Romans 1v16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’

There are many things to say about these two verses early in Romans, but just dwell for a moment on the term “righteousness that is by faith”. The word righteousness is best understood as meaning “right with God”, and so the phrase is simply telling us that this “right with God” is by faith. Faith is to trust in something, to believe it such that you rely on it and act on it. You do not have to do it yourself, you trust in it.

This is the wonderful truth of the gospel – all that is required is a reliance on Jesus to be made right with God. It seems almost unbelievable, but it is true, faith makes the good news of Jesus effective in our lives. Later in the letter, Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

We have reason to be extremely thankful for the reality of this gospel message! May we know more of this truth in our hearts.

With much blessing,

Roland

John 17v15-19 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (N.B. “to sanctify” = “to make holy”)

This Sunday in Fruitful Disciples we are thinking about ourselves as “Temples of the Holy Spirit”. In researching for it, I found this extract from Art Azurdia’s book with the title above. It refers to US culture, but its concepts apply here and gives food for thought.

“God does not desire a moral people; He desires a holy people. You ask: ‘Is there really a difference between the two?’ There is most certainly. It is the difference between the Pharisees – the most zealous of the parties of ancient Judaism during the late Second Temple period – and the Lord Jesus Christ. They were moral; He was holy. Morality is the negative concept, in that it defines itself in terms of what one refrains from doing. Its preoccupation is almost exclusively with externals. Holiness, by contrast, is the positive and holistic concept. While encompassing externals, its reach is far more penetrating and comprehensive. One may describe the difference as follows: the moral person abstains from wrong actions … the holy person hates the very thought of wrongdoing. The moral person is preoccupied by what people perceive him to be … the holy person is consumed with what God wants him to be. The moral person mindlessly adheres to a cold list of dos and don’ts … the holy person ponders what brings greatest pleasure to his heavenly Father. The moral person keeps a meticulous record of his good deeds, expecting by them to win the favour of God … the holy person grieves that nothing he ever does, even for God, is altogether free of sinful and selfish motive. Thus he recognizes every blessing from God as an expression of pure grace. The moral person lives by a self-determined definition of right and wrong and delights to impose it upon other people … The holy person yields to the Word of God as the final authority, which, in turn, compels him to guard the silences of the Bible and, therefore, honour the freedoms these allow among those who serve the same Saviour. Sadly, our contemporary evangelical subculture is often morality-driven rather than holiness-driven. In my country it frequently expresses itself in the following kinds of sentiments: ‘If only we could reinstitute prayer in public schools … ’ ‘If only we could require the Ten Commandments to be posted on the walls of our legal institutions … ’ ‘If only we could elect more Christians to Congress and thus legislate against homosexual marriage … ’ But such emphases, albeit well-meaning, reveal a failure to comprehend the radical difference between moral reformation and God-authored regeneration. The moralist falls short precisely because he fails to appreciate that the gospel of transformation is far more powerful than the religion of prohibition. Contrarily, the biblical record steadily reveals that God fulfills his purposes in the world not through the means of a moral majority but a holy minority. Holiness, not morality, is God’s desire for His people – and it is this for which our Lord Himself prays just hours prior to His own crucifixion.”

May we be holy in a “penetrating and comprehensive” way!!

With much blessing,

Roland

The Apostle Paul writes, “I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel.” This is a brief email to encourage us in our prayers and work in the Admaston Fun Week.

We have had a fantastic week with around 100 kids each morning, many helpers from across the churches in the area, and many young people helping and leading in significant ways. We have seen good numbers at the evening events, and also at the “Stay and Play” for mums and pre-schoolers in the morning.

There seems to be an increasing openness in the community to deepening relationship and the gospel message. Please pray for wisdom as we continue to share the gospel, pray for continuing openness of hearts and pray that the evil one would not snatch away what is being sown (Luke 8v4-15).

The harvest is plentiful!!

With much blessing,

Roland

Last Sunday, we were continuing to think about how we share the gospel with the world around us. I distributed the booklet “Speak Up: A summary guide to the law and your gospel freedoms” which is written by the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and Evangelical Alliance. It helps clarify the freedom we have to share our faith with others. This link will lead you to the on-line version   https://greatcommission.co.uk/act/speak-up-a-summary-guide : you will see on this page there is also a fuller 40-page version if you would like to go a bit deeper.

Even if we were not free to share our faith, it would still be right to share it in appropriate ways. Peter and John reply to the authorities telling them to shut up about the gospel, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God,” Acts 4v18-20. This contrasts with the strange case of a couple in Australia who have refused to pay taxes in recent years because they consider that God forbids it. I have not found why the couple believe this, but the judge seems to be closer to the truth with his declaration of what the Bible says and doesn’t say! Jesus answers some questioners in Matthew 22v21, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s” – in other words, pay your taxes and give to God’s work. Paul also says, “The authorities that exist have been established by God … this is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants …” Romans 13v1-7.

May God give us wisdom and discernment to follow God’s way in every situation

With much blessing,

Roland

Jesus calls us to both personal and private prayer:

–           In Matthew 6v6 Jesus says, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

–          In Matthew 18v19 Jesus says, “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

What is the power in prayer? The power of prayer does not flow from us, it is not special words we say. It is simply that prayer places us in contact with the Almighty God and we should therefore expect almighty results. “Nothing is impossible with God”Luke 1v37.

As we head into Admaston Fun Week with all the events associated with it, let’s keep our eyes and minds fixed on the Almighty God. Our faith is in Him, not attractive adverts or amazing activities. The adverts and the activities are merely tools in His almighty work – as are you and I!

So may I encourage to pray alone and together over these next couple of weeks. After all, we are entering spiritual battle, and Paul at the end of his list of spiritual armour says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6v18

With much blessing,

Roland

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” Luke 9v23

Jesus says this in the following context:

–          He prays with his disciples in private (v18) – a good basis for discussion

–          He asks who the crowds say he is (v18) – a very valuable evangelistic question

–          He asks who the disciples say he is (v20)– recognition of who Jesus is forms the basis of discipleship.

–          Jesus then tells them he is going to suffer and die and be raised to life.

Jesus then specifies three things in the above command:

–          To “deny myself” – that means to lay aside the things that by nature I would want.

–          To “take up my cross” – that means to follow a route of submission even if it may lead to suffering and death.

–          To “follow me” – if we have done above, then we are in a position to truly follow Jesus in every area of our lives.

May God give us conviction of heart to follow Jesus!

With much blessing,

Roland

In the book of Acts, we see the advance of the gospel. This was not instant, but was over a period of 30 years from 30 to 60AD and took the following steps:

–          Empowering to witness with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (chapters 1-2)

–          Growing Jewish church based in Jerusalem with the apostles (chapters 2-5)

–          Expanding through Judea and Samaria with the ministry of the deacons and persecution (chapters 5-9)

–          Reaching up the coast of the Mediterranean (modern Lebanon and Syria) and to non-Jews (chapters 9-12)

–          Extending to modern Turkey with Paul (chapters 13-14)

–          Dealing with disagreements over policy and people (chapter 15)

–          Widening into modern Greece (chapters 16-21)

–          Stretching to Rome as capital of the Empire (chapters 21-28)

It is probable that by the end of the first century, there were Christians in England, although it was to be another few hundred years before it became “mainstream”. And in our time, we can be thankful for those who helped lead us to Christ and salvation! As the church continues to expand, God uses people from all-over for all-over: while Sue and I were away, we met a Korean family who are missionaries to Wales: they were inspired by a Welshman (Jermain Thomas) who was one of the first two missionaries to Korea in the 19^th century.

As we join together on Sunday, in our more informal “5^th Sunday”, we will be thinking together about our witness and evangelism. Dawn, with the gifting of an evangelist, will be leading us in our thinking and discussions.

May God enable us by the power of the Holy Spirit to be fruitful witnesses in this world!

With much blessing,

Roland

On Pentecost Sunday evening, Chris Densham gave a wonderful word to the churches of Telford. I summarise it below:

In 1 Chronicles 12v32, the writer describes the men of Issachar as ones “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” Today there is huge ignorance of God’s story and a huge gap between our secularist society and the Christian: we are no longer in Christendom (for its good and bad) but are now in a missional context. This requires insight.

Historically, the church has operated best at the margins of society, with dynamic mission-orientated followers of Jesus who are ready to be radically different. In Jeremiah 29v4-14 the people are called to seek the good of where they now live for the long haul: it will be their grandchildren who benefit in 70 years time (“I know the plans I have for you”)!

Many churches have significant contact with children and families. The questions we have to keep asking ourselves as churches are (i) what is our plan to make disciples? and (ii) is it working? God’s call for us in Telford today is to sacrificially invest for the young people.

The Engage project is to link with the secondary schools, run youth clubs and share the gospel with today’s teens. It is in Telford and for Telford. It is to increase our engagement, not from a power base, but from the margins. We need to act on the basis that, “the kingdom of God is near” and “is among us” (Luke 10v9 & 17v21).

I was encouraged and I would encourage you to join the Shropshire Hope Conference if possible (see below …)

May the Lord enable us by his Holy Spirit to be those “dynamic mission-orientated followers of Jesus”,

With much blessing,

Roland

On D-Day we marvel at the landings on Normandy beaches in 1944: the intense planning and preparation; the commitment and sacrifice of those involved; the sheer scale of the feat; the provision of God in weather and timing; and the continuing determination of many until May 1945 when victory was accomplished in Europe and freedom complete (and beyond that in other parts of the world).

Pentecost is bit like D-Day – it is the day in around 30AD when the Holy Spirit invaded to retake people for God.

–          God had planned it for centuries –  in Acts 2, Peter quotes Joel (which was possibly written around 900BC, but certainly by 600BC) to show that this event was prophesied long before.

–          God’s preparation – Jesus had to come first: to live on the earth, die, be raised and ascend to heaven; then the Holy Spirit could come.

–          God had a huge scale in mind – “I will pour out my Spirit on all people” – this is available to everyone throughout the world; all who “repent and are baptised in the name of Jesus”.

–          The commitment and sacrifice in establishing this – Peter’s explanation of the coming of the Holy Spirit is that is based on the forgiveness of sins based on Jesus dying on the cross a few weeks before. It is Jesus’ commitment and sacrifice that enables this.

–          Provision of God in timing – the Holy Spirit was sent at  just the time that many were visiting Jerusalem for a Festival so that people from across the Middle East and southern Europe were represented in the church.

–          The continuing battle until freedom complete – we, as people filled with the Holy Spirit, are called to patiently advance until Jesus returns and the battle is over. His reign is a reign of justice, righteousness and love. Hallelujah!!

You and I are now on the advance in the name of Jesus. There are many obstacles and attacks to try and stop us. We can thank God for those who have gone before us and we can thank him for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives now.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15v13.

With much blessing,

Roland