Hope For Today

Dear Friends, As a child I always looked forward to Easter.  Although, if I'm honest, it was more because of the Easter break from school and, of course, there were the chocolate eggs to enjoy on Easter Sunday! Now that I've grown up a little I look forward to Easter for different reasons and it means so much more to me.  It's the opportunity to celebrate our risen Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. To celebrate that he won the victory over death and that we can experience the hope of an eternal life with God.  It's a time when I can celebrate and worship God with my church family and also my own family. And this year there's an extra special reason for me to celebrate the day.   My daughter, Jess, has made the decision to get baptised and it's going to take place during our Easter Sunday morning service. Of course, any time someone makes the decision to obey God and follow his command to be baptised is wonderful.  But to ...

Dear Friends, Some years back a man was visiting another country and while he was there he was arrested for a crime he didn't commit.  He was given an unjust court trial with witnesses who falsely accused him.  His father, being a prominent figure, could have stepped in at any moment and put an end to this travesty of justice, but he didn't. The man was convicted and sentenced to death.  During his imprisonment he was tortured and abused by the prison guards who watched over him. Still his father did not intervene.  He had the authority to send in those who could have stopped it on his behalf, he didn't even need to go himself.  Yet he did nothing.  The father made his choice - he allowed it all.  And at the appointed time the man was put to death. Do you consider these the actions of a loving father?  Were there serious issues between the father and son?  What could have happened to cause such irreparable damage to ...

Dear Friends,     I believe there are two kinds of guilt we experience in life.  First, real guilt, when we have done something which displeases God. (I.e. we have sinned.) This sense of guilt can lead us to repentance and seeking God's forgiveness. God's unconditional forgiveness frees us from the weight of guilt.  " For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water."  Hebrews 10:22 (NLT) Secondly, there is false guilt and this is guilt which arises when we think that we are just not good enough, that we are failures, that we are to blame for every mistake we make and every bad thing that happens.  The important thing we need to do is distinguish the difference between the two kinds of guilt. Real guilt is healthy because it causes us to turn to God and receive his healing power of forgiveness.  False guilt is very unhealthy and de...