Caerwent Evangelical Baptist Chapel
NEWSLETTER
November 2002
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Dear Friends, In a way it seems presumptuous to address a whole community as friends. After all, some of you may have some distinctly unfriendly feelings towards Christianity in general and a strong aversion to Christian ministers in particular! Others will have little or no sense of contact or affinity with the local churches. Life is too busy - all taken up with other things. At best you might just skim this and other articles but that's it - duty done for another month. Yet no matter how much we differ in outtook and even contradict one another in the way we live, we do share a common interest - we belong to the same community. We are I hope, at least in some sense of the word, friends rather than enemies! Friendship is something to be valued. In its deepest, purest form, it is almost priceless. Those who have friends in the truest sense are very happy people - real friends are few and far between. The Bible has plenty to say about friendship. In the book of Proverbs we are told that - A friend loves at all times - (Proverbs 17:17). There is something totally and absolutely trustworthy about a friend. You can rely on a friend to be there throughout your time of greatest need.
In this sense as believers we would say that Jesus is the truest friend we have. He has confronted us with the truth about ourselves - but he has also provided the answer to our deepest need. And the Lord has promised "I will never leave you nor forsake you" So that we can boldly say, "The Lord is my helper" (Hebrews 13:5,6) Apparently Aristotle thought that there could be no friendship between a god and a man, any more than a man could be a friend to his slave or his tools, because they were too dissimilar in nature. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery- IVP) But this is far from anything the Bible teaches. Abraham - the man who trusted God and obeyed God - was called "the Friend of God." (James 2:23). God spoke to Moses "Face to face. as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11) And Jesus called his disciples "Friends". For his friends (and enemies) Jesus would lay down his life - sacrifice himself upon the cross of Calvary. To his friends he entrusted the truth of the gospel - in order that they would go and tell the whole world. From his friends he expected the obedience that comes from love and a living faith - "You are my friends If you do what I command you" (John 15:14) This is not a friendship between equals. He alone is Lord and he is God. True believers gladly submit to Christ! If you find these words difficult and hard to accept - have you ever experienced the friendship of God and the unfailing love of Christ? For further information on our church please contact 01291-423092 (Pastor) or 01594-528232 (Secretary) With our constant prayers Eddie Jones Pastor |