Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Confessing to the Lord

Psalm 51v1-2.

”Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin”

Is there sin that you are very conscious of in your life? David wrote this Psalm when he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. He was the king of Israel in about 1000BC. Initially he tried to just push through in life, but it was getting messier and messier. Then Nathan the prophet confronted him with a story with a hidden meaning (a parable): I wonder how Nathan felt as he approached the king. Nathan’s confrontation resulted in David coming to terms with his guilt and seeking God for forgiveness.

We are completely reliant on God’s mercy. We deserve judgement for sin, but in his mercy, he does not give me what I deserve, rather he treats me with love and compassion as he washes away all my sin.

Later in the Psalm he has further requests:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant we a willing spirit to sustain me.”

David isn’t just looking for his sin to be washed away, but for God’s Spirit to remain with him and for him to remain in God’s presence. Have I lost something of the joy of God’s salvation, something of the sense of the presence of God? Then use these words to ask God to fan into flame his presence and joy once again! There is every reason to be excited and joyful as we encounter the mercy and love of God!

May we each keep short accounts with God and seek his mercy, cleansing and Spirit within us day by day.

With much blessing,

Roland

News/Prayer

  1. Devoted – If you are not already booked in, the price goes up on 31st January from £119 to £129. Day tickets will increase on the same day from £39 to £43. The link to book for the weekend 28-31 August is here: https://www.devotedevent.org/booking/ .
  2. Churches Together Annual Meeting with reports on Good News stories in North West Telford. Why not join the wider Christian community on Friday 24th Jan at 7pm at Holy Trinity, Hadley? Nick Brookes from All Saints will be replacing Roland in Chairing the group.
  3. Christ Central Celebration – 2nd February at Barnabas – if you are able, do put this date in your diary to join with the other churches in Shropshire.
  4. Zambia Food Crisis – I will show some slides on Zambia, but we have some pictures of the food we have helped fund being distributed in Zambia. Christ Central are working cooperatively with the local commissioners and disaster relief to optimise the response in every way. I have included a picture above of Steve Nawa (part of Christ Central) delivering bags of food by oxen to outlying villages. They greatly appreciate our support and generosity!
  5. Hope Family Meeting – 10th February – If you are a member or regularly attend with us, you are welcome to this meeting. Following the 2020 vision talk at the start of the year concerning our mission opportunity, this will be an opportunity to discuss plans going forward in reaching this area for Christ.
  6. Prayer

–  Let’s pray for those who are having a difficult time at the moment both in our fellowship and in Zambia, Australia and elsewhere.

  • Let’s pray too for God to show mercy on this town and draw people to Jesus.
  • Let’s pray for us to be wise in how we fulfil the vital action of bringing God’s good news to this town.