Dear Friends

Its been a fortnight since I have last written to you.  I hope things are going well and the blessing of God is resting on you at this time.  Things are going well with me too.  Recently a church in a nearby town opened a youth and sports centre which is open 24 hours a day.  I have had a lot of fun helping them there.  The centre is open 24 hours a day and one night a week I volunteer to keep the doors open for any young and needy people who might wander in.  It has been very enjoyable staying up late talking to other young people and contributing to the work of God in a practical way.  I have really been excited by the whole experience.  I hope to be able to continue this until the centre establishes itself formally with enough of its own workers. Last week in my private prayer times I was reminded of a story Jesus told.  It is recorded in Matthew 13:1-21 and it is worthwhile reading and thinking deeply about.  The story goes that a man went out to sow some seed into the ground.  In Jesus time of course there was no fancy machinery for agriculture and it was all done by hand.  As the man wandered around throwing the seed about, some fell on the path and the birds ate the seed up.  Some seed fell on shallow rocky soil and quickly sprung up but soon died from the sun and exposre.  Some seed fell in the weeds which choked the plant making it unfruitful and finally, some seed fell in good ground and bore a lot of fruit.  Jesus was not really talking about agriculture of course, he was using these things as symbols that mean something about our spiritual condition.  Some people have hearts that are like the path, the seed which is the messages of christ fall there but before it can begin growing it is eaten by birds.  This kind of person is like someone who hears the truth but it goes in one ear and out the other.  Sadly, our world is full of this kind of person. Then there are people whose hearts are like the shallow rocky ground.  This kind of person hears the truth and quickly responds, but when times get tough they fall away because there is no substance to them.  This kind of person likes the benefits of following Christ, but when God calls for obedience, or they have to face tough times, or suffering, or ridicule for the sake of Christ they simply fall away.  The third kind of person has a heart that is like the weeds.  When the seed fell in that place it was choked and did not bear fruit because it was competing for nutrition with all those other plants.  A person like this has many earthly concerns and worries.  These worries make it hard to consider the ways of Christ because they are so consumed with other things, and so they are unfruitful.  Finally the fourth kind of person has a heart that is like good soil.  When the see falls in that place, they not only respond to the truth of Christ but turn and produce a great fruitful life which is pleasing to God.  I thought a lot about these 4 kinds this last fortnight and I sincerely believe that the majority of people in our churches are the third kind.  We are sincere and well meaning christians.  We want to do what pleases God and we want to obey Him, but we have many earthly concerns and troubles.  These troubles tend to hinder us all a great deal...............the good news is, we can change the state of our hearts. The Bible says to "come to Him and He will give us rest" and in another place it says to "seek first His ways and all the other things will be looked after" (my paraphrase) Matthew 6.  I belive that if we set out heart on righteousness and prayer seeking Him, that our heart will become like the good soil.  If we perservere, we will become fruitful people. Stop for a minute................what kind do you think you are?   No matter what kind you are.............you are loved and treasured and if you have a heart that is right before God, you can come through.  All my love and prayers are with you. 

Your brothers and sisters in Mt Morgan send their regards

Cheers in Christ

David