Worldzend II

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Worldzend II

See you there.........

Rainbow over Inchberry in Moray

That's another fine mess you've got me into!

My Mate Dave has been banging on about wordpress.com. It's a different dimension of the blogosphere. He reckons it has some advantages over blogger.com.
But I've just begun making progress over here and now I've been tempted to have a try over there!
So perhaps you'd like to keep tabs on all sides of my multi-faceted being as I attempt to juggle the plateworlds of WorldzEnd and WorldzEnd II

There's always something to learn isn't there!?

Thanks Dave.
Thanks a lot!!!!!!!

Doh!

Take care to enter that rest....

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest(4520) to the people of God.

The number 4520 is what is known as a Strongs reference number which links the word to it's Hebrew or Greek definition. Mr Strong compiled a superb exhaustive concordance which I have used over the last ten years of ministry.
So - according to Strong - the definition of rest from the Greek here is

Gr. sabbatismos, a Sabbath rest, a rest from all work (Heb_4:9; R.V., "sabbath"), a rest like that of God when he had finished the work of creation.

Not that I'm comparing my work with that of God, but the Lord does tell us to rest from work in order to be refreshed. I've felt strongly for many years about the principle of working from rest rather than resting from work. To this end, during the Summer months our fellowship meets only once on Sundays to allow more quality time with family and friends during the good weather and light nights. Then in the Autumn we return to our activities refreshed and eager.

I've been the pastor at Elgin since March 99 plus about three years in fairly hands-on eldering prior to that. Not very long really when you read about other pastors and ministers who serve for decades....but that's them and I'm a bit wussy in comparison.

However, last March I felt I needed a sabbatical, but for various reasons it didn't happen. Now almost eight years into my pastoral career, I 'hit a wall' last Sunday.
Thankfully I have an excellent team around me and it was agreed that I should have a rest.

So as of Sunday last I'm now on sabbatical.IN rest!

The lead up was so strange. I wanted to keep going but had a sense of nothing in me with which to carry on. I felt as though I was letting people down, running away, copping out etc. I'm at peace now, knowing that I've a long stretch ahead of me in which I can seek the Lord because I want to do so rather than just prepare for leading, speaking, guiding etc.

Already this morning I was able to take a lonnnnnnnnngggggggggggg time over my devotionals, sharing with the Mem Sahib as I did so, followed up with some light and often entertaining reading in the study and on the net.

I'll be spending a lot more time with my two daughters and respective hubbies as well as visiting some of the other fellowships in my area.

I'm really looking forward to seeking a deeper life in Jesus than I've ever known before, and I'm excited that this may be the time.

Pix free Zone!

I can't believe it but I got through a whole holiday break and didn't take one photograph!
The Mem Sahib is to blame. Just after the Carol Service on Christmas Eve she turned a strange pale Chartreuse colour and retired to PoorlyLand. It was a very cunning manouevre on her part since that left me with the lion's share of the catering duties, but it was not unknown territory.I got much assistance form two lovely daughters. But I just forgot to record all those interesting little moments as various folks opened gifts, pulled strange faces, played odd little games with even stranger equipment and props. Good job I've got a reasonable memory.
So poor old Mem Sahib was functioning at a much lower level than her norm. The upshot has been a rather pedestrian but very restful break. I returned to work today greatly refreshed to find hardly any work to do. And so I've come home early to catch up on blogging but also to climb comfortably back into Isaiah! I'm reading through - as you do - and have got to those wonderful chapters in the late 30's and 40's where you really see the grace of God towards man. Despite the huge efforts that man makes in constructing false idols [ cf molten gods ... and you must have a rough idea how much effort it takes to make a cast statue of anything - think it through ] the Lord is still prepared to forgive and bless when we give it all up to become His.

I've been asked to do a baby blessing this weekend. Not a church family, but the bay of the sister of my son in law. These are interesting affairs, not a full bodied dedication but I find it encouraging that there is still a desire in the hearts of many parents to involve themselves with spiritual things in moments of great blessing or crisis. These blessing services are very intimate affairs. As the minister, I'm invited right into the centre of the family, I get to tell them how much God loves children and by extension - THEM too! I get to deliver a samll message, bless a new life and possibly even set someone forward into a commitment to engage with the Lord at some new level for them. Then there's the questions afterwards and also the future divine appointments when I meet a family member and am able to take up where I left off. What opportunities! What openings we have if we make ourselves available..
What a blessing!

So here I am in the study,reading Isaiah and also prayerfully considering the people I'm going to be with that Saturday morning, hoping that I hear from the Lord so that they can too.

A ticket to ride! The Law won!

I got a speeding ticket the other day.

It really wasn’t my fault. I’d been driving like a good boy for a while, enjoying my A4 Avant 1.9tdi.
It’s really cool, quiet and economical at 60mph. I enjoy watching the trip computer stay up around 80-90mpg as I soar and swoop at a steady 55-60mph.

On this day however, I needed to be somewhere near Elgin. I was driving from work in Buckie along the A98. The main route between Fraserburgh on the extreme East of Scotland and the A96 [ the main Aberdeen to Inverness road ] which makes the A98 a MAJOR traffic artery for East West traffic. This road is well laid out, has two lanes, lots of bends but nothing serious or dangerous that can’t be negotiated at a steady 50 – 60. The speed limit for this road is 60mph.

As is very often the case in Moray, we have a plague of drivers who insist on forming convoys which travel at 40 – 50mph. This means they slow down to 30- 40 on the bends and seem incapable of speeding back up to warp 1 afterwards.

So on the day in question Officer, I overtook some of these snails, reaching 71 mph in order to use a particular opportunity before crawling into a bendy forest section which might have necessitated these ‘drivers’ stopping for a surveyor’s report on the state of the bends!
Sadly my manoeuvre occurred right in front of a mobile camera van!

It is impossible to contest the fine – I broke the law.
It is impossible to do anything other than admit the case and pay up.
It is also impossible to do anything about crawlers .

Why?
Why can there not be a speed minimum imposed on certain vital sections of road which are shared by people with time constraints as well as those with barely a pulse?
So my wrongdoings have caught up with me.
My fine will wipe out all my fuel economy savings over the past months.


But I still get to drive a great motor round some of the world’s best country listening to some excellent music and teaching messages.

A Joyful Christmas to all!

This may be my last post until the New Year....

...so if you're regular or just visiting....

Have a Lovely Christmas Break and

a Prosperous New Year.

Joy to the World

Last night, two of my church cell groups combined to go Carol Singing in the streets around our church building. It was a beautiful night anyway with a gusty wind which would carry our voices and a sharp clear night with stars and a cracking atmosphere.
There would have been about 16 - 20 of us including teenagers, and we all greatly enjoyed being together and singing out of our love for the Lord and our desire to bless this community.
For those of you that don't know Scotland, we live in an area which is difficult to reach, not through persecution, not through aggressive response, not because of anything other than an apparent indifference. People seem completely unmoved - until you either wait for them to make the opening, or till you touch a sensitive area in their own being. The latter seems to be the only way to reach out. To do this you need to be in relationship and open with folks.
We had many people coming to their windows, children receiving sweeties, many folk just listening, a couple paused on their way past. As we moved between locations, a young single mum and her friend had been stood on the kitchen doorstep - listening.
On being greeted with a "Merry Christmas!" she declared that our "carols had made it seem like a real Christmas" for her - "at last!"
Hopefully we can continue to get alongside these lovely but damaged folks with our toddler groups, dance groups and 'Kettle's On' coffee times.
One thing's for sure - they're ready and open it seems.