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Bulletin 119 Date : 30th Nov 2007
How Great is our God?

I must admit that it has taken a while to receive inspiration and enthusiasm for writing this bulletin. It’s been one of those weeks when neither the spirit nor the flesh have been particularly willing. It’s at times like this that we, as Christians, resort to prayer to bolster our flagging spirits. We turn to the Bible or hymns and songs for inspiration, but even there we may be disappointed.

We have a number of rousing modern worship songs which, in theory, should revive our spirits and rekindle our faith. “How Great is our God” is one such song but when I think about the desperate plights of people around the world, and closer to home, I am left saying, “yes, but if only He’d turn up and help more often”. Another modern song has the words, “All powerful, untameable … You are amazing God”.

Many people have been stunned by the sad death of Rob Frost and have no doubt prayed expectantly for a healing miracle. Countless people, when faced with illness in their families, do the same and their faith is brought to its knees as a result if their prayers go unanswered. Anyone who has looked after a relative with Alzheimer’s disease will be plagued by questions regarding God’s love and power.

Although contraversy surrounds some of the miracles which Jesus performed - like the walking on the water and the raising of Lazarus - there is little doubt that Jesus healed many people of a variety of conditions. However, one thing He didn’t do was to eradicate the diseases themselves. It seems that sickness and suffering always have been and always will be a natural part of the human condition.

Last night we held week 4 of Rob Frost’s Essence Course at Grannie’s Tea Room and the theme was “The Journey to Wholeness”. This sessions reflects upon the nature of pain – physical, spiritual and emotional. It was one of the most powerful sessions I have been to in years as we were invited to reflect upon the way in which pain and suffering have impacted upon our lives. Wholeness is not the removal of suffering but our experience of the presence of God in that suffering. After all, the heart of our gospel is rooted in an act of immense suffering as Jesus faced rejection by His own people and his life drained from His body on the cross.