NHCF Blog

Guest Postby Dave GriffithsLife is full of questions. Health, Family, Finance, the Future. And there are deeper questions such as, Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Does life have any purpose?Some of these questions are serious, and some are tremendously important.But the greatest, the ultimate questions, are about God and your relationship to Him.  Nothing in life is more important than this. Good health, financial stability etc. are things that we need, yet, even all of these are temporary and eventually are pointless unless we have a living relationship with God, one that is clear, and certain, and will last forever. God’s reference book, the bible, answers our concerns, and teaches us how to live meaningful lives. Perhaps our first question then is, Is anyone out there ?  This is a fundamental question. If God does not exist, searching for Him is pointless. The Bible states, “Anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists”  (Heb. 11:6).It’s not possible to prove God, in a mathematical sense, but there is a lot of very convincing evidence. Take the universe. To call it an accident, raises many questions, and answers none. The same applies with a Big Bang theory. Where did the materials come from? You can’t make something out of nothing! Evolution is an another idea. How can nothing evolve into something ?Just look at all the earth’s amazing complex forms of life. All these theories are weak, and the only satisfactory answer, is from the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1.)Our world is not a random fluke. The universe was formed at God’s command. (He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm). (Psalm 33:9).Design demands a designer, The Bible tells us who the designer is, “The God who made the world and everything in it, is the Lord of heaven and earth”. (Acts 17:24),The strongest creation evidence is man himself. He is unlike other creatures. Man has something called Personality; he makes intelligent choices. He has a Mind, has Emotion, and a Will.Man has a conscience; he can distinguish between right and wrong, and is capable of Love and Compassion.  Above all, man has an instinct to Worship. All religions want to worship a god.Where did all these qualities come from? No other smart ideas can produce these qualities.The clearest answer is, The Lord God formed man and gave him the breath of life, and man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7)   Man is not an accident; “He is fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).  What is more, he has the characteristics of God.In order to answer all of life’s questions, we need a personal relationship with the Lord, and it’s never too late to have that relationship. Dave Griffiths

by Graham MolThere was a big event in the Mol household this past weekend. Our one dog, Lexi, who was pregnant, gave birth to her litter of puppies. It has been, as the saying goes, a roller coaster ride of emotions with there being complications with the birthing and needing veterinary intervention, to now having 8 happy and growing puppies. Having never gone through this kind of thing before we were nervous. Candice had done a lot of research into what we as owners could do to ensure that we were prepared to look after mother and pups once they arrived. There were a number of things we could do regarding providing a safe place for Lexi to have and look after her puppies but when it came to the daily care of the little ones, mother dog does it all. We all know about the concept of animal instinct, and yet witnessing it at work as our lovable but "doff" doggy became a capable mom right before our eyes, we marvelled at how amazing it really is. How could she just "know" what to do? It seems almost supernatural!Clearly a dog (or any other animal) has not the ability to sit in a class, or do some "googling" to find out how to care for a litter of puppies. Therefore it is essential that she has the inbuilt knowledge within her so that she can successfully raise her young.Where does such knowledge or wisdom come from?Let us consider God's own words to Job:“Can you raise your voice to the clouds    and cover yourself with a flood of water?35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?36 Who gives the ibis wisdom    or gives the rooster understanding?37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?    Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens38 when the dust becomes hard    and the clods of earth stick together?39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness    and satisfy the hunger of the lions40 when they crouch in their dens    or lie in wait in a thicket?41 Who provides food for the raven    when its young cry out to God    and wander about for lack of food?39:1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?2 Do you count the months till they bear?    Do you know the time they give birth?3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;    their labor pains are ended.4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;    they leave and do not return. ( Job 38:34-39:4 NIV )As believers we know that it is God who carefully handcrafted the universe, and in particular our world with all the plants and creatures upon it. He is the one who bestowed such wisdom upon the animals, that instinct to know and do what they should. Although we can observe these behaviours and seek to understand them, I don't think any can quite explain just how it all works. Like many of the awe-inspiring and yet mysterious aspects of creation, the "wisdom" of the animals declares God's…

by Caryl MollI’m not one for serious poetry, but there are a few simple, children’s poems that sit very deeply with me.Some years back, I came across a poem from a children’s book – “WILD CHILD”, by Jeanne Willis. Although I’ve not read the book, I’ve read all its reviews. They are all encouraging. Apparently “Wild Child” is a fictional, children’s story of a spirited, curious, fearless and free child – the last child in a dramatic landscape where anything can happen. The imagery of the poem and the overview of the book transports me straight back to my own childhood – my idyllic Eden – a rural setting where I remember feeling totally free to explore God’s creation – unhindered from the demands of the large, wider world.It brings me to the point of this blogpost…We are all different, made uniquely by God within His overall blueprint. Scripture tells us that we have been ‘knit together in our mother’s womb’. (Ps 139) I believe that it’s our individual characteristics – talents and gifts that God has given us – that make us stand out and thrive. It is these gifts that cause our ‘light to shine’ and make a difference to our world.As parents, our prime responsibility is to nurture our children. We are tasked with disciplining them but ultimately to encourage them in the way we’d have them go. Most of all, however, we are to help them unravel their own unique personalities and give them space to be themselves.I am always saddened when I come across people who have been shaped into a vision of what the world expects of them. Somehow, their own uniqueness is shadowed by false social norms. They shy away from sharing their unique self (Admittedly, we all have a bit of this in us – it’s called ‘culturalisation’). But how many of us are carrying a big mask that covers up our real selves. Why are we hiding?Over the past year, during lockdown, I have explored this process for myself. I’ve tried to embrace my own unique gifts and talents. This mainly involves my creative side – painting, drawing, writing, crocheting, etc. The question, uppermost in my mind, however, has been…”How can incorporate these gifts into a process of encouraging others?”  It’s been an incredibly enlightening period as I’ve used what I have – including social media to try and touch others. I’ve discovered ‘Bible journaling’ too – a more creative way of spending my quiet-times. Quite simply, this has been an wonderful time of self-discovery and reaching out. Some of my talents have been unleashed and I am ‘delighting’ in the process.So, I’d like to encourage you today, dear reader, to look for your own ‘wild child’ again. It’s time to share your real self. It’s time to unleash what God has gifted you. It’s time to really SHINE FOR GOD – to be the ‘Wild Child’ you were meant to be!Psalm 37:4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires…

by Luke KincaidWhen was the last time that you thought back to a time before you became a child of God? In those moments, you had not been reconciled back to the Father, your sinful nature was in control and you were on the wide and open path to destruction. I love these words from 1 Peter 1:18-19:18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. When we come to faith in Jesus we are redeemed from our empty ways of life. And we are not just redeemed with anything but the most precious thing – the precious blood of Christ. This was the only possible payment that could see redeemed and adopted as children of God. This is the price that Jesus paid that for you and me.What this means is that children of God are valuable. You were bought at a price, that price being the innocent lamb of God. So, whatever you are going through today know that you are loved, valuable and that you have a purpose. When we forget these truths, we will often go and look for value and purpose in the place in which we originally came, the world, and this can lead us to fall back into dangerous patterns of sin:“If a believer is ever tempted to return to worldly pleasures and amusements, to adopt worldly modes and patterns, to become like the world in its false ways, he should remember that Christ shed His blood to deliver him from that kind of life. To go back to the world is to re-cross the great gulf that was bridged for us at staggering cost.” - William Macdonald.Let us continue to move forward, not dwelling on our former lives, but keeping our eyes set on Jesus, the one who paid the price for us, as we remember that no matter what anyone says, we are loved, we are valuable, and we have a purpose to accomplish! Much love,Luke