  Have you heard of the Infinite Monkey Theorem? It’s the one that says that if you give a monkey a typewriter and an infinite amount of time, it will eventually produce every written text including the complete works of Shakespeare. The theorem was in the news recently as two scientists from Australia pointed out that, even if the monkey has infinite time set aside, the same isn’t true for our world or our universe. Best estimates give the world only a few billion years before it is most likely absorbed into the sun. That might seem like a long stretch to us but, mathematically, would come nowhere close to the time needed for our monkey. I’m not sure it will have even managed ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ in that time, let alone ‘Hamlet’. I have no reason to doubt the science but, having just preached on the final chapters of Revelation, I do take issue with the thought that our planet’s fate is to be burnt to a crisp by the sun, long after life as we know it has become untenable. Those closing chapters of the Bible speak not of fiery oblivion but of a God-given new heaven and new earth whose life will go on forever and ever – more than enough for our monkey to complete his homework, were he still to be bothered by that point. It also makes sense as we begin to look towards Christmas and a God who loves our world, and all that is in it, so much that he sent Jesus to be born as one of us. It’s always worth reminding ourselves that our lives and the life of our world are in God’s hands and that those hands are big and that those hands are loving. We live in turbulent times. Remembrance Sunday has brought to mind not just past wars but the many, many armed conflicts going on in the world today. Then there is political volatility and the struggles of daily life. But if God has the big picture in view, how much more will he look after the small details? Let’s trust those details to God and trust him to tell his story through us. It may not be Shakespeare but it doesn’t need to be because we’ve got a monkey working on that! With love Steve \  Dear Friends, As I wrote my first message about Apostle Matthew in the Ipswich round, I thought I would go with other apostles to get light for our lives. Andrew is presented in the gospels as a missionary more than a leader. Before he followed Jesus, he was a follower of John the Baptist, attracted by his fiery speeches. He was the first to believe Jesus Christ as the Messiah. We can learn three mission lessons from him. First, the home mission. Andrew’s humble home mission began with bringing his own brother to the noble teacher, Jesus. We speak spirituality in the church and other places; however, how far do we speak Christian spirituality in our homes and in our gatherings? Second, we see Andrew joining Jesus in the feeding mission by gathering the source for the mass feeding from a boy of lower strata. Our little pantries and contributions to the food banks are the opportunity to join the feeding mission. Finally, we learn that when the Greeks tried to see Jesus and the request passed to Andrew by Philip, it shows that he carried a vision of a foreign mission. Philip sought the help of Andrew, and both went to Jesus at the request of the Greeks. Andrew’s foreign mission enabled the wisdom-seeking Greeks to know the sacrificial service of the Son of God. These lessons from Andrew encourage us to participate in different mission possibilities in our home, church, circuit, and country. May God continue to guide, mould and lead us to His mission. Amen Paulson |