THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - From Rachel
WAITING
We spend a lot of our lives waiting. Waiting for a bus, waiting for a friend to turn up, waiting for the holidays, waiting for a diagnosis, waiting for an answer… As Christians we are waiting for Jesus to return and for his Kingdom to come, for wrongs to be put right, hunger and war to be no more. It’s our great hope.
A few days ago the Rapture was all over social media. This is an event hinted at in the Bible (although never actually named “the Rapture”). In 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18 St. Paul writes 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
A South African pastor had predicted that the Rapture would happen on either the 23rd or 24th of September 2025, leading to hundreds of thousands of posts about it on Tik Tok and a lot of excitement and no doubt anxiety too. They forgot about Matthew 24:36, when Jesus tells his disciples that no-one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return, but only God the Father. And we are all still here. Funny, that. We are still waiting.
As I write, Philip and I are waiting with our daughter for the birth of her baby. We wait with faith, even certainty, but nevertheless we wait. We don’t know the exact day or the hour, and yet we long to hold the new little one in our arms and welcome them to the family. We don’t know what the personality of this little human will be, what they will look like or what they will become. All these things will be revealed in time.
In Hebrews 11 we are told that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let’s continue to encourage one another, and let the Word of God light our path as we walk through each day, hoping, praying and working for his Kingdom to come.
Rachel
Pray for:
All who wait anxiously
All who wait in joyful anticipation
All who work for the Kingdom of God in our villages
For a heart for children and families on our parishes
For God to guide us and encourage us as we seek to work together in the wider ABCs.
Give thanks for …
Our Licenced Lay Ministers as they approach their licencing on 27th September – Emma, Daniel, Rachel and Alan
All those who serve (and have served) to bring the Kingdom of Heaven closer.
The certainty of Salvation
We pray for all who live and work in the following streets in our communities:
In Copmanthorpe - Barbers Drive, Bowyers Close, Coopers Drive, Drapers Croft
In Bolton Percy & Colton - Woodlands
In Askham Bryan - North Field Lane
In Acaster Malbis - Darling Lane, Acaster Lane, Pleasant Avenue - Mount Pleasant
In Appleton Roebuck - Briar Court, Briar Drive
In the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.