From the Pastor
Welcome to another quarterly magazine from Ballee Baptist Church. To all our members and adherents that so faithfully attend our services on the Toome Road, Ballymena, I want to give you a deep word of thanks, it is much appreciated. But also to the many friends who read our magazines, who have an interest in our work for God, and pray for us, thank you so much.
The
Sunday you receive this publication, (2nd of April), I will not be in
my pulpit in Ballee, but will be at a service in the “Garden Tomb” outside
the ancient walls of Jerusalem in the land of Israel. I have the privilege of taking a group out to the “The
Land” for ten days. I wish you
could all come with me! Instead,
let me take you to Israel for a moment or two, through the vehicle of the
written page.
Imagine
standing on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, two miles from the city
of Jerusalem, in the town of Bethany. The
risen Saviour has led the disciples out to view His ascension back to His Father
in glory. The Lord Jesus had been
on the earth for a little over thirty-three years and had fulfilled His purpose,
He had been the sin sacrifice for every sinner.
Christ’s death does not automatically save everyone, but it makes
possible salvation for all who come to Him for forgiveness.
As
we stand with that select company, we listen as the Lord gives them His parting
words and instructions. We strain
our ears, to hold on to each significant word and phrase, for they contained
such importance for those of us that know Him as Saviour and Lord.
These words still contain our instructions for today, these commands have
never been changed or rescinded:-
1.
They were words about POWER
Acts 1 v 8a “But ye shall receive power”.
The
power that the Lord Jesus is referring to, is a power much greater than the
might of man, or even angels, it is not the power of oratory or organisation …
it is a heavenly power that is required to do a spiritual work.
The power of God.
It
is a special power … it is Divine in origin.
It
is a superlative power … it is the greatest power in all the universe.
It
is a sought power … many saints of God down through the ages have
sought to be always energised and controlled by the Almighty power of God.
2.
They
were words about a PERSON
Acts 1 v 8b “After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”.
It
is not a “force” that controls the genuine Christian, but rather a Divine
personality that indwells him. The
Holy Ghost takes up residence in the heart of every born-again Christian.
He
has a mind …
Rom 8 : 27; He has a will … 1 Cor. 12 : 11; He forbids … Acts
16 : 6 & 7; He permits …Acts 16 : 10; He speaks … Acts 8 :
29; He loves … Rom 15 : 30; He
grieves … Eph 4: 30; He prays … Rom 8 : 26; He indwells the
believer … Rom 8 : 9; He instructs the believer … Rom 8 : 14; He
infills the believer … Rom 5 : 5.
To
try to do the work of God without the power of the Spirit of God, is like trying
to drive a car with no engine under the bonnet … you will not get very far
without the power of God.
3.
They
were words about a PLAN
Acts
1 : 8c “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”.
It
is God’s will and plan that we be “witnesses” … that we tell what we
have seen, what we have heard, and what we have felt and experienced, as the
result of God’s marvellous salvation in Christ.
Notice
the spontaneity of it
– It ought to be an automatic expression of our devotion and love for Christ.
Notice
the geography of it
– It was to start where they were, and expand like the ripples of a pool,
wider and wider until it was proclaimed to the uttermost parts of the earth.
This magazine reaches many places and people, many of whom are not known
to me. So, as a witness of Jesus Christ, can I ask you … Are you a
Christian?
a)
Without God’s salvation you are lost in sin, without real abundant
life, and headed for a lost eternity under the judgement of God.
Now, at this very moment, turn from you sin (the bible calls it
Repentance), and depend entirely on the death of the Lord Jesus for you at
Calvary for Salvation (the bible calls if Faith). Then ring me and let me know, so we can rejoice together.
b)
I know this reaches some dear friends of mine, who once walked with the
Lord, but in recent days they have slipped back.
The Lord is calling you back again.
A “backslider” can never be truly happy. God still loves you, and the blood of Jesus Christ God’s
son still cleanseth us from all sin.
c)
Christian, be a bright witness. Live
a holy life and be not contaminated with the standards, values, and cares of
this world. Lift up your eyes for
your redemption draweth nigh.
Enjoy
the rest of this publication.
A Tale That Is Told
Life is a story in volumes three
The
past the present, and yet to be.
The
past is finished and laid away
The
present we are reading day by day
The
third and last of the volumes three
Is
locked from sight God holds the key.
Mrs
Alexander
***************
You
cannot repent too soon, because you never know how soon will be too late.
Ladies Fellowship Report
The
New Year commenced with our special millennium meeting.
This involved a delicious meal of pie, pizza and salad together will all
the trimmings followed by desserts that put pounds on just by looking at them!
Our own Elaine Chambers sang beautifully and this was followed by a box
making demonstration filled with bite-sized delicacies by Mrs Isobel Briggs from
The Crescent. Our evening was then
rounded off with an epilogue by Mrs Ray Hanson from Carrickfergus.
A very unusual evening for the Ballee ladies but a thoroughly enjoyable
time was had by all.
Our
meeting in February was taken by Mrs Cathy Moriarty from Christian Missions to
Many Lands (CMML). She gave her
testimony and told of how she became involved with her present ministry in the
south of Ireland. She deals mainly
with the travelling community. The
mission field is right next door to us and yet the labourers are indeed few.
In
March we had a visit from Pamela Brown form Stauros. She brought some friends along and together they sang and
gave testimony of how God had saved them and delivered them from alcohol, drug
and gambling addictions. God had
made a dramatic change in their lives and each could testify that they could
never go back to their previous existence before they met the Saviour.
Our season finishes in April with Attracta Hanna.
Please join us if you can for an evening of fellowship.
Our
prayer meetings continue as usual and it is encouraging to see the faithful
coming month by month. Please join
us the last Wednesday of each month as many of our ladies are ill and need our
prayers especially at this time. Time
spent in prayer is never wasted. Please
remember our outing in April and please pray as we make preparations for our
missionary meetings as they recommence in September for a new season.
Father Time
I saw the old thief Father time, come limping down the road.
He
had a sack upon his back, lost minutes were it’s load.
He opened it and showed to me, not minutes but a host
Of
years, decades and centuries, and more of minutes lost.
“I’d
like to buy a year” I said, “And I will pay you well!”
“
If this earth’s mould were finest gold to you I would not sell
For
I have minutes stolen from Kings from Milton, Shakespeare, Bach.
You
cannot buy such precious things your common gold is trash!”
He
tied his bag and said “farewell” young man I’ve had my fee”
For
while I tried to make them sell, he stole an hour from me.
Who Am I?
God
made Adam out of the dust,
But
thought it best to make me first,
So
I was made before the man,
To
answer God’s most Holy plan.
My
body God did make complete,
But
without arms or legs or feet,
My
ways and acts He did control
But
to my body gave no soul.
A
living being I became,
And
Adam gave to me a name.
I
from his presence then withdrew,
And
more of Adam never knew.
I
did my makers laws obey,
Nor
from it ever went astray.
Thousands
of miles I go in fear,
But
seldom on the earth appear.
For
purpose wise which God did see,
He
put a living soul in me,
That
soul from me my God did claim
And
took from me that soul again.
And
when from me that soul had fled,
I
was the same as when first made,
And
without hands or feet or soul,
I
travel on form pole to pole.
I
labour on by day and night,
To
fallen man I give great light.
Thousands
of people young and old,
Will
by my death great light behold.
No
right or wrong can I conceive,
The
scripture I cannot believe,
Although
my name therein is found,
They
are to me an empty sound.
No
fear of death doth trouble me
And
happiness I ne’er shall see,
To
Heaven I cannot ever go,
Nor
to the grave or hell below.
Now
when these lines you slowly read,
Go
search your Bible with full speed,
For
that my name is recorded there,
I
now honestly to you declare.
The Choice
It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
For
the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands.
It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose.
And so I choose.
No
occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I
will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical … the tool of
the lazy thinker. I will refuse to
see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an
opportunity to see God.
I
will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place. I’ll invite him to do so.
Rather then complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a
moment to pray.
I
will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich, for they are afraid, and kind to the unkind, for such
is how God treated me.
I
will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will be overlooked before I will boast.
I will confess before I will accuse.
I choose goodness.
Today
I will keep my promises. My debtors
will not regret my trust. My
associates will not question my word. My
family will not question my love.
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I
choose self-control
…
I
am a spiritual being. After this
body is dead, my spirit will soar. I
refuse to let what will not rule the eternal.
I choose self-control. I
will be drunk only by joy. I
will be influenced by God. I will
be taught only by Christ. I choose
self-control.
Love,
joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
To these I commit my day. If
I succeed, I will give thanks. If I
fail I will seek His grace. And
then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
An
extract from Max Lucado’s “When God whispers Your Name”.
Everyone's Against Me
In
the last magazine issue we looked at Job Ch 1 to Ch 2 v 10, under the heading
“Why Have I Got Trouble”. We
continue from Ch 2 v 11 to look further at this great servant of God.
Job’s body is covered with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the
crown of his head; he sits among the ashes and scraps himself with a potsherd.
How
drastically his situation has changed, only a few days ago he was a well
respected, rich and successful man with a loving family and everything he could
have wished for. Then trouble
struck. He lost his animals,
his house, his servants and his sons and daughters in four terrible incidents.
It was almost too much for Job to bear.
Yet, in all his grief he did not curse or blame God for all his
misfortune.
Satan had claimed that Job would stop trusting God if he went through troubled times. God allowed Satan to attack Job in this way and take him to the limits of his endurance. It is one thing to praise God at the outset of trouble but another to keep praising when enduring a long period of distressing experiences.
The
one person to whom he had a right to look for help and sympathy – his wife,
had now turned against him. She had
apparently stood with him when they lost their wealth; their children and
everything else, but now sitting on the ash heap
outside
the city, was too much for her. In
her anguish she thought it would be better for him if he were dead.
This is an old strategy of Satan, to divide man and wife.
He used it in the garden to deceive Eve and she fell and Adam with her.
But righteous Job was willing to stand alone saying to his wife “Thou
speaketh as a foolish woman speaketh”.
Three
of his close fiends came to visit him. Eliphaz,
Bildad and Zophar. When they heard
of Job’s trouble they came to comfort him. What a shock they must have had when they saw their dear
friend. Job was in terrible pain
and in an awful state. As was the
custom of the day for showing sorrow, they tore their robes, sprinkled dust upon
their heads and cried. They sat
with Job for seven days in silence, too distressed by all his suffering to
speak.
It
was Job who finally broke the silence and curses the day of his birth.
His faith began to weaken and he longed for death – Ch 3.
Job’s
friends started their ministry of counselling well by sitting with him in silent
sympathy. How sad that they allowed
themselves to become judgmental and undoing the work they had begun.
The great debate with these three friends commences at Ch 4 and takes up
the greater part of the book to Ch 31. There
in are three clear series of speeches. Eliphaz
speaks three times. Bildad three
times and Zophar twice. Job
speaks nine times and it follows thus: -
Eliphaz
Ch’s 4 & 5, Jobs reply to him Ch’s 6 & 7 Bildad Ch 8, Jobs reply to
him Ch’s 9 & 10 Zophar Ch 11, Jobs reply to him Ch’s 12 – 14.
In the second cycle of speeches, Eliphaz speaks in Ch 15.
Jobs reply Ch’s 16 & 17. Bildad
speaks Ch 18 and Jobs reply Ch 19. Zophar
speaks Ch 20 and Jobs reply in Ch 21. In
the third cycle of speeches, Eliphaz speaks Ch 22, Job replies in Ch’s 23
& 24. Bildad speaks Ch 25 and
Job’s reply is Ch 26. In Ch’s
27 to 31 we have Jobs closing words.
In
all of Eliphaz speaking he rebukes Job and charges him with wrong, conceit and
pride. Bildad’s speaking follows
the general logic of the other “Job’s comforters”, If you were blameless,
God would not have allowed all these troubles, pray to God and if you are pure
and upright, He will help you. Zophar
classified Job with the wicked and thought God was punishing him far less than
he deserved. All three believed
that Job’s loss of health, family and possessions was due to the fact that God
was punishing him for some secret sin and all attempted to convince him that
this indeed was the case.
Job
stoutly denies all the accusations in the hours of disputing.
The arguments move backward and forward and no one is convinced.
Poor Job, he must have thought ‘with friends like these, who need
enemies!’ In Ch 30 v 1 he said of them, “now they that are younger than I
have me in derision”. In verses 9
& 10 he says “and now am I their song, yea, I am their byword, they abhor
me, they flee far from me, and spare no to spit in my face”.
Job’s faith began to weaken; he was in the heat of God’s refining
fire. He felt discouraged and the
grievous comments of his friends only added to his miser, in all their
misunderstanding to the situation.
All
through this debate, deep down Job must have kept wondering about God’s
silence and why He was punishing him. There
seemed to be no reason for God to treat him like that.
However Job still had great hope and he was going to trust God even if he
killed him. Toward the end of our
Bible section in question – Ch 31 – Job maintains his righteousness and
integrity vs. 1 –12. He
challenged God and man to disprove his claim, he asks to be weighed in the
balances, his friends have nothing more to say.
“Oh that mine adversaries would put their charges in a book”.
Dear Job knew the truth of Prov 18 v 10. “The name of the Lord is a
strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe”.
Sometimes
Christians are perplexed as to why God allows them to suffer.
When we need Him most He appears to be silent.
However, after the darkest night there is always a dawn.
God is always working for our good, providing grace and strength to
preserve through our trials. Not
only does He allow us to be put into the fire like gold but He brings us out –
purer and more valuable in His service. The
theme of the book of Job treats a profound subject, ‘the testing of the
righteous through suffering’. The
book of Job I believe is in the overall canon of scripture to answer the
question to the blessing and profit of His people, “How can suffering be
consistent with a holy and loving God”. Satan
is our great enemy, the accuser of the brethren; that’s what he said about Job
– the only reason he serves you is because you are so good to him.
But praise God we have an Advocate who represents us before the Throne.
Satan in his accusations against Job is also attacking the integrity of
God. In fact he is saying to God,
you don’t really know your subjects, Job isn’t genuine and consequently –
you are not an all-knowing God.
Suffering
can be traced to many reasons. Is
it not the nature of the world in which we live?
A wicked world made up of many sinful, wicked, God rejecting people.
God can move to deal with the problem in retribution and judgement.
“Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”.
C.S. Lewis said; God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our
conscience but shouts to us in our pain. Also
the chastening of God to bring moral improvement to the lives of His people.
Trials to develop better Christian character and progress Heb 12 vs. 3 – 15.
James Ch1, 1st Peter Ch 1.
This was the conclusion of the three friends of Job – this trouble is
all to do with sin and the chastening of God.
Suffering
can also be traced to the vindication of God.
Not every Christian can deal successfully with the promises of God on one
hand and the storms of life on the other when these DON’T SEEM to work
out. Many of us cannot cope with
the problem of suffering. Charles
Darwin was set on a life in the ministry but the question of pain and suffering
lead him astray from God and into agnosticism.
He could not come to terms with evil and suffering in the world alongside
the existence of an all loving and powerful God.
Why
did Satan pick on Job? Satan does
not know out thoughts, he is not omniscient, he can only conclude from our
actions. Where did he get the
theory that Christians only serve God because of God’s goodness?
(Ch 1 v’s 10 & 11). This
suffering was all to do with the vindication of God. Job’s steadfast endurance was a vindication of God and deep
down he knew that he would be cleared of all the false charges.
When the all-wise and all-powerful One said in Ch’s 1 & 2 that Job
was perfect and upright man, none like him in the earth, He knew what he was
talking about. Satan was defeated
again. Let us always exercise
complete faith in our all-wise, powerful God.
Knowing Him is always the answer, not asking why.
Job
could have sung the lines of this lovely hymn:
We
walk by faith, He wills it so
And
marks the path that we should go
And
when at times our sky is dim
He
gently draws us close to Him
We
walk by faith, divinely blest
On
Him we lean in Him we rest
The
more we trust our Shepherds care
The
more His love, tis ours to share.
And
thus by faith till life shall end
We’ll
walk with Him, our dearest friend
Till
safe we tread the streets of light
Where
faith is lost in perfect sight.
The offering for the weekend came to £3675.00, so we were able to send £1000.00 to each of the Societies represented:
Acre
Gospel Mission
Child
Evangelism Fellowship
Every
Home Crusade
O.M.S.
International
A
BIG thank you to all who attended and gave so generously.
Just before the beginning of the last century, a young boy was interested in becoming a printer. He lived in the great, American city of New York. This young lad was a Christian, not just by name, but as we’ll see, in principle too. There is an important difference between the two. He found a printing firm, willing to employ him, and he set to work for them. His hours involved some Saturday working. One Saturday, his boss gave him a piece of work to finish, adding, “You may need to work tomorrow to finish this on time”. The young lad without hesitation said “I’ll work until twelve tonight finishing it if I can but I cannot work tomorrow, which is the Lord’s Day”. “They you’ll lose you position” said the foreman. Very late that evening, the young lad, having worked hard all day brought the still unfinished copy to his employer and offered to resign, rather than disobey the fourth commandment, and so have a guilty conscience before God. The employer looked at him in amazement. Never before had any of his employees put their conscience before their career. Being unwittingly in God’s hands he realised that here was a honest hardworking lad, the very sort of lad who could be trusted. He refused to accept his resignation and excused him from all Sunday work afterwards. The Lord honoured this young lad, so that he went further and further up the ladder of success until he formed a publishing company of his own, called Harper Brothers, as he was John Harper. The famous Harper Collins publishers of today are the fruit of this young lad’s progress. There are three incidents in the book of Daniel where conscience took precedence over expediency. You can read of how for conscience sake, Daniel and his friends would not eat the kings meat which had been offered to idols, nor drink his wine. How three of them refused to bow down to the golden image and how Daniel refused to give up praying for thirty days. In each of these cases the Lord delivered those who put him first. May each of us seek and be given the same grace for Jesus said, “He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it”. Matthew 10 v 39.
The offering at the Tuesday Bible study meeting on 7th March for the
Mozambique relief came to £1490.00. Many
thanks to all
***************
Millions dying there have never heard.
Millions
living here have never cared.
YPF Report
The
activities of the Young People in these past few months have been as varied as
usual. December was a busy month as
we set up Ballee’s first ever Christmas card delivery service.
Things went smoothly and we were thrilled not only that many used the
service, but also at the generous donations made towards the Family Care in
Cancer charity. Special thanks must
go to the craftsmen and women from among the young people who put a lot of time
and effort into the production of our post box and collection box.
No doubt they will be used again in years to come!
On
12th December we went carol singing at Moorland Close Residential
Home. We thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves and hopefully they did too! Other
activities over Christmas involved taking part in our Annual Carol Service and
of course there was the traditional Christmas Party, held this year in the
Church Hall. I think it’s safe to
say that an enjoyable evening was had by all.
Our
first meeting of the millennium was taken by Ballycraigy Congregational’s
Youth Fellowship. We had a good
time together as we listened to a testimony and heard from Henry Montgomery,
their Youth Pastor, on the subject of managing our money.
Certainly this is a downfall in many of our Christian lives and it is
vital to remember that our money is not our own to spend as we choose, but that
it ALL belongs to God.
On
30th January we had an open meeting where we allowed those who are
‘less young’ to join our Young People’s Fellowship. Our speaker for the evening was Pastor Roy Kerr from the
Family Life Foundation. As well as
telling us about the work and how Family Care in Cancer came about, Roy also
brought a challenge to us all from 1 Sam 16 on how God is preparing us to do
great things for Him. Part of our
reason for inviting Roy along had been to hand over to him the proceeds of our
Christmas Postal Service towards this work and it was great to be able to add to
this the generous donations made by those who attended the meeting that evening.
Wellington
Street’s Young People visited us on 13th February when our won YPF
was responsible for taking the meeting. We
had a quiz and Neil spoke to us on the subject of Revival, challenging us each
individually to consider how much more God could work through us if only we were
living for Him as we ought to be.
Our
final meeting for this quarter was on 27th February where we watched
a video called ‘The Crossing’. This
brought to reality the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us at Calvary and
showed us how totally unworthy we are of His amazing love.
May I take this opportunity to thank all those who help our Young People
in so many different ways – your support is very much appreciated.
Can I also please encourage you all to take the young people on your
heart and pray for them, remembering particularly those who are still outside of
Christ.
***************
“What!
Giving again?” I asked in dismay,
“And
must I keep giving and giving always?”
“Oh
no,” cried the angel, piercing me through.
“Just
give ‘til the Father stops giving to you”.
Call To Repentance
How many saints of God have given up their fellowship and worship of God? And gone into a backslidden state rather than face the issues of God’s call to repentance. It is impossible for a person to keep spiritually blessed by neglecting the sacred pages of the Book and the place of prayer.
Thinking
on the prodigal son and the reasons for his homecoming, “HE CAME TO
HIMSELF”. The son realised that
he was about to perish. He
remembered all the good things that he had, clothes, food on the table, family
and friends, so he returned to his father who forgave him.
This
is an encouraging thought to those who may be in a backslidden state.
The prodigal son’s father was more willing to receive than the son was
to be received. If you who read
this passage have wandered far from home, return at once and He, the Lord Jesus
will greet you with open arms. The devil will try and make you think that no one loves you
but God the father is waiting.
If
the father could forgive the prodigal son and feed him at the table.
If God could forgive David and set him on the throne.
If God could forgive backsliders and write their names in the Lambs Book
of Life, HE CAN FORGIVE YOU.
Come
just as you are today.
Prevailing Prayer
The
tests are getting harder, As His coming draweth near;
But
His grace is still abundant, As we “reign in life” down here.
May
we have the Inspiration of the Spirit’s ceaseless flow
As
we obey and follow, Only thus, we ever know.
Oh
to know the Heavenly Secrets through the hidden life of prayer;
Which
is mighty and effective and prevailing everywhere.
May
we understand the warfare not fought on earthly ground;
But
resisting in the Spirit; where e’er the Foe is found.
The
light is getting stronger,
As
we follow on and on;
To
that “Day” which hath no ending,
When
His own will all be “one”.
M.H.B.C.
Notices and Dates for Your Diary
Two
trips are organized for Tuesday 2nd and Tuesday 9th May to
visit the E.H.C. in Belfast. Anyone
wishing to attend any of these nights please add your name to the sheets in the
hall. Maximum of 35 persons per
night.