Minister's Message

 Life on hold? Country in a mess? Choose life! Choices are important moments of change. The Bible says that we need constant change towards an ideal that is achievable - a life with God that transforms all of our life. God made us to live in fellowship with Him but as a human race, we have gone in wrong directions - and harmed and confused ourselves very often. Just before the start of the Israelites' entry into the Land, Moses set out a new version of God's Law (which we call Deuteronomy - "the Second Law"). He asked the Israelites to follow them, not because he wanted to spoil their fun but because, in His Love, He knew it was the right way to live to maximise their potential. In Deuteronomy 30:15 -19, speaking for God, Moses offers them God's WAY, God's TRUTH and God's LIFE. His WAY was to follow God's Law of Love: "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." It's still the same today: living in tune with God is to be in tune with love. His TRUTH was to warn them to worship the true God: "But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess." It's still the same today: abandoning God to follow money has brought the curse of debt on us. His LIFE was to ask them to choose to accept life for themselves: This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses." They had a choice. Moses asked them to come to God's Life: Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." Sadly, they failed. And they suffered for their failure. That is because we human beings are naturally weak in moral terms even when we think we are toughest. It's the same today: in Britain we abandoned the Faith that made us great and we are suffering catastrophically in every way. It is why God sent us Jesus to die for our failures, whatever they may be, so we can believe in His sacrifice for all who believe. God the Father and God the Son also sent down the Holy Spirit, God's presence on Earth, to be with us and teach us WHAT LIFE IS. Jesus summed up all the beautiful promises of the Bible, including Deuteronomy, when He said: "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE: NO-ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME." (JOHN 14:6) TO BELIEVE IN JESUS IS TO FIND GOD'S WAY, GOD'S ANCIENT TRUTH FOR TODAY AND GOD'S LIFE: IT'S A LIFE OF LOVE, FORGIVENESS AND POWER WE LIVE NOW, AND WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU. IN CHANNELKIRK AND LAUDER WE BELIEVE IN LIFE BEFORE DEATH. COME! SHARE IT WITH US! Bruce Gardner, Parish Minister