Three Fold Cord

Back in December I had the privilege to marry a lovely young couple. They were brought together through their love of climbing. It was a great opportunity to talk about the reference in the Old Testament to a Cord of three strands being really strong. (Ecclesiastes 4:12) It talks about how it is better to have a partner or friend than to be alone. You can support each other and can be stronger together. Most would agree with this. But then it talks about this cord that is really difficult to break. The implication is that God is that 3^rd strand through life’s journey.
 
I have a calendar that is of prophetic paintings by Chris Duffet, and the title of last months picture is “A Cord of Three Strands ”. It is really beautiful and if you follow this link you can see a tiny image of it.

At this time, it is really important to remember to get together with other Christians in some way or other. Simon talked about this last Sunday. There may be restrictions, but we need to find creative ways to encourage each other and to “spur each other on to faith and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). We can phone, arrange to go for a walk, or have a chat in the garden or park.
 
One of the most helpful things for me during this time is to meet regularly in a very small group. It has been a real growth point for each of us. We are growing closer to each other and growing closer to God. I have always valued our small groups, what we now call our life groups, but this is just 3 or 4 of us, and the lower numbers have enabled us to share more deeply and meaningfully. Perhaps there are a couple of people that you could grow closer to God with.
 
We also need to remember the importance of spending time alone with God and developing our relationship with Him. This is the ideal time to develop good patterns in our spiritual lives. He is the ultimate encourager. That third strand in our lives that makes us strong, unbreakable. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help that I can get. There are lots of resources that are designed to help us with this, as well as our Bibles.
 
if you want to talk any of this through, just drop me an email at stephl@ebc-bracknell.org with your phone number and I will do whatever I can to help.
And finally… one of the thing that has blessed me are some of the thoughts that our regional ministers have put on line.

This is a link to one that Dave Llewelyn posted several weeks ago. It is called “Stop look and listen” and he is talking about some ways to be more aware of God’s presence every day. It makes so much sense to me.
I hope it is helpful to you as well.

Steph

stay well, stay safe and stay connected                                              
 
September 2020