Small in stature, big in faith

Under 5 feet tall. Little education. Rejected by the missionary organisations. Not a promising start perhaps, but Gladys Aylward would not give up. God had called her to China -and she was going!

Working as a parlour maid in London in the 1920’s, she saved all she could and took boats and trains to get to China, with only £2 in her pocket.

On arriving, she teamed up with an older missionary and opened an Inn. Donkey herders would go past, walking at the back of their herd. So Gladys would quietly guide the lead donkey into the in courtyard, with all the other following. By the time the herders got there, they accepted that the donkeys did not want to move on, so stayed the night. It was one way of increasing trade!

The donkey herders liked to stay with Gladys and her friend- they not only had clean bedding, but were told stories every time they stayed of an amazing person called Jesus.

It wasn’t long before Gladys began to work with the children and took many orphans into her care. As war came to China, Gladys was faced with the prospect of helping 94 children in her care to escape. They climbed over the mountains and across rivers. None were lost.

The faith of a parlour maid from Edmonton, East London, with little education and no money, saved nearly 100 children from certain death.

"Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are."1 Corinthians 1: 26-28

Changing Geography, Changing Seasons, Changing Family

There’s always something going on in our family. But even for our busy lives, the last couple of weeks have been pretty frantic.

Roh and I have just come back from India. We took a team of eight to help with charity projects and support the local church. As always, it was an amazing time. Lives changed for the good. Children without parents given a hope and a future. Dalit villages supported with medical camps and treatment from local and UK doctors. And a group of local churches supported and encouraged. My thanks to the team- though my observation would be that they have been as impacted as anyone in India!












Then it was straight up to Sheffield to celebrate our eldest son’s wedding to Joy. So congratulations Nathan and Joy. And Joy- welcome to this crazy family!



We all move through seasons- literal and metaphorical. This is such a season. The children all away from home for the first time. Two married, and our first grandchild earlier this year. So a new season for sure.

And just a change in geography for a week brings such impact. Which is the real world? I suspect that the poverty we see on each visit to India is much more the real picture. We are cocooned from this real world, enjoying as a nation such affluence when compared to the Dalit’s of India.

New geography, new seasons, new family. So new focus and new vision needed. And as we enter this later season of life, the need for new energy too. For every one of us, I ask, along with Paul in the Bible that “ God …make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!”

REPOST: Laminin

This is a post from 13th September 2008. In view of the fact that many of my friends at KingsGate Church heard about Laminin this last weekend when Mark Stibbe visited, I thought I'd repost...

I’d never heard of Laminin until the other day, but it’s been with me all of my life. Laminin, according to Wikipedia, is a protien molecule that ‘is capable of binding to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membrane. Laminin is vital to making sure overall body structures hold together.’

In other words, Laminin is the vital piece in our body that holds us together. Now have a look at the shape of Laminin:



Wow! Laminin, the essential protien that holds our body together is cross shaped. Paul, writing to the Colossian church says this about Jesus:

‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’ (Colossians 1: 15-17)

All things hold together by the cross.

Have a look at this short talk. It’s worth your time:

How to fail as a political party

1. Ignore what the public want: look to keep the peace in your own party at the cost of becoming unelectable
2. Make sure the election process is long enough for the unions to form around a candidate that is weak enough not to take them on
3. Make sure the Unions have a vote that outweighs their true influence in the country
4. Elect someone that is young and untried
5. Ignore the older brother who has a welcome reformist approach and is obviously the more able communicator
6. Go back to the old party ways, following the policies of the last failed Prime Minister rather than the new approach from the earlier successful and long lasting Prime Minister
7. Look forward to a number of years of debating failed left wing election proposals
8. Look forward to a long time as an opposition party.

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry

Stephen Hawking’s new book comes out today. In earlier books, he has left room for the possibility that there is a God. In his new book, he has decided creation is the inevitable consequence of physics, so rules out the ‘need for a creator’.

Science is amazing. We discover so much. People like Stephen Hawking have done wonders for pushing back the limits of our thinking. But he is still not thinking in big enough terms.

When the Hubble Telescope was launched, one of the team looked into space at stars that had never been seen before. This is what he said as he gazed on the hidden wonders of creation:

“We don't need a scientist here, we need a poet.”

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry.

Little Things

“A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing”.

As James O Fraser read the words, he knew his life would never be the same. The quote was from the famous China missionary Hudson Taylor, and James knew that this was to be his path too.

Arriving in 1908, it was eight years of hard work among the Lisu tribal people of South West China before there was breakthrough. But what a breakthrough. In the next two years, over 60,000 tribal people converted to Christianity.

James Fraser had faithfully worked among them, climbing their mountain ranges, sleeping on their floors, helping with the work, eating rats to survive. And in all of those first eight years he held on to the belief that if he was faithful in the little, God would ensure the results.

Jesus said ‘He who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much’ (Luke 16:10). So don’t give up. Keep going. Be faithful. James Fraser will be surprised to see his name written into history. It’s not why he served. But he knew His God was faithful. And he knew “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing”.

I spoke on this and much more recently at KingsGate Church. Here's the copy and paste link:

http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=47959&file_id=51335

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