It can be so immensely difficult to watch a friend go through a really tough time. We have all been there, listening and watching tears be shed, seeing the hurt in our friend’s eyes as they share something really difficult that’s happened to them. Whether it is stress, loneliness, bullying, or relationship troubles, it is never easy supporting a friend who’s hurting. For one thing, we can often feel panicked: “What do I say?” “What should I do?”

Nature. Isn’t it beautiful? There is something about nature, mountains, rivers, the forest, flowers, and birdsong that stirs something inside of us. This sense of awe, the beauty, the intricate details that whisper something deeper to our souls. 

Christmas is a season of Hope, but it can also be tinged with feelings of hopelessness for some people. Hopelessness can be one of the most destructive emotions that a person can ever feel. You can sometimes seem lost in what appears to be an endless abyss of darkness and emptiness.  It can seem as if there is a complete absence of joy and hope, and yet in the midst of that pain, God meets us in the brokenness.   

What can you hear today? The whistle of the kettle boiling, the roar of the tumble dryer or the TV muttering in the background?

What are you tuning into? The rustle as you turn the page in your book?  The music emanating from your Alexa?  What about the gentle whisper of God?  

The art of good listening is exceedingly difficult, especially when we live in a world that is constantly busy, constantly noisy and constantly full of distractions. Henri Nouwen wisely said: “listening is the highest form of hospitality…hospitality is not to change people but to offer them space where change can take place.”

Psalm 23 has always been a favourite of mine, particularly verses 5 and 6: ‘You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’ The Psalmist conjures up such a beautiful image of God’s outrageous abundance. He doesn’t simply want to fill us, He wants us to overflow, to ‘brim with blessing’. Did you know that God OUTRAGEOUSLY loves you today?

In his book, ‘Mere Christianity’ C.S. Lewis wisely wrote ‘God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing’. Peace is central to who God is, He oozes it, it is part of the essence of who He is and He longs to lavish it onto His children.

I never fail to be surprised by how passionately my friends can talk about things that I find, if I’m brutally honest, boring at times! Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing their faces light up as they discuss the new episode of some random new programme, or show me their latest TikTok video.

It’s wonderful to be passionate, to be filled with joy as we chat about things close to our hearts but I wonder as Christians, do we speak about Jesus with the same passion that we talk about our favourite programmes or the latest trends? How much easier is it to share with someone our love of our favourite series, rather than sharing our love of our Saviour?

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread, or that clean, fresh smell of newly washed clothes.  Things that are fresh and new get our attention.  Psychologists have discovered that the average attention span for an adult is a mere twenty minutes, and that after that, we tend to lose focus, and miss details.

The first thing I must say is “thank you” to all of you who have supported me during the past weeks which have been devastating, through phone calls, texts, and emails. But especially through your prayers.

This week, I want to take a moment to introduce myself and share a little about what’s happening at Rural Missions. But first, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing support and prayers.

The Bible is packed with examples of older people living purposefully for God, being respected in their communities, and sharing wisdom with future generations. Abraham was 99 when God promised to make him the father of many nations. Moses was 80 when he spoke to Pharaoh, and the prophet Anna at 84 was worshipping God with fasting and prayer in the temple day and night. Abraham, Moses, and Anna are just some of those who honoured God well into old age and are now held up as wonderful examples to us.

The world of the Old Testament was based on agriculture. Many of the Old Testament scriptures were written not to people who lived in urban settings, but those who lived in rural settings. Wealth for example, was seen to be situated around land ownership. The book of Joshua has vast lists of families’ ownership of parts of the promised land - it was central to the covenant that defined the spiritual life of the nation.

When I was on a mission placement at Bible college, I had a conversion experience. Growing up in a village I used to assume that poverty was something that people overseas experienced. We were encouraged in Sunday School to put our pennies in a money box for the “poor” children in Africa. In my early twenties I was on placement for three months in Toxteth in Liverpool and I came across real poverty for the first time. I found a common theme of...

Long ago in ancient China, there lived an elderly farmer. One day his son came home excited. He had found a wonderful wild stallion in the forest, and he was going to keep it and train it. The farmer's friends said to him what a good thing that his son has found this wild stallion.

An old ancient sign hung above the door of a rural church. It read, “Those who wish to meet with God - enter in.”

The disciples were terrified! The Sea of Tiberias had been calm as a millpond when they set out for Capernaum, but now it was like a millrace. A storm had brewed up suddenly as it often did. From a calm sail from one side of the lake to the other they were now in the middle of a terrifying life threatening, tempest.