From the January-March 2010 Issue
News from Northern Ireland
Tom McKendry
It is a cause of great amazement to me that so often we allow ourselves to be dictated to by the strangest of notions. One such notion came to my mind recently during a prayer time. It relates to past blessings. It may be that you have prayed or heard it prayed, or said or had it said to you that “past blessings are not sufficient for today”. (This comes from the text of Scripture that relates to the daily gathering of the manna by the people of God as recorded in Exodus 16:11-26). Now in one context this is certainly true, but in another it is quite wrong. For example, the preacher has no justification for thinking that past blessing on his ministry will allow him to slacken his effort in the matter of prayerful, careful industry in the matter of sermon preparation. In this context the above statement is true. But it is very wrong to think that past blessings are of no profit for the present. Scripture does not contradict itself anywhere. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth is essential for right living. We are to remember. We are to recall the past. Scripture teaches this again and again. In the book of Deuteronomy alone there are fourteen references to remembering the blessings of God and in particular, deliverance from the tyranny of Egypt. The mercy of God must never be thought of in terms of the first five days of manna gathering, but of the sixth day which supplied for the seventh also. The words of John Newton capture this principle wonderfully well:
His love in times past
Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last
In trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.
My remembrance of the past year is presently a great source of blessing to me. In March we had a visit from Jörg Müller (Germany), in May Sándor Kelemen (Romania), in September Manuel Franco (Spain). At the end of September and the first week in October I was in Romania, and then we had José Moreno from Spain at the end of October, whose week of deputation included speaking at the EMF Autumn Conference. It has been a most beneficial year in every way. Meeting these good brethren and spending time in deputation and in conversation with them, and then to visit Romania, has given me so much to remember and thank God for.
Each of the men who visited brought with them something of uniqueness that has left its mark. The great God we worship has created a world of great diversity. The new creation is also great in its diversity. The men who have visited have given clear evidence of this in both personality and culture. Yet, different as they are in many ways, the one thing that is common to all is the unique, unmistakable grace of God in each one.
In 2010 we expect Jan Hábl from the Czech Republic during the month of February and José de Segovia from Spain in May. Arrangements for those coming later in the year are still on-going.
Each passing year brings with it diverse experiences, each carries its own blessing. Some arrive under a dark providence, others a bright providence, but one thing is sure, we are compelled to benefit from them all. Sometimes the sweetest Ebenezer is painfully extracted from the bitterest experience. Let us remember that the Christian’s great hope for the present and the future, rests firmly established in the past. Those words spoken by our glorious Saviour, “It is finished”, call us to remembrance that He made an end of all our sin, and that the good work begun in us is sure to be brought to completion by the God who remembers His Eternal Covenant.