Our Magazine - The Link Here is a selection of the articles currently appearing in our house magazine which is published six time a year. Drop into our church reception area to obtain your own copy. Minister's Letter for February 2009 Dear friends Not long after Jesus ' death and resurrection, people began to try to work out what was his relationship to God. They also pondered on how can we be saved and by what means. The letters of Paul are evidence of this debate. Indeed we continue to strive to search for answers today. All this is called Theology - literally God's Word. This is an important subject because what you believe shapes what you do and how you behave in daily life (or at least what you know you should be doing!). In the midst of these arguments there was a doctrine called "The doctrine of recapitulation". This centred not on the sinful nature of humanity (although it accepted its validity) but rather on how can we return to Adam and Eve before that fall from grace. Inherent in their understanding was God created and it was good, this included man and woman as we are created in his image and likeness. We are imaginative, creative and purposeful creatures (indeed the converse is often true too) which is what sets us apart from other creatures. The mind can leap to the stars and find out what they are about and also spur individuals to masterful works of art and music. The inspiration for some of this work is scripture but I also believe the application of creativity can help us understand a part of the nature of God. So let us not inhibit ourselves in our relationship with God use this creativity in our prayers and pondering on his word and the work of the Holy Spirit. After all the Methodist Church loves its hymns which are really poetry in music motion. Also let us seek to do that which is good and appreciate all that God has created for and within us. Love Clifford and Linda The Tale of the Three Trees Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to be when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars twinkling like diamonds above him. "I want to hold treasure," he said. "I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I will be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be a strong sailing ship," he said. !I want to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" The third little tree looked down into the valley below, where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave this mountain top at all," she said, "I want to grow tall so that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I'll be the tallest tree in the world!" Years passed. The rains came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day, three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his axe, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest," thought the first tree. "I shall hold a wonderful treasure." The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his axe the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship fit for kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the third woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me, " he muttered. With a swoop of his axe the third tree fell. The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought him to the carpenter's shop; but the carpenter was not thinking about treasure chests. Instead his workworn hands made the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold or filled with treasure. He was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for the hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took him to the shipyard but no mighty sailing ships were being made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered into a simple fishing boat. Too small and too weak to sail an ocean or even a river. He was taken to a lake. Every day, he brought in loads of smelly fish. The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in the timber yard. "What happened?" the tree wondered. "All I ever wanted to do was to stand on the mountain top and point to God." Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her new-born baby in the feed-box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled. "This manger is beautiful," she said. Suddenly, the first tree knew that he held the greatest treasure in all the world. One evening a tired traveller and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveller fell asleep as the second tree sailed quietly out on the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. He knew that he did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace, be still!" The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. Then the second tree knew he carried the King of heaven and earth. One Friday morning the third tree was startled hen her beams were yanked from the almost forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday evening, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything and that she had achieved her ambition to point men towards heaven. Why Does God Allow Innocent People to Suffer? This is one of the most difficult questions for Christians to answer. The "problem of pain," as the well-known Christian scholar, C.S. Lewis, once called it, is atheism's most potent weapon against the Christian faith. All true science and history, if rightly understood, support the fact of God. This evidence is so strong that, as the Bible says: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). Most atheists, therefore, without any objective evidence on which to base their faith in "no God", must resort finally to philosophical objections. And this problem of suffering is the greatest of these. That is, they say, how can a God of love permit such things in His world as war, sickness, pain, and death, especially when their effects often are felt most keenly by those who are apparently innocent? Either He is not a God of love and is indifferent to human suffering, or else He is not a God of power and is therefore helpless to do anything about it. In either case, the Biblical God who is supposedly one of both absolute power and perfect love becomes an impossible anachronism. Or so they claim! This is a real difficulty, but atheism is certainly not the answer, and neither is agnosticism. While there is much evil in the world, there is even more that is good. This is proved by the mere fact that people normally try to hang on to life as long as they can. Furthermore, everyone instinctively recognizes that "good" is a higher order of truth than "bad". We need also to recognize that our very minds were created by God. We can only use these minds to the extent that He allows, and it is, therefore, utterly presumptuous for us to use them to question Him and His motives. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). "Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast Thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20). We ourselves do not establish the standards of what is right. Only the Creator of all reality can do that. We need to settle it, in our minds and hearts, whether we understand it or not, that whatever God does is, by definition, right. Having settled this by faith, we are then free to seek for ways in which we can profit spiritually from the sufferings in life as well as the blessings. As we consider such matters, it is helpful to keep the following great truths continually in our minds. There is really no such thing as the "innocent" suffering. Since "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), there is no one who has the right to freedom from God's wrath on the basis of his own innocence. As far as babies are concerned, and others who may be incompetent mentally to distinguish right and wrong, it is clear from both Scripture and universal experience that they are sinners by nature and thus will inevitably become sinners by choice as soon as they are able to do so. The world is now under God's Curse (Genesis 3:17) because of man's rebellion against God's Word. This "bondage of corruption," with the "whole world groaning and travailing together in pain" (Romans 8:21, 22), is universal, affecting all men and women and children everywhere. God did not create the world this way, and one day will set all things right again. In that day, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Revelation 21:4). The Lord Jesus Christ, who was the only truly "innocent" and "righteous" man in all history, nevertheless has suffered more than anyone else who ever lived. And this He did for us! "Christ died for our sins" (I Corinthians 15:3). He suffered and died, in order that ultimately He might deliver the world from the Curse, and that, even now, He can deliver from sin and its bondage anyone who will receive Him in faith as personal Lord and Savior. This great deliverance from the penalty of inherent sin, as well as of overt sins, very possibly also assures the salvation of those who have died before reaching an age of conscious choice of wrong over right. With our full faith in God's goodness and in Christ's redemption, we can recognize that our present sufferings can be turned to His glory and our good. The sufferings of unsaved men are often used by the Holy Spirit to cause them to realize their needs of salvation and to turn to Christ in repentance and faith. The sufferings of Christians should always be the means of developing a stronger dependence on God and a more Christ-like character, if they are properly "exercised thereby" (Hebrews 12:11). Thus, God is loving and merciful even when, "for the present," He allows trials and sufferings to come in our lives. "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). My Zambian Adventure As my plane accelerated along the runway at Heathrow and I was on my way to Zambia on my own, I must admit to being a little concerned. However I had the thoughts and prayers of so many people going with me that I should not have worried. My journey was quite uneventful and with the wonders of modern technology I could follow the route of my journey by pressing the screen in front of me. The journey was about 10 hours and I touched down in Lusaka to brilliant African sunshine and a lovely warm day. It was wonderful to greet Helen, she looked fit and well and is clearly having a wonderful time working with the student nurses at the mission Hospital in Monze. The roads in Zambia are really dreadful, they seem to be little more that dirt tracks with huge potholes, but the exception to this is the main road that runs north to south though the country. This road carries massive lorries bringing goods from South Africa and Zambia's neighbours Malawi and Zimbabwe. Seeing Monze for the first time was incredible. The people are warm and welcoming and are very interested in finding out where you come from. As one of the very few white people in Monze I was clearly a bit of a curiosity but I felt really safe and cared for whilst I was there. The levels of poverty were a shock. People are not starving, but many are malnourished, living on the staple food of maize meal. Many suffer from TB and malaria and of course in common with much of sub Saharan Africa, Zambia has been badly affected by HIV/Aids. The hospital where Helen works has 3 wards, male, female and the children's ward. It has nothing in common with Broomfield! The beds are so close together that you could easily touch your neighbour and there are no lockers, visitor's chairs or even curtains. The children's ward was especially sad. The cots look like prison cells and there were no toys, pictures or wall paintings to make the ward look less intimidating. I was privileged to work with the ladies of the Buntolo project, an offshoot of the hospital who are trying to generate income by making things to sell to tourists in places like Lusaka and Livingstone. Many of these ladies have HIV/Aids and are trying to look after not just their own children but other children who have been orphaned by this dreadful disease. The Zambians I met were bright, articulate and hard working. They are not looking for handouts but trying to find ways to work their way out of poverty. The needs are so great you just do not know where to begin and it can seem to be daunting, but VSO, the organisation with whom Helen is working are trying to establish sustainable development projects, so by our Church sending out sewing materials to Buntolo, we are in a very small way helping a community to generate some income for themselves. I did have the opportunity to see the Victoria Falls, they were amazing and if you really twist my arm I will show the pictures I took! My visit was a life changing experience and I hope it has taught me just how fortunate we are in UK and how we really should not moan about our lives. We could so easily have been born into a life of grinding poverty and uncertainty in Zambia. I was shown great kindness and generosity whilst I was in Zambia and I would like to repay that kindness in some way now that I am at home. I would like to thank those of you who were able to give some sewing items to the Buntolo project and my next aim is to raise some money to buy a working blood pressure monitor for the hospital. As always I feel certain that Witham Methodist Church will look outwards and help me to raise this money. Thank you for your interest in my visit and your prayers, I was indeed deeply blessed.  Jenny