Pastoral Letter - October 2009
Dear Friends
We read in the newspapers and see and hear broadcasts about wonderfully kind, thoughtful and brave people. This is encouraging and uplifting. We also read and hear reports about evil people, thieving, assaulting, killing, lying, cheating, being overpaid, swindling the poor and abusing the weak. Sadly this is nothing new, and the solution to these problems is clearly set out in the treasure house that is the Bible.
In Old Testament times, hundreds of years before the wonderful teachings of Jesus Christ, Moses was given the Ten Commandments by God for the Jewish people. These contained an excellent code of living. The prophets also wrote eloquently about the sins of those days. Just for an example look at the 5th chapter of Amos from verse 11 to 13. Not only does Amos criticise the wickedness of the people, but he gives the solution from verse 14 onwards: "Seek good not evil, hate evil, love good, maintain justice and the Lord will have mercy".
In the book of Proverbs, there is a collection of sound advice, and one phrase in Chapter 9 verse 10 gives us a clue about how we should develop a relationship with our God to guide us through the morass of wickedness that surrounds us. It says: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". We would perhaps translate this in our modern minds as the 'Love and respect for God is the beginning of wisdom'. The Psalms are full of sound advice and teaching - just look up Psalm 53 or Psalm 139. Not only sound advice but sublime poetry.
In the New Testament there is a feast of encouragement and loving direction from Christ. Just one example is in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, where Jesus compares himself with a vine and his followers as the branches. Thus if we stay joined to Jesus the true vine, then our fruit will be goodness, love for others, and joy.
Please take a moment each day to look up some of the treasures that are in the Bible. Perhaps in the example of your life, you can make a small contribution towards making the part of the world that you inhabit a better place.
Roger Beeby
Central Baptist Church Deacon
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