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Viewpoint from Helen Farman 18/05/2018
 Helen Farman
?Light of Life Baptist Church, Ormesby
as published in the Yarmouth Mercury
How many voices bombard my world each day? Too many to count! They speak a million different messages – I am confused. Some voices pressure me, some make me doubt myself, some fill me with false hopes, some cause me to despair, some make me question the real me. But there is one voice, often overwhelmed by other voices, that calls my name, that tells me I am special, unique. It tells me I have a life to live that is like no other, with potential that is like no other, and loved unconditionally. That voice, when heard, changes the world
I came across these words unexpectedly; words that I had written many years ago. The title I had given these thoughts was ‘Jesus’ Voice’. As I reread them, it was the last line that impacted my thinking for this article – ‘That voice, when heard, changes the world’
In dark moments it is hard to imagine the world changed but we are inspired by stories of those who greatly desire to see God’s kingdom of love come on earth
 I was recently reading a story of a Christian couple, who felt called to the inner city. They moved to Manchester nearly forty years ago. They noticed that the majority of people lived in the inner city but most Christians didn’t. In their community are a number of nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, with Muslims in the majority. They worked together on wellbeing/peace issues
The biggest issues involved gun and gang crime. With others they set up an organisation, Carisma, that networked, mobilised and advocated on behalf of their young people, doing positive stuff to change the atmosphere, running a radio station called ‘Peace FM’ and working in schools. After 10 years, gun crime fell to such an extent that Carisma was not felt to be needed. Paul said, “We learn from each other. Jesus came to live among us, to do life with us, and that is what we are trying to do here in inner city Manchester”
In contrast, Daisy from Chicago, grew deaf to the voice of Jesus through an unbending hatred for her father. His drunken brutality had torn her family apart; she would not forgive him. Later he became a Christian and was desperately sorry for what he had done. He longed for her forgiveness but she would not give it. Her ‘ungrace’ and bitterness did not bring any healing to her; it affected her family negatively down the years that followed
We all make a difference in this world!!
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