10 Exhortations to the Preservation of Christian Peace by Andrew Fuller

Fuller, Andrew Gunton; London : G. & J. Dyer;, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In a sermon on cultivating a peaceful disposition in his Works, Andrew Fuller's second point has these 10 or 11 points. It can be found here (on page 432) or in FGB 268 here.

Let me exhort you to endeavour, by all means, to preserve peace among one another.

1. Be careful to cultivate a spirit of love. There is nothing more conducive to peace than this.

2. Beware of sin. There is nothing more opposed to Christian peace than this. 

3. Beware of a disputatious temper. Debates may be productive of good. But they too often originate in captiousness and pride.

4. Avoid a spirit of groundless jealousy. Godly jealousy is necessary when we consider what we all are and by what influences we are surrounded. But an ill opinion of others is the source of much mischief. 5. Beware of a spirit of envy. The members of a church are like the stars. One excelleth another. Then beware of envy. 

6. Do not intermeddle with each other’s temporal affairs. What I just now said respecting your conduct towards your pastor, I would repeat concerning your conduct towards one another. Different people have different ways of managing their domestic affairs; and if your brethren do but act [honorably] in the world, what right have you to interfere?

7. Guard against a touchy temper. Charity is not soon angry. “For every trifle scorn to take offence; It either shows great pride or little sense.”

8. Repeat no grievances, especially when acknowledged. “He that repeateth a matter separateth very friends” (Pro 17:9).

9. Strive to heal differences. It is a great honour to be a peacemaker.

10. Encourage no talebearers. Persons that make it their business and feel it their delight to go about telling secrets to the disadvantage of their neighbours deserve the deepest marks of censure.

(Fuller alsohas an 11th point - Be ready to forgive. Without this heavenly temper we cannot expect to live long in peace.)

To the man called Belmonte I say Yes!

Rare pic found in the book (CHS on his 39th)

I bought this book because of its lovely cover and the fact that Spurgeon's name appears on it. I don't always read books I buy straight away but I am glad I did this one as it is very much a book for reading on holiday and although officially holiday is over for me the memory is still lingering at least until September arrives. I think all the material in the book is available elsewhere but it has been put together well and demonstrates that Spurgeon loved his holidays and was a great believer in reading the book of nature as well as the book of Scripture. Wonderful little hardback. Thank you Mr Belmonte.

Lord's Day August 25 2024

It was good to be back in Childs Hill last Lord's Day. In many ways it was typical, with a large morning congregation of around 30 in the morning and a much smaller congregation come the evening. In the morning I preached on Matthew 7:12, as we continue through the Sermon on the Mount. In the evening I preched a one off from Isaiah 64:6. There were visitors in the morning, mostly old friends and in the evening, a Tamil family from Sri Lanka who are professing Christians and who, like other refugees, are living in the nearby hotel. I hope we see them again soon. One feature of the morning service was an almost complete absence of our Iranian friends. The one there is a young man who has recently gained his asylum )he is the last of our current crowd to do so). Several others had taken advantage of the Bank Holiday and goe away, I guess.

10 Famous Foods Invented by Accident

1. Bakewell Pudding. The Bakewell pudding is said to have been invented by accident in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell, England in 1860, following a misunderstanding between Mrs Greaves, the mistress of a local inn, and her cook. A nobleman visited and requested a strawberry tart, but an egg mixture was erroneously poured on top of the jam. Needless to say, the nobleman was a big fan of the resulting pudding, which is beloved to this day.
2. Eton Mess. The generally accepted story goes that a strawberry, meringue and cream pudding was dropped at a cricket match between Eton and Harrow in the late 19th century. Instead of being thrown away, it was simply scooped up off the floor and served, smashed to bits, in individual bowls. An even funnier version of how the messy dessert was invented involves a 1930s picnic, a pudding and an overexcited labrador ….
3. Worcestershire Sauce. When Lord Marcus Sandys, a former governor of Bengal, returned to England, he brought with him a recipe for a tangy sauce he encountered during his travels. He asked two chemists, John Lea and William Perrins, to replicate it, but the sauce didn't quite meet their expectations, so it was set aside and forgotten about. When the duo stumbled upon it again, they found that the sauce had matured and developed a rich, complex flavour.
4. Mozarella. According to Italian legend, mozzarella was created completely by accident centuries ago in Naples, when some curdled milk fell into a pot of boiling water at a cheese factory. The result? A delightfully smooth ball of fresh, creamy cheese that has since become the world’s favourite pizza topping. In Italy, it's made exclusively using water buffalo milk, though cows' milk versions abound in many other countries.
5. Caesar Salad. It is said to have been created by Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef, in Tijuana, Mexico. The story goes that business at Caesar's restaurant was so good on July 4, 1924, that the kitchen ran out of everything except lettuce, cheese, bread and the wherewithal for an egg-based dressing with a kick of Worcestershire sauce. The resulting salad was named the Caesar salad, and it went on to become a classic dish.
6. Cornflakes. Corn Flakes came about when Kellogg’s founders John and Will Kellogg attempted to make granola. The duo accidentally flaked wheat berry, then experimented with flaking corn – and quickly realised they were on to something. The recipe was perfected, and Corn Flakes were eventually rolled out across the world.
7. Crisps. Amazingly, these wildly popular savoury snacks were first created as a form of revenge. At Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt sent his French fries back to the kitchen for being cut too thick. In outrage, waiter George Crum prepared them again – making them as thin and hard as possible – and crisps were born. Although this origin story is sometimes contested, the restaurant is certainly where crisps gained popularity.
8. The Sandwich. The sandwich is named after 18th century English nobleman John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich. It’s said that he was unable to leave a gambling game he was playing in, so requested that his servant bring him meat between two pieces of bread. The meal caught on, and people started saying, 'I’ll have the same as Sandwich'.
9. Aspartame. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in sugar-free food and drinks – and it was invented entirely by accident in 1965 by scientist Dr James Schlatter. While working on an anti-ulcer drug, the doctor licked his finger to pick up a piece of paper, and found that it tasted sweet. It's likely to be one of very few times that accidentally ingesting a chemical in a science experiment has led to a positive outcome.
10. In Switzerland in the 1930s, doctors wanted to give children who were in hospital vitamin-enriched milk to drink. The problem was, the children thought milk was too babyish and wouldn’t touch it. So cocoa butter was added, resulting in the accidental invention of white chocolate. This nutritionally enhanced chocolate product was so popular it ended up being widely sold, and a modern version is still available in Europe today.

(I should add that the list was prompted by the death of the alleged inventor of tiramisu, another example)

Pilgrim Brother by Seth Lakeman

Some recent Pareidolia

 

Fan

Tree, Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath

Midweek Meeting August 21 2024

Good to be back in Childs Hill for the midweek meeting last Wednessday. We were eight altogether and we looked first at Psalm 102 and then prayed. Good time.and

Inventor of Tiramisu dies

Raffaele Diomede from Pordenone, ITALIA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

I read recently of the death of Roberto Linguanotto. Known affectionately as "Loli" to friends and colleagues, Linguanotto is said to have invented tiramisu in the early 1970s while working at Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso, Italy. The story goes that he accidentally dropped mascarpone cheese into a bowl of eggs and sugar, liked the taste, and developed the recipe from there. Many nice things seem to have begun as accidents.

New Murals 2

 

While in Aberystwyth I noticed a new mural going up on the Bookshop by the Sea. Based on Hokusai, it is now finished. The words are from a poem called My Friend and can be translated

Oh! My dear sister, you to me

As the moon to the sea, constantly,

Following you restlessly are

My heart’s pure affections

It is the work of Cranogwen (Sarah Jane Rees 1839–1916). She was the first woman to win in the National Eisteddfod in 1865. More here.

Also see here.

New Murals 1

Back here in London I notice there is a new piece of art work at JW3 on the Finchley Road.

Lord's Day August 18 2024

Last Sunday, once again, I was not preaching. I was in AP in Aberystwyth. In the morning I heard Ian Jones, one of the elders of the church, and in the evening my son Rhodri, pastor of the church, was preaching. Ian is doing a series on perseverance and faithfulness. This time he took us to Hebrews 10:19-29 especially verse 23 and our responsibility to persevere as Christians. Rhodri carried on in Romans 8 with verses 18-27. Very helpful.

10 Welsh Place Names that include the word Holm

The word holm usually refers to an islet, especially in a river or near a mainland. It can also refer to a piece of flat ground by a river which is submerged in times of flood.

1. Flat Holm in the Bristol Channel
2. Steep Holm in the Bristol Channel
3. Burry Holms off the Gower Peninsula
4. Grassholm west of Skomer
5. Middleholm east of Skomer
6. Skokholm south of Skomer
7. Priestholm, former name for Puffin Island, Anglesey
8. Gateholm tidal island off the south west coast of Pembrokeshire
9. Brooksholm wood near Monmouth
10. Waterholmes, historical name for a place near Wiston, Pembrokeshire

An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi

When I was in Kenya I noticed that this volume had come out and so back here in the UK I got hold of a copy and have now read it. It is not an academic book but it is a thorough trawl through what is known of African history. The material is presented in an interesting and appealing way and what appears to be quite a balanced approach. A great deal of it was new to me and I would recommend it to any African, European or whatever wanting to expand their understanding of the various issues.

Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 9 (Evening 5)

There was no official Friday evening meeting last year but it was back with a bang this year. A packed Great Hall listened to Dyfan Williams give the final address of the 2024 conference looking at scenes from the life of Jacob. For me, this meeting (including Alun Ebenezer leading in prayer) was the highlight of the week. Clearly, warmly and with rhetorical power Dyfan expounded the Scriptures very practically and helpfully and ended with a powerful evangelistic call. Judicious use of powerpoint helped rather than hindered the message. 

He closed saying,

Now let me ask you this as we come to a close, will you hear Jesus's word tonight? Will you believe the God who sent him? Robert Frost, the American poet, wrote a poem The Road Not Taken and he says "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence. Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference."

I want to suggest to you this evening, the final day of Aber, two roads are converging for you this evening, two roads, Jesus talked about them didn't he? He talked about the broad road and the narrow road. He talked about the broad road - there are many on it. The broad road leads to destruction. The narrow road, the narrow road they're not on it, so many. The narrow road leads to life, eternal life. And I want to ask you which road are you on? Which road are you on? Will you believe in the Lord Jesus? Will you put your faith in him? Will you get off the broad road and will you trust in this Saviour who promises you eternal life? Will you do it? Paul talks in in 2 Corinthians 5, he says we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were making his appeal through us - be reconciled to God. Well, I want to be that voice this this evening to you. I want to say, God is making an appeal to you through me, through his word this evening - be reconciled to God, come to this God. He is appealing to you this evening. He's saying, come on, come on. Trust in my son. Get off the broad road, get onto the narrow road that leads to life. The consequences are eternal. Robert Frost says that it's made all the difference. It's made all the difference, the road which I took and it's going to make all the difference for us, for you. Get on the narrow road, follow this

Lord Jesus, put your trust in him. There are young people that were with me in Aber at the conference, years and years ago ... there are people who were with me and in our friendship group. They are nowhere now. They are nowhere. They're not following the Lord; they're on the broad road and I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want it to happen to you.

God is appealing. God made Christ who had no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. You can be righteous. You can be right with God this evening through faith in Jesus. You've crossed over from death to life. Take the road less travelled by and that will make all the difference.

Maybe this evening, maybe this evening, this will be the first stage of God's grace for you here. May we all know God's grace through the various stages of life and may we be strong to the finish. Amen, amen.

Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 8 (Morning 4)

David Meredith preached on the final morning from Acts 4, a bold move. One of the last things he said was to remind us of that time when there was a Party Conference of the Liberal party and the Liberals had won a couple of seats. They were really excited and the leader of the party said "Let us go back to the country and prepare for government". And they were annihilated at the next general election. We are going to be leaving Aber, he said. He was not saying, "Let us go go back and prepare for government" but that we should proclaim the word of God boldly and as we proclaim that word make it a matter of prayer. ray that the room will shake through seriousness in prayer.