CR5 Issue 161 Oct 2018

CR5 Trip Down Memory Lane
A postcard of Malcolm Road, Coulsdon in the 1920s shows the attractive terrace cottages leading
down to what is today's Waitrose carpark. The buildings of the Council School (later Smitham School)
are on the right. The house nearest to the camera was Sunnycot or No. 52 Malcolm Road.
Are you interested in local history? Then why not join the Bourne Society.
Apply to : J Hurrion, 7 The Towers, Hayes Lane, Kenley, CR8 5YL www.bourne-society.org.uk
Compute or not to Compute?
“Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”…
“‘…Everyone who is of the truth hears My
voice.’” John 18:38, 37 (NKJV UK)
Computers are wonderful aids in our world, except
when they are stupid and unhelpful (which is bad
enough), or fall in the hands of the wicked.
You see, out there is all the wisdom and knowledge
collected down the centuries, and that is being
added to minute by minute. Recently I was looking
for a book from the 17th century to download and
read. Nothing. Months on I decided to have another
go, and this time there it was, all four volumes of
it, complete and unabridged. And free for me to
download and keep for as long as I wanted. For me,
that’s what the worldwide web is intended for.
But then with all that information comes a darker
side. There are vast areas devoted to pornography
and other unsavoury activities. And at times you’re
as likely to stumble across something you’d rather
not see or know about in searching for other
helpful material. And yes, I know there’s lots of
religious material on-line too. Including Bible versions
otherwise not available, as well as messages
in video and audio. Even this website is only
available because of the worldwide web.
Unfortunately, the tendency in our modern society
is to watch and listen rather than to read.
And let’s face it, not everything is truth out there,
religiously speaking. As with everything involving
human beings there’s a mixture of truth and error.
And our wont is to take or seek short cuts. We’d
rather listen or watch someone talk about the Bible,
than to read it for ourselves. Listen! Nothing!
And I mean nothing, substitutes for reading and
studying God’s word for yourself. It’s God talking
directly to you. Not through a third party, or via
some well-intentioned but human interface who or
which often gets in the way of God and his simple
message directed to you.
One thing that might be helpful on the web is ‘read
the Bible in a year’ sites, where all scripture is
broken down into digestible chunks. I’d actually
recommend reading the Bible over three years;
one year is a bit much, especially for those less well
acquainted with its books. Some areas are well
known, such as the stories of David and Goliath,
Noah and the Flood; but other areas are more
dense in the message they carry, and seem to be
unimportant to us today (the tribal lists in
Chronicles, for example). But give yourself a
chance. Be different. Be someone who has read the
Bible—all of it. On computer or in a book. You’ll be
among a minority, even of Christians, who have,
and it’ll be a start.
Prayer: Most Almighty Father, we know you have
a personal plan for every human being you have
created. Our prayer to you is on behalf of all those
who to date are unaware of you or of your great
love for them. A plan which, ultimately, requires
that at some point they will become familiar with
your Word, and its saving message for them
personally. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
GCI Coulsdon Community Church meets at 11.00am on
Sundays In Coulsdon Community Centre Upper Hall.
For further information please contact
Pastor Brian Smith coulsdon@gracecom.church or
01798 813133. To receive daily e-mail messages
like this one please go to www.daybyday.org.uk
To advertise call Lucy on 01737 557888 or 07703 209292
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