I have been thinking and praying for some time on what to write for this
month's article, various ideas and topics have drifted through my mind.
The last few months have seen a dramatic shift in how we look at the world,
both locally and globally.
Events like hurricane John; crises in the Middle East (Israel, Lebanon and
the Palestinians); terrorists activities at home (the arrests of 'alleged'
terrorists in Walthamstow and nation wide); the secularization of our society
and the state of the Church. Such a wide range of topics and events to choose
from, hence you can understand my dilemma.
It was a little chat I had with a parishioner when walking down Lea bridge
road that narrowed my thoughts for me. ‘I am now looking at ways to
help me change my past into a new life’ or words to that effect. I
thought how wonderful, how brilliant that this person was retracing their
footsteps to see where they went wrong and was determined to rectify their
past, change for the best by recommitting their life to the Lord Jesus.
I am reminded of the words of St Paul in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 ‘Therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation; the old has passed away,
behold, the new has come.
It is when we begin to turn to the Lord Jesus that we begin to see ourselves
for who we are. The problem with our country is that we have departed from
our Christian heritage and as we have sowed so we reap. We need to retrace
our steps as individuals, as a nation to the point when we moved away from
God. We need to connect with that moment when we decided to go it alone,
ask for forgiveness and return back to God while He is still near Isaiah
55: 6-9 and not like the people in the time of the prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah
42-43.7. Let us not recreate God in your own image or limitations. To turn
to God, is to do His will and not yours.
“Come now let us reason together, says the Lord” Isaiah 1:18
why won’t we reason with the Lord Jesus, why don’t we listen
to His voice; why is it that we are hell bent on moving away from God. Isn’t
our heritage/constitution based on Christianity? Why has God not been included
in the EU (European Union) charter or constitution? Many countries around
the world (even within the EU) have their constitutions based on scripture.
Why this gradual change?
Simply because the “imagination of our hearts is full of evil”
Genesis 8:21 and the “fool says in his/her heart that there is no
God” Psalm 14:1. Let us pray for grace to hear the voice of our Lord
Jesus Christ and not to harden our hearts Hebrews 3:7-8. Let us pray for
our leaders, the world and for ourselves to be like that parishioner who
has begun the journey of self discovery and repentance in our Lord Jesus
Christ. For whom the old has passed away and the new has come.
No repentance and turning to God in Christ leads to lack of peace; unity;
progress; love and salvation in the world. Unrest and evil will continue
to flourish, the more we as individuals, as a nation or world continue to
deny or accept the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray for the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess
that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 9-11.
In Dominie
Canon Ade
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