Dear Pr Maureen

DOESN’T GOD CARE?

(January 29, 2023) Maureen McQuillan seeks to comfort a distressed sister…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I’m going through a difficult time. I’ve prayed and prayed but don’t seem to be getting answers, or help. I want to  believe that I can trust God but I just feel He hasn’t heard my prayer. My heart is sobbing, I cry myself to sleep. Doesn’t God care? I am a Christian, I have accepted Jesus. Bella.

Dear Bella

Oh yes, God does hear our prayers… your prayers, and yes, He does care! I’ll be open, honest with you, won’t mislead you… becoming a Christian doesn’t mean we’ll have a carefree life. Yes, we will have a good life, sins forgiven and an assurance that we’re heaven-bound. But… presently we’re still here and things can go wrong, even for God’s children! Accidents, sicknesses, disappointments, marriage and family troubles, sudden loss of loved ones, even disasters.

But we can keep trusting God, we can bank on His love, provision, protection in that He will help us and bring us through whatever the issue is! Your prayers are heard by God (1John 5:14-15, 1 Peter 3:12). 1 Peter 5:7 is particularly precious: ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.’

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SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

(December 21, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a thoughtful friend…

Dear Pastor Maureen

Just curious, my friend… I know you have lots of memories of experiences with God and life itself. Was wondering what special memories or thoughts come to you at this Christmas season? Rebecca.

Hi Beccie

Gosh, what can I tell you? I have quite a few… but, apart from great church carol services as a child praising God for the gift of His Son, Jesus, I’ll tell you of the two major ones that always come back to me, indeed I’ll always remember them, and have written about them before! (And a thought.. number three).

Number 1… Christmas Day itself
I can never forget Christmas Day way back in 1962! Our precious daughter Wendy was born! Robert and I were so young, still regarded as kids in many ways, even though we were in our very early twenties. With the Lord’s help everything went well, including a miracle and other delights…

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CALLING ELDERS TO PRAY FOR THE SICK

(October 27, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a very earnest, thoughtful friend…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I was really blessed by your Experiences testimony (T’was a Cold Wintry Night, Nere a Sound was Heard), it touched me in many ways. Great to learn how the Lord touched you miraculously through the ministry of those elders so long ago.

That aspect – your mother actually requesting the elders to anoint you and pray for you, quoting James 5:14 – is special to me as it has been on my heart for some time. I mean, the thought that when people are sick, they should call for the elders to pray over them, just as James wrote. I mentioned this to my pastor and he agreed, saying that people don’t and he wished they would. What are your thoughts? Tom.

Hi Tom

I’m glad my testimony blessed you. In that church I mentioned in my testimony, troubled people had no hesitation in calling for the elders to be anointed with oil and prayed for. It was ‘the in-thing to do.’

People took that scripture you mentioned at face value… they called for prayer. ‘Call’ here is a word meaning ‘to invite.’ There’s an inference that anyone sick should make a point to doing this. In fact, most translations say, ‘should call.’ NASB reads ‘must call.’

Traditionally this was the done thing. Elders, or at least the minister, would be invited – that is asked –  to visit sick people at home to pray over them. Or, as was the case with me, elders might ask that the sick be brought to the church.

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‘HELP, HOLY SPIRIT!’

(August 30, 2022) Maureen McQuillan recalls a bad incident, and shares her favourite prayer…

Dear Pastor Maureen
This is a thank you for your article,  brrr-baby-its-cold-outside. It so encouraged me. Caroline.

Hi there, Caroline

So glad to hear that my little article blessed you. The Holy Spirit is always there to help us, encourage us. Many times something comes up out-of-the-blue, so unexpectedly and it’s great to know that we can call on Him to help.

This reminds me of a really unexpected catastrophic incident I encountered when visiting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania quite a few years back…

Our very hospitable hosts had taken us to their favourite Rotary restaurant and afterwards decided to show us a few local sites. One was the famous Duquesne Incline and we really enjoyed travelling up and back down, seeing the beautiful panoramic night views of the city.

Unfortunately, as we were walking back to their car chatting away, I stumbled over some uneven paving I hadn’t noticed and had a very painful fall! My ankle immediately swelled up and I hurt so much.

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FAR OUT!

(July 25, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a concern lady…

Dear Pastor Maureen

This may seem a very strange thing to ask. It’s not really a question – I’d just like your opinion, what you think. And I’d rather not give my name. On TV news recently I’ve saw that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope had released ‘the clearest image to date of the early universe, going back 13 billion years’ … close to the estimated beginning of the universe itself, just after ‘the big bang.’ I’m confused. What do you think?

Hi there, friend

This isn’t really my ‘thing.’  But I would make the following comments and pray they help you and put your mind at rest.

Whatever those science and technology experts say, and the big bang ‘theory’ claim of how the universe coming into existence, I remain ‘a simple home-town girl’ in my thinking about ‘the beginning.’ At home, many years ago, when only five-years-old, I accepted Jesus as my Saviour.

I was taught Bible stories in Sunday school and learned that in the beginning God created everything from nothing… heaven, earth, stars and seasons, day and night, so many creatures… birds, fish, animals, grass, herbs and fruit… and more, even human beings.

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NOT BEING AFRAID

(June 22, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a concerned, fearful mother…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I’m so pleased that my adult children are doing the Christian thing and using their career skills to help needy and troubled people, especially nonChristians, but I’m afraid that they may be getting into difficult and dangerous situations. Please help me find peace. Josie.

Hi Josie

Naturally, it’s great that your children are following in your footsteps – and the Lord’s – and reaching out to help troubled people. The reality is that we all have to make major decisions in life and no matter who we’re endeavouring to help (and lead to Christ) sometimes awkward or dangerous moments come up.

But we Christians are directed in scripture not to be worried or concerned about anything. Being concerned not worried, as any good mother should be, is all right but we are not to be afraid… otherwise we open a doorway for the devil, our enemy, to rush in through!

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DOES JESUS RECALL ‘GOOD FRIDAY’ EVERY YEAR?

(May 18, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a query by her husband Robert…

Hi my darling Maureen!

This is a bit unusual… a question from me, not some concerned Christian sister or brother as is normal. But, as I know that you so often have immediate insights into troubling questions or queries, I thought I’d ask you (Hoping that someone else may have had the same thought over Easter as I had and they’ll receive a blessing too).

Okay then, here it is… as you’re only too much aware, I was hospitalised over the recent Easter week and weekend in respect to an urgently needed major operation I had and, although the op was successful, praise God, I was so very sick the next few days as I recuperated. I couldn’t eat the great hospital food, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even talk to you over the phone and you couldn’t visit me due to restrictions!

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OWING GOD?

(March 16, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a someone who’s concerned about ‘owing God’…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I know I owe God so much for all He’s done for me… salvation through the gift of His Son Jesus and so much more. How can I pay Him what I owe? Yours, Jane.

Dear Jane

Owing God? Yes, we owe Him so much… but it’s impossible to pay God back for anything He’s done! At least not financially.

Look up the word ‘owe’ in the KJV and you’ll find that the only place this word is mentioned is Romans 13:8,  ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another…’

‘Owe’ here is opheilō… to be under an obligation and we could easily think in terms of money owed to someone or an organisation, especially when we recall that Jesus had something to say about owing people! (Matthew 18:28, Luke 16:5. And Leviticus 25:53 instructs business owners to pay workers what they owe them).

But nowhere does scripture require us to ‘owe God’ financially! What scripture does encourage us to do is support our local church. By extension this can also be some purposeful evangelist, missionary, or other genuine ministry God has directed us to support.

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BIBLE READING CONCERN

(February 19, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a friend who’s feeling concerned…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I have a problem, something that is really troubling me. I’ve been a Christian for many years now and still read my Bible every day. But for weeks now, I no longer feel passionate about reading it and feeling I’m getting nothing out of it, that nothing is ‘going into me’ as if were. Yours, Henrick.

Dear Henrick

That’s a strong word you’ve used… passionate. It actually means to have very strong feelings or emotions. And that’s how you want to be feeling about God’s word as you read it but that you’re not.  Right? I’ll endeavour to help here.

Yes, one of the devil’s tricks is to have us stop reading God’s word… but let’s not think too much about that. I remember you, Hendrick, and that you love God’s word! You’ve been reading it for many years… so it’s already in your heart – and lively!

Let me go straight to the point and ask this question: Whose word have been reading?’ Why, God’s of course! Therefore even if you think nothing is ‘going in’ and that you don’t feel ‘emotional’ at times, the fact remains that it’s His word and alive! That means something must be going that’ll come back to you later. Why? Because, I repeat, it’s His word… and God’s word is life!

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DOES GOD ‘THINK’ ABOUT THINGS?
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(January 23, 2021) Maureen McQuillan responds to an unusual question…


Dear Pastor Maureen

This will probably seem to be a silly question… but I’m asking it anyway. I was watching a good TV family movie the other night and in it a little boy was saying his prayers. Cute. But as he was asking a special blessing on his dad and mum, he finished off this way: ‘Will you please think about it, Lord?’ Well, it had me wondering if God has to think things through as we do. What do you reckon? Sarah.

Hello, Sarah

How unusual a question indeed! But I think I know which movie you mean. Sounds like one we recently watched in which the above happened and, for a moment or two, with smiles we thought as you did.

Well then, I’ve never been asked your question before but, on reflection, a few thoughts come to mind (See what you think)…

Firstly, we believe that as God is Almighty God, He knows everything, indeed knows everything already. His word (the Bible) is His mind and His word doesn’t change.

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