Author: Helen Burnell

“God…has spoken to us by his Son”.  Hebrews 1:1,2

 

Dear friends,

Are you just a little bit confused?  We are receiving so many messages, aren’t we, about Covid-19 regulations.  It seems that no sooner have we been told one thing than the game changes and we have to take note of something else. But the Government is doing its best to deal with a situation over which they have little or no control.  Furthermore, there are so many opinions about what needs to be done and what steps are best for schools, or restaurants, or health workers, or care homes, or families. So many changes; so many voices.

If only all this confusion and uncertainty were to cause men and women to realise, maybe for the first time in some cases, that we need to listen to a higher voice, to follow a better guidepost, to adhere to a supreme source of principles to direct us through this life – pandemic or no pandemic. If only we were to look to an authority more reliable, more true, more certain than the best of any human wisdom.

Well, Hebrews 1:1,2 tells us that “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son”.  In Jesus we have the authentic voice of God!  We do well, or rather we simply must, listen to him.  He is God’s last word to the world. He is the very language through whom God speaks to us.

At that first Christmas God came and shared in our human nature.  Why? “He…shared in (our) humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”. (Hebrews 2:14,15).

There are so many things that men and women fear today: coronavirus and its effects, no-deal Brexit with its effects, global warming and its effects, terrorism and its effects, the erosion of freedom of speech and conscience and its effects, and so one might go on.  But the great fear that people prefer not to dwell on or mention is death, the result and penalty of human sin. If that fear can be overcome then all other fears fall away.  And Jesus has overcome it for us – by his death for sin and his resurrection as evidence that the Father has accepted his sacrifice for us.

God spoke of old many times and in various ways but now we have his last and final word in Jesus.  We need no more than Jesus, and nothing less than Jesus.

May the restrictions and limitations that seem to be the order of the day this Christmas enable us all to reflect more fully than ever on Jesus, the Son through whom God speaks and whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe!

Your brother in Christ,

 

“ …if the Son sets you free, you will be

free indeed”.   John 8:36

 

Dear friends,

Over the past few years and especially in recent months, we have been almost overwhelmed by varying and conflicting predictions and pronouncements.  We were told Brexit would be the best thing for Britain, but also that it would spell disaster.  We are told that Joe Biden has won the US Presidential election although Donald Trump and many of his supporters appear to disagree!  Then comes the exciting news of a coronavirus vaccine breakthrough. But then, on the other hand, there are those who assert it’s far too early to be sure of its efficacy or safety.  All this is to say nothing of the differing opinions as to whether the coronavirus is a reality or not and whether those reported to have died from it actually died from something else.  The bottom-line seems to be that it is becoming increasingly difficult to know who and what to believe.  We fallen human beings have a tendency to believe what we want to believe, what suits our own agenda.   Where is truth to be found?

Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul says “Surely you heard of (Christ) and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus”  (Eph 4:21).  Jesus himself made this great promise to some Jews “who had believed in him”: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31,32).  A few verses later he says: “…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”! (v36).  The truth will set you free…the Son sets you free; because Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.

When we cannot clearly discern the truth of what is going on around us we may be tempted to despair or to be gullible.  But rather, let us lean ever closer to Jesus.  When we know Jesus we know not only the One who knows the truth but who is the truth.  One day, he will fully redeem his own and finally defeat his enemies; he will expose every lie and reveal the glorious truth.  So, in these days of uncertainty about so much wherein does our confidence lie? Does it lie in the One of whom Revelation 21 says: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”.

“He holds the key of all unknown, and I am glad;

If other hands should hold the key, or if he trusted it to me, I might be sad.”

Yours in Christ,

 

 

“ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”.  

Psalm 107:1

 

 

Dear friends,

Last month saw the fourth occasion of Saffron Walden Bible Focus and, once again, we were able to prove the truth that the Lord is good and that His love endures forever.  Of course, it was very different this year in format and we missed the opportunity for fellowship, not least within the context of a good tea and a bookstall to browse.  But even though we couldn’t see or speak to each other, we were there – sharing in the event and lifting up the name of Jesus in prayer, Scripture and song.

The number of YouTube views recorded exceeded our average attendance of past years. We give thanks to God for that and trust His promise that his word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

The opening verses of Psalm 107 describe the people of God as “those he redeemed from the hand of the foe” and also as “those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south”.  God’s people are ‘redeemed’ and ‘gathered’.  No doubt the original reference to ‘redeemed’ looked back to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, whilst ‘gathered’ referred to the scattered exiles now being gathered back together in their own land.  Bible Focus is a gathered people from many and varied backgrounds, denominations, localities, and even nationalities and ethnicities.  But we are, also and supremely, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, a redeemed people – praise the Lord!  The current pandemic has changed a lot of things but these two things about the people of God cannot be changed: we are a redeemed people and we are a gathered people, one in Christ Jesus, unaffected by any amount of social distancing!  By God’s providential grace and his provision of technology we were still able to ‘gather’.  One day we shall gather around the throne (Rev 7:9,10), but until then let us never lose sight of the fact that our God is sovereign over all things and the redeemer and gatherer of his people.

If, as seems likely, the coronavirus is going to be with us for a while yet, keep looking to Jesus ‘the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2) – and remember he is still on the throne!

In Christ,