As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. – Psalm 16:3

We’ve referenced this verse before (We are not alone) but some things are so precious, they are worth repeating. God’s people, of all ages, are truly a glorious delight to us.

Once again we received a great blessing and encouragement in the post via two young people from our home church who are currently studying at the same university a few hundred miles away from here. In the days of electronic social networking there’s something particularly special about receiving a hand-written letter in the post – even more so when the sender is a young person who is fluent in many quicker, less time-consuming and quite frankly, less dated communication alternatives to pen and paper.

We often remind the young people at Manor Park of what we believe is the motto text of youth ministry:

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. – 1 Timothy 4:12

What a great blessing and encouragement it is to be ministered to and uplifted by the words of young men and women like these two this morning.

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. – Psalm 127:3-5

Among the many blessings that the Lord has graciously poured out on Annie and I, having our own children has not been one of them. But this has allowed us to invest more time and energy in the children of others. And while this promise in God’s Word might not directly relate to us, these two letters in the post this morning feel like two more arrows in our quiver and give us strength in the Lord’s service.

In the card that Zoe sent us, the closing verse she wrote out echoed the closing thoughts on my mind as I wrote the blog entry yesterday evening. I was tired and weary when I wrote those thoughts but to get up this morning and see almost the same words written out again just confirmed that our Father in Heaven was doing that thing again where He wants to comfort us so much that He repeats Himself!

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever. – Psalm 73:23-26

As for the rest of the day. It got better and better.

Four of our sisters (Ana, Fee, Jo and Karen) who have been precious friends to us in our younger days gathered from the four corners of the world (Bristol, Devon, Hayes and Hillingdon!) to spend the afternoon with Annie (I just gate-crashed and made the coffee!) bringing with them a lovely lunch and the sweet fellowship that comes when you have the same Lord and Saviour in common. We haven’t seen some of them in years and yet when we sit together and talk it’s like we saw one another just yesterday. The conversation was full of the work of the Lord and the joy of the Lord. Ana, Fee, Jo and Kaz, we love you and really are encouraged to hear of God’s work in your lives and families.

And the saints kept marching in…

As we waved goodbye to Jo and Karen we enjoyed more fellowship with Joel and Zoe and Ben who came bearing gifts, great beef-stew and millionaire shortbread fit enough for Alan Sugar (to our US readers, think Donald Trump with a more fitting surname!).

Thank you Lord for the blessings of the saints. We delight in them because their love reflects your glorious love.

PS: Please, if you are able, remember to pray for our Pastor, Roy. Click here for some prayer points.

R&A