Yesterday at Alpha, Anne Coles gave a talk on why and how we should we read the Bible.
To illustrate how God speaks to us through the Bible, she told the story of when John (her husband) and she first came to St Barnabas, it was full of senior citizens and dead . They had high hopes on growing the church, but after 2 years, nothing had changed and they were feeling disheartened
Then God gave Anne a scripture to give them hope…
Jeremiah 33: 10 – 11
"This is what the LORD says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted (to Anne that meant North Finchley area), inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying,
"Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD.
Today, 20 years later, it is easy to see that this scripture has been fulfilled in St B’s. We have a diverse congregation of various nationalities, ages (although I suspect the average age is about 25 years old), worship is vibrant, and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit is real! New believers are added to our numbers every week. We’ve sent out missionaries around London and to various parts of the world. Lots of marriages take place…
After the talk, I casually asked Anne for the Scriptural reference,
“Jeremiah 33:10….So you want to get married do you?”
I was taken off guard because… yes… that’s exactly what I’d been thinking
“Urrm, that’s part of the plan for my life… what I’m hoping for... that Scripture applies to me”
“That's true, I’ll pray for that for you Kim”
And you know what, she will!
But how discerning of Anne eh?
