Sunday Scripture - Romans 8 v 25

Sunday Scripture is just simply a thought or two on a Bible verse that may have struck me afresh or maybe for the first time or has always been special to me.

Today I am looking at Romans 8 v 25

As soon as I saw this verse I was drawn to the two words hope and patience.

Hope is a word I would use often and have grown to love the true Bible meaning of this word, whereas patience is not a word I like to talk about much probably because I feel I do not have a lot of it.

However while I was trying to memorise this verse some time ago, I realised that the Biblical word hope leads us to this patience.  If we have the hope of life eternal through Jesus then we will have patience as we wait to see this hope fulfilled regardless of what comes between because that Hope is worth everything.  

Background Photo credit to Yash H Dubal via DealFuel

If we simply looked at verse 25 on it's own would we come to the right meaning?

As usual the verses in this chapter should be read together to give the right context so let's consider verses 18 - 26

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

verse 18  

reminds us that what we have now is nothing compared to what we will have when we are in the presence of God.

verse 23  

reminds us that we are eager to see the fulfilment of his promise of sonship and full redemption

verse 24  

reminds us that our salvation is because of this hope we have in Jesus

Some people may think we are all like children who when they are eager for something to happen get impatient and cannot wait - it just has to happen immediately, but we have more understanding than children and we know that when something is worth having it is worth waiting for and our experience and the Word of God tells us we can trust it will happen.

But of course God has not left us on our own to wait

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

How wonderful it is that even though we are 

eagerly awaiting the outcome of our hope;

 we can do so patiently by the power of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER
Lord I pray that all who read this will either be rejoicing in the knowledge of the hope they have in you or led to examine your word further until they put their trust in you and gain this hope of life eternal.
Amen.

Leeds - A to Z of Places I Have Visited

I am writing about some places I have visited in alphabetical order.
Still wondering what I will do for the more unusual letters like Q and X etc. but maybe I will have a brilliant idea later.

Leeds is a large city in England, UK.

I never really thought of this as a place I would be going to for a holiday because I would much prefer to go abroad or to places that were not so big and maybe somewhere I would have always heard of and wondered what it was like but this was not the case with Leeds.

By Harkey Lodger based on Jhamez84 at en.wikipedia - 
Own work based on map by Jhamez84 at en.wikipedia, Public Domain, Link

We ended up having a great connection with this busy city because in 2010 our oldest son left Belgium where we had been living for 6 years and headed off to be a pastor in Leeds.

Now Jonathan was not so daunted by the city because he had been dealing with driving through Brussels regularly but he still was not interested in living in the city nor could he afford it.

He got a small one bed appartment in a little village on the outskirts of Leeds and so that is how we came to visit Leeds.

We made several trips over to Leeds both from Belgium and then later from NI to which we had since moved.

A City Weekend Break in Leeds would be nice with lots to see round the city with the variety of architecture as shown above with the modern building in the foreground which is the new shopping centre and the older Civic centre building in the background.

Another older building is the Old Post Office in Leeds City Square shown below.

By Tim Green from Bradford - General Post Office, City Square, Leeds (former), CC BY 2.0, Link

In my opinion modern buildings are great if they are useful and practical and still have an interesting look about them but I'd much prefer they were eye-catching for their architectual beauty and not just to be "different".

Also for it's museums.

Above is Leeds city Museum which still stands impressively in the city with a lovely casual feel set back from the roadway and traffic by a wide footpath.

Of course we must not forget the shops to spend your money in and abundance of places to choose to eat in with a great variety of flavours from all over the world.

Here again you see the old and the new when it comes to eateries.


I have to note here that every time we have visited there have been new restaurants that Jonathan has discovered so of course he takes us to test them out.

Leeds is so large that even though we have visited several times I am never sure which street I am going to turn into next but then that might have something to do with the extensive one-way system for the traffic.

We have always been thankful that Jonathan knows where he is going as he drives us along.

Interesting Architecture and Good Food in this Yorkshire City.

My husband and I do know the way to his apartment though and you would think you were in a different world altogether when you arrive there.  It is just beside the canal and there is a nature reserve area where he can walk around and find a seat to sit and read in the quiet of the countryside.

The nicest photo we have of his apartment building was taken during the snow in January 2013 - his is the top one one the far right and there is the countryside beside it.

A few of the times we have visited Jonathan has taken us to the surrounding villages for breakfast or lunch and they are lovely with all their Yorkshire stone houses.

We have also had a trip into the close by city of Bradford to sample some of the food there.

Although I said at the start about a weekend city break in Leeds it would also be worth the time to spend a little longer to explore some of the beauty of the countryside nearby in the Yorkshire Vales.

Jonathan has recently left Leeds to live and work in West Malvern a four hour journey south of Leeds into the Malvern Hills so we have a new location to visit and get to know.

If you missed any of the previous places in this series just click on the Titles below:

A for Alicante
B for Bratislava
C for Calpe
D for Durbuy
E for Ennis
F for Florida
G for Gran Canaria
H for HongKong
I for Islandmagee
J is for Jersey
K is for Killyleagh

When Can I Trust Him? - A Dose of Encouragement

Fred never asked me to marry him!

He never got down on one knee and produced a sparkling ring in a little purple box.

He never planned a day out beside a beautiful waterfall or wrote a bunch of short letters to guide me to a certain place so that he could ask me that specific question.

He didn't contact his mother and father and ask them to keep an engagement ring safely hidden until a special birthday would arrive.

He didn't contact his future mother-in-law to show her the ring he was planning to get.

No Fred never did anything like that.

He didn't even take a specific time to ask me to marry him.

With Fred it was just taken for granted.

When Fred talked about the future there was no "IF" but just the "WHEN".

You see Fred was sure that he loved me and he was also sure that I loved him so there didn't need to be an "IF we get married" it was automatically "WHEN we get married".

And me?
Well I just agreed with him because I loved him and I knew that he loved me.

Fred had decided he loved me before we even started going out together and in his mind that would mean there would be no-one else for him and it would just be the natural thing for us to get married.


We did not have that

"getting down on one knee in a beautiful surrounding with a friend hidden somewhere ready to step forward and take a picture at just the right moment as the ring is produced"

moment to be forever remembered.


No we had none of that and as our kids know Fred is often reminded of the fact that he did not propose to me at all!

Instead he just started talking about "when we get married".

Well of course that is all in the past and we did get married 41 years and two days ago.  The "WHEN" happened and Fred had been true to his word there was no going back on what he had said.

I have always been able to trust what Fred would say because if he meant something he said it and stuck with it but if he wasn't completely sure then the "IF" would be used.

And because of the proof I have already seen with Fred, I know that I will also be able to trust him in the future.  Just as the "I have trusted Fred" and the "I am trusting Fred" led me to say "I Will" 41 years ago.


These qualities that I see in Fred are the qualities that I have also seen in God.

God doesn't start talking about "IF" something will happen in the future, it is all "WHEN" with Him.

All God's promises are not statements about how something might come to be but instead each one is a definite fact.

God has proved himself throughout Scripture and Time so that we can trust in all that He says.

God has never promised anything He did not intend to do, He always speaks the truth and will never go back on His Word.

This means we can trust Him forever.


Some people will use the phrase "IF and WHEN....."
But does that even make sense?
I would not be inclined to trust in anything that followed those three words.

This means we can trust Him forever.

With God we trust

the "I Have"  

& the "I Am" 

& the "I Will"

We have trusted in Him, we are still trusting in Him and we will continue to trust in Him.

Throughout our lives together Fred & I have enjoyed the "Our Stories & His Stories" because we have trusted God and shared our lives with God.

Sunday Scripture - 2 Timothy 1:7

Sunday Scripture is just simply a thought or two on a Bible verse that may have struck me afresh or maybe for the first time or has always been special to me.

Today I am looking at 2 Timothy 1:7

Looking at verse 6 of this chapter we may be tempted to ask if Timothy had a fear of rejection in the use of the gifts or had he been hurt in some way in the past and was now timorous of exercising the gifts again.

Perhaps this was not the reason Paul felt he had to specifically write this, it could simply have been that Timothy had not made a conscious effort to be seeking to be used by the Spirit or he had let the gift lapse?

But then we read verse 7  and we do seem to have the indication that there was a worry or fear of some kind holding Timothy back.

Remembering that God is not going to give us something that is bad for us we can agree that He is not going to put fear into our lives but power, love and a sound mind instead.

Then that would lead us to 

"What gift was Paul referring to?"

If we simply looked at verse 7 on it's own would we come to the right meaning?

As usual the verses in this chapter should be read together to give the right context

5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

Verse 5 points us to the faith that Paul had witnessed in Timothy and we can presume that Paul was not mentioning this without a reason.

Verse 6 points us to the fact that Timothy has a gift from God and he is responsible for how he uses that gift.

Verse 7 points us to what God has given to Timothy which reminds him of how he has been equipped by God.

Look at the order of these three things:

1. Power - to combat fear and timidity 
2. Love - to bring care for people
3. Sound Mind - to bring clarity 

but then we must ask the question "What does Timothy need these three things for?"

To be a good Pastor 

to do the job he has been given to do

Verse 9 points us to what the people need.  The Good News of the Gospel and the building up of their faith.

Perhaps then the gift Paul refers to is one which is important for Timothy to have in order to continue to be a good pastor.  A gift that he knows about and Paul knows about but we do not necessarily have to know about. 

Can this be related to us?

Yes, we must always be equipped to do the job God wants us to do.

What has God given us?

What has God given us?                     The Right Spirit.

What should we give God?                 Faith.

I think this passage is not just about Timothy;
 it is about how God has equipped him and the faith he must use in order to share the Gospel.

A to Z of Places I Have Never Seen Yet! - Coffee & Conversation

I have been doing a travel series entitled  A to Z of Places I have visited and then I thought 

"What about the places I would like to visit that I haven't had the chance to go to yet?".

This of course meant I needed to make a coffee and sit and think.

So here is my list of 

A to Z of Places I Have Never Seen Yet.

Asturias in Northern Spain
(my husband worked there several times when the kids were young and I never got to go see it)

Baku in Azerbaijan  
(my husband has been there and says it is beautiful)

Copenhagen in Denmark  
(my husband worked here for a while in latter part of his career and again he never took me to see it)

Dundee in Scotland
(I have seen very little of Scotland and that needs to change)

Edinburgh in Scotland
(There is a castle there and our family like to visit castles)

Florence in Italy
(It just sounds like it would be lovely)

Granada in Spain
(I have always heard about it and now our oldest son has been there and sings it's praises too)

Helsinki in Finland  
(I have always been intrigued by this name)

Iceland  
(I have always wanted to go there and then our son did and our daughter wrote a novel about travelling there)

Johannesburg in South Africa
(I would love to see the expansive regions of South Africa)

Kenya 
(We have a friend who came from Kenya so I would like to see where she came from)

Liechtenstein  
(my oldest son has always wanted to go there so I'm copying him and we are both jealous because our son-in-law got to go there this year)

Here is a map to show where Liechtenstein is - just in case someone thought I had made it up.
It is bordered by Switzerland and Austria.

By Elevatorrailfan - This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this:  Location European nation states.svg., CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Malawi
(my oldest son spent three months there so I would like to see it too)

Nashville in the US
(OK it's not because of the TV programme of the same name even though I loved it)

UPDATE - My husband and I attended the Getty's Sing19 Conference there in 2019 and got to go to the Grand Ole Oprey too)

Oslo in Norway
(Would love to see Fjords and be in a very cold place that is meant to be very cold)

Piza in Italy
(Well I need to see this leaning tower)

Qatar 
(I don't really really really want to go there although my husband has been and liked it but I can't think of anywhere else for Q)

Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland
(not far from home but I can't remember ever having gone there and the wildlife is suppose to be great)

Sri Lanka
(No idea why I want to see it but it sounds like a lovely name)

Torquay
(I am an Agatha Christie fan)

US Virgin Islands  
(Who wouldn't want to go to the Caribbean?)

Victoria Falls in Africa  
(I love Waterfalls and I have been to Niagara Falls so it would be great to get to see the other major waterfall in the world too)

Westport in Ireland
(I hear it is a popular holiday location in Ireland)

Xanadu?
(Please don't tell me it doesn't exist.  😍)

Yet
(All those other places not seen yet that start with any letter because I haven't got any idea for Y.  😍)

New Zealand 
(We have been to Australia now I'd like to see it's neighbour to the south)

Have you seen these places yet?

PLUS 

Can I add in an object?

Bridge in Paris made of tubing and 3 trampolines.

Death on the Nile - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Death on The Nile

1937

Description

Agatha Christie’s most exotic murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life.

Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: ‘I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.’ Yet in this exotic setting’ nothing is ever quite what it seems…

My Thoughts

This is the 29th book by Agatha Christie and the 16th Poirot Mystery

It is one of the best known Christie books and possibly because of that and the number of adaptations that have been produced it is not among my top Christie stories.  

As with most of her books it is very cleverly written but at one stage I do feel that I can not quite get round the intricate plot because I feel that just one strategic action is not properly explained even having read it a couple of times and having seen all the adaptations, so I do know the full details of it.

She loves villains and heroines and so do I and here you definitely have a special villain and heroine.   I do love the way we are allowed to see the concern and the disdain for them both emanating from Poirot.

We also see several other storylines running through the book some of which have no bearing on the solution of the murder and some which do, not exactly red herrings though.

It has to be noted that this is one of her books that even if it was not one of the most wellknown it still would be one that once read the victim and murderer will not be forgotten. 

There is one thing missing in this one - no Captain Hastings!

If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.

 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie


If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.

Sunday Scripture - Matthew 8 v 27

Sunday Scripture is just simply a thought or two on a Bible verse that may have struck me afresh or maybe for the first time or has always be special to me.

Today I am looking at Matthew 8:27

In chapters 5 -7 of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus taught the people and they could see he spoke with authority but then he continued His ministry to them through signs and miracles in chapter 8.

It is a chapter of healings (the leper v. 1-4,  the centurion's servant v. 5-13, Peter's mother-in-law v. 14, many who were demon possessed v. 15 & 28-32) which verse 17 tells us was to fulfil the words of the prophet Isaiah.


This chapter also shows the faith that people already had in Him.  The leper, the centurion, the demon possessed as they came to Him for their miracles.   

Why?

Because of faith.

Looking back we can see that the teaching of Jesus recorded in the previous chapters stirred up faith in the hearts of those people who came to Jesus in chapter 8.

Yet then in verse 27 we read

The disciples may not even have known exactly who He was, and the people certainly didn't, but they had heard Him and witnessed His power through the miraculous and this led to their faith.

So what excuse then is there for the people who do know who He really is?

The teaching of the Word of God and the work of God around us should stir up our faith too.

We need to stir up our faith.

What about the difficulties we have been through?
What about the difficulties we are facing right now?
What about the difficulties that will come to face us in the future?

Nothing about these difficulties should hinder our faith because we will be stirred up in our faith if we read God's Word and take heed of His miraculous deeds.

We should be able to say:

Who can this be but the Son of God!