Dear friends

I wanted to share with you my experience and some thoughts I had during my visits to different churches as a part of my curacy training. 

During the introduction that Victor was giving about the churches he is in charge off, he started with the positive thoughts saying about the people who come regularly and their commitment towards church activities, their vision and their future’s plan. However, there are lots of problems too but the way the Vicar was explaining to us it was very inspiring, positive, and blessed. He was there to give good news amidst a lot of problems around the area he is in but still, still had a smile and hope in Christ. 

Church congregations were very positive and full of hope too, I think because the church leader was very hopeful and positive. If you are in a leading position not just as a leader of the church but leader of your house, job or in any other position. Friends, remember, with God there are no hopeless situations but because we are human, we have grown hopeless about them. It’s when there is nothing more, we can do that we start trusting God to do the impossible. The crisis we are experiencing today, may be a blessing in disguise; an opportunity to experience God’s ‘unfolding grace’ and a greater degree of God’s power at work in our life. As we all were reminded about God’s provision during the madness. Also, I think that when we are under pressure, our faith grows, and God knows exactly how much pressure to apply to let us get to a different place. 

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-17)

May, God will continue to bless the work of our hands and His favour will be upon us; in Jesus’ mighty name I pray.
Have a blessed day.

Rev Kathreen Shahbaz

Dear friends,

I hope you all are doing well. I had a polite reminder last week from my best friend that I have the power  to overcome all my negative feelings. When we were worshipping on Sunday singing the song: 

“I’ve got the power; you’ve got the power”

We all have the power to make a difference in this world of ours. When we were singing that song, I have had a feeling of confirmation and reminder that we all have the power from God to defeat all the negative thoughts, things really hurt us and worries we have for ourselves and for our family. We all have the power to overcome in the name of the Lord, and since it is voting day today, a reminder for all of us that, we all have power to choose the right person for the right reason for the right place.

Once we know we can make a difference we can use our power to make the right and wise decision and we all can use our power for the right purpose.

We just also make sure we don’t abuse the power we have because the power we have has been given to us through Christ our saviour.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3)

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for opening the eyes of our understanding to the authority that we have as your children. Help us to always walk in that power and authority. Amen

Don't Let the Devil steal your Joy.
Have a blessed, safe and powerful day in Christ.

Rev Kathreen Shahbaz

Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (Which means Teacher). John 20:16

Dear friends,

Hope you all are doing well, back to routines, but with the new prospects, new hope, and new plans. Of course we all heard, read, and reflect on all gospels regarding the resurrection of Christ our saviour. There are many characters in the Bible, I do admire them a lot, but fewer of them really impacted and left the footprints in my life. Don’t worry friends I know you all are very busy; therefore, I will share with you only one character and that is the character of Mary Magdalene.

According to Luke 8:1-3, Mary Magdalene was one of several women who travelled with Jesus and his disciples and gave them material support. She was a very faithful follower of Jesus Christ not only in Christ’s life but even after His death. She was the first woman Jesus appeared after his resurrection. There are many things and facts about her life but for me her faithfulness with Christ leads her to see Christ. She was very faithful even when everyone was hopeless and they were living in a fearful and hopeless situation, she was still looking for Christ. Wow!!!!!!

Mary found a live Christ in her life; however, she did not recognise her until Jesus called her by name. Before that she was upset, overwhelmed by grief and on the top, she could not even find the dead body of her Christ. It seems too much to take, how many times we are in the same situation, or we could relate our world in this situation or someone we know well. One thing after another, things and troubles seems never ends in our life, tears just don’t stop and in this situation. We some time become very hopeless and don’t recognise the person who can really comfort us and love us. Mary was talking with Jesus but did not recognise until He called her by name.

Friends, here Jesus called Mary by her name but in Isaiah 43:1, tell us that we all have been called by our name too. It reads..

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; 
I have called you by name, you are mine.

No matter what situation we are in, God is with us, He redeemed us and called us His own.

So, be encouraged and be happy.

Rev Kathreen Shahbaz

Dear friends,

Hope you all are doing well, reflecting on Lent season and looking forward for the resurrection day/ Easter Day. Just wanted to share with you some thoughts I got from one of the prayer resources I used for years as my daily devotion and reflection time with God. This is from Lectio 365. It is based on Matthew 26:69-72.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again, he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’

Throughout the Gospels, Peter has been this passionate, all-or-nothing man of action, always up for it; often willing to take risks. He was the only disciple who got out of the boat in a storm to walk on water with Jesus. But now fear and pressure descend on Peter, and he seems to forget who he really is. He does what he promised with Jesus he would never do in his life. Peter must have been feeling not just frightened, but shocked and confused. This is not what Peter expected to happen to the Messiah. He expected Jesus to take a physical throne and overthrow Israel’s oppressors. Now here everything Peter believed, was being shaken.

Yes, Peter denied Jesus, but according to Matthew 26:73-75. Peter went outside and wept bitterly. Peter’s tears are a beautiful reflection of his deep love for Jesus, even in his weakness and fear. It is a devastating movement of coming face to face with himself. Yet Peter must have allowed this experience to shape and transformed him deeply, because in the future it is his courage and boldness that cause people to recognise him as a man who had been with Jesus.

So, that was Peter he is one out of many favourite disciples, now the thought was for me or for all of us that are we feeling under pressure or fearful in any area of our life? In that fear is that leading us to speak or act differently from who God made us to be? We think now of those who we know well around our community or who live in places around the world where they are living in fear, oppressed, and persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Let’s pray for ourselves and for others that may, Lord gives us power of His Holy Spirit that we may overcome from any fear we have in our lives. And always remember to come to the Lord with our guilt like Peter, as his tears transformed his life.  Our gracious God is always ready to accept us as we are. So, let's come to the Lord as we are. Amen.

Lots of love and blessings.

Rev Kathreen Shahbaz

Dear friends,

Sunshine is coming more and more out and inside of our homes, doors and windows, and everyone seems happy that spring is here. Also, we are in Lenten season as well as spring. I am very grateful to God for this house, when I open my door and windows, I can see the beautiful view of the park with the beautiful and colourful flowers are popping out from the ground. Few weeks ago, there wasn’t any signs of that beauty we can see now. I was really struck and thought that our lives are just like this ground. When the ground accepts the light comes into the soil, it will break the barrier of the ground and come out with the beautiful and colourful flowers.

If we wait patiently, walk, and hope in Christ and let God’s light comes in our life for good things no one can stop us to achieve what we believe. Things can be very tricky and seem hard at times but once we achieve what we hope and believe then the tear of joy just comes automatically. In John’s gospel chapter 1 verses 4 and 5 tell us.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

We know the darkness of this broken world, and of course we know the reasons as well. If we don’t switch on the light in our room, we will live in the dark because the ON/OFF button is in our control. There is electricity available in our home but to get the benefit from electricity we need to do some action and hit the ON button. Open the windows and pull the curtains to get the sunshine in. We need to take the barrier away and accept the light of Christ in our hearts, in our lives, in our community and in our dark world because we know that the light shines in the darkness. If we live in darkness how come, we will have hope to bring the light into our dark world. In this Lent may we reflect in our personal life and pray that this one of my favourites prayer of St. Francis of Assisi’s pray become true meaning in our lives and we all take part to bring peace, love, hope, joy, and light in the darkness.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
where there is injury, pardon; 
where there is doubt, faith; 
where there is despair, hope; 
where there is darkness, light; 
where there is sadness, joy. 
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 
to be consoled as to console, 
to be understood as to understand, 
to be loved as to love. 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Lots of love and blessings.

Rev Kathreen Shahbaz