Dear friends, As I prepare our midweek meeting studies in the book of Habbakuk, I find Habbakuk’s frustration at why God does certain things resonates with me! Habbakuk was certainly not questioning the Sovereignty of God, he simply could not understand how a holy God could tolerate evil for such a long time. It’s a question that we all grapple with: why does a holy God allow injustice and evil to remain? Of course, Habbakuk had to learn that God allows evil to remain to reveal the wickedness of the human heart, but also to show that God even uses wicked people to accomplish His purposes. See how Peter expresses this in Acts 2:23 when addressing the people on the Day of Pentecost, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Here we see how God not only accomplishes His eternal decrees by using wicked men, but is able to triumph in it. Joseph puts it perfectly in Genesis 50 v 20. He boasted about being Jacob’s favourite son; the brothers took matters into their own hands and what they did was far more evil than Joseph’s bragging. Yet when all was revealed Joseph said to them, “You meant evil, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” This gives us confidence in the sovereign plans of God, and therefore we can conclude with the Apostle Paul, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Yours in Christ Pastor Tim
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Dear friends, I am hoping to do a two part study on “What is an Evangelical?” I believe this is a crucial subject, because we need to know and define what an evangelical is and what we stand for as evangelicals. Evangelicalism has its roots in the Word of God, where the key characteristics are the centrality of the Word of God, the centrality of Christ and the centrality of the Cross. Unfortunately, a wave of opposition comes in to discredit those beliefs and there is so much confusion today where many are not sure about the evangelical position. So my aim will be to define evangelicalism, what we stand for and what we need to watch out for. If men are really evangelical, they delight to spread, as glad tidings, the truths for which they take the Name. I commend these studies to you in prayer. Yours in Christ Pastor Tim Dear friends, We have to accept that none of us knows the day on which Jesus was born. We do not know the date or the time. According to tradition, we follow the early Christian Church in choosing 25th December as the day we focus on remembering His birth. This day was selected because it coincided with all the pagan festivals and the early Christians wished to divert attention from those festivals and direct it instead to celebrating the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Personally, I am glad that Christmas is celebrated in December. It is the darkest month of the year, when the days are short and the nights are long. The twinkling lights that illuminate shopping centers and homes attempt to defy this darkness. Remember that when Christ came into the world, Israel was suffering from real spiritual darkness. The religious leaders of the day were corrupt. The king was corrupt and the people had no voice. But the light came when Jesus was born. He came to bring light into this dark world. He came to destroy the forces of evil that enslave us in sin. In Jesus, light overcomes darkness. And that is why Christians celebrate His coming at Christmas time. We rejoice that God became man to deliver us from darkness. He died in the place of sinners to bring us back to God. Now Jesus says to all who will listen, "I am the Light of the World. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12). It is just as we sing it in the words of the carol: Silent night, holy night Son of God, Love's pure light radiant beams from Thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth I trust and hope you will all have a good Christmas Yours, in Christ Pastor Tim Dear Friends, I am sure you will find the words in Zechariah 4:9-10 so apt for today, where God tells His people not to despise the day of small things. Zechariah was speaking to people who were returning from exile; they were excited at the prospect of returning to their homeland. More than anything, they were hoping that they could get down to the work of restoring the temple. They had dreams of restoring it to its former glory. Yet, progress was slow, and they weren’t allowed just yet to rebuild the temple. As much as God was pleased to allow them to return, the time was not yet right for the rebuilding to begin. God’s people had to learn patience, and, more importantly, about God’s perfect timing. We too live in days where, if we are honest, we feel we would like God to move faster. But even in these difficult days we see pockets of blessing. We have had such pockets of blessing as a church, and this encourages us to look forward, to recognise that God is at work even in these difficult times. The day of big things may be coming, but as we wait, let’s not neglect the day of small things. Let us learn to be content, patient and faithful. As the old hymn puts it, Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need; Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead. Yours in Christ Pastor Tim Dear Friends, I am hoping to resume our studies soon in the book of Acts, then to have a short break, and then a mini-series on the church. As I think ahead, I ask myself: what is the role of the Church? I have come up with a few thoughts. The role of the Church is to bring glory to God, to demonstrate to people the power of God, in changed lives. To demonstrate to the community how redeemed people live; living together in harmony and love, promoting the Gospel, and for God’s people to be edified and enjoy fellowship with on another. As I thought about these things, I realised the importance of each person play their part as we serve God by serving God’s people. We have been blessed and encouraged with workers in the Church. Some of these workers however are leaving, all for good reasons. This saddens us as we will miss their fellowship, yet also because they leave gaps that need to be filled. This presents an opportunity for new areas of service: Volunteers are currently needed in Children’s work, in the coffee morning, to join a rota for the laying out of communion bread and wine, Sunday morning refreshments, plus many more things. Every workplace is a mission, and our service in the life of the local Church is an act of worship to the God who has called us. There is no hierarchy of Spiritual professions. When it comes to the Mission of God, the preach or Elder is no more important that the housewife of steward. God invites all His children to join Him in the service to the world. It is a challenge, yet it is a privilege. Let us give Him our best, Pastor Dear Friends, When life is tiring, when family members are not saved, when bills are not being paid, when work is exhausting, when your health is failing, when your loved ones are hurt and when good friends leave, it’s very easy to be discouraged. Discouragement is a thief. It steals your zeal, your joy, your peace and your contentment. If discouragement dwells long with you, its names will join. Its names are fatigue, despair, self-pity, depression, doubt and bitterness. Someone once put it like this: “Discouragement is dis-satisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust for the future.” The problem with discouragement is that it can make us blind, even blaming others for not doing enough to find out what’s causing them discouragement, or just blaming others for one’s discouragement. This is where the devil creeps in, and feeds on the mind, leading to discontentment. The Bible’s answer is always the same: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. The apostle Paul says in 2. Corinthians 1.3 that, “God is the Father of compassion and comfort.” He is the author and the source of all comfort, therefore only in him do we find peace and encouragement. So how do we receive that comfort? It’s by faith. Yes, God can and does use his people to bring encouragement. He uses the ministry of His word, but trusting and believing is the beginning of comfort. Through the reading and hearing of His word, being accompanied by the Holy Spirit is the answer to discontent. Encouragement is something that belongs to you as a Christian. We have the word of God to teach us. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to warm our souls. We have the God of encouragement waiting to show us his mercy, so let us run the race with perseverance; the race marked out for us. Yours, Pastor. |
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