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Dear Congregations

My boys are busy writing their letters to Santa. They’re not ready to post it yet, just in case they think of something else they want to ad! And that got me thinking…

Letters have been an important part of life in the early Church too. The apostle Paul travelled from city to city to share the good news about Jesus Christ with the people, and as soon as he left a city he started writing them letters to answer questions they had and also to encourage them to stand strong in their new-found faith. Some of these letters are included in our New Testament.

In one of these letters, Philippians 4:4-7, Paul said: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul had to endure lots of trials and tribulations because he stood up for his faith. But he never once allowed anything to put him off from believing in God. So when he says that we can ask God anything we want, I take his word for it, because he is speaking from experience. Paul doesn’t say that God will always give you what you’ve asked for straight away, but that he will give you what you need. And if you have the courage to ask, the one thing you will most certainly get, is the peace of God. Because very often, that is all we really need. The peace to move on, to accept, to let go, to adapt, to forgive… The peace of knowing that God is in control of your life, no matter what.
So let’s all ask God for everything we need and everything we long for this Christmas, but let’s also accept that His peace, the peace that transcends all human understanding, is the biggest gift anybody could ever ask for – and we’ve already been given that in Jesus Christ.

May God bless you all this Christmas, and be close to you in the new year.

Nanda

The minister will NOT be in attendance this week at Polbeth Harwood on Tuesday 18th Nov nor at West Kirk on Wednesday 19th Nov.

She will be available again the following week.

On Sunday 2nd November, as part of morning worship, Alan Redmond was admitted to the eldership at West Kirk and welcomed by the minister, his fellow elders, and the congregation. We are delighted to welcome Alan to our session and wish every blessing on him and his family as he takes on this responsibility and service in our midst.

Alan had been ordained previously in another parish prior to transferring with his family to West Kirk.

Dear Congregations

The four of us we went to the Netherlands for the October break, and we had a lovely time. We ate lots of cheese and caramel wavers, walked for miles alongside the canals, and then, of course, we laughed a lot!

Nehan’s favourite thing was the Dutch clogs – he desperately wanted me to buy him a bright orange pair… But after much deliberation he settled for orange clog look-a-like slippers (which he put on straight away and never took off until we arrived home)!

Henro was fascinated with the windmills. I’ve never been inside a windmill before, and it was very interesting to see how it works. If the wind doesn’t blow, nothing happens. But as soon as the wind picks up, the machinery inside the windmill starts working and continues to work as long as the wind is blowing.

And standing outside a huge windmill, looking at the big arms turning in the wind, I thought that God works through us in a very similar way. He sent us his Spirit, and through his Spirit we are able to be the people he wants us to be and to do the things he wants us to do. The Holy Spirit is our “wind”, and interestingly the word used for “Spirit” in the Old Testament can also be translated as “wind”. We can’t see the wind, but looking at the arms of a windmill, we can easily see the effect of the wind. 

We can’t see God’s Spirit either, but we can see the effect of his Spirit when we are able to handle things, say things and do things that we thought impossible. The only difference between the wind and the Spirit is that where we do get days when it’s not windy at all, God’s Spirit is always with us. We don’t have to wait for a good day to work hard and make a difference, like a miller who is dependent on the wind; we can accomplish anything we want to, every day, because the Holy Spirit empowers us non-stop (Acts 2:1-13).

So let’s not waste any of the energy given to us by God. If the wind can make a windmill change grain into flour, just imagine the change we can bring here on earth if we all work together!

May God bless you all,
Nanda