Weeds
Recently Correta Odera gave us a copy of the magazine that she edits. This comes out quarterly and is called “Commissioned Magazine”. I found her editorial article very interesting and share it in the newsletter.
“At this time of the year, my lawn is green and beautiful. A closer inspection however reveals some weeds. Mowing the lawn with the weeds in it does the lawn no good. From a distance, it may still look green and beautiful but if the weeds are not dealt with, they soon overtake the lawn and all that’s left is a patch of weeds.
The weeds creep in uninvited and flourish when unattended. So do habits that ‘belong to our earthly nature’ as mentioned by Paul in Colossians 3:8-11; rage, malice, slander, filthy language, lies, etc.
Like weeds, they creep into our conversations and actions every now and again and if not dealt with in a timely manner slowly choke out the fruits of the Spirit – gentleness, kindness, patience, love, joy, peace and self control. This results in confusion among those we are witnessing to and seeking to influence for Christ.
Let us remember that our lives are open letters being read by those around us and seek God’s help to be witnesses who bring glory to our Lord and saviour.”
– Chris Ambrose
Holidays
Mary and I have just come back from three weeks holiday in Western Australia. We had a great time and went to many different places and had a number of very interesting experiences.
Holidays are meant to be a time of relaxation and renew. We certainly feel that this has been the case.
One of the joys is to go to places that are new and to see a different perspective on life. This was our first time travelling around W.A. One of the experiences was to see some of the glorious wildflowers. We saw many wild flowers that we had not seen before, unfortunately because of the weather this year the displays were not as spectacular as sometimes. In fact the best display was in King’s Park in Perth.
One reflection I have was on the variety of the various areas we went through and some of the spectacular scenery. We reflected on the beauty of the world that God has created. Some of the fine details of small flowers was stunning as were some of the magnificent great trees.
The variety and exquisite details speaks of the glory and majesty of God who is interested in beauty and in the relationship of all of creation.
– Chris Ambrose
It Takes (a) Team
One of the magazines that I am currently reading has the title “It takes Team”. The articles are primarily about the development of ministry teams in church. The articles also look at the development of volunteers within the church context.
A number of the articles are not that relevant to us here at Maylands in that we do not have a ministry team employed. And yet we do work as a team. The church would not survive if it was just me doing all the tasks.
Each of the areas of church life – worship, small groups, Friendship Centre, Playgroup even pastoral care – would not operate without a number of people assisting and working (hopefully together) to get things done.
On most Sunday mornings we have about a dozen involved in large and small ways to ensure that our worship occurs. Without many of these people our worship would not operate at all and certainly would not be helpful if they were not undertaking this ministry.
As the minister I work with all of you in a team so that we can be the church for our community here at Maylands.
– Chris Ambrose
Precious Gift of Life (India)
Every life is precious, but the recent arrival of a baby girl at Ashwood Hospital in India is viewed by her family as a very special gift. During her first pregnancy, this baby’s mother suffered a miscarriage and her next baby died just a few days after birth. The healthy baby girl born one week ago is a special joy and most precious gift to this family. The mother is from a nomadic community in the state of Maharashtra. Many private hospitals won’t admit such patients because they are poor, often unclean and viewed as creating a ‘nuisance’ for other patients in the wards. The attitude and care offered to such clients at Ashwood Hospital is entirely different. Each patient is treated with equal status and dignity, and offered quality care and love.
The father and other family members are trying to get together the money required for the medicines and payment of the hospital bill. At the time of discharge Superintendent Philemon Pawar predicts that they will try to bargain down the already low budget cost of care. “We try to be very patient with them and show our love of Christ to the people who are not always accepted by others. We praise God that the caesarean delivery was uneventful and the mother is very happy with her baby girl!”
Reading the Bible
At the Magarey Lectures this week Greg Elsdon gave a presentation to ministers and others from the churches on the topic “Reading the Bible – with open minds, open hearts, and open lives”.
He was advocating that in our churches we should be encouraging reading of the Scriptures but in such a way that we countered some of the difficulties that arise when we don’t read it in its context and with understanding.
One of the dangers is that we read it only by ourselves or with people (either in books etc or in person) who have the same views and interpretation as ourselves. We need to be challenged and think through the implications of what we are reading so it is seen in the way that we live.
We should be reading so that we can understand the big picture (narrative) and so we can see how the whole is knitted together to give us an overall picture of God and his wishes for relationship with us humans.
I encourage you to read some Scripture this week and ask questions when it is unclear and explore further when it challenges you in your understanding of God and also in the way that you live life.
– Chris Ambrose
Social Media
Much of the world seems to be involved in social media these days. The current election campaign has comparisons between the candidates and also the parties as to how “popular” each is on Facebook!
Some of the American magazines have articles on the use of various social media, including Facebook and Twitter. Amongst American pastors 22% have a personal blog with 21% of churches using Twitter and over 57% using Facebook.
It seems that we have to be instantly connected today and the old rules of etiquette are disappearing as mobile phones and other devices become more and more in use. I find it fascinating to see people in crowds holding up personal computers and tablets etc to take photos and watching the screen rather than watch events live.
Most of us here at Maylands are not so technologically savvy. It raises questions about how we communicate with people in our neighbourhood and how we can get the Christian message across.
We often have the Scripture “Be as wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16) quoted in many situations. It is interesting that the Good News Bible translates this clause as “you must be as cautious as snakes”. We will need to use social media but we will need to look cautiously at how and what we are saying using these new media.
– Chris Ambrose
