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Littleborough Methodist Circuit
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Being
Easter people My message to you all this Easter Time is "Be Easter People." A cynic might ask what else is there to be? What is the difference? My answer is a vast difference because the Church tries to live an Easter Faith in a Good Friday World. This might sound gobbledegook theological twaddle, so let me explain. It is true that we come to Easter by way of Good Friday, but the truth is that the world in which we live seems never to move from the events that dominated Good Friday. Be it the greed portrayed in Judas, the pride and cowardice of Peter, the hatred portrayed by the Jews, lying portrayed by the witnesses in the crowd, the lust of Herod or the selfishness portrayed by Pilate . . . There is a sense in which the Church tries to live its Easter Faith in a Good Friday World. The events of Good Friday in which cowardice, comprise, greed and public opinion ruled the world, these same vices seem still to rule our world today. Our world still seems to reel and stagger from one crisis to another, whether it be an energy crisis, economic crisis, or political, racial or military crises. We seem to live in A Good Friday world anguished with tension, violence and racial hatred making our world so volatile that a miscalculation in Washington DC or Moscow, Jerusalem or Cairo or even Peking may cause our planet Earth to burst into flames causing self annihilation. Our world is still hounded by tinderboxes of ancient hatreds filled to overflowing. When will our world ever move on from Good Friday dismay to new vistas of Easter Hope? When will our world relegate the tensions and violence of an old era into the distance past and move into a new world with new life-styles, new priorities, new goals, new urgencies, and value systems? The Easter message is we can leave the events of Good Friday behind and move into new life in the risen Christ. Easter Faith and Easter People point to an Empty tomb symbolising new beginning. The external evidence of an empty tomb in collaboration with the presence of a living Christ is overwhelming. Also overwhelming, is the internal evidence of personal experience directed by the Holy Spirit. Easter People around the world sing and affirm the words of the songwriter "You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart." Easter Message declares triumph over burial, death, hell and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:14), the first Easter People, the apostles and early Christians had no time for apologies and debate about the resurrection, they were busy declaring it. They did not have time to argue it they affirmed it, as far as they were concerned, the risen Lord was His own best argument they simply presented him to the Good Friday World. What has happened to our proclamation? Proclaiming and declaring facts about the risen Christ define Easter People. Christ in the midst of the first Easter People was a fact they could see and feel, and they knew that one does not need to argue with a fact. Where is Christ in our midst? A risen Christ living and performing miracles among his people is self-authenticating in any age. Living in A Good Friday World shaken so much by violence, deceits, cover-ups and hatred the resurrection of Christ bringing new life remains the unshakeable reality. If all that Easter means is springtime, flowers, bunnies, eggs, new clothes and a traditional trip to Church with family, then Easter remains ineffective if not irrelevant to a Good Friday World on the brink of catastrophe. If that is all there is to Easter it remains an irrelevant interlude in life's urgent concerns. What is the real meaning of Easter? Easter means that when life is lived according to God's plan accomplishing His purpose, even if that plan and purpose include a cross, Easter People bear it and proclaim it. Easter means that kind of life can never be finally defeated, or suffer permanent disaster, Easter proclaims victory through the cross. Easter means that God really cares and is involved in what happens in this world and will personally see to it that the hopelessness of Good Friday is always followed by the Hope of Easter morning to those obedient to His will, the Easter People. Easter means that one-day all the violence, hatred, bigotry and cruelty of Good Friday will be swallowed up in the victory, joy, peace and exaltation of Easter Morning. Easter People are filled by Easter Hope that proclaims that the awful agonies of a Good Friday World eventually would be replaced by the dawning of a new day with a resurgence of hope, faith, joy and peace. Easter People reflect on the events of 11 September, the raging war in the Pakistan and Palestine, the anguish in Africa caused by self-declared dictators, rising racial tensions and say in the words of Dr Tony Campolo "It's Friday; Sunday's Coming"! Let us be Easter People. A HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL¾Daniel "Jesus has given me a Christmas gift" This was how Shagildy Atakov, Turkmenistan's most prominent Christian prisoner, described his release from jail on 8 January (many Eastern Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January). Shagildy was in prison on trumped-up charges because of his active work in the Church. During his confinement, he was severely beaten many times in an effort to make him give up his faith. After one beating Shagildy temporarily lost his sight, on another occasion he suffered a heart attack. Despite the terrible trauma he endured, both Shagildy and his wife Artygul remained strong in their faith, even during last spring when it seemed that Shagildy was near to death. Now Shagildy and Artygul are living with their five children in Kaakhka near the Iranian border. However, their lives have not returned to normal yet. Their home is being watched by the KNB (formerly the KGB), Turkmenistan's secret police. Shagildy is visited every day by a KNB officer who comes 'to wish him well.' He has been warned not to mix with other evangelical Christians. (Source: The Barnabas Trust). To all those who sent letters campaigning for Shagildy's release¾thank you. Your letters DO have an effect. They tell the perpetrators of injustice that the world is watching them and that they cannot imprison and torture innocent people with impunity. GIVE THANKS AND KEEP PRAYING! Third-world debt campaign: spring 2002 Despite a large number of promises, the world's poorest countries still struggle under their burden of unpayable debt. Tony Blair says he wants to help Africa, but without more debt cancellation, for more countries, more quickly, there will be no hope of ending poverty. Working with the World Development Movement, MPs have tabled an ‘'Early Day Motion' (EDM) on debt in the house of Commons. An EDM is a parliamentary petition which MPs sign to demonstrate their support for an issue. If enough MPs sign it, the government will be pressurised to take action on debt at the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings in mid-April. Early Day Motion (EDM) number 736 states: That this House notes that many other countries and multinational institutions have not followed Britain's lead on debt relief for the Third World; believes that more needs to be done for the 2015 International Development targets to be met; and therefore calls on the government, at the April meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, to call for the acceleration of debt cancellation under the HIPC process to the level required to help achieve International Development Targets'. (The International Development targets mentioned include halving the number of people living on less that $1 a day, providing universal access to primary education, tackling HIV/AIDS, reducing infant and maternal mortality, etc., by the year 2015). ACTION:Please write to your MP (if you live in the Littleborough/Rochdale area, she is: Lorna Fitzsimons MP, House of Commons, Westminster SW1A 0AA). Ask her to sign EDM number 736: quote the EDM's number and if possible, include a copy of the text in your letter. You could also ask her to write to Gordon Brown on your behalf, pointing out that the Government's Millennium Development Goals have little chance of being met without more debt cancellation, and requesting that the UK Government take more action on debt cancellation at the Spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in April. REMEMBER: The more letters MPs receive, the more effective the campaign! Rev John Wesley and the ‘'Toronto blessing’' For those of us who are concerned about the ‘'Toronto Blessing,' there is much wisdom to be found in the two-hundred year old Journals of John Wesley. I looked at the period from 1745-1760. Apart from some earlier experiences at Bristol, when his work was beginning¾he received detailed news about the events in Everton, Bedfordshire. Wesley had preached there alongside two Anglican clergymen¾ Berridge and Hickes, who had recently changed from being his opponents. The report from Bedfordshire told Wesley of huge crowds listening to the preaching of the Gospel both in the Churches but also the open air. Among the unusual manifestations were ardent crying for salvation, loud praise to God for His goodness, people falling to the ground¾ some lying unconscious in a trance, others beating the floor with their feet (damaging the furniture), roaring as if close to death, convulsions, faces turning crimson and then black in colour, great joy and laughter, visions leading to repentance and faith, the poor and the wicked turning to God. Wesley's correspondent had found his voice weakening while preaching, and loud uncontrolled laughter developing around him. He interpreted this as the work of Satan, so he prayed and his voice returned and the laughter ceased. Wesley read the details of events in Everton to the meeting in York, and was delighted when he had to stop¾ because the same manifestations were starting to take place. he said, ‘I began reading to the society an account of the late work of God at Everton; but I could not get through. At first there were only silent tears on every side; but it was not long before several were unable to refrain from weeping aloud; and quickly a stout young man dropped down and roared as in agonies of death. I did not attempt to read any farther, but began wrestling with God in prayer. We continued therein till near nine o clock [their day often began at five in the morning]. What a day of Jubilee was this!" Clearly, Wesley was keen to have the same evidences accompanying his preaching¾ and was not disappointed! On later reflection, he felt that the manifestations were not always present in revival: discounting the events as not being of God was as dangerous as giving them too much importance. Discernment was vital as Satan, and the human Spirit, would counterfeit the dramatic. And pride would also lurk in the background. Public libraries, as well as the local Methodist ministers, may well have copies of Wesley s Journals for this period. References for the key passages: Monday 6 November 1758, Wednesday 30 May 1759 ff; Sunday 15 July 1759; Sunday 29 July 1759 ff; Thursday 16 July 1757; Sunday 27 July 1755; Monday 23 June 1755; Tuesday 28 August 1759 and Sunday 25 November 1759 ff. E Lees Judas Lord, I realise that what I see of your love is only the beginning. One drop from the whole ocean. And, like the sea, moving, surging, all embracing. Seeking to surround me, not to overwhelm, not to drown, but to hold me, buoy me up A love with room to spare. No rejections. No high tide mark of rubbish, pushed and thrown aside. I wish Judas could have known that. i wish that somehow in his own agony in the garden, so different, Lord, from yours, So like mine, he could have reached out from the depths of his despair and felt your hand. There's nothing I can do about that. I leave it with you, Lord, as I leave so much. You've got strong hands. But one thing, Lord, Judas stays in my thoughts and, in a strange way, comforts me. Because I know beyond doubt that when I'm nearly overwhelmed by my own betrayals, it isn't You who puts the space between us. It's me. You are still there, with your forgiveness. As you forgave Peter, and Thomas, and Paul, so You forgive me. And accept me as You accepted them. Thank You seems so small a word, but it's all I've got. Eddie Askew Christian maturity (as explained by an onion) Reading the scriptures can often make me feel like an onion. My outermost layer¾ the bit seen by the world¾looks insubstantial, but it is hard and shiny so that people see from its reflection only what they want to see. The skin is also impermeable, so the sins inside cannot be removed and any goodness inside is immobilised because the self inside cannot be seen. Nor can the presence of any interior fruit be seen by anyone who might need it. Each time I make a conscious effort to be the person God made me to be, I find I am forced to shed a layer¾a tough layer of worldliness. But I seem to be made up of so many layers of worldliness, that it takes a lifetime to get to the core of real fruit: to the God-filled, God-centred self. The parallel goes further: as each successive layer of worldliness is peeled away, so the amount of 'me' that remains becomes progressively smaller. And to make the analogy complete: as you approach the centre of the onion, you weep more bitterly as deeper and deeper layers are removed. Remember: Christ was neither a deified man, nor was he a humanised God. he was perfectly God and at the same time perfectly man C H Spurgeon Notes · Quotes · Anecdotes Man says:–'Seeing is believing (though deception in some modern technology makes one wonder!) Jesus says:–' Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29) When we become Christians 'believing is seeing' He lives . . . He lives . . . Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way He lives . . . He lives . . . salvation to impart! You ask of me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart A H Ackley Cameo Character Corner Z A D O K . . . the priest His name means righteousness Hem with Nathan the prophet, and other good men, was loyal to the King¾ David. They belonged to the King. (1 Kings 8) They had no part in Adonijah's plotting to take the throne. When Solomon was crowned, David rewarded Zadok by involving him in the ceremony. Florence Eight o'clock thoughts on prayer One of the great encouragements to prayer is a knowledge of Astronomy. It is, when all is said and done, a part of the Family Business¾as is forgiveness. The Earth is singularly unique among the hospitable planets which circle our Sun. The other pin-points of light in the sky are: stars in our galaxy¾the Milky Way, the swirl of which can be seen across a clear dark sky; nebulae and other galaxies. There are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy and 60 to a 100 thousand known galaxies. But only one tenth of the Universe is thought to be known by astronomers. Distances are so huge that they are measured in ‘'light years': light travels at the speed of eight times around our earth in one second. Yet our own rather average-sized galaxy is 100,000 light years across. The furthest known galaxy is 15 billion light years away. God's power is not to be treated lightly; and all our prayers must appear very small, but not unnoticed, within the Universe! E. Lees Did You Know? It seems as though the ancient Jewish peoples believed in a sort of divine 'council,' which met periodically in Heaven. At the Jewish New Year and on Special occasions, God convened a formal session of this council, together with the Heavenly Host. Many Old Testament passages can only be fully explained in the light of this belief, such as Job 1:6, 12, 2:1–,6; 15:8; Psalm 82:1 and Daniel 7:9–,10. The spiritual authority of a prophet such as Moses or Elijah derived from his right to participate in the Great Council of Heaven. In 1 Kings 22:19b-22 and 1 Chronicles 18:18, the minor prophet Micaiah witnesses this council in action, which explains how he was able to prophecy the future: he had seen God taking the decision that would lead to the annihilation of the army of Ahab, King of Israel. The last time in the Bible that this Great Assembly is mentioned occurs in the account of Jesus's birth at Bethlehem. In Luke 2:13,14, we read how this Council ('a great company of the heavenly host') appeared on earth to witness so amazing an occurrence as the word becoming flesh (John 1:14). Take Action to stop torture! Every day, in every region of the world, men, women and children are subjected to torture. At least three quarters of the world's governments have used torture within the past four years but in the great majority of cases, there is no investigation of these crimes and no one is prosecuted for them. Torture is committed with impunity. The legal framework in some countries can contribute to this: torturers may be protected from justice when amnesty laws are agreed in peace deals, such as those introduced in Argentina, Chile and Sierra Leone. In other cases, the law fails to define torture as a crime and in many countries confessions extracted under torture are regularly used as evidence in trials. But the tide seems to be turning: in 1998, the international community voted overwhelmingly in Rome to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC will come into being when 60 states have ratified (agreed to be legally bound by) the Rome Statute. this will really help to stamp out torture around the world. ACTION: to date, 52 countries have ratified the Rome Statute. A Common Position was adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in June 2001, in support of the International Criminal Court. However, Ireland has yet to ratify the Statute and is now the only EU country which has yet to do so. Please send the message below to: An Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern TD, Office of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland (your letter will need a 37p stamp). ‘ 'Dear Mr Ahern, Please support the International Criminal Court. The Common Position adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in June 2001 constitutes unreserved support for the International Criminal Court, and it is the stated aim of the Spanish Presidency of the EU to achieve full ratification of the Rome Statute by all EU members during its term. I hope that Ireland will very soon join its EU neighbours in ratifying the Statute. Thank you.' The Brick The bricklayer laid a brick on the bed of cement. Then, with a precise stroke of his trowel spread another layer And, without a by-your-leave, laid on another brick. The foundations grew visibly, The building rose, tall and strong, to shelter men. A thought, Lord, of that brick buried in the darkness at the base of the big building. No one sees it, but it accomplishes its task, and the other bricks need it. Lord what difference whether I am a roof-top or in the foundations of your building, as long as I stand faithfully at the right place? from, ‘'Prayers of Life,' by Michel Quoist Malawi Malawi is landlocked and virtually an enclave of Mozambique. For three decades, the destiny of Malawi was tied to the whims of President-for-life Kamuzu ‘'Hastings' Banda, who enjoyed being surrounded by dancing women, and who encouraged people to betray any relatives who criticised his rule. In the mid-1990s Banda buckled under popular pressure to hold elections, and lost¾finally giving Malawians a taste for multi-party democracy. Banda's repression has gone, but many of the old burdens remain. The new leadership of Banda's successor, Bakili Muluzi, has been accused of corruption, and social problems such as poverty and AIDS cause growing concern.
The country's single major natural resource, agricultural land, is under severe pressure from rapid population growth, which, according to UN officials, has more than doubled since independence in 1964, when there were only about four million people. AIDS is estimated to have created 400,000 orphans and after years of silence the authorities have spoken out about the crisis, promoting health awareness and discussing the possibility of legal steps against spreading Aids. MALAWI FACT-FILE: Population: 10 million Capital: Lilongwe Major languages: English, Chichewa (both are official) Life expectancy: 37 years (men) and 38 years (women) Major religions: Christianity and Islam There is freedom of religion, but many suspect a favouring of the Muslim minority (13%). About 80% are Christian (28% protestant and 23% Roman Catholic, with a multitude of small denominations). Malawi suffering from one of the worst famines in living memory, and many people in Malawi are starving to death. The staple diet of maize has risen in price by 4000% this year. A bag of maize will feed a family of four for one month and costs £25. Unfortunately, the annual income of a Malawian is £20. Please pray: · For the new political government of Malawi, asking that they will heal the country after decades of dictatorship · For the international community¾ especially the World bank and IMF¾ to write off the country's unpayable debts · For an end to the famine, with adequate supplies of food from the rich countries of the World All data from http://news.bbc.co.uk and Operation World |
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