Dales Faith

If asked what substance is of greatest value few of us would include soil in this list, yet it is perhaps one of the most valuable substances known to us…

With a soft Scottish lilt, Stuart smiled as he shared his recollections of how he had seen God at work in the rolling hills of rural Perthshire in the 1980’s “Is this the sort of thing you are picturing here?” he asked me.

“It could be,” I replied, “it sounds exciting! Let’s see!”

The George Cross Medal is the highest award for bravery. As individuals, very few of us will ever see one, but courage is needed so often in the everyday demands of living. Here is a prayer for you, if you need a little more courage today.

Nearly sixty times in the New Testament believers are given guidance about how we should behave towards one another. The most repeated command was from Jesus; that we love one another. But we are also called to care for each other, to encourage and build each other up, to teach, comfort, stir up and to pray for each other. We are also encouraged to use the gifts God has given us for the benefit of each other. I am therefore very grateful to Donna for her willingness to share with us this psalm-like poem she has written. Be blessed!

Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune. Well this may be your lucky day! Having a dream is a good thing. It gives us hope and purpose.  Yet having money alone is not the recipe for a fulfilled life. We all need people around and we need to belong…

Apple Scrumping used to be a 'thing'. Actually it is theft, dressed up to sound 'traditional'. As a society the 'fruit' we value the most are, freedom, prosperity and happiness. But the truth is the tree that produces these fruit grows slowly and it does not produce fruit very often…

It can be easy to be too optimistic about the healing offered by medicine's advances, or too pessimistic when we feel the loss of someone for whom healing never came.

So, if you need healing, or if you know of someone who needs to be made whole, shall we pray together…

"This conversation was going well until someone brought God into it". We don't need God, because we can manage perfectly well without him, it seems! As we look around this country, and at the towns and villages in these North Yorkshire Dales it sometimes appears that God has taken the hint, and has left the building. But yet, as I drive along our dales roads, and speak with you, its people, it is clear to me that Yorkshire remains "God's own county" and God is still in this place.

His smiling profile picture was often at the top of my message list on WhatsApp, but this was my national news app, and next to his photo was a headline denouncing the circumstances of his death. I know that awful things happen to ordinary people all the time, but he was my friend.

If you think, or have ever been made to feel, that you are worthless, please don’t believe it…

However you feel, whatever Christmas is to you, I hope that you may be willing to have me pray for you, as my gift to you this year. Perhaps you may wish to pray with me for the people you know, and love...

We are always waiting for something these days. Something to be delivered, someone to arrive, or for a situation to improve.  And yet our faith in our leaders' capacity to know how to solve the problems of our nation and the globe seems to be at an all-time low… nevertheless hope is something we find it hard to live without… read on.

The New Testament is a Jewish text written at a time when there were many conflicting 'world views', all claiming to be 'truth' and most willing to disregard those who believed something different. In this there are many parallels with our world today.

Dales Faith Word Studies are a chance to dig a little deeper into this world and to see what new things we can discover together.

If everyone who considers themselves a part of a Christian community, and I include myself in this, were to follow the example and teaching of Jesus, and live up to the expectations of the biblical authors then the church would be a radically different place both to how it is now, and to the world around us.

For as much as we would like to think of ourselves as individuals, independent and able to make our own way in the world, we are often surprised by just how overwhelming our own reactions are when we are faced with losing someone close. So, shall we pray together to the God who made us this way, who shares our pain and offers hope to hurting hearts.

Just imagine for a moment a 'dream team', and all that could be achieved if they were to pull together towards a common goal. Exciting, isn't it? Each person brings a different set of skills, qualities, and experiences. Each person offering all they have so that together they achieve far more than they could ever do alone. Now that would be something, wouldn't it?

The headlines today are full again of people who have done 'the wrong thing'. When watching someone else's life the conviction that they have made some bad decisions and got it wrong this time, comes quite easily, yet the ability to make good choices ourselves certainly does not…

A hoard of 48 gold and silver items buried by a Viking Chieftain over a thousand years ago, was discovered in a field just outside the town where I live almost exactly 11 years ago today. The thought that there might be treasure to be found, just within our reach motivates us. The gospel writer Matthew recorded a saying of Jesus that has puzzled many people, when he described God's kingdom as being like a treasure hidden in a field.

The Bible is the written result of God's revelation of himself. It reveals who he is, what he is like, and how people have responded. It is God himself who tells us who he is, what he is like and what pleases and displeases him.

Does it sometimes feel that other people simply don't see you? Maybe they recognise your face and know your name, but few know who you really are... Then this prayer is for you.

In a culture where to many, religion is thought to be something that is irrelevant at best, and dangerous and divisive at worst it may seem strange for me to ask such a question. Many of us just don't worship anything. The word 'worship' at its root comes from the idea of acknowledging the value or 'worth' of something...

Everything started with the word. That's what John declares in the first line of his Gospel. The Bible itself is called the Word of God, and this alone should excite us to read it more. 

My plan is that through these Dales Faith Word Studies, we will have an opportunity to hear more from God's word, as we study it together. If you have never read the Bible before, or if you have read much of it many times, then my hope is that we can learn from each other and in doing so, hear what God is saying to us today, through his word.

Perhaps you have found yourself suddenly surrounded by the uncertainty of a circumstance beyond your control. Unexpectedly disorientated you have searched for clarity and clear direction. Maybe you have prayed, for God to intervene and make things better, or to show you what comes next, but you have not heard or seen any response. God can seem very distant when we are overwhelmed by our circumstances, he can seem unreachable, uncaring, indifferent to our pain, and yet we know that however, we feel God never changes. He is always listening and he always answers.

And so if this is you, then this prayer is for you. Shall we pray together?

I have been praying for the people of this area for over 20 years now. I am always reassured, however, that God desires to bless his people far more than we can ever imagine. Please would you pray with me, for the people who live in and around the Dales. That God would bless, heal, restore and build up the people of this area. And that we might be known as people who bring God's blessing and light to the communities in which we live. 

"The truth is that everyone has felt overwhelmed at some time. We have limited resources, more skills and capacities in some areas, and fewer in others. Life is complex, as are people and the many situations we face. But there is one who knows this better, who has been there himself and yet understands how every creature that has ever lived was formed and will be there with us if we ask him to be. So if this is you, and if it is now, and if you'd like to, shall we pray together?"

The year has changed but the demands and routines we left in 2022 will still be with us… Some of us will have paused at the change of the year and resolved to redirect our energies or review our habits… But the change from December to January did not bring peace to the people of Ukraine nor did it did not resolve the crisis in our NHS… Can we really hope for better days? Listen Now.

You have maybe been asked the question, "Will I go to heaven when I die?" Here, heaven is thought to be a place somewhere far away where God lives, only reachable by our death. And if God is so distant both in time and space how can he be relevant to living today?

The unexpected knock, the sudden uncertainty, the surprised smiles, the rush of relief mixed with excitement. "You came!"

When you had given up thinking that they would come and were settled in to the ache of the hope you could not let go of, that perhaps they might. When you had put the thing you had left by the door to give to them, back into the drawer with a mental note that you knew where it was, if that day ever came. When, in busy times you did not give the thought time to surface, but it did every time you paused, or looked out. That's when it came...

What should we do when we are offended by the gift and we know that there are strings attached?

Some would say that the perfect gift is one given generously, where the recipient feels no pressure to return the favour and has done nothing to merit their receipt of it. It comes at just the right time and is exactly what is needed. And most of us might agree that this sounds like a wonderful ideal...

We have all lost someone, and we know how much it hurts. For you it may be something recent, and raw, or maybe your loss was some time ago. Jesus promised to bless and to strengthen everyone who mourns, so this is a prayer for you.

Dales Faith Minute Messages: Truth

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, remains fundamental to justice and the workings of our courts. The crimes of reality and fiction are solved by sleuths, professional and amateur, sitting in armchairs or in offices searching for evidence of what transpired and considering the motivations of those involved. The truth they seek, is out there, the test is finding it...

The death of local Christian Community in rural Britain and vision for the future. The Dales Faith story so far.

"God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way." Deep inside each of us is the need to know that we are loved and to feel accepted for who we are. Most would agree with this statement, and yet many of us carry the scars from when we have not been loved as we hoped, let alone accepted as we would like. What is the solution?

In these uncertain times, many of us are finding it much harder to pay our bills. For some this has been building for a while, along with the realisation that you cannot pay everyone and yet they all want paying. Today's prayer is for you.