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In a weekly church column usually published in the Medway Messenger, Graham Hill, who is Local Church Leader at the Emmaus Christian Centre, reflects on anxious times, and how we can deal with them.
Earlier this month with lockdown restrictions having eased, I was invited to the funeral of a former Minister of this church in Chatham . It was during his time here that I refound my faith and trust in God through Jesus, having drifted away from my upbringing in the church, and am now the Local Church Leader along with my wife.
The service was a time of celebration, yes, there were moments of grief for him not being with us physically, but for the main part of the time there was the sense of his spirit being with us, particularly as his grandson read out key parts of his life.
He was born into a family where his father was a lay preacher and at the age of four-and-a-half it was recorded that he set up a pulpit in the front room and began to preach.
It was obvious even at that tender age he knew who he was going to serve throughout his life.
Some of you might be thinking that in today’s language he had been ‘groomed’, but as Jesus said ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last’ – John 15:16 (NIV).
However, we are given that freedom of choice and he decided to choose that way of life, it was Jesus that he would serve. And in doing so had been adopted into our Heavenly Father’s family which is where he is now.
This is why it was a time of celebration, for we knew that he had been released from his earthly body and taken his rightful place in Heaven.
The scripture that had been chosen for this funeral was Matthew 6:24-34 which starts with a statement that you cannot have two masters; you will either hate the one and love the other, or be loyal to the one and despise the other, the two masters being either God or riches. Therefore Jesus says for us not to worry about our lives, about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So, whatever your circumstances during these uncertain times are, whether in furlough, not certain of your job future, recovering from the exam result chaos that you feel will be holding you back from the career path you were looking forward to, seeing the anxiety your child is having to go through due to the delay in taking the Medway Test, may you be aware of the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. May you know He cares for each of us and wants to give good things to us His children.
Shalom peace be with you.
If you would like to find out more about Churches Together In Medway or what it means to become a Christian, please contact the chairman, Pastor Stephen Bello on 01634 920491 or email rccgvictoriousfamily@hotmail.com. You can also click here .
