Ian Pike
Beginning of an Author's Reflection
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Psalm 103:1&2 says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, Bless His Holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits “. As we come to the final weeks of 2023 it is a good time to pause and take the time to remember the goodness of God to us this year in our lives. The Lord has been so close to me this year and I am amazed at how the Lord has flowed through me and how many people have been encouraged. It has been so good to come to church every Sunday and see so many people choosing to follow Jesus, it is a privilege to spend time worshipping the Lord and enjoying His presence. God has certainly begun a new chapter in the life of the church and look forward with great anticipation to what the Lord has in store for His Church.
Last week I was talking to my eldest daughter who is a schoolteacher and she told me that when she started teaching at the Christian School 75% of the children came from church families. Now 18 years later 75% of the children come from non-church families. This year she is teaching 9-year-olds and was surprised when she taught the Christmas Story that 3 of the children who were new this year had never heard of Jesus being born and that Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Jesus. As I reflected on this I realised how important it is for the Church Australia-wide to use every opportunity to get the message out that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’. Also, I realised how insulated I was from the reality that the world is an ungodly place and I must be diligent in coming to God and crying out on behalf of the lost and desire to see more people come into God’s Kingdom.
I have been humbled and encouraged by the significant number of people who were impacted by my last post. I am amazed at this season of my life that God has opened a door for me to share His goodness in my life with other people. Today we are living in exciting times, on one hand, we see evil at a level not experienced before, but on the other hand, we are seeing the eyes of people being opened to their need for a Saviour in numbers not experienced for a long time. It is time for us to press into God and be available for Him to flow through us. We should never forget that the light shines brightest at the darkest hour. We are living at a time when we can be part of what He is doing in His Church and remember that it is God who is working in the lives of people