eNews | Thu 20th August '20
Dear e-News friends and church members,The Significance Of Insignificant ThingsHindsight is a wonderful thing. We live life forward but it seems we better understand it backwards.I’m sure that all of us at one time or another have marvelled at apparently small incidental things that happened which went on to have a profound impact, maybe even changed the course of our lives.Was it a chance meeting with someone, or a service you once attended? Maybe a sermon you heard? Perhaps a conversation between you and another brought clarity into a troubled moment? Or a random thought you chose to act on?As a child I grew up in a single parent home with my mother and two brothers.Money was always very tight, and my mother had pawned her gold wedding ring and never got it back. Although divorced, she wanted to look like she was married, and so wore a brass curtain ring on her wedding ring finger.One day she said to me in passing "I wish I had a proper gold wedding ring again" whilst wistfully looking at the brass ring on her left hand, she then added, “God only knows how”.I was around 10 years of age at that time and God was beginning to work in our family.That same day we were taken to the local beach by friends and had a great time. As I ran over the sand-dunes, I fell headlong sprawling through the sand. As I landed unhurt, I felt my hand touch something buried beneath, I pulled out a beautiful 22 carat gold, unmarked, as new, wedding ring. I ran back and showed it to my mother. She tried that ring on and it was her perfect finger size as if made to order.My mother wore that ring for 10 years until she remarried a wonderful guy who gave her a new one of his own.I still remember that incident to this day, and it had a profound effect on my thinking. If God can hear a small prayer like that, and so orchestrate a tumble on a 5-mile sand-dune stretch to precisely locate a ring, what else is He able to do for you and me?Or what about all those lost and hurting people out there? How many prayers are they praying and adding ‘God only knows how’.Today we have churches in nations because of a chance encounter with someone, we love calling them divine appointments, which is what they are.When these things happen, it shows me just how much God loves us, how much He is in control and how much we need to sometimes value what may look so insignificant.We have this month launched our friendship houses. This is an opportunity for us to live out a powerful principle of God’s Word whilst living within the present restrictions.It IS important for us to meet together.It IS important for us to fellowship, hear the Word, pray and Break bread.All of these things the early church did, 99% of the time in their homes and houses.We strongly encourage everyone to get to or create a friendship house. A simple hour of fellowship around the church online broadcast whilst sitting in the comfort of your own home or that of another.You can vary it each week, invite newcomers or old timers.If you would like an invite to a friendship house, or wish to volunteer to host one sometimes we would love to help you get going, please email: connect@destiny-church.com
A much-valued ministry in the New Testament was ‘hospitality’, the Greek word used for this term ‘hospitality’ simply means ‘a lover of strangers’.All of us as Christians are required to be hospitable.I am convinced that we will look back and see that what may look so simple and insignificant, a small meeting in a house or flat, will very much prove to be very significant for many people.I wonder which stories are being written on the lives of real people as they encounter a real God with real friends.We love you guys.See you on the weekend,Andrew