War Cry 23 Mar 2019

23 March 2019 20p/25c

CHILDREN’S BOOK COMES OF AGE The Gruffalo celebrates 20 years in print

NO SILVER BULLET FOR ENERGY CRISIS

SUNFLOWERS AND A STARRY NIGHT Art exhibition puts Van Gogh in the frame

Scientist on developing safe and economical power

A KNAPSACK ON HIS BACK JB GILL LOVES TO GO A-WANDERING IN NEW TV SERIES

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

What is The Salvation Army?

The Salvation Army is a church and charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in over 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church

From the editor’s desk EXPLORING the great outdoors is one of our nation’s favourite pastimes. With so many picturesque places to visit, there always seems to be somewhere new to discover.

That has certainly been the experience of TV presenter JB Gill.

In this week’s War Cry, he talks about his latest programme, Walks of Life, in which he explores some of the UK’s countryside and discovers the stories behind each location’s spiritually significant sites.

JB also explains how, as a Christian, he is able to connect with nature on a spiritual level. ‘I’m a deep thinker,’ he says, ‘so I enjoy having that space and the time to think.’

People’s connection with the natural world is also shown through art. As we report this week, an exhibition of Van Gogh’s artwork starts at Tate Britain on Wednesday (27 March) and includes some of the artist’s paintings that were inspired by nature, such as The Red Vineyard at Arles and The Starry Night.

Our report also reveals how Van Gogh himself was captivated by other artists known for their landscape paintings including John Constable and Claude Monet.

It would seem that the beauty of this world prompts universal appreciation. So it is immensely sad that so much of its beauty is under threat because of the demands that we put on this planet.

Ian Hutchinson, a professor of nuclear science and engineering, is part of the scientific effort to find abundant, safe and less harmful energy. However, in an article this week, Ian warns that the fundamental threat our planet faces is rooted in too many people wanting too much for themselves.

‘We have to reach the point where the demands we place on the planet are moderated, lest we destroy the environment around us,’ he says.

It would be a tragedy if humankind destroyed this planet that we delight in because we fail to put its needs before our own.

What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

WAR CRY Issue No 7415

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Stephen Pearson Assistant Editor: Claire Brine Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101

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FEATURES 3

Picture perfect New Van Gogh exhibition opens

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More than rambling on TV presenter JB Gill talks about his new series

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Science can’t stop people wanting more Professor Ian Hutchinson on why the challenge of sustainable energy is as much spiritual as technical

REGULARS 4

News feature

12

Browsing the Bible

13

Now, there’s a thought!

14 Puzzles 15

What’s cooking?

Front-page picture: 7 Wonder

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23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • EXHIBITION 3

Vincent van Gogh, Musée d’Orsay, © RMN

Painting the picture Emily Bright takes a look at the new Van Gogh exhibition at Tate Britain

Vincent van Gogh, Collection Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo

Vincent van Gogh, © The National Gallery, London/Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1924

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OR those looking to brush up on their art history, the Tate Britain will display the largest selection of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings for almost decade in an exhibition starting this Wednesday (27 March).

Van Gogh and Britain includes works collected from across the globe, among them Shoes, Prisoners Exercising, L’Arlésienne, and At Eternity’s Gate. The pièce de résistance of the exhibition is ‘Self-portrait’, 1887 Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, borrowed on a rare loan from London’s National Gallery.

The exhibition also highlights how Theo: ‘Try to grasp the essence of a star-studded sky, windswept wheat Van Gogh, who lived from 1853 to what the great artists, the serious or soaring cypresses. Even Jesus took 1890, fell in love with British culture masters, say in their masterpieces, inspiration from nature to provide a when he moved to England as a and you will again find God in them.’ tangible example of God’s goodness 20-year-old. He was captivated by Influenced by these great artists, and faithful provision, and gently to the novels of Charles Dickens and Van Gogh also sought inspiration remind us not to be obsessed by George Eliot, and admired English from nature. He drew on the world material concerns. painters such as John Constable and around him in landscapes such as Jesus said: ‘See how the flowers John Everett Millais.

The Starry Night, The Red Vineyard at of the field grow. They do not labour He also derived insight from French Arles, Cypresses and Wheatfield with or spin. Yet I tell you that not even landscape artists Claude Monet Crows.

Solomon in all of his splendour was and Paul Cézanne. Van Gogh once Throughout the ages, nature has dressed like one of these. If that is remarked in a letter to his brother often sparked creativity, whether it’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?’

(Matthew 6:28–30 New International Version).

Sometimes it is easy to become engulfed by life’s daily struggles.

Although the Bible encourages us to use our resources wisely, Jesus tells us that we don’t have to rely solely on our own strength to get by.

God doesn’t just paint over the cracks; he sustains us and helps us to repair our lives, one day at a time. He offers everyone the chance to start again with a blank canvas, if we let him.

‘Sunflowers’, 1888 ‘At Eternity’s Gate’, 1890

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

Salvation Army provides hope, comfort and food after tornados THE Salvation Army set up emergency canteens in Alabama and Georgia in the wake of deadly tornados that hit earlier this month.

The church and charity supplied 200 meals to first responders and deployed seven mobile feeding units, providing hot meals, snacks and beverages to people in areas hit by the tornados.

‘We stand ready to provide hope and comfort to this community which has lost so much in this devastating storm,’ said The Salvation Army’s divisional director of emergency disaster services Terry Lightheart.

A series of tornados hit Alabama and Georgia on 3 March, killing 23 people in the deadliest day of storms since 2011.

Salvation Army personnel supply food and drink from an emergency canteen

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AFTER a gunman opened fire in two mosques in New Zealand, killing 50 people, Lieut-Colonel Gordon Daly of The Salvation Army’s Christchurch City church was among the Christian leaders who signed an open letter to the city’s Muslims.

‘In face of today’s horrific shooting,’ the letter ran, ‘the combined inner-city Christian ministers and their congregations wish to extend our love to the wider Christian community of Christchurch and assure them of our friendship and support at this time of great loss.

‘Be assured of our continuing prayers as our joint city community and people struggle to understand what has happened.’

Report warns of growing worldwide water crisis over next 30 years THE global water crisis will become increasingly severe over the next 30 years if no action is taken, warns a new report.

Christian non-profit organisation Gospel for Asia (GFA) World says that water shortages will become more acute as the world’s population spikes and demand for safe drinking water soars by 30 per cent in the next 30 years.

GFA World added that nearly 2 billion people already live in arid or semi-arid areas with scarce water resources, while 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water. It explained that water shortages can lead to the proliferation of dehydration, diarrhoea, typhoid and hepatitis A. The report called on governments and charities to provide solutions, such as drilling wells to tap into ground water and training people to work the pumps. Other suggestions included treating sewage water for agricultural use and desalinating seawater.

‘We need to start thinking seriously about these things now to prepare ourselves and future generations for the challenges we will face,’ said GFA World founder Dr K. P. Yohannan.

‘Jesus is real thing for me’ says US star

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PA IMAGE NOT FOR WEB

HAILEY BIEBER (pictured), the US model, actress and wife of singer Justin Bieber, has spoken about balancing her faith and her work, reports Christian media outlet Premier.

‘A big part of my job is body, face and vanity,’ she said. ‘So it’s really difficult to say OK, this is what I do for my job but on Sunday I’m in church and Jesus is a real thing for me, without it looking like I’m compromising everything.’

She said that she compares herself with people a lot but reminds herself: ‘God took his time to create me and put me in this place.’ The star believes that everyone questions whether they are good enough, but responds: ‘You’re enough because [God] created you, because you are existing and living and breathing on this planet.’

CHRISTIANS were among n the activists who stained Downing Street with hundreds

of litres of fake blood in protest against climate change.

The blood represented the risk to the lives of today’s children who, the protesters believe, will suffer most from the effects of climate change.

During the demonstration, supported by members of Christian Climate Action, children took to a podium in front of the crowds to speak about what they would lose through climate change. One child said it was ‘disgusting’ that only a handful of politicians turned up to the recent debate on the issue.

23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 5

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A CHRISTIAN project supporting n vulnerable girls in developing countries has announced plans to reach

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20,000 girls by the end of 2020.

The Dignity Project provides reusable sanitary pads to girls in developing countries and raises awareness about sexual abuse and human trafficking.

At a Houses of Parliament reception, the project announced plans to extend its reach to Brazil, India, South America and Asia. To date, the Dignity Project has reached 8,000 girls in Kenya and Sierra Leone.

‘The Dignity Project was inspired after young children in my village in Kenya went missing,’ said project founder Becky Murray. ‘We knew we had to do something to stop human trafficking. Just three years later we have reached 8,000 girls and now it’s time to go global.’

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re al Children’s favourite celebrates a special anniversary, writes Emily Bright

RESEARCHERS for Coronation n Street have been working closely with The Salvation Army for one of their latest

storylines, reports The Sun. Actors have been cast to play an Eastern European gang and one of its victims for the plot which will tackle modern slavery. Regular character Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni) falls for nail salon worker Alina, who is a victim of trafficking and lives in squalid conditions.

A source on the ITV soap said: ‘It’s a really gritty storyline but based on real issues thousands face in the UK every day.’

The Salvation Army has held the government contract to provide specialist support to adult victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in England and Wales since 2011 and, in that time, has supported more than 8,000 victims.

Kathy Betteridge, director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery, said: ‘The key to combating this horrific problem is for people to understand what it looks like. Coronation Street will no doubt be a great help in this.’

MOUSE took a stroll through the deep, dark wood’ may seem a ‘A rather ominous way to begin a children’s book. But The Gruffalo has delighted young readers for decades, selling more than 13.5

Christian Climate Action

million copies since it was first published in 1999. Today (23 March) marks the 20th anniversary of the classic story, written by children’s author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

The Gruffalo tells the tale of a cunning rodent who evades predators by pretending he is waiting for his friend, a frightening yeti-like beast called the Gruffalo.

He offers an extravagant description of the creature with purple prickles, a poisonous wart and terrible teeth, claws and jaws. Each time the woodland creatures flee in panic the mouse chuckles to himself, thinking that the Gruffalo does not exist.

But after one of the animals clears the scene, the mouse gets the shock of his life when he sees the Gruffalo, exactly as he has been describing him.

The rodent laughed at the foolishness of the animals believing in something they couldn’t see. But he soon realised that, just because he hadn’t seen the beast, that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t real.

Often we can identify with the mouse, basing our beliefs on personal experiences rather than putting our faith in concepts which seem foreign and almost unbelievable to us.

Throughout the generations, people of faith can testify to God being at work in their lives even though they have not physically seen him. In the Bible, a young man called Joseph decides to believe in God despite never having set eyes on him. He continues to trust in God despite being sold into slavery, thrown into prison and abandoned by the people he helps.

God rewards his faith by taking him from his suffering and making him the second most powerful person in the country.

As his life comes to an end, Joseph looks back and, through his personal experience, is able to tell his family: ‘God will take care of you’ (Genesis 50:24 Contemporary English Version). Joseph may not have seen God, but he witnessed him at work throughout his life and knew that God was always faithful.

God longs to work in our lives too. If we ask him, we will be able to see the difference he can make.

The mouse chuckles, thinking the Gruffalo does not exist

6 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

Crossing paths with R

AMBLING in the countryside is a national pastime for many people and presenters JB Gill and Mehreen Baig will be exploring different paths across the country in Walks of Life, a new BBC One series that started last week.

Tomorrow (Sunday 24 March), in JB’s first episode, his journey takes him along a 12-mile stretch of the River Severn where he discovers its links to the Christian faith.

‘What connects the dots between all the walks that we’re doing is the stories of the people that we meet along the way,’ he tells me as we speak about the programme.

‘We see lots of different places and landscapes in very different parts of the country,’ he explains. ‘On our walks we meet various characters, and all of them have some sort of

JB GILL talks to Sarah Olowofoyeku about the journey his new programme has taken him on grounds or places of pilgrimage.

‘One of the journeys I went on was in Dartmoor,’ says JB. ‘Lots of people go walking there and it has a deep history and culture. But it’s a bit of a wasteland and quite a bleak, barren landscape. So what was interesting was meeting the people who have visited Dartmoor a number of times and then have chosen to make it their home.

‘I also went to Edinburgh, which is one of the most popular cities in the UK. People come from all over the world to visit it,’ he says. ‘But I go on a walk that’s probably a bit off the beaten track, so even if people have been to Edinburgh, perhaps they’ll see something in the show that they haven’t experienced before.’

In all eight episodes, the journeys taken

by JB and Mehreen will feature either a

Everyone we meet has some sort of connection to that land spiritual, physical, emotional or historical connection to that land.’

While some of the landscapes that JB and Mehreen visit will be familiar to viewers, the programme aims to bring those areas to life by looking at the lives of the people who reside there. With their help, the two presenters uncover the stories behind each location’s spiritually significant sites such as places of worship, monuments, burial

JB Gill

Mehreen Baig

23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 7

the countryside literary, historical, biographical or artistic theme. The aim of the programme, says JB, is ‘for people, whether they’ve got a spiritual background or none, to be able to engage with the countryside, with certain stories or with the spiritual aspect of it as well. Mehreen is from a Muslim background, so both of us have a different take on whatever we experience.’

JB finds that he is able to connect with nature on a spiritual level. ‘When you go outside and look around, there are so many things that we can see and we know how they happen, but it’s very difficult to explain why,’ he says. ‘For me, it’s impossible not to see elements of God in nature. I’m a deep thinker as well so I enjoy having that space and the time to think. I love just being outdoors and seeing how things function.’

It’s exciting for me to demonstrate the different aspects of the country

7 Wonder

Along his journey, JB met others who shared the same faith as him, as well as those who didn’t. But what stood out for him were the things that people are doing with their everyday lives up and down the country. He gives the example of a church in Scotland that is reaching out through social enterprises to members of its community who are marginalised because of addiction or other difficulties. One such enterprise is a wood workshop.

‘The stuff these people are making is incredible,’ he enthuses. ‘It shows that they are talented and do have something to offer. What that church in Scotland is doing is amazing because it’s what Jesus did. We can’t expect respect as a

church just because we are a church.

We have to go into the places where people don’t want to go, to the people who feel like they’re not welcome and communicate with them.’

In another episode he meets a group of Christian surfers in Cornwall serving the surfing community in a chaplaincytype role. He also meets a woman who is a practising Buddhist, and people who are involved in a social enterprise centred on Punjabi food that is empowering women in the Sikh community and beyond.

‘My biggest takeaway from this show were all these hidden stories,’ JB explains.

‘There are so many things that can be shared between communities and they should be appreciated.’

At a time when the country seems to be quite divided, JB is sure that a programme such as Walks of Life is a positive way of showing and celebrating the diversity in faith and race across the UK. ‘It’s a unique show,’ he says. ‘It’s really exciting for me to demonstrate the different aspects of the country and the incredible elements that we have within our communities.

It’s about introducing our nation to the hidden gems within our countryside.

There’s something for everybody.’

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

NIGEL BOVEY

‘There are too many people

Ian Hutchinson

Professor Hutchinson, what does your work entail?

I’m a physicist by training and professional career. I work in the school of engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I study hot gases known as plasmas. These are ionised gases – the state of matter that occurs at temperatures of a few thousand degrees centigrade. I make plasmas that are 50 to 100 million degrees centigrade, which is hotter than the centre of the sun.

Over the past 60 years, scientists have developed the science of plasmas. We have, for example, discovered that they have unusual electrical properties. They carry electrical currents and are affected by magnetic fields.

Our aim is to demonstrate that we can bring the energy source of the sun and stars – fusion nuclear reactions – down to the terrestrial scale and use it for generating energy that will be attractive, safe and economical.

To what extent is the world’s energy crisis driven by materialism and greed?

The challenges of the environment, energy and related issues fundamentally come down to too many people wanting too much stuff. From a Christian perspective, the Bible is full of teaching about the question of people wanting too much – the sin of acquisitiveness and so

IAN HUTCHINSON, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, talks to Nigel Bovey about the challenges of the environment, energy, scientific research and miracles on. Wanting too much stuff is part of the human condition. It is not something that science can solve. However wonderful the technology might be, there will always be people who want more.

How different is fusion energy from the type of nuclear power that is in widespread use?

The current form of nuclear energy is nuclear fission, in which heavy elements such as uranium are broken up. In so

23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

wanting too much stuff’ doing, they release energy that can be used to generate electricity. Fission energy has disadvantages. There are safety concerns. It has radioactive waste.

Nuclear fusion consists of taking light elements, such as the isotopes of hydrogen – deuterium and tritium – and fusing them together. As they fuse, they release energy. This is what generates the energy source for stars. The hope is that fusion power will be more abundant, safer, have lower levels of waste and reduce the risk of nuclear weapon proliferation.

The main disadvantage is that in order for fusion to work we need to generate very high temperatures and to be able to confine the plasma at these high temperatures.

How close are scientists to achieving this?

The UK is collaborating with other nations on the ITER fusion experiment in France. If successful, it will generate approximately 500 megawatts of fusion power for hundreds of seconds at a time.

It will be a scientific demonstration of a controlled fusion reaction. It will not put energy on the grid; it’s not designed to do that. Rather, it’s designed to show that we understand the science well enough that we can actually control it and can confine

Turn to page 10

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The hope is that fusion power will be more abundant, safer and have lower levels of waste

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

From page 9 the plasma.

To make that into a practical energy source, a great deal of additional engineering would need to happen. This then becomes a question of economics and political priorities.

So, the timescale on having grid electricity generated by fusion energy is not an imminent possibility?

Fusion, like many other fields in physics, is big science. Forget the idea of an individual scientist in a white coat working in isolation in their lab. ITER involves hundreds of people, taking some 15 to 20 years to build and has construction costs in the billions.

Some years ago, I headed the fusion experiment at MIT where around 100 of us built and worked on a doughnutshaped confinement chamber with strong magnetic fields. From a university perspective it was a sizeable project. In volume terms, though, ITER is more than 700 times bigger.

There is no silver bullet for satisfying the energy needs of humankind – no single technology will meet demand. Technology can contribute to solving the problem, but ultimately the challenges of sustainable energy and sustainability is not only a matter of resources but is also a matter of whether we can cope with the emissions

from that energy. The sustainability question can be solved mostly by human and social changes. We have to reach the point where the demands we place on the planet are moderated, lest we destroy the environment around us. To me, the challenge of sustainable energy is as much spiritual as it is technical.

Does nature have laws?

In the commonly understood sense, yes. For Christians, the laws of science are the way in which God orders and sustains his creation. He does so with enormous faithfulness, consistency, comprehensibility, size and power.

Whatever our faith position, we can look at the universe and see the consistency, power and immensity of the universe. For someone of religious faith, that has always been viewed as an insight into the Deity.

If the laws of nature are the expressions of the way God operates, is a miracle the breaking of God’s law?

No, not necessarily. In fact, the biblical concept of miracles doesn’t involve a conception of laws of nature at all. In the New Testament, for example, there are three words that are referred to as being miracles – ‘signs’, ‘wonders’ and ‘mighty works’.

With some biblical miracles, such as

For Christians, the laws of science are the way in which God orders and sustains his creation

the instantaneous changing of water into wine, it is difficult to imagine how they could have happened without the laws of nature being somehow bypassed. On the other hand, there are other miracles, wonders and mighty works in the New Testament that violate no known law of nature. For example, Jesus predicting that Peter would deny him three times on the evening before the Crucifixion breaks no natural law but is regarded as a wonder.

The 18th-century philosopher David Hume thought of a miracle as being a violation of law. To today’s generation that is familiar with science this seems like a natural way of thinking about miracles. But that is not how the Bible regards them.

When I think about a miracle, I think about an extraordinary work of God. The question of what is extraordinary might mean something that is inexplicable in the normal course of science, but that doesn’t mean it is a violation of natural law. It could simply be a confluence of circumstances that is so remarkable that we identify it as an act of God – as a miracle.

To what extent is one person’s divine miracle another person’s outcome of random coincidence?

If a miracle is an extraordinary act of God then it takes some interpretation to identify it as a deliberate divine act. Interpretation, generally speaking, involves faith. You can’t identify some extraordinary event as a miracle unless you’re open to the possibility that God is going to act in the world.

For example, a large fraction of the gospels are taken up with healing miracles. Today people are sometimes healed in response to prayer in ways that doctors can’t explain. They use terms such as ‘spontaneous recovery’ and ‘remission’.

It’s perfectly reasonable for doctors to have a measured approach and not use the word ‘miracle’, because it is not possible for science to detect whether something is a miracle or not. Science isn’t in the business of identifying God at work. It is in the business of saying this a reproducible event; this is consistent with what we understand.

When somebody has a remarkable recovery in response to prayer then it’s perfectly reasonable for them to say that it was a miraculous answer to prayer. It is also reasonable for the doctors to say that it was a remarkable

23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11

Science is enormously successful in describing the world, but it is not the only source of knowledge

An aerial view of the ITER site in Provence, France recovery and we wouldn’t normally have expected that to have happened.

Central to new atheist thinking is the idea that there is only one viable interpretation of the universe – the scientific response. To what extent is new atheism a credible narrative to how the world is?

The fundamental argument of the so-called new atheists, whom I prefer to call the anti-theists of this century, is that science is all the reality that there is and that everything we know comes from science. But it is not a finding of science that science is all there is. How can everything we know come only from science? What about other disciplines such as history, art, music and literature?

Their world view is not scientific; it is scientism – a ghastly intellectual mistake.

Yes, science is enormously successful in describing the world and has led to very powerful technologies, but it is not the

only source of knowledge.

What evidence do you have for the existence of God? I can’t scientifically prove that there is a God. But just as we get to know our friends in non-scientific ways, so we can get to know God in a personal way.

There is documentary and historical evidence for the claims of Christianity that Jesus was the incarnate Son of God, that he was crucified and raised on the third day for the salvation of the world.

What convinces you personally of these claims?

I became a Christian while I was an undergraduate. The most important intellectual facet of my conversion was that I became convinced that the evidence for the Resurrection was good. It is not knockdown proof but I had to ask myself how else do I explain the extraordinary events of the New Testament and the

transformation of those first disciples if the Resurrection did not happen. I was attracted to Christianity because it made sense of the world.

I also realised that Christianity is more than an intellectual question. I knew that if I was going to be serious about it then it would place demands upon my life. It was going to call for commitment.

One evening, I came to the point where I said yes, I think I do believe this. I knelt in prayer in my room and committed my life to Jesus Christ. The subsequent experiences of my life have confirmed the reality of that commitment.

What does your faith give you?

It gives me a sense of belonging and of being loved. By nature, I am inclined to deal better with ideas and puzzles than I am people. But my faith has helped to balance that out. I am a geek – we love geeks at MIT – but without faith I can imagine having become a totally different person.

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Pat, who has concerns about her housing; for Cathy, who has chronic fatigue syndrome and is a carer for her elderly mother; and for Elizabeth, who is in hospital.

The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

1 Kings

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

HE turbulent history of Israel’s monT archy continues with King David’s successor, Solomon, killing his older

brother and rival Adonijah (2:25).

Whereas David’s reign was characterised by military conquest, Solomon consolidates national security through marriage and trade alliances. Solomon’s first wife was a daughter of Egypt’s Pharaoh (3:1). In total he had 700 wives, many of whom were from neighbouring countries (11:1–3). But he was also known for his wisdom, particularly when confronted by two women each claiming a child is theirs (3:16–28).

Solomon commissions the building of a royal palace and the Temple, the focal point of national worship (chapters 5 to 8). After a 40-year reign Solomon dies in 931BC. The tensions between the 12 tribes of Israel that had festered under David now break out into open rebellion against the crown. The ten southern tribes refuse to accept Solomon’s son Rehoboam as king.

They make Jeroboam their king. The onceunited Israel splits into two – Judah in the north, Israel (sometimes referred to as ‘Samaria’) in the south (chapter 12).

From the accession of Jeroboam in 931BC, for the next 82 years Israel is ruled by eight kings and Judah by four (chapters 15 to 22).

Neither kingdom is faithful to God. Idolatry is widespread. God’s standout champion is Elijah. Elijah raises a widow’s dead son back to life

(chapter 17). He confronts King Ahab and the priests of the Canaanite god Baal in a supernatural showdown during which God sets fire to a water-drenched altar (chapter 18).

In a time of extended drought, Elijah calls

In total, Solomon had 700 wives, many of whom were from neighbouring countries upon God for rain and it pours (18:41–46).

Ahab is not impressed and sends Jezebel to kill Elijah. Elijah runs for his life (chapter 19).

When Syria attempts to make Israel a vassal state, Ahab goes to war (chapter 20).

Israel is victorious and, three years later, in a joint operation with Judah, Ahab attempts to recapture the Israelite town of Ramothgilead from the Syrians. The mission fails and Ahab dies in battle (chapter 22).

Key verse ‘The Israelites have rejected your covenant (1 Kings 19:14 New International Version)

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23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

NOW, THERE’S A THOUGHT!

by Peter Mylechreest

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Tabloid tales and real-life woes HOCKING truth revealed!’ scream the headlines. Whether it is ‘S news of a celebrity’s seedy lifestyle or the break-up of a reality TV couple, the impact of such revelations sends shock waves

reverberating around the lives of the newspaper’s readers. They often quickly dissipate though.

More damaging for those readers, and considerably longer-lasting, are the unfortunate family incidents that occur to them and others whose lives will never make a tabloid splash. But still, news can leak out to friends, families and neighbours of actions that have the potential to break up relationships. And, sadly, it is rare that they are ever immediately resolved.

Like a gas explosion, the repercussions can be almost as devastating as the explosion itself – with many people trying to evaluate what they have heard. Some will pass judgment and Heart-searching others will sympathise.

It would seem naive to suggest that will not be easy confession, forgiveness and restored trust are what is needed, or that these are easily or painless achieved. Yet the truth is that these are the real qualities that have to be found if anything is to be rescued.

This will take real heart-searching and will not be easy or painless. As they count the cost, those involved will need to have a genuine desire to rectify and repair the situation. If they do, over time, recovery can be possible.

The gospel of Jesus can help because it is all about reconciliation, the healing of relationships and transformation. Jesus offers us acceptance even though we have done things wrong. He then offers to forgive us for those wrongdoings. When bad behaviour needs to be addressed, he offers mercy which means we are not punished but shown compassion instead. And his love is always available to us.

Jesus does not promise to restore every shattered relationship. But he can help us rebuild our lives so that they can go on to be fulfilling and worthwhile, however devastating the initial crisis may have been.

14 PUZZLES • WAR CRY • 23 March 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Melody (5) 5. Surmise (5) 8. Open sore (5) 9. More pleasant (5) 10. Passageway (5) 11. Reject with disdain (5) 12. Masticate (4) 15. Ditch (6) 17. Hasten (5) 18. Yell (6) 20. Member of enclosed order (4) 25. Firearm (5) 26. Sediment (5) 27. Rectify (5) 28. Adroit (5)

29. Loathsome (5) 30. Shrub fence (5)

13. Abbreviated royal title (3) 14. Sea bird (3) 15. Attempt (3) 16. Tin (3) 17. Gossip (7) 18. Depress (6) 19. Alcove (6) 21. Insult (6) 22. Ignite (6) 23. Frequently (5) 24. Demise (5)

DOWN 1. Madman (6) 2. Safe (6) 3. Swear (5) 4. Happen (5) 5. Grain store (7) 6. Flag (6) 7. Detective (6)

SUDOKU

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9

7

1

5

9

4

2

3

8

6

4

3

9

6

8

1

2

5

7

2

8

6

7

5

3

1

9

4

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

1

9

2

3

6

8

7

4

5

5

6

8

1

7

4

9

2

3

1. Feeling of sickness 2. Cherry red colour 3. Needed to provide light and heat 4. Keep possession of 5. Premier League football club 6. Artistic dance

3

7

4

2

9

5

6

1

8

9

4

1

8

3

7

5

6

2

6

5

7

4

2

9

8

3

1

8

2

3

5

1

6

4

7

9

HONEYCOMB

ANSWERS

WORDSEARCH ANNUAL BIENNIAL CLOCHE COLD FRAME CORDON CULTIVAR DEADHEAD DECIDUOUS ERICACEOUS FERTILISER FOLIAGE GERMINATION HALF-HARDY MAINCROP MULCH ORGANIC MATTER PERENNIAL PROPAGATE

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these 7 words 1 5 associated 9 4 2with3 gardening 8 6

4 3 9 6 8 1 2 5 7 F A X L Q K K P Z C M A Z H E B Z L V V X U Y R Z E D G H 2 8 6 7 5I U T O L E P 3 1 9 4 I Q F U A E Z E R Z N H C L U M B T 1 9 2 3 6 8 7 4 5 W H V X T S C C V E A Q Z P P O G X 6 8 1 7 4 9 2 3 Y Z U R E I 5 F V S L N V Q R E L C M O B L R D L D F F U H N B O H M C Z 3 7 4 2 9 5 6 1 8 F C E U E I Z H V G O N I P C M Z L 9 4I M 1 I 8 A E E A O E O G 3 7 5 6 2 M E O H D T A T U C L K R T G T H Z N C G L 6 5 7 4 2 9 8 3I B R 1 S J J Y D E G A I L O F U A C F Z G 8 2 3 5 1 L 6 T C Y N J 4 7 9 T S U Y G F N D M G M L I B M O I I R E A C V A T E D I C H J L Y Z M T Z A Q F I U I I Q M R P W H J R S P Q D M N S N V N E B B E G N E P Q N M H N E V N A R C V E C T G F Y V Y D E D O R A R G Z R L Z G D Q Y W V I A Z Z D P C O R D O N O T C D Q B W D Y W Y S C W N O A P

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Music. 5 Guess. 8 Ulcer.

9 Nicer. 10 Aisle. 11 Spurn. 12 Chew.

15 Trench. 17 Hurry. 18 Shriek. 20 Monk.

25 Rifle. 26 Dregs. 27 Amend.

28 Adept. 29 Nasty. 30 Hedge.

DOWN: 1 Maniac. 2 Secure. 3 Curse.

4 Occur. 5 Granary. 6 Ensign. 7 Sleuth.

13 HRH. 14 Auk. 15 Try. 16 Can. 17 Hearsay. 18 Sadden. 19 Recess.

21 Offend. 22 Kindle. 23 Often. 24 Death.

HONEYCOMB 1.Nausea. 2. Cerise. 3. Energy.

4. Retain. 5. Fulham. 6. Ballet.

2

8

5

6

4

9

7

3

6

5

9

1

8

2

3

4

1

7

2

8

5

6

3 7 1 4 8 2 6 9 5

5 4 8 2 1 3 7 6 9

1 2 3 9 7 6 5 8 4

6 9 7 5 4 8 3 1 2

4 8 5 6 9 7 1 2 3

7 3 6 1 2 4 9 5 8

9 1 2 8 3 5 4 7 6

SUDOKU SOLUTION

3 7

5 4

1 2

6 9

4 8

7 3

9 1

23 March 2019 • WAR CRY • WHAT’S COOKING? 15

Salmon and mozzarella potato bonbons 120g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cubed

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5.

1 can pink salmon, drained

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 7 minutes until tender. Drain, mash and cool.

½ lemon, zest Salt and pepper 30g mozzarella cheese, cut into 6 cubes 20g plain flour 1 egg, beaten 20g cornmeal For the sauce 1tbsp olive oil SERVES

2

1 small onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped 4 fresh basil leaves

Roasted new potato, kale, beetroot and dill salad 200g new potatoes, cut into wedges 15ml rapeseed oil 100g kale, stems removed Light olive oil cooking spray 10g sesame seeds 15ml sesame oil 1tsp lemon juice 75ml low-fat natural yoghurt 2 small cooked beetroot, cut into wedges 1 bunch of dill, chopped Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6.

Boil the potatoes for 6 minutes and then drain. Place into a roasting pan with the rapeseed oil. Roast until

golden and crisp. Cut the potatoes into wedges and then set aside.

Spray the kale with the cooking spray and season well. Roast until crisp for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Set aside.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board website lovepotatoes.co.uk

Toss each bonbon in the flour, the egg and then into the cornmeal.

Repeat the process to coat with a second layer.

Place the bonbons onto an ovenproof tray and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion and garlic over a low heat until soft. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.

Tear the basil and add to the saucepan.

Serve the bonbons and sauce with fresh crisp salad.

To make the dressing, place the sesame seeds, sesame oil, lemon juice and yoghurt together in a small bowl and stir well.

Mix the beetroot, kale and dill in a large salad bowl and season. Toss in the potatoes. Serve the salad with the dressing.

Place the cooled potato, salmon and lemon zest into a bowl and add a little seasoning. Mix well and divide into 6 bonbon balls.

Place a bonbon in the palm of your hands, push a piece of mozzarella into the centre, and then form back into a ball. Repeat with the other five.

SERVES

2

You’re blessed when you lget your inside world - your mind and heart put right Matthew 5:8 (The Message)