The fiery furnace

The Victorian bush fires continue to dominate the headlines and the horrendous extent of the havoc becomes even more clear. The disaster seems to have brought out the best and the worst in human nature. We have been inspired by the devotion of the fire fighters, the courage of many of the victims and the generosity of the public with an avalanche of donations. On the other hand we may have shaken our heads in disbelief at stories of looters and fires being deliberately lit. As a Salvo I have been humbly proud of the part being played by The Salvation Army alongside other bodies. My wife and I are on call to assist as we are able and certainly we pray for all those affected by the events of recent days.

Let the sunshine in

Many years ago in the UK we used to sing, 'Let the blessed sunshine in Open up the windows, open wide the door Let the blessed sunshine in'. I thought ironically about that this morning as I 'battened down the hatches' and closed blinds and curtains in anticipation of one of the hottest days on record. I love sunshine but I guess one can have too much even of a good thing. Today my prayers are with those whose homes are threatened by fires and the brave people who will be fighting the blazes. In a world where we have a financial crisis caused to some extent by greed it is good to recognise others who are prepared to put their lives on the fire line for the sake of others, God bless them!

Unread

For a few years I have been a member of a writers' group comprised of people from various backgrounds. Some are very able with their pens and yet most of their work is unpublished while much that is vastly inferior finds its way on to book stands.What a pity! It is like that with the Bible which may be the most unread best-seller in the world. I remember some verse written by John Greenleaf Whittier:
'We search the world for truth; we cull The good, the pure. the beautiful, From graven stone and written scroll, From all the flower fields of the soul And weary seekers of the best We come back laden from the quest To find that all the sages said Is in the book our mothers read.'