SUNDAY 29TH MARCH 2020
GOD STILL REIGNS! All week I have had an old Salvation Army chorus stuck in my head: God is still on the throne And He will remember His own; Though trials may press us and burdens distress us, He never will leave us alone. God is still on the throne, And He will remember His own; His promise is true, He will not forget you; God is still on the throne. It’s good to remember that in a time of what seems like complete chaos, God is still over all things. My week started off in a meeting at CnES, as it will next week, in a meeting of minds in the Care for People committee. Rest assured there are a lot of agencies working in partnership with the Health Board and the Council to bring about the best provision of care for all members of society during this pandemic. The Salvation Army in Stornoway have continued to respond to need this week by giving out a number of groceries, toiletries and sanitary items (see picture below). People have both visited the hall to take things home as well as people who are in isolation phoning for some help. Those who have phoned have been provided for by a number of safe home deliveries. It would be remiss of me not to thank Murdo Gray at this point who, thanks to his locality to the hall, has been able to be with me at the hall each time I have opened and given valuable support. The Crown Inn provided for us some frozen meals this week too, which along with some of our own supplies, has enabled us to provide over 60 frozen meals for families and individuals along with all the food parcels this week. We have also encountered many desperate parents looking for nappies and baby wipes as the supermarket shelves remain bare. Remarkably, we have been able to provide even though we haven’t been able to restock. I thank God that even when I’ve felt we’ve been running out, we’ve always had what we needed to help those who have asked. Please keep praying we will continue to be able to. I speak in my thought this week from the book of Lamentations and it’s introduction of Jeremiah beholding a once busy city with empty streets. We will have seen similar pictures on the TV of the cities of our nation this week. Jeremiah discovers in the chaos God’s eternal faithfulness, I have discovered that God still reigns, he is still on the throne!
The Salvation Army Stornoway Corps 59 Bayhead Stornoway HS1 2DZ
“We exist to worship God, to support each other and to serve our community. ” REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 214779 AND IN SCOTLAND: SC009359
Corps Officers Lts. Callum & Emma Newton Callum.newton@salvationarmy.org.uk
Telephone: 01851 703875 Mobile: 07493 880058
@stornowaysalvationarmy
Something to listen to...
Sunday meetings this week will again be led by Major Andrew Stone at 11:00am and by Marc Harry at 6:00pm. Listen online at www.fortressradio.online (Broadcasting music all week).
Boscombe Corps produce regular recordings of their Sunday meetings and Majors David and Jane Alton are continuing to provide a Sunday Worship recording while the Corps cannot meet in the usual way. You may enjoy listening to one of their recordings, past and present, as part of your own worship time at home. http://www.boscombesalvatio narmy.org.uk/church/morning -worship/
While the author of Lamentations remains nameless within the book, both Jewish and Christian tradition ascribe it’s authorship to the prophet Jeremiah. “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! ” (Lamentations 1:1) begins the book of Lamentations. Rather than being in the grips of lockdown, Jeremiah referred to the city of Jerusalem which had been destroyed by a Babylonian invasion in 586 BC. Jeremiah walked through the streets and alleys of the Holy City and saw nothing but pain, suffering, and destruction in the wake of the invasion. The raw emotion of Jeremiah is expressed throughout Lamentations pages. Jeremiah pictured himself captured in a besieged city, without anyone to hear his prayers, and as a target for the arrows of the enemy (3:7–8, 12). Then he tells of how in this seemingly hopeless situation, he could still find hope in the Lord. Jeremiah poetically describes the great troubles and afflictions he is facing; poor health (3:4), emotional strain (3:5), depression (3:6), anxiety (3:7), abandonment (3:8), confusion (3:9), humiliation (3:14), turmoil (3:17), despair (3:18). Perhaps there are some of these which you can relate to yourself. I think all of these are prevalent in our current society as we watch the afflictions of the world from a locked in position. Our times are hard just now, just as Jeremiah was describing the mental anguish of his time, it is also the reality for people at this time. This is why what Jeremiah says next is so important for us to hear. Lamentations 3: “21Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Jeremiah felt very weak and what the Lord revealed to him is even if we fail, God’s love never fails. The Lord’s mercies and compassions, they fail not ever. He loves us with an unfailing love, new each morning with abounding blessings. God’s words to us are new every morning. Even in our restricted, perhaps even monotonous at the moment, lives, God wants to insert daily freshness. And He will if we will allow Him to. Pray and use your Bibles daily. He is faithful and when we are afflicted, we realise how faithful He is. In our weakness, His strength is made perfect. Hold on to the hope found in Christ Jesus. 31
For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. 32Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone. You, like me, having read those words are probably already singing Thomas Chisholm’s hymn featured on the next page. There is no heart wrenching back story to the hymn, just the reflective wisdom that throughout all of life’s ups and downs, God never once failed him. Neither will he ever fail you. Chisholm wrote, "My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness."
When all of this is over, and it will be over, I hope that we will all have some form of testimony from the experience. A testimony that tells of how in our time of anxiety, worry, sadness, or anything that inflicts your soul, Jesus was there. Revealed new each morning with great faithfulness, and I pray that we may know that providing care that fills us with astonishing gratefulness too. There are still many who are continuing through this time without the hope we share. They continue to wrestle with fear, despair and darkness. All the things they might usually turn to in order to help their anguish are in many cases being taken away as the community closes down. We need to share with them the great source of hope and assurance. Be in contact with people around you and people you know, all over the country. Assure them of your prayers and share your hope in the knowledge that God is faithful, his compassions never fail and that he will have the final word.
Prayer Focus Lord Jesus Christ, you taught us to love our neighbour, and to care for those in need as if we were caring for you. In this time of anxiety, give us strength to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick, and to assure the isolated of our love, and your love, for your name’s sake. Amen. Please remember in your prayers… • Our NHS staff and other key workers on the islands, particularly those of our own membership we know. • Those who are suffering from COVID-19 and all those who are isolated by it. • Those who are alone and afraid during the lockdown period. • Food suppliers and hauliers in their efforts to stock and provide for us. • Our corps as we seek to respond well to the developing situation. • Lt. Callum as he speaks at meetings with key responders and the local authority.
S.A. Songbook 26 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with thee; Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided; Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. 2. Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Something to watch... Why not relive some great blessings and happy memories from the UK and Ireland Territory’s 2013 Congress. Featuring great music, great testimony and great preaching it is a lovely reminder of being together and encouraging others. There’s even puppets! Enjoy singing along, praying and receiving from the spirit of God as you are ministered to. All of the meetings of this congress are available on YouTube so you have three opportunities to enjoy worship this week. Find the first video here and then the others should be easy to find from there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy-uHcMlegU If you don’t want to listen to the preamble, the main meeting starts at 35 minutes in to the video. Skip ahead!
3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!