Relationships matter!

10 Sep Relationships matter!

Happy Tuesday y’all!

I’m enjoying this brief burst of Spring sunshine & warmth. It was great fun to mow the grass & get a bit of fertilizer out on the lawn. We’ve pulled a few weeds & will be planting a few roses over the next few days…if I’m limping & sore on Sunday you’ll know why! I know the weather forecast calls for some pretty significant rain later in the week which means that soon after, my Summer seeds are going in the ground!

I had an interesting experience last Sunday evening. I had gone into my office at our home to close down my computer for the day and there was a new email waiting for me. When I opened it, there were two of my former university housemates smiling at me from a poorly-taken ‘selfie.’ I had to laugh…I recognized them immediately even though I haven’t laid eyes on either of them in 40 years…yes…it was 1984 when I graduated from university…so I guess that’s 41 years. Wow…It was clear to me that age hasn’t made any of us three more handsome…but I was overjoyed that they were still among the living and that they had reached out. Made me wonder about Joseph recognizing his brothers & them not recognizing him…Back in the day, I really considered those two young men close friends, but time, distance, & different paths in life separated me from them…but they reconnected that old relationship in a mouse-click. I’m not sure Joseph & his brothers could have pulled that off so smoothly…in fact, they didn’t…But I was glad my old friends did. There is an enduring quality to relationships that needs to be nurtured.

Earlier today I led devotions for the Staff at the Wagga Wagga Christian College. Yesterday I was privileged to be part of the interviews for next year’s Student Leaders…Captains & Vice-Captains. My relationship with that particular school is something I truly value beyond my daughter getting a top-flight education & spiritual nurturing there. I meditated with the staff around Paul’s opening verses to Timothy, 1 Timothy 1:1-6. Paul has sent Timothy to Ephesus to quiet down some false teachers who are engaging in a “show-off” kind of faith. In treating their place in the Christian community as a “performance” they’re causing all sorts of mischief. Timothy is supposed to go & regroup the church solely around one thing…here it is in verse 5: The goal of our instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, & genuine faith.

At the end of our lives, folks won’t remember how big our church was, how many Bible verses we memorized, whether we could speak in tongues or not, if our family had been in which denomination the longest…but they will remember if we acted in love toward them. They will remember if they received from us the very best God can offer (to love someone is that…to selflessly & sacrificially pour into their life the highest & fullest that God desires for them). They will remember if we helped them discover that Christ came to link their heart to his with no distractions or distortions (that’s what a ‘pure heart’ means). They will remember if we assured them that Christ loved them beyond any mistake, mishap or malfeasance they’d managed to pull off that their past is past…forgiven…forgotten as far as East is from the West  (that’s how you live from a clear conscience). And they will remember if helped them trust that Christ can work in them in ways they never dreamed possible simply because they were deeply & eternally loved by the Father…and he was now at home in them (that’s genuine faith – trusting Christ in here forever)…

I’ve said often over this last year that I want to live for the right “Why.” Verse 5 is what I pray for each of us as our “Why;” that you & I are “filled with love” & then share it in myriad ways.

Here’s a few of those myriad ways to experience & then share that love…

1. Ladies Fellowship – Thursday 11^th September – 1 John 5:1-21 @ the Estella Wienckes’ home!
2. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up
   Friday 12^th September 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
   Join Zoom Meeting  —  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89674789066  —  Meeting ID: 896 7478 9066
3. 14^th September – Sunday – we wrap-up our study of Joseph’s life…Serving to Save. If you’re playing catch-up, or just not sure of the details, please read the whole story Genesis 37-50. It’s a gripping tale & may help you understand some more of what we might have to leave out on Sundays.
4. LWF Prayer Morning – Saturday 20^th September 10 a.m. @ our home. I’ll have the coffee pot on. We pray for about an hour about all manner of needs & people.
5. There are a number of events for women in the pipeline over the next few months…

• Hope in A Hopeless World @ Wagga Baptist Church – Saturday 20^th September $30…Talk to Leonie for details
• Wagga Women’s Prayer Retreat @ St Martin’s College CSU – Tuesday through Saturday 18^th – 22^nd November (details @ this link Wagga Retreat Brochure 2025.pdf )

6. ADVANCE WARNING – Sunday 28^th September is the annual Lake-to-Lake Run-n-Ride. We’re not doing the water station this year…too many of us away on the morning, BUT WE WILL HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER @ 12:00 midday in the Guide Hall & have our usual guided Bible Study around the texts for the day & table communion as is our custom on those days. Bring some food to share & we’ll have a great day together.

Other than that…I still have a van & a car for sale. Yes…I’d sell either or both. Good condition…we just have too many at the moment. It’s funny really…but I’d like to get them to someone else.

Keep praying!

See you along the way & then in worship!

John