Can you stand another bit of public confession? I was baptised as a teenager and in a very short space of time. Only days afterwards I found myself in the British Army, called up, and dumped in the middle of a sweating, heaving, cursing mass of humanity whose favourite curse words were the names of the Lord, in whose name I had been baptised. I was told to ‘be a witness’ and put my Bible at my bedside, kneel, and to be seen praying. Well, I didn’t have a bed, let alone a bedside table.Everything you didn’t nail down vanished -sometimes even if you did, the nails went as well.

Confession? I hadn’t got the courage. I was terrified of the mockery.I wanted to be one of the lads. It was all I had. I didn’t know enough, nor believe enough even to consider to try to be a witnessing Christian.Thus the sheer steam-rolling power of the environment and of peer pressure led me to try and be a secret Christian.Of course I didn’t know then that either your faith kills your secret, or your secret kills your faith.I let go of Him. But He never let go of me. He had me by the ear (it’s the only part of myself I ever gave Him) and for over two years he shut doors I lusted to go through.He kept me when I wanted to be lost. I tried my hardest to escape the Jesus I’d said I’d follow.

Well, it all changed. I was given the opportunity of standing up to be counted as one of Christ’s men, and he forced me to my feet in public to speak for Him: and nothing was ever the same again. All the lights came on – God’s programme took over, and plans over which I had no control unfolded with great speed. It was amazing then, and it is still.

Well, I’ve missed out the most staggering preparation for this sequence of events.It was a dream. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. For now, listen to this promise from a prayer of Paul for his beloved Philippians:
“I thank my God every time I remember you.In all my prayers for all of you,I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Philippians 1:3-6

A Prayer:
Today we thank you God that you do not give up on us, even when we try to give up on you.Thank you for your great faithfulness even to your unfaithful people.

Now read Jonah Chapters 1 and 2.