What's in a name

I came across this image as I was searching for other stuff today. Very clever and intriguing I thought.

Who and Where are you? - Any Comments?

Being part of a blog is intriguing. The map on the site shows that people have visited from all over the world - but who are they? Did they hit the site by mistake? Do some re-visit? Have we any regulars we don't know about? Would anyone like to contribute but not sure how? Maybe you want to be anonymous and that is fine but perhaps you could say a few words even anonymously if you want.

Maybe this blog is an opportunity under 'Comments' to give us some feedback or make a contribution from people in St Albans, UK or around the world. We might know you and don't know you read this or maybe new friends to be made.

Just click on 'Comments' and say a few words and maybe even start a conversation.

Ashley News Download

There is a new edition of the Ashley News for Janaury to March 2009. Click here to view a copy and download

Unexpeted Blessings on the M25

I gave a talk at Ashley on Sunday triggered by what I considered an unexpected blessing on the M25. Not my favourite place in the world!

The road was clear and the 20 mile drive to Heathrow to meet our family was easy on a Friday morning at 8.30. It made me again think about this whole area of meeting God through life events and how important that is for me. I looked at Jesus mother’s life and the way she dealt with the announcement that she was to be blessed by a child. Was it a blessing or not? Did she make it a blessing by the way she received it? The acceptance and the trust of Mary’s song in Luke is worth revisiting (Luke 1: 46-55).

I always struggled with these types of blessing when others talk about them with such questions as “Why you and not someone more deserving”, “Hasn’t God got more important things to do than sort out the M25 just for you?”, “What does it mean when bad things happen?”, etc.

I decided in spite of those questions that a blessing is there to be received and celebrated. I was reminded of the importance of remembering all the times God has blessed me as a way forward and a source of courage and faith for the future. An Ebenenzer time or book or conversation can be such an encouraging thing, modeling the story in the Bible of a stone being placed to remember a famous victory.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." [1 Sam 7:12].

Any Ebenezer stories?

Amazing Grace

I watched the film 'Amazing Grace' last night. It is about William Wilberforce and his campaign to bring about the abolition of the slade trade.
My favourite lines came when he was found sitting under a tree studying a cobweb when he should be getting ready for Parliament. He mutters something about God, to which his companion replies;

"You found God, Sir?"

"I think he found me; do you have any idea how inconvenient that is?"

Broken Resolutions, New Computers and Wild Horses

I have broken already my only new year’s resolution , but I might try to repair it. I decided to contribute to ‘Ashley Alive’ once a week – even a small contribution.

My excuse for my failure is a new computer which was supposed to help me with this sort of thing. I thought I would have more time!!! I would not have to spend all that time looking at the screen while the Operating System does other things and ignores me.

Unfortunately the new computer is for me like wild horse training. Not that I have trained wild horses but I can imagine. My only time on a horse was not an amazing success – just hanging on and hoping I could stay there – and at the end it turned its head and bit my leg!!

My new computer is sleek and fast (compared to my old workhorse that is) but I noticed a tendency for it to carry me away me away in a gallop to new things it can do and eat up the time I thought I would gain. All that power needs to come under control otherwise it tends to carry me off into a world that shrinks to a small screen being able to do all sorts of things I didn’t know I wanted to.

There must be so much of technology (and probable life generally) that is like this and it takes quite an effort to train it (and yourself) to do want you want it to and not what it wants to do. Is it part of the perspective that God can give us when we are reminded of what really matters in our lives?

I find the Ashley prayer meeting on a Saturday morning can sometimes give me back this perspective and help me to train the wild horses that invade my life. Not a computer in sight (it may not be of course be computers for you) and a group of people to talk to and pray with. It’s worth a try if life gets out of perspective.

Anyone else have these troubles?

The Handbag Story

I liked Carole's story on Sunday. It was about a woman who had to collect a supply of communion wafers and travel with them to the church where they were to be used. On the journey the bag spilt open into her handbag, and the question was, had the handbag's contents ruined the sanctity of the wafers, or had the spilling of the wafers sanctified the handbag?
It is so easy to feel that we really are not the most reliable interface God could have chosen to have with his world, and that being associated with our lives does diminish his 'sanctity'. But, the spilling of God into our ordinary lives is an amazing thing and believing that because of that touch, he can use us as we are is mindblowing!

Walking on Water!!

At our Saturday prayer meeting one of our group brought along a pictue he had painted of Peter walking on(or sinking in)the water. A theme emerged for me of keeping our eyes on Jesus which inspired me to talk about Peter and the work of the Holy Spirit in his life on Sunday at Ashley. I was struck again by the way a man of such mixed temperament could be used so significantly by God - weaknesses and all.

There is encouragment here for us all. It is matter of stepping out and being used in the way that God sees fit. Peter was still struggling with his own Jewishness and what others thought of him after years of ministry (read Galations 2 - in the Message is powerful). I believe it was the tension between Peter and Paul that was a major factor, used by the Holy Spirit, to create the basis of the early church in all its wonder and freedom (possible in all its failures and sqabbles too !!).

The PowerPoint of the talk including the picture are included below.

Being a better friend

This morning we continued our look at men and women of the bible with a study of Barnabas and a look at how we can follow his example to be better friends this year. With all that is going on in the world and therefore in people's lives I guess people will want good friends this year. We can be there for each other and new people we meet. The presentation belwo follows Barnabas's appearances in Acts and suggests some things to think about if you want to read my notes follow this link