Thought of the Week

This is a new venture on the GMCPA site and it not yet fully up-and-running. The idea is that each week a new "Thought of the Week" will be posted onto the site and displayed during that week on the front page of the site. This will be a short piece, possibly inspired by or relating to a verse of Scripture (or something else), and usually inspirational in tone.

This page will give access to all of archive of "previous" Thoughts. Although the intention is that one person will be responsible for most of the Weekly pieces, it may well be that they will be able to persuade some others from the CPA (or a "guest" thinker) to contribute a piece from time to time. If you feel you would like to get involved in this side of the site (on a regular basis or as a "one-off") then please contact the WebWeaver.

This Week's Thought

For week commencing Sunday 18th November 2007

'I bought EVERY flashing Santa hat in Leigh .....

It's true.

The other day I went out and bought every single flashing red Santa hat in Leigh and I know you are just asking "WHY" ????

For the police Christmas carol service in Wigan we have two schools who bring their children to sing during the service and I always buy small gifts for them to say thank you. But the real problem is what to buy them because there are some fairly strict guidelines:

You can't buy them sweets / chocolate because of nut allergy.

You can't give them anything with religious symbolism attached.

You can't give them anything sharp (which inlcudes metal pens) in case they stab each other with them ...... and the list goes on !

This year I decided on bright red Santa hats with battery powered LED lights which flashed 'Merry Christmas'when turned on.

How I got to this point was sheer frustration after wandering round for an hour or so trying to find suitable gifts for the children. I had tried all sorts of things, in many different shops, but just could not find either the right thing - or enough of them (we had 60 kids singing at the service). After wandering round in circles for ages I ended up in a shop I would not have thought to go in at all but there I found 60 lovely red, flashing, Santa hats - perfect !

As I was queuing up to pay I met a man I'd not seen around town for years, he is horribly scarred from fighting and had a freshly broken nose, black eyes and half his top lip was missing from an untreated sore. He used to be part of the congregation at one of our local free churches, and at one time had starred as the hero member of the public who detained a would be rapist in the street, but he had been convicted of some serious offences and spent several years in prison.

In the shop people were visibly moving out of his way and he looked lost and confused. I went up to him and we started to talk with a gradually growing space around us and me with an armful of Santa hats. He explained what had happened and that he felt he had nothing left, after spending years in prison and losing his friends in the town, but I asked him about his church friends and asked if he had seen any of them. He just looked down and asked how he could go back after what had happened and so I talked to him about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son.

At one time he knew his bible as well as I do and as we talked he seemed to remember the promises Jesus made when he taught through the parables and, hardly saying goodbye, he turned and walked out of the shop saying over his shoulder he was going to find 'so and so' from church and call in at the Pastor's house to say hello.

Now I know why I was led to this particular shop, and the red Santa hats (which went down really well with the kids), but it made me think about the random set of events that led me to that particular shop at that particular time. We are all called to witness to the gospel, and to live our lives as Christ did, and perhaps this also means to be alert to the seemingly random nature of our lives. I know I was really frustrated in Leigh when I was searching from shop to shop looking for gifts but the truth was God was leading me to where He wanted me.

Over this Christmas period I beg you please, watch out for the random frustrations and seemingly wasted times, and look for God's purpose in them - how are you being called to minister in that situation and at that time ?

With much love in Christ

Steve

Previous Thoughts of the Week

For week commencing Sunday 11th November 2007

The Depths of Dispair ?

Reference: Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a section of scripture I often use, it reminds us that God knew of us - and loved us - from before the dawn of time, literally before the creation of our universe, before the start of time as we know it.

This has been brought into new perspective for me recently whilst talking to people in our parish who are going through some really tough times, and in particular with a couple where one partner is facing life-threatening surgery.

I went to see them knowing what they are facing but expecting them to be reasonably well prepared, they are Christians of many years experience of the close and personal love of our magnificent healing God, however I was blown away with just exactly how chilled they were.

This couple know that over the next few weeks one of them has to face a series of progressively more invasive investigations which may well lead to very, very serious heart surgery. However when I got there they were laughing and joking, making me coffee and talking about their children, yet still very realistic about the prospects for them as individuals and as a family.

Even facing serious disability for one partner, and their very possible death, they both remained genuinely peaceful and excited about the future. Talking to them over a couple of hours this deep sense of peace never slipped, or was exposed as ‘false bravado’, but just remained rock solid and focussed on God.

They explained that they had had time to pray together about the future, to face up to what might happen, but then in prayer to be reminded of the certainty of God’s love for them as individuals and as a family.

It was the peace that came from this assurance, they used the word ‘guarantee’, that allowed them to be very realistic about the future whilst remaining utterly convinced that God would protect and care for them, whatever that might actually mean would happen over the coming weeks.

This was no blasé ‘God will look after me’ sort of faith but the result of a deep and close relationship with the Creator who is worshipped in Psalm 139.

Please, please read it again today.

Yours in Christ, Steve

For week commencing Sunday 30th September 2007

One God - A God of Love ?

Reference: Romans 12:9 - 11
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

It is the Chaplains AGM this coming week, a meeting where the Senior Chaplain extends an invitation to members of the various Senior Leadership Teams to join us for a meal and discussions - the invitation is not always accepted ………. !!!

In the busy, secular, world of today’s policing our senior leaders have a huge amount of work to do and a very limited amount of time to fit it in. One friend of mine, a senior leader in our force, is working 70 hours a week just to meet the demands of their role, so I can understand that taking the time out to spend an afternoon with the clergy is not high on many people’s agenda.

However I was stopped in the yard the other day by one of our Chief Inspectors who said that there had been a scramble to be the divisional representative this year and so I asked him why.

What he said was that it was not the lunch, though it is always a good spread, that was the draw but the relationship between the chaplains he wanted to see again. He explained that the last time he had been to one of our meetings he had witnessed a room with several Christian clergy in it alongside an Imam, a Hindu priest, a Jewish Rabbi and a Buddhist monk all happily working together and even, say it very quietly, enjoying a joke at one another’s expense !

It was this spirit of camaraderie, of friendship and of care and concern for each other, across faiths and traditions that he wanted to see again. Sadly he then contrasted it with the world around him – of one faith tradition set against another, of continuing war in the Middle East and of the deepening chasm in the Anglican Communion.

It was with this in mind that I returned to two bits of scripture – Acts 4:12 which I believe with all my heart but also Romans 12: 9 – 11 where we are commanded to be ‘devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves’.

I know in Paul’s letter here he is talking about brotherly love between believers in Christ but I also think it extends beyond divisions in our church and between world faiths.

I sincerely believe that Christ was, and is, the Son of God, our only Saviour and the ONLY route to salvation and eternal life with God. However that does not stop me respecting, working with, supporting and encouraging our fellow humans who are sincere in their faith or in their Christian tradition. In our diverse society I suggest it is this openness, not to believe anything one wants, but to respect what others believe that allows us to have a robust Christian faith and yet to integrate into our ever changing world.

‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord’

yours in Christ,
Steve

For week commencing Sunday 16th September 2007

7/11 God ?

Reference: Matthew 6:5

'for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.'

I have been working a lot of night duty recently, covering for colleagues who are off sick or on courses, as well as some pre-planned duties from months ago.

What this has meant though is that I have been sleeping whilst many of the shops that I would normally use are open, and that they are closed when I am sufficiently awake enough to risk driving. As a result I have done quite a bit of shopping 'on line' this last few weeks, and not just the regular groceries or e-Bay type stuff, but some unusual items as well.

What struck me was the ease and choice of finding things I would normally have driven into Manchester, Wigan or Bolton for - such as violin music for my son's lessons or spare parts for my crashed radio controlled helicopter. On-line catalogues, downloadable PDF files of prices and a choice of suppliers from all over the world were there at the click of a button with the goods delivered to your door the next day.

What it made me think was that the traditional view of God is a bit like my traditional view of shopping. There's only one shop in a nearby town that sells what you want and you have to make a special journey there to see if it's in stock.

I think people often see God in this way. You have to make a weekly trip to meet Him, to a special place and even then He might not have what you want after you've made the journey !

God is not on the internet, though there are many good places on the web to learn more about Him, nor can you meet Jesus at the click of a mouse button, but you can come to God through prayer at any time.

For those of you who remember the old Martini advert our God is available 'any time, any place, anywhere' - and not just Sundays in church !

Another point to remember as well is that God ALWAYS has what we need in stock and available for immediate delivery, even if it's not what we want at the time, and He never struggles with postal strikes or once a day deliveries !

I would in all seriousness encourage you to support your local shops as there are many pressures on local and specialist retailers, not least of which in the sphere of Christian books, and the increased use of the web is forcing many places to close. However I beg of you not to treat God like that nice speciality delicatessan you can only get to now and again, but to make the effort and spend quality time each day with Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

Steve

For week commencing Sunday 9th September 2007

'Copters for Christ !

My friend Eric, one of the ministers in our church, and I share a secret passion - we both fly radio controlled helicopters. We're hooked and it's a real adrenalin rush because with an electric helicopter you get about 15 minutes of hovering, or about 8 minutes of other flight, before the battery dies and needs charging. We've both learned to make the most of the time we have in the garden with our helicopters and the concentration needed is extreme.

To make the heli take off you have to increase the throttle and collective pitch with one hand, whilst balancing the forward and backwards, and left and right, movements with the other. To make it hover is a constant task of juggling these controls and it takes utter concentration, or you crash.

To make the thing fly forward you have to make the nose dip, by pushing your right joystick forward, whilst gently increasing the revs / collective with your left joystick and to make it stop you do the reverse !

Whilst learning to fly you crash - all the time, and it gets disheartening.

But when you master hovering, then flying forward and backwards - the feeling is fantastic. Truly fantastic - and then there's more - spins, tail loops, hammerhead turns, flying in the house because it's raining (whilst my wife is out !!!).

It struck me tonight that flying the helicopter is a bit like prayer. At first you seem to crash a lot, and you need to concentrate - utterly concentrate, just to spend a few moments with God. But when you get it right the feeling is awesome, truly awesome ! And then there's more - praying at work, praying whilst driving, praying with others, praying for others, praying in the house (with my wife and our kids !!!).

To fly a real helicopter you have to use both hands, and your feet, at the same time - with them all doing differant movements; left hand up and down, left hand twisting the throttle, right hand moving the contol column forward, backwards left and right, and both feet moving at the same time but in opposite directions.

Radio control helicopters are a lot easier to fly, but still tricky, however the rewards are fantastic.

We all need to pray, it's the primary way we communicate with our wonderful, loving, creator God, but often our lives are like trying to fly a helicopter with everything going in different directions.

But please, please keep trying - however often or hard you crash, because when you get it right ........

With much love in Christ

Steve Wilkinson

For week commencing Sunday 12th August 2007

Burger Man Blues

Reference: Matthew 9:9

Last week I had to get up at the crack of dawn to collect my eldest son from Soul Survivor in Cheshire. After driving down the M6 in the early rush hour traffic I got to the site and waded through the shambles of ‘the morning after the party the night before’.

Most police officers would recognise the scene, half dressed people stumbling round bleary eyed. Piles and piles of bin bags of litter, people hugging each other and saying good-bye and the odd stereo playing a bit too loud for the early morning.

When I found my son amongst the sea of half pitched tents I sat down with him and some of my friends, and listened to a fabulous tale from ‘the night before’.

At Soul Survivor there were burger vans that came onto the site, not connected with the event, but which had licenses to sell food to the people who were there.

On the first night one of the burger van drivers parked up next to a tent playing very loud worship music, but by the Sunday he was coming a bit early each day to make sure he got a pitch near this same tent.

Selling burgers to the people at the event, talking to them and listening to their stories led him say to my friend that ‘he had never been to a Christian festival before and never met people like them anywhere’.

On Tuesday night he was seen in his burger van with his hands in the air singing and praising God, so some of the revellers went and prayed with him.

He left his burger van, went into the tent to join in with the worship and gave his life to Christ that night.

My son said when he came back to his tent at 3.00 am the burger van man was giving out free bread rolls to anyone that walked past, laughing and crying at the same time.

‘As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.’

Jesus still calls people from their ‘booths’, and burger vans, and all that is needed is the right call for the right person at the right time.

If you’re not sure whether Jesus is calling you, maybe you just need to listen for the right music ?

With much love in Christ.

Steve Wilkinson

For week commencing Sunday 5th August 2007

Which do you prefer ?

Reference: Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This is a story of two stories and the first goes like this.

In the beginning there was nothing, and then, for no reason whatsoever there was an explosion and the universe was created. Completely at random the stars and the planets were created and each one had just the right amount of gravity, and spin, and mass so that they followed a particular course through the galaxies.

Because of this wondrous accident one of these planets had, completely randomly, got just the right amount of gravity, and spin and mass that it held together an atmosphere. And in this atmosphere there were just the right combination of chemicals to support life. Also, by complete accident, the planet was just the right distance from the right type of star, spinning at just the right rate, so that the life on this planet had enough heat and light to survive.

Fortunately over the eons this life was able to grow, and change, until millions of years later - by random chance and good luck, it became you and me.

The second story is told like this.

In the beginning there was God and because he wanted to have a relationship with other beings, to enjoy their company, he created the universe and everything in it. Because he wanted to have a relationship with beings that were like him God created you and me in His image. To make sure we had everything we could need to live and enjoy the time we had with God, He made sure that there was water, and heat, and light and food.

Because God wanted us to enjoy our relationship with him, and experience it as fully as possible, he gave us intelligence and emotion, passion and ingenuity, and the freedom to use them as we wished.

Because God loved us we became you and me.

Both are good stories, but which do you prefer ?

With much love in Christ.

Steve Wilkinson

For week commencing Sunday 29th July 2007

What do you day dream about ?

Reference: Matthew 6:20-22
"where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I have just come back from a holiday where, for the first time in many years, I rode a pedal cycle more than just round the garden. What I now realise is that I need a new bike, with gears, and suspension, and disc brakes and, and ....

I keep looking at mountain bikes and have refined my needs, black is important, as is something called 'speedshift' but I don't really know what it is, in fact as I was drifting off to sleep last night I also realised I need.....

On holiday I was reading some books about the Desert Fathers, early monastics who lived in the deserts of Egypt, and who spent their whole time in prayer - often learning and reciting whole books of scripture by heart. They have left us much wise advice on how to keep focused on God, and how not to become distracted by the world around us, and if you have the opportunity the 'Fathers' are well worth reading - not just for the good advice but also because they give loads of reassurance to us all.

Gerard Kelly, speaking at Spring Harvest this year, said if people wanted to know what was really important to them then they should look at what it is they day-dream about, is it a new car, bigger house, more money, sex - or do our thoughts naturally wander to God ? I know I am currently battling with desire for a new bike (perhaps also with a gel saddle to ease my return to regular bike use) and that I should spend more time wondering at the glory of God's creation.

So my first 'thought for the week' then is - 'What do you day dream about ?'

With much love in Christ.

Steve Wilkinson

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