COINCIDENCE OR GOD-INCIDENCE? 

Let’s be honest – 2025 has come at us like a steam train!

Now to be fair to 2025, some of the complications of January 2025 were around in 2024 but have crystallised in the last couple of weeks. The crisis in the volunteer teams for Kids and youth is easing but not yet sorted fully (please let us know if you are prompted – more volunteers needed!) Other niggles and pressures are bubbling up.

Now maybe that’s just January on steroids – it’s a tricky month in the northern hemisphere because it’s cold, dark and can be quite miserable anyway.

Still, mustn’t grumble as they say.

No, really …. mustn’t grumble (Philippians 2:14, James 5:9, John 6:43)

“Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Cor 10:10)

Now we all like a bit of a grumble every now and again but the key is not to stay there. As Peter told the church:
¹⁵ But in your hearts revere 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, (1 Peter 3:15)

Revering Christ in our hearts, looking to him, finding the hope.

So, here is a snapshot of my week.

Monday
“At least there is hope for a tree:
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots will not fail.
 Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump die in the soil,
 yet at the scent of water it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.

Even now my witness is in heaven;
    my advocate is on high.
 My intercessor is my friend
    as my eyes pour out tears to God;
 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
    as one pleads for a friend.

I offered these verses to PCC (trustees of the church) as we prepared to discuss budgets, crumbling buildings, volunteer shortages and the woes of the wider church around governance and the safeguarding failures.

It was a good meeting and we finished earlier than usual (always a bonus!)

If you read them you find that the two paragraphs complement each other and provide hope. A cut tree will re-shoot and seeks (living) water to nourish and refresh it. When we feel cut back and wounded it’s good to know that there is the living water of the Spirit and that he comes to refresh and regrow. BUT also, we have an advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ the righteous, who intercedes for us, a friend, who pleads for us, is on our side.

Two ideas side by side that complement each other and provide hope.

Wednesday

Midweek Communion contained two scripture readings. Hebrews 2 emphasised Jesus’ humanity – flesh and blood – associated with us, though the Son of God. This is the means by which he could save us. The opportunity was his death on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. And the motivation was the love the Father has for the pinnacle of creation – he loved the world in this way that all who believe in the son who was sent will not perish (John 3:16).

We know he was human because he faced temptation, as do we all. The difference in his perfected humanity is that he never gave in to it – and therefore was sinless. The spotless lamb required as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Fully, yet perfectly, human.

And yet, we find this perfect human, in Mark’s Gospel, healing, communing with his Father in prayer and casting out demons and preaching the Gospel (Mark 1:29-39
The sermon ended as follows:

“JESUS (fully human, fully God) – preached and drove out demons – taught God’s Word and entered spiritual battle.
And so, should we.
There are strongholds in the world and in the church. Let us stand firm.
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armour of God
With:

• truth
• righteousness
• readiness for the gospel of peace.
• Faith
• Knowledge of salvation and
• the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
• Prayer

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
AND A PERSONAL PLEA…
 ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Let’s pray….”

It’s through prayer and standing firm in faith and turning to Christ that strongholds in the world and in the church are brought down. And they exist to block God’s mission to the world. Lies and deceptions from the Father of all lies to distract from God’s good plans.

Stand firm in faith and pray.

Monday – revisited

Earlier in the day, I was just about to go home for lunch when I was reminded that the previous week I had been asked for dates for the Firelighters prayer meetings for January. And the first one was Monday at 1pm!

So, I stayed, jokingly saying I was fasting and praying.

Firelighters is not an intercessory prayer meeting but instead has the intention of making space to hear from God rather than pray to him and petition him. It is sometimes waiting in silence, sometimes sharing a scripture or a picture sometimes just chatting and seeing where the conversation goes.
On this occasion someone there had a picture of a tree in mind. As she opened her bible it fell on Job 14: 7-9…
“At least there is hope for a tree:
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots will not fail.
 Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump die in the soil,
 yet at the scent of water it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.

This was a real encouragement, especially as we considered some of the problems facing the Kids and Youth teams (as well as other parts of the church).
Reading on the same person found the next encouraging paragraph:

Even now my witness is in heaven;
    my advocate is on high.
 My intercessor is my friend
    as my eyes pour out tears to God;
 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
    as one pleads for a friend.

These verses formed another source of great encouragement, a reminder that Jesus, unnamed but eminently evident in this passage, friend and intercessor, is pleading our case!

BUT the truly amazing thing is that these verses don’t come from chapter 14 or even 15 but are Job 16:19-21. As they sat juxtaposed as complementary encouragements they were 3 pages apart! She had turned over two pages and carried on reading.

So, opened at a page in the bible and found the verse that fitted the picture in her mind then skipped a page to complete the encouragements.
Co-incidences do happen.

Things just coincide. They just do.

But sometimes, God just guides pages and fingers to show the message of encouragement he wants to give.

Mustn’t grumble.

Turn to God instead.

You may be surprised by what he shows you.

He loves you and wants to encourage you and pour light into your dark places.

So, you can be a light for other people.

Shalom
 
Doug