Barnabas Ministries UK

Rev. E. Anderson

FEELING FOR OTHERS

‘I remember you in my prayers at all times’ – Romans 1; 9,10

One Bible teacher writes: ‘We don’t look, act, or dress alike. We have different tastes in food, books, cars and music. We work at different jobs…enjoy different hobbies …but one thing we have in common. We know what it means to hurt. Suffering is universal. Tears are the same for Jews, Muslims, Christians, white, black, brown, children, adults, and the elderly. When life hurts and dreams fade we express our anguish in different ways, but each of us knows the sting of pain, heartache, disease, disaster, trials and suffering. A great preacher of yester-year once said to a group of aspiring young ministers, Preach to the suffering and you’ll never lack a congregation. There’s a broken heart in every pew. Suffering is the common thread in all our garments.

When Peter wrote his first letter to fellow believers scattered throughout Asia he focused on the thing that drew them all together-suffering. These people were being singed by the same flames of persecution that would take the apostle’s life in just a few years. Their circumstances were the bleakest imaginable. Yet Peter didn’t try to pump them up with positive thinking. Instead, he gently reached his hand to their chins and lifted their faces skyward-so they could see beyond their circumstances to their celestial calling. Some people instinctively know what to say to encourage others; they’re the ones we look for when we’re going through hard times. Jethro encouraged Moses (Exodus 18); Epaphroditus ministered to Paul (Philippians 2:25-30). Ask God to make you the kind of friend whose presence brings comfort and encouragement.

Rev. E. Anderson

EPITAPH

I am told that an Indiana cemetery has a tombstone (more than a hundred years old) which bears the following epitaph:

 Pause Stranger, when you pass me by, As you are now, so once was I.

As I am now, so you will be, So prepare for death and follow me,”

 An unknown passerby read those words and underneath scratched this reply:

To follow you I’m not content, Until I know which way you went.

Rev. E. Anderson

ENDURANCE

Portable camcorders have a battery pack for power. Instructions typically recommend that users allow the battery pack to completely discharge before recharging, especially the first few times.

This actually increases the endurance of the battery.

In like manner, our trials “discharge” us, emptying us of our de­pendence on human strength and increasing our capacity to receive God’s limitless power.

Philip Bourdon

Rev. E. Anderson

PERSPECTIVE ON GROWING OLDER

Being as I’m now in my middle fifties, I occasionally give some thought to those years, down the road a ways, when I might want to retire. My financial advisor tells me I should give thought to making provision for those years if I want to stay out of the county poor farm. And whenever I have to attend to those sort of plans I sometimes get to thinking back over my career. I remember in particular 1956, more than thirty years back. I was a middler at Fuller Seminary, married and with three little kids. That was the year I had my first surgery, the year I was beginning to think about my future pastoral career. Since then I have served some five churches, and I review with nostalgia and warmth those years of service since then. And I think about my gray hair. And I start to remember how I’m growing older. And then I remember that year in seminary and it dawns on me that in 1956 George Burns was already entering his sixties—and I don’t feel so old after all! james S. hewett

NEVER AGAIN

I was fired because of my age. I’ll never make the mistake of being seventy again. casey stengel

GROWING OLDER

As people grow older they tend to become more quiet. They have more to keep quiet about.

Rev. E. Anderson

SPEAKING THE TRUTH

The Scottish evangelist Brownlow North came to Christ in November 1854 after living a life of debauchery. After his conversion, he gave up his old ways and immediately began to share the gospel. One day, just prior to entering the church in Inverness, he was handed an anonymous letter saying:

“Brownlow North, you miserable hypocrite!” The letter then contained lurid details of his past, and concluded:

“Now, you wretched hypocrite! You know that every word of this letter is true; will you, after reading it, dare to go into that pulpit, and rant and rave, and preach what you call the gospel?”

North was shaken by the letter, but he put it into his pocket, and when the time for his message came, he read these familiar words from 1 Timothy 1:15:

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am chief.”

North then told of the letter handed to him, confessed to his sorrow and shame that the accusations were true, preached that God had forgiven him and finally said if God could forgive him he could forgive anyone. Brownlow North continued his powerful ministry for the next twenty years until his death.

Rev. E. Anderson

ENCOURAGEMENT

Carol Porter

For years William Wilberforce pushed Britain’s Parliament to abolish slavery. Discouraged, he was about to give up. His elderly friend, John Wesley, heard of it and from his deathbed called for pen and paper.

With trembling hand, Wesley wrote: “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?

Are all of them stronger than God?

“Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”

Wesley died six days later. But Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years and in 1833, three days before his own death, saw slavery abolished in Britain.

Even the greatest ones need encouragement.

Rev. E. Anderson

DEALING WITH THE DILEMMA

According to an old legend, a man became lost in his travels and wandered into a bed of quicksand. Confucius saw the man’s predicament and said, “It is evident that men should stay out of places such as this.” Next, Buddha observed the situation and said, “Let that man’s plight be a lesson to the rest of the world.” Then Muhammad came by and said to the sinking man, “Alas, it is the will of God.” Finally, Jesus appeared. “Take my hand, brother,” he said, “and I will save you.”

Rev. E. Anderson

EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE I LEARNED FROM A JIGSAW PUZZLE
By Jacquie Sewell

1. Don’t force a fit–if something is meant to be, it will come together naturally.

2. When things aren’t going so well, take a break. Everything will look different when you return.

3. Be sure to look at the big picture. Getting hung up on the little pieces only leads to frustration.

4. Perseverance pays off. Every important puzzle went together bit by bit, piece by piece.

5. When one spot stops working, move to another. But be sure to come back later (see #4).

6. The creator of the puzzle gave you the picture as a guidebook. Refer to the Creator’s guidebook often.
7. Variety is the spice of life. It’s the different colours and patterns that make the puzzle interesting.

8. Working together with friends and family makes any task fun.

9. Establish the border first. Boundaries give a sense of security and order.

10. Don’t be afraid to try different combinations. Some matches are surprising.

11. Take time often to celebrate your successes (even little ones).

12. Anything worth doing takes time and effort. A great puzzle can’t be rushed.

13. When you finally reach the last piece, don’t be sad. Rejoice in the masterpiece you’ve made and enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Rev. E. Anderson

A NAIL FOR REMEMBERING

One time at the CityTemple in London, there was in the congregation a restaurateur named Emil Mettler, who was a close friend of Albert Schweitzer and a kind of agent for Schweitzer in Britain. Mettler would never allow a Christian worker to pay for a meal in his restaurant, but once he did happen to open his cash register in the presence of a secretary of the London Missionary Society. The secretary was astonished to see among the bills and coins a six-inch nail. What was it doing there? Mettler explained, “I keep this nail with my money to remind me of the price that Christ paid for my salvation and of what I owe Him in return.”

Dr. Billy Graham

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CREATOR – CREATION

Look up on a starry night, and you will see the majesty and power of an infinite Creator.

The Bible is the one book which reveals the Creator to the creature He created! No other book that man has conceived can make that statement and support it with fact.

Have we just been placed here by some unknown creator or force without any clue as to where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going? The answer is “no.” We do have a code. We do have a key . . . the Bible.

The only one who can re-create us is the One who created us in the first place. If your watch were out of order, you wouldn’t take it to a blacksmith. If your car needed overhauling, you wouldn’t go to a machine shop. Our spiritual problems can be solved only by the God who created us originally.