Disappointment, defeat and victory

What a difference a week makes. A week ago, I had the privilege of going to the new Wembley (magnificent) to see England (average to good) beat Estonia 3-0. I got back home in time to see England (brilliant) beat France in the rugby world cup and reach the final- against the odds.

And then England (average to poor) lost to Russia in the football. Followed by the rugby with England (still brilliant) losing to South Africa in the world cup final. We have quite a number of South Africans at our church- and of course, they were all wearing their rugby shirts yesterday. I tried not to let them in…..

Finally, even Lewis Hamilton (dead cert) couldn’t beat Raikkonen for the Formula 1 championship.

John didn’t live to see it. He fought Motor Neurone disease for over 2 years, but died last week. A friend from my days working at Emap, I saw him grow in his Christian faith- so to put it bluntly, I know where he is! Disappointment and defeat in the sports arena, but triumphant victory for John.

Uncomplicating Life

One of the advantages of long haul flying is that you get time to read. I read a whole book in almost one sitting on my last business trip. It was called 'Wigglesworth- The Complete Story' (by Julian Wilson). It's a biography of a remarkable man. With little education, Smith Wigglesworth overcame his poor background to be one of the most well know 'faith healers' of his day. A bluff Yorkshireman, he would simply go up to someone in a meeting and say 'What's up?'. He'd then pray and miracles would follow. Blind eyes opened, the deaf could hear, and people were even raised from the dead. Such was the impact, he made it to the front pages of the newspapers of the day.

What was his secret? The book hints at a couple of them. Firstly he always gave aknowledgement that it could only be Jesus who heals, not him. Secondly, he was just uncomplicated. If it said it in the Bible, and it happened then, it could happen now.

Smith Wigglesworth lived simply, with a clear and simple faith. He died in his 80's in the 1940's after a worldwide ministry and with hardly a day going by when he didn't lead someone to his saviour Jesus. Simple faith. Extraordinary results.