Dear Friends in Christ

I want to share with you something very interesting which I have wanted to discuss for quite a while now.  It has to do with your growth and journey as a follower and disciple of Jesus.  This is possibly something you may not have heard before. When God made us originally in the garden of Eden, we were made to fellowship with God.  It was always in the heart of God (and still is) to be our friend, to love us, to spend time with us, and for God and mankind to experience a deep and intimate friendship.  When sin entered the world this plan was severely interrupted, but, this is still the desire of God, and He still wants eagerly to know each of us intimately.  It is up to us to pursue this relationship.  A great book on this subject is "Experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Guyon.  I highly reccommend it if you have the opportunity to pick up a copy. However, with the introduction of sin, man now had to work for a living.  After the death and ressureection of Jesus, we were given the command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel."  So as christians we have 2 main duties, one to pursue Jesus and the other to serve Him by being servants to the world. This is where many people fall down.  MOst people pursue the outward way of christianity, or all the "doing it" things.  Some have pursued the inward way of christianity  or the "knowing" things.  These second kind are usually thought of as weird (monks etc) but the truth is we must do both.  We have to roads to travel, one goes inwards towards Jesus, and the other goes outwards towards the lost world.  We need to be on both. There is no point having a great outward ministry if our lives lack the character or the knowledge of Jesus to sustain it.  Such a person is like a yacht with no keel.  Every yacht, because of its high sails in the air also needs a deep keel going right down deep into the water.  Without this keel, the boat will surely tip over.  As christians, if we focus on the doing all the time and neglect the knowing side, we will "shipwreck" our faith. I don't write to discourage you or to make you feel down, but rather to remind you that this faith we have is first and foremost about Jesus.  We are commanded to love our God first and love our neighbours second.  As you focus on loving God and putting down roots deep into His marvelous love, you will never be dissapointed. I urge to to pursue Him, and together we will rejoice in a righteouss and peaceful existance here on earth and an even better one later in Heaven.

Cheers - God Bless you All

David

PS We have been in prayer for a great many of your needs, I am sure God is at work the whole world over.  Also, thanks for the responses regarding flags from the last email.  cheers to all in christ's name.