Last night something amazing happened. You've heard of coincidences. Well this was a God-incidence. Yesterday morning, my mum had phoned her friend to ask how she was. This woman's daughter was having computer problems. When she realized it was my mum who was on the phone, she shouted out, "Divine intervention!", because I enjoy solving people's computer problems and I happened to be just the person she needed at that moment in time. I said to my mum that I was the one who needed "Divine intervention" regarding my own situation at the present.

Well later in the day, my friend Helen and I drove down to Newcastle for the special gospel meetings they are having there. We went out for lunch and then went on to the meeting. After the meeting was finished, we drove down to the town where they usually have the open-air meeting. My uncle Desi was directing the traffic going out of the field where the tent is located. I waved to him on the way out. He said later that he had tried to wave me down to get me to stop the car, but I hadn't noticed him. We drove through the town looking for a place to park. I decided to try this car park next to the town hall that my friends had tried earlier in the day when we went to lunch. Normally I wouldn't have gone into this car park. But the car park was full. As we turned to go out, a man waved me down and told me my rear tyre was flat. I thanked him and went to drive on, as I thought I would pump it up when I got parked somewhere. But he stopped me and said I wasn't going to be able to drive anywhere on it, as it was deflated to the point where I was driving on the rim of the wheel. Neither Helen or I had even noticed the flat tyre when we were driving. I got out of the car and opened the boot to get my pump out to start pumping up the flat tyre. The man said I was wasting my time pumping it up as it was probably wrecked inside, and asked if I had a spare tyre and a jack. I said I had a spare tyre, but no jack. We both looked in the boot but couldn't find it. It later turned out that the jack was hidden in a secret compartment in the boot. We were completely stuck. I started to panic and rummage around looking for a jack that I knew wasn't there. At that instant a police car turned into our full carpark. This kind man flagged them down and told the police officers the situation. The police man and woman stepped out of the car. The police man pulled a toolkit out of the boot of his car, and a pneumatic jack. The police woman said normally they wouldn't have this type of jack with them, because there is only one of these per police station. This man and the police officer proceeded to take off the flat tyre and put on the spare, something which I could not have done myself. They asked me where I came from and why I was in Newcastle. And I told them I was from Bangor, which is around 40 miles away, and that I was down for the tent meetings. The police woman later said they had only stopped in the car park to get a chip across the road.

I was completely amazed, and humbled, at everything that had happened... me choosing that particular car park, the man stopping me at that precise moment, the police coming in at that instant and having a jack they wouldn't normally carry around with them. Had that flat tyre not been discovered, there is no telling what could have happened on those narrow country roads. I didn't deserve a miracle, but the Lord has preserved me. I ought to trust Him more.

Psalm 36:5-7
Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Ecclesiastes 7:10
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

Sorry I haven't updated the website recently. I haven't been feeling particularly spiritual lately. On Thursday I had started looking back on my life, questioning in my mind why some things hadn't worked out like I had expected them to, and wondering why former days seemed a lot better than the way things are now. I was thinking of the time when there were a lot more people in our assembly, and how things weren't so much of a struggle then as they are now. I remembered some of the children that have come through the Sunday School in past years, and the great times we had with them. I started to look at what others were doing, how they were having great success in witnessing to others about the Lord, and how they had lots of friends to hang about with. And I started wondering why I haven't been much of a success at doing anything for God. My meditation was slowly turning into despair. I felt empty inside, without motivation. I still feel a little bit like that, and I have felt like that for the past few weeks on and off. But I realized something this morning. You just can't look at things like that. God has a unique plan for each one of us, and if we are trusting in Him to guide us in our lives, then we have to believe that He has us exactly where He wants us to be. If we don't believe that, then we are doubting God's Word.

Paul said in Philippeans 3:13-14, "this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus". Sometimes we need to forget about our past, and forget about the "raw deal" that life has given us. If anybody had raw deals to complain about, it was Paul. Look at the number of things He suffered for Jesus Christ. 2nd Corinthians 11:23-27, "in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness". We may not be asked to suffer in the manner Paul did, but our attitude ought to be the same. Our lives mightn't be what we had hoped they would be. So what? God doesn't ask for ability, all He asks for is availability. And He doesn't demand success, all He requires is faithfulness. As Solomon said, don't ask yourself why former days were better than these. So I hope that I will stop fretting about what might have been, and not worry about future success or failure, but just press on for the Lord in whatever He would have me to do, until He come. Amen.

I apologize for the website being down today. It seems that either the database running the website crashed or else we came under some sort of cyber attack. Thankfully the web host has got the site up and running again, which is an answer to prayer. This definately seems to be a time for the trial of one's faith... Computer's going down in work, satanic dreams and now problems with the website.

1st Peter 1:6-7
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ