treasure – Embers

01/07/202601/07/2026

How can I grow as a Christian?

Matt wrote this blog post last year…thankfully he is now through his Catatonia phase…but the reflection still stands. We need to keep digging deep into the treasure trove of God’s word and sharing that with whomever your primary audience may be today, this week or this month.

I’ve recently rediscovered one of my favourite 90s bands.* Listening to them takes me back to being a teenager and listening to their albums on CD over and over again. One of them was even on cassette, which I played loads…on a Walkman! Feeling old right now…

The Good Stuff

When I find a band or artist I really like I tend to dive down deep into their back catalogue so I can discover all of their music. I don’t think I’m wired to just like one song and then move on to something completely different. My theory is that if I like something by someone then chances are I might like more of their work, because I’ve found something good. So I stick with them. And it’ll take more than a weaker album or two to put me off them because they’ve got my loyalty; to me, they are still good.

Back to the title of this blog post: “How can I grow as a Christian?” Simply put, what I mean by this is how we can become more like Jesus. I reckon some of my listening habits might help us think about how this can work.

The Word

Sticking with the music theme, you could say that God has a ‘back catalogue’ in the Bible – what we call the Old Testament – and that his newer material is the New Testament. There’s plenty to go at right there that will help us to grow as Christians. There is no substitute for reading God’s word, not just to gain information but in order to meet with God. We can recommend great apps, reading plans and podcasts if anyone would like a bit of help with this – please get in touch if you’re interested

When I’ve been listening to the ‘90s music recently I’ve discovered incredible depth in the lyrics that I hadn’t noticed years ago, and I’ve come to appreciate some of the music that I didn’t rate back then. Maybe this is because I’m older, so I’m hearing it all from a different perspective now. There is a principle about Bible reading here – coming back to one passage again and again can help us rediscover things we’ve seen before, or even see things for the first time we’d never ever noticed until now. After all, God’s word is living and active, and the Holy Spirit longs to reveal more truth to us.

The New Material

But, growing as a Christian isn’t just about the Bible – as essential as that is. We also need to notice what God is doing in the world today, because in a sense we are still living in New Testament times.

Jesus promised that he came to bring life, and life in all its fullness (John 10:10). There is a LOT more of him, his goodness and his kingdom to discover if we’re open to looking!

This means there is the stuff that Jesus is STILL doing in the world today, by his Spirit – in your street, your workplace, your life, your home, and we could see more of it if we ask! It’s sad when Christians sometimes seem to live off what he did in their life X many years ago, when he is STILL active today. Going back to music, some of my favourite artists make some of their best music (in my opinion) later on in their career, way after what some might call their ‘heyday’. Many may have forgotten them but they are still going, still creating, still telling their story, no matter the audience.

Some of us need to keep telling our story of who we know Jesus to be, regardless of how much the audience may change. It helps to notice and remember what he has done recently: down at Tesco’s, on the school run, in our friendship group, or wherever we are.

Let’s remember the treasure trove that we have in the Old Testament and the rest of the Bible. Let’s embrace the joy of knowing Jesus’s presence by the Holy Spirit here with us now where ever we are in the UK or indeed the world. We pray that each of us and our churches can enjoy getting to know Jesus better than we ever have before.

26/11/202415/07/2026

Is the Bible really that important?

Many years ago in north Wales lived a young girl called Mary Jones.

She longed to learn how to read but there was no one to teach her, so she prayed about it.

In response, and to Mary’s surprise, the little chapel where she worshiped each Sunday with her parents was going to also become a school! Mary was delighted to learn alongside her friends, and she loved learning to read because she really longed to be able to read the Bible.

It was Mary’s love for Jesus that inspired this, and once she was able to read she longed for nothing more than to own her very own Bible, in the Welsh language. Bibles were very hard to come by in those days, especially in Welsh – and they were expensive. The odds were stacked against Mary as she came from a very poor family, but nothing would quench her determination!

In 1800 she turned 15. After scrimping and saving for 6 long years, she finally had the funds to buy the book she treasured. The nearest place where they were likely to be was about 25 miles away.

She set off early one day on the long journey, most likely barefoot, and she walked. And walked. And when she grew tired she walked some more. It was a risky journey – there was no guarantee that there would even be a Bible at the other end, not to mention the perils of a young girl taking such a journey on her own, and with all that money too.

Thankfully, Mary went back home with her very own Bible. To her it was the greatest treasure there could be, for it helped her know her saviour better, plus she read it with her own children years later. This true story of the girl who was so determined went on to greatly inspire those who who sourced it for her – so much so that it led to the foundation of The Bible Society. Here is what they say about their mission: “We believe the Bible is God’s gift to the world. We want everyone to discover its message for themselves”.

Wow! And so because of one young girl’s devotion to God, people all over the world are having the opportunity to meet Jesus.

Thank you Jesus for Mary Jones, and her legacy which carries on to this day. Please help everyone in the UK and the wider world to read or hear Scripture in their own language, that they may come to know the joy of knowing you (and your word) like Mary did. And to those of us who have our own Bibles, whether they are actual books or an app on our devices, may we value your word more than we currently do, but may be value the Author more!

Mary Jones and her Bible can be purchased here for just £2.99, and Mary Jones Pilgrim Centre (formerly Mary Jones World) can be visited in Bala, North Wales.

08/09/202319/09/2023

Weed or Treasure?

Some of my favourite plants are weeds!! Don’t get me wrong, I love a beautiful rose, I find green flowers eminently interesting and there is something stunning about the way water beads and rolls off a lupin leaf…but still, some of my favourite plants are weeds.

Dictionary.com defines a weed as ‘any valueless, undesirable or troublesome plant that grows profusely where it is not wanted, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.’ They sound like a bit of a nightmare don’t they? Anyone who has attempted to keep a garden or allotment will know that weeding is one of the biggest jobs, and no matter how clever your planting scheme is or how deep you mulch, weeds will always make their way through.

In day to day life we can sometimes, often inadvertently, treat people like weeds. Maybe our harsh tone makes someone feel unwanted. When we are so wrapped up in our own business and in the important things we have to deal with maybe others around us feel of little or no value. Sometimes others can make us feel like weeds too…if we are trying really hard at something and someone brushes away our best effort as useless we could feel worthless, if we need help with something and are struggling to find that help we may feel unwanted.

‘The world’ has a way of making us feel like weeds…you don’t have to look far on instagram to find a seemingly perfect mother who finds time to exercise and keep in shape, she has beautiful well dressed children who are always smiling and unnervingly clean, her house is immaculate and her garden is pristine. I see that and instantly feel unacceptable, my lived in house and dishevelled appearance is only matched by my, albeit beautiful, kids who wear mismatched clothes and have stains for every tumble, scrape and mud pie that has happened during the day. I haven’t exercised in years but if I can find clean clothes that’s a bonus!! I’m sure there is an equivalent for every walk of life. That person who earns more than you, that church that has more people attending than yours, that football team which is doing better than yours, that person who always seems to be one step ahead of you…these things can get under your skin and leave you feeling worthless and unacceptable.

So why all the talk about weeds, and why do I like weeds so much?? Well have you looked at them? I mean actually looked at them? Have you ever counted the petals on a daisy? Or really looked at the tiny blue flowers of a forget-me-not? Have you ever got up close and personal with a clover flower and truly appreciated its petals and colour?

Recently I saw a meadow salsify in its seed-head form…it was STUNNING. After showing it to Zoe and encouraging her to blow it like a dandelion clock I looked round for another…just look at the delicacy of each seed, each thin silk like parachute fitting with the one next to it to form this flawless beautiful pom-pom. Look at the unique curve on each seed so it fits perfectly next to the other seeds to form the globe in the picture. All that detail for something generally unwanted by most.

What does all this mean for me or you? Jesus made those weeds, it says in the bible that God cares for the grass, and weeds, in the field which are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will he care for us (Luke 12:28). We may feel like weeds because of other people’s attitudes and behaviours towards us but God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), that our name is written on the palm of his hand (Isaiah 49:16), that we are outrageously loved (Ephesians 3:18-19), that we are the apple of his eye (Zechariah 2:8).

But this isn’t an exercise in patting ourselves on the back, how are we to behave towards others? Jesus didn’t listen when people told him that he shouldn’t be spending time with weeds like sinners and tax collectors, foreigners and enemies of the jews, women…let alone women with questionable morals, the sick, the dying…the dead! Jesus saw the beauty in all those people. When everyone else saw unwanted, worthless, cast outs, Jesus saw precious children of God who are covered by grace, forgiven and adopted into God’s family.

Next time you walk past a daisy or see a dandelion clock, catch your leg on a nettle or have sticky weed stuck to you by some mischievous toddler remember you are not a weed in God’s eyes…and neither is anyone else! Who is God bringing to mind for you to encourage…who needs to hear that they are not valueless, undesirable or troublesome? Maybe you could collect a little bunch of beautiful ‘weeds’ and tell them what God thinks of them! You could even get them with sticky weed at the same time!!