The next part of our study (Hosea chapters 4 – 6:6) contains a lot of statements where God is confronting the nation of Israel with their unfaithfulness. To understand the shocking nature of Hosea, we need to understand the warnings that God had made to the children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. Read Deuteronomy 6:1-3, 5-6, 10-15, 25 and 8:1-2

1. Moses was informing the Israelites on how they were to respond to Gods gracious gift of the Promised Land. What specific instructions did Moses give? Does this apply today?

Read Hosea 4:1-6. God has charged his people with no faithfulness, no love and no knowledge of God; what a change from the intention we saw in Deuteronomy.

2. What signs of this do we see in the world today? What signs do we see in the church and in our own lives?

Hosea 4:9-19 opens with Hosea’s accusation against the priests, then broadens out to address the people. ‘Like people like priest’ v9; the people and the priests are as bad as each other.

3. What idols are the people worshipping? V12-13 What do you worship instead of God?

Hosea 5 presents the evidence and judgement is made; the Israelites were sinking deep into sin. Their sin had paralysed them; in 5:4-6 they seek God with their flocks and herds offering sacrifices and they go through the motions with no real love. Israel and Judah were weak, sick nations who both turned to the king of Assyria for help. In 5:13 they lacked a personal knowledge of who God is. When we are deep in sin God lovingly waits for us to seek him personally. God doesn’t try to force his people to love him. He allures them as a lover woos his beloved, as Hosea did with Gomer.

4. In what way might we turn to other places for security other than seeking God through his word?

‘Rejoice in the traditions of your church or denomination. They are a great asset. But do not put your trust in them. We need to live with a fresh experience of God in and through his word. We need our own knowledge of God. We need to hide Gods word in our hearts.’ Tim Chester

Hosea 6:1-6 reminds us that God desires mercy not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. The Israelites were unrepentant; their concern was for healing not cleansing. They were expecting a quick fix; they saw forgiveness as a mechanical rather than a relational matter that involves getting right with God. He likens them to the morning mist which doesn’t last. God longs to embrace them but they refuse to return with any sincerity.

5. What about our love for God? Is it like the morning dew? Or is it more permanent? What does this look like in your life day to day?

God doesn’t want your relationship with him to be one of shallow transient feelings and empty words and rituals. God wants your relationship with him to be so much more that this. God wants you to know he loves you so much he sent his Son to die for you. Hosea is a picture of the heart of God towards sinners that is fulfilled in the person and work, especially the work on the cross, of Jesus.

Prayer:

Father help us to turn to you. We pray that our words will come from broken hearts not hardened hearts. We see you, knowing your blessing will come just as the dawn comes each morning.

The last time we sat on our Corsham lounge  floor was in July 2013 as we packed up for Tanzania!

 …or is it “driving home for Christmas”?!  This time last year, we were wrapping up our time in Tanzania, saying our hot and sweaty goodbyes, and packing up our worldly belongings into five suitcases!  Exactly one year on and we’re getting ready to pack up once again and make the move from the old silk mill in Malmesbury to our revitalised house in Corsham!  This time round, instead of a 7,000 mile flight, we’ll only have a 15 mile drive in a hire van, the temperatures will be slightly cooler, and we’ll finally be able to unpack our lives into a house that we last lived in 8.5 years ago!  During the last few months the painters have painted, the plumbers have plumbed, the carpetters have carpeted, the electricians have electrified, the kitcheners have kitchened, and the plasterers are now plastered!  And thanks to Ebay we’ve been able to replace most of what we sold when we were emptying the house to go to Tanzania!  Here are a couple of tips for those looking to collect washing machines and bookcases: make sure the outflow hose is ‘corked’, otherwise your car seats will get very wet!  And always check the measurements of the bookcase you’ve said ‘yes’ to on Freecycle, otherwise it will be a wasted journey!!    

It didn’t take a genius to realise it wasn’t going to fit!

WWW. Working for the Word for the World. In our last blog post (September) I mentioned my new role with the Bible translation agency The Word for the World.  Coming into this role, I knew quite a bit about Swahili/English translation but very little about Bible translation!  The past few months have therefore been a journey of discovery as I learn more about the need for Bible translation.  Did you know that out of the 7,361 known languages on planet earth only 717 of them have a full Bible, and only 1582 languages have the New Testament?!  There is still much work to be done with nearly 4,000 not having any Scriptures.  Things are at least speeding up though, as it now takes only 3 years (?!) to translate the New Testament, whereas it used to take 40! 

A Malawian reading his Sena bible

Last week we were able to send funds to Malawi for the distribution of 5,000 Sena Bibles.  The personal connection for me is that the town they are being sent to (Nsanje) is a place I stayed in briefly during the early 2000’s whilst on African Quest, and the man in charge of the distribution happens to be a good friend of a Malawian pastor I stayed with whilst there and who I am still in touch with.  If I’m honest I don’t have too many pleasant memories of Nsanje!  Sauna-like heat, plenty of dust, the early morning squawking of the guineafowl, mice nibbling on my toes during the night, and a bout of malaria – not the ideal place to get sick!  But I do remember helping to distribute Bibles in that area, which were published and printed by ….The Word for the World!  Isn’t it great when these so-called random connections happen, bringing people and situations together, across the miles and across the years?!  It’s all to do with the Sovereign God whom we worship, who is in the habit of orchestrating events for His glory! 

Here’s another personal connection from the more recent past!  Our current fundraising project is called ‘Sponsor a Verse’ – and the language we’re currently focussing on is the Lughuru language.  Guess where that language is spoken?  In the Uluguru mountains just behind Morogoro, which is of course where we lived for 7 years!  And I had nowt to do with choosing that language!  The Lughuru are a people group numbering just under 1 million and, although their New Testament was completed in 2015, they still don’t have the OT.  Our translators are halfway through, so the push is now on to see it through to completion.  If you’d like to contribute to this work, please get in touch, or ‘sponsor a verse’ by donating £26 using this link: www.sponsoraverse.org – you’ll get to choose a verse, and then be sent a piece of artwork (your choice of design) with the verse of Scripture in English and Lughuru.  It might be hard to believe, but it’s even more colourful than the ‘sponsor a toilet’ certificate that adorns toilet walls in many a Christian household! 

Ruth’s New Job!  Ruth also has a new job.  In November she reduced her hours with Inspired Act and began work as Corsham Baptist Church’s new Administrator.  Thankfully both offices are only 5 minutes’ walk apart, and only 15 minutes’ walk from home.

Celebrating a defining moment! Immanuel – God with us.  The history of the world is full of stunning moments!  Whether it be the end of world wars, men walking on the moon,  developments in medicine and vaccines, great political speeches that inspired change, or sporting comebacks (who can forget Dennis Taylor in the 1985 World Snooker Champs?!).  I’m sure that we all have particular incidents and moments that were defining for us.  Yet there is one moment that is more stunning than anything that has ever taken place: the coming of Jesus into the world.  There has never been another moment like it in the whole of history.  God breaking into the world He created is a remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime event!  And whilst the incarnation of the Son of God might be hard for us to get our heads around, think about what it was like for the second person of the Trinity about to perform the most sacrificial act of all time!    

This is what the Christian author Jeff Lucas wrote about the miracle of the incarnation: “What did it feel like Jesus, the day that you peered over the parapet of heaven and prepared to take your dive into humanity?  Did you stare and recoil at the swirling madness below?  Did the stench of hollow religion drift up and wrinkle your nostrils?  You were to take a dive from your lofty, ordered, Father’s house, down and down and still further down, into the murky morass of blood and pain so far below.  You were to plummet from that calm place of love and song, into our writhing chaos: from the world of rapture – to our world of rape and rebellion: from immortality – to the grime and tedium of time.  Did you look around you at the sea of stunned angel faces, bowed and paled now at the sight of this holiest sacrifice?  Was there any moment of farewell as you stepped, in a millisecond of time, from being the richest to being the poorest?  Can we tiptoe for a moment onto that holy ground, and consider the magnificent Christ becoming a tiny, embryonic speck?”

It’s one of my favourite Christmas quotes and one that I’m sure I’ve used before, but it’s a quote that causes you to ponder in wonderment at what the real celebration of Christmas is all about. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)  It’s an amazing fact that God should stoop to clothe Himself in humanity to put His rescue plan into operation.  We praise God for Jesus, and all that He has done for us.  It’s also our hope that as we prepare to see in another New Year, that having the Word of God, the Scriptures, would become a reality for many more people, and that this powerful Word would find dwelling in more and more homes across the world. 

Many thanks for your prayers and support. We wish you a healthy and happy Christmas, with huge amounts of best wishes for 2022. See you in the New Year!  

Praise & Prayer Points: 

• We’re thanking God for the way He has provided and guided during this last year. This is what we wrote exactly a year ago whilst preparing to leave Tanzania: “At this point, we’re still not sure what the next chapter looks like, and the canvas is looking fairly blank! However, we believe that the Artist in charge of the next tapestry will reveal the pattern according to His timing and purpose”.  Well, as the year unfolded, so did the new pattern!  Local employment has been provided for Ruth, and an unexpected door was opened for me to work for The Word for the World, enabling me to be involved in an itinerant preaching ministry.  

The new/old house in Corsham

• Praise God that a lot of work has now been completed on our house in Corsham without any setbacks, and we’re ready for the move on 18th!  We’re also thanking God for various people who have helped us in this process.  We’ve loved living in Malmesbury and we’ve very much enjoyed the silk mill setting.  It’s provided ‘an office with a view’, and the opportunity to watch kingfishers whilst working! 

• Please pray for Steve as he represents TWFTW and preaches in various churches; that he would “correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15) and that God would “enable him to speak God’s Word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29).  

• Please pray that the distribution of the 5,000 Sena Bibles happening this week would go well; that they would fall into the hands of people who are hungry for God’s Word. 

Steve’s Diary Dates: 

9th Jan: Corsham Baptist morning services

13-22 Jan: Bible teaching on Oak Hall Ski trip to Switzerland  

6th Feb: Preaching at Strete Evangelical Church, Devon (AM) 

12th Feb: TWFTW Board meeting in Bedford

13th Feb: Ladyfield Evangelical Church, Chippenham morning service

27th Feb: Preaching at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Mold, North Wales 

3rd Mar: TWFTW Presentation – Ladyfield EC, Chippenham (PM) 

6th Mar: Preaching at Wootton Baptist, Bedford (AM) 

13th Mar: Corsham Baptist morning services

20th Mar: Preaching at Hebron Evangelical Church, Carlisle (AM) 

27th Mar: Corsham Baptist morning services  

3rd April: Orrell Park Baptist, Liverpool morning service

12-21 April: Oak Hall Israel/Palestine trip – to be confirmed

24th April: South Oxhey Baptist Church, Watford morning service

29th Apr – 2nd May: Bible by the Beach, Eastbourne  

5th-8th May: “IllumiNations” Europe Conference (Bible translators) in Scotland

Bird(s) of the month: the humble starling!  Steve saw 3,000 of them on the Somerset Levels last month in their murmuration

Random Stats and Facts about Christmas! 

• It was the custom to eat goose at Christmas until the 16th century when Henry VIII decided to tuck into a turkey instead!  Over 90% of the UK population will eat turkey on Christmas Day. 

• We use enough wrapping paper at Christmas to cover the island of Guernsey!!

• In the UK the Holy Days & Fasting Days Act of 1551 states that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the service!  This act has not been repealed! 

• Pope Julius I declared Christ’s birthday as December 25th in AD440. Before that, in pagan religious calendars, 25th Dec marked the birthday of the sun. Now it marks the birthday of the Son! 

• When was Jesus actually born? We know from Luke Ch 1 that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel visited Mary. John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, was a priest serving in the Temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5), which apparently corresponded to June 13-18 in that year. Assuming that John was conceived at the end of June he would therefore be born in March. Mary goes to see Elisabeth when she is 6 months pregnant which would mean she visited in December, which was at the start of Mary’s pregnancy. If this is correct, Jesus would have been born in September. So much for “In the bleak mid-winter”! 

My journey through church and college to this point can’t help but speak to my family and friends. It is clear God has always provided what I needed along the way, even if the way has not always been easy. Our stories are significant, they talk to people, so I encourage you to share with those around you what God is doing in your life- the ups and the downs too.

Along the way there have been natural opportunities to speak about my faith such as with English language students, as they also shared about their faith and culture. Good conversations and discussions can come from being open to one another. I Have felt more equipped to jump in on those unexpected discussions about God that come up out of nowhere, amidst a community group scrabble meeting.

When we spend time with God in prayer, learn to trust in him and his strength in us, understand his invitation to join him in what he is doing in our communities- and to extend that invitation, we can be equipped to share his compassion and hope naturally, authentically, and joyfully with those around us.

Confidence in sharing our faith in God is helped by being confident in who God is, his love, his restoring movement in us and our communities.  We can be confident in a God who gives grace so freely and loves us so abundantly that he would give up his only son for us.

We can be confident on his call on our lives and every one of us is called to share our faith, despite whether we feel we are gifted in evangelism or not- let’s be encouraged that God calls on everyone. 1 Peter 3:15 says we are all called on to “set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

We are to share our faith through action and integrity too. Because of our trust in God, we allow him to change the way we live. Faith calls forward a heart response, stepping up for people around us and living in the light of his love. Sometimes we will make mistakes, but our confidence in sharing our faith is made stronger by knowing of God’s amazing grace and mercy to us. Thankfully, God is mighty and will move in people’s lives despite our mistakes.

This story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman offers us a big dose of confidence and encouragement. The Samaritan woman misses the point, doesn’t understand, and becomes distracted. After seeing God people see themselves and sometimes this is uncomfortable for them, so they may become uncomfortable with us too. We can know that Jesus’s conversations were often not straight forward! None of this is meant to be easy.

In attempting to share our faith with others in word and action, we need a good dose of humility too, like Jesus in this story where he sat down with a Samaritan woman and spoke with her. She was a woman, not a Jew, a sinner, and an outcast. She lived alone, apart from community, likely cast out. God gives us the confidence to reach out to people we are unsure of, who are different from us.  Jesus was compassionate towards outcasts and reaching out in this way speaks to people, he went out of his way to reach the cast out. On the way to Galilee, Jesus took the less preferred route through Samaria which had a long history of tension with Judea. Jews normally avoided Samaria by travelling elsewhere, but Jesus chose to go to a land everyone else avoided, Bethany was one of those places too.

Jesus Listened to a sorry story and showed understanding, he broke through barriers of nationality and orthodox Jewish custom. God loves the world in action too.

Everyone needs to hear about God’s grace and hope and life-giving water. Let’s be encouraged by Jesus. I wonder, where you have had your most significant conversations? Could we offer a meal or a chat over coffee with those around us being open to their story and who they are without judgement? And perhaps in doing be a part of pointing to Jesus and what it means to drink living water.

Thanks to Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, she acknowledged Jesus as Lord, remained in the light, and revealed signs of discipleship. Jesus displayed humility, he was relational and showed understanding, he shared truth and enlightened too. Responding with heart, she desires follow him.

The Samaritan woman hurried to share the wonder with those who shunned her. She ran knowing who she spoke to and what he offers to all, she was overflowing with awe. She says to them, this is who I was and now this is me. This is what Jesus Christ has done for me.

We live in a broken world, we don’t have to reflect for long before thinking about the situation in Afghanistan, the killings in Plymouth, the suffering of our family and friends, the erratic weather conditions all over the world devastating crops, livelihoods, homes, and health and God’s creation. Our communities need to hear of God’s forgiveness, compassion, grace, mercy, healing, restoration, and hope. They need to know that Jesus is the saviour of the world.

You may still feel unworthy to share your faith, but God trusts us with his life-giving authority, to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 18-20.) Remember, God uses the foolish, weak, and lowly for his purposes (1Cor 1:27.) As Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

The post Tell Your Story appeared first on Seventy Two.

 Hi folks,

We’ve been back in the UK for a couple of months now.  It’s been a good time for us to process our final term in Tanzania and adjust to life back here, and especially life under lockdown.  We’ll be sending out a final newsletter in a few weeks’ time but for now we thought you might want to watch a video that we put together for our church, Corsham Baptist, that gives the highlights of our final year, some memorable moments and some things that we’d love you to pray for.  The video is 45 minutes long so get yourself a cuppa and get comfortable!  To access the video, clink the link below (it will look like it’s buffering but if you press play it will start).

Enjoy!

3rd term video for Corsham Baptist

• Computer or smartphone: meet.google.com/ncu-ywre-gcm
• Telephone: 020 3937 4860 PIN: 333 720 933#

“..Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2a

Ed and I had the opportunity to attend Wimbledon a couple of days ago to watch Andy Murray play Alexander Bublik. It is so amazing to witness such a high level of competitive tennis! I can only imagine the sacrifices he has made in the name of the game-the preparation and training, both physically and mentally; to consistently persevere day after day. And this is BEFORE he even walks on the court to play his matches! Andy has persevered over the years. He has pressed on. He has dug deep on those days when he didn’t feel like it; when he lost a match; when he was injured. We are drawn to and inspired by people like Andy who persevere. How do I know that he has persevered? The proof is in the fruit. Andy is ranked number one in the tennis world.
A definition that I think describes well what perseverance is: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, especially in spite of difficulties or discouragement. Determination, tenacity and patience also are closely related qualities.
So, it is interesting that the Hebrew writer speaks of the analogy of “running the race.” Paul also uses this analogy in Philippians, Galatians, 1Corinthians, and 2 Timothy. He was from a culture where the hearers could relate to what he was trying to convey about the Christian journey because sporting events were as important then as they are today. If we are inspired by those achievers in sports and feats of courage, how much more as followers of Christ should we heed those who have persevered in the faith in living out their lives for the glory of God and sharing the hope of the Gospel! This is the highest calling; a grind of day in and day out selling out to God as we persevere and press on.
Through the summer months, we will consider godly perseverance: What does scripture teach us about perseverance? What is the fruit of godly perseverance? How does God enable us to grow in it in our everyday lives? Like Andy in his world of tennis, let’s run the race that God has marked out for us in such a way as to take the prize!
My prayer for us this summer is that we will learn to persevere more and more,  and that we will keep our eyes fixed on the author and perfecter of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, stay cool and drinks lots of water in these warmer temperatures!

Love, Kathy x

We have spent this school year studying “One Anothering: God’s Gift of Grace For Our Growth In Christ.” I hope and pray it will be fruitful in all of our lives as we allow the Holy Spirit to teach and transform us.

In this last study we are coming full circle where we consider how all of biblical One Anothering commands hold together in love. It is very clear in scripture where Paul urges the Corinthian believers:  Christ’s love controls (compels) us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NLT

I am reminded of this pattern of Christ’s amazing love for me. The only way to One Another is to be compelled by and through His love to love others in the same way. I am held together by Christ’s love. His love holds me fast.

But to be completely honest, One Anothering can sometimes get messy and just plain difficult! But it is in this messy struggling that calls out biblical love! Jon Bloom says it like this: “Those extraordinarily difficult and painful things that can drive us crazy — that provide the very opportunities for the humanly impossible love of Christ to be exercised, giving visibility to the existence of the invisible God!”

Wow. But even with this wonderful and amazing knowledge that I truly believe, I still have those times when I wonder: Can I really live after Christ’s pattern in the messiness of my life and in the life of my church family?  I have cried out to the Lord many times, “I can’t do this! I am too weak; too sinful and selfish to exercise this humanly impossible love of Christ!”

And of course, Jesus answers my cry.  Every. Single. Time.  “My grace is sufficient dear daughter. My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” So as we One Another dear sisters, it is God’s gift of GRACE in our lives.

You see, Paul says that God calls us to live lives compelled by Christ’s love; but what He calls us to do in our weakness, He then enables us to do by His grace.

God’s grace not only pardons our sins, but His grace is also given to us by the free and compassionate influence of His Holy Spirit who is sovereignly operating in our undeserving lives. He gives us strength. He gives us power through the Holy Spirit. God’s grace is sufficient.  God’s grace is enough so that we may not become paralyzed in our circumstances and daily life, but that we may love one another as Christ loves us; that we  may press on in obedience to Him, our loving Father.

We CAN One Another with Christ’s love. It holds everything together…. through his amazing grace.

We will be exploring this more thoroughly in our time together on Monday, 26 June. 7:30 PM. Church Hall. Please put it in your diary! It will be full of friendship, filling our tummies with cake, and filling our hearts and souls with His Word!

Kathy xo

“And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love,” Ephesians 3:17-18

I returned from Tanzania yesterday (Tues) after many hours of travel and traffic. Although my body was weary and tired, my soul was refreshed and renewed! I had the privilege of spending time with 22 lovely women who love Christ more than anything.  Although I was sent to remind them of Christ’s love for THEM, they taught ME the depth, the height, the length, the width, of Christ’s love just by virtue of their sincere presence and authenticity.

I read something that really resonated with me while I was there. I just want to share with you. Maybe it is something you need to be reminded of today. This is part of one anothering!

Remember the Perfect One

Remember, His burden is light.

He is the Lord of Rest, the Bridegroom, longing for His Bride.

He is not a taskmaster, demanding more widgets.

He is a loving Husband, pursuing his favourite girl.

He is a tender Father, splashing in the ocean with His children.

He is a Warrior, protecting His people.

He is a Comforter who really sees.

He knows you are human, and He’s glad about it.

He knows you can’t do it all, and He’s okay with it.

He is jealous for you, longing for your whole heart.

He wants your gaze fixed on Him, not the mirage.

I am praying for you sisters! May you know today how deep the Father’s love for us.

Only ever, all for Him,

Kathy xo