{"id":2140,"date":"2019-02-08T19:38:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T19:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/?p=2140"},"modified":"2019-10-02T15:30:56","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T14:30:56","slug":"ministers-letter-february-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-february-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister’s Letter – February 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.<\/em><\/strong>
(1<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> Corinthians 10:31 NIVUK)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I was really struggling to find inspiration for this month\u2019s letter; but thanks to a walk, God gave me some!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I had to pick up a parcel at the local Royal Mail Depot. I thought about jumping in the car, and the journey would have taken around 10 minutes in total. But, it was a nice day (sunny, but cold) and the combination of a quieter-than-usual morning plus a serious need to improve my health meant I decided to just walk there any back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On this walk, not only did I achieve over 7000 of my 10,000 daily-step target, but I also managed the following:
\u00b7\u00a0Bumped into and caught up with a couple of congregation members;
\u00b7\u00a0Helped a lost lady find the place she was looking for (with some assistance from my smart phone!);
\u00b7\u00a0Invested in a local business by picking up some messages on my way past;
\u00b7\u00a0Spent some time in prayer (with my eyes open, of course);
\u00b7\u00a0Planned the structure of the sermon for Sunday coming;
\u00b7\u00a0Planned this month\u2019s congregational letter (in my head, and which I am now typing);\u00b7\u00a0Oh, and picked up the parcel, which was my whole reason for being out!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As I reflected on all this, I was reminded of our verse of the year: \u201cwhatever you do, do it all for the glory of God\u201d. So much of my walk had involved God: in those chance meetings with people, to the time I was able to spend \u201cin His company\u201d thinking and praying about things. It was, for me, a tangible example of one thing I hope we can realise this year: that we can and are to glorify God in all things we do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Yet, this walk also reminded me that this also happens \u201cin the other direction\u201d, so to speak. Not only are we to glorify God in all that we do: God can and will use even the most ordinary circumstances for His glory!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I don\u2019t think it was a coincidence that I decided to walk to get that parcel. I believe God lead me to that decision, and in doing so, used my ordinary walk for His glory: as I spent time with Him, but also encountered others along the way, hopefully showing something of Him in our interactions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I want to, therefore, encourage you to continue to seek to glorify God in all you do, but also to realise that God can use all circumstances and situations, even the mundane and every-day, for His glory. Don\u2019t ever believe that you are too insignificant or dull to ever be of use to God: He can and will use all things and all people for His glory \u2013 even a walk to pick up a parcel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

May God bless you,

Stuart<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.(1st Corinthians 10:31 NIVUK) I was really struggling to find inspiration for this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[288],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministers-letters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1400%2C786&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8z2vw-yw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":978,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-feb-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":2140,"position":0},"title":"Minister’s Letter – Feb 2017","author":"Graham Shankland","date":"18 February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear friends, I hope that this monthly letter finds you well. It\u2019s difficult to believe a month has passed since I last wrote! This month, there are two things I wish to share with you in this letter. The first is to say that Ruth and I continue to feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2021,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-november-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":2140,"position":1},"title":"Minister’s Letter – November 2018","author":"admin","date":"11 November 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord\u2019s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 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It is often one of the most basic questions a person can ask. Children will ask things like, \u201cwhy is the sky\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Minister's Letters"","block_context":{"text":"Minister's Letters","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/ministers-letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1972,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-september-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":2140,"position":3},"title":"Minister’s Letter – September 2018","author":"Stuart Love","date":"18 September 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! 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