It was my pleasure to share in the teaching at our churches Lent meeting last week. we were considering the subject of hope, and looking at four encounters from the book of Luke-chapter 8.
I share below a recording of the message I gave, and hope it encourages you today.
When I left university, I had little idea of what I wanted to do with my life – let alone what I thought God wanted me to do!
I applied for several jobs, and remember one vividly. It was an accounting role, and was based in Canary Wharf in London. At that time, it was a really up and coming area of the city, with a huge amount of development going on. It is now a very busy business district, among other things.
I was fortunate enough to be offered an interview for the role, and travelled to the area. There were some massive buildings there, and it was apparently a very expensive area. I recall buying a sandwich and having to take out a small loan to afford it!
I located the building and it was huge. As I went in through the main doors, I was confronted by a large reception area. Behind the main reception were the letters depicting the name of the firm in enormous characters. To me, it may as well have been as big as the Hollywood sign itself!
I may have been an adult by then, but I felt like a little boy gazing up at this gigantic sign. My heart sank and the phrase “out of my depth” sprang to mind! It never really occurred to me to turn and run, but I would not have been ungrateful if the ground had opened up at that point.
And that is when it happened…
It wasn’t an audible voice that I heard with my ears, but it was what I would later learn to be God’s voice whispering in my spirit. He said quite simply, “I am the God of this place as well.”
After that, the sign did not seem so big anymore.
I took a deep breath, uttered a little prayer and pressed on. I signed in, was escorted upstairs and gave it my best shot. As it happens, God had other plans for me and I did not get that job. Perhaps the reason I was offered an interview was simply to get me in front of that sign? I don’t know, but it taught me that God is ever-present. It showed me that even when I face things that are seemingly far bigger than I am, I go with a God who is bigger than everything.
What are you facing today or this week? If it seems too big for you, then remember you do not face it alone. The One who set the stars in place goes with you.
Jesus said, “Surely I am with you, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b). And He meant it.
This brand new book from another Andy is well worth a read! I sat down to read it yesterday, finished it in almost one single session!
It’s a very encouraging read, and Andy’s honest and approachable style of writing is very enjoyable.
Andy does not just point out that life is hard, but shares his genuine experiences of times of trial. He gently points his readers to the Lord, and shows how Jesus understands our suffering.
Do check out the below post, and grab yourself a copy of the book! You won’t regret it.
We had the pre-order open up last week, and now you can buy the book in either format – on eBook digital readers like the Kindle, and in Paperback …
If you have not checked out the Berry Bunch Family already, then I strongly encourage you to do so. i’m truly excited to hear more of their testimony and about gods faithfulness in their lives and ministry.
It was something of an honour to be mentioned in this post as well!
Do give it a read, and start following their site. you won’t regret it!
I’ve written, edited, and scheduled our first #TestimonyTuesday post. This is an exciting new, and regular, output for us, and we have Nicola to …
I was thinking about apologising this week, not that there was a particular incident which I needed to say sorry for, but instead I was reflecting on how bad we are at it – generally speaking! Is that through lack of practise I wonder?
We all make mistakes, and yet we often fail to apologise properly, or even at all. This can only harm our relationships, and in my experience, I only ever think more highly of someone who admits their faults, not less.
I may struggle to point to specific Bible verses here, so please treat this as helpful advice rather than anything else! Experience gained the hard way is the only authority I can claim!
Be specific
When you apologise, be specific.
Sometimes when we discipline our children, they say “sorry” but really they mean “Be quiet Dad!” When I probe a little, asking what they are aplogising for, they cannot always tell me.
When you tell someone you are sorry, be clear about what it is you are sorry for. It not only acknowledges the mistake you made, but shows you understand why they were upset or hurt.
For instance, you could say:
I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning, it wasn’t your fault and I should not have said what I did.
I’m sorry I did not do what I said I would do yesterday, that must have been frustrating and created extra work for you.
While you do not necessarily need to mention when it happened, I think that can help to be clear about what went on.
Keep It Simple and Short
In my experience, it is better to be brief and to keep things simple. When we go on and on, trying to explain or setting the scene, it can come across as making excuses. We will touch on that in a moment, but for now, keep things straightforward.
I am not suggesting that you say something like, “I’m sorry I had an affair, that was inconsiderate of me.” As clearly, such a wrong requires a little more effort on our part!
I’m sorry, but… no excuses
When we apologise, we should offer no excuse along with it. You can hear the tell tale signs when someone says, “I’m sorry, but…” that little word “but” adds the idea that although I was wrong, there were extenuating circumstances which mean it wasn’t totally my fault.
Worse is when we say, “I’m sorry, but you…” turning around a situation like that is never any way to say we are sorry.
The truth is, when we are wrong, we have no excuse for our behaviour. There may be reasons why it happened, such as tiredness, worry, fear or stress, but an excuse does not make a wrong thing right.
I once heard it said that an excuse is a reason stuffed with a lie, and there is much truth to that.
When we are wrong, we should just say so, offering no excuses for the behaviour. It is merely an attempt to lessen the offence. Far better to just hold up one’s hands and and say, “I was wrong, I’m sorry.”
No Defence
In a similar way, when we are wrong, we have no defence any more than we have an excuse.
In a court of law, the accused mounts a defence to prove their innocence. In situations where the defendant admits their guilt, no defence is required.
When we say we are sorry, we are admitting that we have done something wrong. If we defend ourselves in that scenario, do we really believe we are “guilty” therefore? If some part of us believes we are innocent, then our apology lacks integrity.
Don’t apologise like a politician!
I write this at a time when the Prime Minister in the UK has been accused of breaking COVID restrictions which he imposed upon the rest of the nation. His “apologies” to date have not been all that well received by other politicians or the wider public. He has offered excuses; “I didn’t know it broke the rules…” and he has defended himself, saying “It was a work event, and I was only there 10 minutes…”
Often politicians will apologise by saying things like, “I’m sorry that hurt was caused…” thus avoiding any personal responsibility. It is like saying, “I’m sorry you took offence…” again, implying that the fault is not theirs, but yours… you took offence where none was intended.
Apologies must be freely offered, and not given begrudgingly. When politicians, or indeed anyone, apologises this way, we all question the sincerity of it.
Well, I’ve said I was sorry…
I have pointed out many ways not to apologise, and I hope it helps you give more honest and sincere apologies in future. My advice is simply to be open and admit when you’ve done wrong.
I want to close by reminding you that even when you do apologise sincerely, acceptance of that apology and forgiveness must never be demanded.
If someone does not respond positively to your sorrow, then please never say “Well, I’ve apologised, what more do you want?”
Forgiveness must never be demanded. When you offer your apologies, you must leave them with the other person and give them time to respond. It is not for you to remind them that they ought to forgive you, or that your apologies somehow heal hurts that were caused.
We all make mistakes, and as long as we live and interact with other people, there will be times when we need to say we are sorry for a wrong we have done. Let us apologise sincerely, without excuse or defence, and humbly say we are sorry when we need to.
I hope this has been helpful, and trust you won’t need to call upon it too often! Have a great day!
WordPress helpfully keeps a total of the words you have written on your blog each year. Although we are only about a week into 2022, I am reliably informed that I have written nearly 4500 words so far.
This is good for me to know, because I really do want to make good progress on some unfinished books I am writing this year.
One project has around 10,000 words written, and another approximately 17,000 words completed.
Knowing that I’ve already written 4500 words on the blog this year, helps me to believe that it may even be possible to complete both projects in the coming 12 months!
why am I telling you this? Simply for accountability!
I want to try to post regular updates on how the books are progressing, as a way of keeping myself honest! Do pull me up dear reader, if I do not do this!
I also ask for your prayers, and that my writing would be fruitful. Please ask the Lord to help me complete these projects this year, but more importantly that they will be a vehicle for him to bless those who read them.
Word count is not the best way to measure the quality of a book… But in this stage of the project, it sure does help me keep track!
I remember writing this post from a few years ago, and the algorithms which drive traffic to one’s blog still baffle me today!
For me, what remains true, is that even if one person read my blog and is blessed by it, it was all worthwhile.
I hope you enjoy this repost
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This post lands on Tuesday 31st March, and I think is the 15th day in a row where I have posted. That is a pretty good run, and although I did not start this because of COVID-19, I am carrying on because of it. There is so much negative news going around, and I just…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/03/31/on-christian-blogging/
I don’t want you to just take my word for it… We take a little break from our current series on Psalm 103 to discuss something important. It is an immense privilege to share God’s Word with you through this blog, and I take that responsibility very seriously. But you, the reader, have a responsibility…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2018/04/12/the-berean-approach/
Andy Brown 