Oldham Minister’s Message – August 2022

Minister’s Message

August 2022

Dear Friends,

What is life without a purpose? To have a purpose in life implies work. To the aimless, the indolent and the downright idle, the Bible offers sound advice:

Go to the ant thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise.

                                                                                     Proverbs 6:6

Nevertheless, life is not just about work, not just about earning our daily bread so to speak, it’s much more than that. Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 when he said:

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

                                                                                                                                 Matthew 4:4

Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount tells us that God acknowledges our need for food and clothing, ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need them’, he said. (Matthew 7:32). Life is more than food and clothing. Too much emphasis on work, acquisition and earthly ambition is corrosive to the spirit. It will damage our relationship with God and the people that we love:

 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

                                                                                                                                   Mark 8: 36

Sometimes we just need to unwind and let go. The summer school holidays are upon us! We should know that, even if only because we notice that the roads are not quite so busy in the mornings and at rush hour. School holidays? Perhaps we should think about taking a holiday too? Again, all of us need a break at some point.

The warmth of the summer, the holidays that other people around us are taking, could be a timely reminder that perhaps we should do the same. A holiday doesn’t have to be expensive, arguably you don’t really need to go anywhere in particular, except to say of course, that a change of scenery is often desirable. Sometimes we just have to ‘stop the world and get off’. We do have to find time to feed the soul, find time for the things that can give us personal joy, time for family and friends and the renewal of our personal relationships.

In the end this is what life is all about, a holiday is conducive to spiritual well being. A holiday can really give us time for aloneness, as well, to be with God, to pray, and to read His word. A holiday can give us time, moments to really see the beauty and majesty of God in His creation:

The heavens declare the Glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

                                                                                                                      Psalm 19:1-2

I hope that this month will bring you rest, refreshment and renewal.

My best wishes as always,

Bob.