recent death and her strong personal faith in God.
My mother put her faith in God from a young age and was a constant witness to my family and all those around her of her belief in God. Whenever we worried about anything we were told to pray about it and as I grew older and had my own family, it was reassuring to know that my mother prayed for each one of us every day.
My mother was indeed a wonderful witness to us – she prayed with us, shared her faith with us, and showed love and hospitality to all whom she met in her daily encounters. I feel I was very privileged to grow up in a Christian home.
When my mother died suddenly in November, she called out to Jesus just before she passed away and her last words were “Home, home”. My sister who was with my mother when she died said that she did not want my mum to go but knew that she was going to a better place.
The belief that our loved ones are in heaven and that we will see them again is a wonderful comfort and reassurance.
Foster, “A Prayer in Spring”
When I was a student at a small liberal arts college in Maryland an American Literature course, which I took during my freshman year, was my first in-depth introduction to American poets. Although I, unfortunately, do not read nearly as much poetry as I would like, I developed at that time a lifelong love for this form of writing.
One of America's most acclaimed poets of the 20th Century was Robert Frost. I admire many of his poems, including some of the lesser-known ones. A short and likewise simple but appropriate poem of his for this time of year is entitled "A Prayer In Spring". It was published for the first time in 1915. I like many people find the presence of God in nature and I believe this is reflected well in this poem. To me the most meaningful verse of the poem is contained at the beginning of the last stanza:
"For this is love and nothing else is love, To which it is reserved for God above".
This exemplifies for me the true meaning of God and our relationship with him.
A Prayer In Spring By Robert Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
Interview with God
25th April 2021 From Steve
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
‘So you would like to interview me?’ God asked.
‘If you have the time?’, I said.
God smiled: ‘My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?’
‘What surprises you most about humankind?’
God answered...
That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money... and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.
We were silent for a while.
And then I asked.
‘As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?’
To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
To learn that there are people who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.
To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.
'Thank you for your time', I said
'Is there anything else you would like your children to know?'
God smiled and said, ‘Just know that I am here... always.’
21st March 2021 by Foster
Gaining from the Life Experiences and Wisdom of others
Recently a book, which I read years ago, entitled “Tuesdays with Morrie” came to mind. It was published in 1997 and quickly became a best seller. Two years later it was adapted into a made-for-TV movie starring the versatile actor Jack Lemon who plays the central figure, Morrie Schwartz. In a nutshell, the book is about an aging former university sociology professor who is suffering from the debilitating and incurable neurological disease ALS, also commonly known as Lou Gering’s disease. The author, Mitch Albom, learns of this and decides to visit his former professor after not having seen him for 16 years. He decides to continue visiting him on a weekly basis and chooses Tuesdays to do so because while a professor Morrie had held court, so to speak, for his students every Tuesday. All his students were welcome to drop by his office to ask questions or discuss anything on their minds.
During these weekly visits going forward, which lasted until Morrie’s death, Mitch learned much from Morrie’s life experiences and wisdom. Subsequently, Albom has written four other books, all dealing with similar topics about life and death and philosophy, in general. Accompanying or supporting someone in need does not have to be limited to a long- term or incurable illness like was the case with Morrie Schwartz. There are many forms of mental and physical illnesses of a more temporary nature for which nonetheless loved ones, be they, family or friends, need us to be there for them. The flip side of the coin is that it may well be that in the end, we gain just as much, if not more, from deepening our relationship with this person. It is always a two-way street even if it may not be obvious to us from the outset.
Noah's obedience By Maggie Tan
Genesis 6:9, 22 V.9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. V22 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
Though the same situation does not apply today, in the workplace for example, as Christians, when we face situations where we need to decide between self-preservation and self-promotion or follow the Bible's teaching in Mark 12:31 to "love your neighbor as yourself", how will we choose?
Dear Heavenly Father, teach me to follow you fully. Teach me to be concerned only with pleasing you and not with winning the praises of men. Thank you Lord, my God. Amen.
For I cling to the promises of Psalm 44:6-8:
"I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
but you give us victories over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
In God, we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever."
God’s creation
October 2020 by Ursula
When I see nature, the smallest bits of it like this tiny shell or this autumnal Physalis, I just know that there must have been a creator! Evolution would not have resulted in such beauty and perfection way beyond a plant’s functional needs. These finds make my day and remind me of God’s presence all around us.
Our Sister Church in Singapore
February 2020 by Ursula
An international church like ours has, by its very nature, a very transient congregation. Somebody joins, worships with you for a while, sometimes years, and then says farewell because their contract has come to an end, or they retire and move back home. That is sad and always a heart-wrench.
The upside is that they remain friends, and you end up knowing Christians all over the world. So when we set off to the other side of the globe in February 2020, we were overjoyed to be able to meet up with Maggie in Singapore. She had worshipped with us in Düsseldorf for a few months the previous year. We were very keen to see her home church, of which we had heard so much.
So one sunny afternoon, we got a guided tour of the main building and the facilities. They recently extended the church on two sides and now have a huge font, like a swimming pool for adult baptisms, located under removable floor-boards. Look at the size of the communion rail! And this is only one of the five sites of the eleven Sunday worship services.
The Church has nine pastors, ninety staff members, and many volunteers. This year, they expect to raise 18 Million Singapore Dollars for their pastoral activities (they have 7000 members), their missionary work, etc. And all this stemmed from just one missionary 135 years ago; this is an example of what can be achieved by a vision and God’s helping hand!
Being really, really welcoming
January 2015 by Ursula
We saw this fixed to a church door in Worcestershire, England. We read this and thought: This is our kind of church. How can you not be curious enough to give this congregation a-go? I bet Jesus would have loved to read this, too!
