People do not live by chocolate alone

The season of Lent is now upon us. Lent is the 46-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.   It is an opportunity to pause, reflect and spend time with God in the lead up to Easter when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross and celebrate His resurrection. 

It is also a time when we can give something up like chocolate or Facebook; (except on Sundays which are exempt) and focus on helping others.  Lent was inspired by the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).     During that time Jesus fasted, and it was in his hunger that the devil came and tried to tempt Him to turn stones into bread for him to eat.   Resisting temptation, Jesus replied: “It is written people do not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from mouth of God.”  (Matthew 4:4.)  

Jesus is saying that although it is important for us to eat solid food to sustain our bodies, it is far more important to have spiritual food for our souls and this comes from God through His word – the Bible.  So, when we feel tempted to eat that bit of chocolate, why not reflect on Jesus’ words and replace the word “bread” with that thing we have given up to help us overcome our withdrawal symptoms: “People do not live by...[Maltesers (Hmm I love them) or Facebook]...alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” It worked for Jesus, and it can work for us.   

Blessings Pastor Robert and the Headcorn Baptist church family 

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Where do you feel closest to God?

It could be at home or in the garden, it could be in a church or perhaps a special place in the country you like to visit where you sense God’s closeness. This question came to mind one day as I took off in a Tiger moth biplane at Duxford as a gift for my fortieth birthday.

It was beautiful day, not a cloud in the deep blue sky, and you could see for miles over the Cambridgeshire countryside. 

The 15-minute flight, which included a barrel roll and an opportunity to take the controls was certainly memorable, became even more so as we came into land. A sudden gust of wind caught us on our final approach, and we did a Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb landing. So, to answer the question, while you might think I felt closer to God in the air, I felt closer to God in my landing! 

While we cannot see or touch God in those hairy moments, Psalm 139 gives us reassurance of his loving presence. 

He knows when we sit down and when we get up and when we go out and when we lie down. He knows all our ways. He knows what words we are about to say before we even utter them. He hems us in and surrounds us with his protection. God lays his hand upon us: He does this in such a way that we cannot go from His Spirit or flee from his presence. When we fly up to the heavens he is there; when we are making our bed in the depths, He is there. We can rise up on the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea, but God knows exactly where we are, and His hands guide us and hold us fast. Wherever we go and whatever we do God is everywhere and all we have to do is trust him that he will help us, and he does so.

Blessings and prayers for safe and happy landings in 2025. 

Pastor Robert on behalf of Headcorn Baptist Church.