Looking back, I can see it’s several weeks, two months in fact, since I wrote any news bulletins or blogs from here, so on this mid-summer’s day while the sun is behind some clouds, I thought it was a good opportunity to write again. But what can I write about this time?
You’ll see that I’ve dropped the “Coronavirus” name from the title of my bulletin now – more in hope than in realism because it’s only too obvious that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s good to see how vaccines are making a difference, and most of us have now had our two doses, but infections are still a real danger to society as this horrible virus itself fights for its survival. In the UK we might yet see a third wave coming our way as we watch crowds mixing in several places without any attention to “social distancing”.
We’ve got used to things like “social distancing” over these past months, as well as wearing face coverings and hand sanitising etc. It is remarkable how we can adapt, and at the Gospel Hall we are meeting regularly now under these conditions, as some of you know. Singing with face masks on is maybe less enjoyable!
Another thing many of us have had to learn and get used to, is communicating by digital means. Before the pandemic, it was mostly phone calls, text messages and emails. But now most people are more at ease with smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc - I wonder what gadget will come next?
And we use words we didn’t know before, such as Zoom, Webex, Teams – unheard of before all this? But for all their novelty, they have been a great boon to most of us, and through them, Bible teaching and preaching have reached wider audiences, and many people have benefitted from that – probably most of us included.
How to communicate with God, however, is not new – in fact it is as old as humanity’s time on earth. In Genesis 4.26 we read, “then began men to call on the name of the Lord” – they learned to pray! Our Lord Jesus said we always ought to pray and not faint or lose heart (Luke 18.1). Throughout the centuries of Bible times, and during the centuries since Christ was here, people have prayed, have called on the Lord for his help and blessing, and He has always answered.
So the basic, simple message in this bulletin is – remember you can pray - anytime, anywhere, for any reason, or in any crisis! Just speak to your Heavenly Father and tell Him all about it. He is always there for you. If you seek Him, you will find Him, as Isaiah 55.6 tells us: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near”. The next verse assures us that if we forsake our own ways and our own thoughts, and return to Him, we will find the mercy and pardon we need – at any time, wherever we are. No need for a digital gadget or a satellite in orbit which might let us down!
Do you know this short hymn?
There is an eye that never sleeps
Beneath the wing of night;
There is an ear that never shuts
When sink the beams of light.
There is an arm that never tires
When human strength gives way,
There is a love that never fails
When earthly loves decay.
But there’s a power which faith can wield
When mortal aid is vain,
That eye, that arm, that love to reach,
That listening ear to gain.
That power is prayer, which soars on high
Through Jesus to the throne,
And moves the hand which moves the world,
To bring deliverance down.
[James Wallace, 1793-1841]
Written by Bert Cargill, St Monans
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