From:-
TORCH TRUST FOR THE BLIND, Torch House, Torch Way, Northampton Road, Market
Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HL, U.K.
Telephone: (01858) 438260, Fax: (01858) 438275, email: info@torchtrust.org
Charity Number 1095904.
India Fellowship for the Visually Handicapped
One of the best things about working at Torch House is meeting Christian brothers and sisters from all around the world. Some of you may know that last year Lapson and Bitten from Malawi visited us.
One day whilst they were with us, I was late for lunch. Robert, my husband, knew I would be coming soon with our sandwiches and was just sitting, talking and waiting for me.
As soon as he noticed that Robert had no lunch, Bitten was eager to share his with him. Bitten was assured that Robert's lunch was on its way, and very soon, I arrived with our sandwiches. Robert was deeply touched by Bitten's eagerness to share what he had.
It reminded us both that our Lord Jesus teaches his followers to be eager to share what they have. One little lad had already picked up what Jesus meant, resulting in more than five thousand people getting enough to eat. "Here is a boy," said Jesus' disciple Andrew, "with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9). How far they would go was no problem to Jesus. He must have been delighted that such a young boy was putting into practice what he was hearing.
Some people share when they have very little themselves, whilst others who have plenty may forget to share it. Jesus warns us: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48).
Please share whatever you can from this magazine with as many people as possible.
Sheila and the Editors
By Prabhu and Nancy Rayan
IFVH is a missionary movement working among the 20 million visually disabled people in India along with the churches. From its inception, the aim has been to preach the gospel to disabled people and integrate them into existing churches. Within the first year 93 disabled people accepted the Lord. Those who have been hearing that they were cursed, beggars and good for nothing were shocked and surprised to hear that Jesus loved them and cared for them and responded spontaneously. We met them in their homes, public places and in schools and rehab centres and invited them to our Fellowship Centre, which served as a bridge to the Church.
Integrated Fellowship Camps are also held in twelve regional languages, where we have seen thousands responding to the gospel. In one of our camps, a Hindu University sent a student to learn about Christianity as part of his studies. He not only learnt about Christianity, but also received Christ as His Saviour. Today he is a mighty witness in this university.
One problem is in integrating our friends into the existing churches. "Treat us as equals" - that was their cry. "We are always treated as objects of charity or objects of some projects, but we want to be included in everything". Rajalu, a blind bank staff accepted the Lord in one of our meetings and we sent him to a church.
That Sunday evening, he came to us furious and scolded us; "Don't send me to that place again." Later he told us that when he entered the church, the sexton did not let him in and told him to wait outside as he mistook him to be a beggar. Imagine this bank officer's plight!
So began the awareness seminars for pastors and leaders to evangelise and integrate disabled people in the churches. "What about my deaf child?" "Does the Bible speak about those who cannot speak?" These were some of the questions we encountered. As a result, we extended our ministry to other disabled people as well totalling 150 million!
Braille was once a rare commodity! Booklets received from Torch Trust went like hot cakes! People read them and shared them with others. Through the help of Tony and Rona Gibb who initiated the Compass Braille, Scripture and other booklets are made available to our Braille readers in their regional languages. Apart from this every year, we produce and distribute 15-thousand pocketsize Braille Scripture calendars in the main Indian languages, which have touched the lives of non-Christians too through the Bible verses.
Our main strategy now is to train the trainers. We have evolved a Short-Term Training course, which is included in the Bible Colleges as part of their curriculum. We are also intensely involved in training pastors and leaders.
Someone asked us, "What difference have you made for blind people in the last 25 years?" Those who were once outside the churches with their arms stretched for alms are now inside the churches with their arms still stretched, but toward heaven praising God and some of them leading others in praise. That is all the difference!
by Michael Stafford
In his first complaint, Habakkuk accused God of not listening, not saving and not caring. The answer he got from God was a shocking one: God would deal with the situation by sending the Babylonians to attack and destroy, and to take many Jews captive.
Habakkuk had to respond to such a proposal and he does so in chapter 1:12-17.
O Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his drag-net; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his drag-net, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
God's purpose was not to destroy His people, but to punish them so that they might learn to live in His ways and be faithful to Him. God still disciplines His people, and we can expect to be punished when we go astray from His ways. In doing this He is not being vindictive, but is actually expressing His love for us. The writer to the Hebrews says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son" (Hebrews 12:5,6). His discipline proves that we are His sons and daughters. It shows His concern that we learn how we are to behave as members of His family. "God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness". (Hebrews 12:10).
Habakkuk cannot understand why God would send the Babylonians to punish His people. How can God allow a much more wicked nation to swallow up little Judah, which certainly had failed God, but was not nearly so wicked as the Babylonians? The question really is: "How can a righteous God use wicked nations or people in His service?" It is a question which we can apply to many situations including some in the Bible. How could God use wicked King Nebuchadnezzar - a pagan, cruel, idolatrous man - to teach lessons to His people? How could God use Cyrus - another pagan monarch - to help restore the Jews back to their country after the 70 years in which they were captive - first in Babylon, and then in Persia? How could God use Judas and Pilate to accomplish His purpose in bringing Jesus Christ to arrest and crucifixion? How can God use cruel persecutors to cleanse and revive churches in some parts of the world today?
We must recognise that while God may use some ungodly people it does not mean He approves of them or their conduct. They themselves will not escape punishment for their own sins simply because they have unwittingly been used to bring blessing to God's people. This is made clear in chapter two where there is a prophecy of disaster coming to the Babylonians in due time.
Habakkuk argues with God in view of what he knows of God's character:
"You are eternal" - not like men; "You are personal" - MY God; "You are faithful" - "we will not die". He is not going to destroy, but save His own people, because they are His covenant people and unlike such nations as Edom and Moab who were utterly destroyed and cannot now be found. In contrast, we still find God's ancient people alive and in their own land today, despite all the attempts over the centuries to destroy them. "You are powerful" - You control them and appoint them to punish. "You are holy" - so how can You do this to Your own people? Habakkuk is repeating his first complaint that God does not care.
The Babylonians are like fishermen who capture and eat the helpless fish, and instead of giving thanks to God they worship the nets which they used to catch the fish. In verse 17 he is saying "O God, how long can this continue?" The chapter ends on this sad note, with Habakkuk sighing in his spirit over the awful threat that hangs over the nation.
But Habakkuk still has faith in God, and is now going to watch and wait for a further word from God in answer to his second complaint.
"I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint". (Habakkuk 2:1)
His complaint is not just his own. It is the complaint of the whole nation, and Habakkuk has to convey God's answer to the people. That answer is in the remainder of chapter two which we will consider next time.
by Ron Wells
I grew up in North East London not too far from the northern end of the Piccadilly Line and among my early memories were the long train journeys through London. I learned all the names of the stations, and as soon as I could I would ply my parents with questions like, "Why is it called Kings Cross?" - Is there a circus at Piccadilly Circus? I marvel at my parent's patience with my endless quest for knowledge.
Looking back my whole childhood seemed to be a search for answers. I remember asking my Sunday School Teacher, "Why did David not want the Lord as his shepherd?" obviously not understanding the phrase, "I shall not want" failing to understand that this meant he would lack nothing. By the age of 12 my questions became more significant. Things like "Why am I here?" And "What is the purpose of life?" were emerging.
March 1st 1954 proved to be the beginning of an answer process that has continued to this day. On the evening of March 1st 1954 I signed up to be a steward at the Billly Graham Haringey Crusade. I felt dwarfed by that massive 12,000-seater stadium and seriously doubted if many people would bother to come. On the first two nights there were empty seats, but as the week continued the arena was packed and soon we had to use an adjoining overflow area.
I cannot recall missing a single night in the entire Crusade, and I felt as if I had come out of the tunnel into the daylight, and so many of my questions were answered. That phrase, "The Bible Says", became a very significant statement, to the extent that I was no longer having to say "I hope I am a Christian - I think I am a Christian - I trust I am a Christian" and was able to say, "Now I know I am a Christian".
I have often heard people ask, "What ever happened to all those people who responded during the Billy Graham Crusades?" Well I cannot answer for all the others, but for myself, I do know that it was a real turning point in my journey through life. I am sure that the seeds sown in Sunday School and later in Covenanters were brought to life during those weeks in the stadium.
So much has happened since, including responding to God's call to become a minister of the gospel. There have been great times and difficult experiences, but God has been faithful, loving, patient and kind. Now that retirement has come I have the immense privilege of being able to help out when ministers are unwell. I have a wonderful wife, Jenny, and two children and two grandsons.
Some questions continue to be hard to answer and some appear impossible, but the Bible assures us that "one day we shall know, just as certainly as we have been known by God all along the journey". Now that really is something to look forward to!
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
For the first time, Torch exhibited at the annual conference of NALSVI (National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People) at Chester. It was so encouraging to meet Christians who work in these organisations, and others who regard Torch's work very highly.
Torch marked the Guide Dogs "Shades Day" (shades = sunglasses!) with Nessa Graham visiting a local school. Nessa, accompanied by her guide dog Shannon, was able to talk to all 180 children at assembly along with Harborough's Council Chairman.
At the Northern Ireland Fellowship Groups' houseparty one man became a Christian and was thrilled to celebrate communion for the first time at the Sunday morning service.
by Mum Heath (co-founder of Torch Trust)
Well, not actually the sort of lettuces you eat!
When asked to give the "bedtime talks" at the Shalom Holiday in July, I decided to base my thoughts around the "Let us . . ." phrases found in Hebrews at the end of chapter 10. "Let us draw near" . . . "Let us hold fast" . . . and "Let us consider one another".
But I soon realised that before I could enjoy the "let us" phrases in Hebrews I0 I had to take a look at a verse in 2 Corinthians 7, which also has a "let us".
Verse 1 says "Let us CLEANSE OURSELVES . . ."
Each of us live in a dirty world. Not only is the very air we breathe polluted, but global warming is gradually destroying so much that is essential to life. However, the pollution has crept into our very way of thinking, even into our walk with God.
People go to health farms to be detoxed when they feel they have poisons in their bodies. We Christians too need to be "detoxed" from poisons in our spirits.
My friend had an aunt who lived in a very nice house near a tannery. Now tanneries exude some very unpleasant smells, and my friend hated to visit this aunt because even her clean bed linen smelt of tannery! "How can you bear to live here?" she asked. Her aunt smiled and said, "I've got used to it so I don't even notice it!"
We have got so used to the dirty world in which we live that we don't notice it! Once the regular "soap" dramas on television reflected the normal lives of decent people, but now, vile language, violent emotions, illicit relationships, lying and cheating, are viewed as the norm. Other forces too undermine our sense of right and wrong with more subtle ways of cheating and lying. Christians, we need to be detoxed from the thinking of the crowd, because we belong to a Heavenly Country, where nothing that defiles can enter.
We used the words of an old chorus as we thought about this on our holiday.
Cleanse me from my sin Lord, Put Your power within, Lord,
Take me as I am Lord, and make me all Your own.
Keep me day by day, Lord, underneath Your sway Lord,
Make my heart Your palace and Your royal Throne.
All of us need cleansing! Some have never come to Jesus for that all-important cleansing from the very root of sin which we were born with. They have never experienced being truly "born again" into the family of God. Only Jesus can cleanse us from that root. He died on the Cross to become our sin, and took the punishment which should have been ours. One lady on that first night of the holiday gave her life to Jesus. Her joy when she discovered that Christ had come into her life was so real. She was thrilled to be one of God's Family.
As we travel along life's pathway, we all get dirty. It shows in our thoughts, and then in our actions, and we are not what we want to be for God. I never cease to marvel at how God is willing to meet with us, and lift our burden of guilt and sin, that memory of wrong which eats into our hearts and makes us difficult to live with.
"Cleanse me from my sin, Lord": bring your burdens and resentments and all the evil desires that burn in you to the Cross. For "He Himself bore our sins on the Cross" (1 Peter 2:24.)
The other "lettuces" follow the cleansing process. Maybe we can look at them another time.
Meanwhile, may the Lord help us all to get "detoxed"!
by Norman Hillyer
They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:18-19)
Jesus chose at least seven fishermen to be apostles (John 21:2). Fishermen's courage, skill, patience, and loyal co-operation are all qualities needed in the service of Jesus Christ. Not that he calls the qualified. He qualifies the called.
by Norman Hillyer
Fifty years ago I was Curate of New Malden in Surrey. One Sunday, just before the service, the Vicar was handed a note. He said to me afterwards, "Never was I so glad to have the sermon written out in full in front of me." (In fact, he used to preach without notes, but liked to have the full sermon with him, just in case.)
That note announced that Doris Lanham, a New Malden girl flying back to her missionary post in Rwanda, was in a plane reported missing over Crete. Sure enough, our worst fears were soon confirmed. All on board had been killed in a crash in the mountains.
Some weeks later, the General Secretary of the Rwanda Mission came to preach at her memorial service. In the vestry beforehand, the Vicar asked him what his text was to be. I wondered what would be appropriate as a memorial text for someone killed in an air crash in an age far removed from Bible days.
But the preacher's choice was entirely fitting. He used the traveller's text: "If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me" (Psalm 139:9).
THE WINGS OF THE MORNING. It is a curious expression, and one that only the twentieth century could associate with aircraft! But wings are of FEATHERS, and therein lies the clue to the Psalmist's meaning.
A visitor to the Holy Land is soon aware that clouds are something of a rarity, certainly in summer. But let the visitor get up very early in the morning. He will see, running along the horizon as dawn begins to break, a thin line of feathery clouds. As soon as the sun starts to flex its muscles, however, those feathery clouds vanish in the heat. But not before they have hinted at what the Psalmist meant.
"The wings of the morning" - the feathery clouds briefly on the horizon as the sun is thinking about getting up - speak of the furthest point to the EAST. So, "if I take the wings of the morning" means, "if I go as far to the east as I possibly can".
The verse goes on: "or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea". The sea? There was only one sea to the dweller in Palestine - the Great Sea, as the Old Testament calls it, the Mediterranean. And that, of course, lies to the WEST.
"If I take the wings of the morning (if I go as far as possible to the EAST), or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea (if I go as far as possible to the WEST), even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me."
Even there, in the mountains of Crete? Then why did a lively Christian in her prime die like that? If we could not answer the SECOND of those questions, at least we had some reassurance about the FIRST.
Always when Doris Lanham was home on furlough, she stocked up with new cotton dresses to take back with her to the heat of Rwanda. This time she had not made a single purchase of that nature. Premonition? She revealed no such ideas on that last trip home. But evidently the Master's hand was restraining her. HE knew.
Wherever the pilgrim road takes me, I am never for a moment beyond the reach of his hand - guiding, providing, caring - right up to that last cloudless Home-coming.