A lovely day.

This might sound strange to some but the weather today has been rather awful. In fact it was just what you might expect of a British summer's day but despite that it has been a lovely day. It has been lovely because of many things; most of which are people.


We have had a very busy day in the “Old Rusty” with many delightful customers; they were people with great big smiles and a relaxed spirit about them. It has not been a particularly profitable day as far as takings in the café are concerned but it has been a most encouraging day.


It was fascinating to watch how Ash the dog opposite can control a whole street-full of people and also most of our customers with his playful ball skills and how he can then just stop playing at will. Leaving his adoring fans somewhat perplexed and dissappointed as to why he doesn't want to play with them! (If you want to see more of him I am told that he has his own Facebook page, why not look him up?) He brought a lot of enjoyment to many of our customers.


It was also interesting to observe how our holiday clientele has changed this week. It is no longer a children oriented group of people but couples and groups of friends holidaying together or away for a few days on a coach holiday. It seems that a more sedate week is at hand. Get ready with the tea cakes!


There were also a number of people who were on their own, each with a story to tell. Some were sad at the recent loss of their life-long partner. It was good to have a chat with lonely folks who are going through a hard time of grief.
Then there are our trusty locals who are faithful to what we are trying to achieve, I am so grateful that they are welcoming us with open arms into their lovely community.


It would be quite wrong to not mention my colleagues for the day, Juliet on washing up duties. She sacrificially gives her time freely because she is convinced that God will use our little efforts for the glory of His name. Then there is Pam the cook who just happens to have the privilege? of being married to yours truly and also Marie who has the misfortune of having to refer to me as Pa. These have all made the working day a delight. Paul and Peggy are ever faithful to the work and give tirelessly and faithfully beyond all expectation.


All in all this has made today a lovely day.
I want to thank all that have made it so good and I pray that somewhere the Rusty Bucket might have made a difference to somebody on this Friday the 13th September. To some a day to dread but to us who know of God’s saving grace it was just another lovely day of amazing blessing.


Praise Him for all that He has done.

The weather might enhance a day but being in good company makes it a lovely day.

Are you willing to give me a drink of water?

Whilst serving a customer he asked me if he and his wife could just share a glass of tap water between them. My response was "would you like ice in it?" He went on to tell me that they had walked out of another cafe due to their unfriendly response. They then proceeded to order both food and drink for themselves. It is a strange incident in which I seem to come out trumps but it highlights something most significant. As a Christian charity we should be like our Saviour who gave of Himself freely. There is an incident in John's gospel chapter 4 where Jesus asked a samaritan woman for a drink of water. She is confused that a Jewish man would ask for a drink of water from a woman from a nation that was hated by the Jews. Jesus' reply was that if only she knew who He was then she would ask for the wster of life. Jesus is spiritual water which leads to eternal life. The woman's meeting with a man led to her salvation. My customer met with my accomodating reply (thank God for that!) I would hope and pray that he might meet Him who offers so much more than a glass of tap water.

Billy Bray

Challenge for the new day.

It was said of Billy Bray (a converted tin miner of the 19th century: why not read his biography?) that:

"Religion to him was not a duty to be done-not a privilege to be enjoyed in leisure hours-not a benefit club, a comfortable provision for "rainy days; it was life. Never left behind, never put off with Sunday clothes, never hidden before great or low, good or bad, but in him, flowing through him, speaking in every word, felt in every action, seen in every look-deep, true,abiding religion was with him altogether a life. Dead indeed unto sin, he was now living unto God through Jesus Christ."

Before Billy's conversion he was a drunkard and blasphemer of the first order but found a new and forgiven life through faith in Christ. He who is forgiven much loves much.

Why not follow this link to a short you tube clip about Billy's life?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh-2T7_cUvU

Oh to be a little bit more like Billy Bray as we begin yet another day of grace.

A God forsaken place?

After a couple of lovely days in Lynton we returned home via some of the most magnificent scenary outside of Wales. My conclusion is that Great Britain is the most beautiful land imaginable.
We travelled through 3 counties and saw the coastline in all of its beauty and the delights of Exmoor. before retuning home Dartmoor beckoned us.

The surprising highlight of my day was to drive past the prison at Princetown. A dark and dismal place which is designed to offer no hope to all imprisoned within its walls. I cannot imagine being incarcerated in such a grey place surrounded by such beauty.

The moors are open and free but the prisoners are locked in and with no liberty and yet it was still a privilege for me to be there. The reason being that a number of years ago a man named Fred Lemon was imprisoned there. It was during his imprisonment that by God's amazing grace the Lord Jesus visited him and saved him from his sin. That made a remarkable change in Fred's life. From that day on he lived a God glorifying life that led him to be an honorary member of the Christian Police Association. He is the only criminal to have done so I believe.

The memory of Fred's testimony made me remember that it is when men and women are at the lowest ebb that God so often works graciously in their lives. You can read the full story in "Breakout" the biography of Fred's life. Can you believe God visited that prison? This goes to prove that their are no God forsaken places on the earth! Not even those designed by man for the punishment of those that somw would term the dregs of society.

The long and winding road:

One of the best songs written and sung by the Beatles in my humble estimation is the long and winding road. The title could be the motto of my day. Another song sums up my day also, it is an old Christian chorus or ditty: "when the road is rough and steep." Both of these songs have great significance for our day in and around Lynton and Lynmouth. It all started with a lovely breakfast in Sinai House and then developed as we started a walk through the town and down the valley of the rocks. We could see showers dotted across the sea but only experienced a few moments of drizzle. What a blessing! We went ascended to the summit of the rock at the bottom of the valley:

We stayed at the top for half hour or more and just took in the breataking views, we were also trying to work out what the helicopter was buzzing around for. Up there we met a nice couple whose wedding anniversary it just happened to be. We kept bumping into them for the whole day.

The rough and at times steep long widing coastal pathway led us rather spectacularly to lunch at Lynmouth:

After ham, egg, chips and esspresso mingled with a bit of shop browsing we set off to Watersmeet. Another of those rough, steep and long winding pathways take us to the idyllic Watersmeet where we were greeted by a National Trust coffee shop followed by the long trek back to Lynmouth, a ride up the cliff railway and then up the 60'ish steps to relaxation.

There is an important point to my rambling, I MADE IT! For any who know me I have been somewhat compromised with mobility due to hip problems but on the 4th May Mr Mark Mullins replaced my right hip bone with a nice new ceramic joint. I would like to thank Mark for his brilliance and also two really good friends for their kindness in covering the cost. The blessing to me is that I can walk free of any discomfort; but there is more. I have suffered with chronic fatigue for 10 years now and that has finally disappeared.
Again my gratitude goes to Caroline for all of her support, pills and recipes. I am sorry but I could not stop drinking coffee but the rest of your advice has been vital. I ended my walk with no ill effects and felt as if I could have walked into the night. These are real bonuses and so hill walking I return to you. I also hope to fulfil my dream of cycling again.
But there is even more still, the second of the songs quoted:

"When the road is rough and steep" continues:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
He alone has power to keep,
Turn you eyes upon Him,
Jesus is a faithful friend,
one on whom you can depend,
He will keep you to the end,
Turn your eyes upon Him.

I am reminded that the road of life that I am on (you are on a similar road) is punctuated by all sorts of delights, difficulties and issues. We go up hill and down dale, finding occasional rest, food and solitude that sustains us for our journey. The bible describes the Lord Jesus to be food for His friends and also water for them. He is peace and rest in their need, correction in their wanderings, strength in their weakness, love in their loneliness and peace in their hearts. We experience many things on a pleasure walk but with Jesus we experience life to the full in all circumstances. There is of course another valley that we will all walk through; the valley of the dark shadows of death is a reality but on the other side is comfort for God's children. Are you one?
Jesus is the bridge to life will you walk with Him?

2 nights at Sinai.

I have never had the urge to go to the historical bible places and probably if I did go would not really enjoy the experience. Therefore the prospects of going to Sinai do not really thrill me. It is not about where God has worked in the past that is important but what He is doing today with His people.
I just happened to stumble across Sinai House in Lynton as I searched through the "cheap deals" for a couple of nights away before the Autumn sets in. I have never visited Lynton before and have heard many of Pam's stories of family holidays in the area. From the stories I know of past disasters in the town and also of the Valley of the Rocks which I am keen to explore. I therefore booked in and have now spent one night in a delightful guest house with equally delightful hosts; Debbie and Nigel.(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)

The Green House Restaurant in Lynton was recommended as a nice place to eat and so we trecked (yes I mean trecked: Barbican Hill in Looe has nothing on Sinai Hill!!) down to the restaurant where we had my belated birthday meal. Pam enjoyed duck whilst I had Lobster and prawn salad. It was my first sampling of Lobster and I am glad that the poor critter made the ultimate sacrifice for my benefit.

After a good night's sleep I woke up (after 9 hours uninterrupted sleep: yes 9 hours folks) and opened the curtains to see this:

We are now in our 40th year of marriege and have said numerous times that "one of these days" we would go Lynton.

For 20 years in Ogmore-by-Sea we looked across the water to the 2 parallel lines of lights of Lynton and Lynmouth and often said "one of these days!2 we will go over and look back. Now here we are it is "one of those days" and we look back to many fond memories as we think of great friends and neighbours.

We pray for the church that the Lord has called together in that beautiful place and miss them greatly but here we are in another of those days of God's good grace where we can enjoy all that he has given us. Watersmeet, Valley of the Rocks, Lynmouth here I come for my day out and to cap it all the sun is shining, despite our weather forecasters best efforts to change it.

ONE OF THESE DAYS here I come.

It's only people having fun?

In our supposed post modern world it is expected that we can all do just as we please as long as it does not offend others. The scale of offence is therefore all important. My difficulty is how do we therefore assess what is truly offensive.
Due to the belief that we all have our rights and we are therefore entitled to live life just as we please causes a serious dilemma for the general well being of the population.

These were my very thoughts at between 2 & 3:00 this morning when the customers of the local night club turned out from a night of fun. There is obviously no problem with them all enjoying their time but when it spills out on the streets of the town there is suddenly a clash of cultures.

I lay in bed listening to arguments between men and also women. It was clear that a number of issues were coming to the fore:

Firstly there was understandably disappointment that the evening had come to an end.

Secondly there was the reality of being in the real world once again; the fun of the club has ended!

Thirdly the alcohol or whatever became more potent in the night air.

The result being that the volume control along with tolerance levels were completely out of balance. This caused arguments between friends and lovers that all in the dwelling places around could hear. I have to say that this did not make me angry but I had a real sense of there being something missing within these folk. They were out looking for a good time of fun with friends, lovers and potential friends and lovers and now for some it had all faded away suddenly in the night air. There were even scuffles and punch ups, how sad that friendships and relationships end in such a way possibly due more to substances within the circulatory system rather than a clash of character.

In our post modern world they are of course fully entitled to all that they experienced but I wonder if I was equally entitled to the disturbance. Are my visitors and neighbours equally entitled to the commotion?

Post modernism it seems to me has a number of advantages, I do have my rights etc but a great disadvantage with it is that it can cause anti-nomianism. (Which means that I can do just what I please whatever the consequences to my neighbours and of course there can be no law against my rights!)

I love the way that the Lord Jesus summed up the second part of the 10 cammandments: "Love your neighbour as you love yourself." If all of our community (including those critics lying in our beds!) could just simply love ourselves rightly and then love others in the same way then our society would be very different. As I lay in my bed my thoughts went to the Saviour's sacrificial love for me and that caused me to pray that those real people on the streets of Looe. My prayer was that they might experience the fun of a fulfilled life and the peace that only He can give.

From the rising of the sun.

From the rising of the sun:

To the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. "Oh what a beautiful morning.

Christmas already!?

I am not a party pooper or even one of those puritanical types that pour scorn upon Christmas but I was a little taken back when visiting my local Co-op store today and having to wait to get passed the staff who were busy putting out chocolate Father Christmas' It brought back memories of the first days of school holidays when I was brought back to reality by the "BACK TO SCHOOL" adverts in shop windows.

Christmas is just around the corner (just 15.5 weeks to be exact) but do we really need to be reminded of that whilst it is still officially summer. And yes it is summer until 20th or 21st September whatever the meteorologists would like us to believe. Personally I am hanging on to summer for as long as it is possible. It has been a lovely sunny and warm summer that has brightened the spirits of many in our nation.

For the last 2 years Summer has been a wash out and so why should we now be transported into a winter season without the delights of autumn being worked through first. This seems to be symptomatic of todays society. We are not allowed to live for today and to enjoy it for what it is worth.

I do feel like one of those grumpy old men on the television at the moment because it has caused me to consider the mania many have today for communications wherever they are. I am amazed that wherever I go I see people using telephones (not using them to speak!) but texting (is that a real word?) googling (that surely must not be a real word) or surfing (nothing to do with sea activities!) the net (nothing to do with fish.) They are with people but not with the people that they are actually with if that makes any sense at all.

It seems to me thatwWe are so often not living for the moment but for some other time, some other place or some other people other than what is reality. It really is a most confusing age that we live in.

The one thing that I do know is that today in my capacity as manager of the "Old Rusty" (as I affectionately call the cafe) I have met and enjoyed the company of many people, whether it be valued members of the Team or equally valued customers. It has been a great day that has been capped by the most delightful meal at the Courtyard restaurant in Looe with Pam and her sister and a good friend also. A good day has been my lot and I am glad that I have lived for today in the ever presence of the Lord who in the scriptures inspired Isaac Watts to wright these beautiful words:

This is the day the Lord hath made;
He calls the hours His own;
Let Heav’n rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne.
Today He rose and left the dead,
And Satan’s empire fell;
Today the saints His triumphs spread,
And all His wonders tell.
Hosanna to th’anointed King,
To David’s holy Son; Help us, O Lord;
descend and bring Salvation from Thy throne.
Blest be the Lord,
who comes to men With messages of grace;
Who comes in God His Father’s Name,
To save our sinful race.
Hosanna in the highest strains The Church on earth can raise;
The highest heav’ns, in which He reigns,
Shall give Him nobler praise.

Our days are given and numbered by the Lord who has given us this very day and hour to live for Him. We make plans for the future but it is not by rite that our plans are realised but by God's grace. All He wants of us is that we live every moment for His glory.
Yes Christmas is coming but not yet!

I wish you all a very happy 6th September and hopefully a prosperous 7th.

Peace and quiet.

A customer in the cafe today made the comment that the holiday makers had returned Looe to its residents. If the quiet that we are currently experiencing is evidence of that then I am personally happy to be included in the community.
I have lived here now for 10 weeks and feel as if we are fully at home. We have been impressed at how friendly the people of the town are and how welcoming they have been and are being to this newcomer. I would like to thank any residents of Looe and further afield in Cornwall who may read my ramblings for receiving us as you have. We do not feel like strangers in a foreign land but as welcome guests into your incredibly beautiful part of the world.
As you may guess by now our experience reminds me of at least one bible principle:
It was embedded into Old Tetsament law that the children of Israel accomodate strangers amongst them and in so doing they would show something of God's character. God created man in His own image and so man should have some of God's qualities in evidence. God accomodates those who are strangers to Him if they will only come into His presence. He makes them comfortable to be in His presence. The children of Israel were to display the hospitable quality of God to the stranger as they cared for them.

There are many lonely people in our community and so part of the Rusty Bucket's ministry is to reach out to the lonely and hurting and offer them peace and solitude.

The cafe was recently commended by a customer for being a haven of rest and a place that they felt that they could relax and reflect on their own issues of life. An old hymn has these words:


There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God,
a place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Saviour meet,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.

Looe is a place of peace and quiet it is a pleasure living here but there is a more important peace that is worth considering, are you at peace with God?

A beautiful summer comes to an end.

I was reminded today that it is the last day of school holidays. Looe town was noticably quieter, one regular customer even told me that the holiday makers had now given her town back to the locals. It has been a great experience learning how to drive at snails pace through the town and to smile at the antics and comments of pedestrians that do not think that cars should be allowed along such narrow streets.

It is interesting how diferent people see things in so many different ways. Again in the coffe shop today another customer was surprised to find that we are not just an ordinary business but a charity whose aim is not to get rich but to benefit the residents of Looe. Our motto is "Love Looe" and that is what we do.

A friend of mine made the observation that it is a quaint town with close buidings, but there is so much more to Looe than just the buidings or even the sea and the industry built up around it. There are real people here with real issues of life, there are the young, the adults and the now not as young as they once were! All of whom make up the people of Looe and with that there are many opportunities to show our love to the people. The best way to do this we believe is to love them as Jesus Christ loves people. He loves people so much that His desire is to bring as many as answer His call into a living relationship with God. When people are in a Godly relationship then I believe that the community benefits. Maybe I will write again about how that was clearly seen at the great times of revival especially in Wales. But that is for another time. The pictures below shows something of the beauty of the town of Looe.

Friends from home.

What do you do when news from home is not what you would want?

I recently heard that a dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer and is udergoing an intensive treatment plan. A few months ago it would have been my privilege to be there and to comfort and help in any way possible. But we are so far away!

What can we do?

The only thing we can really do is support from a distance and more importantly we can pray. We have a heavenly Father that hears and answers prayers and so we commit our friend into His hands with all certainty that He will see her through. Life is in His hands, He is the giver and taker of all life. Our friend has the certainty (since Jesus became her Lord and saviour) that whatever might befall will result in blessing beyond compare.

We pray that she will have many more years of showing the love of Christ here on earth!

Distance from each other is a problem to us but an opportunity for us to display out trust in God above.

Suspended Coffee.

One of the great things about a new job is discovering ideas like the suspended coffee scheme. It is a simple act of charity from one person to another. The Rusty Bucket have for some time now been facilitating customers to buy a filter coffee or a cup of tea extra to their requirements. This is then logged and passed on to somebody in need of a drink but for whatever reasons they cannot pay for it. All the recipient has to do is ask at the counter and without question they will receive a drink at no cost to themselves. This is a simple way of showing concern from one person to another. Again it is a great reminder of what God has done in Christ Jesus. By His death and resurrection Jesus has removed the need for us to pay the cost of personal sin, the price of which is death. Jesus has died on behalf of all who come to Him in repentance and in need of forgiveness. God forgives the sinner but Jeus paid the price required for forgiveness to be accomplished. It is a bit like our suspended coffee, the price is paid beforehand and all that is needed is the humility to come and to ask and then to receive the free gift.

If you would like to know more about either the work of the Rusty Bucket or of the Lord Jesus Christ why not contact me through the Rusty Bucket Christian Resource Centre website or e-mail me at: peterpamthatcher@btinternet.com

Every blessing to you

Peter

What is a cream tea?

Not being a lover of cream or scones (or is it sconnns????) I have always been somewhat befuddled by the arguments surrounding the British institution called the cream tea. It seems to me to be a futile argument as to whether the cream goes on the scone before or after the jam. That is until you enter Cornwall where it is of great importance that the jam is below the cream otherwise Devon traditions are being practised. Perhaps one day I will venture into eating one and discovering which way really is the best.

The argument might at first seem futile as is merely the pronunciation of the word scone that is debated but there is a more important issue at hand. Correctness is important in life. We live in a country that seems to be "politically correct" mad. We must say and do what is acceptable to all around and in many ways there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! But there is a correctness that is sadly being ignored today. Spiritual correctness to many is simply not important. But to God it is vital; in the bible He has declared that spirtual correctness comes though Christ alone and that faith in Him brings forgiveness for sins and benefits us with a new and living relationship with God Almighty. We may be interested in the correct way to put cream and jam on our scone (sconn or whatever) but God is concerned about who or what is most important to us in our hearts.

If you are interested in this why not contact me through the Rusty Bucket website at: www.therustybucketcoffeeshop.co.uk

Who am I?

Who am I? I am simply a man who by grace has come into a real relationship with God.



“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

Why go to Church?

As a 15 year old growing up in the City of Coventry I had one main focus in life. Cycling was my passion. Every day I would be out with the local cycling club training or being involved with time trials. I was not really that good but I just loved the sport. It therefore came as a surprise when a good friend of mine who had for a long time had been a “Church goer!” invited me along to her church youth group. I politely declined. I had never even considered whether there was a God or not and I had no concept as to what a Christian might be.

My friend however persisted and eventually found a key to get me along. It was Christmas time and another interest had started to develop in my experience. Girls: she told me that there were some nice girls there and so I agreed to go along to the Christmas party.

Washing up!

My friend was right, there were some really attractive girls at the party and so it was no real difficulty to be there. I still had no concept of what Christianity was about and there was no epilogue to conclude the party. BUT I was impressed by something on that night that caused me to want to go again. There was a lad 3 years older than me who at the end of the party invited me to follow him. Dutifully I followed because there was something about him that fascinated me. He led me into the kitchen, threw a tea towel to me and told me that he and I were doing the washing up. I might have thought that this would have put me off church for life. After all whoever heard of a 15 year old voluntarily washing up?? Ian (the young man) was so much fun that I was impressed by his character and so it seemed only natural to agree to attend the next young people’s meeting.

Why religion?

I went along on the first Wednesday of the New Year to the “Crusader” group, where a man called Dave led what to me seemed like a Church service. It was all very odd but I was sat next to my new found friend and of course there were an number of girls to “eye up.” The meeting consisted of singing a few “choruses” (I could never understand where the verses were!) a bible reading and then Dave spoke about Jesus from the bible. This was the very first time that I had been confronted with religion and I remember thinking to myself “why do I need religion” but that was thrown into confusion by Ian who clearly had got it!

A time to decide.

I became a regular attender of the group and I confess that I really did enjoy all that went on there. The message from the front seemed to make sense and Ian seemed to me to be living proof of all that was being taught. Deep inside I knew that I did not have what was being “preached” and that I wanted it. It was at an inter church meeting in Rugby that an older man spoke about the need for personal salvation that God the Holy Spirit convicted me of the sin within. God extended His grace towards me and I was not saved!!! I was in a state of confusion and unhappiness for a few months. Was I one of those who had rejected the free offer of the gospel, would it ever be offered by God in such a way again? Theses thoughts were my constant companion.

UNTIL

An evangelist called Arthur Dean came to the special youth weekend and after the evening service he spoke directly to the youth group. He asked each one in turn to give testimony to salvation in Christ. I was towards the back of the meeting and was urgently trying to think of what to say. When my turn came I could do no more than say that I was not a Christian. What came next surprised me. The speaker asked me if I wanted to be a Christian. At that moment the conviction that had felt in Rugby returned and so I said with great conviction that I did. I went into another room with a leader and prayed and received Christ as Saviour. My sin was dealt with, my heart was removed of the burden and I was saved! God had gifted me with something very special. That was of course a long time ago, many things have passed under the bridge and now I have been the Pastor of the church in Ogmore-by-Sea in South Wales. Recently I have moved to Looe led by God's Spirit to manage the Rusty Bucket Christian Resourse Centre.

How does all of this happen?

The ongoing story!

Space on this blog does not allow me to fill in the details which have taken more than 40 years to reach this point and so I will develop this testimony elsewhere in my blog. I will however say along with the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:8 that my salvation is God’s gift of grace to me. I did not deserve it. Even though I was relatively young when converted the bible told me that I am a sinner and God confirmed that in my heart through the preaching of the gospel. By faith I believed, repented of my sins and became a follower of Jesus.

Jesus told His followers that we should be impressive to others, just as Ian had been to me. This had a profound effect on me and eventually many years later felt that I should train for “the ministry” and teach others what Ian had taught me: that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”1 Timothy 1:15

Why not you?

A similar story is true of many people in Churches around the world. God so loves this world that He sent Jesus that He might save us from the penalty deserved due to our personal sin. He does not delight in punishing the wicked but He wants all to be saved (see John 3:16-17). All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard and so we all need saving.

Why not read the bible for yourself and ask God to reveal truth to you through His Word? If you need any help in these things please e-mail through the comments and I will help in any way that I can. For part 2 of my testimony: http://rbcrc.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/testimony-part-2.html or look in the archive of 2009.

What's in a name?

What’s in a name?

This is possibly the question most on people’s lips concerning the cafe; “Why the Rusty Bucket?”
There is an anecdote recorded on the website of the Rusty Bucket that explains why the trustees chose the name. The story may or may not be true but it gives us a rather unique name in the UK. I do not know of any other group of the same name. There are however a large number of mostly bars in the USA with the same name. We are totally independent of any other organisation or grouping.

The story goes like this: Recently while visiting a friend who had a greenhouse she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, If this were my plant, I’d put it in the loveliest container I had! My friend changed my mind. “I ran short of pots", she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting out in this old bucket. It’s just for a little while, until I can plant it out in the garden.” On the way home I started to think.............. The rusty bucket is my body. The garden is Heaven where, having accepted Jesus Christ into my life, I would grow tall and flourish for ever. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

The above pictures show the upper room of the Rusty. It was formerly a public house and nightclub. When purchased it was dark and unwelcoming but is now transformed to a place of light and welcome. It is being developed into a place for the community of Looe. It is intended to be like that old rusty bucket in that it is available for people who want to know what it means to have their lives transformed by hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Rusty Bucket Resource Centre

A new beginning:

As from 24th June 2013 I have changed my role from being Pastor to the church in Ogmore by Sea to managing the everyday working and Christian witness of the Rusty Bucket Christian resourse centre. It was with much prayer and heart searching that we agreed to move from the extremely beautiful South Wales coast to the lovely Cornish town of Looe.

We leave behind many friends and memories. The church in Ogmore-by-Sea will always be very dear in our hearts and we pray that the Lord will continue protect and lead them as He has faithfully done so since their beginnings in the late 1950's.

The Rusty Bucket is a whole new adventure which I am looking forward to being a part of. I have not as yet had time for my feet to touch the ground as we started work at the the busiest time of the summer season. I have already met many interesting people with all sorts of interesting issues of life that I believe God is working through.

I will continue with stories, anecdotes and points for praise and prayer as I get used to being the new man that I am. I praise God for His leading, His providing and help in what has been for me a time of mixed emotions where we literally have not known whethter to laugh or cry. He is a great God with great plans for His people, do pray for us in our new quest.

Peter

Giving: God owns it all anyway! 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

P.A.Thatcher
OBSEC
Evening service
13th November 2011
Giving: God owns it all.
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Giving is always a difficult subject for us to speak about particularly if you happen to be the main recipient of the Church’s giving. Probably for that reason I have had to gird up my spiritual loins and seek what the Lord would have us learn from this passage. I assure you that if it was not the next section of this letter I would not choose to consider it tonight. But here we go:
We will consider:
1. Giving is a grace given by God.
2. Giving is limited.
3. Giving is a pleasure.
Giving is a grace given by God:
Look again at verse 1, Paul is informing the Corinthian church about the Macedonian church’s attitude towards giving. We will consider their attitude in a moment but before we do we must consider their motivation to give. Paul tells us that their generous giving is in response to an act of grace given to them by God. God has given them the grace to give for the cause of the gospel, the recipients in this case was the church in Jerusalem who was in great need. The believers in Jerusalem were being mercilessly persecuted; they were not allowed to work and so were considered to be pariahs on society. Many were out of house and home and destitute. That caused the wider church to share of its comparative wealth in order to ease their burden. God had by His grace worked in the heart of the church and had given the members the grace to help their brothers and sisters in times of need and as we shall soon see. The Macedonian church was a fine example of giving sacrificially.
Considering their attitude to giving we ought to refresh our memories as to the Macedonian situation. Paul tells us that they were also suffering severe trials and were themselves extremely poor. They were being persecuted by the Roman occupiers and also by their own people simply because they were Christians. In fact they had every reason not to give because they had very little themselves and what they had they needed.
But
By God’s grace they gave anyway. Paul is using the Macedonian church as an object lesson for the Corinthian church to learn from and so we look at verses 8-9 in order to see how this works out. The testimony of the Macedonian church is both powerful and inspiring and Paul uses it to great effect in order to inspire his readers.
So what does he say?
 Firstly there is no compulsion to give.
 Secondly Paul wants to test their (our) sincerity of love.
 Thirdly there is a comparison to be made, the Macedonian example versus Corinthian (our) earnestness. Do we match up?
 Fourthly he reminds them of the gift of grace found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He became poor (poverty stricken) and then by His gift we became rich.
 Finally we need to go back one verse to see Paul’s urging for the Corinthian church (us) to not only excel in faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness and love for the saints but to excel in everything including the grace of giving.
The church is not compelled by Paul to give, in fact it is not and should never be demanded by the church; but each Christian in the light of what Paul teaches here should not only look to Macedonia for an example but learn from them and to be inspired by the gift of grace given to us all in Christ Jesus. He gave all that we might become rich in mercy and so He owns all that we have and are and so we like the Macedonians ought to give sacrificially in keeping with becoming more Christ-like!
Is this the motivation for your giving?
Giving is limited:
This might just seem like a paradox considering what I have just said. How can God own everything but yet our giving is limited?
The Old Testament giving requirement is a tithe or 10% of income. The people were expected to bring their gift to the place of worship regularly. That money was intended to pay the wages of the priests and to keep the place of worship in order and also to supply everything necessary for the enabling of worship. Interestingly when it comes to the New Testament teaching there is no such requirement. A tithe in not mentioned and neither is any other amount. We simply have passages like this one in front of us. These are our educators and it seems there is far more than 10% required by God. In verse 7 the Church in Corinth are commended for attempting to excel in everything. This is the key to what is expected from us, we are to give everything to God. I do not mean we are to empty our bank accounts; that might be the emphasis of some who in turn become financially rich by exploitation. That is certainly not what the bible teaches. Paul commends the church for excelling in everything, they gave as much of themselves as they could and that is the yardstick for giving also. Notice the example again of the Macedonian church (verse 3) they gave as much as they were able and much more than was expected; to the point of going beyond their ability. That is a great example of Godly giving; remember the great cost of His giving! But there is another twist to the story, look again at verse 5 the Macedonian church even surprised the Apostle Paul! They were an even greater example than he expected in that they firstly gave themselves to the Lord and then to the Apostles. The church submitted themselves to the authority of their Lord and Saviour and also to His church. In effect they were saying that all that they had belonged to the Lord. They limited themselves to giving everything and recognised that all that they had rightfully belonged to God; that is 100%; you cannot give more than that! We might say that the sky is the limit!
But there is another limit mentioned, this one is more practical and is a great encouragement to us and a guard against unscrupulous demands that some might put on us. It is found in verse 3; the Macedonian church gave as much as they were able. Their ability was dependent upon their circumstance. Paul thought that their ability was much less than what they gave because they set the bar higher than anyone might expect. That was their choice and it was dependent on their own commitments and also the urgency of the need as they saw it to be! They made their own decision to give and the amount that they gave and then they gave by God’s grace! The balance was all to Jesus I surrender and then they gave to the cause of the gospel as they had the ability.
That must always be our view to giving. It is far better to have a church rich in people who are sold out for Jesus than to have a healthy bank balance! Because those sold out to Jesus will make sure that none are impoverished. In fact Paul takes us back to the wilderness as the example. The manna was there for the taking, everyone was expected to gather in for their own needs but some needed it to be gathered for them, the total amount gathered was always just enough for everyone. None went hungry all were equal, their needs were perfectly met. Paul says that the mind-set of the church is that we ought to help each other out in times of need, see verses 13-15. Where some are poor the church should be helped, where others are rich they should out of their riches to ease the burden of struggling Christians. We should desire equality, not communism but equality!
Giving is a pleasure:
God was pleased to give His only begotten Son in order that sin might be dealt with and that sinners might be saved by grace. Ever since creation we have seen that our God delights in giving good things to His people, we are to be like Him and so giving should be our pleasure. It is now coming up to Christmas when we delight in giving presents to those whom we love. As we give our gifts we are simply being God-like! It should be the same for our giving to God and His people. Throughout the testimony of the Macedonian church we do not even get a hint of coercion or of them giving begrudgingly. They in fact gave happily! Their joy overflowed. We considered the inexpressible joy that Peter talks of in 1 Peter 1:8 in our bible study. We discovered that this is the foundational joy that we have as those who have been redeemed and born again; it is not a manic grin or even the joy that the Macedonians are displaying here. The joy spoken of here is the thrill of being involved with the work of the gospel. It was a delight for them to be involved in giving back to God something from the benefits that they had! They greatly rejoiced in Jesus as saviour and so were happy to do all that they could. They gave generously of themselves and their finances, they pleaded to be part of the giving process and so with overflowing joy they gave out of their own well of richness. It reminds us of the love that God lavishes on us in Christ Jesus 1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!”
Giving is God’s pleasure; it was the pleasure of the Macedonian church also. It is said that Jimmy Saville gave 90% of all that he earned, even that is not enough, God owns all that we are and so we are to give all to Jesus. Paul urged the Corinthian church to give likewise and so also he urges us. Is it your great pleasure; are you overjoyed to give of yourself to the cause of the gospel? If you do then you are truly Macedonian and God-like. If not then you are purely a rebel and are displaying worldly tendencies, or worse are unconverted. Where do you stand?

Remembrance Sunday 13th November 2011

P.A.Thatcher
OBSEC
Morning service
13th November 2011
Remember Me.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
We have been remembering that at times of conflict, when the country has been under attack or when our security is in danger then men and women are willing to fight for our freedom. Some pay the ultimate price in our struggle for freedom. We are greatly indebted to all of them. Much of what we enjoy as a society has been made possible by the sacrifice of these brave people. Our whole country at this time of the year focusses on them in deep gratitude to each one.
All of this pales into insignificance when we consider all that our God has done for us. The writer of Ecclesiastes; thought to be Solomon; has written in sermon form his confusion as to what the purpose of life is all about. I was recently watching a programme by James May about how the universe came into being. The BBC is currently obsessed with our origin and they have a theory which is shared with the majority of modern science. The foundational belief is in the accidental formation of the entire universe. The theory is understandably highlighted by many “don’t knows!” This is understandable because the universe is full of so many mysteries and paradoxes, the problem that modern man has is that he has a somewhat closed mind which comes from his belief that there is no God giving rise to the idea that there must be another logical reason for the existence of the universe. They believe that it has come about by a cosmic catastrophe which has by chance created everything out of nothing. As Christians we appreciate the science but disagree with the basis upon which it is founded. Many scientists (not all by any stretch of the imagination) believe that there is no God and so all that they observe comes from an atheistic basis. The results are therefore very different to those that people of faith come to! People of faith will always attribute all that we see around us to the creating power of God. We will have differing views of issues such as time etc. but the base line is that our understanding of the origins of life is found in God alone. It is certainly not my purpose here to debate these issues but to encourage you as we consider the meaning of life simply to remember our Creator whilst we have breath.
There are really 2 points to what the writer is saying:
 Remember your creator whilst you can.
 Remember your creator before it is too late.



Remember your creator whilst you can:
The writer tells us in the days of our youth to remember our creator. Youth often brings with it arrogance and pride usually in the form of self-sufficiency, pride and selfishness. In our youth we might feel as if we are infallible but the writer tells us differently. He reminds us that we are created beings and that our Creator is worthy of our remembrance in much the same way as our country’s hero’s deserve the remembrance and thanks of us the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.
We have a greater advantage than the writer did because we have the full revelation of God to draw upon. Solomon if he was the writer had an incomplete understanding of God’s purpose but we know that His eternal plan was for the Lord Jesus Christ who is God the Son to come into the world in order to fight the forces of evil and the power of sin over the lives of His people. Jesus was victorious in His mission! His victory came upon a cross where sin was paid for; for all who will believe. This is what we as Christians are to remember! The writer says that the best time to remember God is in our youth. See how he develops the theme in verses 1-5. He wants his readers to Remember God and so he gives a number of pointers.
Remember Him:
o Before days of trouble. Youth has problems but trouble comes as we get on in years.
o Before a time when life has no pleasure left. Normally it is only in old age that people lose the joy of life but illness causes some to be desperate long before then. This simply makes the matter more urgent. We are never sure when life might lose its charm and also when we might lose life. It is therefore imperative that even from youth we must remember our Creator! When we do we will find abundant pleasure in Him.
o Before the brightness becomes dim. One of the disturbing features of old age is macular degeneration. The dimming of the eyes, look around at the reading glasses which are in evidence among us there are a number of us who are on the way to what is being described. It is time to remember God; our glasses should be an aid to remember Him. Our time is coming! Our eyes may be getting dim but one day we shall see Him crystal clear, He will be on that day either our Judge or Saviour.
o Before the storm clouds are constant! Is your life becoming punctuated by hospital visits? When I first came here my hospital record was very slim but now it resembles my figure it is fatter that I would like it to be! One issue or storm may be dealt with only to find that another cloud appears over the horizon. Our medical records also act as a reminder of our fallibility and so should cause us to remember whose hands we are in! Remember your Creator in the doctor’s waiting room, what better place to be reminded of our frailty?
o Whilst you have strength. How many times do you have to admire the view as you come up the hill to the church? Are you feeling ever weaker? Remember Him!!!! When you do you will rise up as youths do and will rise to great heights as do Eagles.
o Whilst you can chew things over. We can tell the age of a person by the length of their teeth. As we get older our gums recede and the teeth become longer and longer until in very old age they become loose and might even fall out. The old grinders become happier with soft food, crunchy apples become less and less attractive. Yet another reminder to Remember Him! When you next buy your tube of sensitive toothpaste remember your Creator.
o Before you are shut indoors. In old age we simply do not want the high life anymore!
o Before your hearing fades. Is pardon or I am sorry I did not hear that part of your regular vocabulary. Remember Him! Every time you have to ask somebody to repeat what they have said remember your Creator!
o Whilst sleep comes easy. Remember Him in the still small and sleepless hours; you have more time to consider His love for you!
o Before you become afraid of even venturing outdoors. Afraid? Just remember Him!
o Before you die and are followed down the street in your funeral cortege! Remember Him before that day comes!!!!
What the writer has been saying in poetic form is; before you are incapable due to old age and circumstances remember your creator! In the spring of life, when the almond tree of life is in blossom and then when life becomes difficult, illustrated by a grasshopper dragging itself along rather that jumping, whilst the desire is there and before you leave this mortal coil; Remember God!! It is politically incorrect these days to be so graphic, but God is not known for His political correctness or by His masking of reality in order to make people feel good which is what political correctness is all about! God is perfectly honest in His word and so He says that we are all heading towards the grave and now is the time to remember God and what He has done for us in Christ Jesus!!! Do you remember Him? It is not just a simple thought or act of remembrance; the writer means that you must come to Him as your Creator in submission to Him as your God and Saviour! Have you????

Remember your Creator before it is too late:
There is coming a day when it will be too late for you to do anything about it. There is no point in the mourners praying for your salvation then! It is too late! You will not have to remember your Creator at that time you will be face to face with Him. This is what the writer goes on to tell us. He simply says “remember Him before the silver cord is severed or the golden bowl is broken, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring or the wheel broken at the well and the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Poets always amaze me that they get away with gross repetition at times in order to make their point. This is just what the writer does here; just consider the 6 different ways in which he describes your demise.
o A broken silver cord. Life is precious whilst we have it but it is always hanging on a thread. Who knows what might happen even in the next moment. A silver cord might be beautiful to look at but it is rather precarious to hang onto! If you were clinging onto a cliff face and a rescuer offered to drop a silver cord or a climber’s rope to save you which one would you choose? It would be a fool that chose a pretty cord, but our life is held in place by God by what the poet calls a silver cord. He rightly hints at the fragility of it but also the beauty that it has. Our God gives us a beautiful life but it is entirely in His hands and therefore is His to give and His to take. We do not know the time or hour when He will break the cord of life, therefore before that final day: Remember Him!
o A broken golden bowl. This is a beautiful reservoir of provision from God. All that we have and are is given from His good hand. The golden bowl of blessing that He gives is temporal and one day it will be broken. When that takes place, when oxygen no longer feeds your blood supply, when breath no longer takes place and the heart stops pumping forever, when God’s gracious provision of life is taken away; where will you be then? You will be absent from the body and in the presence of your Creator. Will you see Him as judge or Saviour? Please remember Him whilst the golden bowl of provision is still available.
o A shattered pitcher at the well. Our God is the well of all blessing, whether we believe in Him or not. We all come to His well for the provisions of life itself. The greatest thing on offer at this well however is the water of life. Jesus told us that He is the water of life and if we bring the pitcher of our life to Him then He will freely give water that gives eternal life. What that really means is that He is the fount of every blessing, our lives like a terracotta pot are rather fragile, whilst they are intact they will carry God’s blessing but one day they will shatter and no longer be able to take the water of life. It needs to be taken before that day. When is that day? Nobody knows! Therefore as the bible says “this is the day of salvation, this is the day of God’s good grace. This is the day when the water of life is freely available. Take it and drink of the salvation that is offered through Christ alone.
o A broken wheel. The wheel was used to make it possible to draw water. If it was broken it was impossible for a weak person to draw water. We are infinitely weak when it comes to drawing the water of life. We cannot by our own efforts reach down and draw the water of salvation. It took all of the power of God to provide the water and it takes all of His power to deliver it. Our salvation is purely in His hands, we are powerless to do anything about it but we are required to Remember Him before the wheel that delivers the water of life to us is disabled finally!
o Returning to dust. The writer now very cleverly returns to the Creator, we remember from the creation account that we are made from the dust. The promise of the fall is that we will return to the dust and therefore will be buried. The Creator God requires that we remember Him before that day because then our spirit which He created will return to Him. At this point it will either be as His friend or as unknown to Him. His friends will have a home prepared for them, those who He does not know will be sent away for eternal punishment because their sin has not been dealt with and there is no place in God’s presence for sin! He gave life, we sinned by our own free will and so God sent His Son to pay the price of the sins of all who Remember Him. How do we remember? By repentance which brings forgiveness and all of the blessings that we have been speaking of.
What must you do?
Repent and believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and then you will be saved.

Paying close attention Acts 8:1-8

Paying close attention.
Acts 8:1(b)-8
Last time we saw that Stephen had a message for the Sanhedrin who in turn paid close attention to every word that he spoke. From their point of view it was in order that they might discover words of error and then to try him for heresy. That required their full attention but we also discovered that God had a much higher purpose. The word preached by Stephen would accomplish exactly what God had intended that it should. We therefore concluded that the Sanhedrin heard and rejected the word, Stephen preached the word and was martyred because of the gospel and Saul was being irresistibly drawn by God to Himself!
That is the power and effect of good clear gospel presentation.
We will not be too surprised to find that the gospel continued to have a great effect and that people from all walks of life were paying special attention to what might happen next. I remember a number of years ago being part of a church where there was great blessing especially from the preached word. As a church we were looking forward to Sundays because we knew that God would speak to us and challenge us greatly. I remember reading the passage in advance and trying to pre-empt what emphasis the preacher would bring to us. When Sunday came it was as if the whole congregation held onto every word and savoured the content. When God is at work then people cannot help but to pay attention, even if at times their motives are wrong.
From the passage that we have read we see that there were 2 ways in which special attention was afforded to the church.
1. The authorities paid special attention to the church.
2. Onlookers paid special attention to Philip.

1) The authorities paid special attention to the church:
We are reminded that Saul was present at the murder of Stephen; it seems to be that he was both in charge and fully in approval of proceedings. He meant ill towards the church and seemed to be winning the day. Stephen had died, the enemy of the church seemed to have gained the upper hand and so they used their authority to deal yet another blow to the church. Luke simply records that great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem and that this caused all but the apostles to be scattered far and wide throughout Judea and Samaria. Whilst all of this was happening Godly men were paying special attention to the memory of Stephen. They firstly buried him and they also mourned for him. Stephen’s death did not simply pass by as just another event in the growth of the church; it was not something that was simply to be expected. The church had lost a great man who served them with wisdom, care and compassion. The church had lost one of its best and most respected leaders. Therefore they paid special attention to do the right thing even though they were under the cosh at the time.
On this occasion it seems that the Apostles were not the centre of attention. It was the members of the church that were under attack. The authorities had not been able to demoralise the church by attacking the leaders alone. They had dealt a severe blow by killing Stephen and straight away they deal a body blow. They hit the body of the church in order to take the wind out of them. They persecute them greatly! We can only imagine what that might mean. For a people who could mercilessly stone an innocent man to death anything is possible. We do not need to be fanciful but we do know how a totally depraved crowd could quickly sink to the depths of evil!
Example:
Derren Brown programme where the audience were allowed to make decisions for a victim. They had 2 choices to make for each of a series of situations the man would find himself in. One choice was to do the man good and the other was to do him harm. The audience were all wearing masks to make themselves of equal standing and anonymous. The first choice was really nothing but a bit of fun, a trick or a treat. The majority went for the trick and so the man suffered some indignity. The events worsened and by the end almost all were in favour of the man being harmed until it showed the man in trying to escape being knocked down by a car and possibly having died. The object was to prove that man will always, as a pack seeks to do harm to innocent victims. It worked perfectly!
In a similar way the authorities persecuted the church, seeking to do them harm but Saul began to pay extra special attention to the church. He went about his business of destroying the church, banging on doors and dragging out believers, he did not care about gender both men and women were imprisoned by Saul. The church was being paid special attention and it was not pleasant.
Wherever God blesses the church there will always be opposition. We recently passed by Tintern abbey and wondered at the magnificence of the building and how that so many years ago they were able to build such lasting structures. But of course Tintern Abbey is derelict now because it had been destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. Many see this as pure vandalism and a blot in our history but we need to have a true perspective of events at the time. The people who were in charge of such places were just like the authorities that we are considering; they were severely persecuting the believers. They were destroying the true church and Cromwell was fighting against their persecutions. He destroyed their buildings in order to stop their destroying God’s people. I know which I prefer to be preserved.
When the church receives special attention from the authorities then generally difficulties are just around the corner.
The result was that the church was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. The aim of the authorities was that the ever growing church be displaced and made impotent?
2) Onlookers paid special attention to Philip:
Philip is another of the men along with Stephen who had been chosen by the church to care for the widows. Now he is the subject of special attention, this time from the crowd. We remember the command of the Lord Jesus to the church: His disciples are to go out into the entire world and preach the gospel, beginning in Jerusalem and from there to go into all of Judea and then Samaria and then to the whole world. It is amazing to think that all of Jerusalem so quickly had heard the gospel and that now the authorities that are causing the church to fulfil the commands of the Lord, they are actually assisting the spread of the gospel rather than preventing it! Persecution is aiding the spread of the gospel because rather than making the believers afraid to preach, it empowered them to preach the Good News wherever they were. Luke chooses Philip as an example as to what was generally happening. Philip had gone to a city in Samaria where the Spirit of God worked mightily through him. We are rightly cautious as to how we portray what happened in this un-named city because so much is made of the miraculous today. We will return to this next time but it is right to say that what happened in Samaria at that time was a one off event that brought the gospel to Samaritans and many were converted and filled with the Spirit of God. God authenticated this new work of His Spirit by signs and wonders. The crowd paid close attention to Philip and evil spirits and sicknesses were dealt with. That unsurprisingly brought great joy to the city. It is how this came about that is of vital importance for us today, the crowd saw the miracles and were enthralled but we must notice that the miracles came after the preaching of Christ! Philip proclaimed Christ and God blessed the people. Verse 12 tells us that many believed and were converted.
If we pre-empt next week’s passage a little we find that a number of Samaritan’s believed when Philip preached and then they committed themselves to the faith. Many were baptised in obedience to the word of God. These were not just a set of numbers recorded in some church growth survey; they were real people with real issues that had been affected by the preaching of the gospel. The miraculous signs, healings etc. were an integral part of the events of that day but we must always recognise that they were secondary next to the greater miracle of people being saved by God’s good grace. Many today look for the secondary’s and are not too interested in the primary function of gospel witness which is the salvation of repentant sinners. I would like to add that the reason we do not see the signs and wonders as the early church did on this occasion is simply that we are now in very different times. As I have said before and as is clear from the passage before us; the signs were present to prove that this truly was a work of God’s grace in a time of great confusion. The gospel was going beyond the borders of Israel. The great question in the mind of the Jews was “is this allowable by God’s perspective?” God’s purpose was always to extend the borders of grace and so He proved to the people that this was His work. We are under no such confusion, we know that the gospel is for all people of all nations and so we do not need authentication but we desperately need the application of the preached word into hearts and lives. Our prayer should be the blessing of salvation in lives rather than the healing of a body that will die one day and if its owner is never converted will go to hell.
In a way we are like the early church each week, we are scattered all across our area with the gospel of grace in our hearts but it needs to be on our lips because it is by the preaching of the gospel that our contacts will be saved if God so pleases. How can they be saved unless they hear? The challenge for us today is to be like Philip and all of the scattered believers and to take Jesus to those who we are in contact with. Then perhaps there might be some who pay close attention to what we say and bring great joy into the church here at Ogmore-by-Sea.