Laura Simpkins invites us to take part in a scripture challenge!
One morning back in November, part of my reading was Isaiah 54 verse 13: ‘All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.’
It’s so easy in our wealthy multi-media lives to forget how precious the Word is, and how simple it is for us to access it. It’s not, of course, been this easy throughout most of history and this is still the case in many parts of the world.
Not only is the Word the saving power of Christ for our eternal salvation, but our source of life for today. In these times of isolation and restricted fellowship, we perhaps need it even more than ever to help us worship, and to encourage, guide, bring peace, and combat loneliness.
In the same way we look into God’s magnificent night sky and take comfort that we are under the same stars as friends and loved ones elsewhere. We are bound together with others by the Word, as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are comforted that God loves us, and our loved ones, more than we can imagine. And, we are therefore not alone.
In days before the printing press, and even today in dire situations (war, imprisonment, hostile governments, and the like), believers relied and continue to rely on memorised Scripture to sustain them. Most of us could probably benefit from having a fuller tool kit of verses to draw from in everyday challenges!
I would like to invite everyone to join together in a simple Scripture Challenge. I have found a succinct and powerful verse that we can all learn and practise together this autumn.
‘Every word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.’ Proverbs 30:5
Something for the holidays! We can look forward to saying this together as a congregation when we meet together again in church.
Laura Simpkins, discipleship coordinator
