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April Message from the Ministry Team.

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Dear friends,

In January, I had to go for my annual appraisal with the circuit. I had a ten-page appraisal form to fill in before I went. This covered all aspects of my employment. How was my work/life balance? Had I been given enough resources to help me in my work? Am I happy with my working life?

This provoked a reaction within me: When did I last do an appraisal of where I stand with Jesus? Has my faith in Jesus strengthened or backslidden over the years? What am I doing to grow in my knowledge and love of the Lord?

I had gone to church all my life, and was a church member. However in April 1974 I was at a meeting in St. George’s Hall when I realised that I knew about Jesus, but I did not know him in a personal way. I began to look back and ask where I was now with Jesus.

You should go to the doctor for a medical check up on a regular basis, but do you come to Christ and examine yourself, and where you are, before him?

There is a little pamphlet by Dr. W.E. Sangster called ‘A spiritual Check up’, it asks Christians to examine their lives. Published by Epworth Press originally 6d (2½ p) though a second-hand (or now known as pre-owned) copy cost me 25p. It asks us to look at our lives in all sorts of areas:-

In the world, do I speak the truth?
Where I work, am I known as a Christian?
In the home, do I think of the home as mine or God’s?
At the altar, do I find time every day for Bible study, and prayer?
At the cross, never higher than Thy feet.

These are questions that pierce us. They call for an examination of each of our spiritual lives with God. It is very easy to coast along, blindly accepting that everything in the garden is rosy in our lives. I realise that to STOP and THINK where we are with God is often scary.

God wants us to grow in the Spirit and faith, both as an individual, as church and as circuit. He wants each one of us to use our time to take stock of where we are with Jesus and see how we can grow.

We have a golden opportunity to prepare our personal and corporate faith, as we look to go forward at this time. Life is a learning curve, and in following Jesus, we should always be learning and growing. As we do this then, we become a more Christ-centred person and church. Don’t be afraid to examine your faith; God will bless you through it.

John
Circuit Pastoral Co-ordinator

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